Friendly Nightmares and Unsettling Sights

by Good Fedora Pony

Chapter 1

Do you hate the dark? I do. I always hated staying up at night too, but I hated trying to sleep through it even more.

Hi, my name is Grace Pop Flower, and I see things that don't exist.

They tried to cure me with the most common method, pills. It didn't work.

They tried to fix me using therapy. It didn't work.

They tried unicorn magic methods. Some were OK, but some were also terrible. It didn't work.

They tried convincing me to believe that I was ignoring the facts presented to me and that I was to blame for there failures. It worked, but it didn't cure me.

They even tried to use everything at the same time. Nothing changed.

Eventually, my mom decided that it was a waste of time and money trying their ideas and
decided to take matters into her hooves.

Being dirt broke and exhausted; she decided to take a chance and gave into my requests.

At first, she just allowed me to stay up late and didn't bother trying to send me to school as she figured that I wouldn't function well. But I didn't want to miss school.

Despite not having enough sleep I still managed to get to school and keep (B-) grades, which impressed my Mom. Especially since I was taking it so seriously, even though I looked like I was on the brink of death.

She got me some things that I needed for the long night hours, such as snacks, books both fiction, and non-fiction, and some stuffed animal friends to keep me company since my mother worked day shifts.

Also, I fell like I can relate to Twighlt Sparkle and her Mom in some deeper aspect then I can describe. I remember when I first raid Twighlt Velvets books I felt overwhelmed with excitement, especially when I was left on a cliffhanger. Twilight Sparkle did something similar for me when she made the book "The Basic Principles." which was a magic guide for young unicorns who had difficulty using magic. My mom got the book by mistake as we aren't unicorns, but I read it anyways.

While other books teach similar lessons, this one had the facts and details of everything you can and can't expect from all of the others as it apparently wasn't only exclusive to unicorns. Apparently, pegasi and earth ponies have magic too as one can walk on clouds and the other can bring plants on the brink of death back to life!

I loved reading her books when I need some food for thought, and I love reading the one that she and her friends made together "The Friendship journal" as well. But it hasn't helped me make any friends yet, Unfortunately.

My mom also got some lights and other small things for me here and there too; however, my mom did realize that I wouldn't be able to enjoy them if I couldn't get enuff sleep. So She also scheduled my schooling hours to be cut in half so that I had more time to sleep in the safety of daylight at home.
Some have said that it was an irresponsible thing to do, but the school did agree in the end. none expected me to last very long, but I did.

I ended up getting (A+) grades and beat everyone else's scores every time. this didn't make me popular with the other students, but my teachers were another story.
my language course teacher noted on more than one occasion that I was very well "illustrated" for my age. Probably because I've been sticking my muzzle into books every chance I get. If only to escape my reality.

My mother said I had schizophrenia, but the symptoms don't quite match up to me. At least that's what I think.
But All I've ever really seen of schizophrenia in the context as I understand it is either through a book of horror stories or a movie that took bits and pieces of it and paste it all through the film.

I don't know what schizophrenia means, and I was too scared to find out.
Everything I've seen has told me one thing.

Ponies who have schizophrenia are......crazy.

I don't like to think about that.

I don't want to be a burden to her.
I don't want to tell my her what I see.
I don't want to tell her why I scream in the middle of the night.
I don't want her to worry about me, but I don't want to lie to her either.
Not only because she taught me not to lie, but because I have no one else to turn too when...they arrive.

I wasn't always like this you know.

At first, they were small things. A door creaking by itself.
A book or two falling off the shelf for no good reason.
A whisper or two when I'm by myself.
I could handle those little things, at least nowadays; however, things didn't get any easier after that.
Ever since I got my cutie-mark They have been hunted me
They're not very different from cockroaches in a way. Hiding in dark corners and watching me all the time. And it's in the dark they seem to have multiplied over time.

The best way to describe them is just monstrous.
Most of them had jagged teeth that made them look horrible when they smiled. (which was all the time for some.) Their eyes usually glowed in the dark too, but it wasn't always just the color red that I see. Some are blue, green, yellow, orange, sometimes even pink.
And like their eyes they always had different shaped bodies to add variety.

I don't know what else to call them but nightmare creatures.
I never actually had a nightmare before, but I'm pretty sure that the name qualifies for these things.

I remember when I first saw them I screamed at the top my lungs. My mother who had no idea what was going on yelled at me for it.

The second time I saw them made things even worse, as apparently, these things didn't care if it was nighttime or not. I saw one of them leering at me when I opened the sink cabinet. If I knew what I knew now, I probably wouldn't have been as afraid of the things. Despite how horrifying they looked, But back then I could've sworn that the thing was trying to grab me and pull me in.
Funny, I could say that my imagination can get the better of me sometimes, but technically everything I see is a figment of my imagination.

Nowadays we have an excellent routine.
I get up with my mom and go to school with her. We split up at a fork in the road as my mom's job is in one direction and my school is down the other.
Next, I spend about an hour and a half at school, 30 minutes for math, history and exclusive magic studies,(Even though I'm no unicorn) and then I walk home by myself since it's not very far away and go to bed.
Preferably around 11 or 12 AM. I then get up around six or seven, which is usually when my mom returns from work.
I help her make dinner, and then we sit down and talk about our day.
Dinner is usually my favorite time because I get to hang out with my mom the most at this time. We even take some time to watch a movie every once in a while.

Next, my mom gets ready for bed, and I get my room set up for the long night, usually just feeding and watering the fireflies and resupplying the flashlights. I also lock up my stuffed animals as they tend to get...Excited at night.
Usually, this part has been going smoothly for the last two years. The worst things I have to worry about is often the closet,(which is padlocked sealed) and my window to the outside. (Also locked)

There are occasions when I hear something move in the kitchen, but I don't worry about it because I have all the snacks I need in my room.
More often than not I spend my time reading to my friends in the toy box. It usually helps them keep calm, which results in less noise for my mom to hear.

I used to be able to keep them outside of the box, but then they started to change, and not in a good way either. That's okay though, as long as they are in the toy box at night they can't hurt themselves, or somehow by accident hurt me.
Once daylight breaks I usually get a quick start on breakfast. My mom appreciates it when I start cooking since that leaves her with more sleeping time, and that makes me happy too!
I remember when I used to get tired of doing these things, but now it comes to me so easily.
Things only became more natural when the things that used to scare you suddenly make your day.
For example, our toaster growls a lot at first when I force the toast in its mouths, but pretty soon he gets the idea that I'm feeding it. Soon it swallows the pieces whole and begins the sizzle. The toaster is a lot like a dog in a way. It wags its cord back and forth sometimes and even barks on occasion.

It usually rejects the offer when I pet it, responding with a growl and will glare at me with its knob eyes, but on occasions like this, it would let me pet it for a time with a happy expression on its knobby eyes.

Or I assume its at least content for the moment, considering it's two tongues are sticking out while breathing quietly.

After breakfast, we repeat the same routine. She goes to work, and I go to school, I go home and sleep, then she returns, we eat dinner and so on so forth.

Sometimes during breakfast, my mom would ask, Why there were only three pieces of toast instead of four like there were supposed to be. I usually say that the toaster just got hungry I suppose.

I always mean to say it funnily, like it was a joke, even though it was probably true.
Thankfully my mom laughs every time I say something like that these days. It's hard to believe that it wasn't always like this.

I remember hearing my mom cry at night after I said something like that. I can't blame her. She thought that she was losing me. Losing me to these monsters that plagued my eyes and my mind.

Thankfully though the worst parts are now behind me as I have gotten used to these everyday nightmares.,In fact, the monsters are kind of comforting in a way. At least I can see them, and through the grace of time, I learned that they were practically harmless.

I even feel comfortable enough to reach out to them with my hoof and try to pet them; however, unlike the toaster, they don't appreciate it and draw away into the darkness where they dwelt. Even the monster in the sink cabinet would drawback from my touch, which is both annoying and convenient.

Convenient, because I can still reach in and grab the sponge and soap with ease, But the annoying part is that I can't touch these monsters to prove that they are real to myself! Yes, the kitchen appliances occasionally look like a monster in appearance and behavior, but those are appliances, things that my mother touches but never sees what I see. Kind of hard to prove that you're not crazy by saying the blender is a monster that has vicious looking teeth.
Can't honestly take the statement seriously now can you?

Occasionally I would actually play with the monsters by grabbing a small ball and roll it under the fridge or the stove or pretty much under anything with a wide enough gap.
As soon as I roll the ball underneath, I would hear some wild sounds. Shortly after that, the ball would roll back Out.

It's like a small game of catch with a bunch of creepy looking animals.

Sometimes, but not often, some of the creatures even come out of their hiding spots and into the light. No one monster has the same shape or looks as another, so I don't feel it's necessary to explain what they look like, but more often than not, they're not any prettier in the light.

Another factor in my adaption to these things is the fact that I'm actually much bigger than most of them.
Like I said before they are like cockroaches, they fit into crevices and are not all that big to begin with. Even the one under the sink was shorter than me, so that helped.

Now in days, I don't get scared of every shadow that moves. I don't become afraid when I see a shadow in the mirror that isn't mine. I don't even get scared of real life things like bears or snakes, but when it comes to the dark, everything changes.

The Monsters in the dark are the only thing in my life that I've yet to understand completely and I hoped it stayed that way.
When I first saw the terrifying monsters in the dark, I tried not to scream for my mom because she would have been mad at me. I tried to keep my muzzle shut as my closet door began to creak open.

Back then, all the monsters looked alike to me, but now I know better. I know how truly scary the ones in the dark can be. I still remember the whispering words of the thing that came out of my closet. Sounding almost like a pony, but not just any pony, it tried sounding like my mom.

It was Hairy, like a spider, but it has claws like a bird of prey reaching out of the door and pushing it open slightly. I decide to hide the moment I saw the gleam of its beak in the dark. For some reason it didn't look under the sheets where I was hiding; instead, I just heard it crawling around the room Looking and calling for me.

At the time I tried ignoring it and hid under my sheets, hoping and praying for daylight to come sooner. When morning came, I asked my mom if she had come into my room that night calling for me.

She never once got out of bed that night.

That was when I started begging her not to force me to sleep at night.
It came as a shock to her as it was just a few weeks after that I got my cutie-Mark. Usually a happy occasion, but was quickly replaced with worry.

Come to think of it, what does my cutie Mark have to do with what I see nowadays?
It's not like I have a pentagram or a cursed symbol plastered on my flank!
It makes absolutely no sense as my mark is just a pink sphere.
Do you know what it represents? Do you know what it means?

Well neither do I.

Funny, my teachers tell me that I'm a close example of a young genius, and yet I can't figure out what my Cutie Mark is telling me. I mean, once you get your mark aren't you supposed to know?
Didn't you earn it or something?
I don't know yet, and it's frustrating. Sometimes I wish I was a blank flank still.

Another funny thing, I got my Cutie Mark before everyone else in my class. (Whoopee)
But it doesn't matter right now. No point in moping about what I don't understand. We have the routine, and as long as we keep to the method, neither of us will get hurt by my curse.

Everything was perfect. Well, that is until recently.
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After we were finished with breakfast, my mom told me she'd be home early That day on the account that a stallion was coming over to inspect the house.

I asked her why we needed an inspection and she said that it was just necessary.
I didn't question her any further after that.

Before I knew it, we were already out the door and walking down the path to our destination. It wasn't very long before we reached the end of the woods in which our home resided in, and continued to walk through the grassy clearing to the only obvious guidepost. A guidepost with multiple signs nailed onto it pointing in different directions with the names and labels of the destinations.

Bonus fact, we have our very own sign on their too. I even helped decorate it a little bit with the aid of paint and glitter!
I admit that it could have turned out better, as I am reminded each time I see the chaotic scribbling and splotches of paint mixed with the glittery substance of pink, blue, yellow and a puke-green.

Come to think of it, That sign does need an updated as the sign itself said, "kindred family home resident."
and even though my mom doesn't mention it, I'm pretty sure we officially change that when my father left.
We were the pop-flowers now since that was my mom's family name.

Well, anyways we stopped by the sign and gave each other a firm hug and said our usual farewells before departing different ways. There's even a point in the roads we both stop at a point way down our paths and wave to each other, which was pretty easy since it is nothing but flat grassland. If I were to look close enough, I could see the outlines of the town that my mom goes to work.

Another bonus fact, my mom works at a prison as a watch guard. Isn't that cool or what?!
And they say ponies with flower cutie-marks can't be tough!

Well, anyways I get to school and immediately start getting out the things I need as I find it's a pain to do so in a cramped classroom. First I organize my notebooks in the order I usually expect to pull them out, then I check to make sure that my pencils are all sharpened by using my hoof cranked sharpener. Sharpening pencils are never easy for me as a crank can sometimes be hard to use with two hoofs. I envy unicorns for this very reason as they can use those little sharpeners using levitation magic. We earth ponies always seem to have the short end of the stick when it comes to simple luxuries.

Last but certainly not least, I pulled out one of my friends from the toy box back at home and inspected it to make sure that it was intact though it wasn't necessary.
You see I usually bring one of my three friends with me on different days to school.

The day before I had brought my friend "Quiz the duck" who was the stuffed animal I earned when I won the spelling bee contest five times in a row. I was told that he was supposed to be mallard duck, but I suppose even spelling bee judges can get their animals wrong as he was clearly a white farm duck.

The day before that, it was"Saggy the bear" who was a gift from my mom. I call him Saggy because my mom accidentally cut him open and for some reason thought that you were supposed to add stuffing every time you have to fix them. Now he's a very fat bear who sags over every time I try to stand him up. But that's okay because now he is twice the bear that he once was!

And today, I had brought the biggest of my friends with me. "Baggy, the jumbo-sized stuffed stallion."
Baggy is by far the best of my friends so far. When my mom got him for me, I was shocked as the stuffed brown pony doll was twice my size. I could not believe that such a thing existed as it was even as big as my mom! She had found him in one of the traveling caravans that were selling wacky and bizarre things. I call him Baggy because his blue jeans pants were enormous compared to his actual hind legs! The only reason they stayed on was that they were sewed on in the first place.

Thankfully though he was very flexible as I was able to fit him inside one of my saddlebags every time with a little bit of effort, granted I always have to leave my lunch behind as a compromise for space, but that's okay, I don't get hungry at school anyways.

Looking at the stuffed stallions sizable purple button eyes I smile as I put everything away in an organized manner so that my saddlebag did not sag from one side to the other from the change of weight since my stuffed friend will not be put back in there until after school.
After organizing everything I dragged my friend over to my back and did my best to make sure that not all four of his legs were dragging on the ground. Then I walk up to school and entered.

It didn't take long for some of the students already inside to notice me and immediately began to harass me.

"Hey look it's paleface the ghost!"
"Oh be careful, she's coming this way."

"Ug, its that creep again? Why does she keep coming to school in the first place?!"
"Yeah, how does she expect to get anywhere if she only attends half the school time a day?"

"Hey look, the long face has a friend with an even longer face!"
"Yeah, and it's just as ridiculous looking too."
"Isn't she a little old for dolls?"

At one time I would've been in tears, but nowadays it just comes out as empty words with no power behind them.

So what if I have pale looking fur. I've seen Colts with pink fur and that's classified as embarrassing.
Hearing all of these empty words only proves how oblivious they are to the truth in front of them.

Granted it is pretty odd when someone like me is allowed to bring stuffed animals to school every day without being reprimanded. But then again, teachers in this school seem to love me to death. They would probably care less if I had a pet too, with permission of course.

I don't want to brag or anything, but I am a star student in this school too, so that helps.

Bonus fact: some of the books I read are considered as high school grade material. Some of the teachers even suggested jumping a grade or two, but I didn't want to. Not only because I'd be younger than all of my classmates but the fact that I would have to work extra hard to keep up, and since I just have half the time my fellow students have, it would make things terribly difficult in a long-running game of stress. Thankfully my mom agreed with me too so the teachers didn't argue any further; although, I can already tell that they are planning for my future potential in clubs and competitions as I always hear them suggesting things that I should try. Can't really say I blame them as for the last few years this school has been on a losing streak, and no one likes to lose several times in a row at just about everything.
Boy, when I get older, I'm going to get really popular in this school.

Oh, sorry I'm talking too much, aren't I? Well that's okay, the sums of the details make the whole of the story, right?

Anyways, I went to the first class of the day, which is "Magic theory and practice" which happens to be my favorite. My teacher, Mr.Creed, greeted me as I entered and commented on my companion, asking me how I managed to carry such a massive thing seamlessly in a saddlebag every time. I replied by saying that it was probably the stuff he was made of.
Since neither my mother nor I had thought about it until the caravan got on the road again, we were merely content to say that he was made of some unknown flexible silk or something.

He then directed me to my usual seat where I carefully placed my friend under the desk and chair to not abstract the view of my fellow students behind me and to make sure no one had to walk over him to get by me. I wasn't in the front of the class but rather the back of it. I was a creature of habit, choosing the same spot every time.
Listening to the fascinating subjects Mr.Creed listed out for us I was overly enthusiastic as the subject of magic even though I could not practice it the same as unicorns, or for that matter like my teacher, I still felt that the knowledge I was receiving was somehow relevant in my life. While writing down some notes I stopped as I realized that a student I usually see at the front row desks to the far right closest to the door was not there, but instead, a new student was sitting there.

The Philly who usually sat there was named, Daily Crust, though I did not know her well I did see that she was outgoing and friendly when approached.

However she did have her sick days as her father and mother are Baker's who tried a few new things here and there as a family, and at times the things they were trying were a disaster, and the whole family paid the price. Though it wasn't often that it happened, it did happen regardless.
But the fact that another student was sitting in her chair was a little odd to me as Mr.Creed only accepted a certain number of students for every session, and did not have room for extras.

So why was there a new student and why was he not announce? Granted I didn't get in the class as on-time as I should have, but surely Mr. Creed would have introduced me when he had the opportunity, wouldn't he?

I didn't dwell on it very long as I only had so much time to work. I was to listen to the lecture and then go to the front desk to retrieve the homework assignment that Mr.Creed had made just for me to take home with me and finish the task on my own time instead of school time. Most students would not have gotten away with this sort of schedule, but apparently, I was worth something as no one seems to worry about the extra effort they have to make for me.

Anyways Mr.Creed was finished with his lecture and was already pulling out the assignment paper and started writing notes on it. I was in the process of packing my stuff up as the other students were working on their assignments already.

I get up and quietly walk next to the walls tell I get next to the door where I decided to take a glimpse of the new student next to me, but then realized he was already gone.

Since Mr.Creed did not like talking during study time he merely smile at me as he levitated the paper to me where I gratefully accept with a smile and proceed to leave the classroom to go to my next one, the math room were again I sit in the back of the room with my jumbo sized plushy.

Miss Digit, was the teacher of this classroom, and though she was an old earth pony, I would've thought for sure that she would've announced the new student that I saw again. But this time he was standing by the door, staring at me.

It was actually hard to tell if he was staring at me since he wore thick white glasses with swirls in each lens. I can't imagine how anyone can see through those things, but I could swear that he was looking at me. His lips were curled in a sort of smirk in my direction, thus convincing me he was staring. Miss Digit didn't oppose him; she didn't comment on it. In fact, she didn't seem to notice him at all. In fact, no one noticed him at all.

When the class ended for me, I went and asked Miss Digit about the boy who was standing in the doorway, who again disappeared.
"There is no new student that I know of dear, and Everyone in this classroom was sitting where they were supposed too."

I have to admit that I was a little troubled after that. I know I see crazy things all the time, but I never saw a pony no one else could see before. It made me question things a little more than usual as I could swear that a young brown colt with white hair and blue streaks wearing bizarre white swirling glasses was there in both of my classes next to the door. It frustrated me, even more, when I went to my final class, (the language room) and saw that the colt wasn't there.

I didn't mean to let myself look troubled, but apparently, Miss Light Pen did notice and came right up to me and asked me if something was wrong. Asking her if there was a new student but that didn't help much as she confirmed that there was no such student.

After school was over, I went outside and arranged my saddlebag to stuff my friend into his place and made my tiring walk home.

The sun was still high in the sky, but I was exhausted. Staying up throughout the entire night and then cooking breakfast before walking up to school only then to return one and a half hours later back down the road to go home and finally sleep.
It was difficult, but it was necessary.

Even now I could feel my eyes sagging heavily as they desperately wanted to close and give in to sleep.

I didn't even care about that colt from earlier before. At least I didn't until I saw him again.
This time he was waiting by the guidepost of all things, staring in my direction. I didn't even notice him until I was about eight or nine yards away because I was too lazy to look.

Seeing the colt right there staring at me was a little unsettling. But he was just a colt and no more a monster than any other I have seen.

When I got to him, he only smiled wider, as if I was his sister or a close friend, but I didn't know him at all. I kept a few feet distance from him and the post he was leaning on for the sake of a comfort zone.
We both remain in that terribly awkward silence for what seemed like forever until finally, I decided to break the silence.

"Can I help you?" I asked, but he just kept staring at me the same swirling white glasses he had before.
Feeling slightly discouraged I took a look at his flank to see that he was a blank flank. I figured that this was an excellent start to a conversation.
"So you're a blank flank? Well, that's cool, You know I think I can help you with that if you want." He remained silent, smiling the same way as before, unchanged.

Frustration was getting the better of me from the awkward moment I continued to speak.
"Look I don't know what your smiling for, or for that matter I don't even know who you are. But it is rude to stare, it is rude and it's socially unacceptable to act like a creep. So please say something, or I'll get my mom who is an enforcer of the law. And she'll teach you how to behave without a doubt."

At this, his smile faded a little bit, but it was still there. And finally he spoke, but his voice was more profound and more mature than I had expected. His voice sounded like an older teenage pony which only added emphasis on the shock I received from his words.

...."Are you ready?"....

Drawn back by what he said and how he said it, I didn't answer him immediately.

"Ready for what?" I ask, curiously.

"For your party!" He exclaimed waving his front hoofs up as if it was an exciting event for him.
I just stared at him, unsure if he knew who he was talking to as I have never had surprise parties as they require actual friends, which neither I nor my mom had.. He must've made a mistake, which is understandable, but odd as the only house nearby here was my house. All the other houses were in town or near the schoolhouse. How does someone make a mistake like this unless it was deliberate?

Who are you? I demanded, but it seemed as though my words had fallen on deaf ears as he only continued to stare at me smiling all the same.

Another few moments of silence passed before he spoke again, but the choice of words he used haunted me as he spoke.

"We'll be seeing you tonight. Best get going before it gets dark."

The answer unsettled me almost as much as his smile did.

Not knowing what else to do I continued to walk past him down the pathway to my home. As I passed him, I watched intently, expecting him to snicker at how gullible I am, like it was a joke.

I could have taken his smile as a sign that he was joking, but the problem is that It didn't seem natural enough to be a joking smile, it was more unsettling than amusing to me.

I tried looking into his eyes as I passed him, but to no avail, the glasses were too thick to see past the smoky white swirling lenses to make any shape out behind them.

When I got about 5 yards away, I finally looked away from him as he to began to finally look elsewhere and just stared down the road I had just come from.

My mind starts reasoning out what I was experiencing as always, trying to counsel myself most reasonably, which was to doubt anything and everything.

Naturally, after thinking about the fact that a colt was making me feel like I have butterflies in my tummy had just been an early sign of puberty.

My mom did say that It did occasionally happen to her when she was about my age, even though it was a little unusual.
I just accepted that I just inherited some of my mom's traits and my schizophrenia was just going wild with it.

Although that did not explain what happened in the school, or why he was being somewhat vague about his name and the reason he was stalking me.

I could've come up with another halfwit excuse if I wanted to at the time, but then I turned my head to look back and look at him.

He was gone.

My head shot up and my back straightened out. My mind was on high alert looking in all directions for the colt who was standing by the post just moments ago.
Did he go down the road? Is he off the trail? And if so was he hiding in the grass?
No, the entire area was flat. The grass never grew high enough to even cover a rabbit in these parts. I would still be able to see him a mile down the road, so that was out of the question.
Now I knew he couldn't hide out here, he was about my size, and it never worked for me. The entire field was flat, once farmlands now turned into wild grassland. So there are no hills, pits, or dips in the landscape. The only way anyone could hide out here was to head for the woods right behind me.

But no one could run past me without being seen, even if I was dimwitted and he ran like a champion. It was impossible for an earth pony to just vanish into thin air.

Unless he was a ghost...

The breeze in the air suddenly felt chilly, my breath staggering for air.
My mind was racing, trying quickly to throw the thought out, but the evidence was louder than the distractions.

No one else but me saw him today. He is there one minute then he disappears the next. The sense of unease I felt when I walked past him. How out of place his very nature was when just standing there, And I did feel just a tad bit colder when I passed him

These facts started sending chills down my spine when the words he said started returning with a vengeance.

"We'll be seeing you tonight. Best get going before it gets dark."

My leg started shaking as the realization came to me.
Others were waiting out there, no, they were waiting out here with me!
Possibly scurrying in the grass around my legs at that very moment.
Or then again, they may have been far away from here, which was a comforting thought; however, they were out there somewhere, and that was just as terrifying to realize as I was in the middle of an open field. Exposed for all to see.

A part of me was saying that it was absurd to think that way, but then again this had never happened to me before!
I see monsters every day, but ghosts now?! Either my condition was getting worse, or I actually saw a specter that told me that he was going to visit me tonight. Either way, I knew I had to get home right then and there.

I backed away and started bolting down the road to the forest just a quarter-mile down the road. Stopping for nothing but a short gasp of air before running deeper into the woods until I could finally see our wooden house and eventually began to slow down. The adrenaline running through me was now depleted; I merely felt relieved to be so close to my sanctuary.

I stopped right at the door, controlling my composure and my breathing as I knew that my mother was already here. The last thing I want her to ask is "what's wrong?" When she looks at me to see my mane full of twigs and me still gasping for air.

I wanted to avoid the whole fiasco from earlier if I could help it by acting as if nothing ever happen.

There are times when I would have loved to tell her everything about my day, but if it had anything to do with seeing the impossible, then I may as well say that I had cancer.

My mom knew that I had schizophrenia, as did everyone else. Saying otherwise only made things worse, so naturally keeping quiet was my best option.

Besides, I wasn't entirely convinced that I really was seeing what I was seeing; regardless, I had to keep my guard up just in case if even one thing I have seen was real, and had the potential actually to hurt me.

The ghosts could be a fluke, but I'm not willing to take that chance as I could lose more than just my sanity.

When I believed I was presentable, I opened the door and entered inside to smell the familiar sent of aged timber then Turned around and close the door behind me.

I then turned around and closed the door behind me.

"Grace? Is that you?" my mother called from the bathroom.
I could tell she was finishing her shower as the humidity was apparent in the air.

I replied in kind and then announced that I was going to go and sleep for now.

she just hummed a reply just before I was out of ear-shot.

It was a typical response that made it apparent that nothing was out of the ordinary. (Aside from the fact that she usually wasn't here when I got back from school.)

I guess you could say that I'm a good actor for the most part, but I'm pretty sure it's just that everyone else doesn't know how to tell when something is bothering me, (At least not above the usual frantic expressions I usually have.)
Not that it mattered, I was home, I was safe, and nothing else mattered.

It was fairly tricky for sleep to come to me, (well, no more than usual anyway) which would probably come as no surprise considering that I had possibly encountered a ghost today in broad daylight. But I ran so far and so fast, I should have felt at least a little fatigued, (at least I did when I got to the door) but in the end, I did fall asleep, which was a good thing, because I had a long night ahead of me.
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I woke up and got out of bed around 6:20. My mother had already finished dinner and called me into the kitchen to start dishing up, though technically it wasn't a real dinner.
There are always pros and cons to be had in any situation. In the case of my mother being single and having to deal with me are the obvious disadvantages; however, the benefit of having a child waking up in a relatively late part of the day gives my mom the excuse to cook whatever she wants as standard household rules don't apply here. Such as...

"Two large pancakes with six strawberries and a moat of buttercream syrup with cinnamon mixed in!"
My mother exclaimed with a proud demeanor.
It goes without saying that more sugar results in easier night shifts for me. My mother once being a night guard for three years found that having breakfast before any work shift was a successful and productive day.

I could not describe how much I appreciated my mother. Instead of following the advice of others, she chose to believe in me, and compromise so much for me.
Because of this, I could not say no to anything she asks of me, even if I wanted to.

While we were enjoying our breakfast/dinner, my mother started asking me questions. Most of them were generic, like if I've been doing good in class or if I have been having any "episodes" lately.
I'll respond with the usual say that everything's been good so far. But then she started... Talking.

"So, do you remember the stallion I mentioned earlier that was going to check on the Condition of the house?"
"uh, I remember," I replied while chewing on a strawberry.
"Well, he did come by..." She paused for a few moments, contemplating her next words while I was finishing off the strawberry that was in my mouth. I should have known there was a reason for that pause.

My mother continued," It now appears that our house is not as ventilated as we had previously thought."

"We live in the woods, how much more "ventilation" do we need?" I asked.

"Well apparently more. Because he found mold in the vents."

"What kind?' I asked while cutting a decent piece of my meal.

"Black Mold." She replied slowly.

I stopped cutting to look at my mom, feeling uneasy as to where this was going. Last time something like this happened, we had to move to a new home. That thought especially did not settle with me very well as that would mean that the routine would be broken, and who knows what would happen then. We didn't have the money to buy a new home let alone for moving expenses. Most fillies and colts my age would not be worried about such things, but then again most of them don't know any better, but I do.

Thankfully my mom caught on to what I was thinking and explained further.
"Don't worry that's why I hired the stallion in the first place. I knew this place was not perfect, so precautions need to be taken.
The mold is gone now thanks to him, and he recommended a few things that will help us avoid this occurrence again."

I sighed with relief. "Thank goodness we were not leaving!" I thought to myself.

"However, some precautions need to be taken into account for now." My mother continued.
"We have to avoid the risk that some of the molds in the air my get us sick while we sleep."

I nodded with approval, not entirely sure where she was getting at, but I was already supporting her decision. Well, that is until she said, "So it is in our best interest in this situation, to open your window tonight.

At that moment, I could swear that I already went pale upon contact with this realization.

Quickly my mom continued, "I know you hate the window being opened at night, but you have to understand that most of the mold was found near your room. It will only be for a night or two I swear."

I remained frozen in place, trying to overcome this obstacle in my mind, but I was failing miserably as disbelief made me more and more uneasy.

"I know you see things all the time, but when was the last time you saw anything outside anyway?" My mother asked, trying to find some common ground with me.

I looked away bashfully, choosing my words wisely as I said, "Nothing much, I think."

"You think?" My mom asked skeptically.

Again I didn't immediately reply, but I did say, "well I don't like looking through the window, so I keep the curtains closed."

There was a silent pause for a few minutes, but my mom picked up the pace again.
"Alright, I'll tell you what. I'll let you take as many lights as you want and you won't have to go to school tomorrow or after that. Deal?"
My mother was smiling as she said this. She honestly thought that extra lights would make it easier for me. Can't blame her for that, I mean it does work on plenty of the smaller things; however, I know there are plenty of things that are not afraid of the light. Some of them even get angry at it.
But, how could I say no to her?

I remained silent for a little longer before I spoke again. "Tomorrow's nightmare night, isn't it?"
My mom smiled, knowing what I meant.
"Yes it is, but here at rainbow Falls, it's not as popular. I could scarcely see any decorations anywhere. This is a fairly lean back town, and nothing much happens, but of course being the officer I am I have already taken some precautions. I spent some of my free time today setting up some noise traps in the woods so that if we had any uninvited trespassers, they would not be able to sneak in on us."
My mother smirked while looking at her plate. "A slight disturbance in the woods would be enough to wake me from the dead any day. And besides that-"
my mother continued looking directly at me with a soft expression. "You will have permission to wake me up if you have to at any given time."

At first, my response was numb to what she said, but then the meaning kind of seeped in. She never permitted me to wake her up like that; she wouldn't have dared to before. She would always get angry and frustrated with me if I did it. So why is she offering this when I could ruin her night's sleep?

As if she knew what I thought she continued, "I know that you would not wake me up unless you had to, but it has occurred to me recently that the reason you never wake me up is that you're afraid of a backlash. And I'm sorry about that."

My mother looked at me reminiscently, as if she was looking into the past and saw both the good and the bad things that happened.

"It was never your fault to begin with, so it wasn't right for me to lash out at you when you needed me. It was a frustrating time with everything that was going on. The moving, the job search, the lack of money we had and-"

"Father leaving." I offered.
My mother caught off guard by the statement visibly froze before nodding her head somberly.
"Yes, that too." She pause for a moment before continuing again.

"I'm saying this because I want you to know, things have changed."

I looked at her curiously, not entirely sure what she meant.

"At one time I would have followed the advice of every professional I've met and believed every word they said wholeheartedly, but with time I realized that they were all wrong in some form or another.
Many of them said that I would be better off loaning you off to some other professionals to have some poor excuse for a healthy life instead. Do you know why I didn't listen to them?"

I shook my head in response, which prompts her to continue.

"Because they said two things that didn't settle well with me. Number one reason, it involved giving you to someone else. I could not pry myself from you in any period. What made them think that I would start simply because you got scared easily? If anything, It gave me more reason to hold on tighter." My mother exclaimed passionately as if she was telling off the ones who dared to say otherwise.

"And the second reason is that they said I couldn't make it work. They said it would be difficult, which it was for a time, but nothing compared to training at a Boot Camp I can tell you that!" My mother laughed while standing up and walking around the table to me.

"They said it would be impossible for a single mother to handle. Oh please, I once wrestled a bear to the ground! Granted it was a small black bear, but still, it's more than any of them can handle! "

"They said many things, and I would toss every single one of them out the window without a second thought. Do you know why?"

I shook my head, now wholly focused on her as she was now right beside me. She then leaned over and hugged me tightly as she said, "Because it was you who proved them wrong."

After that, I started to tear up fiercely as her words finally made sense to me. But that wasn't all either.

"We both needed to learn from one another to become stronger, and now we have. So whatever might happen I don't want you to feel that you can't come to me for help. Your happiness gives me peace and your comfort is what I will always strive for. I need you to try and be strong for me too, Okay?"

I nodded, smiling as I did so.

We just sat there for a little bit, embracing each other as we let the tears flow. Then I mustered up the strength to speak. "I guess leaving the window open won't hurt for a night or two."
My mother nodded, merely content to remain silent.

"But, do I have to skip school?"

My mother laughed, finding it rather humorous that I would ask something like that. "No, you can go still if you'd like."

"Okay, good, because I would like to prove the doctors wrong even more."
"That's my trooper girl." My mother laughed again, this time though I was joining in.

After that, I had a whole new view to stand on. My mother may not believe what I see is real, but she does believe in me. For her, it was easy to see nothing in the dark, but she knew it wasn't for me. I never want to disappoint my mother, and I never wanted to be a burden to her, but now I know I'm not a burden to her. I'm a prized possession, a treasure that she holds in high value, and now my determination is set in stone. I can and will face the fears that confront me, and I will overcome them, for my mother and myself! To solidify the statement, I will quote the not so famous words of a scholar who sailed the seas many years ago in search of inspiration.

"I have faced my demons and survived with clarity to spare"...Copper Para-sail...

And that is what I intended to do; however, I will all too soon realize just how difficult this will be to achieve.

Author's Note:

A work in progress. One down two to go!
criticism is welcomed.