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A bullet blasts out, and seven unique Uma Musume kick out, dashing across the track. A white blur zips ahead, entering first place. Each step is a perfect stride, and her arms swing back and forth elegantly. Golden light glides over them as their white cape and tail flow in the wind. A gentle smile spreads across her cheeks. Nice digs her boots perfectly into the dirt. She rushes past the first corner still in first place. She rhythmically takes a deep breath through the nose and out of the mouth. A smaller pink-haired girl bashes next to Nice. Her anger oozes off her small pink armored frame.
Nice smirks at the small horse, keeping up their pace, but Loli gains traction. The two are neck and neck. They make the next turn, and Nice feels pain swirl in her leg; she stumbles against her weight. The tip of her white boots digs into the ground, and she uses that force to leap ahead past Loli. She screams out in pure rage. Nice’s smile widens as the finish line comes into view. A crack echoes in the air. A white haired, taller Uma Musume flies past them. She glances at Nice with disgust in her eyes. She just huffs with mild annoyance. A smaller cyan horse skips past Nice, ignoring her.
Queen zips over the finish line with Lucky Cyan a few centimeters behind. Loli roars, pushing up her pace. Nice feels a bubbling rage in her stomach.
No one else! I won't lose, I'm perfect!!
She blasts off, but blue lightning strikes beside her, hitting the finish line before she does. She digs her heels in the dirt, and slows down. Sweat drips down all their bodies. Nice’s vision blurs at the scoreboard.
4th
The crowd roars. Nice turns to her fans and points two fingers with a massive smile. Golden light glistens over her sweaty body. Behind her, Loli glairs daggers at her. Queen stands proud with Lucky Cyan by her side. Nice turns away from them and steps past.
She enters an expansive hallway. Shang De strides over, grabbing the girl's head. His eyes seeth with anger. Nice trembles as her expression widens. Her tail jolts upright.
“You lost. After all the money and training I gave you.”
“I got top five…that was our goal…”
He squeezes Nice’s silver locks. She flinches in pain slightly. “Don't tell me what my goal is, you're supposed to be the best Uma Musume out there. Yet all you can’t even get is third place. Pathetic.”
Shang De lets go of her, soft strands of white hair flow from his hands. Nice lowers her head, silver locks flow over her eyes. Her ears lower, and her tail falls limply.
“I'm not your trainer anymore.”
Nice jolts up. “What but-”
“I hired someone else to look after you. She can deal with your failure.”
Nice nods obediently. “Okay…”
“Just don't fail me before retiring.” He scoffs.
She leaves, not even going to her concert.
At Tracen Academy, in a small back corner, is a decrepit shed. Nice enters in her white and blue school uniform, a golden bracelet glitters on her right ear. An adult woman with blond hair in a bun sits behind the desk apathetically. Next to her is a small, thin Uma Musume with short brown hair that smiles brightly. Behind her is a whiteboard with a massive welcome sign in rainbow letters. In the middle of this room is a table full of snacks and chairs scattered about. On the walls are pictures of famous Uma Musume winning races.
Ms J slams her hands on the desk. “Welcome Nice, I'm now your trainer.”
Nice’s tail wags back and forth with annoyance, but she keeps a smile. “What's your qualifications? How many Uma Musume have you trained?”
Mis J sighs. “That doesn't matter. I'm here to make you win.”
Nice’s tail flaps angrily. “They really put me at the bottom of the bottom?
The brown hair Uma scratches the back of her head.
Nice’s soft eyes glisten at the other Uma, glancing at their thin frame. “Who is this?”
“Just an intern.”
Her voice freezes in place. “Lin Ling, pleasure to meet you…”
The door swings open, and a purple-eyed girl with messy blond hair and tail steps in. On her left ear is a wrinkled green bow. Her school uniform hangs loosely on her body as she barely has her bow on. She yawns and sits at the table, pulling out her phone.
Nice feels a blood vessel pop in her head. “Moon..”
Moon keeps her fixation on her phone. A heavy scowl blows out. “Oh, you're here too?”
Nice tightens her hands into fists and takes a deep breath, attempting to relax her shoulders. She steps to the chair across from Moon and wipes it off with a napkin. Then tosses it in the trash and sits down. Moon rolls her eyes. Lin smiles crookedly as she reaches into her bag to pull out a laptop. Nice gaze at the Moon logo sticker on the back of the laptop.
“Someone is a fan, must be sad realizing she is just a disaster.”
Moon slams her fist on the table. “Says you.”
Nice flows a hand across their silky white hair, throwing it to the side. A cocky smirk spreads out. “I'm perfect.”
“Perfect, my ass.”
“At least I brush my hair and can put on clothes.”
Nice gesture to Moon’s disheveled appearance. Moon grits her teeth.
“Oh, how dare I relax?”
Lin turns her laptop around, showing multiple news articles of their races. Miss j speaks up.
“You two are fairly popular; we can get you in a G1 race easily.”
Moon rolls her eyes. “You mean Nice can get the top spot. I'm just here for appearances.”
Lin ling shakes her head, her brown tail jolts up. “No! You truly are one of the best Uma Musume out there. You can get up there as well. Moon you have the potential to be the top Uma Musume.”
Moon's eyes widen. Her hands squeezes her phone, but she quickly goes back to a bored expression. “Sure whatever you say.”
Miss J stands. “First I wanna see you two run, so I know what I'm working with.”
Nice sigh. “Seriously, you obviously saw my running on TV just watch that.”
The older woman sighs. “It would be better if I see you race in person.”
“I'm perfect, I don't need training from an amateur like you.”
Moon smirks. “Says the girl who got 4th.”
Lin ling waves her arms out. “Please don't fight you two…just think of it as a quick race.”
Moon and Nice scowl at each other, they quickly get up and enter a small changing room barely enough for two people. Nice slowly takes off her shoes, then slides off her stockings. She rolls them up and gently places them beside the shoes. She unzips the skirt and folds it in half. Afterwards she undoes her bow and lifts her shirt off, gently putting it down. She slides her track uniform on and pulls out her phone to look at her reflection, grabbing a brush and slides it across her hair. Then does the same for her tail. Meanwhile, Moon grabs her clothes and tosses them to the floor in a ball of mess. She grabs her tracksuit and tosses it on. She takes a random hair clip, pulling her hair back. Nice flows her hair to the side.
“Seriously.”
“Shut up OCD.”
“It's called being neat.”
The two enter the grassy track. Nice stretches out their arms and legs. Moon flaps her entire body about, throwing her hair all over the place. Her tail flips back and forth. Lin Ling sits by the starting line on her computer. Miss J holds a stopwatch, analyzing their movements.
Nice digs her heels into the dirt as Moon lowers her posture.
“Go!”
Miss J clicks her watch. Nice uses all her strength to blast out. Each stride is long and precise, digging into the sandy track. Moon leaps out, flowing right behind Nice. Wind blasts into Nice's body, but flows over Moon. Nice digs her heel deeper in the ground. Her powerful strides launch dirt at Moon. Dirt crashes into her face and chest, pushing her back. Nice keeps up her pace slowly getting faster with each step. They dash past the last turn.
Nice keeps running but her breath wheezes. Moon’s amethyst irises sharpen. Energy flows over her body. She leaps around Nice, skipping past him. Nice digs her heel deeper in the dirt. With one last spurt of energy she shoots forward. They both make it back to Lin Ling. Nice digs her training shoes in the dirt, slowing her pace.
Moon falls to her knees panting heavily. Nice leans back, taking deep breaths.
Lin Ling claps happily. “Good time, both of you.”
Miss J adjusts her glasses. “I think I understand your running styles now.”
Nice reaches into her pocket and pulls out a cleaning wipe. She steps over to Moon. “Here, for the dirt.”
Moon glances at her uniform. “It's whatever, I can handle some dirt”
She stands up and brushes off the dust. Nice just sighs. “You're a mess.”
“Oh, am I now.”
Moon smirks as she bends over, gripping a fistful of dirt. A crooked grin spreads across her face. Nice steps back slowly. Fear fills her eyes.
“Moon…what are you doing?”
She throws the dirt full force at the white horse. Nice ducks and quickly dashes away. Moon grabs two more handfuls of dirt, throwing them both at Nice. She screams in horror as she gets chased, a couple of balls of dirt fly over her.
Moon laughs. “Come back here!”
“Nooo! You disgusting demon!”
Lin sweats a little. “Should we stop then?”
Miss J just turns and leaves.
Nice dashes behind Lin Ling and lowers her posture to fully hide. Moon throws another dirt ball, it flies across the air and crashes in Lin Ling's face.
Moon smirks. “Oh sorry did I mess up our little intern. You two are such wimps.”
Lin ling freezes for a few seconds. Nice glances over at her confused: when she suddenly grabs dirt and slams it in Moon's face.
She wipes her face with a massive grin across her face.
“Oh it's on.”
Lin Ling and Moon toss dirt at one another, covering each other. Nice slowly steps back. Moon turns to her, pure excitement glistens in her eyes. She reels her arm back. Nice flinches, holding her arms out for a shield but Lin ling hand reaches out and grabs Moon's wrist.
“Come on, that's enough…don't mess with her too much.”
Moon drops the dirt ball. Nice sighs in relief, relaxing her body.
Moon swings her free hand, shooting dirt in Nice’s chest. Her eyes widen as her tail coils over itself. She quickly reaches into her pocket and pulls out a wipe, scrubbing the stain but soft trickles of dirt remain. Moon cocky smile slowly lowers to a concerned expression. Her tail wraps over her leg.
“It's just dirt…”
Nice steps past them, towards their decrepit training room. She quickly takes off her clothes and slams them to the ground. Then grabs her school uniform and neatly puts them on. A heavy sigh escapes her breath. She traces a hand across her hair, putting it in place.
As she exits the changing room Moon is suddenly in front of her. Nice’s eyes sharpen. She takes a step back, ready to sprint when the blond sighs.
“Look sorry about the dirt…didn't know you would flip out so much”
Nice just push part her, bumping shoulders. “Whatever.”
Lin ling steps over. “Well I did watch your race. It seems you run out stamina dur-”
Nice barks. “Cut it out, you're not a trainer. You're just here to watch us.”
She storms out, heading to her dorm and enters the room. Her side of the dorm room is squeaky clean, down to microscopic level. Golden ornaments linger over the ceiling. There is a shelf full of books, training gear and water bottles. Beside the bed perfectly clean bed is a poster on the wall of Silence Suzuka running. But the other side of the dorm was messy, with clothes scattered about, fresh lipstick on the floor and food crumbs about.
Nice’s clothes drop to the floor and are replaced with smooth white pajamas. She holds her dirty clothes and gently puts them in the basket. She steps to the other side of the room and wipes down the desk chair then fixes the bed sheets. She organizes the beauty products by how much her roommate uses them. The closer ones are the ones she uses the most.
Fatigue fills Nice's entire body, her chest wheezes up and down erratically. She sways a hand up her face, slicking her hair to the side. She falls back, crashing to bed. A heavy sigh escapes her breath as she puts an arm over her eye.
What am I doing? Is this what I really wanted
Moon steps inside the room, noticing the change. “Seriously, you moved everything again, okay, I'm sorry about the dirt.”
Nice turns in bed. A poster of Silence Suzuka gazes before her.
Moon just shakes her head. She leaps in the air and crashes into bed with a thud.
Soft wind blows from their window. Two outstretched hands grab Nice's face and squeeze her ears tightly. Pain fills her body. A voice rings out, shaking her. “You failed, just retire!”
The voice echoes louder and louder as her body shakes. Dirt covers her body, suffocating her. A massive wave of dirt crashes on her body, fully engulfing her. She pulls her arms out, but more dirt crashes down. It fills her mouth and nose, cutting air flow.
Nice jolts from bed, drenched in sweat. Her shirt sticks to her back. Her school uniform wrinkles with each movement. Sunlight peeks through the curtain, brightening it up. She grabs her hair, pulling it tightly. Her knees squeezed against her chest. Each breath wheezes in her chest.
It's okay! I got this! I'm perfect! Next race I will win! I have to.
Nice stands up, tossing their drenched clothes aside and replacing them with a soft crimson tracksuit. She spirits outside, towards the practice track. She runs and runs and runs. Sunlight brightens as she continues her 10th lap.
She lowers her posture and pants heavily; each breath burns in her lungs.
A brown hair Uma Musume steps over. Bags linger under her eyes but she tries to smile.
“Nice, what are you doing this early?”
Nice stands up, flipping her hair back. “Practice.”
Lin Ling's voice echoes with worry. “Are you okay?”
“I'm perfect.”
“You can't be perfect, Nice.”
Nice’s fist tightens. “Yes, I can.”
“You can't be perfect forever; you will grow old and even be replaced.”
“What was that!”
Nice reels her arm back, ready to swing, but Lin Ling waves his hands out.
“Wait wait wait- I meant you can't be perfect forever. If you keep at this, you will break down… like now. Have you slept?”
Nice lowers her shoulders.
“I sleep fine, and you're not any better.”
“Ya, overtime been a lot, but I figured out the perfect race for you and Moon.”
Nice sighs. “Good, I'm ready to win.”
Lin scratches the back of her head. “Well, I have some tips to increase your pace for that.”
“I don't need tips im-”
“I know perfectly, but…you can improve. Just listen to me at least.”
Nice takes a deep breath. “Okay, but I'm going back to training afterwards.”
Lin and Nice enter their shabby shack. Lin pulls out her computer while Nice sits on the couch. Fatigue fills her body. She lowers her head as sleep fills her mind, but she jots up. Lin brightens her expression.
“Nice you lose your energy at the end of races, that's why you lost your last race.”
“Huh?”
Her mind imagines the last race. The way her breath burns her lungs, unable to keep pace.
“To combat this, we will focus on stamina training, especially for those final bursts.”
Nice nods, but fatigue slumps her body down. She crumbles on the couch, melting in the soft cushion. Soft grumbles escape her lips, and her white tail coils over her leg. Lin reaches into Miss J's desk and pulls out a soft blanket.
She wraps it over Nice, who instinctively pulls it closer.
Hours pass. Sunlight shines out of the window, hitting Nice's eyes. Her ears twitch as she gets up, stretching out her back. Each joint cracks loudly. Lin Ling, Moon, and Miss J sit at the table discussing plans.
Moon leans closer with a sinister smirk. “Hey princess?”
Nice scowls and guides her finger across her white hair, fixing it. “Shut it…”
Miss J sighs, tossing a group of papers in front of Nice. “No fighting, here you're training requirements.”
Knee to chest stretches
5 breaststroke laps
3 laps of Freestyle swimming
30 squats
5 laps
Nice slowly stands up. “Okay, okay.”
Miss J adjusts her glasses. “Before that, I decided our next big race will be the Tenno Sho. You will aim for the triple crown!!”
Nice smiles brightly, golden sparkles flow over his body. “Of course I can do that.”
Miss J interprets. “As for you, Moon. You will accompany Nice in the Tenno Sho, in case Nice loses. We need one member of this team to get a triple crown.”
Moon rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”
Nice deflates, leaning back in her chair. They don't care if I win…I'm just another Uma in their team. Another tool?
“For now, just do a few laps, tomorrow we will start all your new workout. Lin Ling measures their time.”
The brown hair uma nods. All three of them go back to the track field. Moon and Nice continue their usual laps. As Lin checks the stopwatch. Moon slows down, heading to the fence while Nice keeps running. Moon glances at Lin Ling.
“Join us? You are an Uma after all.”
Lin shakes her head. “I'm just an intern… nothing really..”
Moon grabs his hand, pulling him onto the track. Nice does a full lap, passing Moon. She winks at two.
“Hurry up, or I will beat you easily in our next race.”
Moon picks up her pace, catching up to the white haired Uma. Lin Ling gazes at both of their backs. Their soft, fluffy tails flow back and forth. Lin dashes forward but is unable to catch up. Both legs ache with pain as the oxygen leaves her lungs. Moon reaches out her hand behind her. Lin reaches out and pulls on it but Moon’s foot hits her leg and she falls over. Ling crashes next to her, reaches out her hand for support. She grabs. Soft fluffy white tail.
Nice gasp in pain as all three crash into the dirt.
Moon sits up and starts laughing. Nice scowls.
“Seriously, damn it. I got grass stains on me.”
Lin smiles at both of them happily.
