"Are you really going to make me go through with this?" Nightmare Moon grumbled as she followed Twilight. Nightmare moved slowly, head low and ears pulled back. Her eyes were narrowed as she walked, glaring at any pony that walked by.

"Come on," Twilight said with a gentle smile. "It's not that bad. Besides, you need to learn about Ponyville if you're going to live here and make friends."

"I don't need to make friends," Nightmare snapped, flaring out her wings. "I don't want to make friends. Even if I did, why would I want to do so with any of the ponies in this town?"

Twilight stopped and turned to face Nightmare Moon.

"Do you realize how much you sound like a petulant filly?" she asked, getting a snort in response. "I used to think I didn't need friends either. I just wanted to stay in my room to read and study." She paused, considering. "Well.. not just read and study, but nothing I wanted to do really involved other ponies. For the most part I would have just kept hidden away from everypony, doing who knows what.

"If I had never made friends, I never would have defeated you -- which I realize as I say it is probably not something you want to be reminded of and is a counter-productive argument in this case." Her ears pulled back as she blushed, shifting some as she let out a laugh.

"My point is that I am a lot happier now that I have friends. Despite what happened with Tirek, Discord is as well. I really think that having friends will be good for you. An opportunity to have others you can rely on and talk to. That way, you won't feel so lonely and isolated. Besides it's not like this is going to kill you."

I hope it does, just to prove you wrong, Nightmare Moon thought. "Hello, little pony. I am-" cough cough, wheeze, thud, dead. "Oh, no," you'll cry out. "She's dead. I killed--

"Why are you making that face?" Twilight asked, interrupting Nightmare Moon's train of thought.

Without realizing it, Nightmare Moon had rolled her eyes up in her head and had her mouth fall open, tongue hanging out the side of it. Licking her lips, she pulled her tongue back in. Her eyes looked around as her ears shifted. Her mind worked as she tried to come up with some sort of excuse.

"I... was merely contemplating what I would look like should I actually die," she stated. "After all, you have stated that it is quite possible. Plus, I also need to work on stretching and flexing my muscles. I do need to get them used to working and moving, do I not?"

Head tilted, Twilight Sparkle stared at Nightmare Moon. Twilight's eyes were narrowed as she stood there, lips pursed slightly. One ear gave a flick.

"Really? That's the story that you're going with?"

"Oh, let's just get moving," Nightmare huffed. "The sooner we finish, the sooner I can get back to the castle and forget the whole thing."

"And what would you being doing there instead?" Twilight asked as she turned and resumed walking.

The question gave Nightmare Moon pause. What would she be doing? Her room had nothing save her bed and vanity at the moment, so there was nothing for her to do there. Knowing Twilight Sparkle, there were more than likely a great many books in the castle somewhere. Reading would help her learn some of Equestria's history as well and science and technology. But she had not toured the castle yet, and had no idea where the library would be. With her power limited, she could not simply start trying to take over Equestria. She would need time to study and plan. It would also need her to take time, as doing to much too fast would like rouse Twilight's suspicion. Especially now when she has just been incarnated.

She was going to have to come up with some things to keep occupied and throw off suspicion. It was something she was going to have to consider very carefully.

The two continued to make their way through town, neither really talking for the moment. Nightmare Moon let her eyes drift and mind wander, taking in the town and working on the layout of it. After all, if she was going to be stuck here (and she was planning on testing that just in case Twilight's claims were not necessarily true) then she would need to know her way around. Plus, she would have the opportunity to get out of the castle and away from prying eyes. Then there was the question of what tasks she would have to perform for her "rehabilitation."

As they continued to walk, a gingerbread house came into view. Something about it seemed familiar to Nightmare Moon, but she could not quite place it. It had something to do with one of the other bearers. It was important to the specific one for some reason. Why could she not remember?

There was also something else.

"Sparkle," Nightmare Moon called out. "What are you planning?"

"Me?" Twilight asked, stopping to look back. "I'm not planning anything. Why would you think that?"

"This place," Nightmare responded, motioning at it. "Something about it. I can't quite recall, but it has to do with one of your fellow bearers. There is... something about her. Something I can almost recall from my time with Rarity."

"It's Sugarcube Corner," Twilight explained. "Pinkie Pie lives and works here."

"Ah, yes." That was it. The pink one was always a bit of an issue for Nightmare Moon. She had been able to slip into Pinkie's mind once, but only for a short time. Nightmare had managed to see a lot of sadness and self-doubt, but was unable to stay long enough to work her way into possessing Pinkie. Once in a better mood, Pinkie had managed to erect very powerful defenses that had expelled Nightmare.

There was also something else...

"Come on," Twilight said as she headed for the door. With a huff, Nightmare Moon followed after her.

As they stepped inside, the smell in the air hit Nightmare Moon. It was similar to the smell of the kitchen when she had first caught the scent of the pancakes. Not exactly the same though. There were several differences, the most noticeable being that whatever was being made here was sweeter. It was also like there were other smells. It was strange. They all seemed to fit together, but there was enough contrast that some differences could be picked out here and there.

"SURPRISE!"

The shout caused Nightmare Moon to jump, tensing. Jaw clenched and eyes wide, she flared out her wings, trying to make herself as large and intimidating as possible. She looked around, trying to take in all the details and identify the biggest threat.

Pinkie Pie stood in front of her, grinning widely. Above and behind was a large banner with "WELCOME TO PONYVILLE" written on it. Streamers were spread out across the ceiling, and several bunches of balloons were tied off. Beside Pinkie was a table with two cupcakes and three cups of some red liquid.

"Pinkie," Twilight called out, "what are you doing? I told you that you could be first for us to visit if you wanted, but we had no time for a party."

"Actually," Pinkie Pie stated, "you said that 'we don't have time for one of your normal parties that early.' So I decided not to throw my normal party. That way, it gets to be a real surprise without even you expecting it. There's a treat for both of you, punch for all of us, and since it's just us, Nightmare doesn't have to put up with a bunch of ponies too soon. That way she won't get all stressed out and mean about having to be surrounded by ponies she doesn't like. It's as close to a party we could throw as she would like."

"That... actually kind of makes sense," Twilight conceded. She turned to Nightmare. "You probably wouldn't want a party with everypony in Ponyville, would you?"

"I have no interest in parties," Nightmare Moon replied. "Even if I were, there are no ponies that I would want to attend. Including either of you."

"See?" Pinkie said with a grin. "But I do know something that she would like." Grabbing one of the cupcakes from the table, she presented it to Nightmare Moon.

"I just had breakfast," Nightmare stated. "Why would I possibly want this thing?"

Still, Nightmare Moon found herself having a difficulty taking her eyes off the offered treat. Her nose twitched as she sniffed at the sweetness. The swirl of pink frosting and rainbow colored sprinkles were drawing her attention, and curiosity. It was like there was something about this small baked treat that was drawing her like a siren's song. It looked very nice, and made her wonder what it tasted like.

"Wait!" Pinkie cried out, causing Nightmare Moon to pause. Without realizing it, Nightmare had leaned forward and opened her mouth wide. She was just about to take a bite when Pinkie's shout stopped her.

Pulling the cupcake away, Pinkie took a hold of something on the side of the cupcake and gave it a tug. Something came away from the treat, revealing the dark brown surface of the cupcake underneath.

"You're not supposed to eat the wrapper," Pinkie Pie explained. "They're made of paper, so you could, but they aren't very tasty." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the wrapper. "At least not yet, but I'm working on it. Anyway, now you can eat it without any trouble."

With it offered to her again, Nightmare Moon took a bite of the cupcake this time. The taste was overwhelming. The cupcake itself had a similar texture to the pancakes, but not exactly. She was not quite sure how to describe the difference, but she could feel it on her tongue. That combined with the strange soft gooey texture of the frosting and the overall sweetness of the whole thing was far too overwhelming.

She had no idea how to react. A part of her wanted to spit it out, to get the excessive sweetness out of her mouth. Another part wanted to swallow it and take another bite, to devour the entire cupcake with excitement. Still another wanted to keep it there, savoring the tastes and textures of the food on her tongue.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

Swallowing, Nightmare Moon licked her lips and gave a nod. She gave her wings a gentle flick before folding them back in against her body. She could still taste the sugary sweetness on her tongue. It was far too much for her, yet she wanted more.

"Well, come on," Twilight said as she turned around. "Thanks Pinkie, but we still have a lot to do. Including a meeting with the mayor, as visiting Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. We'll see you again later."

"Oh, you'll see me later alright," Pinkie said. Her ears pinned back as her eyes narrowed. Grinning, she rubbed her front hooves together, letting out a snicker.

Nightmare Moon watched the pink mare a moment before following after Twilight. Pinkie was not being subtle. It was quite obvious to anypony that saw her acting that way that she was up to something. The question was "what?" Nightmare doubted that it was actually anything evil, but it was certainly something.

It was a question that Nightmare considered as they left Sugarcube Corner -- and a cackling Pinkie Pie -- behind.