What Lies Within

The little filly's eyes fluttered open, and she immediately sat up in her bed. A quick sniff of the air told her all she needed to know. Racing out of the stone hallow that was her room, she lept out over the staircase and snapped open her wings to quickly descend the rock stairs that led to the rest of her home. Hooves skittering on the hard stone, she galloped to the kitchen area. Her mother heard the screech of her child's hooves attempting to halt the young pony's momentum, along with the thud and grunt that accompanied their failure to do so.

"Slow down before you hurt yourself. Again." Sapphire Weaver chuckled, turning from her cooking to face her disheveled and dizzy daughter. "I made pancakes, so sit down at the counter."

Marra, snapping out of her dizziness at the smell of her mother's cooking, sat herself down at their makeshift table. It was a stone slab with a few spots worn down into bowl-like shapes that they used as plates. It wasn't much, but it was the perfect height and length for a counter.

"Wow, mom. You'd think this was a special occasion or something." Marra said sweetly, and Sapphire Weaver tried to hide her doubts behind a smile. It almost worked.

"Now, I had a long talk with the stallion who helped you last month." Sapphire Weaver began slowly, knowing that her daughter was hanging on every word she said. "I was more calm this time-"

A memory came to Marra of her mother's reaction when they had arrived at her house on that night when Deimos had saved her. She didn't think she had ever learned so many creatively worded expletives in one sitting before.

"-and more willing to listen to what he had to say. He made some very good points about the usefulness of magic." Sapphire Weaver paused to flip the pancakes with her magic.

"And?" Marra nearly squealed.

"And... And I've decided to let you learn magic from him."

"YAY!" Marra screamed, rearing up and flapping her wings so hard in excitement that her pancakes flew off of the counter and impacted the far wall. The filly barely noticed amid her excitement.

"I love you I love you I loveyouloveyouLOVEYOU!" She leaned across the space her pancakes had previously occupied to wrap her hooves around her mother, who smiled somewhat nervously. When Marra turned her head to smile at her, Sapphire Weaver felt warmed by the sheer joy and hope in her daughter's eyes. At this, her nervousness faded away into a joy of her own at the pure happiness she never thought she would see in them.

"Eat up. You've got a big day ahead!"

The cavern was situated deeper than any of the others, and was carved out of stone as dark as a solid shadow. Within the yawning expanse sat a crystal clear pool fed by a small, quiet trickle of water from the western wall. Plants of all sorts grew here, but none were  like any able to be found anywhere else. Their leaves glistened in the darkness with a luminescence of their own, and their flowers filled the shadows of the cavern with soft and fickle light. The walls of the cavern were worn, but a close inspection would reveal ancient runes from a time long passed, an age possibly even before the higher caverns themselves. This place was unknown to all but a certain black unicorn who came here to meditate amid the strange and ancient magic, and the filly whom he'd told to meet him there.

Deimos breathed deeply and calmly, the clear spring water circling in its pool as if swirled by an outside force. His breathing fell into time with the swirls of the water, and with a final breath, Deimos released a cloud of dark magic from his horn. It fell silently to the water below, which became still as glass. The black unicorn's eyes flew open at the sound of rocks sliding behind him.

"Mr. Deimos, Mr. Deimos!" Marra called, sliding down the rock passage to the cavern. "Mr. Deimos I finally found... Woah."

Marra's jaw dropped as she took in the sight of the strange rocks, plants, and pool. Deimos smiled ever so slightly at her expression, beckoning her over. The filly trotted over and sat down at the edge of the water, almost unnerved by the absolute silence of the cavern. The water of the pool was so still and clear it seemed like a mirror, and Marra's curiosity led her to lean out over the pool. Her curiosity shifted to surprise when the reflection shown to her was not her own, but of an ancient-looking castle surrounded by wild trees taller and denser than any she had ever seen.

"What cave system is that in?" She asked, but Deimos simply chuckled. Marra frowned at the lack of an answer, but brightened when another question came to mind. "What exactly is this pool if it can show things that aren't there?"

"A good question." Deimos began. "This is a Reflecting Pool, one of many found around these systems of tunnels in which we live. They show not what is around them, but what is above them."

"Above them?" Marra queried, confused. "So, like, in a cave above this one?"

"No little one. It shows a place that isn't within the caves at all. It shows a place Above the Ground."

A small gasp escaped the filly before she could stop it. No adult had ever spoken to her of the place Above the Ground before, and she gazed at the Reflecting Pool with renewed intensity, as if trying to absorb every detail of the place reflected from within. The trees of the forest around were much more vibrant and large than the trees scattered underground, and the castle seemed to be on a scale much larger then any structure that Marra had ever seen.

"What's it called?" She asked breathlessly.

"It is called the Castle of the Everfree. It was once a sprawling city, but now it lies ruined within the wild forest."

"What's it like?"

Deimos chuckled again, but this time his voice seemed sad. "It was a truly beautiful place, a city of grand stone monoliths and ornate gardens. But it hasn't been that way for a long time."

"You've been there? You've been Above Ground! But, that's not possible, right?" Marra's head felt light at this startling information, and Deimos' hoof on her shoulder calmed her slightly.

"It is quite possible for those who know where to look. And yes, I have been there." Deimos' eyes seemed to darken further than their usual shade of black. "A lifetime ago, I have gone there." With a wave of his hoof over its surface, the Reflecting Pool's surface rippled, and it showed only the reflection of the ceiling of the cavern. "This pool is not the reason I asked you to meet me here." Deimos said, ignoring the look of disappointment on the young pony's face. "This place is full of magic; a good place to begin working on harnessing magical energies."

Marra perked up again at the prospect of learning magic, and listened attentively.

"Now," Deimos began. "Aside from what I have previously told you, what do you know about using magic?"

"Uhh." Marra wracked her brain for any information, but she had never learned anything else about magic aside from the fact of its existence. Embarrassed, she simply shook her head.

"Good."

"Sorry... Wait, what?" Marra tilted her head to the side, thoroughly confused.

"I said, good." Deimos repeated. "I am glad that no other pony has introduced you to magic, because this would be more difficult for you to switch over to a different kind of magic."

"Different... kind?"

"Yes. The other ponies practice a new and weaker magic. I wish to show you an ancient magic, far more powerful and versatile than the one used by the others. If you already knew this new magic, it would be harder for you to switch to the magic I will be teaching you."

Marra felt simultaneously solemn and excited at the idea of Deimos teaching her a strange magic, especially one that was virtually unknown. "Uh, ok. So, what do I do?"

"Close your eyes. Good. Now, I want you to focus on the space around you. Try to find something strange about it."

"Mr. Deimos, how am I supposed to notice something about my surroundings if I can't see them?"

Deimos smirked. "That's the challenge."

"How does that make any sense?"

"Just try. And no peeking!"

Grumbling, but complying, Marra settled herself for trying to find something within the darkness behind her eyelids. This is pointless. She thought grumpily, and a small spark momentarily lit up the dark. Her eyes immediately flew open.

"Did you see that?"

"No." Deimos said. "Keep your eyes closed."

Marra once again scanned the darkness of her closed eyes with a more optimistic feeling, but no other lights appeared. "Nothing's happening."

"Then make something happen."

Frustrated, Marra sighed. She was about to give up when a thought occurred to her. Maybe I should just stop trying to see something. Maybe I'm supposed to be focusing on something else? Shrugging, Marra turned her focus to her sense of hearing. Only the silence met her, so she focused on smell. When the only smell was the crisp smell of the Reflecting Pool, she turned to touch. After this also proved useless, she growled in frustration. Suddenly, another spark lit up the darkness.

"There it is again!" Marra cried, keeping her eyes closed this time.

"Try to make it happen again." Deimos urged, so Marra focused on what had happened both times she had seen the light. After a few more minutes with no answer to what was causing the light, Marra's frustration boiled over.

"What is the point of this!" She yelled, and her vision exploded in bursts of light, forming into the shapes of the plants and rocks around her before fading again. Shocked, Marra simply sat down.

"What did you see?" Deimos asked.

"I saw a bunch of bright lights. They kinda looked like they were in the shape of the plants and stuff around here."

"Perfect!" Deimos congratulated, and met Marra's look of confusion with a smile.

"But... I still don't understand. Was that using magic? And how did that happen?"

"No, that was not using magic. It was an important step in that direction, though; and you achieved it impressively swiftly."

Marra felt warmed slightly by the praise, but was still confused. "Well, what was that then?"

"That was sensing magic." Deimos explained. "Magic resides in everything, though in some things it resides in a greater quantity. This cavern is filed with latent magic, and that which resides here is easier to sense because of it. When you saw the 'lights', you were sensing the magic within your surroundings, which is an important skill to master."

"Cool." Marra breathed, awed by the idea that she had just 'seen' magic. "How do I do it again?"

"Well, what were you doing at each of those times that you sensed the magic?"

Marra thought hard to each of those instances. "... I guess that each of those times... I was irritated." Marra frowned. "Do you have to be angry to use magic?"

"Oh, no." Deimos chuckled. "Not always. A spell starts within the mind and body and leaves them through either the horn, wings, or hooves. This magic has to come from a source, and the magic I am teaching you harnesses the magical energies inherent in emotions. Feelings of anger and sadness are the most powerful, and unfortunately the most common, so they are the basis for the magic."

"Oh." Marra sighed in relief. She couldn't imagine having to always be angry to use magic. "Well, can you use other emotions?"

"You can use any emotion." Deimos explained. "But the magic created is far less powerful. If you are going to use this magic for self defense, you need as much power as you can get while you are still learning. Once you get better, you can even use other creatures' emotions to cast your magic, but we will just start with the basics."

"Cool! But, how am I going to get enough frustration to learn all this magic?" Marra asked warily.

Deimos simply smiled mischievously. "Close your eyes and try to describe what's around you."

"Ughhh..."

Sapphire Weaver sat anxiously at the entrance to her home, waiting for her daughter to return. "Is she okay?" The blue mare fretted. "What if she got hurt? What if learning magic was too much for her? What if that unicorn wasn't as trustworthy as I thought? Oh, I never should've let her go!"

She checked the clock that hung above the fireplace. 6:01. Marra was supposed to be back by six.

"I should've sent Midnight Aria with her." Sapphire groaned, pacing around the entrance.  After a few paces, she whipped her head around to the clock again. 6:02. The mare bit her lip nervously, her body shaking with the urge to run and find her child. There was too much danger out there, her baby wasn't safe. She couldn't handle it alone, her daughter needed her!

All of a sudden, Sapphire Weaver found herself galloping down the caverns at full speed. She didn't even remember beginning to run, but it didn't matter. She wasn't stopping now.

"I'm coming! Oh, I'm coming!" The blue-grey mare whispered to herself. "I'm coming! Please be safe!"

Marra trotted happily up the tunnels, replaying Deimos' lessons in her head. After a few hours, she had figured out how to easily gather enough emotional energy to sense the magic in the plants around her. Deimos had also instructed her in a few basic spells such as levitation and a small stun spell. It almost didn't matter to the young filly what kind of magic she had learned, though; the fact that she knew magic at all filled her with joy. Every once in a while, she stopped to levitate a rock just because she could, squealing with happiness when the pebble slowly but surely lifted.

After a while, the filly came to her doorway. Trotting in through the opening, she immediately noticed that something was wrong.

"Mom?" Marra called, but only her own slight echo answered her. Looking around in confusion, her gaze rested on the clock. It read 6:03.

"Oh, horsefeathers."

Midnight Aria strolled casually through the tunnels, a basket of bread and vegetables floating beside her. She always enjoyed her errand days at the market, where she could talk to the other ponies. As a Shaman, she loved talking out the problems of the market ponies as she gathered up the week's supplies, and she liked to think that their smiles meant they appreciated her too. She was just about to turn a corner in the tunnel when a blue pony rounded the bend and sped by her, blowing her hair to one side and wobbling the grocery basket she carried.

"What in the blazes..." She muttered, before she sensed the aura that the pony gave off.

"Sapphire Weaver?" The confused filly yelled at the now distant figure. "What the hay are you-"

It was then that a terrible thought hit Aria. There was only one reason for Sapphire to be that upset. Her goods forgotten, Aria sped as fast as her little hooves could carry her, following the residual magic that Sapphire was releasing in her panic.

"Oh, Marra, what's happened now?"

"Oh, no." Marra cried, her wings flapping unconsciously in distress. "Mom, you don't even know what caverns I was in! Where could you have gone?" The only place that Marra could think of that her mother would look was the spring, but her mom knew she wouldn't be there.

A simple thought struck Marra. Her mother had said that she had talked to Deimos again, but both ponies had previously seemed to never wish to speak to the other again. If Sapphire Weaver had talked to Deimos after that, it must mean that she knew at least something about him, such as-

"She knows where he lives." Marra gasped. "She's gonna get herself hurt! I gotta find her."

How, though? Marra wracked her brain for an answer, and her thoughts went back to her lessons attempting to sense the emotional energy around her.

"Well,"  Marra commented dryly. "I'm positive that mom had plenty of negative emotion. It's worth a shot."

Taking a steadying stance, Marra closed her eyes. The stone around her started to outline dimly in magic, and Marra pressed forward through the process using her worry as fuel. Light instantly flooded her vision like the sudden catching of a flame, and Marra would have squinted if her eyes weren't already closed. A brilliant trail of emotion led down the tunnels, growing brighter as it went on. There was no question as to what it led to.

"Please don't have done something stupid." Marra grumbled to herself as she took off down the tunnel with a swift flap of her wings.

Deimos sensed the anger and fear of the pony from nearly a mile away. He sighed as he felt the source get closer at surprisingly rapid speeds, and simply stepped outside of his home. Rolling his eyes, he sat down to wait for Sapphire Weaver to arrive.

"This should be fun."

Soon enough, a blue streak rounded the bend in the tunnel that led straight to his door. It seemed to increase in speed as it came closer, and Deimos realized that Sapphire meant to ram straight through him. In only a moment, the sweating and swearing mare was close enough that Deimos could see the dilated pupils in her eyes. With a simple flick of his irritation, the charging mare froze mid-gallop, her eyes contorting into a glare of pure and unfiltered malice as she found that she was unable to move.

"Stop! Please-*gasp*-for-*gasp*-the-*gasp*-love-*gasp*-of-" Deimos looked up in surprise as Midnight Aria skittered to a halt beside the suspended mare. The filly simply sat gasping for a good minute before she spoke.

"Is Marra alright?"

"Of course." Deimos replied casually. "She left on her way home a short time ago. I had actually just returned here when I was apparently chosen for a surprise bullfighting match." His eyes met Sapphire's, whose glare had shifted from one of anger to one of confusion, and then to one of panic.

"So, Marra's just sitting at home. Completely alone." Aria groaned, turning to meet Sapphire's eye. "No offense, but that wasn't very well thought out."

"I very much agree with-" Deimos' sarcasm was cut off when he sensed another pony approaching rapidly. "Hmm. Marra may not be as completely alone as you thought."

As he finished speaking, the red filly soared around the corner up to where the other ponies were standing and touched down a few paces away.

"Oh, good. You found her." Marra panted, rubbing her now sore wings. Sapphire Weaver, frozen as she was, simply turned her eyes towards the sound of her daughter's voice. As soon as she caught sight of the filly, her eyes faded to a tired and relieved look. Noting the change, Deimos set her down from the spell.

The instant that Sapphire's hooves touched the ground, she wrapped Marra in a tight embrace.

"Oh, honey I was so worried!" Sapphire cried, tears of relief running down her muzzle.

"How did you find us?" Midnight Aria queried, realizing that Marra didn't know where Deimos lived.

Marra wormed her way out of Sapphire's hug and beamed at Aria. "I sensed and followed mom's anger."

Aria seemed shocked to hear this, so Marra continued.

"Deimos taught me how. I also learned a couple basic spells today-"

"Deimos taught you hate magic?" Aria exclaimed, throwing him a questioning and mildly accusatory glance.

"Hate magic?"

"Yes." Deimos answered for Marra. "And before you accuse me, let me explain myself. You see-"

"You are teaching my daughter hate mhhmph!" Sapphire was cut off by her mouth suddenly sealing shut. She glared at Deimos as he calmly resumed speaking.

"As I was saying, the magic that fuels itself from emotions -particularly levels of anger- is of far greater power than regular magic. If Marra is going to be learning to defend herself against ignorant and violent ponies, than she needs all the strength she can get."

As neither Aria nor Sapphire could come up with a counter for this, Aria simply nodded. Sapphire, however, was still searching for anything to pin her anger on Deimos with.

"You could have at least cared enough to send her home in time." Sapphire huffed after Deimos released his silence spell.

"I was three minutes late, mom." Marra rolled her eyes.

"But you were supposed to be home by six! Something could have happened to you!"

"Something could also have happened to me when you hastily ran off! Please, can you just trust me?"

"I do not think that it is her trust in you that is unstable." Deimos cut in, his eyes hard. "Sapphire, I wish to speak with you. Privately."

The dark unicorn curtly turned and strode into his home. Seeing the expectant looks of the two fillies, Sapphire reluctantly followed. Deimos was waiting for her in a side room.

"I realize that most of what I am going to say, you will not agree with. However, do not interrupt me until I am finished." He began, his cold eyes unflinching and unblinking.

"Your daughter is incredibly gifted in magic, enough that I would not be surprised if she eventually found her cutie mark in it. However, the odds that she faces against those too ignorant to understand the strength and importance of an alicorn are staggering. If you are going to let me teach your daughter how to use magic, than you are going to have to trust me.

"Hate magic is not evil like the ignorant falsely assume. Hate is merely an emotion felt by all, and its form of magic turns a destructive force into a useful one. Its extreme power will also give your child a further advantage against the world she faces."

With this, Deimos drew closer until his black eyes were merely inches from Sapphire. The mare had to force herself not to shrink downwards under his intense stare as he began to speak again.

"Both you and I know exactly what those ponies will do to her; but if you aren't going to trust me, I am not going to teach your daughter to defend herself. Therefore, ask yourself," Deimos' voice turned to a snarl. "Next time they attack her, who would you rather bury? A foolish stranger?"

Deimos turned his back to Sapphire. "Or your daughter?"

The dark unicorn strode back further into the house, leaving the downcast mare to exit alone.