Chapter Text
Green turf stretched out ahead of me. My heart leapt with joy as I ran, the rhythmic beat of my cleats filling my ears. But as I listened I realized my beat was not alone.
Two other sets of cleats rang out, one on either side of me. I turned to the left and saw an athletic girl with brown hair and a white blaze. She gave me a big smile and a hearty laugh as she caught my gaze, and I felt my cheeks grow warm. I turned to the right to hide my blush and saw my other companion. She was a beautiful girl with long red twintails and a silver tiara, my very own princess. She noticed me peeking and gave me a warm smile as she began to blush. I had to look straight forward once again as my heart skipped a beat.
I felt happy. This was where I was meant to be. The three sets of cleats ringing out sounded to me like an angelic choir. But…there was a dissonance in the chorus.
My rhythm was slower than that of my companions. And as we ran they pulled farther and farther ahead of me. I pushed myself faster to catch up, to hold onto my rightful place, but no matter how hard I ran they only grew more distant. I reached out my hand to them and attempted to call out, to beg them to wait for me. But I stumbled and fell to the turf, and by the time I looked up, they were gone.
I was no longer on the turf, I was in the middle of the city at a busy crossing. All about me people milled about, paying me no mind as they went about their business. I desperately searched for my companions, they had to be somewhere in the crowd. My voice cried out again and again, as I looked for them high and low. I finally found their faces again but something was wrong. They were not amongst the crowd, but instead on a huge screen above the crossing. The label above them read REMATCH AT THE TENNO SHO.
I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. I needed to find them, to rejoin them. I walked up to a man with a briefcase in his hand waiting to cross the street. “Excuse me sir, do you know where I can find the girls on that screen up there? I’ve gotten separated from them.” He didn’t even turn to me, simply leaving as the signal displayed his turn to cross. Rude but not unexpected for an exhausted salaryman. I looked for someone less busy.
I saw a woman enjoying some tea outside a nearby cafe. She lazily watched as people rushed back and forth in the street before her, taking a small sip whenever the mood struck her. I walked up to her and asked again for some directions. “Excuse me miss, do you have any idea where I might find the girls on the screen over the crossing.” I pointed to the one I meant this time to ensure there was no confusion. But her response was exactly the same as the salaryman’s: absolutely nothing. Her eyes didn’t even move to me as I spoke.
Panic began to set in. I waved a hand in front of her face to try to get her attention. Still not even a glance. I made an incredibly rude gesture with one finger that for some reason reminded me of my athletic companion. No response whatsoever.
I ran as fast as I could. The crossing was far too busy for me to avoid everyone at this speed, but even as I crashed through the crowd no one noticed me, simply resuming their journeys as if nothing had happened. I couldn’t even think straight anymore, I needed to find my companions now or I would be left behind. I sprinted through the streets desperate to find any sign of them.
“Ma…chan”
Sweet relief filled me as I heard someone call my name, confirming my existence. I turned towards the source of the noise to see a bus bearing down on me, the driver looking bored as his eyes looked through me. I was frozen in place as I saw my death close the last few feet to impact me.
BANG BANG BANG
I sat up in a cold sweat as a loud banging erupted from my door. “Machan, are you awake yet?” I looked around as I tried to get my bearings. I was in my room lying in bed, my selfmade plush clasped tightly in my arms. Already the details of my dream had started to fade, but the feelings it had inspired remained strong. I was left behind. I was forgotten. Just like always.
Tired of waiting for me to answer, my door flew open and a brown haired girl walked in. A white blaze ran down the hair that covered her right eye, and a gold ring adorned her left ear. She wore a white and purple uniform that we had all been fitted for together. Vodka.
“Machan it’s already 9am, I wanna get going alrea…” Vodka began to whine but stopped as she noticed me. An expression of playful irritation was replaced by one of concern. She started to say something but was interrupted as someone out of my view hit her on the top of her head. Vodka immediately moved her hands up to protect herself as her ears went flat.
“Stop being so impatient idiot. We have plenty of time, you don’t need to ruin Machan’s sleep.” Another girl stepped into the room. Her massive red twintails reached all the way to her knees, tied up with fluffy blue hair ties. A silver tiara sat atop her head and a red ribbon hung from her left ear. She too wore the same white and purple uniform. Daiwa Scarlet.
Scarlet was glaring at Vodka as she walked farther into my room. As her red eyes moved to me, her features immediately softened. “Machan…are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Her voice was filled with care as she walked over and held the back of her hand to my forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever at least.”
I forced out a quick laugh as Vodka joined her at my bedside. “Don’t worry, it was just a bad dream. Thanks for waking me up, Vodka.” I tried to give them a reassuring smile as I finally relaxed my hold on the plush. Scarlet looked unconvinced, but Vodka immediately swelled with pride as I thanked her.
“See Scarlet, waking her up was the right decision! You would have just abandoned her to the nightmare huh?”
Scarlet’s expression contorted again as she turned back to Vodka. “How the heck was I supposed to know she was in here having a nightmare? 9 times out of 10 waking someone up is the wrong decision. Maybe even 99 times out of 100! You just got lucky!”
“Mhmm. As always you have lots of excuses. And as always a winner like me doesn’t need ‘em.” Vodka lifted her chin up as she gloated, not even deigning to look Scarlet in the eyes anymore. This immediately sparked a rapid back and forth that I was too sleepy to keep up with. At some point it swapped to Scarlet gloating and Vodka being angry, but I had no idea what about.
The familiarity of the argument before me brought a smile to my face, even if I wasn’t actually following it. A true smile grew on my face and I finally broke out laughing. The two of them ceased their arguing to stare at me as I did. I wiped tears from my eyes as I spoke. “Thank you both for being here for Machan. I’m feeling much better already.” My nose suddenly caught the scent of bacon from downstairs. “Mom must be finishing up breakfast. You two should go eat.”
Vodka and Scarlet glanced at each other, concern still in their eyes. “Are you sure you’re ok Machan? Vodka and I would be happy to stay here and help you get ready for move-in.”
Vodka nodded. “Yeah, that’s what best friends are for right?”
I smiled at them as I got out of bed. “I appreciate the offer but nearly all my stuff is packed already.” I gestured to the bags sitting by the door. “So there’s not really anything for you to do. Umm, unless you want to wipe Machan’s sweat off?” This last question was accompanied by my most innocent smile as I undid the top few buttons of my pajamas.
The effect was immediate as usual. Scarlet’s face went scarlet and Vodka quickly had to cover her nose as she moved to grab a tissue from the box on my desk. I giggled to myself. These two dorks are still so innocent. I can’t wait to see how embarrassed they get if they find a crush at Tracen.
Scarlet was the first to recover, again as usual. “In that case we’ll carry these bags down for you. C’mon Vodka.” She grabbed Vodka by the ear, causing a sharp yelp of pain, but Vodka was still too busy with her nosebleed to give any words of protest. Each one grabbed one of my bags and headed out the door.
Finally alone I undressed and put on a bathrobe before moving down the hall to the bathroom. I did a quick rinse and wiped that night’s sweat away, then did my morning skincare routine and brushed my teeth. I returned to my room and put on my own white and purple uniform. I brushed my hair next, then put some of it up into a side ponytail held by a red scrunchie. The final touch was a majestic looking crown placed opposite my ponytail. This year’s birthday gift from my mama to “her princess.”
I smiled at the girl in the mirror and she did the same to me. A crown is memorable. T.M. Opera O wears one and no one will ever forget her. It was just a silly nightmare anyways. Vodka and Scarlet aren’t going anywhere.
I moved to the smaller travel bag to double check I hadn’t left behind anything important. Most of the space inside was taken up by a half-finished plush of myself and craft tools and materials. On top of those were three cameras (my newest one and my two older ones as backups) and a memo recorder. The new camera had been my mom’s birthday gift for me this year. She’d made me promise to take lots of pictures at Tracen for her. An unnecessary request we both knew, but I was happy to make the promise nonetheless.
After confirming nothing was missing, I placed the Machan plush I’d been clutching last night at the very top of the bag and sealed it shut. I pulled it over my shoulder and gave one final look around the room. I seemed to have everything, and Tracen was only a train ride away if I did miss something, so I started heading downstairs to join my friends for breakfast.
As I walked through the hallway I heard a meow from beside me. I looked down to see my mom’s new cat, a companion to ensure she didn’t get too lonely after I left. I reached down and gave her some soft pets on the back of the head. “Good meowning Secretaricat. How are you enjoying your new home?” She gave me a contented purr that told me all I needed to know. “I’m so glad to hear that. As you know, Machan is going to be moving into the Tracen dorm today, so we won’t see each other as much anymore. But I’ll be sure to visit and check in on you.” Another happy purr was my response before she slinked back into my parents’ room, probably to take a nap. I resumed making my way downstairs.
Vodka and Scarlet were enjoying a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon as I entered the kitchen. They were also arguing about something, perhaps I’d find out what later. A brown haired uma with a red bow hung around her left ear was frying up some more bacon on the stove. As she turned to me I saw my own face smiling at me wearing its hair in a classic ponytail. I had no idea who my biological father was, but his genes hadn’t even tried. Perhaps that had been my mothers’ plan when they chose him. “Good morning dear! Let me get you your plate.”
“Morning Mom. Thanks so much for making all of us breakfast.”
“Of course dear, you know how much I love having your friends over.” She handed me a very full plate. “And it’s such a big day for all of you! Your first official day at Tracen! You know your mama and I are so proud of you Machan. She’s very sorry she couldn’t be here today to see you off.”
I took the plate over to the table as I responded. “I don’t mind at all, we got to say our goodbyes last week before she left on her business trip. I’m sure she’ll just show up again at Tracen at some point anyway!” I gave Mom an impish smile but her face went serious immediately.
“She had better not. I’m tired of apologizing to Tazuna for her.” She shook her head as she returned to cooking, preparing her own breakfast now.
I chatted with Vodka and Scarlet as we all enjoyed our breakfasts. Mom joined us a short time later and started questioning us, trying to ensure we knew exactly what trains to take and what we had to show to Aunt Tazuna on arrival. She also reminded me to call her Miss Hayakawa while she was working.
“You can always come with us if you’re this worried Mom. We could even get some cute pics with Aunt Taz…Miss Hayakawa to commemorate today.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “You know I have work today dear. It’s not like I can reschedule a surgery on short notice. But I hear you, I promised to trust you and your friends on this. Let’s just take some pictures here before you go.”
I took my camera from my bag and went to work. First Mom took pics of the three of us and some solo shots of me. Then I took solo shots of Vodka and Scarlet, after they played rock, paper, scissors over who would get to go first (Scarlet won). They fought again over who would get to take pictures of me and Mom, so I ended up just having both of them take some (Vodka went first this time).
Our pictures taken, we helped Mom clean up the kitchen and thanked her again for the meal. I made a quick voice memo about how excited I felt the morning of Tracen move-in to preserve the moment. I also included the details of what we had for breakfast just in case. After one last hug with Mom, she headed upstairs to get ready for work, and the three of us departed for the train station.
The trip was uneventful. I made my friends take more pictures with me both at the station and on the train. They put up an even weaker protest than usual, agreeing that it made sense to commemorate this day. We began excitedly chatting about Tracen once the camera was away.
“I’ll finally get to meet Gimlet!” Vodka exclaimed. “The pose she did when she won the Derby was the coolest thing ever! It’s such a shame she had to retire early, I never got to see it again…” I recalled Vodka imitating the pose countless times, holding her hand over her right eye and trying to mimic Gimlet’s intimidating smile.
Scarlet scoffed. “Only you would idolize someone because of some stupid pose they made. Besides, you can see her do the pose anytime on Umatube in those dumb fence kicking videos she keeps putting out.”
“IT’S NOT THE SAME WHEN IT’S NOT AFTER A RACE!” Everyone in the train stared at Vodka who had lost control of her volume. Her face turned red as she quickly apologized to the other passengers before turning back to us. “Those videos are awesome though, Gimlet has such strong legs!”
Another scoff. “If you want to admire an umamusume who was forced to retire early, you should choose someone like Agnes Tachyon. She’s been doing such great work developing new rehab techniques, she’s even been able to join in some Dream Trophy races after they told her she’d never run again! Way more impressive than kicking down some fence. Don’t you agree, Machan?”
“No way, Machan thinks Gimlet is way cooler! She watches those videos with me whenever a new one comes out. Right Machan?”
They both were staring at me now with an expectant look in their eyes. “Well, I do enjoy watching those videos, and Gimlet’s done a great job growing her channel and spreading her name around.” Vodka had a triumphant look on her face. “But I also think Tachyon is doing great work and she’s gotten lots of papers published with her name on them. Plus Mom is a huge fan of hers. Mom even helped out with some of those papers, since she’s a specialist on uma legs.”
Scarlet gloated first. “See, at least Machan and her mom can recognize Tachyon’s brilliance. Far more useful than some stupid fence kicking.”
“I bet you’re just jealous of her. There’s no way you’re strong enough to kick down a fence.”
A bit tired of their bickering, I decided to try to move us to another topic. “Vodka’s birthday celebration at the track last week was so much fun!” I fondly recalled all the pictures I’d taken of Scarlet and Vodka learning to ride dirt bikes. I’d gotten Vodka’s mom to take some of me as well. The rush of wind in my hair had been a thrill similar to running a race, but didn’t quite hit the same heights. “What do you want to do for your birthday next month, Scarlet?”
They ceased glaring at each other and instead each smiled at me. “Since we’ll be in school, I figured we could just have my party in the dorm’s common room and invite our new friends. Onee-chan told me that people have gatherings like that all the time. Of course, I’m expecting the two of you to coordinate this, I can’t be planning my own birthday party.”
Vodka rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Anything the princess desires on her special day.”
As we continued to talk, the ratio of the train’s passengers started to tilt more and more towards Tracen-uniformed umamusume. Some stood alone on their phones, others chatted away with their friends in small groups. Only the incoming junior class was moving in today, as all of our seniors had done so a week earlier. So I could safely assume all of these girls were our age.
I looked around the car to see if I recognized anyone from our middle school club races. No one seemed familiar, but a girl with long gray hair met my gaze as I looked at her. She gave me a gentle smile, but it didn’t quite reach her cool blue eyes, staring at me from behind oval-shaped glasses. I quickly smiled back at her before moving my gaze elsewhere, afraid to stare into those icy abysses for too long.
Finally, we arrived at the station closest to Tracen. The train quickly emptied and a mass of students began making their way out of the station. Up ahead I could see new students slowly filing through the gate, with a familiar green hat sticking out above the crowd. Girls holding their luggage chattered all around us, making new friends or excitedly talking with old ones. As we got closer, the green hat’s owner was revealed, dressed in a matching outfit. She greeted every student by name as they walked by, operating entirely off of memory. As our turn arrived I gave her a small wave and called out. “Good morning Miss Hayakawa!”
She gave back a bright smile. “Good morning Machan, it’s lovely to see you again. I see you’re with Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet as expected. Please follow the signs pointing to the dorms. Miss Fuji Kiseki will help you get situated once you arrive at Ritto.”
Tazuna quickly moved on the next set of students as we began following the signs. “I can’t believe I’m gonna have to share a room with Miss Honor Student over here.” Vodka complained.
“I’m not happy about it either, there’s no way I’ll be able to get any classwork or studying done with your loudmouth in the room. Machan, you’re so lucky you get a room all to yourself.”
My room’s previous occupant had apparently graduated from college last year. I personally would have preferred to be rooming with a friend rather than having my own space. “My room should still have two beds in it, so you’re both welcome to stay over any time.” This quickly caused a furious back and forth over which one would get to stay with me, involving quite a bit of blushing for some reason.
As it was a school day for our seniors, I only saw a handful of older girls wearing the Tracen uniform moving between classes, with most classes already in session. I felt the creeping sensation of being watched as we walked by a set of bushes, but it faded quickly enough. It took about 10 minutes for us to reach Ritto dorm where the doors were currently propped open to allow new students to move their luggage inside. A girl with short hair and a clipboard walked out of the dorm to greet us. She wore a black jacket over a light purple shirt, clearly marking herself as not a student.
“These ponies are Aston Machan, Daiwa Scarlet, and Vodka, I presume?” Her voice rang out with a melodious allure, and we all nodded obediently at the question. “Excellent my dear ponies. I’m the dorm leader, Fuji Kiseki. Your rooms are both on the second floor, just a few doors down from each other. Feel free to ask me if you need any help moving your things up the stairs. I’ll be doing a room check once everyone is moved in to ensure there’s no hazards and to sort out any disagreements between roommates. Any questions my darling ponies?” We shook our heads in unison and followed her instructions wordlessly. Vodka and Scarlet didn’t even argue along the way.
The rest of the day was spent getting all my things unpacked and my room setup, followed by an early dinner with my friends. They’d apparently already had a falling out over closet space, so I let each of them move some of their clothes to my room after we ate. Since we were all in my room already, we then watched a movie together. They both insisted on sitting in my bed with me rather than using the free one. That was probably for the best since I provided at least somewhat of a barrier to prevent another fight from breaking out during the movie. After Scarlet and Vodka headed back to their room, I got ready for bed, excited for my first day of classes the next day.