//------------------------------// // Programmed and Ready To Go // Story: Tale of a Tainted Mandolin // by Spirit Guide //------------------------------// Since the disappearance of the foals, Freddy Fazbear’s had never been as worried as they were now. Pewter Pie arrived at the pizzeria that morning to open up and found Wildfire already there. Having finished her meeting, the pegasus had hurried over to the pizzeria, hoping to see her coltfriend the moment the doors opened. But when she and Pewter entered, MandoPony wasn’t there. They ran through the entire establishment, calling out to Mando and listening for a reply, but were met with only echoes. Pewter called Marcolt over and all Fazbear employees were summoned to the pizzeria for an emergency search. Like yesterday, the place swarmed with ponies, but for a different reason. In the end, they were met with no success. Everything else was perfect: the tables were set, the floors were scrubbed and the animatronics were in their places, as they were yesterday. But MandoPony had disappeared. When the time came for the birthday ponies to arrive, the Fazbear employees had no choice but to proceed with the arrangements, although they did so with heavy hearts. Marcolt set up a private table in the corner of the central room for the distraught Wildfire, her face wet with tears. It seemed wrong to put a sad pony in the midst of partying folk, but no one objected when she sat. “Where can he be?” Pewter hissed out of the corner of his mouth, serving another pizza. “Everything was locked. What did he use, the garbage disposal?” “We don’t have one of those,” Cheese murmured as he passed by with party favors. “He’s probably hiding somewhere.” “Where could he still be hiding?” Applejack objected. “We searched everywhere, even the gift box and the Parts and Service room; there’s nowhere left for him to hide. And do you really think he’d still be hiding? His girl is in tears.” The employees eventually got swept up in all the cheer of the partying ponies, most of them young fillies and colts. One of foals—the birthday colt, Missile Toe—noticed Wildfire alone in her corner, and left his table to go see what was going on. “Excuse me, miss,” he said, gently tapping the mare on the leg. “Hm?” Wildfire lifted her gaze, and Missile shrunk back a bit at the sight of her wet red eyes. “Yes?” “I just… I just wanted to know, why are you so sad?” Wildfire stared at the colt to the uncomfortable point. Missile pursued. “We’re just all so happy; I’m happy; it’s my birthday after all, but… It doesn’t seem right, since I see that you’re not happy. Is there… something I can do?” Sniff. Wildfire wiped her eyes and forced a smile. “No, I’m afraid not. But thank you for asking, little one. Please, go enjoy your party and don’t worry about me.” Missile Toe frowned, unconvinced, but he nodded and went back to the table with his friends. Wildfire watched them for a moment, and then turned back to the wall with a miserable expression. Marcolt saw all this go down from the side, his own face a mask of disapproval. It’s not right. This was supposed to be a grand day for Freddy Fazbear’s, but now it’s shot through with sadness. What did Wildfire do to deserve this misery? And where the buck is Mando? With his head down to conceal his face, Marcolt trotted through the pizzeria until he was standing before the Parts and Service room. He looked up at the door, glanced around the vicinity and walked in. As always, it was just him, some spare suit parts, and Foxy. Marcolt walked over to the slumped animatronic and sighed. “Things aren’t looking so great, Foxy,” he began. “Today was supposed to be the big day, but instead it’s turning to disaster: MandoPony’s disappeared, his mare’s grieving and he’s expected to play at the party. I don’t know what to do.” The stallion looked up at Foxy’s empty eye sockets. He wondered what it would be like to be an animatronic like Foxy, being told what to do and just following instructions, ignoring anything past your programming. Normally, Marcolt didn’t envy another’s existence, but this was hardly normal times. “It’s going to fall apart,” Marcolt murmured. “We won’t get another chance after this. Word will get out of MandoPony’s going poof, then there’ll be more inspecting and the place will be shut down for sure. The rest of us will be out of a job while you and the others will likely get scrapped. It’s all over….” Rrrrrr clank! Foxy’s hook suddenly fell, clattering against the tiles. Marcolt had jumped at the initial sound, but closer inspection showed the hook undoubtedly pointing, towards the corner of the room. In the corner, Marcolt saw a long box which he was sure wasn’t there when they’d searched the place. Curiosity getting the better of him, Marcolt carefully flipped the box open. His eyes glinted when he beheld what was inside. “Boss?” A knock came at the Parts and Service door and Truffles poked her head. “Boss, you alright? Did you find something?” Marcolt stood over the box, unable to take his eyes off of its contents. “Truffles, get Septickite and his programming kit. Those kids are going to get a show like no other.” * Wildfire cradled her mug of juice, eyes staring blearily over it. She had left her meeting in the highest of spirits, looking forward to spending the end of Mando’s night shift together, but she’d been met with shock and despair. Now she had no idea where he even was. Did he just leave on his own, or did something happen to him? she wondered again. Countless scenarios leapt to her mind, becoming more and more fantastical as she sat there alone. All I want is for him to come back. Mando… “Hello, my little ponies!” Wildfire looked up upon hearing the voice; she recognized the cheery tinny tone of her project. The party ponies jumped out of their seats, clamoring as they hurried over to the stage upon which Freddy Fazbear himself stood, microphone in hand. “Firstly, I’d like to wish a happy birthday to today’s special pony, Missile Toe!” Freddy waited as the foals and employees applauded, their hooves rattling the floor. “And to celebrate this special day, we’re going to sing a little song.” Chica and Bonnie stepped out on either side of Freddy, earning another round of applause. “But before we get to the show, we’ve got a surprise for you all. We’re joined today by a special guest; our newest band member!” Eager silence overcame the crowd. From behind the stage came another towering animatronic. Its body shone like gold, hoofed feet holding it tall and sturdy. A gamboge mane and tail swished around it with every movement. Its face was equine, made to resemble a pony. In its fingered hands, it held a mandolin. “MANDOPONY!” The foals cheered, yelling and clopping their hooves together as they looked upon the new animatronic. Wildfire’s eyes widened as she too beheld the figure; the animatronic looked just like Mando, as though the designer had him personally to model it after him. Her heart beat faster and faster as her longing was pacified by her love for the musician, resurfaced at the mechanical hands of the animatronic. “Hey, everypony!” the Mando animatronic said, his voice as accurate as his design. “Thank you all for coming to Missile Toe’s birthday party. I'm sure you’re all happy to be here. I know I am. “Now who’s ready to rock?!” Once again the clamoring sound of excited ponies shook the pizzeria. The animatronics took up their positions, their programming preparing them for the performance. The music began and Wildfire became still as she was enraptured by the Mando animatronic, its voice, its playing and its song. You see me soaring through the sky I see you below as you walk on by I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat Well how about that? Well how about that? I could be sitting her on a cloud Watchin’ the sun as it starts to go down The only thing missing is you by my side Give me a smidge of confidence Give me a speck of something that makes sense Gimmie an idea of dependency Give me a Dash of loyaltyyyheeeeheee! Loyalty…. Well I could save my lonely soul for you But the feelin’ in my heart can’t follow through You can give your broken heart to me ‘Cause you know that I’ll stay with you That’s why they call me Loyalty… Wildfire had to clutch her chest for fear of her heart beating its way out. Loyalty was one of Mando’s first songs, written together with his fellow musician Acoustic, and the first he wrote after meeting Wildfire**. Hearing the animatronics play made it feel like Mando was right up there on stage, playing his heart and soul as he did always. The foals, on the other hoof, were swept up right into it. Several of them stood up and started dancing, which forced the others to either skirt out of the way or join in. The Fazbear employees started tapping their hooves in time with the music, their smiles stretched as wide as XL-pizza dough. The sun shines bright yet the rain pours on Rainbow’s here one minute and then they’re gone They remind me of me and you What did you do? What did I do? DETERMINATION in those eyes Where has it gone, has it said goodbye A lot has happened, but I’ll stay by your side Give me a smidge of confidence Give me a speck of something that makes sense Gimmie an idea of dependency Give me a Dash of loyaltyyyheeeeheee! Loyalty…. Well I could save my lonely soul for you But the feelin’ in my heart can’t follow through You can give your broken heart to me ‘Cause you know that I’ll stay with you That’s why they call me Loyalty… Time stands still when you’re with me… How can I make you see? Your crazy antics make me want to scream… Your name so loud ‘till my throat starts to bleeeeeeed To bleeeeeeeed! By now, nearly everypony in Freddy Fazbear’s was on their hooves and rocking out. The birthday party had become a dance party in full swing: Missile led the foals on a conga line; Marcolt was leading a little filly around the floor; several ponies started doing The Navigator***; Truffles and Cheese struck up a waltz, oblivious to the others. Wildfire watched it all from the side, drawn between the performers and the dancers. She felt the music flow through her, tempting her to join the partygoers in hoof-tapping merriment, but she knew she could never move from her place as long as the Mandotronic sang his song. Oh Mando…. As the golden animatronic played, Wildfire felt more and more drawn to him, as if it really were MandoPony. Her eyes remained glued on his tall form, his metal fingers strumming the small mandolin with mechanical precision and skill. As the interlude ended, the animatronics broke out into a louder chorus as they sang the last repeated part in programmed harmony. Well I could save my lonely soul for you But the feelin’ in my heart can’t follow through You can give your broken heart to me ‘Cause you know that I’ll stay with you That’s why they call, that’s why they call me-e Well I could save my lonely soul for you But the feelin’ in my heart can’t follow through You can give your broken heart to meehee ‘Cause you know that I’ll stay with you That’s why they call me Lo-yal-ty! The Mandotronic played three final chords before raising his hand over the crowd. “Thank you, Equestria!” He and the other animatronics walked off the stage to the deafening applause of the foals, the employees and Wildfire. As the party resumed its previous state, now accompanied by exclamations of the performance, Marcolt walked over to the lonely mare. Wildfire seemed frozen, her head tilted to one side, a lazy smile splayed across her face. “That was beautiful.” Marcolt swallowed. “Honestly, it was a surprise for me too. We just found that animatronic, packaged and waiting in the Parts and Service room.” “Pewter and I checked the back room; there was nothing there,” Wildfire said with a frown. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but that’s where it was.” The earth pony sighed, exhaling into his pink mustache. “Strange things are coming into play, Wildfire. Mando’s disappearance is no coincidence and I’m taking full responsibility.” Wildfire took a sip from her mug and stood up, her gaze far-off. “Maybe… maybe he had to go somewhere, really badly, and the animatronic was intended to take his place performing here today…” “Wildfire…” “I’ll go home now; maybe Mando will come directly. If he shows up here instead, please call me.” “Of course.” “Thank you, Marcolt.” Wildfire approached him and gave the pizzeria owner a hug, which he was quite surprised to receive. “It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered. “…………….” Leaving Marcolt to his silence, Wildfire side-stepped the rushing employees, wished Missile Toe a happy birthday and left the pizzeria. As she trotted down the street, ponies could hear her humming to herself. “You can give your broken heart to me…. That’s why they call me Loyalty….” * I will continue, aaah aah…. The last lyrics left the Mandotronic’s speakers and the ponies burst into applause again. The performance was like nothing they’d ever seen before, and all of it good. After Silverlay’s Theme ended, Missile Toe’s mother took Marcolt aside. “This is my son’s best birthday party ever!” Rocket Socks declared. “I’ve never seen him happier.” “I’m glad to hear that,” Marcolt said. “The MandoPony animatronic is amazing, too. Though I thought MandoPony himself would be here; he does the night shift, doesn’t he?” “Oh, yes. He... he did do his night shift, but he left right after.” “His mare was here,” Rocket recalled. “Wouldn’t they have gone together?” OMG, lady, stop being so nosey. “Wildfire stayed to give us some input on the new animatronic, having been on the designer team for the rest of them.” “Oh. That’s fair, I suppose.” Rocket Socks looked at Missile, sitting in front of the stage as the band prepared for their next song. “I’m really glad to see Freddy Fazbear’s coming back after that rough business. Everypony loves the dear place.” “I wish we could find the foals,” Marcolt murmured. “Responsibility was practically thrust upon us, being the scene of the crime.” “Mr. Plier, not a single employee of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza could ever have committed something as cruel as foalnapping. Whoever it was is an outsider and will be brought to justice in due time.” “It’s good to hear your thoughts from another pony’s mouth.” Rocket flashed a smile. “We must support one another to get through tough times.” “Yep.” From across the room, the MandoPony animatronic called out. “Okay, my little ponies, this next song is about an unsolved mystery, about a pony with a different mindset than the rest of us. A pony who involves himself with others in ways we could barely imagine. Hit it, Bonnie!” Bonnie’s guitar let out a bar of heavy notes, sending a tremor through the floor and into the foals, further exhilarating them. Mando added his own strings to the song and the words soon followed. Time for the main attraction The story must be told Time for a chain reaction It never gets old Some bots get satisfaction, brea-king the mold Some bots are just distractions Some bots are just gold ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I’m not the bad guy I’m just a bit surprising It’s not worth losing sleep It’s not worth analyzing There was a time, not so long ago at all I was just like you, can you hear my call? Now I’m poppin’ in, over here, over there I’ll be checkin’ in, but you’ll never be aware In the beginning, I’ve kept a keen eye On the state of affairs with the new guy Now I got a new gig, let me know if ya dig Ain’t going home so I better go big Just gotta glance at CAM 2B Then you get a little surprise IT’S ME You may say that I’m breaking your mind In my opinion, you’re much too kind Time for the main attraction The story must be told Time for a chain reaction It never gets old Some bots get satisfaction, brea-king the mold Some bots are just distractions Some bots are just gold ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♪ You did a good job Watching those little screams It warms my servos and circuits To hear some fresh— CRRRRRRRTCHK A spark suddenly went off in MandoPony’s neck and his voicebox gargled. His arms went limp and he keeled over, collapsing on the floor right in front of the shocked party foals. Freddy and the others stopped too, their hands and mouths frozen. “Oh no. No, no, no no no no.” Marcolt and some other employees rushed past the screaming foals to the animatronics. Marcolt struggled to flip MandoPony over and found all his servos had stopped. Even his power was cut. “How did this happen?” Marcolt muttered to himself. He turned to the other ponies. “What happened to them?” “I can’t understand it, Marcolt,” Pewter Pie replied from beside Chica. “They all just stopped working. Everything’s operational, but nothing’s active.” “Damn it.” “Mister Marcolt, sir?” Marcolt turned to find Missile and his friends, all looking solemn and sad. “Is MandoPony alright?” the colt asked. I wish I knew. “He’ll be fine, but I’m afraid to say he won’t be able to play anymore for you.” “Awwww!” a disappointed cry rang out from the foals. “I promise we’ll get him fixed as soon as possible, but for now the show must go on.” “We could probably get Freddy and the gang working within an hour, but the Mandotronic is out indefinitely,” Sceptikite reported. Meadow muffins. “Okay kids, back to the party! It’s time for the cake.” With their heads hanging, the foals returned to their seats and Truffles wheeled out the cake. Marcolt and Applejack began working on Freddy and the others, but the pink-mustached earth pony couldn’t help but look up as Pewter and Cheese hoisted up the golden animatronic and whisked him down the Main Hall to the Parts and Service room. Just as fast as we regained MandoPony, so are we losing him again, Marcolt thought with a heavy heart. Will things never go back to normal at Freddy Fazbear’s? Lacking an answer, Marcolt sighed and started rewiring Bonnie.