Twilight Sparkle was looking for a job, absolutely broke of bits as she meandered through the streets of Ponyville. There weren't any occupations that truly looked appealing to the purple unicorn, with the exception as a librarian. She loved books, but perhaps working with them weren't exactly her type of thing. After all, she left most of the organizing to her hefty assistant dragon, Spike.
She started each day looking for a job, still unable to find one. Day after day was an unsuccessful search; day after day occupations were looked down at by Twilight. Finally, tired of the stress, Twilight trotted absently into one of the local dessert shops. It was Discord's, a cute little place with animatronic entertainment. It always smelled of sweet sugar and whatnot.
The main attraction practically hogged up the whole show stage: Discord himself, twitching in a robot-like way and gesturing mechanically towards two other robotic ponies next to him. One was a cheerful pink one with a curly, cotton candy mane, also donning a bib that said "LET'S EAT!!!". For a fake pony with an endoskeleton inside of her, she could really hop like a real one. On another side of Discord was a more collected animatronic character: she had a blond mane tied up with a red band and a hat donned on her head. White freckles dotted her orange face and she kicked her hind legs relentlessly, mostly getting them tangled in the colorful curtain.
"W-w-welcome to Discord's, huk huk!" the Discord sputtered, probably noticing Twilight's arrival. "Make your-you-yourself comfortable, huk huk!"
Twilight shivered. The animatronics were creepy and seemed to peer into her soul. She took a shaky step forward and noticed a smaller stage near the booths, covered by a purple curtain and a sign planted on it. It read: "OUT OF ORDER. -SORRY!-"
"I wonder who's in there?" she murmured, shrugging and walking to the dessert booth. A waitress with cream-colored fur immediately popped up, looking both tired and cheerful. "Welcome to Discord's, may I help you with any sweets or treats?"
"Hm...Well, I'm not very fond of sweets, ya see-"
The mare interrupted her with a shocked look. "Not fond of sweets? My, my! What brings you in here, then?"
"I actually was looking for some sort of solace, I think. I just wandered into here. Look, I've got this problem: I can't find myself an occupation in this town, and well..None really appeal to me as much as I'd hope," Twilight gushed, slightly embarrassed for explaining the whole dilemma to a mere waitress.
"Well, we've got a job open here," the mare suggested, suddenly taking a peculiar interest with rubbing at the counter. She seemed uncomfortable, as if their open application had something sinister beneath it. This only made Twilight curious, and she inquired further.
"You do? What position?" she asked eagerly.
"Perhaps you'd like to speak with the boss for that one, darling," she sighed, gesturing with her head to follow her to the back of the counter. Twilight did so, suddenly glad with the prospect of an appealing job. As she walked through the rather messy kitchen, she noticed a security camera in obvious disrepair. Huh.
"Boss? Boss?" the mare called out. A voice replied back gruffly. For a moment the two exchanged words and finally, the hoofsteps of the boss were approaching Twilight. She peered expectantly at his appearance, and finally asked, "So, I um heard that you have a job opened up for something?"
"Oh. Yeah, actually, we do. Working the nighttime shift. A pretty simple job, you know? And you get paid, oh, hm, 120 bits at the the end of the week with an additional 50 bits if worked overtime-basically, another night. We've been planning to um, put an ad in the paper but budget cuts you know? Anyways, are you up for the job?" the stallion explained breathlessly. It was quite a bit to capture, but 120 bits a week didn't sound too bad. It was just a wonder why they'd need a nighttime guard.
"Sure, I guess," Twilight sighed. "Are there any requirements I have to meet?"
The pony thought for a minute before replying, "All I gotta say is that we aren't responsible for any deaths or dismemberment caused by your shift."
That was absolutely unrelated to what Twilight just asked, but she nodded and bit her lip. But..Deaths or dismemberment? What kinda job entailed that sort of threat, especially with harmless animatronic characters?
"Oh, and we'll have a prerecorded message for you when you get here tonight, at 12 AM," the boss added.
"12 AM?" Twilight said uncertainly.
"Yeah, the shift lasts about six hours, so um let's do the math...Yeah, you'll be done at 6 AM." He put on a peculiar smile. "What, does that interrupt any schedules you've got? 'Cause we could uh push your shift until tomorrow night. But you know the first night ain't so bad, you know?" He looked so hopeful that Twilight simply had to turn down the offer about pushing her official working time until tomorrow. He looked just as relieved, too.
"Good, good! Anyways, uh, yeah. Be here by 11:30 so I can, uh, show you around and point you to where your office will be. I wish I had the time to share the basic rules with you, but I'm leaving that to the previous guard who will be sending you the prerecorded message. In the meanwhile...What's your name?"
"Twilight Sparkle."
"Welcome to your new job at Discord's, Twilight! Let's hope you stay safe for your first night! But the first night is the easiest, ah course, you know? Anyways! Enjoy your nighttime stay!"
Author's Note
Let's hope that your diligent for Discord...
I originally was going to post this book on my Wattpad account, but eh. Anyways, I surely hope you enjoy what I've provided!
(You may also notice slight changes with this story and the actual game. For example, the building is a pizzeria rather than a dessert bar. Also, Twilight asks for a job rather than searches through the papers for it.)
Twilight strolled past emptied buildings, tracking hoofprints in the gravel path leading up to Discord's Desserts. She seemed awfully disturbed by the place and regretful, if you considered their strong need for a security guard. These animatronics couldn't possibly injure a pony...Could they?
She shook the thought off. The boss said so himself: "The first night is the easiest." As Twilight headed to the direction of the building, she repeated the phrase in her head until it sounded like a chant of an ancient race, an endless mantra that would provide a solace for her. And perhaps it would, if she could just calm her racing heart and relax, loosening up instead of being so tense. Inhaling loudly one last time, she strutted into the building and nearly crashed into the expectant boss.
"Whoa, there!" he chuckled, helping the sheepish unicorn up. "Watch out! You'll definitely need to know that when you start watching the animatronics."
Twilight tried laughing, but she was already having a hard time swallowing; in fact, she nearly choked on her own spit because of her anxiety. She peeked over his head and shivered as those ominous, bright eyes seemingly glared at her from the half closed stage. Discord's eyes flickered from complete black with small white pinpricks; perhaps his endoskeleton eyes? Twilight hardly had time to wonder, as the boss was already trotting to the office down the hallway. She noticed a camera on the ceiling as she looked around the colorful corridor.
"Here's the room you'll be staying in! Take note that there's only a limited amount of electricity. We keep this fan on over here so you don't get too sweaty," the stallion was gushing. In all fairness, the office looked somewhat cozy. There was a dusty desk pushed against the wall, dotted with reflective monitors and the mentioned fan. On the wall itself was a big poster saying "CELEBRATE" with the three animatronics on it: Applejack, Pinkie, and Discord. On the opposite side of the north wall was the leather chair. A monitor, sleek and shiny, occupied the spot which Twilight would soon be sitting in.
"...Our previous security guard left you a message not too long ago. You can listen to it anytime, I guess. However it sort of malfunctions and plays without permission," he finished droning. "Good luck, see you in the morning at six!"
Before Twilight could respond, he walked out briskly. She huffed and checked the time: just five minutes before her official shift began. With the creepy noises creeping through the shadows of the room, she began to ponder if 120 bits a week were truly worth it. So there she sat, cold metal laced on her lap, until something told her that it was time. She hesitantly checked the monitor, and the displayed time matched her instinctive guess. There was also a battery symbol, presenting 99% left.
Using her horn to skim through the cameras, she looked up consciously at either door as if expecting an animatronic to appear from the dark. She realized that there might be blind spots and was suddenly grateful for the light button just below the door button. As her eyes flicked across the desk, the phone rang.
Twilight hesitated, her hoof hovering over the button to allow the message to play. It had already been three rings, and, as the boss had said, the machine played by itself, seemingly impatient with her slow choice.
"Hello, hello? Hi, yes. I uh, heard that there would be a new security guard allowing me to retire from this job, so I thought it would be best to record a message for you. Uh, you know, tips for your first night. Hopefully, you'll last long enough.
"Ah, scratch that. You sure will. It's an easy night. Anyways, I'm supposed to begin with an introductory thing or whatever. Uh, okay. "Hi, welcome to Discord's Desserts. A fun, fantastical place for fillies and older ponies alike. Discord Entertainment is most definitely not responsible for death or dismemberment due to your job. When a death has been discovered upon the morning inspection, the room will be cleansed completely and a missing pony report will be filed within ninety or so days. All carpets and other thing stained with death evidence will be replaced."
"Now, I know it sounds bad. There really shouldn't be too much to worry about, I guess. Uh, the animatronics however do get a little quirky during the nighttime...Y'see, they have a free roam mode at night. Can't turn em' off for too long otherwise their servos will lock up. However I wouldn't blame them, you know? If I were forced to you know, uh, sing the same tune all day and not get any cleaning I'd be pretty arrogant. So let's establish that these guys hold special places in the hearts of young ones, okay? Okay.
"There is a problem with their quirkiness, though. After hours, they don't recognize ponies as, well, normal ponies and think your an endoskeleton without costume on. Since, uh, that type of nudity is strictly prohibited at Discord's, they'll forcefully stuff you into a Discord suit. With him being the only animatronic without the anatomy of a pony, you'll be crushed underneath all that...Causing death. Yeah.
"But there was a time when these guys could wander during the day too. Until the Bite of '87...Dear Celestia. It's such a wonder that the pony can survive without the frontal lobe, you know?
"Heh, they don't tell you think kind of stuff when you sign up. But hey, you'll do good. Stay safe-uh, try to, at least. Make sure to check those cameras. And good luck."
The phone made a static sound indicating the message was over, but Twilight was absolutely horrified. In a rush of panic, she scrolled once more through the camera. For Celestia's sake! It was only 1 AM! Thankfully, none of the animatronics had moved from the stage. Her battery percent was surprisingly 92%, considering the fact that it had already been an hour. Wow. An hour. Time flew quite quickly with this shift, then.
She nearly dozed off a while later until the sound of creaking metal snapped her awake. With a strangled gasp, she checked the cameras, specifically the backstage-and nearly flew out of the seat when Applejack was missing. She had to locate the orange animatronic immediately...Or she'd be stuffed into a costume.
Static mixed with the different areas of the building flew past until an unfamiliar silhouette stood out against the West hallway. It was the shape of a sleek pony, donned with a hat. Obviously Applejack. Twilight checked the stage briefly and nodded when Discord and Pinkie Pie remained, peering out from the stage and into the empty tables dotted in front of them.
More metal. Twilight looked back at the hallway, but she couldn't find Applejack's silhouette. Her stomach wrenched as she found her vaguely looked up at the camera from the West hall corner, hat covering her other eye. The camera cut off, filming pure black static. Twilight practically dropped the monitor with a thud and checked the left light, shrieking loudly as Applejack peered in with a sinister and inviting smile on her face. The unicorn slammed the door shut, gasping for breath.
4 AM? Already? Her battery was at 60%, probably from her earlier panic attack of flying through each camera. She checked the light and saw Applejack's shadow still there, indicating that the animatronic was still waiting patiently. The light flickered for what seemed like a nanosecond and the reflection of a normal untouched shimmer presented itself in the dark space. Hesitant, Twilight opened the door and sighed with relief when there wasn't a killer animatronic lurking there.
Twilight spent her time scrolling through the monitor, occasionally checking the left and right doors. At one point, Pinkie showed up briefly before returning to the party room. It seemed short when two hours had passed and the clock chime sounded, signaling that her shift was finally completed. She yelped with joy and skipped out through the west hall, noticing Applejack halfway offstage. Obviously trying to return to her position before she locked up for another repetitive day.
The boss wasn't here yet, but she was so relieved, she escorted herself out the building. Sure, the first night was seemingly easy...But could Twilight handle another set of nights, with an increasing difficulty?
Author's Note
Sorry for a long wait. I rewrote the chapter a couple of times. Anyways, I'd really appreciate positive feedback for this chapter. I have in fact tried to improve my writing, though I doubt it...Enjoy! 
