It's hard to believe that it has been almost 15 years since the man who inspired me to become the awesome person that I, Rainbow Dash, wanted to be was killed in the most unfortunate of circumstances. I was only six years old at the time, in first grade at Canterlot Elementary School, long before I met any of my friends. Dale was my idol, but not just any idol. My father, Apollo Dash, knew him and his wife Teresa personally, always attending all the major NASCAR races on the circuit. When he had me, Apollo knew that he saw something in me that would bring me up to the level of being an awesome human being like Dale was.
But, it's too bad that Dale couldn't see me now as a school jock of all the major sports here at Canterlot High. Today, February 18th, was a hard day for me and I spent my time shooting hoops at the school gym, trying to cope with the anniversary of my idol's passing. However, I wasn't going to be alone for very long as I was about to have company.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash," said a young voice and I turned to see Scootaloo standing in back of me before walking into the gym. "Sorry I'm late, I had to finish up my algebra homework before I could do anything else."
"That's fine, Scoots," I replied. "I understand. That algebra homework must really have been eating at you or something."
However, I noticed that Scootaloo was beginning to take notice of how down I was. I had been dreading of this day for several days and she, out of all the people I know, had been taking notice of it. Like myself, she was a NASCAR fan, although she had been too young to remember when Dale competed on the circuit. Then again, had Dale still be alive, he would have been retired from racing if Scootaloo had started getting into the sport.
"Speaking of which," remarked the young freshman as she got ready to shoot some hoops with me. "How have you been feeling with Dale's anniversary and all?"
"It's been tough," I sighed. "For the past few days, that crash in the Daytona 500 has been playing around in my head. I know it sounds uncool, but there is no way that he could have died the way he did. Something happened in that car and I will never know what it was. It's too bad he can't see me as I am today."
Now, of course, I had been through much worse situations than this. It's a part of life, people are born, they live a little while and they die. Dale Earnhardt's life was no different. I could remember him telling stories to my dad of how he put his racing ahead of his education. In fact, I could still hear him telling me the stories.
"You see, Rainbow Dash," he said to me at a barbecue when I was younger. "You don't have to be a smart Alek to get anywhere in life. I never went to college and you don't need to have a college degree to define what a person is. You are awesome for who you are and that's what is important. The victories, all the accomplishments that I have done don't do a damn thing in defining my legacy. What's important is enlightening the lives of people around you while you are on this Earth. It's important to remember that we all can't live forever and we have to live life to the fullest."
And those words continued to reverberate within me, all these years. Dale was my idol and I looked over at Scootaloo and remember, that she was looking up to me, just I did when Dale was alive.
"I know how you feel," sighed Scootaloo. "I've been a NASCAR fan for a short time, but it feels like there has always been someone who has casted a shadow on the sport at large."
Scootaloo walked up to the foul line and tossed a basketball into the hoop with finesse, much to my amazement. Then again, I wasn't surprised for Scootaloo was certainly going to be like Dale one day.
"Dale Jr has certainly picked up the slack in terms of having an Earnhardt on the track," Scotaloo continued as she shot another basketball through the hoop. "Even though he doesn't win a lot of races. There are plenty of other drivers who had the pleasure of winning every race on the schedule, like that Jimmie Johnson dude."
"Jimmie Johnson is nobody," I scoffed, chuckling at the fact that no one can ever replace Dale. "He may win consecutive championships, but he is no Dale Earnhardt, let's get that straight. I watched the best years of NASCAR, Scootaloo and I never regret it one bit. When Dale died, the good of NASCAR died with him. Now, it's nothing like what it used to be."
As I fired another ball into the hoop, I could tell that Scootaloo was disagreeing with me on the fact that NASCAR was nothing like what it used to be. Then again, she never fully embraced what went on in NASCAR's golden age when I was watching Dale race every week.
"That's not true, Rainbow Dash," she said, trying to sound optimistic of the current state of NASCAR itself. "NASCAR is a great sport. Think of all the drivers that are racing today, battling each other greatly for the glory."
"But, seeing drivers fight with their fists and not their skills is not how I view it, Scootaloo," I remarked. "When Dale was alive, he always preached the fact that grudges are to be settled on the track and not in the form of physical contact. To be honest, Scoots, if he were alive today, he would not like what he would be seeing."
It was then that Scootaloo began to remember of what happened to Tony Stewart a few months back in a World of Outlaws race when he allegedly struck and killed a fellow driver in supposed rage, even though it was nothing more than a tragic accident.
"You mean like what Tony did in that World of Outlaws accident?" she sighed. "I can see where you are coming from, Rainbow Dash. That was totally not cool in any way, if you ask me."
"That is why I no longer consider NASCAR my favorite sport, Scoots," I remarked as we walked over and sat down on the bleachers. "Sure, I will watch a few races every now and then, but it is not the same without Dale. Now, it's all about the drama off the track as opposed to on the track. One of these days, Scoots, I am going to have us watch some of Dale's races on DVD and you will see the sport that I grew up and not the current sport that you are seeing right now."
It was then that Scootaloo was starting to take notice of what I was trying to get through to her. She knew that I was right, just from this conversation alone about Dale Earnhardt and what NASCAR is supposed to really be about.
"Wow," she said, fully absorbing what I had been saying to her. "I guess you are right then, Rainbow Dash. Now that you mentioned it, NASCAR has certainly lost its charm. You and your friends have always preached the idea of friendship on all levels regardless of whether I am a sports fan or not."
"I learned a long time ago," I added, throwing my arm around Scootaloo's shoulder. "That the friendship is more important than the competition, Scootaloo. And it wasn't taught to me by Twilight Sparkle, it was taught to me by Dale Earnhardt, who to me, was much more than the guy behind the wheel of #3. That is something I will never forget for as long as I live, Scoots."
It was then that Scootaloo and I began to fully embrace one another as this conversation that we have had with one another had made me feel better to a degree, taking some of the sadness of this grim anniversary away from me. Although, I couldn't help but notice the presence of a spirit in that gym and it was a spirit that was all too familiar to me.
"That'll do, Rainbow," I heard the spirit of Dale Earnhardt say to me. "That'll do."
