Join The Party

Darkness surround them all. The only single source of light was from a candle. Fluttershy had to be comforted by both Rainbow Dash and AppleJack. Who could blame her? Darkness and isolation from other ponies. Not even their friend was in sight. Magic was limited down here, preventing all complex spells Twilight had learned through her years of study. Both her and Rarity used their horns to brighten up the room a little more. They saw more darkness and nothing else.

"This is insane! There is nothing down here. Not even that pony we're trying to find," Rainbow remarked.

"I thought ya said 'e was down 'ere, Pinkie Pie," AppleJack said.

"He has to be! He said he would be home. He can't be anywhere else. Maybe we should call him?"

"We can totally do that," Rainbow said sarcastically. "Hey, you over there?! I would call your name, but I don't know what it is! Great idea, Pinkie. Call for a pony who's name we do not know."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot," Pinkie said, a tad timidly. Just as Pinkie was about to call for him, another voice answered.

"That won't be necessary," it said in a hushed voice. "He is asleep upstairs. Now you're down here with me."

"I already scanned for any signs of life. I didn't detect anything," Twilight stated.

"You can't scan for something that is hidden. He put enchantments on this house to prevent him from being detected," the voice told them, its tone consisting of toxicity. It changed its tone to that of pleading. "He trapped me down here, you know. He won't let me roam free. Would you kindly help?"

"I don't know. Why wouldn't he tell us about you?" Rainbow said.

"He doesn't trust me. I tried to help him with a project of his, but I made one little mistake. Now he won't let me out. All you have to do is a simple spell. One that disables the protection spells sealing me in here."

"What's the spell?"

"It's more of a phrase. 'A vessel to give, a body to restore. All this, and much more. I choose power over despair. I obey you, Nightmare,'" it recited. "Just repeat what I said, and I'm free."

Pinkie registered the name he had said. Worry gripped her heart, clouded her judgement. Before Twilight could start repeating the phrase, Pinkie put a hoof to her mouth. "Don't listen to him! Do not do that. It would be bad if you did."

"What's wrong with it? He just wants to be free," Rainbow objected.

"Don't you remember the phrase on the portrait? 'the Third, thinks dreams a childish game. Unwanted, the Sleeper's bane ... Choose the Third, and your sleeps shall be bleak.' He's the Third! The one who will make dreams a living-" she cut-off. She had almost said his name. Pinkie finished her sentence, "We can't trust him. We should just go back upstairs."

"What's the matter? Don't you want a friend? I could be your friend. Or... would you prefer him? Is he your coltfriend?" the voice mocked.

Pinkie Pie blushed profusely. Even though she was pink in color, her blush was much darker than her coat. She couldn't form any words. She knew her friends would start having suspicions. Suspicions about why she spent almost two months at his house, after spending one night at it when the party ended. Pinkie stuttered, "H-H-He's not my c-c-coltfriend. Why-Why-Why would you think that? It isn't like I enjoy spending long amounts of time with him. I mean I do, but-" she was cut-off by the looks on her friends faces.

Each showed the reaction Pinkie Pie expected: shock. She was planning on telling them, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was growing more hot by the second. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Trying to shift the attention back to the voice, she replied, "At least I can go where I please! You can't leave without us saying your name! No wonder he locked you down here."

"You're right about one thing. I do need somepony to say my name to officially leave. All I've been doing is visiting your coltfriend at night, and taking control of his mind and body. Then you came along, and you ruined my chance to leave as I pleased. Now he's obsessed with protecting you," he said in annoyed tone.

Pinkie Pie's heart beat slightly faster. The First never told her about that. Never told her anything more than how he used spells to defend from any intruders. Now the Third was telling her the First was protecting her? Had he been there, Pinkie would have surely hugged him. Maud protected Pinkie from external forces, but the First protected her from...the Third. Pinkie thought he just liked having her for company. Now, however, she seems he wanted her there, to make sure she was all right.

"Really? I thought he was just being nice. I can't believe he's obsessed with me of all ponies," she said merrily.

"Darling, you sound ever so happy. Hearing him be that concerned for you makes you more jovial than usual. You always told us about him, but, judging by your reaction, it would seem you want to think of him as more than a friend."

Suddenly, the darkness started swirling in one place. There was more light, for the darkness had clouded all of the candles. On the wall in front of them there was an image. An earth pony, raven black coat with a mulberry colored mane. He had the same cutie mark as the unicorn.

The darkness formed the exact image in front of them, but with one difference: it was an actual pony. He opened his eyes, revealing them to be blood red. His eyes examined the mares staring back at him. "What's wrong girls? You look like you've never seen a Nightmare before. I guess I'll just have to show you how bad a dream I am," he said. Soon, the darkness took over again. All mares felt groggy, as if they had gone a week without sleep. One-by-one, they fell asleep. Pinkie was standing strong, fighting the urge to sleep. Slowly, she started getting weaker. Finally laying down, she looked once more at the Third.

"Soon, you all shall know what a nightmare really is. He can't save you now."