Be Not Afraid
“Momma!”
Rarity suddenly sat up in the dark of the night, a small gasp escaping her mouth. She rubbed her eyes with her hoof trying to soothe away the ache of sleep. Eventually her eyes began to adjust and she was able to see in the darkness of her room. Her mind was still half asleep; she couldn’t remember exactly why she had awoken; only that she had heard a sound. But she couldn’t quite figure out what that sound was.
“Daddy!” This time she definitely heard it, but she wasn’t the only one. To her side, sharing the bed with Rarity, was her husband Spike, who had begun to stir.
“H-huh..?” the dragon said, rising his head from his pillow “Was that Claire?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Yes, I believe she may have had another nightmare,” Rarity answered as she inched her way to the edge of the bed. Their daughter was at the age in her life that all fillies and colts go through when growing up. The age where their wild and active imaginations will betray them, and the monster that reside in the dark corners of their minds come out as the sun goes down.
Since the nightmares began, Claire has gone most nights without much sleep, and the lack of sleep was taking its toll on the little dracony. Sometimes, even sleeping in the same bed as her parents just wasn't enough to ease her fears of the dark.
Rarity pushed off the covers and was about to hop off of the bed when she felt her husband’s palm gently placed on her shoulder. “Go back to sleep,” he said softly. “I’ll go and help her fall asleep again.” he offered. Rarity looked back as Spike and gave him a warm smile before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
“That is very kind of you, darling.” With both hooves she grabbed hold of Spike's palm and gently lowered it to the bed. “But it has to be me, I have an idea.” After removing her hooves from her husband’s palm Rarity climbed off of bed. With the use of her magic, Rarity lit a candle that was on the night stand and gave Spike a confident smile. It was all the convincing he needed, whenever Rarity had that look on her face Spike knew that everything would be alright.
With the newly lit candle in her magical grasp, Rarity opened the door of their room and walked out into the hallway. As she made her way to her daughter’s room, she began to hear faint noises. At first she questioned what they could be, but as she drew closer to the next room the noises became clearer. They were gentle whimpers one would hear from a pony that was quivering in fear, and it didn’t take a genius to know who they were coming from.
Once Rarity reached Claire’s slightly ajar door she noticed something was off. Even if it was the dead of night there should have been some light shining through the opening of the door. “I see,” Rarity thought to herself as she pushed the door open. On the wall next to the door there was a small plastic object plugged into it. The bulb attached to it, which was in the shape of a star, and more importantly should have been shining brightly, was void of any light.
“M-momma, is that you?” Rarity raised her candle a little higher so that the light of the flame could better brighten the room. Over on the other side of the room Rarity could see Claire’s bed, and on it the blanket was wrapped up in a small, trembling ball. A sympathetic smile spread across Rarity’s lips as she placed her candle on top of the dresser beside her. Slowly, as to not cause any noise that would startle her daughter, Rarity made her way to the bed.
“Yes sweetie, it’s me.” Rarity reassured the scared little ball. From the sound of Rarity’s voice, the trembling from within the blanket stopped. “There’s no need to be afraid, please, come out.” Rarity waited patiently as she stared at the blanket. Soon the blanket began to shift and a hole began to open as something was being pushed through it. The locks of hair from a purple mane could be seen first, and with it two small, still developing horns. As more of the mane pushed through the hole, two small lavender ears popped out from within the blanket earning a small giggle from Rarity.
The next thing Rarity could see were the two large baby blue eyes that looked up at her. They glistened cutely in the candle light as Claire stared into her mother’s eyes. There was a moment of pause after that, just the two in silence staring into the other's eyes. But soon Claire began to whimper again as tears started to form at the corner of her eyes.
“Momma!” Claire called out as she leaped forward from under the blanket and wrapped her forelegs around her mother’s head. Her body began to tremble again now that she was holding her mother.
“It’s okay sweetie,” Slowly Rarity wrapped her hooves around her daughter and held her closely. “Momma’s here.” Softly Rarity shushed her daughter, rubbing her back to comfort her.
“T-they wanted to t-take me, momma.” Claire said after some time of silence.
“Who?”
“T-the m-monsters,” Claire stammered on “T-they were gonna take me away.” It was just as Rarity thought, another nightmare. One thing she had noticed over the weeks after Claire began to have them was that over time they were starting to grow worse. What started off as a simple monster in the closet evolved into the monsters chasing her, talking to her, and Luna knows what else.
“These are not the kinds of dreams a child should suffer through.”
“Don’t let them take me momma.” Her daughter begged as she tightened her grip. Fear truly was a powerful emotion, one that had taken hold of her. But no more, Rarity was not going to stand and watch as her daughter give in to the fear.
“I promise you sweetie, they will never take you away.” Using her magic Rarity levitated her daughter off her bed and gently placed her on her back. “Come, it’s time momma taught you something.” She said, turning towards the door.
With the candle back in her magical hold, Rarity, with her daughter riding on her back, made her way back into the hall. “Claire, as you get older, you’ll discover that there are monsters of many shapes and forms.” Rarity explained as she walked down the stairs. “But no monster you ever face will be more frightening that the ones you create in your own mind.” After Rarity reached the final step of the stairs, she made her way to the living-room before making a full stop.
“What do you mean, momma?” asked her daughter. Rarity placed the candle on the floor before turning her head to look back at her daughter.
“I’m going to show you.” She said softly as she leaned in and nuzzled her. Once again, Rarity used her magic to levitate her daughter, and slowly she moved her until she was standing on the floor in front of her. When the magical hue that surrounded her was gone, Claire turned and looked up at her mother. She was confused, and did not have the slightest inkling what it was that her mother was going to show her.
Rarity lowered herself until she was lying on the ground, eye level with her daughter. “What we are about to do might scare you, but I need you to be brave.” Rarity said, looking into her daughter's eyes. “Do you think you can do that for momma?” Claire thought it over for a minute. She didn’t like to be scared, but her mother was there with her. And she had that look on her face, one that always made her feel safe.
“O-okay momma,” Claire said nervously, “I’ll try.” Rarity leaned forward and nuzzled her for a moment before pulling back.
“That’s my girl.” She said proudly “Now remember that I am right here with you.” Before Claire could question what it was her mother was going to do, she saw the candle levitate off of the floor. The candle moved until it was floating just above the ground beside her, and after taking a deep breath, Rarity blew out the flame.
First came total darkness, and Claire’s young, unadjusted eyes could no longer see her mother right in front of her. This was followed by a small moment of panic, and the safe feeling she had suddenly disappeared the moment she lost sight of her mother’s gaze. As her eyes adjusted she began to see shadows in every corner, looking as if the monsters were crawling out.
“What do you see?” Claire heard her mother’s voice ask her. Claire looked around quickly; she could see shadows moving all around her.
“I see the m-monsters.” She answered, feeling her resolve to be brave slowly slipping away.
“Where, where are the monsters?” Claire’s eyes scanned the area again, this time a little slower. Over at the far wall she saw something, even with it hidden in the shadowy veil of the night, the figure's familiar form was clear as day to her. It was the ghost that once told her it would carry her away into the closet where she’d never see her parents again.
“There.” Out of the corner of Claire’s eye she noticed something moving and quickly looked to it. Under the sofa within the shroud of darkness hidden away from any light, Claire could see small traces of movement. She remembered them well; they were the little monsters that hid under small places. They would wait for when the lights were off and little fillies were alone, and the moment they got too close they would grab their little hooves and drag them under where they would eat the poor children right down to the bone.
“A-and there.” Claire’s hooves began to tremble, in her mind she could see the monsters staring at her, calling out to her. Slowly she backed away hoping to get closer to her mother, but as she did she heard a sound.
Tap…tap…
With a trembling turn of her head Claire looked towards the far window, and just at the corner she saw it. The claw, sometimes it was several claws and sometimes it was only one long claw, but the fear it brought upon Claire was always the same. Sometimes in the night she would hear the claw tapping at her window, beckoning her to come closer. And if she did it would grab her and carry her into the Everfree forest where she would be put in a cage forever.
As her fears began to grow stronger, so did her imagination, she began to hear them, the voices of the monsters calling her name. They wanted to take her away, to a place where she’d always be afraid, and she’d never see her parents again. But just before the fear could fully take hold of her, just before it felt like the dark could consume her, it was all banished away.
A light, one more powerful than the candle that had been blown out, began to shine brightly all around. The darkness was pushed away, and the shadows in the corners melted away with Claire’s fears.
“What do you see now?” Claire looked around to where she had seen the monsters, but now that the light was shining, she began to see them for what they truly were. The ghost that sometimes haunted her closet; nothing more than a simple dress that hung from the wall. Next, she brought her gaze to the monsters under the sofa, but they were gone. What she saw were loose fibers dangling from the cloth underneath. And finally, the claw, the very thing that haunted most of Claire’s nightmares, was nothing more than a simple branch being blown in the wind.
“Sometimes when we’re afraid, we let our imaginations take over. We start to see things that aren’t really there, and as a result, give life to our greatest fears. But when we see the light, it shows us the truth. That the things we fear the most are only as real as we allow them to be.” As Claire heard her mother’s words, she had begun to turn around. Her eyes were transfixed on the light that surrounded her. She wanted to find it, find where it was coming from.
Soon she found it, the light that enveloped her in a warmth so comforting that she felt safe just standing in it. It was coming from her mother, whose horn was shining brightly. Claire couldn’t look away, as the light was far too alluring to ignore. Slowly, she reached out her claw and placed it on her mother’s head for balance. Standing on her hind legs, Claire reached out her other claw towards the light.
“Pretty…” Claire said in awe, her eyes sparkling in the light.
“Yes, the light is beautiful, isn’t it?” said Rarity looking up at her daughter “It is the same light that shines inside of everypony. It gives us all the strength we need to fight off our fears.”
“Inside everypony?” Claire repeated Rarity’s words, finally breaking her gaze on the light to meet her mother’s eyes. She asked, almost whispering, “Even me?”
“Especially you.” Rarity said with a warm smile. “You just haven’t found it quite yet, but it is there,” Stretching her hoof forward, Rarity poked Claire softly on the chest and told her, “Deep inside of you. All you have to do is find it.”
Claire looked down to the spot on her chest that her mother had touched and placed her claws on it. There was a light inside of her, one that would keep the monsters away, but she didn’t know how to let it out.
Closing her eyes, Claire tried to focus, to find the light that was inside of her. At first nothing happened, but after several seconds of waiting, something began to occur. At the very tips of Claire’s horns was a glow; it was faint but still visible. Rarity watched with wide eyes as the glow began to grow stronger, light beginning to emit from it. It may have only lasted seconds, but it was enough to take her breath away. Rarity had always wondered if her daughter would ever be capable of magic, and now, she had her answer.
Once the glow fully disappeared, Claire opened her eyes, and looked up at her mother’s surprised face. “Did I find it, momma?” she asked, but Rarity was far too awestruck and full of pride to answer right away. Soon, a smile spread across her face and she nuzzled her daughter before picking her up with her hooves.
“Yes, yes, you did.” She told Claire holding her closely. “And I couldn’t be prouder.” Rarity sat there for a while longer, just holding her daughter close to her. But it came to an end when she heard a small sound. It was a yawn, as quiet as a parasprite, but still audible. Rarity slowly held out her daughter and saw Claire rubbing her eyes.
“I’m sleepy, momma.” Rarity couldn’t blame the dear; it was far too late for a filly her age to be up, and she had gone many nights without much sleep. Again Claire let out a yawn, a big one at that, earning a giggle from her mother.
“Come, let’s get you into bed.” said Rarity placing the drowsy filly on her back. With her horn still lighting the way, Rarity carried her daughter up the stairs and down the hall into her room. Once there, she used her magic to gently raise Claire off of her back and onto her bed. After she pulled the blanket over Claire’s body, Rarity leaned in and kissed her daughter on the cheek.
“Would you like me to stay here until you fall asleep?” she asked. Claire opened her sleepy eyes and looked at her mother as she shook her head.
“I’m okay now, momma,” Claire reached her claw out and placed it on her chest “I got the light inside.” She said with a grin. Rarity could only smile; she leaned in again and kissed her daughter one last time.
“Good night, my sweet little angel.” She whispered into her daughter’s ear before walking away from the bed. Once at the door Rarity paused for a moment and looked back at her daughter, she was already fast asleep, a smile spread on her lips. It worked; the nightmares and fear will never haunt her again. The glow of Rarity’s horn began to dim, as she no longer needed it. Before the light faded out, she whispered affectionately:
“And sweet dreams.”