Aegis. An ancient word that means "care", particularly, the care and love of parents for their children.

Fast Bun, Curtain Call, Corn Pops, Starlet Radiance and Babs Seed are deeply loved by their parents, unconditionally and eternally.
An innocent game of Hide & Seek traditionally played by them in one of Manehattan's malls results in darkness when they find themselves locked inside the mall for the night and something starts to mess with their minds. They aren't alone in the large building and soon, each of them has to discover that not all entities are willing to grant them parental love.

Nurture. Comfort. Company. Solace. Protection. The mall holds a secret and if they survive the tortures planned for them, they might just find out what it is and what the absence of Aegis truly means.

A psychological-horror story for Nightmare Night. Set roughly two years before Twilight came to Ponyville, so Babs and the others are younger foals here.