Chapter Text
Panting. Sweating. Legs burning. Heart racing.
It took all of Nice Nature's strength to not faint right then and there.
As she steadied her breathing, and recovered from the intense over-exertion, she looked up at the big screen.
3rd place.
Her mind had gone blank, as her eyes subconsciously start to look for her, the main character, the shining star.
"TOKAI TEIO HAS DONE IT! SHE'S TAKEN FIRST PLACE AND MADE A MIRACULOUS COMEBACK!"
The caster's voice becomes a flurry of sounds that Nature doesn't care to process, as she finally finds Teio a couple dozen meters away from her, panting, gasping for air. She looks like she's about to start dry heaving at any moment. As Teio regains control over her body, and the rush from the race finally subsides, she turns to the croud and strikes her victory pose; she raises her finger in the air and smiles, earning an incredibly loud roar from the croud.
They had just run in the Arima Kinen. It was a special race, not just because it was, well, the Arima Kinen, but rather, because it was Tokai Teio's fated comeback race. After succesfully recovering from what was her third injury during her career, she'd quickly become the fan favorite to win, even if she hadn't raced at all for nearly a year.
Nice Nature felt... something. She wasn't sure what it was. As she watched the other runners go up to Teio and tackle her in a group hug, celebrating her comeback, Nature could only stand there. Staring. Past the other runners, she was staring at Teio.
Her body was in autopilot, her actions automatic as she began to walk back towards her room.
Everything from then on was a blur, the press conference, her thoughts on the race, the handshakes and congratulations and other such demonstrations of sportsmanship from the other runners of the race, and finally, the bus ride back to the academy. Her body acted out of instinct. None of this was new to her, after all. She'd placed third again. She'd lost to Teio again. Everything was normal. But her mind, God, for the life of her she couldn't clear her head! It was all static, she wasn't processing any of the events that had transpired today!
Nature was looking out the window of the bus, lost in thought (or rather, the abscence of thought), when the sudden stop of the vehicle and the hissing of the door's hydraulics pulled her out of her haze, just a little bit, and had indicated their arrival back at the academy.
The walk back to her dorm was slow. Slower than usual. It wasn't because she was tired. She wasn't feeling sad either. In fact, she wasn't feeling much of anything at this point. She just couldn't focus enough to feel something. Everything was too blurry.
She wasn't even sure what time it was. (Did Fuji greet her when she walked in? Was Fuji even there? What time was it, anyway? Was it past curfew? Wait, when did she walk up the stairs? How was she already at the door to her and Marvelous Sunday's room? Was she even in the right building?)
As she opened the door, she found it just as she'd left it this morning. Including the sleeping Marvelous Sunday on the bed located at the right side of the room.
She hadn't even realized that she'd changed from her racewear to her pijamas. Wait, when did she get in bed?
Staring at the ceiling, Nice Nature finally took a deep breath, and started to process the day.
She'd just run in the Arima Kinen. She was up against... bah, a bunch of Umamusume. Really, the only one she could recall was Teio. It had been nearly a year since Teio last ran in any kind of race, having suffered an injury that was said to be career ending, and yet there she was, smiling and shining and beaming with energy, like always.
Throughout the entirety of the race, Nature only had eyes for Teio as her thundering footsteps tore the turf to shreds, powering through the competition and fighting for the lead against some other girl. Nature hadn't even noticed that she had made her move as well, so focused on Teio, her body autopiloting to always have a clear view of The Monarch. The main character. The protagonist.
Teio, Teio, Teio.
Was that really all she could think of during the race? It wasn't like she was thinking of something about Teio, she was thinking of Teio. Her, and her bright and wide smile, capable of lifting anyone's spirits. Her, and her determined running style, resulting in races that would be talked about for generations to come. Teio, and her cheerful yet dedicated personality. Teio, and the way she never gave up despite the hardships and challenges thrown at her. Teio, who shined oh so bright, and ran oh so fast.
Teio.
Then, the race was over. Big screen. Teio first. Someone else second. Nature third.
Three.
Third again.
Nature let these thoughts sink into her.
Teio had won the Arima Kinen after a year of recovering from her injury. Nature had placed third. Like always.
The main character had won, and the secondary character had been tossed to the side, as intended.
It was only fair, it was only right. Nature could never dare to steal Teio's spotlight like that. Even though she'd trained so hard, even though she'd started hoping for a 1st place after breaking several of her personal records, even if her exterior shell insisted on saying that 3rd was all she'd ever get. Even though she desperately wanted to prove- No. Nature didn't want that, did she? That's right, Nature was perfectly fine with 3rd place. It was supposed to go this way. This was the intended outcome. Perfectly fine. Teio wins, Nature stays in third. Yup. Everything's fine.
Hic
Nope! Not happening! Haha! That was weird, wasn't it? Why did she feel a knot in her throat? Why did it feel like her eyes were hurting? Everything was fine, after all! Third is what she always got anyways, what's another bronze medal to add to the pile, right?
Sniffle.
Sob.
(Come on Nature, pull yourself together... you've done this before. Deep breaths, in and out, in and out.)
She wasn't going to let herself cry over such a stupid thing! It was just another third place finish, after all! It's not like she'd wanted this to be the race to finally break her streak! It's not like she wanted Teio to look at her and see a proper rival instead of just "that one girl that always comes in third"! It's not like she wanted to finally be properly acknowledged by Teio, no! How silly! How...
"...How pathetic."
Just like that, the dam broke.
A couple stifled sobs, and her eyes hurting from holding back tears, quicky turned into crying. Crying, crying, crying.
"I..." Hic "I-I'm n... never g-going to shine... like her..."
She clutched her pillow and pressed her face into it, desperate for comfort.
"H-how... could I have b-been... s-so dumb...?"
Her voice, quieter than a whisper, broken in a way that reflected her heart, and her dreams.
"She..." Sniffle "She'll never look my way. Why would she? I'm no Symboli Rudolf. I'm no Mejiro McQueen."
"Even if I had won..."
She removes her face from her pillow and stares at the ceiling, her entire body shaking with each sob, each sniffle resulting in a squeak as air passed through her tightened throat and vocal chords.
"She wouldn't have looked at me. It would've just been a one-off."
"She'll never... She won't ever... L-Lo..."
She covers her face with her hands, her body still facing the ceiling.
Her voice shatters before she can finish her last sentence. Right now, she can only cry.
She was so pathetic. Teio would've gotten back up and faced her defeat with a smile. Meanwhile, here was Nature, crying like a baby over placing third. What an ungrateful bitch she was. Other umamusume would kill to place third in a race as prestigious as the Arima Kinen. Yet here she was, crying.
And the truth is, she wasn't crying just because she placed third again. No, it was bigger than that.
Nice Nature was crying because Tokai Teio, the monarch, would never acknowledge her. Teio would never notice the way Nature stared at her when they happened to be training at the same time. Teio would never notice how hard Nature worked to compete against her. Teio would never know how Nature felt whenever they ran together in a race. Teio would never know how beautiful the view was from third place; Teio's ponytail flowing freely in the wind, the blue and white hues of her G1 racewear becoming a blur as she pushed past everyone and widened the lead. The pristine blue of her gorgeous eyes. The determined look on her face.
Tokai Teio would never know how Nature felt.
Tokai Teio would never know how much Nature loved her.
Tokai Teio was celebrating her victory somewhere else, sorrounded by friends and rivals alike.
Nice Nature was drowning in despair in her room, her crying being the only sound to fill the silence of the night.
"Goddesses above, please don't let Marvelous Sunday hear me like this."