I arrived at my office at the right time. 12:00 midnight.  The room around me seemed a lot colder than normal. I was working security at Applejack's Apple Barn. I had to work from Monday to Friday for about 200 bits.

It seemed like a fair deal, I needed the money at the time, but now looking back on it, i wished i just worked at a rock farm.

Everypony in Equestria, including my friends Lyra and Vinyl, kept saying rumors of how this place is haunted. And i can't blame them. The place has been shut down and rebuild about 3 times. As a matter of fact, the real Applejack sold the rights to AJAB, and destroyed the first location, which was in Sweet Apple Acres.

The one i'm working at is in Manehattan. I decided to stay with in a hotel while i had the job here. The building was a large barn on the outside, but the inside was what you'd expect it to be. A large room full of arcade games, and the other room was a restaurant where 3 pony animatronics preformed on stage while apple pie was served to everyone.  

I looked around the office to see what interesting things were here. On the left wall was a poster of all 3 characters labeled "Celebrate" along with an open air vent. To the right was an identical air vent with nothing else interesting pasted on the wall. in the center was a big, gaping hallway.

The further i looked into it, the darker it seemed and the more uncomfortable i began to feel.

I looked down at my desk to see 3 items. A security tablet, a flashlight, and an Applejack helmet. It made sense of why i needed the first 2 things, but why the helmet?

I noticed a 4th thing on my desk. a tape recorder with a sticky note stuck to it labeled "PLAY ME"

I pressed the button and heard a voice speak through it.

"Hello? Helloooo? Oh, hi there. Uhhh, Well... Chances are if you are listening to this, you have made a very poor career choice.."

The voice was of a stallion, presumably in his 20's. It felt like he was really talking to me, like we were both in the same room together.

"Hold on, i have to read you this greeting card. It's sorta a policy thing. I would get fired if i didn't do this. Ahem.Welcome to AJ's Apple Barn, a fun place for fillies and colts all throughout Equestria. Apple entertainment is not responsible for any injury or dismemberment caused in the building. Enjoy your stay."

That greeting almost sent shivers down my spine.

"Now, you might think that it sounds  very scary to work here, but trust me, it's not all that bad at all.  I work in the same office at you during the day, so i know how everything works."

I felt just a bit safer after hearing that.

"Now you might think your job is real simple, just watch the cameras and keep burglars out, but there is a lot more than you think."

Ok, i just lost all hope of me being safe.

"If you check your tablet, you can see up on stage are the 3 animatronics. They are able to wander all over the place and can interact with anypony they come across."

He seemed to say that like it was bad thing.

"However, after hours, if they come find you.. uhh.. Well, they won't recognize you as an actual real pony. They will likely think that you are a metal endoskeleton without your costume on. We are still working on fixing that bug."

I raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"If they find you, the likely response is that they will... uhh.. forcibly stuff you inside an Applejack suit..."

Oh shit.

"Now you may be thinking That's not so bad! and you would be right if the suits weren't full of metal parts, wiring, and animatronic devices...."

OH SHIT

"So, to fix that problem, we gave you an Applejack helmet! Yay.. hehe. So, if they come close, just put the helmet on, and they can't tell the difference. But the others can.."

Well now i know what that's for but, how about putting some goddamn doors in my office!

"So you see, it's really easy! just watch the cameras, make sure they don't get to you and it should be all good. I hope you can make through your first night. Goodbye."

The message ended and i looked at my watch. 2:00 am. I better check those cameras.

I picked up the tablet to see the first camera was automatically displayed. A full shot of the 3 robotic characters. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.

They seemed to remain in place. i looked through all of the other cameras. Party rooms, the mane hall, air vents, and some other empty places. Then i came across the parts and service room.

I saw the old animatronics that remember from when i was a foal. Sitting there was the Old Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow dash.

They looked pretty messed up in there. Twilight had her face removed and Rarity had streams of wires coming out of her fore hooves.

I cringed at the sight. All of them had chipping paint and some of the outside of their costume was rotted away. Rarity seemed the most worn down, and that's too bad.

She was always my favorite.

I decided to change back to the camera that was up on stage.

I nearly dropped my tablet. All 3 of them had their head turned, looking directly at the camera. Applejack was holding up a sign. Written in what i assumed was blood said a very intimidating message.

"IT'S ME"

The image of the camera blacked out and came back again. Pinkie and Flutters both got off stage. The only one left was Applejack, still holding up that fucking sign.

I set down the tablet and rubbed my eyes. I really needed to get my rear in gear. I was not going to die in a fucking restaurant!

I picked up my flashlight and turned it on. I directed it towards the hall while still holding the tablet in my hoof.

It wasn't as bad as i thought, I found Pinkie Pie in party room 3, which was far away from the office. Maybe this isn't so bad aft-

I dropped everything i was holding when i saw her. Fluttershy was in the hallway, nearing the entrance of my office.

I put the helmet on and sat still. I could barley breath through it, and it had eyeholes small enough just for me to just know what was in front of me

Surely enough, she entered the room. I didn't move an inch. Fluttershy looked throughout the office, gazing at her surroundings.

Then she directed her attention towards my desk. Then she started to very slowly walked towards me, putting emphasis on each step. I clenched every muscle i had to remain still as a rock.

When she was inches close to my face, she tilted her head to the side to get a better look at me. I saw the small white dots in her endoskeleton eyes.

She lifted up her foreleg and put her hoof on my shoulder. The cold, painted metal send goosebumps throughout my body.

When she was done inspecting me, she turned around and exited the office. when she walked out, i got a good view of the back of her. she had a rather large flank and was wearing pink panties.

Is this place for foals or what?

I took off the helmet and looked at my tablet again. It was 6 am already and everyone was back up on stage.

All the lights in the building turned on and i heard the door open.

I got outta my office and walked into the mane hall. The manager was here.

"Oh hello boss."

Hello.. Mark. That's your name right? Anyway, thank you for working for the night." he replied. "Did anything go wrong?"

I wanted to tell him about the animatronics. how everything seemed like hell. I wanted to quit.

"Nope, everything was great."

I exited the building and headed home.

Something about that job made me want to go back.