Chapter 1

The Black Book

It was a peaceful spring day as usual in Ponyville and Twilight Sparkle was in the midst of organizing the library of her new castle. While some protest Equestria's newest princess actions and choices that keep her in the small town, others found it a value, especially to Twilight's friends. Her intellect and quick thinking had gotten her and her friends out of trouble many times in the past.

So why was it so hard to get rid of one nightmare?

Over the past week, Twilight found it difficult to remain asleep after experiencing a nightmare every evening. It wasn't just that it was scary, but the fact that it seemed and even felt real. She even woke up every time she slept and had the nightmare to find wounds and bruises on her body. At first, the ponies thought she fell out of bed. But with Twilight receiving fresh wounds every night, the ponies of Ponyville were becoming concerned. Twilight was hoping that if she reorganized the library, she might come across a spell book that may cure her of this.

But as she cleaned her fourth bookcase, she found something that shouldn't have been there.

"Huh? What's this?"

Using her magic, Twilight pulled a book from the top self and examined it. This was defiantly not one of her books. It seemed relatively old with no title on the black cover. Just strange images and a note. Twilight read the note aloud.

"'The time has come. Oblivion is near. Take this book to your princess. She knows what you need to hear. Apocrypha awaits.'"

Twilight was tempted to open it, but hesitated. What if this was a delivery mix-up? If it was, why did the note seem to be addressed to her?

"I'll have to talk to Princess Celestia about this."

She then grabbed her saddlebag and placed the mysterious book inside. She then called up to the living quarters of the library.

"Spike! Can you come down for a minute?"

She waited patiently and in a matter of minutes, a small purple and green wingless dragon appeared.

"What is it, Twilight?" Spike asked. "Take a letter to the princess."

Hearing this, Spike got out a piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkwell and began to write while Twilight spoke.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

Upon cleaning the library, I have discovered a strange book. Its cover is black with strange symbols and no title. There was also a note attached to it, instructing the finder to turn the book in to you. I have included the letter with this message and await your response.

Your faithful former student,

Twilight Sparkle"

As Spike finished with the letter, Twilight handed him the note and after tying the note up into a scroll, breathed fire on it, causing it to disappear into a magical wind. As they waited for the princess of Equestria to respond, Spike spoke.

"What's so bad about a book with no title?"

Pacing, Twilight answered him.

"It's not that it doesn't have a title that's bothering me, Spike. When I held the book, I felt…strange. As if it possessed some sort of power that is tempting and dangerous. The note also worries me."

"Do you think this has anything to do with your nightmare?" Spike asked, concerned for the new princess.

"I don't know, Spike. But…I feel that there is a connection between the nightmare and the book."

Just then, Spike burped and a new scroll appeared from the fire. Twilight opened it and immediately read it.

"Dearest Twilight,

After what you have told me and the letter that went with the book, I request you and your friends to come to Canterlot immediately. Bring the black book with you. If it is as I fear, then Equestria may be close to a terrible crisis that surpass all your past foes. Whatever you do, do NOT open the book unless I say so. I will explain upon your arrival and examination of this book.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia."

Now this made Twilight afraid. If the princess was frightened as she sounded in the letter, then the book she had found must be something terrible. Having already packed, Twilight turned to Spike.

"Spike, you go round up Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. I'll go get Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and meet you at the train station. Tell them it is urgent."

Spike didn't argue and dashed out the door.

After locking up the library, Twilight headed to the meadow next to Ponyville and approached a cottage that blended splendidly with the scenery. Outside, tending to the animals was a yellow Pegasus with a light pink mane and tail. She had three butterflies on her flank.

"Fluttershy." Twilight spoke, her sudden voice causing the Pegasus to jump into a tree in fright.

Looking down at who the voice belonged to, Fluttershy sighed in relief.

"Oh, Twilight. Sorry about that."

The lavender alicorn was about to say something when she noticed that Fluttershy had bags under her eyes as well as bruises. The animals the Pegasus tended to looked up at her in concern. Twilight was in shock.

"Fluttershy! What happened?"

Ever the shy one, Fluttershy struggled to tell her friend, but couldn't. Seeing the look of fear in her jade eyes, Twilight made a connection.

"Were you having nightmares that hurt you, too?"

Fluttershy's eyes widened with shock as she spoke.

"H-how did you know?"

Twilight pointed to her body, which was wrapped in bandages and bruises were showing. She also had bags under her eyes. Remembering that her friend was experiencing for a week what she felt, Fluttershy blushed.

"Sorry. Anyway, what brings you here?"

Remembering why she was there in the first place, Twilight spoke.

"There's no time to explain. We're summoned to an emergency meeting with Princess Celestia at Canterlot. Spike is getting everyone else. I'll go get Rainbow Dash while you head for the train station."

Hearing this, Fluttershy got to work while Twilight flew into the sky.

She found Rainbow Dash alright, but she looked a lot worse than Twilight. The Rainbow mane and tail of the blue Pegasus were unkempt and had seen better days. The Pegasus' blue body was practically covered in bruises and the bandages on her body almost made her look like a black and blue mummy from the Daring Do books. Magenta eyes looked up at Twilight, bags under them.

"Violent nightmare?" Twilight asked.

"You too?" Rainbow Dash asked, sitting up on the cloud she was laying on.

After telling Rainbow Dash about the emergency meeting in Canterlot, the two winged ponies flew to the station, just in time to meet the others. They were just as bad looking as the rest of them, Rarity placing practically gallons of make-up to hide her welts. The bags under emerald, amethyst, and aquamarine eyes confirmed Twilight's thoughts as they boarded the train to Canterlot.

Canterlot…

The six ponies plus one dragon entered the throne room of Canterlot Castle, struggling to keep themselves from making any sounds of pain. As they approached the throne, they were met by a beautiful white alicorn with green, blue, and pink in her mane and tail. The hair moved like water as the jewelry she was wearing shone in the sunlight.

Seeing the state of the ponies, the alicorn's eyes widened.

"Twilight! What happened to all of you? Is it that book?"

Twilight shook her head, knowing she can't hide something like this from her mentor anymore.

"No, princess. The six of us have been suffering nightmares that harm us in our sleep. Only we didn't know about each other's conditions until an hour ago."

This concerned Celestia.

"Tell me how these nightmares go and I will have Luna remove them from you."

Since she was the first to speak, Twilight spoke.

"I'll speak my nightmare first."

She took in a deep breath and told her night terror.

"With my nightmare, it begins in darkness. I didn't know where I was or how I got there. But I knew I needed to get out. So I ran. The strangest thing is…I could feel what was going on around me. As I ran, I heard voices. Deep, sinister voices. I couldn't make out what they were saying, so I looked back and I saw a pair of glowing blue eye. Demonic, I would have to describe them. I could tell these eyes meant me harm, so I kept running and running until I saw sunlight. But when I exited the dark place, I found myself in a place that was not Equestria.

"I was at the bottom of a gigantic stone bridge, carved in strange figures and patterns. From the look of it, the bridge and the location were very old. But it also turned out that I wasn't the only one there. There was a battle going on. Strange, bipedal creatures fighting each other with weapons and magic. There were so many kinds, but seeing them fight in front of me was frightening.

"Suddenly, the clouds in the setting sky turned. I thought it was a tornado, but then a metal ring appeared, spinning. Then, from the opening, huge chains dropped down and planted themselves into the stone. Three more chains appeared and planted in the center of the battle, causing the fighters to stop. I couldn't see anything at first, but I could sense that something was very wrong, and the creatures knew that too. But the dust made it impossible for any of us to see anything.

"Then, it began picking off the bipeds. When the dust cleared, only a smaller number of bipeds remained. And something else."

"Something else, Twilight?" Celestia asked, not liking where this nightmare was going.

Twilight nodded as she continued.

"When the dust cleared, more armored bipeds appeared, only…they seemed…dead. And there was a huge monster behind them. It looked like a troll, but it was uglier with two sets of lower jaws, its flesh massive. Suddenly, these creatures attacked and the live bipeds decided to fight together against this force. I wanted to get out of there, so I ran. But as I did, I either get struck by unfamiliar magic, shot by an arrow, or cut with a blade. All from these undead creature.

"Eventually, three of the live one remained. One, a male I would assume, took on the troll and won. The second, a female, used her magic not only to defend herself and send back her attackers, but aimed at one of the chains and broke it. This caused a huge chain reaction, causing the dead army to flee. We were buried under the rubble, until the male got the female out. I do not know what happened to the third. All I do know is that when I woke up, I was covered in bruises and cuts. All in the same places I was struck."

The Mane 5 gaped at her. Each of them then responded, starting with Rainbow Dash.

"No way! That's the same dream I've been having! Only, I chose to fight."

"Same here, sugar-cube. Same dream, different way in dealing with it." Applejack answered.

"I just ran." Fluttershy whispered.

"As did I. And my body still got ruined." Rarity lamented.

"One thing for sure, that was some party. And I don't mean the party I'm familiar with." Pinkie pondered.

After hearing the dreams of the ponies, Celestia's eyes widened further with shock. What could have the power to connect the real world with the dream realm? Looking at the book, the princess realized what forces are at work.

"So…Vaermina has sent you a message." She then motioned to the book. "And Hermaeus Mora has the answers we seek."

Hearing these names, the Mane 6 gave off inquisitive looks to their princess.

"Who?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Princess Celestia hesitated for a moment before she gave her answer.

"There is something that Luna and I forbade to be written down and researched unless it was absolutely necessary. So far, Luna and I are the only ones who hold this knowledge, although I am uncertain if Discord knows the knowledge as well."

The ponies eyes widened as they realized that what they were about to hear was forbidden knowledge. Motioning the ponies to follow, Celestia continued.

"Many worlds are connected one way or another. Their connections vary from a mirror world to an alternate timeline. Our world is connected to one other through a different means. The two worlds are connected by one other." She then uttered the name of the world. "The realm of Oblivion."

"Oblivion?" Twilight asked her mentor.

Celestia answered her former pupil's question.

"It is a world that has multiple planes of existence. Each of the realms of Oblivion is ruled by a powerful deities known as a Daedric Prince. Theses Princes govern various spheres that are we are associated with every day. The Princes that have made themselves known to you are Vaermina and Hermaeus Mora."

They then entered a corridor that not even Twilight had permission to enter as Celestia continued her lesson.

"Your dreams are connected were sent by Vaermina. She is the Daedric Prince of Dreams, Nightmares, and Evil Omens."

"She? If she's a prince, than shouldn't she be a he?" Pinkie asked.

Celestia shook her head.

"The Princes actually have no specific gender nor do they have a specific physical body. They can change their forms to whatever they please."

The ponies remained silent as Celestia resumed.

"Now, Vaermina has sent you a vision of the past of our sister-world: Nirn. The even you spoke of, Twilight, was a battle that happened during the Second Era in the land of Tamriel. More specifically, when the Daedric Prince, Molag Bal, attempted to merge his realm of Oblivion with our worlds' plane of existence: Mundus."

None of the ponies knew why, but when they heard the name "Molag Bal," chills went down their spines. Even Celestia shivered slightly in fear.

"Your dreams and how they had affected you were of Vaermina's work. My suspicion is that those dreams are a warning of sorts. But there is one who can give a more detailed answer."

She then stopped to show them the black book.

"This book is no ordinary book. This is in fact a portal to Apocrypha, the realm of the Prince of Fate and Knowledge: Hermaeus Mora."

"Do you think that Hermaeus Mora sent the book to my castle library on purpose?" Twilight asked with worry.

Celestia nodded.

"He most defiantly knows on why this has happened to you. So I will be going to Apocrypha."

The Mane 6 gasped in shock.

"Apocrypha?! But you can't go alone! Who knows what will happen!"

Twilight shouted. But Celestia spoke to the six as she stopped in front of a large, bolted door.

"There is something that I haven't told anyone. But Luna and I have been to Apocrypha before…when we needed to learn on how to defeat Discord a thousand years ago."

This caused a louder gasp from the ponies.

"Wh-what?" Twilight chocked out.

Celestia sighed. She was expecting this reaction if the secret of the Royal Pony Sisters' victory against Discord ever got out.

"I know the fact that Luna and I made a deal with a Daedric Prince seems horrifying. But we were desperate. Mora sensed our desperation for such knowledge and approached us. At first, we didn't want anything to do with a deadra. Most of the seventeen Princes were not exactly on our side and it is the same today. But in the end, we had no choice. We struck a deal with Mora in order to save Equestria."

"Wha…what did you give him?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

Celestia sighed as she answered blankly.

"Knowledge for knowledge. That is how one can deal with Mora. Luna and I traded information with Mora. That was how we learned of the Tree of Harmony and the elements."

She then unlocked the locked room with her magic and opened the door. Inside was a room filled with various items, including shelf upon shelf of books.

"I built this chamber in case I ever needed to speak with any of the Princes. The books I have here are the first of every book ever written in Equestria for the past thousand years. All of them for my dealings with Hermaeus Mora."

She then chose three tomes that she figured Mora will agree to with the questions in her mind before turning to the black book.

"Only he may have the answers I seek."

She then look to Twilight.

"Twilight. Only you are to accompany me into Apocrypha."

Twilight's weary eyes widened with shock.

"Me? Why me?"

"It is most likely Mora sent the book to your castle because he wanted to test your capabilities in Apocrypha. As long as you are with me, you should be fine."

Twilight was hesitant. She didn't want to meet the Prince. But she also didn't know how long her body was going to keep from giving out. If they kept having those dreams, there was a good chance she and her friends would die from their wounds. There was no other option.

"What do I need to do?"

Seeing Twilight's acceptance, Celestia sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Twilight. I'll be sure to protect you."

She then looked to the Mane 5 and spoke.

"When Luna returns, she will tell you more about the Princes while Twilight and I are in Apocrypha. But for now, you should rest. I will make sure you dream good dreams the rest of the day."

All of the Six were wary of falling asleep, fearing the dream would return. But seeing the trust in Celestia's eyes was enough to agree to sleep before the two princesses' journey to Apocrypha.

Needless to say, they slept much better than they had that week.

Vaermina's message had been received.