>Be you
>Be bored as hell on another Friday at work
>At least you get to play with the latest shipment of toys
>Working at a toy store in the middle of a tiny town has its perks
>A week ago, the owner got a waist-high pallet full of pretty fancy looking ponies
>All plastic and ball-jointed, but supposedly they have a ton of neat little servos and gears turning on the inside to make them far more than just some action figure's combat mount
>Your job, as the only real employee, was to set them all up
>And you did
>The front window has a Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie model out, posed against some heavier boxes
>The counter has a Rarity and Twilight posing on either side of the register
>There were no customers for almost all week, so you had time to set them up however you liked
>One, however, wasn't set up on the shelf
>A Fluttershy model, to be exact
>But instead of yellow, she's kinda lime green
>Her wings look a little different than the rest, too
>Almost like it would look better on a Transformers model than a flying pony
>Maybe she was a prototype model?
>Slipping some coin into the cash trays and considering it your first sell of the techno-ponies, you rip and tear into the box's guts
>You carefully retrieve the Fluttershy and plug her into the nearby power strip
>Almost immediately, her cutiemark illuminates
>She seems fine, just an off color
>Like a shiny Pokemon
>You grab the instruction manual
>May as well read up to help sell it, right?
>Evidently they're "learning toys", or what you'd more likely call a "smart" toy
>Evidently they can remember your name, talk to you, some serious Seaman or Child's Play shit
>Thankfully they can't handle knives or guns
>Each pony has a "personality based off of our favorite Mane Sixes!" too
>Kinda seems weird to you but alright
>Maybe it's just how things are now, you've never been one for gadgets or gizmos
>After fiddling on your phone for a while you hear plastic crackle
>Your eyes go to the FlutterLime
>Her eyes, white and blue, snap to attention
>Toward you
>That makes you flinch, you've seen enough horror movies to know where this is going
>She doesn't say anything or change expression
>You don't move on your life
>Only after a shiver goes up your spine do you speak
"Hey there. Good morning."
>FlutterLime's jaw drops and her eyes close
>"GoGOOOoooooooooooooooGGOOOOOOOOGDDOOOOoooood monrninornianrioing!"
>Her voice distorts and snaps at the end into a high-pitched whine like a rubberband
>She looks at you
>You look at her
>It?
>Her?
>She brings a hoof up to her face and looks around
>She can't do much for facial expressions but you can pick up on the nonexistent cue
"That's... an energetic way to wake up. Must be pretty happy."
>FlutterLime nods, her eyelids shifting as if she's squinting from a smile
>Maybe
>You're talking to a blasted toy
>A toy that's standing on a pad and somehow getting charged through that
>You're a lonely man but you aren't that fucking lonely
>Right?
"So... uh. I'm Anon. You're Fluttershy, right?"
>FlutterLime nods
>She clippity clops in circles on her charging pad, wings extending and flapping in mechanical gyrations
>The wing segments themselves clattered together, showing that each segment could shift ever so slightly
>Kinda reminds you of that Small Soldiers movie
>That's what led to you working at the toy store, actually
>You lean forward on your stool, setting an elbow on the counter
>A foot tall pony is really prancing about
>Flutterlime looks around again and settles her unchanging eyes on you
>It's still a little weird
>She shifts to sit down, making sure her hooves are facing the charging pad directly
>You can smell warm plastic and rubber from the pad too
"So... uh... how're you doing? How're your batteries? Can I ask that sort of thing?"
>FlutterLime's jaw segment drops to speak but nothing comes out
>Her neck droops down
>"I!!!!doknown't but pledon'tase mind meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem"
>She sounds like she's trying to whisper and you can make out a few words but a lot of it sounds garbled
>Kinda like what happens when you smack a speaker too hard and it just sounds borked
>You nod, trying to decipher what she said in your head
"You're ok, I think I got the gist of it. You were always more the quiet one anyway, right?"
>Her head still low, she nods
>This is trippy as hell
>Just how detailed can you go for asking things?
"So... do you know where you are?"
>FlutterLime looks at you
>The inability to change facial expression is really kinda wiggy
"You're at a toy store. My toy store. Almost. My old man runs the place and he kinda just lets me hold down the fort."
>FlutterLime leans back and claps her front hooves together, nodding
"Yeah, it's pretty neat. Pleased to meet you."
>You motion to the two ponies around the cash register and at the front window
"These are the display models. I saw you and..."
>Thought she would never sell
>Thought she looked like a defect
"...thought I wanted someone really cute like you."
>Lime's jaw part drops completely and her eyelids raise as high as they go
>She points to herself
"Yup, that's right. But it's a secret. Until someone comes in. Then I have to show off my new friend. Hopefully that means they'll want their own friend. Wouldn't that be awesome?"
>Flutterlime springs up and jumps off the pad
>She leans against you
>And immediately drops
>Her cutie mark is flashing
>It's flashing the code for S.O.S.
>That's a weird design choice
"Whoop, hold on now. I think you gotta stay on your pad for a bit to charge. It's only been a few minutes, right?"
>You grab her with both hands and sit up straight
>You plop her on the charging pad again, making sure her hooves are directly on it
>As soon as you do, the flashing goes away and is replaced with a softly glowing light
>She springs back up again and looks at your hands on her
>Then the pad
>She hunkers down and lets out a small whine
>At least it sounds like a whine
>It also kinda sounds like a deflating balloon
"Hey, don't even worry about it. We all gotta eat and regain our energy, right?"
>FlutterLime lets out another whine but nods
"Then there you go, nothing to worry about. I'm not going anywhere."
>She stays put leans against one of your hands
>Can she feel?
>She feels like textured plastic
>Maybe she has sensors or something
>You keep one hand in place, looking over her
>Her mane and tail look like they're pretty well made
>It's even in her style, which makes her whining that much more in character
>You glance out the window
>The store is on the town's main street but there's just no customers today
>Good thing the upstairs doubles as your home
>You find yourself petting FlutterLime like you would a cat
>After a few strokes you can even hear some sort of mangled humming or purring
>You're not sure how these are supposed to make ideal toys, but you aren't complaining

>Between staring at your phone and giving attention to the limey Fluttershy, absolutely nothing happened
>Pretty much what your average day is
>You don't get how the hell your dad started all of this when you don't ever see any sales
>At least there's no rent you have to worry about, and you don't even need to go outside all that often unless you really want to
>As you do every evening, you lock all doors, close all window blinds, and clean up your area of trash or any crumbs from lunch
>During the entire shift, your green buddy kept on her pad
>Her cutiemark glow ended up becoming a solid blue color, which made her color scheme that much more... unique
>Keeping the back lights on, you stop at the desk with store keys in hand
>She kinda looks like she's sleeping
>What if she wakes up and you're up stairs?
>What if she gets spooked from the dark?
"...fuck it."
>You unplug the charging pad and immediately hear a garbled chirp from the toy horse
>She looks at you
>You can tell because her eyes light up in the dark and focus keenly on you, Five Nights At Freddy's style
>You can't stop yourself from shivering under that gaze
"Hey there, sorry to wake you up. Shop's closing down for the day and... I'm going up stairs to my room. Wanna hang out with me?"
>FlutterLime nods and bounces off of the pad, galloping in place
>You scoop up the pad and point over to back of the room, toward an old wooden door with a big cracked glass window in the top center
"See that door? Stairway goes right up and that's where I stay. Kinda grew up here, actually, but only now that I live here too."
>FlutterLime gives a short, garbled cheer and launches herself from the counter
>You watch, in slow motion, as her wings spread and she takes flight, proving that plastic mare transcends all laws of gravity
>Until she drops like a rock and loudly clatters to the ground
"Oh... fuck. Y'alright?"
>You crouch down
>It looked to you like she did one magnificent bellyflop
>A quick look over shows that nothing looks cracked or broken
>She looks up at you and tries her best to laugh
>Yeah, now you're seriously getting the FNAF vibes
>Good thing you're more familiar with the internet's interpretation of the characters than you are the games themselves
"Yeah... I think you need some more wind beneath those wings. You ok to move?"
>FlutterLime performs the ultimate diagnostic check of getting up, walking in a circle and checking her legs
>Systems are all green, evidently
"Alright, let's blow this pop stand."
>You adopt a slow pace and go step by step toward the door, watching the plastic pony chase after you
>The wings clatter about, more than the rest of her body
>The light clopping noises that come from her can't help but make you smile
>Through the speed of a pegasus possessed, she reaches the door before you
>Once she saw that she was in the home stretch, she outright sprinted to it
>When she reached the finish line, she turned to you and spread her wings out while taking a bow
"Alright, you're fast, I'll give you that much. But how are you on stairs?"
>She clops out of the way of the door and gallops past you
>To the left is a short walkway that leads to a heavy locked door
"That... goes outside. You don't wanna take out the trash, right? Then you don't wanna go that way."
>To the right is a somewhat narrow set of carpeted stairs that turn to the left
>FlutterLime assesses the situation and leaps with all of her might
>She has successfully climbed one stair
"Yup, that's the way."
>She squats down and shakes her rear end, getting ready to jump like a cat pouncing an innocent lump of lint
>And she stays that way
>Boy howdy, is she preparing for another jump
>Any time now
>Surely soon
>After tearing yourself away from the near hypnotic gyrations of her synthetic butt, you scratch your head
"If you want, I can just carry you up the stairs. Doesn't bug me any."
>Almost as if she was waiting for you to offer, she whips around and jumps in place, chirping out something that sounds almost like 'please'
"Alright, acrobat in fact, hop on."
>You lean down and hold out an opened palm
>She prances onto it, keeping her legs together close to make sure she wouldn't fall off
>You lift up your hand, a little surprised at how well she sways to keep herself balanced
>She isn't the lightest creature in all of creation but you've carried heavier groceries with one hand up the stairs before
>You climb the stairs at a slow pace, giving her a chance to look at the dozens of pictures framed and hanging from the walls
>A lot of them are of your parents when they were younger
>Your mom when she was still alive
>When your old man was more energetic and in shape
>When you were younger
>Every day, you're reminded of why you're still here instead of looking for a job in a city like everyone else your age
>By the time you reach the top, you give a heart ache-borne sigh
"Good thing I don't have a broken leg, right? Those stairs on murder on old knees."
>FlutterLime seems content on your hand, wings splayed out and shifting to help balance herself
>You lean down to the floor and set her down
>While the floor on the shop level is hard wood, it's all carpet above
>Living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom
>It's pretty small overall but the bedroom is big enough for two beds and then some
>You slip off your slip on shoes and plop down onto the couch
>FlutterLime races after you, pouncing up onto the broken down furniture
>You really like the couch despite it being a relic from the 60s
>It's that special type of comfy that you just can't find in anything more modern
>Or anything that isn't filled to bursting with memories
>And the occasional soda stain
"So... how's your battery?"
>You raise and lower your hand, as if to emphasize the question
>Surprisingly, she curls around herself to look at her cutie mark and raises her hoof up to the top of her head
>Man, she really is on the smart side
>Where was she when you were growing up?
>In a split second the entire plot of Small Soldiers replays itself in your head
>Maybe it's better that she wasn't around back then
>She looks around, expecting something
"Yeah... it's kinda boring up here. Wanna chill and watch some TV or something?"
>FlutterLime nods enthusiastically and takes a step toward you
>Only to sink into the cushion
>You stifle a laugh enough to go 'pfft'
>It really is the type of couch you could lose yourself in, if only because the insides have been partially gutted and replaced with the family surplus of quilts, blankets and ancestral pillows
>She struggles to get out, wings clacking and flapping while she gyrates from side to side to work up enough momentum to break free
>As soon as she does, she takes a leap of faith onto your lap, wings splayed out to help stabilize her trajectory
>She sticks the landing!
>You chuckle to yourself and applaud
>She bows and curtsies to your praise
"You're a cute one. Let's see what we got going on for reruns today, eh?"
>The TV is pretty new, which is good
>Compared to the old, this one is so much lighter and easier to haul around
>Funny enough, due to some adapter wizardry, you can still watch your old VHS tapes as well as DVDs too
>You lean back and bring your leg up, resting the ankle on your other knee
>FlutterLime takes to your horizontal leg like a bird to a perch
>It isn't all too great, but you watch old reruns of That 70s Show for the rest of the evening
>That used to be the one show everyone in the family would watch every Friday evening, no matter how many episodes were lined up

>Another day, another dollar
>For you, anyway
>You spent the weekend reading up on FlutterLime's instruction manual
>Evidently she is supposed to talk, if she weren't busted
>But she can double as a speaker too
>You haven't had much cause to get into that
>For the last two days, you've just watched TV with her, occasionally asking her about things
>Her voice is a little grating but you can make out a few words
>You don't mind the occasional errant screech that makes her flinch and bow her head to apologize
>You're a little shocked that she recognizes that she makes unflattering noises
>No one came in all day, which allowed you to do your favorite past time of phone posting and reading
>Lime spent the day wandering around the store front, poking and prodding at the few areas you keep set up for visitors
>It's really not a conventional store, in that it's more a long rectangle of a building than a square
>The center is a walkway with shelves against the walls and short tables dotted around
>You used to play at a few of the tables when you were a kid even
>You have a few ponies like Lime but you also have a lot of classic stuff from the 90s dating all the way back to what you could only guess is the 50s
>Incidentally, due to the age of some of the toys, you've even had some antique hunters pop up
>You watch Lime eventually settle at an old plastic tea party table
>The cups and little plates must be as old as you, and have long since become part of the scenery since they've been played with by the kids of neighbors and friends that came over to chat with your mom and dad
>It makes you a little sad to see how little they're used
>You remember the store being pretty popular as a kid
>Even if all you specifically remember is being tempted to steal quarters out of the cash register for the drink machine down the street
>You watch Lime set up the table by shifting around the cups, checking the pastel yellow tea pot for a fresh supply of party tea
>partea, even
>She looks around for guests and her permanent expression of a mellow smile stops on you
>You raise your eyebrows at her
"Is this an invitation?"
>Her wings rattle slightly as she nods aggressively
>She lets out a sort of chirp that almost sounds like a bird
>You chuckle and nod
"Alright, you've convinced me."
>Not like you can't see the front door from the table, or hear the bell that's haunted your dreams when you were first terrified of having to deal with customers
>Given the size of the table and the size of you, you default to sitting on the floor rather than the plastic or wood chairs
>It's a little less emasculating too
>Rebellious, even
>You're like DoomGuy at a tea party
>You suppress your murderous instincts just long enough for Lime to awkwardly get onto her hind legs and tilt over the tea pot
>You quickly grab a pastel plastic cup with your index finger and thumb, catching whatever tea she would give you
"Much obliged. You know, this smells like blueberry tea. I grabbed some a week ago. Helps with the dry cold outside."
>You extend your pinkie like a civilized creature before taking a sip
>Given how big the cup is, it might do better as a big shot glass
>But that isn't hardly the proper time or place
>When you drink, Lime clops and trots in place, chirping out a little tune that almost sounds a 'yay'
>You wonder if you could teach her how to make a chiptune song or something
"So, do you like the store now that you've gotten a chance to explore? I grew up here, you know. Never really thought I'd run the place, but I guess here we are."
>You take another dignified sip, watching her watch you
>You notice that she isn't exactly partaking in anything
>You gotta remedy that somehow
>You grab a pastel platter that was sitting on the floor under the table and set it in front of her
"Biscuits from the oven. Try one out for me?"
>FlutterLime bucks the air in excitement and hops onto the platter
>Her mouth opens and closes quickly, giving you a little series of clacks to listen to
>When she finishes, she curls up on the platter and simulates a sigh with a melodic, if scratchy, noise
"...well dang. I didn't think you were that hungry."
>Lime nods and gives an exaggerated yawn
>The cutiemark on her flank turns from a bright blue to a more mellow yellow
>She sat on her charger all night, you're surprised she lasted most of the day
>Though she also didn't really 'talk' any either
>You nod and watch her, finally putting down the age old cup
"Guess it's time to close up for the day. I kinda hope someone stops by, imagine how cool it'd be to show off in front of them, eh?"
>She gives a dreamy nod
>Even though her eyes are closed, she keeps her head aimed at you
>To test something out, you sway back and forth
>Her eyes may be closed but she still tracks your movement
>Trippy
>You wonder if the other ponies are like her, or if they have more specific 'personalities'
>Maybe tomorrow someone will stop by so you can give them a demonstration or something
>If not, that's ok too

>Sundays are usually as quiet as the rest of the week
>It's been a hot minute that you've had Lime out and about and you're enjoying the company
>You know that she's just a toy but the level of intelligence is pretty amazing once you get past the jarring initial shock
>You sit behind your counter, phone surfing as usual
>You set up the tea party set on the counter after clearing out a lot of the space
>You even set up a small series of steps and hops that would allow her to go from the floor all the way up to the counter
>You can tell when she's on the move because you can hear the plastic blades that consist of her wing feathers rattle together
>The vaguely garbled, melodic "hmmph"s and "ha"s help
>You've learned that depending on how active she is, she can maintain a full charge that lasts a good chunk of the day
>You've set up her charging pad near your bed so when it's lights out for you, she's right near by
>Obviously she can't sleep with you, though she has tried
>Usually with a yellow or red light
>You've always told her to get back on her pad, just because it's better to be safe than sorry
>She seems to get it but something about her movements tell you that she isn't exactly fond of it
>Could just be your imagination too
>Last person you've spoken to or seen was a few weeks ago, and that was the old lady at the grocery store
>The town's so small you don't even have a Walmart
>Lime takes her time climbing up the mountain to your counter while you default to idle musing
>"CcCommmE on!"
>She isn't that afraid to speak anymore once she got over how she sounded
>She's still more non-verbal with you and more keen to show with actions but you can tell that she's working her way up to accepting her voice
>Or lack thereof
>From your reading and internet-based browsing, you can tell that the world is in chaos
>As it's always been
>It really does not feel like it from where you are
>The fridge and freezer upstairs is as full as it always is
>Your dad's place has a huge freezer and fridge combo, with another full-sized freezer in the laundry room and a fridge fully stocked with soda and drinks in the garage
>Now that it's just the two of you, most of it goes untouched
>A lot of stuff over there will probably have freezer burn if you don't swipe it soon enough
>Everything you have is cycled regularly enough that you don't have to worry about throwing out anything too old
>Lime lets out an eerie, ethereal scream at something
>You tilt over to the side to look at her
>It seems like the next step in front of her is too high up for her to climb
>It's a work in progress so you've been adjusting the steps and path as needed
"Hm... hold on, I got you."
>You reach under the counter and pull out at least a dozen old Game Informer magazines
>You put half of them on the step before her, and line up the other half on the corner of the step she's currently on
>You carefully slide it into place and watch her step onto the magazines so you don't slide her off in the process
>With the added height, she looks from you to the next step, rattles her wings, and jumps up
>And she sticks the landing!
>You return to your original sitting position while she dances the dance of victory over adversity
>You still kinda expect something crazy to happen, like her learning how to acquire a gun
>Or her awakening the other ponies, which might lead to your demise
>It happened in Gremlins, who's to say it wouldn't happen here too?
"Well it's not Christmas..."
>You answer your own hypothetical
>It's not like you're a headcase to the point of talking to yourself, but who else would answer?
>Over the course of the next ten or so minutes, you listen to FlutterLime adjust and climb and squawk and celebrate
>To not distract her, you watch as subtly as you can
>Maybe you can give her more, smaller steps compared to the bigger ones that require her to hop
>But she looks like a little lime green goat with how quickly she hops around with no sign of exhaustion
>If you were her-sized and a toy, you're pretty sure you'd just camp out halfway through
>You slide back to your original place when she's so close that the tips of her wings begin to peek over the edge of the counter
>After hopping and scampering over the last few layers, she gives one last magnificent, powerful leap
>And she sticks the landing once more!
>You set your phone down and applaud her
>Her plastic face is as static as always, but her eyelids are angled in such a way to make her look angry
>Her mouth jitters up and down, simulating exhaustive effort and vented frustration
"Nice moves! I'm proud that you made it. Think we should adjust the steps later today? More a staircase than a mountain?"
>FlutterLime shakes back and forth at incredible speed, like a dog trying to rid herself from rain
>The sound of her wings rattling would be difficult to explain from anyone only hearing it
>Her eyelids adjust when she focuses on you and she nods
>"YyyesS plEaSe!!"
>Her crackly voice comes out as a bark
"Alright, consider it done. Whenever we close for the day, let's make some adjustments."
>Lime nods and takes a seat by your hand
>Now that she's up here with you, she can observe all that you do
>Which amounts to... very little
>She used to be able to spend hours looking outside, but now even she is starting to lose the sense of novelty
>There is a car or truck that goes by every once and a while but they're all by more aged people or strangers just cutting through town
>She watches what you look at with your phone
>Catching her spying on you, you tilt the phone to where she can see
>It's a comic of the cartoon she's based off of
"You know about the cartoon you're from, right?"
>Lime looks at you without movement in her mouth or eyelids
>Her ever-present stare is as unemotional as ever
"...I guess that's a no. Wanna watch some of it tonight? I've heard it's good."
>Lime nods trots in place
>You don't have a computer but you can do pretty much anything on your phone these days
>You even found a site that streams all that you could want to watch
"Alright, it's a date then. Bring your smile and I'll bring your charging pad."
>Lime hops in place before rushing over to the tea party set
"Oh yeah, of course. You gotta be thirsty after a climb like that. I don't think I could have done it, myself."
>You serve the tea today
>You even brought some of your own actual liquid tea down, for yourself
>Blueberry herbal tea
>It's as mellow as your temperament and tastes pretty good too
>It's another slow day, but it's more exciting than it's ever been thanks to her