Glory Days
The #14 Chevy slowly rolled towards the pit road. Tony was once more driving, and Twilight’s coat was blushing fifty shades of red.
“I underestimated how strong your magic was. I couldn’t retake the wheel from you.”
“I’m really sorry, Mr. Stewart. I just panicked and couldn’t let go.”
“Don’t worry about it. That was fun and it doesn’t look like anything’s torn up too bad. We can get this fixed right quick.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help! Do you have any books? All I need to do is study what to do, and then I’ll fix everything as good as new. Even better than new!”
“Hey, chill out. I have a talented pit crew. This is what I pay them for. We’ll get it fixed, you just frolic or go on a picnic, or do whatever it is ponies are supposed to do while we work.”
“Sheesh! Do I have to remind everybody? Remember what Brian said before you took to the track?” Pinkie Pie materialized out of the trunk of Tony’s Chevrolet.
“Oh, you mean the part he was talking about before you popped out of the can of soda?”
“Yes.”
“You totally have to teach me that trick!”
“Only works for cartoon characters.”
“Say, if you’re reminding all of us about not letting our ponies out of sight, aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Like what?”
“You’re out of Jimmie Johnson’s sight right now.”
“Oh. That. He totally needs to lighten up. So I have him freaking out over nothing. Oh! I know! I bet that would do the trick!” The pink pony hopped away, laughing maniacally.
“Does she always do that?” Tony asked.
“Yes.”
“It’s kinda unsettling.”
“You have no idea.”
“Where is that crazy pony?” Jimmie Johnson muttered as he paced back and forth next to his car. He had come to a stop when the caution lights came on, and Pinkie had taken the opportunity to slip out of sight the second his back was turned. She was worse than a small child!
Much to his dismay, the pink party pony returned dragging a rather large piece of fabric behind her.
“What’s that?”
“Oh! Goodyear sent a replacement blimp! But it had a little accident like the last one… They sure don’t make blimps like they used to.”
“If she breaks another Goodyear blimp, its replacement will be coming directly out of your race winnings for the next two decades, Mr. Johnson.” The sentence echoed in Jimmie’s head. She had been in the room when Brian France had said those words. He was positive she had done this just to spite him. He twitched ever so slightly.
“But if you get me a sewing needle and a whole bunch of thread I bet I can get Rarity to stitch it back together so no one will ever notice! Do you think she can sew the glass back together or should I get duct tape for that?”
Jimmie fought the urge to strangle Pinkie Pie. Instead, he decided there was only one way to deal with this menace – he would have to tie her up. He jumped towards her, but she was too fast for him.
“Silly! I’m over here!”
Jimmie once more lunged at the mare, only to spit out dirt.
“Behind you!”
“Come here you!” Once more Jimmie pounced, and once more he ended up tasting dirt in the infield.
“You’re a laugh, Jimmie! Just so you know I grabbed that fabric from the blimp that crashed in the parking lot earlier. There’s no backup blimp coming to the event. Psyche! It was just a prank. I wanted to loosen you up a little bit. Doesn’t it feel better to laugh?”
“Yes. Yes it does. Now since you’ve loosened me up, it’s only fair I tighten you up. So sit right here and I’ll be right back.”
“You better not plan on adding a few rounds of wedge to me!”
The racer wheeled around to face the pony again. “How’d you know a technical term like that?”
“I was Phil Parsons’ crew chief in his championship season.”
“Wait a second... Phil Parsons never won a championship.”
“Well, duh! I've never even met him! But I'm sure we'd be friends! Cause friends are super-duper-special!” Pinkie patted Jimmie on the head. He responded by grabbing hold of her.
“Now, hold still. This won’t hurt… much.” Jimmie looked around for a rope, and suddenly one was handed to him. “Thanks.” He turned back to find Pinkie still sitting and waiting patiently. “Wait a second… Did you just hand me this rope?”
“Yup!”
“So you know what I’m going to do?”
“Of course!”
“And you’re letting me do it?”
“Well, duh. How else can I surprise you five minutes later by ignoring the ropes and wandering off the second it’s funny?”
“Gah! It’s like trying to deal with Bugs Bunny.”
“You’re too competent to be Elmer Fudd. I guess that makes you Yosemite Sam. By the way, it’s duck season.”
In hindsight, Jimmie really wished he had ducked right at that moment. Instead, he turned around and was tackled by an irate Rainbow Dash. “And just what do you think you’re doing to Pinkie Pie?” She sat on his chest and glared directly into his eyes.
“Tying her up. For my sanity.”
“Yeah, that never works. Nor does running away. Every idea you’ve come up with in the last few minutes? Ponies have already tried every last one of them. And they all failed, miserably. Even I can’t outrun her, so just deal with it. After the race tomorrow you never have to see us ever again, just keep telling yourself that.”
“But she appears at random! How can I be sure she won’t keep following me even after the race is over?”
“Pinkie, come here.”
“Yes Dashie?”
“Dashie?” Jimmie raised an eyebrow.
“Nickname,” Rainbow Dash blushed. “She’s the only one who can get away with calling me that. Anyways… Pinkie, I need you to Pinkie Promise you’ll never bother Mr. Johnson here again after tomorrow’s race is over.”
“Okie dokie lokie! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye…” She went through the motions. “There!”
“You’re safe. Now you better be nice to her until the race is over, because if you’re not I’ll release her from that promise and she’ll stalk you to the ends of the Earth.” Rainbow grinned and flew away.
Jimmie just stood there dumbfounded. He wasn’t sure what was crazier – that the blue pony thought that it would work, or the off chance that it really would.
“So wanna hang out?”
“Well, you heard Brian. We don’t really have a choice. So what do ponies like to do?” If Pinkie Pie could keep herself under control, he was willing to give this another shot. He just hoped he wouldn’t come to regret it, knowing full well he probably would.
Rainbow Dash landed next to Bill. “So what’s next on our agenda?” she asked through a yawn.
“Well, I was thinking it was time to get something to eat.” He glanced over at the now sleeping pegasus. “Or perhaps it’s time to put the pony to bed…” He sighed and grabbed hold of her, and was surprised at just how heavy she was. He couldn’t even lift her off the ground.
He flagged down a passing golf cart, and Landon Cassill stopped for him. The two drivers struggled to lift the sleeping pony into the back of the golf cart and Landon drove the pair to Bill’s RV.
“Thanks.”
”Don’t mention it,” Landon replied, as he helped Bill move the sleeping pegasus into the recreational vehicle. Dash didn’t even stir from her slumber as she was moved. “She sure is a sound sleeper.”
“Yeah. Her snoring kept me up all last night. Well, the half of the night that wasn’t spent running her and another pony to Wal-Mart.”
“This is crazy, isn’t it?”
“Yup. I should’ve stayed retired.”
“Racing’s in your blood, admit it. You can’t walk away any more than I can. Anyways, gotta jet. We’re making some last minute adjustments to the car since practice got canceled and my team wants my input. Have fun with the pony.”
Bill shut the door behind Landon and sighed. The blue pegasus was snoring on the couch and Bill thought he could see just a trace of drool trickling out of her mouth. He decided there was only one way to spend this unexpected downtime: he sat down in his rocking chair and picked up a pair of knitting needles.
“So what shall we do this afternoon, Tony?”
“Oh! I know, Twilight. You wanna watch me crush beer cans on my forehead? I’ve been saving them up for a special occasion!” He quickly demonstrated for Twilight. “I could do this all day. And I can even show my super secret trick where I crush two cans at the same time!”
“I can hardly contain my excitement.”
And I found these DVDs at Wal-Mart last night! And most of them were in the bargain bin – can you believe it? Aren’t these the cutest?” Fluttershy scattered several movies in front of Kurt Busch: The Care Bears Movie, Bambi, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, and Milo & Otis.
“You know, it’s funny, but I’ve never seen any of these.”
“No time like the present to get started!” Fluttershy giggled as she turned on the DVD player.
“Uh, hello? Anypony? Anybody?” Applejack shifted from one leg to another as she stood in Jeff Gordon’s racecar. Some of his crewmembers had pushed the car back to the garage area, and she had been left alone. Jeff was nowhere to be seen, and the pit crew had all disappeared. “I reckon I best not move since this is where Jeff left me. He’ll probably be back any second now, and if I move from this spot I might miss him.”
Meanwhile Rarity wished she were anywhere else at this exact moment in time…
“Get in the car and shut up.”
An hour had passed in the Elliott RV. Rainbow Dash was now sporting four freshly knitted rainbow socks. Not that she was awake to notice she was now dressed in style.
It was quiet in the recreational vehicle – too quiet. Bill turned on his VCR and pulled a videocassette out of the cabinet built into his TV stand. “Bill Elliott: Racing Into History.” Bill read the tape’s label out loud, and chuckled. “Yeah, I’m ancient history these days.”
He popped the tape into the VCR and reminisced about the good old days while he continued knitting. There was Darlington 1985 and the million-dollar payday thanks to the Winston Million bonus. There was Talladega where he made up two laps under green long before there was a ‘lucky dog’ rule in place. He laughed sheepishly at his own role in the instrumentation of such a stupid rule at New Hampshire in 2003 – long after this video had become obsolete due to technology and its subject had become obsolete due to NASCAR’s push towards younger drivers.
Bill sighed. “Doesn’t this pony do anything except sleep? Well, if she’s going to act like furniture…” The knitting needles clicked together furiously.
It was not a restful sleep for Rainbow Dash. Had she been awake, she would have noted that the sofa was far from comfortable. As it was, she was far too engrossed in her dream to notice. It had been several years since the defeat of Nightmare Moon and the return of Princess Luna, and hence several years since her dreams had run amuck without the princess dreamwalking in and guiding them. So the blue pegasus was having the first nightmare she had had since she was a filly…
It had started off innocently enough, with Rainbow Dash performing her signature Sonic Rainboom in front of a crowd of Wonderbolts fans. She felt like she was dressed in style with as fantastic as their blue and yellow uniform looked on her. She wasn’t exactly sure when socks and a cape had been added to the uniform, but the new enhancements only made the uniform look cooler. Perhaps Rarity had been involved in their design – she had an eye for that kind of thing after all.
A booming voice came over the loudspeaker, introducing her to the crowd. “And starting today’s show, the originator of the Sonic Rainboom, Team Captain Rainbow Dash!”
“Ah yeah, they made me team captain!” Rainbow Dash was grinning ear to ear. Now to show the crowd a spectacular show. She soared straight up and waved to the audience before closing her eyes and diving as fast as she could towards the ground below. The mach cone formed around her front legs and suddenly there was an explosion of colors, just as always. But something was missing this time.
As she landed, the prismatic pegasus realized there was no thunderous applause from the crowd. For that matter, there wasn’t even that much of a crowd – Cloudsdale Coliseum was half-empty, and the half that was there looked bored with her signature move.
“Another riveting Rainboom. Yawn.”
The voice sounded familiar to Rainbow Dash. A little scratchier, more mature… It couldn’t be. “Squirt? Is that you?”
“The name’s Scootaloo, old mare. You know the pony that’s been showing you up ever since the Wonderbolts accepted me to the team. Hard to believe I used to consider a has-been like you to be my idol.”
“Hey! Is that any way to talk to the pony who took you under her wing?”
“I wanted a big sister. A mentor, somepony I could look up to. Somepony who would love me. Instead I got a coach, endlessly training me. And when my talent surpassed yours you decided to live vicariously through me, making me a Wonderbolt.” Scootaloo motioned to the arena around her and continued, “This isn’t what I wanted. This is what you wanted for me. My dreams all involved my scooter. A scooter you called a hindrance and scrapped.”
“I just wanted you to live up to your potential. You were wasting time with that silly scooter. I wanted what was best for you.”
“No, you wanted what was best for you. You couldn’t carry the show as the star – you needed me. You’ve been a one-trick pony since the Buccaneer Blaze fizzled out after your first three shows. It was a dud with audiences then, just like you’re a dud with audiences now. That’s why even as team leader you’re only the opening act. You can kid yourself all you want about putting the best first, but any good showpony will tell you that you save the best for last and leave the audience wanting more.”
“At least I’ve still got the Sonic Rainboom, squirt. Nopony else can claim that.”
“At least nopony else could until Spitfire performed the first Sonic Flameboom. Then one by one the other Wonderbolts learned that move. It’s pretty simple, just like it’s originator. Fly as fast as you can in a straight line. Easy.”
Rainbow Dash sputtered but was unable to think up a retort to the younger pony’s accusation. As if on cue, three other Wonderbolts performed booms of their own, with various displays relating to each one’s unique personality exploding around them – for Surprise, there were ribbons and confetti, for Flitter it was an explosion of glitter, and for Firefly lightning bolts shot out around her.
“I never did figure out why Spitfire made you Team Captain when she retired. I guess she felt sorry for you. Celestia knows you’ve taken a world class flying team and turned them into the third-ranked flying team in Equestria… out of three teams, total.”
“If the Rainboom’s so easy, how come nopony before me came up with it?”
“Probably because no pegasus before you was stupid enough to fly at the ground as fast as possible just to see what would happen.”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw went slack. She moved it a few times but once more no words came out. She looked around the coliseum at faded banners proclaiming “The Greatest Show In The Skies” and “Rainbow Dash Presents The Wonderbolts Starring Rainbow Dash” and frowned. Almost every banner had her smiling face adorning it.
“You’re just a self-obsessed egomaniac. Out for glory and turning a blind eye to everything falling apart around you. You should retire now, old mare, before you drag us into bankruptcy.”
“Why does she keep calling me old mare?” Rainbow Dash thought. “Sure, I’m a decade older than her but that’s not…” she trailed off as she caught her reflection in a button on Scootaloo’s uniform. He rainbow locks were now halfway to being a perfect match for Daring Do’s grayscale hair. There were crow’s feet around her eyes, and dozens more wrinkles where those came from. She was staring at herself and at a total stranger all at the same time. Tears welled up in her eyes as the crowd started booing her and pelting her with cups of soda and bags filled with popcorn or pretzels.
She awoke, whimpering, “I’m still awesome,” over and over again. Her eyes flew open and she glanced at the rocking chair, where Bill had dozed off. He was also whispering, “I’m still awesome,” as he slept. Her eyes darted to the television, where the 1985 Coors/Melling Thunderbird was on route to a Daytona 500 victory. She stared, transfixed, as Neil Bonnett brought out a caution with four laps to go and the race restarted on the final lap. Bill drove away from Lake Speed like he wasn’t there and took the checkered flag with ease. Thanks to the blistering pace Bill had set, he and Lake were the only cars on the lead lap. More than a quarter of the field had blown their motors just trying to keep up.
“That really was awesome. How come I haven’t seen anything like that this weekend?” she thought.
With her curiosity whetted, Rainbow Dash turned to the wall of the RV that was covered in various pictures and news clippings. A case filled with dozens of trophies rested dead center, and spread out around it were reminders of a better time for the driver. There were pictures and articles documenting his first win at Riverside in 1983, his Daytona 500 wins in 1985 and 1987, his championship in 1988, and even four wins in a row in 1992. There were newer articles showcasing his revived career in the early 2000s including a win in the Brickyard 400 at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But it was something else that caught Rainbow Dash’s attention – a picture of Bill posing with a much younger race driver. The article next to it indicated the driver was Chase Elliott, Bill’s teenage son.
She smiled and thought, “Following in his dad’s footsteps. Just like how I hope Scootaloo will follow in my wingbeats.” Her stomach sank as her recent nightmare came back to her. The RV started closing in on her as she scanned the yellowed articles and faded pictures. Faded, just like her mane in the nightmare… She curled into the fetal position as she imagined the faces of the Wonderbolts around her, mocking her. It was more than she could take and she crashed out the window into the cool night air. Escape. Freedom. She needed time to think.
Bill stirred in his sleep. “Drafty,” he mumbled. “Draft, gotta catch Petty’s draft.”
Rainbow Dash quickly flew towards Kurt Busch’s RV. She desperately wanted to talk to Fluttershy. She was about to open the door when she heard voices inside. “Such a great big world it’s all set-up… for a curious cat and a pug-nosed pup. Friends to meet; places to be…”
“She’s watching those movies she bought last night.” Rainbow Dash suppressed a shudder. “Maybe I’ll go talk to Rarity instead. She’s always got great advice and for once she can’t make me model for her while she dispenses it!”
A quick flight to Dale Junior’s RV revealed it to be locked with no sign of the driver or the unicorn. “Well, I could use a laugh…” While Jimmie Johnson’s RV was occupied, his wife explained that neither her husband, nor the pink party pony, were currently in and that she had no idea where they had disappeared to.
The cyan pegasus decided against consulting either of her other friends and decided to go for a flight to clear her head instead. While either Applejack or Twilight Sparkle would likely have great advice, neither would offer her what she truly wanted right now – empathy. Applejack was too blunt and Twilight was too logical. And if one of Pinkie’s distractions wasn’t an option, she’d just have to distract herself instead.
So she did what came natural to her – she flew away from the track as fast as possible and headed towards the brightly lit neon city nearby. It was lit up in all the colors of the rainbow. Ostentatious was probably the best word to describe Las Vegas. But since that word wasn’t in Rainbow Dash’s vocabulary, she just used her usual standby: ‘awesome’.
She landed and the first building she wandered into, unsurprisingly, was a casino. She wandered around observing each of the games of chance. The slot machines she quickly dismissed as boring. “Pull a handle. Yawn. Anypony can do that.” Roulette was also deemed lame, while blackjack was labeled ‘too mathy’. “Chance is too random. The odds of losing are too high, and I hate losing. I want games I can win with my incredible skills.”
She was about to walk out of the casino entirely when she caught a glimpse of something interesting out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, that will do nicely. Now to find out how I can play.” She grinned as she walked over to the counter.
“Hi, I have a few questions about this racing.”
The counter agent took one look at the rainbow-haired equine and did a double take. He was quite positive he was sober. “Uh, okay?”
“Yeah, I want to place a bet on the last race of the night.” She dumped a few dozen bits onto the counter. “These are solid gold.”
“I’m going to need to verify this.”
“Take your time,” replied Dash, as she remained glued to the monitors.
He called his supervisor over and explained the situation. Since this wasn’t the first time someone had wagered gold, it was a simple process to authenticate that the coins really were gold.
“So who do you want to wager on?”
“Myself. What kind of odds can you give on me taking the win?”
The bookie turned to his supervisor once again. “Considering everything you’d need to do just to get into the field, I’ll give you 100 to 1 odds. And if you don't race, we'll return your gold. Sound fair?”
“I guess. Math’s not exactly my strong point.”
“In other words, if you win we’ll pay you one hundred times what you wagered. Minus all applicable taxes, of course.”
“Deal. Now how do I get into the race?”
“Well, first you need to get to Santa Anita Park.”
“Where’s that?”
“About two-hundred miles southwest of here.”
“Why so far away from here?”
“The laws regarding in-state racing are a lot stricter than out-of-state racing.”
“Stupid laws – got it. Then what?”
“Well, you’d need to register for the race. And uh, you’d need a jockey.”
“What’s a jockey?”
“You know, a rider.”
“Fine, I pick you. Let’s get going.”
“Wait, I can’t do that. I’m on the clock.”
“Go with the pony, Joe. I’ll get someone to cover you.”
“What?”
“You heard me. It seems best to have someone on staff go with her anyway since we’re holding her bet in her absence.”
“Why don’t you do it?” asked the bet taker.
“Because I’m the only supervisor on duty in the department right now.” He turned to Rainbow Dash and said, “Just have him back by midnight. That’s when his shift ends, and we’d have to start paying him overtime.”
“You got it! Hop on, it’s gonna be a fast flight!”
Driving time to Santa Anita Park was a little over four hours by car. As the pegasus flies, it was shorter. And as Rainbow Dash flies, it was much, much shorter. She would have made even better time if not for her concern for the well being of her passenger. A whiny passenger who alternated between begging her to slow down and praying, but a passenger whose life she held in her hooves nonetheless. Rainbow Dash tuned him out and concentrated on her flying.
Less than half an hour later they arrived at the racetrack and Joe motioned for her to land half a mile away from all the activity. “Let me handle things. Just stay out of sight until I call for you.”
“And where should I do that?”
“How about up on the roof? No one ever looks up.”
“Fine. But make it fast.”
He ignored her as he walked inside the track’s office. “Uh, hi. I’d like to enter a horse in the final race of the night.”
“Entries needed to be in a week ago.”
“I think you should make an exception.”
“Give me one good reason.”
“Have you been paying attention to the news out of Las Vegas this weekend? You know, the NASCAR thing?”
“You talking about the pastel ponies?”
“Yeah. The blue one wants to race.”
“This could be a marketing coup. Who’s the jockey?”
“About that… she sorta picked me.”
“You’re way too tall and heavy to be a good jockey.”
“I know! And she’s like, a quarter the size of a regular horse so it’ll be even more glaringly obvious.”
“We’ve always got a few extra jockeys hanging around the paddocks trying to get a ride. Has-beens and wannabes mostly, but in the event of emergencies they come in handy. I’ll see what I can do. You can be the registered ‘owner’ of the horse instead.”
“That works for me. Shall I go get her?”
“Yes. We’ll need to inspect her before we can clear her to race. Our veterinarian and officials will examine her in the paddock. Meet me there with her in five minutes.”
“That was degrading.” The blue pegasus glared at the door the officials and veterinarian had left through.
“You’re the one who wanted to race, remember?”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t expect to be poked and prodded by a team of monkeys in lab coats.”
“They cleared you to race, so focus on the positive. And would you mind not referring to people as monkeys?”
“Not all people. Just those people. That stethoscope was freezing! And did you see the way they handled my wings? My wings are very sensitive! And then they had the nerve to tie them down!”
“Well, they do give you a bit of an unfair advantage after all.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before. I wasn’t planning on using them!” Rainbow Dash huffed and stamped her front hooves into the dirt.
Deciding to change the subject, Joe said, “Also, there’s been a change of plan. I’m not going to ride you in the race.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m heavier than the other jockeys. It will put you at a disadvantage.”
“I can still beat them with my wings tied behind my back. Get it? Cause my wings are totally tied behind my back!”
“Yes, I get it,” Joe rolled his eyes. “Let me introduce your jockey, Jacob Haven.”
Rainbow Dash took a good look at her new rider. He was about 4’9” tall and weighed about ninety pounds. “You didn’t mention there’d be a kid riding me. That means I can’t go all out. I mean, what if he falls off and gets hurt?”
“First of all, I’m not a kid. I’m an adult, thank you very much. I just happen to be very short, like most jockeys. Because of your own stature, we thought it would look less ridiculous if you had a rider closer to your own size. When Joe here rides you it looks rather comical.”
“Good, that means I can go all out again. But what’s that thing?”
“This?” Jacob held up a small whip. “It’s a riding crop.”
“And what’s it used for?” Rainbow asked defensively.
“Uh, it’s used to emphasize commands and reprimand poor behavior.”
“Yeah, that ain’t happening. Let me make a few things perfectly clear to you. I don’t need a rider, but the rules say I have to have one. So you don’t tell me what to do, and if I say something you'd better listen to me. And if you even think about hitting me with that whip thingy I’ll buck you off as soon as we cross the finish line and then smack you in the face with it.”
“It’s a crop.”
“I don’t care what it’s called. You use it on me and I’ll use it on you. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Now you go work on your victory speech while I do my warm-ups and stretches. And it better be epic.”
Twenty-five minutes later there was a clang as a bell rang announcing the start of the race. Rainbow Dash and nine other horses jumped out of the gates and tore around the track, clods of dirt kicked up in their wake.
“As they come to the first corner Rainbow Dash is in the lead…”
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Pleasure to see this one out of the pits and rolling down the track once again. :)
3384438
With four fresh Goodyears and a full tank of gas! :) It might not have been the fastest pitstop in history, but I'm expecting to make back that track position I lost taking so long in the pits.
I like a teen rating. The more degrading the better.
Yes I'm an asshole who likes perverted humor. Deal with it...
I don't know what's more unlikely: Landon Cassill turning up in a MLP fic or finding "Bambi" in the bargin bin.
So wait, what did Pinkie help Phil Parsons win?
Honestly didn't expect horse racing in this.
3385639
Landon was actually a cameo request. Believe me, I was just as surprised as you were.
I never gave that thought about Bambi though. Very good point and something I need to fix.
Pinkie's just being Pinkie. She never helped Phil win a championship (or anything else). The idea was for her to show unexpected knowledge on NASCAR via namedropping a relatively obscure driver (but in this case, current car owner) and some terminology. I'll revise that scene for clarity also. I think I know how to do that already so I'll get right on it. Thank you for the feedback!
As for the horse racing, that was a last minute addition. Once I split this chapter into segments I realized this part was going to run short so I came up with another subplot. Since they're in Las Vegas I put Dash in a casino and then tried to figure out what she would find interesting. Inspiration hit and I ran with it.
3385639
Made some tweaks and I think I fixed both issues. Thank you again!
3386193
I wasn't pointing out errors, just bits I thought were funny (cool chapter overall). I know Pinkie's joking (unless she was secretly a member of Phil's pit crew at Charlotte back in 1994 which seems odd but then again it is Pinkie) and thought that bit was really funny. Granted the new one is even funnier.
Landon Cassill showing up was cool, great to see some of the more obscure drivers.
Kind of interested to see where the whole Bill/Chase Elliott thing goes. Far as I know Bill's not forcing him to do it but it's an interesting comparison with Scootaloo and R.D. Bill's definately going crazy with the retirement bit.