On Ponies and Daedric Princes

Monsters!

The purple unicorn broke into a full-on gallop, weaving around trees and boulders, the chill of the wintry air searing her sore lungs. Where did all of these things come from? She risked a peek over her shoulder, only to be greeted by a horrid sight. Dozens of massive dragons flew low over the canopy above her, and several bi-pedal creatures sprinted after her not far behind. The monsters were covered in spiked, black and red metal armor, and wielded wicked, jagged blades. She forced a little more speed from her muscles and returned her gaze forward, just in time for the earth to disappear beneath her hooves as she plummeted from the edge of a cliff.
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Shivering, tossing and turning in her bed, Twilight Sparkle awoke with a shrill cry, then tossed her quilt aside as she sat up, her fur damp with cold sweat. She let out a sigh of relief as awareness returned to her, and she wiped what sweat she could from her brow. "Twilight, are you okay? You were screaming in your sleep."

Twilight looked to her right, and a small purple and green dragon stood next to her bed, his young features darkened with a worried crease to his brow. "Yeah, I'm okay, Spike. It was just a nightmare." The unicorn looked out her window and smiled at the blue skies and bright sunlight peeking through the leaves of her tree-library. "Things can only get better from here, today." She hopped out of her bed, and a purple sheen of telekinetic magic enveloped her hairbrush as she approached her dresser and smoothed out her bedraggled mane.

As she climbed down the spiral staircase that lead into the main foyer of the library, the events of her nightmare began to weigh down her mind. She'd never seen monsters like the ones in her dream, save for the dragons. It may have been the three-day-old daffodil and wheat sandwich she'd eaten the night before. It may have even been the horror novels she'd read a few days ago, but she had to wonder - what was the cause of the nightmare? She shook her head and decided to focus her thoughts on her studies. A bit of brushing up on Star Swirl the Bearded and his various spells would make things better. Twilight sat at a desk in the lobby and scrawled out notes with her quill as she combed through her tomes.

Only a few moments into her studies, and Twilight found her thoughts wandering off to the dream again. The seven-foot monsters clad in spiked armor, their eyes glowing crimson slits in the darkness of their helms, their armor clanging as they slowly closed the gap between themselves and their quarry. The dragons swooping overhead, flames and clouds of ice and snow billowing from their jaws…

A shudder cut down her spine and she stood from desk, an exasperated sigh escaping her. "Spike, I'm going out for a little while. Organize the spare room's shelves, would you please? I won't be able to get around to it today."

"Sure thing, Twilight. What's going on?" Spike peeked his head around the corner from the spare room, one of his scaly eyebrows quirked up.

Twilight pulled on her saddlebags and turned to her assistant, a severe look on her face. "I'm going to get some answers." Her hooves clopped on the dirt road as she made her way out to the Everfree Forest, only a ten minute walk from her tree house library. The sunlight was quickly snuffed out as the dense Everfree canopy choked out the sky above her, the sounds of chirping birds quieted by the intimidating landscape. After a pleasant ten minute hike down the main road, she arrived at Zecora's doorstep. The zebra's hut was actually carved into the root system of a large, gnarled tree, and adorned with various masks and decorations from her homeland.

The door swung open to reveal a zebra mare with aquamarine eyes, clad in gold jewelry. "Who is this knocking at my door?" A smile crept across her face when she looked down and saw Twilight, "Twilight Sparkle, what are you here for?"

The unicorn scratched her hoof at the dirt and bit her lip. Coming out here seemed sillier the more she thought about it. "Well… I had a rather strange nightmare last night, and I was hoping you could help me figure out what it might mean."

Zecora just smiled and gestured for Twilight to follow her inside. The zebra made her way to the fireplace and removed a whistling kettle from its hook, then poured its contents into a pair of cups. "Since your night was fraught with screams, I will help you to dissect your dreams."

Twilight nodded and withdrew a quill and parchment from her saddlebags, along with an ink well. She set each on the table, then dipped the quill into the ink well and drew up a rather crude sketch of the bi-pedal monsters from the night before, along with a separate drawing of their weapons. "I dreamt I was being chased by a group of these… things, and a large flock of fully-grown dragons. I can't even begin to imagine where the idea for this would've come from, so what do yo- Zecora?"

The Unicorn looked over at the zebra alchemist, to find the mare's smile replaced with a look of grim recognition. "Quite few stories I have heard, most of which I'd thought absurd. Of demons who devoured souls, of ponies, stallions, even foals! The stories called them Daedra, dear Twilight, and they were the monsters you'd seen last night."

The purple Unicorn canted her head, blinking, a frown creasing her muzzle. "But… I'd never heard of Daedra, until just now, let alone seen them. I'd certainly remember reading about them. What do you think put them in my dreams?"

"Twilight, dear, I wish I knew. The solution to your problem, I haven't a clue." The zebra frowned and sipped at her tea. "Perhaps the answers you seek are in one of your books – an antique?"

Twilight smiled and shook her head. "Not any that come to mind, but it couldn't hurt to have a second look. Thank you for your help, Zecora. Stop by and see me at the library, sometime! It's always good to see you." The unicorn stood to leave, packed up her quill and inkwell, and left Zecora's hut. She sighed as she trotted down the dirt path, her focus having wandered off to the flora surrounding her. Trees and ferns in many lovely shades of green, flowers in every color of the rainbow. Even the fauna was lovely. Beautiful, white birds sat in the high branches of the trees, and foxes darted in and out of root systems and bushes. Twilight sighed, smiling softly to herself. She did enjoy the Everfree Forest, as long as she could keep away from the Cockatrices and Manticores.

Once she was back in town, Twilight made a beeline for her library, slamming the door behind her and startling her assistant. "Spike, we need to go over my books for anything on 'Daedra', okay?"

The purple dragon, who had fallen from the top of a bookcase ladder, groaned as he wobbled to his feet. "Y-yeah, okay, Twilight. I'll be in the spare room doing a bit of digging around, if you need me." Spike wobbled off into a small room lined with bookshelves, leaving Twilight alone in the lobby. She shook her head and smiled, then glanced over to her desk. Her smile faltered when she noticed a new book on the desk, unopened.

"Spike, did you put this book here?" Twilight slowly approached her desk, eyeing the dark red, leather-bound tome. The cover depicted an arch with jagged shoulders, a circle placed in the center of the arch. Odd.

The baby dragon meandered back into the main room and hopped up on a stack of books to have a look at the leather-bound volume on the desk, then shook his head. "No, I've never seen that book before. What is it?" He reached over to open the book, but Twilight batted his hand away.

"I'm not sure. It wasn't here when I left this morning. I wonder how it got here?" Twilight unbuttoned the clasp that held the book closed, and the binding crackled noisily as she opened it to the first page. "'A Treatise on Daedric Princes.' Interesting…" Twilight's voice faded off as she focused on her reading, a small smile creeping across her features.

Spike rocked back and forth on his heels and twiddled his thumbs, then hopped down from the stack of books and his way up the stairs. "I'll be taking a nap if you need me." The unicorn gave no reply, too lost in her research to hear anything other than the thoughts in her head.
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Several days later, Twilight Sparkle was again at her desk, nursing a mug of coffee as she re-read the Treatise, her interest piqued by one chapter in particular. "Clavicus Vile, one of the seventeen most powerful Daedric Princes, best known for… granting the deepest desires of those who summon him? Hmm…" The purple unicorn took another sip of her coffee, her quill scratching noisily as she jotted down notes on a bit of parchment next to the book. "Invoking Clavicus Vile is very simple. You need only pray at an altar of his likeness, and offer a significant amount of gold." Twilight turned the page in the book, her eyes focused on a sketch of Clavicus Vile's bust. "That doesn't look too hard to make…"

A knock at her front door didn't even garner a glance from the unicorn as she continued reading, her eyes scanning over the sketch of Clavicus for a second time. "Hmm… what if…"

Her door burst open, and an orange-coated Earth pony marched in, her brow furrowed in frustration. "Twilight, y'all've been cooped up in here fer days! We ain't seen hide nor hair o'ya fer darn near a week! Come out ta Sugarcube Corner, everypony's gettin' together for Gummy's birthday party. Or did y'all forget?" The mare adjusted her stetson and blew a stray strand of blonde mane from her face.

Twilight shook her head, her snout buried in the book as she turned the page and jotted down a few more notes with her quill. "Not today, Applejack. I'm doing some really ground-breaking research right now."

Spike padded down the stairs from his bed and sighed. "She's not gonna listen to reason, Applejack. She's done nothing but read that book for the past four days. She's hardly eaten or slept! Maybe if you had something to persuade her a little more…" That last bit was said with a wink and an impish smirk, and Applejack nodded back to the young dragon.

The orange mare reached down into her saddlebag, one end of her lasso gripped in her teeth. "I was worried it'd come t'this, Twilight, but you're gettin' outta this stuffy ol' library if'n I have'ta drag you out!" She swung the lasso at the purple unicorn, and yanked the loop tight when it dropped around her legs. Applejack pounced on Twilight and worked the rope around her hooves, hog-tying her friend. A smile of satisfaction spread across her face, and she looked up to the purple dragon at the top of the stairs. "A'right, Spike, I'll meet'cha at Sugarcube Corner."

The purple dragon nodded and made his way out the door while Applejack grabbed the extra length of rope, happily dragging Twilight Sparkle behind her. "Applejack, let me go! I haven't finished my notes!" The unicorn thrashed and wriggled in an attempt to escape her binds, but to no avail. After a minute or two of struggling, she simply gave up with a sigh and allowed herself to be dragged to the other side of town.
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Inside Sugarcube Corner, everypony was having a good time on the dance floor, mingling by the punch bowl, or eating sweets by the buffet table. Twilight, on the other hand, was only able to give her severely divided attention to the party. Her thoughts kept wandering off to the book, to Clavicus Vile, and to the Daedra that still haunted her thoughts.

"Twilight? Twilight? Twilight!" The mare snapped out of her trance and returned her attention to the white unicorn mare with whom she was conversing. "Twilight, dear, those bags under your eyes look simply atrocious! When was the last time you slept?"

Twilight was barely able to suppress a yawn but still managed a small smile. "Only a few days ago. I'm fine, really! I've been wrapped up in some really important research, lately. Sleep's been a hard thing to catch lately, especially with these nightmares I've been having."

Rarity flipped her purple mane out of her face and gave her friend a worried look. "Dear, you really must get away from those awful books of yours. They're probably the source of your nightmares. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go take care of a fashion disaster on the dance floor." The white mare wandered off and shouted at some mare dressed in a garish party dress out on the dance floor. "You! Yes, you! In the hat!"

The purple unicorn shook her head as her thoughts wandered back to the book and the Daedra, idly sipping at a cup of punch when an idea sparked in her head. A devious smile crept across her muzzle as she quietly sneaked off into the kitchen. Once she was out of sight, her horn glowed with a brilliant light before she was enveloped in a flash of white and purple light, then popped back to the library.

"Hah! Nopony keeps me from my studies!" Twilight grinned, then trotted cheerfully back to her desk and continued her notes on Clavicus Vile, re-reading the section on summoning rituals. The unicorn stopped and a small smile stretched across her features as she opened up a drawer in her desk and withdrew a bag of bits. Her rainy-day fund, roughly five-hundred bits. With her notes and money in tow, the unicorn trotted over to the horse head bust in the center of the main room and set the books and money down on the floor.

Her horn glowed a bright purple, and with a flash of light the bust on the pedestal transformed into the likeness of Clavicus Vile. A short, bipedal creature with goat horns stood in the horse bust's place. It had sharp, masculine features, wore flowing robes and was accompanied by a dog half his size. According to the book, the dog was called Barbas. The unicorn smirked and placed her offering of five hundred bits in front of the bust. She then stepped back and knelt down until her horn touched the floor.

With a flash of white and red light, the bust vanished, replaced with the living, breathing Clavicus Vile. He was clad in what looked like fine silk robes, and a grin smeared wickedly across his impish features. He reached down and hefted the offering of gold in his hand, and his smile widened as the gold jingled in the pouch.

"Well well well, what do we have here? In all my millennia, I've seen many things, but being summoned up by a unicorn? Well. This is certainly a first." The Daedra snapped his fingers, and the gold offering vanished. The creature stepping forward on the pedestal, and Twilight's fur stood on end with the power radiating from him. "Tell me, dear, what kind of deal can old Clavicus ma-" BANG BANG BANG BANG! The front door shuddered as one of Twilight's friends banged on the wood with their hooves in an attempt to get Twilight's attention.

"Twilight! We know you're in there! Stop hidin' an' come out peaceful-like, or I'ma get mah rope again!" Applejack shouted, prepared to buck down the front door.

Just before her hooves impacted the door, Clavicus snapped his fingers. The walls, doors and windows shimmered with a pale, red light. The door didn't budge under the force of Applejack's hooves, or even make a sound. He'd magically barred the doors, windows, and soundproofed the room, and pulled the curtains shut with his magic.

"Let's not get distracted, shall we? After all, you paid a lot of gold for my presence. Please dear, tell old Clavicus Vile, what is your heart's desire?" A grin slowly peeled across his face, a twinkle in his eye.

Oblivious to the eager malice behind his words, Twilight smiled up at the little demon and tapped at the floor with her hoof. "Knowledge. I want to know as much as physically possible. About everything!"

Clavicus simply grinned, perfectly aware of Owlowiscious peeking through a gap in the curtains outside of a high window. The owl flew back to the rest of the gang, hooting loudly to try and get their attention. "Well, my little pony… I think that's within my capabilities. I can offer you a chance to gain limitless knowledge about the entirety of the universe! Is this what you wish?"

Twilight nodded, grinning eagerly. "Yes! That's perfect!" She stood on all fours, giddy as a schoolfilly. Clavicus snapped his fingers and vanished, leaving behind only the pony-head bust on the pedestal before Owlowiscious returned to the window with Rainbowdash and Fluttershy. Twilight felt cold, and suddenly her entire world went black.