Five Nights at Canterlot Mini Mall.

Night 2

12:00 AM

The mall was the same thing as the previous night. Dark, empty, and the new home to three 'fun-loving, good-hearted' animatronics. Sunset walked through the back door, past the many closed shops, through the cafeteria, past Kiddie Korner, up the stairs, into the West Hallway, and into the security office.

"Well, let's get this over with." said Sunset.

She sat down on the chair, and her second night began. She picked up the tablet and flicked through all the cameras. So far, the three animatronics were still. They stared towards the crowd of empty chairs and tables, awaiting for their little audience to show up and sing their songs. Or so Sunset thought.

RING RING

Sunset, less startled, picked up the phone and put on 'speaker' and listened while she continued to look through the cameras.

"Uh, hello?" ,said the familiar voice, "Uh, hey! See? Not so bad! You just have to close the doors when you need to and save power, unless you lost all power, and got lucky. I mean, uh, waited for the morning!", Sunset didn't have to get suspicious in order to figure out what she meant, "Actually, I won't have to cover it up. You saw it, I saw it, no point in covering it, eh?"

As she listened, she noticed that Chica had moved about a meter away from the stage. While she suddenly got in edge, she continued to listen.

"Anyways, you remember what I told you about the policy changing after the animatronics arrived? It changed again, today as a matter of fact. Let's see..."

A few seconds passed until she was heard again.

"This policy is strictly for they security guards, so me and you. Let's see, uh 'Hello, security guard! We greatly  appreciate you on taking 6 hours of your sleep to watch the animatronics. Although you are doing your jobs well, we must change a few things. First, you must keep a strict eye on the animatronics. The ani's are a special type of animatronic because we have recently discovered that regular animatronics cannot walk around, this is due to them being connected to the stage itself for stability. So try not to tip them over, as they may break or be heavily damaged. Second, disregard any rumors or superstitions about the ani's. They will make no attempt to stuff you in a spare suit or are haunted by spirits. And third, we have put a miniature fridge inside the office so you won't have to bring you own food. Keep doing your job there, guards!"

As Sunset was listening, Chica had moved towards the Left Staircase. While she wasn't anywhere close, Sunset was still on edge.

"'So, you see? We're safe as houses! We just have to make sure they don't fall down the stairs, and yadda yadda yadda.' That right there is complete BS. I know that they'll stuff you in a suit. They're just making you feel safe so you can do some more time at the office. But we both know what happens. So same as last night, don't let them in, alright? Cool! Oh, wait! I just remembered. There's a new camera behind the stage" Sunset switched the camera towards the new camera, " and see that door? On the other side of the door is a fourth animatronic. They call him Foxy the Pirate Fox. He is actually still active, despite his current state. He doesn't seem to happy with the idea of him being a 'parts and wiring' supplier. So I guess he tries to escape the backstage and go towards where the people are for help, and in this case, it's you. So just shut the door when he starts sprinting, alright? Cool. See ya tomorrow."

Sunset had been watching Chica the whole time. She was staring at the camera in the Woman's Restroom. Staring with those lifeless, purple eyes. In the daylight, they would've been a pair of eyes that invited children to sing and play with them. To enjoy a slice of pizza and to have a photo to preserve their moment that they would ever forget. But at night, those eyes were an invitation to an empty suit, to a life of entertaining children, to a painful, crushing death. And it wasn't what Sunset wanted. And she was going to survive the nights, and go back to her normal life as a normal pony-turned-teenage girl.

12:29 AM

6 hours, 31 minutes left.

She could do it.

She checked the Kiddie Korner stage. Bonnie and Freddy were still standing idle, although Bonnie no longer had his guitar, and was ready to begin making his way to the office. She checked the Parts and Wiring door and saw that it was partially open, revealing two glowing dots peering from the darkness. She checked on the Women's Restroom.

Chica was nowhere to be seen.

She checked the whole mall, from the bottom floor to the top floor to the hallways. She was nowhere to be seen. She put the tablet down and checked the West Hallway.

Nothing.

She checked the East Hallway.

Chica was standing right there, ready to get inside the office and stuff her in a spare Freddy suit. In a rush of adrenaline, she hit the door button and fell over. The door closed. She prevented her from getting in and getting stuffed in a suit. She got back up and checked the cameras. Bonnie was now in the Section A-2 of the cafeteria. Freddy was still standing idle. Foxy's claw was on the door, separating the door from the doorframe. His muzzle and hook was showing in the dim moonlight. Chica had moved back towards the Clothing Wing of the mall. Sunset opened the door to conserve some power.

1:19 AM

84% Power

Bonnie was moving rapidly towards the office. He suddenly seemed aggressive after he left the vicinity of Kiddie Korner, and was making a slow beeline towards the office. While he moved, he kept eye contact on the cameras as he moved around. Freddy had being staring at the stage camera after left. Chica moved into the kitchens of the many fast food restaurants and was moving dishes and cutlery around, creating a lot of sound. And Foxy was fully out of the room, getting ready to sprint towards the office.

Sunset was focusing on the animatronics, and on the power. Sunset was constantly switching from the tablet and the door, constantly turning on the door lights. Even though she was paying attention to the animatronics, she let her mind wander to her new friends. She never actually had friends before she came to the Human World. She was to busy showing off her skills to other Unicorns and that she was Princess Celestia's personal student. She knew that she was automatically entitled to anything she wanted. Or so used to think. It wasn't until she was no longer the Princess's student. She was furious at her. She said she knew many things that she didn't know, and that she was an "Old Time-r" That's when she went through the portal to this world. At first she was confused of this place at first. She had hid for the first few months, gathering as much info as she could about this world. When she was certain how things worked. She enrolled into Canterlot High and lived a normal life as a high school student. Then there was the Fall Formal. She then decided to go for Princess of the Fall Formal again. And again. And again. Then she went back to Equestria to steal the Element of Magic. She would've gotten away with it if that baby dragon's tail wasn't in the way. But she was also glad that she did, or else she wouldn't have had her new friends. Her only friends. But now here she was. Sitting in the office of the mini mall. Watching the mall at night. Watching four deadly robots.

Speaking of which, Chica was now outside of the Woman's Restroom. Bonnie was in the Janitors closest and Freddy was still staring at the camera. And Foxy was...

Where was he?

She flipped through the cameras, searching for the robotic pirate fox. She didn't find until she checked the West Hallway.

Sprinting towards her.

She dropped the tablet and jumped towards the button to slam the door closed. Just before she did, a claw and snout grabbed at her leg. The claw managed to grab her foot and pull on it, causing her to fall on her back. Foxy started to pull her towards her.

"NO! NO!" she yelled. She yanked and kicked at him. She put her foot his claw and pushed on it, attempting to detach her foot from the clutches of his grip. It was no use. She continued to kick while she was dragged down the hallway. Then she had an idea. She launched herself towards the pirate fox, causing him to stumble forward. Than, at the right moment, yanked her foot out of the claw's grip. As soon as she did, she jumped up and ran towards the office. As soon as she got in, she closed the door. She closed the door and sat under the desk. She didn't care. She didn't care if she ran out of power. She just curled up in a ball under the desk and hid. Once she calmed down, she started to cry. She cried her eyes out. She wish she was home, in her bed, sleeping knowing she was safe.

But here she was. In a Hell on Earth, disguised as a mall.

She cried and cried and cried.

Until she fell asleep.

5:58 AM

09% Power

Sunset woke up to the sound of banging on the door. She quickly got out from under the desk. Tears were dried to her cheeks. She checked the cameras. The animatronics were back into their respective places. Foxy was back in the Parts and Wiring room.

So who was that banging on the door? She opened the door and she saw the Director of Security.

"Are you Sunset Shimmer?"

"Yes" she replied.

"I decided to drop by and see how things are going. And I couldn't help to hear you lightly snoring. Have you fallen asleep?"

"Y-yes..." she replied sheepishly.

"Do you now what time you fell asleep?" When did she?

"Uh, 5:13. AM." she lied.

He pursed his lips as he thought. At first, she thought she was going to get fired.

"Hmm, that's normal." he said blandly.

"I'm I in trouble?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh! No, no! Just a mandatory thing I gotta do."

"Oh"

"Well, I should go. Keep up the good work there, Sunset! If you do extremely well, I might add an extra $50.00!"

"Oh, okay. Uh, bye?"

"Yep, see you when your getting your paycheck!"

He turned and walked away from the office.

6:00 AM

She leaned against the wall and slid down. Night 2. Done.

3 nights left to go.

Or so she thought.