Season 1, Episode 1: Manic Manequin.
Daring Do kicked and flailed at her but the chains kept the brave adventurer pinned against the cold steel table.
“Ah. I see you are awake, Miss Do.”
Daring Do glared at the darkness. “My name is Daring.”
“Mmm.” Click.
A blue laser lit up the room as it started to slice up the table between Daring Do’s legs.
“Archaeology is a dying science. It would be a shame if you gave me a reason to finish it off.” The kidnapper walked into the light of the slowly moving laser: a thin, gray mare in a business suit.
“Tch. I should have known it was was you… Evil... Badmare!... Anntago... Anne Tagonist!” Daring Do said.
Anne Tagonist looked at Daring Do with an evil smirk, before nodding to the laser. “Do you like it? It’s powered by… diamonds. The greatest source of wealth, and as such, power, in Equestria.”
Daring Do looked down at the beam nervously, sweat dripping down her face as it inched its way towards her chained body.
Anne Tagonist held up a diamond with one hoof, inspecting it carefully. “All my life, I’ve been in love with its color, its brilliance, its… diamond-ness. I’m happy to do a bit of evil if it means getting more precious diamonds” Anne Tagonist continued, ignoring the struggling hero.
Daring Do sat up, staring at the laser as it burned closer and closer. “I think you made your point, Anne Tagonist. Now why don’t you turn the laser off and let me go?”
Anne Tagonist narrowed her eyes, putting the diamond in her pocket. “I’d be more careful with your words if I were you, Miss Do, for they may just end up being your last.”
“Heh.” Daring Do smirked, staring into the yellow eyes of her captor. “I could say the same for you.”
Anne Tagonist raised a hoof, adjusting her tie. “Indeed?” She sighed, offering Daring Do a polite smile before turning away. “Good night, Miss Do.” With a dramatic flick of her tail, she began to walk into the shadows.
Daring Do glanced at the laser as it inched its way to her bare flesh. Sweat dribbled down her face as she turned back to her kidnapper. “What, do you expect me to talk?”
Anne Tagonist paused mid-step, throwing a glance over her shoulder. She smirked slightly, eyes twinkling malovently malevolently . “Why no Miss Do! I expect you to...
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Rainbow Dash stared blankly at her work, quill tapping against the paper. With a reluctant sigh, she dropped the quill and leaned back in her chair. Rubbing her hooves against her bleary cerise eyes, she let out a slow groan. “Uggh, writer’s block is so… so... soooooo…” She rolled a forearm in the air, pausing as she considered the intricate differences between being uncool and lame.
Boring?
Rainbow Dash shook her head dismissively. “Nah. It’s more annoying than that.”
Hmmm. Trying to come up with something dramatic for your antagonist to say, I see.
Rainbow Dash nodded slightly, picking her quill back up. “Yeah, something cool but, like… not too cool.”
What about ‘die’? Like, ‘I expect you to die’? That sounds pretty evil.
Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up at that, her rainbow-colored tail swishing behind her. “Yeah! That sounds… wait” Her eyes narrowed as she she looked over the scene. “Ugh, this is turning into a ripoff of Goldhoof.” With a groan, Dash crushed the paper between her hooves, before sweeping it off her desk where it toppled a small pyramid of balled-up paper in her wastebin. “I give up,” she announced, folding her forearms over her chest as she sunk down on her chair.
Mmm, every aspiring author is entitled to their writer’s block, and it seems you’ve hit yours. So what do you say ya just call it a night? Your bed is right here, and it’s getting late.
Rainbow Dash gave a reluctant nod. “I guess,” she mumbled to herself, pushing herself away from her desk and slipping from her chair. Her hooves pressed into the hardened cloud floors of her home as she turned around, only to find herself inches away from a translucent face with glittering pink eyes.
“Ah!” Rainbow Dash stumbled over backwards, “What are you doing in my bedroom?!”
The creature blinked, hovering over the ground in a sitting position.
Hm?
It looked behind itself, short silvery mane flipping through the air.
There’s nothing here… Just you.
“Hey! Don’t lie to me!” The Pegasus flew into the air, shoving an accusing hoof at the invader. “You’re right there!”
Wait… you mean… you can see me?
The creature pointed to itself with an eagle-like talon, grinning widely and showing off razor sharp teeth.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes before making a more conscious effort to take in the appearance of the translucent creature floating over her bed. Her eyes traveled downwards from its stubby, deer like horns, to its pony-like face. Below that, a simple black and white maid outfit was worn, with hooved and taloned limbs poking out.
That’s great! Incredible even! I-, wait…
The creature coughed into its talon. “Here we go! Actual voice.” She giggled in a playful, feminine manner.
Rainbow Dash frowned, crossing her forearms as she flapped around the stranger. “Discord? Why are you smaller?... And dressed weird… And kinda invisible?”
“Hmmm?” She followed Rainbow Dash’s movements, her head slowly moving in circles as her body remained in place. “You know Uncle Discord? You really are a special pony.”
Rainbow landed on her bed. Tilting her head as she stared at the female Draconequus, silent for a few moments. The two stared at each other briefly before Rainbow Dash waved a hoof at her guest. “You’re saying that there’s more than one of you?” Rainbow inquired, voice tinged with equal parts fear and annoyance.
“Me?” She shook her head, doing a slow mid-air flip. “Nope. There’s only one Valentine! But we’re getting sidetracked from the point.” Valentine flashed a toothy grin, thrusting a griffon-like paw out towards the started Pegasus’ muzzle. “The point is: you’re awake during the Night, and not only that but as a Daymate, you can see me.” Valentine flicked Rainbow’s muzzle as she finished, nodding.
The Pegasus frowned, rubbing her muzzle as Valentine’s grin widened. “Which means,” she pointed a paw at Rainbow again, causing the mare to flinch back. “You’re a hero! The destined Maiden of Dark!”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “What?” Confusion and disbelief etched themselves onto her face as she leaned away from Valentine.
“You heard me! You’re our hero! Well, will be our hero.” She tapped a paw against her own muzzle. “We just need to get you united with your outfit first.”
“You’re not making any sense!” Rainbow flew over her bed, muzzle inches away from her intruder’s. “And more importantly, why are you in my house?”
“Our house, you mean! You’re my Daymate, and I’m your Nightmate,” Valentine interjected as she floated backwards. “Now just wait right here. I need to go to the Boutique and get your uniform.” With a small wave, she slipped through the cloud walls of the home, vanishing from sight.
“Hey! Get back here!” Rainbow Dash protested, barreling through the wall after her and breaking out into the chill night air. She hovered in place as small pieces of cloud dissipated around her body, the tranquil, sleeping town of Ponyville in front of her. Her eyes turned upwards, staring into the deep purple sky. Stars slowly moved across her vision like a river, forming streams of silvery-white light spinning in intricate patterns. Her jaw dropped slightly as she took it in. “Woah,” Rainbow mumbled as she fluttered forward. “This is… weird. But, kinda cool.”
Shaking her head, Rainbow turned her gaze downwards and dove into the town, allowing the wind to bite into her skin. As she drew closer, thick inky shadows revealed themselves, churning in place on the streets, pouring out from closed doorways, and forming dark spirals that crept towards the heavens like the grasp of a dying man. Undaunted, the Pegasus swerved around the obstacles, her eyes locked on the carousel Boutique in the distance. Unlike the rest of town, which lie bathed in darkness, a lone light burned in the second floor.
Drawing closer, Rainbow Dash noticed the front door, ajar and creaking on its hinges. Shifting her trajectory, she slipped into the Boutique and landed on all fours, kicking the door shut behind her. “Rarity!?” She paused, and silence greeted her in turn. She glanced around the Boutique, noticing a curious lack of shadows despite the darkness. The Boutique itself sat as it always did, almost completely untouched by the oddities outside. With a frown, Rainbow took to the stairs, each step giving off an unusually loud creak that carried through the building, bouncing through empty, lifeless rooms. Pulling herself onto the second floor, she slowly crept her way to the end of the hallway where the sole closed door stood, golden light shining out from the gaps. “Rarity?” Rainbow Dash frowned at the further silence. She raised a hoof and turned the knob, pushing the door to Rarity’s bedroom open.
Rarity lay asleep in bed, a contented expression on her face. Over her, a stuffed mannequin stood, resting its left ear over her heart, one hoof stroking her face while the other held a small scalpel.
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash shouted aggressively, her wings stretching. “Get away from her, you freak!”
The mannequin raised its faceless head, blank muzzle lazily turning from side to side. Slowly, it raised the scalpel to its own face, making two slits where its eyes would be. Bits of cotton slipped out of the holes as it stared directly at Rainbow Dash, the scalpel now carving a wide mouth along the muzzle. “Ssshhhh,” The creature whispered in a raspy voice, a thick brown liquid staining its ‘lips’. “Do not interrupt the lady’s rest… Such a beauty… I will not stand for her violation.” Its free hoof moved upwards, slowly stroking her mane as the creature dropped the scalpel on the floor to pull Rarity’s blankets back over her.
Rainbow flew up to the creature’s face, staring at it suspiciously. “Nice try, weirdo, but I’m Rarity’s friend, and she never mentioned mentioning a talking, uh… whatever you are!”
The creature hissed quietly, leaning away from the pony’s presence. “I am her Nightmate, and future lover. I take care of her as she sleeps, protect her from the nightmares, demons and the beasts of the night. In return… she rewards me the honor of holding her most magnificent works of art to keep me company as I sleep during the day.”
“Uh.” Rainbow Dash hovered in place. “You’re kind of creepy.”
“And you’re an ungrateful pony for not recognizing beauty when you see it.” The creature paused, its mouth slowly extending into a wide grin. “But… you are a pony.” It turned from Rarity, stepping closer to Rainbow Dash. “And her friend, yes? So, you’ll do whatever it takes to tend to her needs?”
She rubbed the back of her head with a forearm. “I guess so, yeah. What does that have to do with anything?”
The creature’s grin widened even further, tearing at the fabric of its muzzle as the same brown liquid slowly stained down its neck. “I am a Nightmate. I earned my place as her guardian… but the sun is ever cruel and spells death for any waking Nightmate when it arises, and by contrast… the Daymates, the lovely ponies that share their homes with us. They’re defenseless during the true Night. As is the nature of our relationship. We never speak to each other.” The creature’s ears twitched in agitation as it continued to stare intensely at Rainbow Dash with cotton-filled slits. “However. The sun can be fooled, yes. If I wore the skin of a pony, it would buy me a few moments, all I need to see my lady’s eyes as she wakes... and to confess my love.”
“Hey, you’re not getting my skin!” Rainbow Dash flew up a few feet, raising her forearms defensively.
The mannequin gave a raspy laugh, coughing out more of the odd brown liquid onto the blankets. “Pony… did you not hear me? In the true Night, you’re defenseless. You have no means to resist me.”
“Pfft, I can take out a weird doll thing any day,” Rainbow Dash scoffed, before looping around in the air and charging into it. She extended a forearm, driving a hoof into the creature’s face with as much force as she could muster. A muffled squelching noise was the only response as Rainbow’s hoof made a slight indent into the fabric. “Huh?” She blinked in confusion.
“As I said before.” The mannequin grabbed Rainbow Dash’s forearm with a plushy hoof, swinging her off the bed and into a wall across the room. The Pegasus yelped in pain, the wall cracking as she slumped down to the ground. “I will not tolerate any violation of my lady’s rest, to her well being, to her pleasure.”
“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash groaned, struggling to stand up. “I won’t let you…”
“Won’t let me what?” The mannequin jumped off the bed with surprising dexterity, gracefully trotting towards the injured Pegasus. “Satisfy my fantasies? My simple desires to speak to my lady? How do you intend to stop me?” Without waiting for a response, the mannequin turned on the spot and bucked Rainbow’s face with both legs. Time seemed to slow momentarily as the cream-colored fabric hooves drew closer. Eyes fixating on the hooves, Rainbow Dash sighed.
I really shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today.
The hooves connected and the wall exploded outwards as Rainbow Dash was sent flying out of the Boutique tumbling through the air in a heap of flailing limbs, wooden planks and chunks of plaster. Slamming onto the streets below, she yelped with each bounce and roll as she skidded into a porch, cracking the railing open with the back of her head. With a groan, Rainbow Dash stared at her bloodstained muzzle, bent a few inches further to the left than normal.
“I told you to wait, silly,” Valentine stated, leaning into Rainbow’s blurry sight. “Can you move?”
The Pegasus lied still, a small pool of blood forming under her mane as she tried to concentrate on Valentine’s face. After a few moments, the blurry form shifted into the concerned, translucent face of Valentine.
“Heey. There you are.” Valentine grinned, holding up a black lace necklace. A small black storm cloud emblem hung from it, with three rainbow-colored thunder bolts striking downwards. “This is yours.”
Rainbow Dash raised a trembling hoof, feeling the cold metal of the emblem.
“There you go. Now, I need you to take your harness off,” Valentine instructed.
“Huh?” Rainbow blinked, staring blankly.
“Harness.” Valentine rolled a paw in the air. “Those magical collar things you ponies started to wear in place of clothing. Uses basic enchantment spells to hide your fur and reproductive organs?”
“Oh.” Rainbow Dash slowly moved her forearm, wincing at the pain. Her hoof pressed into her neck, twisting counterclockwise as the air around her body shimmered briefly, before revealing bloodstained, matted fur, and several pieces of wood sticking out of her chest. Rainbow groaned, vision blurring again as she collapsed, barely feeling Valentine’s paws as she slipped the collar around her neck.
“Good luck,” Valentine whispered softly, planting a kiss on Rainbow Dash’s cheek before disappearing from view.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, the cold metal medallion numbing the skin it touched. Bit by bit, the numbing sensation crept through her body, soothing away the pain and unpleasant buzzing sensation in her head. With a soft sigh, she opened her eyes and flipped over onto her hooves. The broken patio railing where she was before lie stained with blood, sharp broken poles of wood jutting upwards like the teeth of a predator. With a frown, Rainbow Dash looked down at her chest. Rather than gaping wounds, a simple black vest covered her, trimmed with a dark pink and below that, a frilled black skirt. On each forearm and hind leg, a black and pink striped sock covered the majority of their respective limb.
“Oh, you’re still alive. That’s unfortunate… I would have hoped the fall killed you,” The mannequin observed idly.
Rainbow Dash glared as she turned to face her attacker, once again flying into a defensive position a few feet above the ground.
The mannequin looked up at her, smirking. “Where’d you get the outfit?”
“None of your business!” Her skirt fluttered in the wind as she hovered. “All that matters is that I’m going to take you down.”
“Will you now? It didn’t go very well for you last time,” the mannequin chided.
“Ugh, would you just shut up!” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, dive bombing her adversary with a hind leg aimed at its head. The mannequin’s grin fell from its face immediately as Rainbow Dash’s hoof connected, knocking the creature over and sending it skidding several feet along the ground.
With a grunt, the mannequin righted itself, a hoof mark embedded into its cloth face. “You know… I’m not a cruel creature. I didn’t want you to suffer. My heart merely aches for my love. A means to an end.” It paused. “But, now it is clear that I’m going to need to make you suffer before I harvest your skin.”
“In your dreams!” Rainbow Dash charged forward, wings out, hoof raised for a punch.
The mannequin spun in place, violently kicking backwards into Rainbow’s hoof, knocking both of them over and away from each other.
“Glad to see you two are getting to know each other.” Valentine giggled. “Maybe I should ship you two…”
The mannequin grumbled as it slowly stood up. “With all due respect, Duchess, I’d appreciate you not butting in.”
“On the contrary. It’s my Daymate you’re harassing, Phage,” Valentine countered, eyes narrowing.
“Daymate? Then why is she out during the Night?” Phage blinked, his slitted cloth eyes squirting out brown fluid.
“Because she’s the Maiden of Dark, Phage.” Valentine rolled her eyes, crossing her hind legs as she assumed a sitting position in the air. “Honestly, why do I bother telling you anything if you’re just going to forget?”
Phage hesitated before lowering his ears against his cloth head. “Sorry, Valentine.” He nodded to Rainbow Dash. “Hero.” His head turned slightly as he nodded to Valentine. “Duchess.” With that, he turned back to the Boutique. Stepping over the tendrils of darkness that crossed the street. Rainbow Dash watched the mannequin walk away before looking back to Valentine.
The Draquoness turned in mid-air, grinning at her Daymate with heart-shaped pupils. “You were amazing, Dashy!” she squealed, clasping her paws together, rear wiggling from side to side. “Only a couple seconds, and you are already learning how to use your new powers. You even managed to hold your own against Phage! Pretty impressive… He’s one of the strongest Nightmates in town, ya know!”
“Why did you get in the way? I would have won,” Rainbow huffed indignantly.
“Won?” Valentine blinked. “Won what, exactly? You’re our hero. The hero for us Nightmates, and by extension, your fellow Daymates. You’re supposed to save us, not punch us, silly.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her maid-like outfit, frowning. “I don’t look like a hero… and I don’t feel like one.” Raising a hoof, she started to tug at one of the socks.
“Don’t!” Valentine rushed forward, pulling Rainbow’s hoof away. “The wounds you took, and the blood you lost from Phage would have been lethal if you didn’t get your uniform on. If you take it off, you’ll not only lose your ability to defend yourself against the creatures of the Night, but your wounds will kill you.”
“I’m not going to just walk around dressed like this for the rest of my life,” Rainbow Dash interjected.
“You don’t have to! Here.” She dropped a light cerulean-colored collar in front of her friend and smiled. “You can wear your harness over the outfit. No one will see that you’re wearing it until you take your harness off.”
Silently, Rainbow Dash slipped on her harness, the air around her shimmering as the outfit disappeared from sight. With that she stood up, shook herself off, then turned back towards her home.
“Dashie?” Valentine tilted her head. “We still have stuff to do before the Night is over.”
Rainbow shook her head. “I’m not interested.”
“Aww, come on Dashie.” Valentine flew over, wrapping an arm around her Daymate. “You’re fast, you’re strong. By Tartarus, you’re even fresh from a fight. That’s the prime requirement to be a hero. Don’t sell yourself short, I know you can do it.”
She shook her head again. “It’s not that. This place is weird. You’re weird. That Phage guy is creepy, and I’m not going to do anything that has me dressing like a maid.”
“Say, Dashie, do you know what this stuff is?” Valentine pointed at a dark tendril that was slowly snaking its way up a wall.
“I know I’m going to find out,” Rainbow stated blandly.
“Nightmares. When Daymates have too many of them, they start to bleed out here, and corrupt the area. Once it gets out of hand, not even we Nightmates can stop it. It takes a real hero like you to handle them. If you don’t… well.” Valentine shrugged. “That’s when both sides start dying.”
Rainbow tensed at that, biting her bottom lip as she glanced back at the Boutique, then to Twilight’s Library.
“I’m not telling you to saddle up on everything all at once, Dashie. We can take it one step at a time. Luna can explain most of it to you. So, whatcha say? Be our hero? The hero we need and deserve? Pleeeease?”
“How many people are going to see me in a skirt?”
“Only a few.” Valentine grinned.
With a sigh of resignation, Rainbow Dash nodded. “I’ll be your hero.”