AUTHOR'S NOTE: a good chunk of this story is based on the very first "My Little Pony" cartoon special from 1984, also known as "Rescue at Midnight Castle." I'm a really big MLP fan, but ONLY the 1980's version, because that is the version I grew up with. And no, I do not care for "MLP: Friendship is Magic," so DO NOT ASK ME ABOUT THAT PLEASE! As always, please read my first Monkees fanfic, "Monkee Magic" before reading this.

It was three in the morning when the Monkees returned to the Pad from a gig they had at a club called the Night Owl. They had been playing since midnight, and had a week-long engagement.

"Man, am I tired!" Davy shouted. "I think I'll sleep 'til noon!"

"No wonder they call it the Night Owl," Micky said.

"Just be quiet, guys," Peter said. "I don't want to wake up Franky."

Franky was Peter's thirteen-year-old nephew. He had come to live with the Monkees over the summer.

The boys expected the Pad to be completely dark, but when they reached the front door, they saw a light in the window.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Micky shouted. "What's a light doing on in the Pad at three in the morning?"

"Yeah, Franky's supposed to be asleep!" Davy shouted.

"You don't think there's a burglar in there, do you?" Peter asked. Then he began to grow nervous. He constantly worried about his nephew's well-being, to the point of nearly babying the thirteen-year-old (which Franky found annoying).

"Don't panic, Peter," Mike said, taking the keys out of his pocket. "I don't think we have to worry about a burglar!"

"Yeah, we don't 'ave anything worth stealing, anyway," Davy said, shrugging.

"Besides, if someone is in there," Mike said, "he'll probably race outta there the minute we open the door."

"But let's be careful, anyway," Peter said. "Don't wake up Franky!"

"I won't, Pete, I won't," Mike said. He stuck the key into the lock, turned it, and opened the door. The minute the boys walked inside, they heard a blood curdling shriek, which scared them half to death.

"Aaaahhhh!" they screamed themselves. Then they realized where the scream had come from. It was the television, and it was showing an old, black and white horror movie.

"Oh no, not again," Micky groaned.

"Frankyyyyyy . . . . ." Peter moaned.

Franky was glued in front of the TV set, watching The Late Night Fright Fest Double Feature. It specialized in schlocky B-horror flicks, mostly featuring old ones from the 50's, but once in awhile, they threw in a gory one. Peter walked behind his nephew and looked at what he was watching.

"What's this one?" he asked.

"YIPES!" Franky screamed nearly hitting the ceiling. He turned around and saw his uncle standing there. "Oh, it's just you."

"I keep telling you not to watch these movies in pitch darkness," Peter said. "You know you're more like me than you think."

"Yeah, but these things lose something when you watch 'em with the lights on. Besides, I like the dark."

"Franky, you're weird."

Franky just shrugged, and went back to the TV. Peter sighed. Mike turned on the lights, walked over to the TV, and was about to turn it off, when he noticed something.

"Ain't this the one hosted by that guy that's part werewolf and part vampire?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, Count Wolfgang Amadoggus," Franky said. "But he's on vacation this week. This is his replacement, Dr. Dark, Lord of the Darkness."

"Ugh," Davy groaned, getting a look at Dr. Dark. He was a creepy looking man, with a crew cut, mustache, and goatee, wearing a dark suit and cape.

"Seriously, Franky, how can you even . . . ." Peter began.

"Never mind," Mike said, turning off the TV. "Just go to bed!"

"But Mi-ike" Franky whined.

"I don't want to hear it!" Mike shouted. "You've got school tomorrow, so go to bed!"

"Yeah, Franky, we're all exhausted," Davy said. "It's been a long night."

Franky groaned, and walked off to the downstairs bedroom he shared with his uncle and Davy. Mike and Micky went upstairs to their bedroom. Davy turned the light off, and he and Peter went to get some sleep.

Meanwhile, in a faraway place called Nightmare Castle, there lived a sorcerer who thrived on darkness. The one thing he hated was sunlight, or any kind of light, for that matter. His scheme was to plunge the world into total darkness, but not necessarily take it over. The sorcerer was named Dr. Dark, Lord of the Darkness, the same Dr. Dark Franky had been watching on television. Once The Late Night Fright Fest Double Feature had ended, Dr. Dark left the studio, and started to head home to Nightmare Castle.

"At last, conditions are perfect," he said. "And there's nothing anyone can do to stop me. I just need one final component to complete the spell. I'll be coming for it tomorrow night."