I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I mentally prepare myself for what’s to come.
"Okay, here we go. Focus. Speed, I am speed."
Dozens of Indycars roar past the frame. Their vibration enough to cause goosebumps from head to hoof.
"One winner, thirty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast."
More cars zoom past as I hype myself up for the race, feeling more eager to get out there by the second.
"Breakfast... Did I even have breakfast? A little breki could be good for me. No no no no no, stay focused. Speed."
A whole field of cars crosses the finish line. With me bound to have finished first.
"I'm faster than fast. I'm quicker than quick. I am-"
I walk up to Dashie's bedroom door and give it three loud bangs.
"Hey, Dashie. Ya ready?"
I hear a gasp and a tiresome exhale as I peer inside. Dashie had told me last night that she'd wake me up extra early in the morning in order to get ready. But knowing her, I set an alarm just in case she didn't get up in time, and judging by the frazzled look on my daughter's face as she stumbles out of her bed and into the hallway, I'm glad I did.
"Mornin' Pops...," She says with a yawn. "What time is it?"
"Time to go, that's what! We gotta be out of here in five minutes if we wanna make it to the race in time," I add in a chuckle as I continue "Why aren't you ready yet, ya silly filly?"
The expression on Dashie's face goes from 0-100 faster than any Indycar we'd be seeing on the track today. Her eyes narrow to near slits as she realizes that she overslept on the day of our big trip to see the 2025 Indy 500.
"Oh, horse apples!"
And just like that, she zooms out of the upstairs hallway and back into her room, supposedly to start packing. I let out a light chuckle, as the whole situation that she's gotten herself into just screams "Rainbow Dash!".
About five minutes have passed now, and I find myself waiting for Dashie by the front door. Just how long does it take her to pack? If she were Rarity or Twilight, then this would be expected. But, I'd think that she would hardly take any longer than ten seconds flat to get packed, especially for something like this. After all, it's only a one-day affair.
Now that I think about it, what would she even need to pack? The only time she ever wears clothing is when it’s cold out, and she's gonna be up in the clouds the entire time, anyway. Wouldn't the stuff that she packs just fall through when she gets up there?
"Well, that should do it. Don't think I need anything else packed."
Looking at all that I've packed, I start to realize that it may be a bit much. I mean, what am I even gonna do with sunblock? Wait, why do I even have sunblock?
My mental question is interrupted by my dad from downstairs.
"Pick it up, Dashie. We're gonna be late if you go any slower! Whatever happened to being the fastest in the whole world?"
Hearing that, I quickly zip up the bag laying on my bed, and then put myself through the two handles in order to pick it up.
I struggle to fly myself over the stairwell railing, and I nearly fall to the bottom floor after getting over it.
"Okay, Pops. I'm ready. Let's go!"
My dad pokes out from the open front door, looking eager to get going himself.
"About time, Dashie. Race ya to the car!"
We've been on the road for about an hour now, and thanks to some encouragement from Dashie, our travel time has been cut enough so that we'll make it in time for driver introductions!
Dashie really has her heart set on seeing the drivers in person, and not just a helmet poking out of the cars, as cool as that'd be on its own. In fact, she was so determined to get us there in time that she nearly got out of the car while we were going 80mph down the interstate to help push it along!
Luckily, I stopped her just in the nick of time. I'm not too sure what I'd do if she managed to get out of the car while I was driving it. The chances of her not being seen by anyone if she did that were practically infinity to one!
I'm honestly surprised by just how excited Dashie is about going to the Indy 500. I've lived with her for long enough to know that even when she is excited about something, she comically tries to suppress it in order to look cool. So, the simple fact that she doesn't even seem to be trying to hide her emotions in the slightest has me bewildered.
About 15 minutes later now and we've made it to the track. Even if I'm not much of a racing fan myself, I must say, it looks incredible even from a distance!
I look over to Dashie crouching down in the passenger seat, looking eager to get out of the car and explore. It almost makes me feel bad... She can't walk around the grounds like a normal fan. Hell, if it weren't for the massive overcast we're having today, we might not have been able to come at all.
Pushing that thought out of my mind, as it didn't seem to be bothering her in the slightest, I speak out to Dashie about the plan.
"Alright, Dashie. Now, I know you're excited. But, let's not forget the plan, okay?"
Dashie looks over at me and rolls her eyes as she speaks.
"Yeah, yeah, Pops. I know. You distract everyone in the area while I fly up above the cloud cover, I stay above exactly where you are and nowhere else. I text you on the phone you gave me if I ever need to, yadda yadda yadda. Now, can we go or what?!"
"I'm sorry Dashie... You know me. I gotta make sure you know what to do, or I get really worried. But, I want you to enjoy today, and I really hope you do. So, without further ado, let's get this thing rolling!"
Dashie lights up and puts on her game face as she shouts.
"Now you're talking my language! Let's go!"
"Oh, my God! Look everyone, it's Alexander Rossi!"
From my position underneath the dashboard of Dad's car, I hear his distraction coming from just outside. He honestly did a pretty good job coming up with it, all things considered. I mean, last time I checked, he didn't know the names of any Indycar drivers. It's kinda funny to think that he probably did some research just so he'd have a good distraction up his sleeve for me to sneak up into the cloud layer.
Seconds later, I hear the triple tap on the side of the car that I was waiting for as a signal. I then rear myself up on the passenger seat and launch myself through the open sunroof of the sedan.
I don't dare look in any other direction but up. Pops said that people often get a weird feeling when someone is watching them, even when they don't know who or where the set of eyes is coming from. So it's best to just avoid all eye contact by any means necessary.
Before I know it, I breach the thick cloud barrier. Now, I'm somewhere in between where I can be seen from the ground, and where I can be seen from the sky. If I had to take a guess, I'd say I'm about 70 feet above the track. The perfect elevation to remain hidden from pretty much everything.
When my dad first realized that it'd be overcast today, he thought that I wouldn't be able to see anything since the entire sky was covered in clouds. But, my eyes are a heck of a lot bigger than his, so I apparently have some pretty awesome vision.
After twenty minutes of tediously waiting in line, and looking straight up every so often to make sure that I still saw the faintest shade of cyan blue coming from just inside the cloud line, I got inside the speedway and found my seat.
It's a pretty darn good view, actually. Just low enough to easily be able to make out the cars that sat on pit road, but high enough to get a good view of the whole side of the track.
But, if I have to be honest, I wish I had Dashie's seat right about now. I've never been jealous of her for having wings. Not when she first flew oh so many years ago now. Not when she performed the amazing sonic rainboom over the city of Detroit just a couple of years later, and not even when she used her wings to cheat whenever we played silly games.
But, for some strange reason, I do feel a slight tinge of jealousy over the fact that Dashie undoubtedly has the best seat in the house by a landslide. And it's made all the better by the fact that it's free. Of course, I still bought her a ticket. But, that was for keepsakes and memories more than anything else.
About being jealous of Dashie at the moment, maybe that means the racing bug that infected my daughter nearly eight years ago now has finally decided to share that love of racing with me, as well. I'm not too sure, honestly. But, I guess time will tell.
"GENTLEMEN! START... YOUR... ENGIIIIIIIIIINNNES!"
I stare in awe at the thirty-three cars on the grid as they do just that. The pure sound of the engines was indescribable. Of course, I've seen this sort of thing plenty of times on TV, but it in no way compares to actually being here to experience it in person.
Then again, I'm not a person. But, you know what I mean...
It's at this moment when I see something flying through the sky, probably just a little lower than me. A moment later, I realize that the something is actually five somethings. And those somethings are in fact the fighter jets that are always seen doing flyovers every year for each Indy 500.
Come to think of it, I've always wanted to see those things up close. Hmm, I mean, I know that Dad said that I wasn't allowed to go near the cars or grandstands. But, I don't remember him saying anything about planes.. Oh ho hooo, I know what I'm doin'!
"Please remain standing as squadrons VFA-81 and VAQ-139 perform their signature flyover, featuring a sonic boom."
A sonic boom? Well, before Dashie came along, seeing a sonic boom would be otherworldly to me. But, now that I've seen the sonic rainboom live and in person, I don't think I'll be quite as impressed. Besides, I don't wanna make Dashie jealous that those planes get to do that sort of thing, but she doesn't. It's best that I take this as casually as possible, so she doesn't get any funny ideas.
Speaking of Dashie...
My thought is cut off by the sound of five fighter jets beginning their flight across the 2.5-mile track. I look to my right, and I can faintly see the five jets building up speed just below the barrier of clouds.
I push the thought to the side for a moment, as I take in the sight of the jets rapidly building up speed. Closing the gap from the edge of the grounds to the center in mere seconds. I don't even have enough time to comprehend anything else before the waffle cone of air surrounding the lead jet thins and breaks, creating a sonic boom right over the center of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A shockwave of air boomed throughout the entire speedway. It almost felt as powerful as one of Dashie's. But certainly nowhere near as colorful.
Mere seconds after the sonic boom was performed, I hear another, even louder boom and look back to where it was coming from. At first, I thought it was maybe some kind of aftershock or even a second plane performing another sonic boom just behind the first.
But, what I saw was something else. Something a lot more... colorful. Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?
I close my eyes and cover my ears as the significantly more powerful and more colorful boom reverberates past me. It's at this point that I remember something that happened back when Dashie did her sonic rainboom nearly a decade ago now. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen, let alone the most colorful. But along with it, came broken windows from pretty much any building with them in a fifty-mile radius.
I was beyond lucky that none of my windows had broken somehow...
*CRACK*
My thoughts are abruptly ended by the sound of cracking glass. I look to my left, where I heard the sound come from, and spot the main suite of the speedway above the straightaway grandstands.
For a second, I thought that my mind was playing tricks on me. But, I was wrong. All along the front straightaway, big cracks formed in the glass of the suite.
All 350,000 people in the grandstands quickly take notice of this. Some start jumping out of their seats and head towards the nearest off-ramp, some stare on in confusion about how something like that could happen, and a select few such as myself don't know what to think.
Despite my pondering, my mind comes back to what's important right now. Where's Dashie? At this point, I don't really care whether her sonic rainboom broke the glass. Frankly, I don't even care if she actually performed the sonic rainboom, or not. I just want her to be safe, and out of sight from everyone else.
My "dad sense" that I had acquired around a decade ago due to taking care of Dashie is starting to come into effect. I could feel my senses heightening. Listening for the patter of her wings that I've come so accustomed to, looking for any trace of cyan, now that the rainbow has diminished. Smelling for the scent of her fur that clings to the house so easily, even feeling out for any downward wind which would indicate that she's flying above me. I'm not too sure how taste could help me in this situation, but you can bet your life that I'll find a way to locate her like that if I have to.
The loudspeakers above the speedway blare on as they try to calm things down. A somewhat calm, but also somewhat worrisome voice booms out of the PA.
"ATTENTION, EVERYONE. PLEASE REMAIN CALM. WE ARE INSPECTING THE CAUSE OF THE ISSUE AS I SPEAK, BUT WE HIGHLY SUGGEST EVACUATING YOUR SEATS IF YOU'RE ON THE MAIN GRANDSTAND, JUST TO BE SAFE. WE WILL UPDATE YOU ALL ON THE SITUATION AS SOON AS INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE."
Luckily for me, my seat was just off to the right of the main straightaway. So there isn’t really any reason for me to move from my seat. Or at least that’s what everyone would think.
I feel the wind gliding over my streamlined body as I catch up to the fighter jets. The closer I get, the more I realize just how cool these jets are! A whole lot cooler than they look on TV.
With every passing second, I get closer and closer to the group of fighter jets. That's when I notice the subsonic wave of air was starting to form around their wings.
Hey... I know what's going on! Pops said that I'm not allowed to break the sound barrier without his permission, but these fighter jets get to do it just because of this race? No fair!
Feeling a little jealous of the jets, I push my wings harder than before, not wanting the pilots to have all of the fun to themselves.
Just a few seconds later, I see and hear the lead jet break the sound barrier with a considerable "BOOM". This only spurred me on even more.
Looking back on it now, I'm not sure what I was thinking. What made me think that doing what I was about to do was gonna be okay with Pops? Geez, I didn't even think about the potential damage it might cause. I guess my mind just takes a different form whenever stuff like that happens. I really need to figure out a way to control myself...
I can feel the air pressure begin to build around me as I reach subsonic speeds, only being a second or two behind the squadron of jets, the waffle cone surrounding my body starts to thin out, and after giving my near-cramped wings one final thrust, I push through the barrier of sound right above the middle of the speedway.
BOOM!!!
As I feel the rush of the G-forces spilling over me, I try to best to look back at what I’ve created.
I try to yell out some words, but I fail to hear them as I’m still traveling far greater than the speed of sound. Either way, this must be the coolest thing I've ever done! Why did Pops ever say that I shouldn't do this? Everything is totally... fine?"
While still being hidden from view thanks to the thick cloud layer, I look to my left and gaze upon the main grandstands, as well as the cracked glass that ran along the countless suites above. Uh oh….
Up in one of the broadcasting booths, the PA lady and the track president look on, baffled as to how something as crazy as this might have occurred.
"How the hell did something like this happen, boss?! We've done the same thing every year for as long as I can remember! It was never strong enough to break the glass, and how in God's name does it look like some big rainbow?!"
"I, uh… don’t know, Susan. But, we need to remain calm or the entire race could be ruined! I'll have them contact the pilots and ask if they did anything differently than they have in the last several years. Maybe there was some kind of tailwind and it made them go a bit faster than they were wanting to, or something. I don’t know… As for the rainbow, I literally have no clue. Listen to me, though. That stuff's not important right now. We need to keep these fans from leaving or we'll get bad reviews on Yelp!"
"Riiiiiiing...... Riiiiiiing...... Riiiiiiing."
I sit down on the hood of my car that I'd just gotten back to, hoping that Dashie would pick up the phone so we can meet up and make sure she's safe. I'm not entirely sure if she has her bag of stuff on her right now. I doubt that she'd be able to pull off the sonic rainboom with it on, so she probably left it somewhere. But if it can't rest on clouds, then where did she leave it? What if she lost it, or even worse, someone else found it and rummaged through it?! God... I sure hope she didn’t pack any pictures of us, or anything else that might give her existence away.
I'm flying back to my bag as quickly as I can while staying hidden. I have a slight feeling that Dad isn't going to be keen on just hanging around and letting me be off on my own after doing the sort of thing that he told me specifically not to do: Draw attention to myself.
I'm not too sure what I was thinking, honestly. Is being in the heat of the moment even a real excuse at my age? I don't know what else I could possibly say to make it seem as if the whole thing wasn't a big deal.
I reach for my bag, which is dangling on an inner tree limb just outside of the speedway, and I immediately hear a ringing sound coming from inside it. I guess he does want to see me. Rainbow Dash, prepare yourself...
I unzip the bag with my mouth and dig around for the cheap cell phone for a few seconds. I eventually get it out of the bag and put it up to my ear.
"....Hey Pops," I say, with a hint of guilt in my voice.
"Are you okay, Dashie? You're not hurt or anything, are you? I hope no one saw you. Listen, I want you to meet me at the car ASAP. Be quick, but be stealthy too, okay?"
"Uh, y-yeah Dad. I'm not hurt. And, I'm on my way now."
"Oh, thank heavens you're okay! I don't know what I'd do if you had gotten hurt. Well, just get here as soon as you can for me. Thank you, Dashie. Love you."
"Yeah... I-I love you too."
I take a deep breath as I hear him hang up the phone on the other side. I was caught completely off-guard when he didn't seem upset about the whole rainboom thing. In fact, I kinda feel all soft inside that all he was worried about was... me.
As I fly towards our car, I can't help but feel as if I've taken Dad's love for granted on this occasion. I'd expect anyone else to be yelling at me for not thinking about what my actions might cause. But, he only cares about one thing and one thing only: My well-being...
I sit in the driver's seat of my car, sunroof open, huddled up waiting for Dashie. I've been going through the scenario in my head over and over, but each time, I can't help but think that I'm overreacting to all of this.
I imagine just how many people saw that, and perhaps how many people associated it with the Rainbow Dash from the cartoon. I'm not too sure what's going with My Little Pony, really. I had only watched the first two seasons before I found Dashie, and of course, I had no real reason to continue following it after that.
Well, I say only, but that could be a completely false statement. I remember during the weeks leading up to finding Dashie, that I was simply waiting for season 3 to start up in November of 2012. So, all I know for sure is that it's had at least three seasons.
Now that I think about it, I remember one of the voice actors mentioning at a panel back in 2012 that they were thinking about producing a movie for the cinema. I wonder if they ever came through with that? I wouldn't know unless I looked it up. But, the dangers that come along with that are just too great for me to consider quenching my curiosity. Sure, she knows that she’s from a cartoon. But, I think adding a movie to the equation might be a bit much for her.
But, as I was saying, I have no idea if Dashie's sonic rainboom is still relevant nowadays. My Little Pony could've stopped after season 3. Or, they could still be airing new episodes of it every Saturday morning. At 11:00 am. On "The Hub".
My point is that if enough people associated what just happened with Dashie's rainboom, then it could get them wondering if she actually exists in the real world. If they wonder that, then they could start looking for any sort of clues that might lead to them discovering the truth. And that's the last thing I need in my life right now. Well, it all sounds crazy, but here I am waiting for the rainbow-colored cartoon character in my own car...
"I just wish it didn't have to be like this..." I say to myself, not caring if anyone can hear me. From the sound of the engines firing back up in the distance, I imagine that the race is about to get underway after what just happened. I highly doubt anyone would be out here at this point in time, and any who are, are far away from a being such as I.
"Wish that what didn't have to be like this?..." I quickly look to my right and find Dashie sitting upright in the passenger seat beside me. For what seems like the hundredth time, she's managed to get right up to me and I never even noticed. I calm down after realizing that it's her and put my hand out to pet her mane.
"Hey, Dashie. I don't know... I guess I just wish that we didn't have to hide you all of the time, you know? To be honest, I don't even care about the rainboom very much. It's just every little thing that's added up for us over the years. I mean, haven't you ever wondered how free you could be if you didn't have to hide from literally everyone on the planet but me?"
I say this in a dreary tone, feeling the knot in my throat tighten as I search for more words. All the times we've had to cancel our trip to the park because we see a couple of people walk by our old house and didn't want to take the chance that she might be seen while we were there... It's not fair. Not fair to her, and not fair for anyone who has to go through something like that.
I take my hand off of her mane and let it rest on my side. I look to her for an answer. After pondering for a moment, she gives me one.
"Well... yeah, Dad. But the way I see it, it's really no different to a lot of people's lives. Don't you remember what you taught me all those years ago? Come on, Pops. Everyone has problems in their lives that make it less awesome than they want it to be. But, that doesn't stop them from enjoying it in the ways that they can, ya know?"
"Dashie... But-"
The distant scream of engines could be heard coming from the speedway, signaling that the race has probably started. But, right now, that was the least of my worries as Dashie cut me off.
"No, 'buts' about it, Pops! Who cares if we have to live like this? I dunno about you, but I couldn't have asked for a better life here. And that's whether I'm the real Rainbow Dash, or just a made-up cartoon character. This life I've had with you has been absolutely, positively, un… Well, I can’t think of a version of that phrase that would go into this, but my point is that, with you, the good times never end. And that's all thanks to you, Dad... I know I usually refrain from saying soft stuff like this, but I'll make an exception for you... just this once. I love you, Daddy."
My heart exploded for the millionth time. She hasn't said those four words as passionately as she just did since our little fight over her true origin. It feels nice, knowing that she still cares about me enough to call me "Daddy".
"I love you too, Dashie," Tears start forming in my eyes as I say that, and I can't help but laugh a little at how silly I feel for having my daughter tell me the same things I've been telling her for her entire life up to this point. It seems I've raised her well, then. "And thank you. Not just for this, but for everything. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you in my life. I feel like I underestimate that fact sometimes..."
"Awww, Pops."
Dashie reaches across the center console and pulls me into a warm embrace, and I'd be damned if I didn't give her one in return.
After a few moments of this, something comes to my mind.
"Hey, Dashie? Um, don't you wanna go see the race while you still can?"
"Hm?... Oh yeah, that," She says with a yawn "Nah, I think I'm good. As much as I love racing, I love who I'm with right now more than I could ever love sitting in a cloud while watching a bunch of cars go around in circles. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay like this for a while... I miss the days when we did this sort of thing more often."
I know the saying gets old, but dang it I'm gonna say it again because it's true. My heart exploded. It's at this moment that I lose every care in the world. The race, keeping my daughter hidden, my job, my financial situation, the mortgage I'm still paying off on the house, that darn carpet in the living room that I can't get the cyan hairs out of. It all goes unnoticed as I focus on the one thing that truly matters to me. My little Dashie...
It's been nearly a week since that all happened now. We stayed like that for quite a few hours, and I think Dashie may have even fallen asleep in my arms. Once I heard the engines die down and saw people coming out of the stadium and into the large parking lot, I figured it was the right time to get out of there. Much to my own dismay, I had to wake her up in order to drive the car.
We got back home just as the sun was setting, and I managed to whip us up a small dinner before we became too exhausted to do anything else but eat. It was a big day, and one I won't be forgetting anytime soon.
As for the cracked glass at the speedway, I'm not too sure what happened exactly. It obviously didn't affect their ability to run the race, so we don't really have any guilt over the whole thing. I think I saw on the news that repairs started as soon as everyone had left the next day. They mentioned that they were investigating just what was the cause of that happening, as well as how the whole rainbow thing happened. I'm sure some people thought of Dashie's rainboom when they saw it, but I'm pretty sure it won't amount to anything.
As for us, life has pretty much returned to normal. Except for the fact that I'm getting both of us out of the house today for a picnic in the woods, which I think will be-
"Daa-aad! Hurry up, the muffins are getting cold!"
I can't help but chuckle at the sound of that. She's starting to sound like my mom, and I'm not too sure what to think of that in all honesty.
"Alright, Dashie. I'm coming!"
THE END
Author's Note
Hello there, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this somewhat lengthy storied I've conjured up. I apologize for taking so much longer than what I've told. I didn't think it'd be this long, but then again, that goes for pretty much everything I've ever written. But I am glad to be back publishing a story after taking a few months break from it after November. But, do keep in mind that this story has been in the making since January. So, I hope the quality made up for the lack of quantity. Feel free to like if you enjoyed and leave any suggestions or remarks you have down in the comments!
Rdasher12
