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Season 1, Episode 1: Manic Manequin.3,772 words
Season 1, Episode 2: Foundation of a Hero.3,749 words

Season 1, Episode 2: Foundation of a Hero.

Rainbow Dash tugged at her short skirt, trying to keep her panties out of view as she eyed the creeping tendrils warily. “So, these are nightmares?”

“Yup!” Valentine nodded, hovering upside down next to the wall of the Carousel Boutique.

“And as your ‘hero’, you want me to destroy them, right?” Rainbow raised a socked hoof, lightly prodding at the slowly expanding tentacle.

“Mmhm. Though there’s a bit more to it than that.” Valentine nodded, rubbing her chin. “Though we should get you to Luna.”

Rainbow Dash smirked, pulling back her forearm before lunging forward into a massive punch. The air rippled as her hoof slammed into the tentacle, the wall behind it cracking from the force. “Huh?” Rainbow frowned, pulling her hoof back as the tentacle continued to grow, undeterred. “What gives?”

“Oh, you’re not strong enough to fight the nightmare head on.” Valentine stated simply as she slipped down the wall on her back. “You’ll need to get your weapon from Luna first.”

“A weapon?” Rainbow grinned from ear to ear, flying up into the air as she shadowboxed at the air in front of her. “You mean like, I can get like, some cool gauntlets? Oh, or maybe a sword?” Her eyes widened further as a small gasp escaped from her open mouth. “Ohmigosh! Or what about a whip like Daring Do?”

“Tch.” Valentine flicked her tail against Rainbow’s muzzle.

“Ow, hey!” Rainbow glared as she rubbed her snout.

“Silly. Your weapon is better than all those things. It’ll help you clean up this town far better than any sword or whip.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash cocked her head, slowly flying back down to the ground. “What is it, then? Is it… bigger?”

“Mmm.” Valentine looked thoughtful, wrapping an arm around the back of Rainbow Dash’s neck. “It’s probably longer than a sword. It’s definitely a lot cooler. It’ll sweep you off your hooves when you see it.”

Rainbow nodded, spreading her wings. “Alright. Go to Luna. Get my awesome weapon. Beat up a bunch of tentacle things. Go back to normal and forget this ever happened. Let’s do it!” With a powerful kick, Rainbow Dash blasted into the air.

Rainbow’s skirt fluttered in the wind as she rose up over Ponyville, her eyes locking on the distant city of Canterlot. With a flick of her tail and a thrust of her forearms, she took off, soaring at full speed towards Canterlot Castle.

Valentine waved enthusiastically as she hovered a few feet over the ground. “Have fun! I’ll uh, just wait here!”

Rainbow touched down in the middle of a dark street, her hooves clicking against the cobblestone road. Glancing from side to side, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Hey, wait a second! Where’s all the nightmare tentacles and stuff?”

She lifted off of the ground, eyes scanning the mundane, if clean, Canterlot streets and buildings. “Do these guys just not get nightmares or something?” Rainbow mused to herself as she calmly fluttered on towards the castle.

With each passed building, and crossed street, Rainbow Dash saw nothing but darkened, empty streets, devoid of any nightmares or Nightmates. Her wings slowed with each flap as she fixed the empty windows with a curious expression. “Well, I know I’m supposed to be a hero or something. Maybe it’s just not that bad over here, yet and all the nightmares are still in everypony’s bedrooms?”

Rainbow Dash drew to a halt in front of a modest hotel and nodded. “Well, there’s only one way to know for sure.” Flying forwards, Rainbow hovered herself in front of a window in the second floor, trying to peek into the pitch black room. “Ugh, come on, why is it so dark?” Huffing in annoyance, she grabbed the window and pulled it open.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted into the room, peeking inside, attempting to force her eyes to adjust to the darkness. “Weird tentacle things? Any of you in here?”

In response, a low creaking echoed through the room causing Rainbow’s ears to perk up. “Huh? A Nightmate? Come on, stop playing and get out here!” She crossed her forearms, glaring intently into the dark room, only for her vision to be filled with a massive gaping maw that shot out towards her, a grey blur smashing forcefully into her chest and bringing them both into the streets below.

Rainbow collapsed with a muffled grunt, the gaping mouth still consuming her vision. Sharp canine like teeth glimmered with drool and chilled breath as an impossibly long, thick tongue snaked out from the creature’s mouth and plastered itself against Rainbow’s face.

“Oh, no, no, no! This is gross! Get off of me!” Rainbow kicked futilely, struggling against the heavy mass pressing down on her stomach as the cold tongue slowly slathered Rainbow’s entire muzzle with a thick layer of saliva. “How are you even drooling this much!?”

The creature panted, a small cloud of cold air washed over Rainbow’s face as the mouth retracted and slowly closed, unobscuring the mare’s vision. Golden, slitted eyes stared down at her, attached to a pale, grey-skinned pony-like creature with leathery, bat-like wings, and clawed talons in place of hooves. Around its neck a thin metal chain sat, a pair of engraved, oval plates hanging from it. “Nn…” the creature pouted, squeaking in disappointment. “You’re not food,” it added glumly, plopping down on its rear, keeping the mare pinned between its thighs. “So, what are you?”

“This is so nasty,” Rainbow grumbled to herself as she desperately wiped at the saliva coating her face, only to give up when she simply succeeded in spreading it around further. “Well, duh. I’m not food, and obviously I’m a Pegasus.” Rainbow snorted dismissively. “Geez, are you blind or something?”

“Blind?” It tilted its head, mouth closing into a natural grin. “Nah, I can see just fine. It’s just that I see heat, rather than pretty colors.” The creature paused, rubbing its chin as it looked thoughtfully at its victim, the tip of its tongue wriggling outside of its mouth. “Mmm, so you’re not food… and you’re not a gargoyle like me, but you are tasty, so!” Its grin widened to such a point that Rainbow briefly worried the creature’s head would fall off; a long reptilian tail wagged behind it. “Wanna be my pet? I’ve got a collar in my place! Should fit you just fine!”

After a brief pause, Rainbow composed her thoughts to verbal form: “What.”

“Come on~,” the gargoyle growled playfully, voice carrying such a degree of giddy enthusiasm that Rainbow began to feel an urge to vomit. “It’ll be awesome! We could cuddle, have fun, I’d feed you, take you for walkies, share my perch, bang, teach you tricks and positions! We could even share meals together! When it comes to eating demons, do you mind which part you get? Because I rather like the legs, personally. When they have them, anyway. Nice and squishy… like you!” It paused, bat-like ears perking forward. “Hey, you don’t like, need your legs, do you? Because if you wouldn’t mind parting with them…”

Rainbow forcefully bapped the gargoyled muzzle, her cheeks red with indignation. “I’m not food, or a pet, you weirdo! I’m a Pegasus, not a dog! What sort of Nightmate are you? Aren’t you guys supposed to protect ponies or something?”

The gargoyle yelped in surprise, ears drooping against the sides of its head as it leaned back, rubbing its nose. A faint, dog-like whine echoed out from its mouth. “Ow! Geez, you could've just said no! I’m not a bad gargoyle! I wouldn’t have done anything you didn’t want.” It paused again, before mumbling, “Unless it was kinky, anyway.”

“Ugh. Fine, whatever,” Rainbow huffed, looking away. “Sorry for making you sad. Can you get off me now? I need to talk to Luna.”

“Nope!” was the cheerful reply. “I wanna talk to you a bit more. Like, why do ya think I’m a demon?”

“Why not? I have stuff to do, and you’re really heavy.” Rainbow squirmed, trying to free herself from under the strong, thick thighs of the gargoyle, only to feel the creature’s tail wrap around her hind legs. “Also, I never called you a demon.”

“Mm? Because we’re chatting! I can’t let you up when I’m talking to you, silly. That would be like being friends with someone without making them your pet, or dating someone without tying them up in your perch. Or banging without handcuffs, or eating food without licking it all over first! Of course when you talk to someone, you pin them down! You’re a silly Pegasus-thing!” The gargoyle giggled, waving a talon in amusement. “As for calling me a demon, you did! I know you did! Trust me, I’m unable to forget things once I know them! You called me a Nightmate. Those guys are all demons. Luna said we’re not allowed to eat them though. Not sure why; they’re really tasty.”

Rainbow blushed faintly at the gargoyle’s odd perversions, her legs wriggling in the grip of its tail. “What? You’re saying that they’re all demons? Who protect ponyville from other demons?”

The gargoyle shrugged, its tongue slipping out from between its lips to rub over its muzzle. “Dunno, you’d have to ask Luna. My job is to eat nightmares and demons that go into my territory. I don’t keep up on politics… I do play fetch with myself sometimes when I’m bored though.”

“Riiight, so can I go now?”

“One more thing, first!” The gargoyle held out a talon, sitting upright, making the tags hanging from its chain jingle. “My name’s Fault! What’s yours?”

“Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow awkwardly stuck out a hoof and bumped it against the open talon, only for the gargoyle to grip it tightly with supernatural strength.

Murring happily, Fault slowly licked up Rainbow Dash’s arm, leaving a trail of saliva, arm gripping firmly to keep the wriggling limb in place. “Mmm, well, I’ll remember your taste, Rainbow Dash. Promise!” With a nod, Fault stood up, uncoiling its tail from around Rainbow’s legs.

Rainbow Dash scrambled up to her hooves, stretching and flexing her wings in newfound enjoyment of not being trapped under gargoyle butt. “Before, I go, what are those things?”

“Hm?” Fault cocked its head, one ear flopping over its short-cropped, stone-grey mane.

“Those.” Rainbow prodded the metal tags, squinting at them. “Why do you have dog tags?”

Fault immediately pulled Rainbow’s hoof away, as it stepped back, turning to the side to bring them out of view. “Because I’ve always had them, and they’re pretty. You’re not allowed to read them, though!”

“Why not?” Rainbow cocked her head, becoming curious as she tried to pace around the gargoyle.

“Because if I knew what they said, I’d never be able to forget it. I don’t want to risk figuring it out from your reaction.” Fault hummed happily, meeting Rainbow’s speed as she rotated away, keeping the jingling dog tags out of sight. “And I like not knowing. Anyway! Have fun with Luna. I’ll be around if you ever change your mind about being my pet-friend!” With a smile and tail flick, Fault kicked off of the ground, flying back through the open window into the hotel.

With a roll of her eyes, Rainbow flew off, idly shaking her saliva-coated face and forearms with each flap. “It’s like all the weird in Equestria comes here,” she grumbled to herself as she flew between the towers of Canterlot Castle. She fluttered about, peeking into windows, and inspecting doors for a few minutes before coming across a balcony with a pair of slightly ajar, heavy golden doors engraved with the shape of a crescent moon.

“Luna? You in here?” Rainbow landed on the balcony and trotted over, not bothering to knock before shoving her head into the room.

“Yes,” Luna replied simply, sitting at the foot of her bed with a hoof resting on a short, long, wooden box. “I’ve been waiting for you, Rainbow Dash, our new maiden of darkness. Hero of Ponyville.”

“Heheh… Yeeeeah, about that, I was wondering: How long this will take? I know I’m supposed to get rid of all the nightmare tentacle things with a cool weapon. But after that, I can go back to… not doing this, right?” Rainbow Dash spoke as she tugged at her skirt, trying to keep the fabric from touching her legs.

“Rainbow Dash,” Luna stated simply, face devoid of emotion. “Your duty as the maiden of darkness is more than that. After destroying the nightmares of Ponyville in their external form, you must individually save ponies from their personal nightmares within their minds. You must also assist the Nightmates where needed to keep Ponyville safe from demons. Those are your duties. They are relatively simple, and shall be done nightly. During the day, you may live life as normal. The extra eight hours you gain to each day for being awake during the True Night will prevent you from needing to sacrifice from your hobbies and duties.”

“Heey! Wait a second!” Rainbow squinted, wings flapping as she flew in front of the princess, staring intently into her eyes. “Handling dreams is your job! Why do I have to do that?”

“That is correct... Once upon a time, I did keep ponies safe from all their nightmares.” Luna’s ears drooped as her head tilted, her eyes averting from Rainbow Dash. “But, that is no longer possible for me, after my fall to Nightmare Moon. Only the maiden of darkness can truly enter a pony’s most subconscious thoughts and fears. The fears put in the back of the mind, the repressed memories and traumas, the suffering that ponies do not admit to themselves. The dreamscape, as a magical realm of existence, is still my domain, and I keep nightmares out of the conscious mind, and help ponies stand against the troubles that reach their awareness. But that is my limit.”

Rainbow Dash blinked, rubbing her head. “Wait, I don’t get it. If I’m the only one who can do it, how were you able to before you were Nightmare Moon?”

Luna stood up to her full height and stepped past Rainbow Dash, her horn glowing as she magically opened the doors of her balcony and stared out into the night sky. “Before you, I was the maiden of darkness, the second to hold that role. However… the maiden is required to be pure and true to Equestria. When I became obsessed with my lack of attention and appreciation, my mind and body corrupted, turning me into the demon known as Nightmare Moon.”

“Well, you were kind of mean, but you weren’t that bad. Besides, we used the Elements of Harmony on you and now you’re better!” Rainbow chimed in.

“No.” Luna shook her head. “You don’t understand. I mean it literally. To sin, to break the largest laws in society. That transforms one into a demon, and no amount of redemption, rehabilitation, or magical artifacts can change that. I may be myself again, but my body is that of a demon, and as such I cannot wear the outfit of the maiden of darkness, or use its powers. The Elements of Harmony saved me from being banished to Tartarus, but it doesn’t change what I am.”

With a growl, Rainbow zipped in front of Luna and prodded her chest with both hooves, her muzzle pressing against the alicorn’s. “That’s stupid! You’re cool, and you help ponies. That’s all that matters! No one cares about what you did in the past anymore! You’re not some stupid demon! You’re a princess!”

Luna gave a small smile despite herself as she leaned back. “Thank you, but, that’s not how the world works. How reality works. To sin is to be a demon. The Nightmates, if they haven’t told you yet, are all sinners. Demons who want to feel useful again. It’s important that you understand that, Rainbow Dash. They all have done something absolutely horrible, and nothing they do will change that. Nothing you will do can change that. They live, as we all do, in the consequences of our actions and circumstances. They just want their list of sins to simply cease to grow, and for that, we allow them to live in Ponyville, helping to keep it safe.”

“Well, the world is stupid then! If they want to help, and they want to fight against bad guys, then they are good ponies… uh… whatever they are!” Rainbow Dash snorted. “There’s no way that ‘reality’ works like that!”

Luna cocked her head slightly. “Think what you like, Rainbow Dash. Your attitude is partially why you’re so well-suited to the role. A different pony may seek to debate ethics when you would leap into action to save those in danger instead of asking whether they deserve it. Regardless,” Luna’s horn glowed again as she stared deeply into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “I have but one warning: Do not sin. To fall in love with a demon. To fornicate with a demon, consensually or otherwise. To threaten the harmony of Equestria. Such things, if done, will make you a demon, at which point, you will lose the protection your uniform grants you.”

Thump

Rainbow Dash held a hoof to her chest, her face paling slightly. “Oh.”

“Do not let me keep you here any longer… I shall bestow upon you the weapon of your station, the tool of a hero, the device of which shall allow you to keep Ponyville safe, and allow you to fight against the nightmares that grip it.” With a solemn nod, Luna levitated the wooden box in front of herself. “Take its contents, Rainbow Dash, and become a true hero, for one such as I cannot touch such a pure weapon.”

Rainbow Dash’s unease disappeared as quickly as it formed, a grin appearing on her muzzle as she reached over with both hooves and pulled open the lid, staring at its contents.

A modest, albeit well-crafted, broom sat inside, with a gem set, pink ribbon tied around the base of the handle. The dark brown, wooden shaft ended on soft, silver bristles that glowed like moonlight.

“Is… is it under the broom?” Rainbow inquired, voice teetering between hope and desperation.

“Broom?” Luna tilted her head. “This is no broom! It is an ancient and powerful tool! A weapon of immense power capable of sweeping away nightmares, and beating back demons with unequal force. This is the most powerful magical artifact I know of. It is not a ‘broom’.”

Hesitantly reaching over, Rainbow Dash slowly pulled the broom from its case and stared glumly at it. “This is so lame… I’m never going to live this down.”

Luna reached over, gently patting the mare’s head. “Don’t judge by appearances. this weapon will serve you well once you’ve mastered it… And demons will come in all forms, all shapes and sizes. Appearance does not determine power. Now go.” She nodded out the door. “Go home. Get some sleep. You shall start on the nightmares tomorrow. With any luck, you’ll have the streets cleared before any demons come through from Tartarus.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, gripping the broom in both arms as she quietly nodded, slowly flying back home. “Yeah, with any luck I’ll wake up and this will all be a dream…”

Sunlight filtered through the windows of Carousel Boutique, flooding it with soft light and gentle warmth. On a heavily-blanketed bed, Rarity sat up, mane slightly scuffed as she stretched and yawned, basking in the morning sun. “Mmm, morning Opal.”

Silence greeted her in return.

“Hm?” Rarity slipped out from under her blankets. “Opal, darling? It’s time for breakfast!” With a small smile, Rarity glanced over the edge of her bed, only to find Opal’s empty. “Oh.” She shook her head. “I must have slept in, poor Opal must be starving!”

Mroooooowr!

“Opal?” Worry crept into Rarity’s voice as she turned to her bedroom door, slightly ajar. “Is something wrong, dear?” Rarity quickly trotted over, pushing the door open and peeking into the room.

Opal sat, crosseyed and hissing, with a pair of blood red satin panties sitting on her head, perfectly pristine and uncreased despite being batted at by the cat’s paws.

Rarity chuckled, exhaling as she chided herself under her breath. “Of course… I was just being paranoid.” Rarity began walking to her cat. “Opal, what did I tell you about playing with my clothes?” Reaching over, Rarity plucked the panties from her cat’s head before blinking. “Actually, speaking of clothes… I don’t recall making these.” Her eyes turned to her hoof, only to find it empty.

“Huh?” Rarity blinked in confusion.

Creeeeak

Her eyes immediately turned upwards to the wooden rafters, only to have her vision filled with the sight of a pair of falling panties. Rarity opened her mouth to scream, only for the satin to cover her mouth.

“Mmmphmm!” Rarity strained to call out, backing up into a cabinet, causing it to smack against the wall, then dropping its load of fabric rolls onto the ground around her. Rarity’s horn glowed briefly before sparking and dimming. Rarity stood on her hind legs, stumbling across the boutique, knocking over mannequins and clothing racks as her hooves strained to pull the panties from her face, to no avail.

Her eyes crossed as a sharp pain sprang through her muzzle, drawing out a muffled squeal. Rarity paused briefly, her eyes drooping slightly as her entire body began to numb. She stumbled backwards a few steps as she struggled to maintain her footing, before falling over onto the boutique floor, her flailing arms knocking her sewing machine off its desk.

Rarity squirmed for a few moments as the panties writhed against her flesh, her vision darkening. With a small sigh, Rarity’s eyes drooped shut as she passed out.

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