Archive of Our Own ^beta

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."

Chapter Text

The world feels like it's spinning. It's difficult to breathe. 

"Did... did I...?"

She moves to look at the big screen. 1st place. Biwa Hayahide 2nd. Nice Nature 3rd.
Matikanetannhauser 4th. Legacy World 5th.

Teio had just ran what some would consider the best Arima Kinen in Umamusume racing history. After a year of struggle and healing from her third injury, she had won the grand prix.

Teio shifts back towards the crowd, and strikes her victory pose. She points her finger up in the air as she declares her victory. The crowd goes nuts.

McQueen. Prez. Were you watching? I did it. Today, I made history as The Monar- oomf!

"Woah!"

Teio's internal monologue was suddenly interrupted as several other racers tackled her to the ground in a big group hug, celebrating Teio's return.

Past all the flailing limbs and teary eyes of her fellow runners, Teio could've sworn she saw a pigtailed Uma staring intensely at her from afar. Though, looking from the ground and being crushed by the weight of like, 6 different Umamusume, she couldn't quite tell who it was.

What came next was the standard stuff. Press conference, meeting with the fans, the works. 
Teio answered questions from reporters and fans alike, with clear determination and integrity. It was like she hadn't even run a race! There was even a moment where a young Kitasan Black approached her and challenged her, declaring that she wanted to be just like, if not better than Teio when she grew up, just like Teio had said to Symboli Rudolf way back then.

She was happy. Her rivals were happy too, even if they had lost against Teio, they had all ran a spectacular race that would go down as legendary. She made sure to go up to each of them and congratulate them on their running. Biwa, Tannhauser, Rice, Tickezo, etc.
One of them caught her off guard, however. One of them wasn't happy. Or crying. Or mad. Or anything.

Nice Nature. She recognized the pigtails, she must've been the Uma staring at her while the others hugged her.

////////////////////

Nature was standing in her changing room, staring at herself in the mirror after the race. Dirt on her face and racewear. She was soaked in sweat. She'd have to take a bath. Annoying. Suddenly there was a knock on her door.

"Heya, Natie! It's Teio! Can I come in?"

Weird. Why was she here?
...is what she would've thought, but alas, she wasn't thinking much of anything at the moment. She simply stared at the door.

"Naatieee!! Hellooo! You there?"

Nature continued to stare at the door. She should probably say something. 
Probably.

"..."
"Alright, I'm coming in!"

As Teio opened the door and walked in, she was met with Nice Nature standing in the middle of the room, staring directly at her. It was the same stare that she managed to catch a glimpse of earlier, on the track.

"Oh, you are here! Why didn't you answer when I knocked...?"

That's when Teio managed to catch a closer glimpse at Natie's face. She was pale. Her eyes wide. Nature looked like she'd seen a ghost. Or, more appropriately, she looked like she was a ghost.

She moved her mouth to speak.

"Oh, sorry about that, Teio. I guess I didn't hear you knocking."

That was... off putting. Teio recalled a more... lively Nature. In every other race they'd run against eachother, Nature was always more... alive. She'd say something like "Oh well, third again!" As she flicked her twintails. Or "I- I won? Against Teio? Eh, must've been a one-off." As she tried to stop anyone from giving her the merit she very well deserved. Or she'd say something like "Ah, guess you're still stronger than me. Welp, that's that!" And she'd say that, despite her face clearly showing frustration, anger, but more importantly, a desire to catch up. A desire to run again, learn from her mistakes, and this time, beat Teio.

Wait, why did Teio remember so many specific things about Nature? Eh, Whatever. She was here to do something... oh yeah!

Teio put her hand out for Nature to shake,  smiling brightly as the latter simply shifted her dead gaze from Teio's face towards her extended hand.

"Great race! You ran really well today! Congrats!"

"Uh... Thanks. You too."

Nature took Teios hand in an almost robotic motion and shook it awkwardly. Teio was unsure of what to do next, as the girl in front of her hadn't let go of her hand, shifting her eyes back to Teio's. Seriously, WHY is she looking at her like that?!

"You were honestly kinda scary out there! Right before me and Biwa started duking it out for 1st place, I managed to see you making your move! You were looking right at me, like a predator about to pounce on it's prey, right? Hehehe!"

"...Yeah. Something like that."

"Well... I should uh... I should get going. Lots of interviews to give, y'know! See ya around, Natie!"
Teio still managed a wink and a smile despite how uncomfortable she was getting. This finally prompted Nature's body to let go of Teio's hand.

"Right. Goodbye, Teio."

Teio quickly turned on her heel and left the room.

What the hell was THAT all about? Had Teio wronged Nature somehow? She'd never reacted like that after losing to Teio before! What was happeningggg!!!!!!

No matter. Teio was suddenly very eager to go back to Tracen as fast as possible.
She found her trainer and politely asked (teetering on begging, honestly...) for them to leave early.

/////////////////////

After a rather uneventful bus ride back to Tracen, Teio had been stopped by a bunch of excited reporters at the gate of the academy. Her trainer tried to tell them off, but she told him not to worry, and to go on ahead to Team Spica's ""Base of Operations"", along with all her teammates. 

After the interviews were over, she stood before the gates, deep in thought. 

What was going on with Nature? Should she be worried?

...No.

Nah, probably not.

Natie would be fine. She was strong, stubborn. Consistent.

Teio liked that about her.

For whatever reason, she found herself standing before the statue of the Three Goddesses. How? She didn't recall walking over here... perhaps she was about to recieve a sudden burst of vigor, like all the other times she'd mysteriously wandered to the statue.

Not this time, though. She felt nothing out of the ordinary. She approached the water of the fountain, looking at her reflection. But that wasn't her. Looking back at her from the water, was Nice Nature, wearing that same, lifeless stare from before. Teio blinked, and Nature was gone. In her place was Teio's startled reflection, right where it was supposed to be. 

What the hell is happening?????

Deciding she needed a distraction, she headed towards her team's headquarters.

Once inside, she encountered only three of her teammates. the other three, along with her trainer, were nowhere to be seen. 

"Ah, Teio." Mejiro McQueen smiled. Polite and graceful as always, she greeted and congratulated Teio, taking her hand and holding it gently between her own two hands, bringing it to her chest. "You ran an incredible race today. You've become quite the shining star." 

"Yeah! You looked really cool out there! That was awesome!"
"And quite elegant as you crossed the finish line, might I add!"

Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet gave their congratulations as well.

Before (obviously) starting to bicker once again.
"Being cool matters more than looking pretty while running anyway, princess."
"Of course you'd think like that, you brute. All you care about is "cool this" and "cool that"!"
"Hah! Well atleast I'm actually cool! Your whole "Little Miss Perfect" charade is like a house of cards! One breeze and it crumbles!"
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"There it is! Gone! Just like that!"

Their bickering quickly becomes background noise, everyone on the team was already used to it anyway.

"Hehehe... Thank you all..." Teio answers awkwardly. She turns to look at McQueen. "Makween...? where'd everyone else go?"

"They said they'd go get food for us to celebrate your victory. They should be back any minute now."

Right on cue, Gold Ship kicks the door open, balancing a tower of KFC buckets in her hands as she walked towards the table in the middle of the shack.
"Hark! The valiant warriors of Spica Castle have returned to the kingdom from their hunt, we've brought enough food to last the winter!" Gold Ship gleefully announced, setting down the tower of fried chicken as she turned toward Teio, giving her an honest look.

"Great race today, Teio. You were awesome on the track."

After Gold Ship, the team's Trainer, along with Special Week and Silence Suzuka, entered their little shack, all of them carrying bags and boxes of food.

"Alright everyone, take your seats! We're celebrating!" Trainer announced the start of their feast!

The team spends what remains of the afternoon eating together, laughing, sharing, almost like a family. 

"So, what was you guys' favourite part of the race?" Their trainer asked randomly. He knew it was a dumb question, if he had asked himself, he would've immediately said 'The whole thing!', just like he expected his trainees to do so. 
"C'mon, you're making us pick? That was the best race I've ever watched!" Vodka protested from her seat.
Special Week chimed in. "Yeah! It was such an amazing race it made me cry! Honestly, it was even better than mmfgh-!" Spe was cut off as Suzuka fed her a chicken leg, eager to add her opinion. "Personally, my favourite part was when Teio was tackled by the other runners trying to hug her, hehe."
"Yeah, except for one." Gold Ship added, in an uncharacteristically serious tone as she directed her words to Teio. "Nature just stood there starin' at ya."
"Indeed. Did you happen to see Nice Nature after the race, Teio? Her reaction to your victory felt... out of place, compared to everyone else." McQueen asked, looking at Teio with worry in her eyes.

"I... I did see her, yeah. I greeted everyone who ran in the race that day. Gave my congratulations and my thanks, but when I went to see Natie..."

Teio fell silent, seemingly deep in thought, and everyone present in the room followed suit, waiting for her to finish her answer.
"She was... uh, how do I put this... not all there? It was weird. She was pale, her eyes were wide open... it was like she'd died and come back to life. She answered weirdly to everything I said to her, too. None of that "Third again" or "Too bad, oh well" stuff. It felt... off. Honestly, I'm a bit worried! hehe...!"

As Teio finished talking, an uncomfortable silence suddenly fell upon the room, quickly broken by Gold Ship, who leaned back into her chair.

"Maybe she... gave up? I'm not tryin' to be rude, but...." Gold Ship sighed. "Honestly, whenever I saw that girl, all she'd be talking about would be how she always came in third, or how she wasn't as good as you, or whatever... I don't think it's far fetched."

Teio's heart sunk at the thought. 
...Why? What Gold Ship said made sense.
But deep down, Teio felt... scared.
The mere concept of Nice Nature giving up on her dream of besting Teio, or worse, giving up on racing as a whole, made her feel terrified for some reason.

Why?

"I have to disagree." Mejiro McQueen broke Teio from her train of thought, briefly glaring at Gold Ship before continuing.

"I've talked to Nature before, she even went with me and Ryan to the Mejiro training resort, and I can say with certainty that she's not the kind of Umamusume to simply give up in such a way. She may say she's not good enough, but she's dedicated. Despite her pessimistic attitude, she still tried her hardest when the time came to give it her all. Me and my sister can attest to that."

Teio agreed with that. Natie was strong. Natie was consistent. Natie was determined. Teio admired that. Teio admired Natie.

"If anything, her consistency in placing is a testament to her strength." McQueen added, before shifting her gaze from Golshi to Teio.

"I believe you should try talking to her again tomorrow. You'll both have the day off, being the day after a race and all. Perhaps whatever she was experiencing will have passed by then."

Teio thought about it for a moment.

Teio thought about talking to Nature. Asking her if things were alright. Teio thought about Nature. Her mind raced through all the possible scenarios she could think of. 

"I give up on running, Teio. I'm leaving the academy next week"

"I'm not good enough to compete with you, Teio."

"I'm not good enough to shine alongside you, Teio."

"I'm not good enough to be as strong as you are, Teio."

"I'll never be as strong as you, Teio. How could I have been so dumb?"

Teio felt a knot in her throat. All these things that Nature would always say... they suddenly carried a lot more weight.

"You'd never consider me a rival anyways, right Teio? I'm third rate. I'll never shine like you."

Teio felt her eyes swell as if she was about to cry.

"You win, Teio."

That wouldn't be a win. She ran to shine like The Emperor did. She ran to inspire others like The Emperor inspired everyone who watched her run. What good was her victory at the Arima Kinen if it meant one of her greatest rivals gave up? She would never be able to live with that. The thought of her light shining so bright that it burned those who tried and challenge her... it terrified her. Suddenly, she felt panicked. She had to leave. She had to go somewhere else. Literally anywhere that wasn't here. Or the Academy's hallways. She craved the privacy of her room. She needed to go to her room. Now.

Teio wiped her eyes.

"U-um, gee, it's getting close to curfew, isn't it? Guess I'm heading for the dorms! See y'all, thanks for watching my race!"

Teio stood up abruptly, waving goodbye at her teammates as she quickly stepped closer to the door.

"W-what? Teio, there's still like 2 hours left until curfew-" Trainer tried to talk, but he was quickly cut off by the door slamming behind Teio. They could hear as she took off in a sprint, her footsteps vanishing before any of them could take off chasing after her.

"What was that all about?" Scarlet asked, just as confused as everyone else present.

Mejiro McQueen turned to her teammates and trainer. "While I am worried for her, I believe it's best to leave Teio to herself right now. Whatever happened between her and Nice Nature is not something we can fix for her. Let us hope that they manage to make up, whatever it was that happened."

"Besides, it'd be a waste for all this food to go to waste. Don't you agree, Special Week?" McQueen teased Spe playfully, as she hadn't stopped stuffing her mouth for a second ever since Suzuka fed her that chicken leg. She could only blush in response, as her mouth was too full to properly defend herself, and everyone laughed, as the tension from Teio's sudden departure quickly dissipated.

///////////////////

Damnit, what the hell was she thinking? Why did she leave like that?! This wasn't at all like her! What is happening!!!

Teio ran accross the academy grounds as fast as she could. She just wanted her bed. The privacy of her bed.

Fuji Kiseki was standing at the entrance of the dorm, happily greeting all Umamusume who entered the building.

"Ah, Teio! Congratulations on your-"

The Monarch becomes a blur as she dashes past her and up the stairs...

"...victory today."

...leaving a confused Fuji alone at the entrance of the dorm. What was going on...? Did something happen to one of her beloved ponies...?

Teio quickly reached the door to her room, and didn't even bother knocking. As she slammed the door open, she was relieved to see that Mayano Top Gun wasn't there yet. Good. She had time to herself.

...Or she would've had time to herself, if the over exertion from the race, the stress of having to do wave after wave of inerviews, and finally her mad dash to get to her room, hadn't all come crashing down on her. Suddenly, she felt every bit of exhaustion that she didn't feel during the day, as she guided her tired body towards her bed.

Collapsing on the mattress, Teio turned around and looked straight up, at the ceiling. 

Man, what a weird day. She should be happy, glad, proud of herself for winning. After all, she won the damned Arima Kinen for cryin' out loud! 

Yet...

She felt... weird. She could almost describe it as feeling incomplete... What was this feeling...??

"Gosh... Whatever..." She said, closing her eyes and almost immediately falling asleep. Whatever was troubling her, It would be the Teio of tomorrow who'd figure it out. Right now? She needed to sleep.

...

Waves crashing.

Warmth on her face. It smells like the beach, where is she?

Teio opens her eyes, she's walking on the beach. It's a beautiful summer day. 

She's walking with someone. She's holding someone's hand as they both walk on the beach, she was slightly behind the person holding her hand.

The person holding her hand was a fellow Umamusume. She was wearing a cute sun hat, perfect for the day. The red and green of her ear covers stood out against the golden sand and the bright blue sky. Her pigtails were flowing freely against the sea breeze.

The other Uma turned to look at Teio. She was smiling.

What a beautiful smile. What a beautiful girl.

What a beautiful dream.