The two ponies stared at each other.
Foxy had rips and tears in it`s chest, but it`s hook was... In good condition.
It stared blankly, and almost as if shrugging it off, turned around and trotted back to the parts and service room.
Cake Flower almost vomited.
"That was... Weird..." Crimson Fur sighed. He hadn`t noticed the creepy tear and wear of the animatronic.
"It was like, he was checking up on me or something!" he added, a smile growing on his face.
"Um, Crimson?" String Play asked.
"I... I need to see him!" he yipped, but stood where he was.
"Wait, that`s not safe. What if they malfunction?!" Cake Flower reasoned. String Play stayed out of it, but still had a twinge of worry.
Crimson wouldn`t die yet, but what about Present? He wasn`t an animatronical child, or well, one of the soon to be ones.
What would happen to him?
"Hey, um, Crimson, if you go, I go" Cocoa grinned.
"But wouldn`t we get into trouble?" Goldy asked, though he seemed laid back.
"Nah, not if we don`t tell mom!" Cocoa said, as if that would be the only bad thing that could happen.
"I suppose...".
"But, it`s unsafe!" Cake retorted.
"So? It`s fun! And my favorite animatronic`s in there! Bonnie!" Music Ruff cheered.
"Present? What do you think?" String Play asked.
"I don`t know... I never had a favorite..." he seemed uneasy.
"Well, let`s find you one!" Cocoa yelled.
"I , um... Guess" and with that, Present Gift was dragged off towards the parts and service room.
Cake Flower still revolted.
"No, don`t go in there! There might be workers or something!".
"Really? Or are you just a chicken, Cake?" Music teased.
"Hey, just Cause my favorite`s Chica doesn`t mean-" she was cut off by clocking noises from Crimson, whom she then tackled.
"Fine. Fine. I`ll go, but if i`m caught, your the one who made me" she sighed. String Play followed the group, but stayed back with Goldy.
In a low, but firm tone, the black and white colt mentioned the 'conversation' from the other day.
"You said you know, do you mean, about my... You know?" String Play asked.
"Yes. Your death. I know, and you can`t stop it" Goldy frowned. He attempted to walk away, but String stayed at his pace.
"How do you know?!" he demanded.
"I just do. Call it sixth sense or something. Now leave me alone" Goldy growled at him before running ahead to the others. String Play decided to stay behind, and so as he passed the party rooms, noticed how blank they all seemed. Why wasn`t any pony having a party?
Not one room was occupied.
He shrugged it off, and ran ahead to join his friends.
They were already standing at the open door to the parts room, looking to String Play. He paused.
"Um, we going in?" he asked.
"Yeah, your going first too!" Cocoa declared.
Present Gift shrunk back from the small crowd.
"I`m um... Gonna wait in the party room" he said before backing up towards the larger room where Toy Chica was handing out pizza
"K, we`ll pick you up when were done, mate!" Crimson called out.
"O-okay..." he left for the prize corner.
String Play padded up too the open door. It was dark inside, almost pitch black to tell the truth.
He quietly put one hoof in.
The floor was cold and damp, to his uncertain horror. But no red eyes appeared through the shadows thankfully.
"Okay" he finally whispered, "come in".
Slowly, Cocoa, then Crimson, and then the rest of the fillies flooded the room.
Goldy stood at the door, sighing to himself.
'Idiots' was his expression.
"Wow. It`s so dark!" Crimson Fur stated, as he searched for a light switch.
"I found a bulb, let me, turn it... On, " Cake Flower stated through the small room, " Got it. There!".
The room suddenly fluttered with a flickering light.
The ponies stared in awe and horror at what they saw.
Cake Flower again almost vomited.
Crimson Fur slowly padded up to his favorite Fox animatronic, which laid limp. It`s right ear was torn, and tears spread through it`s torso, showing off the endoskeleton beneath.
He seemed to have torn legs, but thankfully it was just to the point of showing metal.
"Foxy..." he teared up. String Play guessed it was just the love of that animatronic, but it did seem... saddening.
"Dear Celestia!" Music Ruff shouted, "Bonnie! Your face!". He galloped up to the purple robot pony. It`s eyes were blank, non lit grey circles showing through the wires and frames of an endoskeleton.
It was torn as well, but was also missing an arm.
Cake Flower just sat by her animatronic.
Chica was... Off, to say the least. Her jaw hung open, and then again her eyes were a duller red.
She was missing her front hooves, but they still seemed to have part of the endoskeleton attached.
"Wow..." was Cocoa could say. his animatronic wasn`t the worst, and was really only a bit worn and torn.
It had a few scratches and dents. It`s eyes were dull and dead like.
They all sat near their animatronics, mourning the neglect given to the robots.
"We need to go" Goldy perked up, his ears twitching.
"Why?" Crimson asked. Unknowing to every pony but String Play, small bits of magic resonated from the children and their animatronics.
"I hear hoofsteps" he replied.
It was true, a pattern of hoofsteps was heading near their direction.
"Get out!" String Play demanded. The fillies and colts all exited the room. String Play left last, making sure they were all out.
The hoof steps grew closer. He left the room, running over to his friends quietly.
A stallion wearing purple walked up to String Play, a fake smile on his face.
The colt eyed him suspiciously. The stallion nodded, and then simply walked away. String Play watched him leave the Pizzeria.
"Okay then.." he sighed. Goldy glared at String Play.
In the parts and service room, unbeknownst to the children, each animatronic`s eyes flickered on, and their frowning mouths turned into small light smiles.
"hey, where`s Present Gift supposed to be?" Cocoa asked.
"At the party room, let`s go get him!" Cake Flower ran, forgetting the parts and service room as best she could.
"I`m coming!" Music Ruff followed.
The group ran to the party room, searching for Present Gift. They checked the prize corner, the Play cove, and even the corners of the present box.
"I can`t find him. Any luck?" Cake Flower asked.
"Nope" Cocoa stated. Goldy looked out a window.
"me neither. Did he just... Go home?" Music Ruff asked.
"I don`t think so, mate" Crimson frowned. Present Gift wouldn`t have just left, right?
"Wait-" String Play stated. He looked out the same window as Goldy, and then the door. Through glass door.
He saw the purple stallion. And he saw the stallion leaning over a poor colt, a knife in his mouth.
He saw Present Gift.
He saw himself.
Instinct took over, and with out a word to the others, he rushed towards the door.
'Just let me get to him...' He thought quickly.
He closed his eyes just before the door, and jumped.
String Play heard a crashing sound, and felt something hard hit his front chest. He opened his eyes to see himself falling on top of the purple stallion, whom attempted to buck and kicked away, but was brought down.
"Get a-away from Present Gift!" String Play growled.
The stallion shook String Play off, and gave him a spine chilling smile.
"Too late" he said, before galloping away, blood splattered on his hooves, along with above String`s left eye.
Scratches lined his neck and dotted his muzzle and cheek, but other than that no glass stuck to in his skin.
"Present Gift?" String Play asked, before he turned around to check the colt.
His eyes widened, and his heart seemed to stop.
In front of him, his body laid limp. Present`s brown fur was splattered with blood, and his eyes were shrunk, but open. They stuck to the top of his lids, as if he was about to be possessed.
His mouth hung open slightly, blood spilling out and onto the cobble ground.
"Present Gift?!" he cried. Ponies began to gather around the two, their faces filled with worry and concern.
String Play watched as blood oozed out of the chest of Present Gift. A knife with a black hilt stuck out of the small body.
Twilight Sparkle rushed out, and even she was washed into the crowd of faces.
"St-String Play?" the high pitched voice of Cake Flower fluttered his ears.
She wiggled through and padded over to him. String Play sat down, his ears pulled back.
She sat beside him, her head on his shoulder.
"I`m sorry" she sighed.
"It`s not your fault" he whispered.
The rest of the gang followed after, making a circle around Present Gift. They sat down and mourned the body, while most ponies left with their children.
"Cocoa? Cocoa!!!" A mare shouted above the crowd, her voice a stern metal against many sobs.
"Co... I-I..." the chocolate mare choked on her words. She allowed the six children to go along with their mourning.
Even Goldy sat with them, despite what he had said earlier. His eyes were clouded with sadness, and to a degree, guilt.
String Play began to hum a soft tune, something he had remembered by memory. It soothed the children some, thankfully.
Over the hour they stayed, ponies came and went, eventually leaving the crime scene.
Twilight silently waited for String Play to come. He got up, and whispered something to Cake Flower.
"I understand" she sighed, before getting up herself. The group slowly left. One by one, they said goodbye to each other, and to Present Gift.
Finally, String padded over to Twilight.
They slowly left for her house, almost completely silent along the way. Except for one thing.
"Who was that colt?" Twilight asked.
String Play paused, resistant to answer her. But he gave out a small sigh in defeat.
"Me".