The Night Guard

Sunset finished her classes for the day and headed over to her new place of employment. It was a good distance to drive, but the pay was going to make up for that and then some. She peered into her backseat, ensuring that her uniform wasn’t forgotten. And sure enough, there it sat. Why Lyra had given her such a hideous outfit to wear, she could not understand.

Once she arrived, she pulled the button-up top on over her undershirt, then the trousers under the skirt she was wearing. Slipping off the skirt so that she was just wearing the slacks, she was fully dressed in her ensemble.

She fiddled with her keys for a moment before she heard the same laugh from the night before. She looked around the parking lot. Nothing. It was barren. Not a soul to be seen. The sun had begun setting and it was nearly dark. The best thing to do now was to get inside and get to work.

Once inside, sunset flipped the switches up. The building lit up and it was almost glamorous in an old, sort of, broken way. The way glass can sometimes look like gemstone if cut just the right way… cheap, corny, but still fantastical.
“Hello friends!” She shouted into the nothingness. “I’m Sunset Shimmer, please hesitate to tell me if you are actually sentient and want to kill me.” She laughed crazily as she made her way back to the office.

Punching the clock, and sitting down. “Day One. Sparkle’s Pizza.” She looked up at the cameras, “if this is how the whole night is gonna be then-“ the laugh came again. This time, it was not far from her. In fact, it sounded as if it weren’t almost directly behind her.

Sat in her swiveling chair, she spun quickly. Brandishing her complimentary baton. Still, nothing. “Get it together Sunset, you’re gonna get checked into the looney bin if you keep this up.” She opened her notebook and began to play a bit of music on her phone. She penned down today’s homework assignment within the hour.

Boredom began to get the best of her, flipping through the manuals on the desk, looking into empty drawers. As the phone rang it came a startling shock. “Sparkle’s Pizza, we are currently clo-“

“Sunset, it’s me, Lyra!” She said, and one could hear her smile through the receiver.

“Oh- hey Lyra, how’s it going?”

Lyra chuckled “I just called to see how you’re getting on, on your first day. Those pesky animatronics aren’t giving you any trouble are they?”

The pair shared a laugh. “Not even a peep out of them.”

“I meant to ask you, can you oil them? Don’t worry about that one on the second stage, but I don’t want the semi-functional ones to lock up on me.” Lyra laughed as she made the request. “There should be a couple bottles of oil in the storage room, and some droppers in the office there.”

Sunset waved her hand, as if Lyra could see her. “No problem. I’ve got this all under control.”

Out in the storage room, which was more like a warehouse of parts, a cold chill filled the air. There were ordinary goods you’d find in any warehouse; like oil and tools. But there were far more interesting and disturbing things out there.

Animatronic limbs, both human and pony. Bags of yarn and acrylic hair. And the most interesting of all was a white marionette style doll. It hung on a hook, limp limbs hanging. A long, perfectly kept purple tufts of hair on its head. Sunset approached it slowly, as she got closer she began to recognize its familiarity as well. Suddenly the laughter began again, but it wasn’t as if she was hearing it… more like the memory of what it had sounded like before… but louder and repeated. She stepped back away from it. And as she moved, the laughter subsided. Despite the purple streaks down the cheeks, Sunset recognized the face of the marionette… “Rarity?”

She quickly rushed to get two bottles of oil so that she would not have to come back out here for some time. She rushed to the door and locked it as she left. A chill racing up her spine. “It’s cool, it’s fine.” Sunset insisted, convincing all who were there. Which was… only her.

The hallway was dark, as she raced back to the office. Opening the door, and closing it behind her. She released an exaggerated breath. Lifting the heavy oil jugs onto the desk and sighing. “What is wrong with me?” She turned toward the mirror beside the locker in the office. It was fogged, inexplicably, but she ran her hand over the moistened glass.

Her reflection was as it always was, save for some sweat covering her brow. She wiped her face too, running the dew of the glass over her. It was cooling, but also disgusting. Aggressively wiping her hands off on her pants and then scrubbing her face with her bare hands.

In having covered her face, the darkness led her to grow paranoid. The sudden creaking of the door causing her to jump. “I’ve gotta get in there and oil the animatronics.” She whispered, as if someone else would hear.

In the showroom, Sunsent took stock of the place. Not literally, but rather… fearfully. Oil can in hand she slammed the stage button. The lights danced and distorted music began to play. It wasn’t as bad the second time. She stepped onto the stage, inspecting the animatronics more closely. Pouring the oil into the obvious joints. Going from right to left. Rainbow, Twilight, then Pinkie… she shook her head. These were just generic pony figures no need to give them names. Let alone the names of her friends. But, in a way, it made them less creepy.

Rainbow’s robotic joints seemed grateful for the oiling. Sunset tried her best to not stare into the vastness of the faceless mare, but she could not help. It was frightful, “I don’t know if you need oil on your… face.” She said, speaking directly to the inanimate object. “I’ll just give you a little on the hinges, I won’t get it on the electrical.” She was caring, gentle, and steady-handed. Pushing back the ropes of hair to access the top join of Rainbow’s head. As she pressed on it the robotic head tilted toward her until she was staring its empty sockets in the eyes. She let out an involuntary scream, but still carefully pulled the oil away. “Gosh.” She laughed, shaking herself off. “You really scared me.” The head then, without her support, fell back to its forward-facing position. Almost as if it heard her.

Moving on, Twilight was a much less oil-thirsty robot. It seemed she was newer, like some time after her introduction they had redone her. Her metal plating still had a bit of shine to it, and the mane sewn in was hardly patched or knotted. Sunset studied the figure. Her attention returning to the damaged wing. The damage did not seem naturally occurring, it was purposefully and maliciously removed. “I’m sorry, what have they done to you?” Sunset gently poured bits of oil on the wings’ hinges. The remaining wing crept down as the oil lubed the hinge.

Finally, to her left sat the messy Pinkie Pie. Her shine had long gone, as if people had been touching the metal she was made from for generations. Her exposed knee joints were the first to receive their oil, and they creaked as well. Sunset was unfazed by this time. Upon closer inspection, Pinkie’s hooves had motors and small wheels in them. Below her was a stationary pole that had a padlock attaching her to the stage. This pink pony animatronic once roamed the pizzeria. “You all have so much to say, don’t you? If only I could hear your stories.” Sunset signed, finally coming down from her irrational fear.

She sat at the end of the stage, allowing her feet to dangle. “How many people have you sang for? I bet it was a lot. And Pinkie Pie, I’m sure you were a blast at birthday parties…” she sighed. “Look at that, it’s almost time to go. Same time tomorrow?”

The ponies were still as sunset hopped off their stage. She pressed the switch and the curtain began to close.