Chapter Text
Uma Musume.
They were born to run.
They inherit the names of horses from another world.
Stories that were sometimes tragic, sometimes wonderful.
And with these souls, they run.
That is their destiny.
...
Currently
The sun shone on the streets of Tokyo, illuminating everything it touched and disrupting the sleep of a certain Uma Musume who shared a dormitory with an early riser who left the curtains open, causing the sun's rays to hit her face directly. A daily occurrence that no longer bothered her; it wasn't so bad to wake up earlier, train before breakfast, and not be late for class.
It was 6:15 when Black Sunday got out of bed. Her roommate, Sakura Groover, had already gone to train a long time ago and was definitely waiting for her. Therefore, she prepared quickly, enough not to seem completely unprepared, but less than normal.
Arriving at the gym, she finds her friend already doing repetitions on the leg press.
“Good morning, Sakura-san!” Uma Musume greeted.
“Good morning, Sunday-chan! I’m so glad you came to join me for my workout.”
“Yes, I’ll take advantage of the fact that it’s still early and use my time more effectively.”
Then the two trained together for another hour, switching machines whenever they finished their programmed repetitions, chatting about recent events and everyday things.
“What are you going to do after class today?”
“I think I’ll take a walk downtown, and you?”
“I think I’ll work out.”
“What will we have for lunch today?”
“Hopefully it’ll be that chicken with sauce, it’s so delicious…”
“Did you see the new movie that came out? We should check it out.”
“We should go, it’s almost time for classes to start.”
“Yes, I’ll finish up quickly here, you can go ahead.”
Sakura Groover was the first of the two to leave, while Black Sunday stayed to finish her training. As soon as she finished packing up her equipment, she went to the public restrooms to shower and put on her uniform. There she found her roommate already showered.
“Oh, how I wish I didn’t have classes…”
“Don’t talk like that, classes are important for our education. They’re necessary.”
“But it’s a drag, we can’t even talk.”
“If you start getting bad grades you’ll be transferred back, please keep trying a little harder.”
Another morning of classes began, covering subjects like health, math, general history, the history of the Uma Musume, just the basics for now, since the year had only started a few weeks ago, there hadn’t been any exams or tests yet. Black Sunday and Sakura Groover unfortunately had different schedules and classes, after all Sakura had been there longer than her, she was her senior.
Black Sunday had managed to transfer from her conventional school, in a city in the metropolitan area, a few months before, when the entrance exams for Tracen Academy took place. She may not have been the best in the knowledge tests, but she aced the physical ones, which accounted for almost 70% of the total score.
Later that day, she was randomly scrolling through her phone when she received a photo from her mother, showing a big mess in the kitchen at home. Her two younger sisters, Black Samar and Black Alpine, had their faces and clothes covered in flour, while their mom, New Jeans, was preparing cake batter. Her mother, Lighter, had taken the photo. She received a new message right below: "We miss you so much!"
Sunday's heart ached. It had been months since she'd been home. On the next holiday, she would definitely return home and bring lots of souvenirs with her.
"I miss you both so much too, I love you all <3<3<3"
"Tell them they look very pretty, and that Mom's cake is the best. Don't forget to send me a piece, hehe."
Soon after, Sunday was walking through downtown Tokyo looking for an interesting shop. She was looking for gifts for her family; her mothers were easy to buy for—a hair accessory, an earring, or something related to beauty would make her happy. Her mother liked cars, especially racing cars, so a miniature or a toy for her collection would suffice.
The main problem was the 11- and 14-year-old sisters who were going through a difficult time, liking something one hour and hating it the next. Samar would probably like some gothic clothes or makeup, while Alpine would probably like current pop bands; something personalized should suffice.
When she finished her shopping adventures, it was already night; she had to hurry so she wouldn't miss the dorms.
"Where are you?" Sakura Groover asked in a message.
"I'm arriving, almost getting off at the Academy stop."
"It's already late, wait for me, I'm almost there."
As soon as she got off the train, Sunday came face to face with her friend waiting for her.
"What were you thinking, staying out so late!"
"I got distracted with the shopping, hehe."
"You'll see with that, hehe! I'll give you one just to see if you learn."
"Ow, don't hit me, the bags are going to fall on the floor!"
“You deserve it!”
Sakura takes some of the bags from Sunday's hands and the two head to the dormitories together.
The next day, Sunday woke up again with the sun on her face. Alone in her room, she prepared herself following the same routine as the previous day. But today would be a big day; she would be trying out for the Academy's best team.
When the afternoon arrived, about 20 Uma Musumes were gathered on the training field lawn, waiting for instructions for the test, which would be as follows: all Uma Musumes would start at the same time, simulating a normal race; whoever arrived first would secure the spot.
As soon as the race began, Sunday faced a terrifying reality. She had never been trained with techniques and strategies. While others conserved stamina or accelerated until they couldn't anymore, Uma didn't know what to do.
She just ran with all her heart and took off as soon as she felt she should.
As a result, she came in third place. It wasn't such a bad position, but it wasn't ideal either; she would have to find another, less appealing team.
"You know, you have a lot of talent," said a young woman behind her.
"Yeah, but it wasn't enough."
"If you want to join a team, mine is available. It's called 'Rocket.' We're accepting any Uma with potential."
"I'll think about it."
"Anyway, here's my contact information."
...
13 years ago...
From a young age, Black Sunday was always an energetic child, always willing to do anything. Helping her mothers whenever possible, in all the tasks a 4-year-old could do. Which included bringing food to her pregnant mother.
"Look what Mom and I made, Mom."
"That's beautiful, dear, let me try a little."
The beginning of the pregnancy was chaotic; her mother suffered from severe morning sickness, dizziness, and nausea. This led the little girl to be very worried about her mother's health and resentful of the child in her womb, who was causing her mother all these sufferings.
But with many conversations and interventions, the little girl began to accept her future brother or sister.
"Things like that also happened to Mom when you were in her belly, it's normal, almost everyone suffers from it, one day you will understand that however difficult it seems to suffer from it, in the end it's all worth it."
"Will I go through that too?"
“If you carry the baby, it might pass, but your partner might, or maybe you won’t even want children in the future.”
“Are you sure it’s worth it?”
“Of course it is, after all, we have you here with us now.”
From that day on, Sunday became more receptive to the baby, soon starting to suggest names, all including Black as her own, after all, they would be her brother, how would people know they were related if they didn’t share a name?
“Will the baby look more like the mother or like you?”
“We don’t know yet, we have to wait until she’s born.”
“Hmm… I want her to look like me.”
“Haha, she’ll definitely look like you.”
“Yes!”
A few months passed and baby Uma Musume was born.
“Our daughter is perfect!” exclaimed Uma Musume while holding a newborn in her arms.
“She looks a lot like you,” said her partner.
“With me? She has your eyes and nose…”
“A perfect mix of us.”
“Just ours.”
“Let me hold her, let me, let me… Say yes, yes?!” interrupted a shrill little voice in the room.
“Just a little bit, Mom, show her how to hold a baby, okay?”
“Just a second, here it is. Hold her this way, don’t let her head fall at all, okay? It could hurt her.”
“Understood!”
Holding the small Black Alpine, Sunday felt as if she held the world in her hands.