Rainbow Dash.
When most ponies hear that name, they think of the self-proclaimed fastest flyer in Equestria, wannabe-Wonderbolt member, holder of the Element of Loyalty of the Elements of Harmony, and several-time savior of Equestria. To her friends, she's the weather manager of Ponyville, professional slacker, and the loyalist friend you can have.
Most, including herself, don't connect that name with a security guard at a run-down pizzeria place in the middle of Baltimare, and yet here she was.
"Darn it, Twilight," she muttered to herself as she stepped in front of the door to the place, taking a moment to observe the 'Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!' in big red letters on a newly painted wooden sign in the darkness. "You just had to ask me to get that new book in the 'Past Sins' series or whatever you call it when it came out in store today. Couldn't just, I don't know, order it in the mail, or even come get it yourself..."
After all, Twilight Sparkle was the new Princess of Friendship. If she wanted to, Dash's friend could have come here herself and been out in ten seconds flat, with those guys practically giving her the VIP treatment and the whole nine yards. But no, Twilight was busy trying to fix up the whole Crystal Castle that had sprout up in Ponyville just three weeks ago and was still trying to deal with the consequences of a giant castle appearing right where the old library had been. Things like that just don't happen without someone asking questions, even for a little town like theirs that had seen mad gods rise and fall.
In fact, Twi had been so busy that she asked Rainbow herself, who didn't have anything better to do and had been considering taking a few days of vacation, to see if she could buy the book for her. She hadn't been sure at first, but after seeing Twilight's haggard-looking state from all the stress, she had been convinced to go and do it. After all, that's what friends do, right?
Well, when she finally got there and figured out where the store was, she went and bought the book for Twilight with the bits she gave her. Something about the reincarnation of an ancient evil or something like that, but Rainbow didn't care. She had to fight tooth and hoof to get in there and get a copy from the rabid fans, and all she wanted was to just get home and laze about for a few days. She took off as soon as she got out of the store.
Unfortunately, this was one of the rare days she decided not to check the weather forecast for the region.
And wouldn't you know it, there was a big old thunderstorm scheduled for the day: rain, lightning, high winds, all that good stuff.
Three guesses as to what happened.
Well, the good news was that the book and Dash were fine. Nothing got broken or fried, and heck, the book itself was completely dry. Guess she was right in asking Rarity to give her a waterproof satchel for her birthday.
Bad news was that the thing that Dash crashed into when she was buffeted by winds happened to be the sign of a rundown restaurant. She won, and the sign was totaled.
"L-look, I'm reeeeaaallly sorry about all this," Dash mumbled slowly as she watched a pair of work ponies lifted the broken remnants of the sign up and onto a wagon, the bear head painted on it looking almost accusingly at her where it wasn't warped by the impact of her body against it. She bit one of the tips of her wings in frustration. "It was an accident, seriously."
"No, no, it's alright, Ms. Dash," the brown stallion next to her with glasses, a pizza cutie mark, and wearing a grey suit sighed, looking down at a clipboard. "Anyone going out in such weather should be lucky to make it out in one piece like you did. Besides, one less thing to take down when the place goes under, I suppose."
Even so, Dash cringed. She couldn't believe her luck. The day she forgot to check the weather this had to happen. Yeah, the book was alright, but that didn't change her feelings of guilt. The guy sounded so darn sad...
"Look mister, if there's any way I can make this up to you..." she began, then stopped when the stallion turned to her with a surprised look.
"Wait, seriously?" he asked while adjusting the black glasses on his muzzle. "You, the Rainbow Dash, want to make this up to me?"
Dash felt some of her guilt fade as momentary irritation and pride slipped through. What, did this guy think she didn't pay her debts? "Of course!" she replied, conviction in her tone. "I'd never leave a pony hanging!"
The stallion blinked for a moment, then looked back down at his clipboard. "Well... if you happen to have 120 bits on you right now..."
Dash felt her hopes sink. "That... that much?" she stuttered, slowly pawing the ground. "W-Well not really..."
She had about 30 bits on her at the moment, half of which had been change for the book when the cashier learned she was buying for Twilight. The mare's eyes had gotten as wide as Pinkie's when she realized she needed to throw a party, and gave her a discount. The rest was just traveling money, buying food and the like.
The guy looked contemplative for a moment, then rang a hoof through his black and greying mane. "...Actually, there might be a way... if you don't mind working it off, of course."
Dash blinked. Was this guy seriously offering? "What's the job?" she asked slowly, looking at the restaurant. "I mean... I've never been much of a cooker..."
He laughed slightly. "No, no, Ms. Dash. I wouldn't ask that of you." He pulled out a copy of today's paper out of his pocket, showing her the Want Ads.
"Right here," he pointed.
Dash took a moment to read it. On it was a picture of some sort of weird-looking bear, one of those 'animatronic robots' she heard Twilight go on about at one point. Something about them being skeletal metal dolls enhanced with magic, wrapped in plastic and foam bodies. Supposedly, they had been all the rage about three decades ago, but something about them was 'creepy and dangerous' , so they went out of production and were only recently coming out again, safer and all that. Next to it was some text:
HELP WANTED
Freddy Fazbear's Pizza
Family pizzeria looking for security guard to work the night shift. 12am to 6am.
Monitor safety cameras, ensure safety of equipment and animatronic characters.
Not responsible for injury/dismemberment.
$120 a week.
To apply, call:
1-888-FAZ-FAZBEAR
She looked up, giving him a questioning stare.
"You're kidding me about the whole 'dismemberment' bit, right?" she asked simply.
He laughed, though Dash thought she heard a tremor of hesitation. "Of course I am," he said quickly. "But even so, do you want the job?"
She looked back down at the image (by Celestia, that bear creeped her out) then at the pizzeria, the tinted windows preventing her from seeing any of the robots.
"How long's a week?"
"Five nights." he answered. "Four bits an hour for six hours, coming out to 24 bits a night."
Dash bit her lip. Five days. She had planned to use a week's worth of vacation days for her break. That meant she would only have two days of free time left, not to mention getting back with the book, though she could just mail it and it take about three days or so, probably with a letter explaining her predicament.
Suddenly, the thought of just asking Twilight to send another 90 bits in the mail to her crossed her mind, but she rejected it out of hoof. This was her mess and she was perfectly capable of handling it. Besides, Twi would nag her like a mother hen for riding on her coattails, and that wasn't her style anyways.
Besides, what was five nights in the long run?
"Okay, mister," she finally said, a confident smirk plastering itself onto her face. "You've got a deal!"
He smiled. "Please, Ms. Dash, call me Schmidt. Griff Schmidt."
She kept up the smile as she shook his hoof. "Then just call me Rainbow Dash."
He raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "Well then... Rainbow Dash," he tested her full name as if committing it to memory. "I'll see you tonight at say... eleven?"
She nodded. "Right!" She then reached into her satchel, pulling out the book that had caused her all this trouble. "I'm just gonna go and... mail this little thing, alright?"
He shrugged. "So long as you're back in time. I'll give you a brief tour, all right?"
Dash flashed him her signature devil-may-care smile. "Alright then Schmidt! You've got a deal!"
She quickly took off, then remembered something.
She was back in front of him in a flash, a sheepish look on her face.
"Ah heh heh heh... you wouldn't know where the post office is, right?"
Dash shook her head at the memories, opening the door of the place with a jingle. After she got directions, she had went to the post office and mailed the book along with a letter to Twilight saying she would be working off a debt for the next couple of days and that she and the gang shouldn't worry. After she talked to the postmare and was told that it should arrive in Ponyville in three days (she prayed that Derpy didn't accidentally switch up the delivery address in the process), she left and decided to spend her time looking up the town, since it'd be her place of residence for the next few days.
She decided to forgo finding a hotel, trusting herself to the elements (a cloud was always more comfy than a bed) after she checked the weather schedule to see there would clear weather for the rest of the week. She managed to entertain herself by practicing new aerial tricks, including a corkscrew freefall, and then napping until the allotted time, rushed back to the place, and here she was.
The place wasn't horrible, but it wasn't exactly clean either. It was definitely an older establishment, with some wear and tear, worn floor, frayed curtains, peeling walls, but it gave off a homely feel. There were tables set up in the dining area with party hats on plates, probably for whoever came in tomorrow, and three of the animatronics were up on the stage with various instruments, probably for entertainment.
Dash took a moment to look at each of them. They stood on their hind legs like those pictures of strange creatures that Lyra once showed her (humans, she believed the name was) and were taller than she was, probably coming up to Big McIntosh in terms of height, staring off into the distance. The one on the left was a purple bunny with light red eyes and black outline, white teeth, wearing a red bowtie and holding an electric guitar. The one on the right was a bright yellow chicken with purple eyes and black outline, an orange beak with white teeth, wearing a bib that read 'LET'S EAT!' holding a cupcake with eyes (she suddenly had flashes to what Pinkie Pie decided to bake one Nightmare Night...). Finally, in the center was the bear she saw in the advertisement, a large brown body with blue eyes also with black outline, wearing a black top hat and black bowtie, and just like his fellows also had white teeth.
She was slightly disturbed as she stared at them. Something about how their eyes and teeth looked way too real for comfort, or how their bodies seemed just too off to be living flesh. She couldn't help but feel a little creeped out.
"I see you've met Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica."
Dash yelped and nearly flew into the air, quickly turning around to see Griff standing there with his right hoof up. "Okay, okay, sorry for scaring you," he apologized.
She shook her head, trying to get over her embarrassment. "I-I'm not scared!" she quickly said. "You just surprised me is all."
He chuckled. "Again, my apologies," He walked up next to her, observing the animatronics with something resembling nostalgia. "What do you think?"
It took her a moment to realize what he was getting at. Looking back at the robots, she hesitated to say they were creepy-looking, as she didn't want to insult her new employer.
"Kinda creepy, huh?" he asked, noticing her look. Before she could assure him, he added. "No need to spare my feelings," he told her. "I thought they were creepy too, even a little scary when I first saw them. But my dad bought them when they were all the rage, so they're kind of like family to us."
"This place was your dad's?" Dash asked, actually sort of grateful that the conversation had steered away from the robots. She was getting a little nervous looking at their eyes, almost like they were staring at her.
"Yeah, and it was his dad's before hand," Griff replied. "These guys just sort of came along for the ride. I would have gotten rid of them long ago, but the foals love being around them. You could even say they're the prime attraction."
Rainbow Dash took a moment to take a whiff of the air, catching the smell of the place. The smell of freshly baked pizza filled her nostrils, and she smiled. "The pizzas don't seem that bad," she told him.
He chuckled. "Yeah, but even all that isn't enough to pay the bills," he said with a tone of melancholy. "Three generations this place's been in the family, and I'm the one who has to give it up when the year's over, just a week from now actually."
"...Sorry, buddy," Rainbow Dash said quietly, surprised by the sadness he was showing, then tried to lighten the mood. "But hey, it's still yours, isn't it? Besides, I can handle these three for six hours."
He glanced at her for a second, as if sizing her up. "We'll see..." he said slowly, the tone putting Dash back on edge (not because it was creepy, but strangely... hopeful?), but then he was back to all-friendly. "Well, how about that tour, huh?"
Griff was nothing if not helpful. He quickly showed her the backstage, restrooms, kitchen, the west and east halls, and finally Pirate Cove.
"What's behind that curtain?" Dash asked when she caught sight of the 'Out of Order' sign.
"Oh, that's Foxy the Pirate," Griff replied, taking a moment to pull back the curtains to show the fourth animatronic. He was, as the name suggested, an upright fox, around the same height as the other three. His fur was crimson, and he had a hook on one hand, an eye patch that seems to be sticking up revealing his right eye (keeping to the pirate theme) and wearing brown linen shorts. His teeth were surprising sharp, more like a fox than a pony like the others.
What surprised Dash was his condition. Unlike the other ones, his fur was tattered and ripped in several places on his chest, stomach, and arms, revealing his metal interior. His legs were practically bare underneath his shorts, his left eyelid was kind of droopy, and his lower jaw seemed to be broken, like he couldn't shut it properly.
Despite that, Dash felt more at ease around this one than the other three. Maybe it had something to do with the fact he didn't look so creepy without the eyeshadow, and even with his condition (which actually made him feel more realistic, since she could see that he was clearly not real with the metal parts), he just felt more natural to be around, more like a fox. Plus, the pirate gear was pretty cool.
"Why's he here?" Dash asked.
"Misrepair," Griff replied, sighing as he took a look at the robot. "He was always the crowd favorite, even with me and like this, but after an... accident we were forced to store him here permanently. We still show him off to the foals, but he can't interact with them like the others can."
"Couldn't you fix him?" she asked as she reached out a hoof to touch his free paw, surprised by how real it felt. "A guy this cool-looking doesn't deserve to be back here all the time."
"Believe me, I know," Griff answered her. "But I don't have the time, skill, or parts to do it. And I don't have the bits to spare to hire someone with the ability to fix him. It was always my hope to let him be repaired for the grand finale when we go out of business, but I guess that's just wishful thinking by now."
He turned around to leave, grabbing the rope to pull the curtain back into place. Dash took one last long look at Foxy, as the curtain went back in place.
Just for a second, probably just a trick of the light, she thought he actually winked at her.
Dash sat down in the security room in which she would be spending the remainder of the night. According to the above clock, it was almost midnight, which was Griff's cue to leave.
"Remember," he told her as he prepared to exit, "you have limited power due to money problems, so try to avoid using the devices here as much as possible, especially multiple ones at once. I'd recommend checking the cameras periodically, using your door lights sparingly, and only shutting the doors when it's absolutely necessary."
"Yeah, I got it," she told him, taking a moment to figure out exactly how she was supposed to use this magical 'tablet' plugged into the wall. "Did I ever tell you its kinda weird you have money problems and yet can afford this sorta stuff? Pretty sure I've never heard of half of it until you told me about it."
He chuckled. "Hey, most of it's point-and-click, so you'll be fine. Besides, my dad was big on 'advancements into the future' and stuff powered by magic, so he made some purchases on experimental stuff that we probably would have been better off without in the long run, and he kept doing it until I got the place about five years ago. Still, might as well make use of them."
He gave her a final smile and stepped out. "Good luck, Rainbow Dash. Hope to see you come morning."
"Yeah, you too," she replied, watching as he left. On a whim, she brought up the cameras, watching as he made to the exit, stepped out, and locked the door behind him. No worries there. He had been certain to give her a spare key in case she needed to get out, and also pointed out the fire exits in the building.
Dash sighed as she put the tablet down and took a look at the clock, noticing it was currently midnight. She took a moment to look around the office, noticing the small fan on the desk blowing to keep her cool, a coffee machine in the corner filled with some black liquid for simulation, several camera feeds that connected directly to the tablet, some posters on the wall that read 'CELEBRATE!' in big letters with the robots on them, along with some crayon drawings, probably by donating foals.
She was about to check the cameras when a ringing noise interrupted her. Almost jumping out of her seat at the suddenness of the noise, she stared at the ringing device before noticing a red flashing button next to it.
'Guess I need to press it,' she decided, then did so, a clicking noise sounding. "Uh, hello?" she asked slowly.
"Hello?" came a voice over the machine, though it sounded garbled like he was trying to cast magic at the same time, the two sounds connecting and interfering with each other. "Oh, hello!"
Dash just stared blankly at it. 'Is this another of those fancy magic-tech-thing-a-ma-bobbers Griff was talking about?'
"Hey there!" the voice continued. "Name's Shep Book! Well, if you're listening to this, whoever you are, it probably means you're the new night guard, huh? Funny things the guys in charge put in here. What you're listening to now is something called a 'phone', which apparently might someday make using letters completely obsolete! Something about using magic to talk over long distance with a connection, but I don't know. Still, you can actually make recordings on this that can be played back later, like a audio letter. Pretty cool."
"Anyways, I figured I might as well try my hoof at this sort of thing, you know, leave a message for you to get settled in and make it through your first night. I actually worked in that office before you, so consider it like passing of the torch, wisdom to impart on the young and all that good stuff."
"Darn, does this guy like to hear himself talk..." Dash muttered to herself as she half-tuned him out, the surprise at the ponyless voice turning to boredom as she listened to him droll on. It was like listening to Pinkie or Twilight ramble, except Pinkie was funny and Twilight made it sound endearing and sort of friendly, while Shep just got a little annoying. She half-listened as he went on about the introductory greeting from the company, taking a moment to just randomly scroll through the camera feeds, touch the door lights, open and shut the emergency doors a few times. It was kind of boring, and she wondered for a moment just how the heck a job like this made about 24 bits a night-
Wait, did he just say something about death and missing pony's report? Also replacing carpet?
"-Now I know all that might all sound bad, but there's really nothing to worry about. Uh... well the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No! If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for 20-30 years, and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. Just remember, these characters hold a special place in the foals' and establishment's hearts, so treat them with a little respect, okay?"
Dash just stared at the recording, pulling her hoof away from touching the right door light and getting back into her seat. "Okay..." she found herself muttering to the phone.
"So just be aware; the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of "free-roaming" mode at night, uhh, something about the magic causing rust if they're shut off too long? I don't know. I may be a unicorn, but I don't know about how stuff like this works. Funny thing is, they actually use to be allowed to wander around during the day too, but uh, then there was the 'Bite of '87'. Yeah... It's amazing how a unicorn can live without both the horn and the frontal lobe, huh?"
Dash suddenly felt like there was an important piece of information she should recall. She remembered briefly back to flight school how they had taken a crash course in safety and so gave a brief bit about dangerous injuries capable of being sustained upon crashing and whatnot. If the frontal lobe was where she remembered...
She immediately brought both hooves to the front of her skull and cradled it, briefly glancing towards the twin doors. What the heck were things like that doing around foals!?
"So, since this is your first night, it should be pretty quiet around there, so you should be fine. Now concerning your safety: the only real risk to you as a night watchpony here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours, probably won't recognize you as a pony. Like they treat as one of their own, a magic doll. They'll probably think you're a endoskeleton that forgot its costume, so the worst they can do is put you inside a suit."
"'Can't be all that bad' you're probably thinking." Shep's voice continued over the phone with a nervous giggle. "Well, you'd be right... if the suits themselves were designed for ponies and weren't filled with cross-beams, wiring, and magic devices, especially around the facial area. You can imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of... discomfort... and death... Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth that would pop out the front of the mask."
That particular image made Dash equal parts scared out of her mind and sickened to the stomach. It was the latter that won out.
"W-What!?" she almost screamed at the phone after she relieved herself in the nearby trashcan of her supper of a cheap hayburger and fries, only the sudden thought that the robots might be listening keeping it at a whisper.
"Yeah... they don't tell you these sort of things when you sign up..."
"This... this has got to be a joke, right?" Dash said to herself. "Some sick joke for the newbies to get scared out of their minds, and everyone laughs about it come morning, right?"
Unfortunately, Shep offered no answers.
"But hey; first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow, uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright. Good night."
"Hey, nothing else to say!?" Dash yelled as the phone made a *droning* sound, then clicked off, leaving her alone all alone.
And with three, maybe four killer dolls.
A glance at the clock. Fifteen past twelve. 97% power left. No hope for recharge.
2 AM. 83% power remaining
Dash tried to develop a routine. Check the cameras around the stage and Pirate Cove, switch off, wait about three minutes, then look again. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. No mascot was missing from the stage, and she couldn't even see Foxy from behind the curtain.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The first hour she had been checking the cameras practically every minute, sometimes even faster than that, but after she got to 86% power she decided it was time for a change of pace. Even so, she couldn't help but feel like staying on them for about a minute, looking for any change in movement, no matter how small.
"Okay Rainbow, calm down..." she told herself quietly. "You're the best pegasus around, and nothing's ever gonna keep you down. See? Nothing's wrong, everybody's here. Phone guy was probably some jerk trying to scare you. Yeah, that's it. Tomorrow I'll ask Griff about a stallion called Shep Book and see if he knows. I mean, come on, there's Chica and Freddy and Bon-"
Bonnie was gone. The darn rabbit had been there just a minute ago, now it was like he never existed.
Dash grappled with the rising panic in her chest. "Okay, okay, nothing to worry about..." she muttered as she changed view to the restrooms and catching nothing.
"I mean... he said they wander, right?"
*Click*
No one in the party area.
"Probably just... decided to take a walk..."
*Click*
Nothing down the west hall.
"Nothing to worry about..."
*Click*
Backstage...
"Bucking horsefeathers!" she yelped as she almost went crashing out of her chair, catching sight of a black and white still of Bonnie, face right up in front of the camera like it wanted a close-up. Course that would have been creepy enough, but it just had to go the extra mile for her.
"W-Where the heck are his eyes!?" she whispered hoarsely. The red eyes had been creepy, but they were at least eyes. Now it looked like it had just taken them out and put in white dots in the pure solid black, making it look like something out of a horror novel she read once. Combined with the smile, it went past creepy to just plain scary.
In her haste, she pressed another part of the screen, changing to the kitchen, where there was a notice that said 'Visual Display Out of Order. Audio Only.' complete with black screen.
Quickly, she went back to the backstage, only to find it empty. Flicking around a few times, she finally caught sight of Bonnie standing in the party area, facing the camera but thankfully far away and with his eyes again.
'Darn it...' she thought. 'Forget stuffing me in suits. I'll have a heart attack before that happens.'
3:45 AM. 62% power remaining.
"No you don't Bonnie!"
A press of the left door button brought the steel barrier down on the purple bunny's smiling face. Dash took a moment to glare at it before turning back to the cameras.
"Okay, Freddy's just chilling onstage and- oh come on, where'd Chica go now!?"
Dash made a few quick flicks through the cameras views. After dealing with Bonnie for about half an hour, she finally figured out that he seemed to prefer coming from the left side. Everytime she found him he was just leering into the camera like he was expecting an autograph, though whenever she glanced away he seemed to just teleport like a unicorn to another part.
He even managed to almost sneak into the office a few times, with the first time being only dumb luck that she managed to press the door button before he walked in. Literally, one second he wasn't there and the next he was. After that, whenever she couldn't see him in any two random rooms on the left side she immediately checked the door lights for any signs, pressing the door shut if she so much as saw a sign of purple.
By Celestia did that guy's smile in the weak light creep her out. All he'd need was a sudden organ chord like in those plays and it'd be perfect. Fluttershy probably would have had a heart attack by this point. Then again, Fluttershy probably would have been smart enough to know better than to try flying back to Ponyville before checking the weather.
Still, it wasn't all bad. Bonnie left pretty darn quickly whenever she caught him, a couple minutes give or take, and even faster if she buzzed the door light over him, which allowed her to see his shadow and know when he left. Maybe he didn't like the spotlight? Huh, weird for the guy who's up on the stage playing for the foals.
Anyways, this little game of cat-and-mouse had been taxing her power quite a bit, but she was certain she could make it to 6AM.
Now Chica had apparently decided to come on for the ride.
Glancing at the door, she noticed she couldn't see Bonnie's shadow and let it up, scrolling back through the cameras to see Bonnie back in the party area.
"Now where the bird?" she muttered to herself, glancing over at the right door. Nope, no yellow killer-chicken.
*Click*
Restrooms were clear.
*Click*
Nothing in the East Hall Corner.
*Click*
"Buck!" she yelled as she recoiled from the image in the East Hall. Chica was right there, staring right in the camera's face with her mouth open in some sort of smile. That wasn't what freaked her out though.
No, that honor was reserved for the fact she could apparently see a second pair of teeth inside the mouth, and those looked strangely like a pony's...
"The only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth that would pop out the front of the mask."
Dash quickly brought the camera down, pressing the door lights on both sides to make sure that Bonnie hadn't snuck in again, heart pounding. Nope.
Then she glanced back into the monitor.
*Click*
Nothing.
"Buck it..." she muttered softly. A glance to the clock...
"URRRUUURGHURGHURH..."
Her neck snapped around so fast she was certain she would have broken it. A lunge for the door lock, and the smiling face of Chica the Chicken disappeared behind a wall of metal safety.
"Darn it, just go play with each why don't you!" Dash yelled at the door, immediately turning around with her hooves raised in a fighting position in case Bonnie had snuck in during that mishap. Nothing.
A glance to the clock...
Five to 4AM.
Quarter to 5AM. 37% power remaining.
Dash took a swing of her coffee, nearly gagging as the cold liquid went down her throat, red eyes glued to the screen.
*Click*
Bonnie was in the supply closet, glancing up at her like always.
*Buzz*
Chica's still by the right door. She might not come to the door as often as Bonnie, but she sure as heck loved to camp there. Guess she just got lonely being the only girl. Not like she was just going to open it for her.
*Click*
Not a sign of Foxy from behind Pirate Cove. He was rapidly becoming her favorite doll of all. Heck, she figured she might just start visiting him before the shift started, just to make sure he wasn't getting lonely.
*Click*
Freddy was still on the stage, the only sign he had moved at all tonight being the fact he was staring directly into the camera with those black eyes. He was her second favorite for now.
Dash checked the lights again, seeing Chica was gone and flipping the switch to open the door. Had to conserve power. She had no idea what would happen if she ran out of it before the shift ended, but she sure as hell wasn't going to risk finding out. Another glance to the monitors had her in the kitchen, where she could hear something rustling around the pots and pans.
"Guess she got hungry, huh?" she wondered to herself with a brief chuckle, the image of Chica eating a pizza with that 'LET'S EAT!' bib still on somehow breaching the strange combination of paranoia, fear, frustration, and sleeplessness that had encircled her brain. "Wonder if there's anything in there she'd like to share?"
A brief gurgle came out of nowhere, causing her to instinctively shut the left door and buzz the light in panic. It took her about a minute to realize she had just heard her own stomach growl.
"I hate this job..." she muttered darkly as she opened the door, cursing that that particular episode cost her another 2% of power. By this point, she couldn't afford to lose anymore.
5:45 AM. 13% power remaining.
"Come on come on come on c'mon c'mon..."
Dash chanted that wishful phrase like her life depended on it. Half an hour from the clear, and apparently Bonnie and Chica had tired of their little game. Bonnie had appeared from the right side and was now camped right outside her door while she had taken a moment to look at Pirate Cove, seeing no sign of Foxy emerging. She had shut the door as per usual, and decided to check on Chica, who she had last seen back in the restrooms.
It was only that darn gurgling (why the hay did it sound like a pony!?) that warned her in time to put the monitor down and shut the left door, seeing Chica's inanimate purple eyes flash in what seemed like disappointment that she couldn't help her friend back into her suit.
Dash personally liked her face the way it was, so she didn't let that bother her.
Now she had both doors down, and while that normally wouldn't have been a problem, just flash the lights a few times and they'd just go away.
Fifteen minutes and 13% of her power later, they had not moved once.
As such, she had given up pressing the lights, trusting instead for the doors to hold. The cameras couldn't show just outside her door, so those were useless to her save for the occasional glance at Foxy's place (who, again, had not moved once during the entire time. She was half-tempted to kiss him for that small mercy, but she ignored it.) and at the stage where Freddy was, smiling like this was all some great prank.
...Forget what she said about him being second-favorite. That damn smile was even worse than Bonnie's and Chica's. At least they actually made her feel scared. He just made her pissed off.
Glance to the clock. 5:50 AM. 9% left.
A gurgling noise on the right made it clear that Chica was still there.
8%.
A buzz of the light showed Bonnie's shadow.
7%.
The last of the cold coffee went down Rainbow Dash's throat.
6%.
A glance to the cameras, her grip on the tablet beginning to shake almost imperceptibly.
5%.
Freddy. On-stage. Staring. Straight. At. Her.
4%.
Face twisted into that damnable smile, as if telling her he'd see her soon.
3%.
The lights flickered. Images of them being right outside the door, ready to greet her with open arms and creepy smiles, filled her mind.
2%.
Rainbow Dash's swallowed the rapidly rising lump in her throat, cold sweat breaking out all over.
1%.
She inched her chair back, muscles tensed and ready to flee the moment she saw a chance. She wouldn't go down without a fight, that much was certain.
Zero.
The power went out, and the doors went up. Dash prepared for the two dolls to charge right on in, heart pounding and hooves raised to smash one of them aside in her mad dash for the exit.
Nothing.
Dash blinked, her mind quite literally a blank. Despite knowing she shouldn't, she waited there for several seconds, some sign that they were coming.
Again, nothing.
'They... they gave up?' she wondered, slowly dropping from the chair to walk towards the left door, ears on the alert for any sort of incriminating sounds, ready to move faster than a scared Fluttershy if anything was up. She glanced at the clock in the corner, but since it was wired directly into the main power supply and with the darkness, she couldn't see the time.
She fiddled with the light stick at her side, something Griff had given her if she decided to wander out the security room, and turned it on after a moment, the thin ray of sweet Celestia-blessed light, shining outwards.
Nothing.
She entered the West Hall, all senses on alert, light flashing at every nook and cranny.
"Where are you?" she whispered softly, but no sounds of the dolls' movements reached her ears.
Despite herself, she found herself slowly making the rounds, down the hall to the dining area. No sign of Bonnie or Chica anywhere, yet the feeling of paranoia was so strong that Dash couldn't think that it was over. It hung around her like a bubble, moving with her everywhere and making her feel isolated, small, and insecure. She wondered if this was how Fluttershy felt sometimes.
She gripped the light stick tighter, idly wondering if it was durable enough to serve as a makeshift weapon.
Rainbow stopped by Pirate Cove, her eyes on the shut curtains with its 'SORRY! OUT OF ORDER' sign. Her eyes and light danced over the stage, senses peeled for any change in the design, any sort of shift from when her night had begun.
Nothing. The Cove was perfectly fine, the occupant still behind the curtain.
Despite herself, Dash couldn't help but giggle slightly, a hysterical giggle of relief, but one nonetheless.
"Y-You know what, Foxy?" she said quietly, yet in the stillness it was like shouting. "You're alright."
With that, she left on the way towards her main goal.
Still, she made sure to glance back every now and then, and she didn't stop listening until she was out of the vicinity.
After what seemed like hours, Rainbow finally made it to the dining area, everything just like how it was six hours ago. Her eyes glanced everywhere but there, fear of not what she would see, but what she wouldn't see driving her to not do so.
But curiosity was a strong force, and like a magnet, her eyes were drawn right up to the stage.
There they were: Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica. All up and ready like they had been there all night, no sign of having moved at all and staring off into space with their smiles.
Rainbow noticed a clock above their heads up over the stage. Curiously, she shined her light onto it.
6:10 AM.
She had survived the night at Freddy's.
Rainbow looked out towards the windows, and blinked as she felt the rays of sunlight pass over her tired eyes. Never before, even in her darkest nightmares, had that sight brought so much pure joy, happiness, and relief into her heart.
She wanted to jump, shout, scream and break down out of joy, sing that laughter song Pinkie had sung when she and her friends first traveled into the Everfree, bang out a beat on the floor, but she did none of those things.
Instead, she simply sat on her haunches and smiled at the warm morning light, simply taking a very rare moment to just relax and appreciate its beauty.
Then she felt like she was forgetting something important.
Glancing back towards the stage, she noticed that all three of the dolls seemed to be giving her mischievous glares, as if telling her to savor this moment for as long as possible.
Then she remembered the deal: She had to work five nights at Freddy's. She still had four more.
And that meant coming back tomorrow.