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“We’re finally at the home stretch!”
300 meters. Not yet— Too soon.
The pounding of footsteps tearing up the turf rang in her ears, threatening to overtake. Dantsu Flame, Jungle Pocket. Both were right on her tail, chasing her, but that wouldn’t matter. Her speed stayed constant, her nerves unshakable. She let them catch up more.
200 meters was all she would need.
Ten seconds, to sear their eyes with the sight of her running. To finish her experiment. To prove its existence. If they got to observe it from close up, then all the better!
The 200 meter post flew by.
The world around her vanished. In its place was a dark void, surrounding her entire being. Equations etched in gold flew past at breakneck pace, as a path forward was revealed. Ghostly figures, stills of umamusume—no, of herself—fly by as she races forward. At the head of the path, a vision running ahead. She had her goal in sight. She pushed forward.
On the racetrack, the crowd roared and cheered as they watched Agnes Tachyon accelerate further, leaving the two other umamusume behind. Surging forward, the gap grew larger.
Half a length. Three quarters. One whole length.
As the crowd watched, a peculiar sight filled the eyes of each umamusume watching. A glow surrounding the lead horse, sparkling in bright and vivid colors. No, it wasn’t surrounding her. It was radiating from her. A calling. A challenge.
From my ashes, let new possibilities come to life.
The void peeled away to reveal a world bathed in rainbow lights. Colors broke off in splashes against her speeding body, getting ever brighter as she approached that eerie vision. Equations bathed in the light, streaking by. As she pushed forward, she made contact with it. Yet she knew it wasn’t enough. She had to become the vision.
Somewhere behind her, an inky black void formed. This wasn’t the familiar void where her equations filled the air. No, it was consuming that beautiful light that was surrounding her. A cold, unforgiving darkness. Darker than the world she painted her equations on. As she got closer to becoming the vision, it only grew larger, threatening to swallow her whole.
By now, it was impossible to miss. Both humans and umamusume were shocked by the brightening glow that was now surrounding Agnes Tachyon. Even now, it was clear who the winner of the race would be. And yet, she only pushed further beyond. Whether it was to set a record, or to show her dominance, it wasn’t clear to the crowd.
But it was very clear to her.
The moment she overlapped with the vision, the world went fully dark behind her. Vibrant colors flew past only to get swallowed by the void. No longer could she feel the presence of her fellow racers behind. Absolutely nothing escaped that void behind her.
For the first time in her life, Agnes Tachyon was facing the truly unknown.
What lay past the potential, no, the limits of umamusume? She told herself she would be the one to discover it. She would be the one to explore it, to sacrifice herself for the new era of runners. Now? The very discovery she made threatened to overtake her, to consume her like the colors and equations before.
For the first time in her life, Agnes Tachyon— truly felt fear.
She had felt fear many times before, but always managed to hide it away under a lying smirk. She was confident in her abilities and in the calculations she made. But now as she pushed further beyond, the void only grew larger. Overtaking more of her sight. Even the vision that she was chasing, that she had passed moments ago, was swallowed whole.
Under the colors that blanketed her figure, that mad smile was wiped away, replaced with a silent cry of pure horror as she ran for her life. Even the finish line streaked its way into the dark abyss, no way to tell when she could stop.
So she kept running.
Even as the blinding glow crossed the finish post, Agnes Tachyon did not slow down. Murmurs of concern rippled through the crowd, watching her continue ripping into the turf at full speed for a full fourteen seconds. They watched as she finally started to slow, the glow receding as she did.
Watching the turf curve to the right had told her the race was over. She could slow down, let herself be consumed. She wouldn’t let the abyss take her before her experiment reached its conclusion. And yet, her urge to run was overpowering, as she followed the curve of the turf, legs screaming in agony from the extra distance they were running.
At the end of the first corner, her stamina fully gave out, her legs slowing. The void relented, shrinking back down into the depths it had come from. Ragged breaths shook her entire frame as she composed herself, the terror of being consumed slowly dissipating into the air. A smirk returned to her face, as her fellow racers caught up to her.
The next day, Agnes Tachyon announced her indefinite hiatus from racing.