My Little Dashie
Campfire Story
“How are you doing Pops?” Dashie asked from ahead of where we were walking.
“I’m fine, no problem,” I said.
I really did feel fine, and besides I had every intention of going on this camping trip. After all, when Dashie asked if I wanted to join her for a trip up to Winsome Falls with Applejack, Rarity, and their sisters, and of course Dashie’s own little self-adopted sister Scootaloo I couldn’t refuse. They had surprised me with the addition of another mare and her young colt. I quickly introduced myself to the pair, and learned that the young colt’s name was Button Mash and his mother was named Love Tap. Once introductions were out of the we started out on our trip. So far the trip hadn’t been too bad, although carrying a set of saddle bags with my newish wings was still getting some use to.
I considered flying, but there is something about walking. Unlike when I lived alone back on Earth walking wasn’t so much an escape as it was just a chance to take in all that was around me. We neared the first campsite and I smiled as we began to sit it up. Rarity’s Tent was something I should have expected. It was practically as if she had brought a portable version of the Carousel Boutique with her. Sweetie Bell had started to pull it, but toward the end I noticed that Button Mash had traded off with her.
Seeing how they were interacting brought a smile to my face. I looked over to Love Tap who was also watching. She grinned and looked ahead.
“Looks like they’re getting along,” I said.
She nodded and softly laughed, “I knew when he asked me to come on this trip it was because he had a little filly friend. I’m just glad to see that my Button is such a gentlecolt.”
I nodded and turned my attention back toward the front of the group. Scootaloo was trying to fly with Dashie, and it looked like she was able to get a little more lift since practicing with Dashie every evening. She had even joined in on my lessons, and I was more than happy to have another person to practice with. Thankfully Dashie had taught me to control some aspects of my wings. So they weren’t shooting out at the most inopportune moments. I watched as my daughter encouraged the young filly. That same supportive young mare did have a tendency to tease and kid around as well. It was something I was used to, and to be honest something I enjoyed. The first moment my wings shot out on their own I received no end of teasing about it for days especially after I was informed that all of the theories the fandom had about it were true.
After a moment Scootaloo came in for a less than graceful landing, but she still received a great deal of praise from Dash. I watched as the two of them trotted over. I was so thankful that I had recovered from falling out of the sky. I’m sure I would have still tried to come on this trip even with a broken arm and wing, but I doubt that I would have done half as well walking up to this campsite. Dash and I began working on the tent I had brought. Instead of a small pup tent I had bought a larger family sized tent. Filthy Rich’s general store was kind enough to order it in for me, and when we received it the tent was bigger than I had thought it would be.
We began sitting it up and soon a large dome tent sit aside two pup tents, and Rarity’s three story tent. I shook my head at the oversized tent, but then again I had seen how on the show, and heard from Dashie, how Rarity always seemed to over pack for these sorts of things. We began gathering up the firewood and before long there was a roaring fire going. Now, I wasn’t sure if anyone besides myself and Dashie had a chance to enjoy smores before, but I figured now would be a good time to introduce them to the idea. I broke out the gram crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars I had gotten from Sugarcube corner. Once Dashie saw what I had brought she let out a whoop of excitement.
I couldn’t help but smile at how happy I had made her. Scootaloo looked confused.
“What’s that stuff for?” she asked.
“It’s only for making the coolest thing ever! Pops you’re the greatest!” Dashie said excitedly.
I laughed and walked around gathering a few sticks from the trees. I tried to make sure that they were all long enough, and then I took out a small pocket knife I had bought at the general store as well. I quickly put a point on all of the sticks, and Dashie began showing how to put the marshmallows on the ends of them. We toasted the marshmallows, placed the piece of the chocolate bar on the gram cracker, and then put the marshmallow on top.
I watched as my little Dashie quickly made short work of her first smore and went about making another one. Scootaloo decided to try one, and once she bit into it there was no holding her back. She quickly devoured it and went to making another. Soon everyone else began to do the same thing and within about twelve minutes we had plowed through the first jumbo bag of marshmallows, about twelve candy bars, and the first box of gram crackers.
“My, those were delicious, but I fear that I’m going to have to do a little extra exercise to make sure that it doesn’t settle anywhere I don’t want it to,” Rarity said.
“That was really good. I mean, that was like a bilhillion times better than just plain old marshmallows!” Button exclaimed.
“I’m glad that you liked it,” I said.
“What do we say Button?” Love Tap asked.
“Oh, thanks for sharing it with us,” he said.
“It’s fine, and I was glad to,” I said.
“Say, who wants to hear a scary story?” Dash asked.
“How about the story about the Olden Pony can we hear that one?” Scootaloo asked.
“Sure thing squirt,” she said.
I listened as Dashie began to tell the story about the ancient pony that chased anyone through the woods that dared venture into them looking for her rusty old horse shoe. I tried to keep from laughing a little, and I noticed that almost everyone was enjoying the story. Button seemed to be enjoying himself, but he was scooted close to his mom. I grinned at the situation and remembered the first time I had finally let Dash watch something semi scary. It wasn’t that bad, but she wanted something Halloweenie, so I had decided to watch Monster Squad with her.
She had scooted close to me, and I held her as the images on the television passed. She had cried when Frankenstein had been pulled into the void, but she was happy to see the little girl reunited with her mother. Thanks to the V-chip in our TV most of the cursing had been edited out. That didn’t bother me, and besides, I didn’t want my little girl repeating some of the more colorful words on the movie.
I was brought back to the present when the sound of a young colt letting out a quick yelp of fear before quieting himself. I grinned and Dashie smiled at herself.
“Can we hear another story?” Scootaloo asked.
“Oh! How about the Headless Horse! That’s a good ‘un!” Apple bloom said excitedly.
“I suppose we could hear another one, but Pops, why don’t you tell us a scary story. You know something scary from Earth,” she said.
I smiled and looked at them. There was a small collection of horror movies I had watched over the years. Of course of those the only one that I knew well enough to recount most of the story from was A Nightmare on Elm Street. The last time I really watched the film had been the first Halloween I had Dashie. She had walked in and saw the infamous scene between Freddy and Tina. It had ended with Freddy’s face getting pulled off. I still thanked Stephen Hillenburg for creating Spongebob and Patrick Starr. If it hadn’t been for that little yellow sponge and his dimwitted friend I’m not sure that Dashie would have ever gotten over seeing Freddy.
Still, I was certain that Dashie was old enough to hear about Freddy Krueger, and the other fillies and colts all had someone with them that would be able to ease their fears. I grinned and nodded.
“Okay, I’ve got a story. Dashie, you know that back on Earth there's not any magic, but that's not completely true. There is some magic, some very, very old magic. It's the kind of magic that lets someone hang around long after they've died. There was once a man, a horror of a man known as Freddy Krueger,” I began, “Krueger was a terrible man, horrible, and vicious. Some say that it was because he was beaten when he was a child by a wicked foster parent, others say that it was because he was passed from foster home to foster home, but most believe it was because he was the son of a hundred maniacs. His mother had been caught inside of an insane asylum, and nine months after her horrible and terrifying night Fred was born.”
I watched as everypony became quiet and leaned in toward each other.
“He grew up, but there was something wrong with him. There was a darkness to him that he tried to hide. It was a sort of twisted and demented part of him that screamed for attention. Several doctors tried to figure out what it was that happened to him, but most believe it began as a little itch. A single thought that continued until he began to do the unthinkable. He began to sneak out at night. No one knew what he was doing, but children began to disappear. It started as only one once in a while it grew. More and more children began to disappear and finally he was captured and brought in,” I said.
I noticed that almost all of the mares sitting there seemed to get a relieved look on their face. I smiled and wondered if I should really continue telling the story. Dashie looked at me expectedly and I nodded. Well, there was no turning back now. Hopefully Luna would be able to help with the nightmares and images of Freddy that I was most likely going to cause.
‘But that didn't matter because the guard hadn't collected the evidence the right way. The courts cut him loose and he returned home. The families of the children who disappeared began to develop a plan, and then one night when he was working at a foundry, it's similar to the weather factory, they surrounded the building and burned it down. The head guard that had captured him hid his body so no one would ever know, or at least no one but the parents that did that awful deed that night. They took his claws. Long, metal claws he had made for himself on top of an old work glove. These same claws had been used on the bits of cloth and the few bones the head guard had found. No pony really knows what happened to those claws, and I’m not sure that anypony ever will, but this is where the magic comes in. Freddy was mad. He was furious that he had been killed, and he clung onto that spark that makes everyponies life. He began to gather strength from the parents who were still scared about what had happened to their children. He used that strength to grow, and that was when he began to invade dreams, and his newest sets of victims where the children of the parents who had killed him. He began killing them in their sleep. All of them suffered wounds that he gave them. Those wounds were so much like the few examples the head guard had found, and it seemed like it would last forever. It almost did until a very brave filly stood against him. She stole the energy, the fear he fed off of from him, and made him disappear into the night. But they say that Freddy is still out there. His soul is unresting, ever hungry for fear, ever hungry for his twisted sense of fun. So when you sleep tonight, sleep light, because it's possible that he may be waiting for any of you,” I said.
A quick look around showed that I had spooked everypony there. A branch cracked and Sweetie Belle let out a startled yep. She grabbed onto Rarity’s side and the older mare held her.
“It’s okay Sweetie Belle. You heard Mr. Dash. This Freddy character was defeated. It’s like when we defeated Nightmare Moon. He can’t hurt you now,” she said.
“Mom… Mom what if he came here?” Button asked.
“Button, sweetie, you’re a brave little colt, and you have nothing to fear, besides I’m right here with you,” Love Tap said.
“Sis… you’d buck him into the next county right?” Apple bloom asked.
“Applebloom, Ah’d buck him so hard that he’d be banished to the moon,” she replied.
There was a few laughs and soon we all decided to turn in. I climbed into the tent that Dash, Scootaloo, and I were sharing. I began getting ready to lay down when Dash walked over to me and looked at Scootaloo.
“Daddy… do you mind if we sleep with you tonight? I mean… Scoots looks a little scared,” she said.
I smiled at my daughter and nodded. She motioned for Scootaloo to come over and the two of them laid down in front of me. I wrapped my arm around Dashie and felt Scootaloo who was snuggled up against her stomach.
“Goodnight Daddy, I love you,” she whispered.
“Goodnight Dashie, I love you too,” I said.
I fell asleep and together Dashie and I entered into a dream together. I could hear a manic cackling off in the distance, and I reconized it. It was the same cackle she had heard when she was just a filly.
A disembodied voice said, “Please God.”
And then the same cackling voice answered back after making a sound like knives rubbing together, “This is God.”
A moment later I heard someone else trot into the dream. I looked up to see a dark Alicorn as she vanquished the nightmare forming and then looked at me.
“Verily, does thou understand how tiring it is for us to rid all of these fillies and this young colt of a dream monster you brought to them?” she asked.
“I know, but it was fun to tell them a scary story,” I replied.
She smiled and then looked toward Dashie. I noticed that my daughter was being very polite and bowing to the Princess.
“Thou are a good man Brian. We have heard much from my sister about how thou raised thy daughter, and we have seen how thy dreams are connected. As she welcomed thou, we welcome thou; however, we ask that thou reframe from making extra work for us,” she said before she disappeared out of the dream. After that I fell into a wonderful dream of flying with Dashie, and there was no more Freddy to scare her.
