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On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

Reader mode
TheSmallSauce said:
Wonder if the Indy 500 is an uma race in the umaverse. It's the perfect race for Shirogane, a race that's more or less 200 laps on a 4 kilometre loop as fast as you can go with as few breaks as you need.
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I can see it now.
Shirogane is in last for the first 70 or so laps, but just keeps chugging along until around 110-120 then just jumps to top 3 from others having to slow down and/or take pit stops. Wins it and still acts like it was a light run at worst, while everyone else is dead tired.
 
TheSmallSauce said:
Wonder if the Indy 500 is an uma race in the umaverse. It's the perfect race for Shirogane, a race that's more or less 200 laps on a 4 kilometre loop as fast as you can go with as few breaks as you need.
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I've been wondering what Shirogane's ideal race would be. Boston Marathon? Tour de France on foot? Steel Ball Run? Nah, not enough concrete and urban maneuvering.
 
Murderthon.

It's a 'tri-half-marathon' of different course types and you have to shoot targets at the middle of each type of track. It's still a relatively 'short' race as far as marathon types are concerned, being 3 laps on a 6k track. But considering Uma race distances combined with not needing to stop to shoot the targets, she takes it easily.

Normally it favors acceleration, stamina, and wits, which are already Shirogane's best stats, but the extra strength of only needing to accelerate once makes her an easy victor.
 
Now imagine a collab outfit, Race Queen Shirogane, in which every uma aside from her is dressed in checkered clothing and dubiously cut racing leathers, and Shiro is in a driver's suit and helmet. You can't actually tell it's her, the only clue being how short she is.

"Eh, Shiro, why are you dressed so differently?"

"Yeah, no fair, I also want to wear a helmet!"

"But then no one would be able to see your mask, El."

"Oh yeah! Hmm..."

"To answer your question, it is because I will be participating in the race; I have a driver's license."

"Huh?!"

"What? Since when?"

"I'm also forklift certified. Please come and support me at the annual pallet stacking tournament happening later today."
 
Many sports were undergoing major changes in the early 2000s. If uma racing followed similar trends, the focus of the Golden era was on increasing efficiency/optimization somehow.

Shirogane has got that done. Hugging the rails, extreme training, that weirdly stable running style focused on limiting wasted energy, throwing herself down slopes instead of merely running down, etc. Everything she does is to squeeze a few extra milliseconds off the clock to optimize her warhorse build to compete against dedicated racehorses.

Unlike one-off, genetic freakshows like Goldship, everything she does is reproducible (to some extent) by a dedicated uma. There is a good chance that after a season or two, others will notice and start copying whatever she's doing. For better or for worse, Shirogane will change things.

Then decades later, you'd get videos like this glazing Shiro:

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6tD7AAMMwns
 
WrandmWaffles said:
Just realized that Shirogane could potentially still be running when Admire Groove races, perhaps even competing against her in the QEII Cup. She's an appropriate senpai for another anti-social uma lol.
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Immediately got the image of Air Groove bringing Admire Groove to Shirogane's apartment after school hours like it's some kind of parent-teachers meeting. The vibes are: I can't always be here for you, but here's another trusted adult you can rely on.
 
Mostly done with the next chapter. Gonna do some proofreading so hopefully it will be out tomorrow.

Here's a preview for those interested:
"Wooo! You can do this Steady!" Azuki and Matcha both cheered for their friend as she strode out onto the Kawasaki race track. Steady bowed to the crowd before straightening up and waving, a wide grin on her face, as typical of her before a race.

"Can you see alright, Shiro-chan?" Taro asked, glancing down at Shirogane, who stood between her and her energetic younger sisters.

"I can see fine," Shirogane reassured her friend. Taro was nearly twice as tall as her, and her siblings were not far behind. If she had been standing behind them she would not have been able to see, but the three large umas created a natural void in the crowd as people mostly were not too eager to stand near enough to feel the stand shake slightly from Matcha and Azuki's excited hops. "It's always quite easy to spot you three in the crowd."

"What do those things have to do with one another?" Taro muttered, but she was quickly distracted as Steady waved at them specifically, demonstrating just how easy it was to pick out the three tall uma out of a crowd.

Shirogane nodded as she and Steady made eye contact, and the latter laughed, throwing her a mock salute before turning and heading towards the gate, the motion drawing a few more cheers.

While the Kawasaki Kinen was not an internationally recognized G1 race, it was rated as grade 1 in Japan, so the runners were naturally dressed up in their preferred costumes, with Steady wearing a deep navy blue jacket marked by a bright yellow lightning pattern that circled both front and back from her right shoulder to her left hip, following the diagonal fastening of the asymmetrical jacket. The ear sock worn over her left ear was similarly yellow, and two yellow rings broke up her short sleeves, looking a bit like cuffs you would find on a uniform.

Actually, with the matching navy blue skirt, leggings and dark boots, Steady's outfit called to mind a postman's uniform (or postwoman, more specifically), and she even considered wearing a bright yellow cap before she was dissuaded due to preferring to feel the wind in her hair.

As much as Shirogane could admit that her talent for fashion was highly limited, she had trouble understanding how Steady could consider herself fashionable if this was her preference.

"Steady's outfit is so cool! It makes her look so fast!"

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't contribute to her speed that much, Azuki."

"Mmm….but Shiro is faster when she has her costume on, onee-san!"

"It is a uniform."

"Shiro is weird, Azuki."

"I resent this observation."
 
TheSmallSauce said:
Immediately got the image of Air Groove bringing Admire Groove to Shirogane's apartment after school hours like it's some kind of parent-teachers meeting. The vibes are: I can't always be here for you, but here's another trusted adult you can rely on.
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Man, I can't help but imagine that meme where it's a kindergarten teacher or something and the cameraman is holding a photo of her in a military uniform. Except it'll be like 20 years in the future, Shiro is running the Suzukiya restaurant chain or whatnot, and the photo will be of her in her racing (basically military) outfit and making a murderous expression with her sword out.
 
22. Groundwork New
Groundwork​

When he had gotten an apartment near Tracen Academy, Toujou Tensei had not expected for there to be as many izakayas near the school as there were, having figured that they wouldn't want to attract too many of the typical clientele that frequented these kinds of establishments to areas near such a prestigious school, and to some degree he had been correct, as the places in question advertised themselves more discreetly, but as it turns out, while there were certainly many students, that also meant a large number of faculty and facility staff, many of whom really needed a drink after dealing with the often excitable Tracen students. The people who worked in food preparation in particular often seemed to be some degree of delirious.

Tensei himself was not one to find this kind of establishment particularly appealing, but a few of the people in his apartment building apparently liked this one and had invited him along for a weekend excursion, something that could serve well enough as practice for later in his career.

"Damn, what do you feed them at Tracen, huh?" One of the other college students wondered aloud (Toshiro, if he remembered correctly), gesturing towards the television in the corner which was showing, unsurprisingly, an uma race, one in which a runner familiar to Tensei was well outpacing most of her competitors around the dirt track.

"Only the best!" a tired looking man crowed, in what might not actually be a sarcastic tone as he held up a mug of beer. "Sooo much of it."

Tensei focused on the race, partly because of actual interest–he was acquainted with his cousin's trainee, after all– and partly because he was not very fond of alcohol, as he didn't like having his faculties messed with, even if he tolerated drinking some as a social obligation, and watching a race was an acceptable enough excuse not to drink too much.

"Wow, there's no real contest here, is there?" another one of his neighbors muttered, watching as the gap only grew going into the final corner. "Guess the Tracen girls really are the best in the country."

"There is only so far they could go with just their reputation if they didn't produce results as well," Tensei observed idly. This was especially true in a field such as uma racing, where there were very clear performance metrics to judge one's success.

"Well, yeah, I knew that, Tensei, but it'sa bit different to actually see it, ya know?"

"Don't you spend quite a lot of time watching them run scrimmage races?"

"Yeah, but he only does that to watch cute girls run, since he can't get any luck otherwise."

"Hey, you take that back! And even if I did that, I'm just seeing Tracen girls run against other Tracen girls, so it still surprises me a bit when they run against girls from other schools."

"There is a pretty big difference," the lone umamusume at the table agreed, though she gave the two bickering young men a long side eye. "Shirogane-chan is quite strong, but she isn't the only strong racer at Tracen, and she just smoked this open race."

"She's a hafu right?" Toshiro asked, watching as the camera focused closer in on the winner's placid face. "Guess she's kinda cute, but with that serious sorta face I think she'd probably be super strict, or something."

"Looks kind of scary, no?" One of Toshiro's friends mumbled (Tensei forgot his name), "don't see a lot of umas with red eyes."

"Not to mention she looked like she was really angry while she was running."

"Shirogane-san is a very reasonable and level headed person," Tensei interrupted, feeling oddly obliged to defend his friend. "She peels her ears back to reduce air resistance as she runs, not because she is emotionally unbalanced." Though whatever efficiency gain she had there was lost when she wore her oversized military cap for G1 races.

"Awww….sounds like Glasses has a bit of a crush, eh?"

"Dumbass half of us wear glasses."

Tensei ignored the silly remark, having learned from experience that making a big deal out of it just made the impression stick more firmly.

"You know what's funny?" The question drew their attention to Kaminari Drift, the brown haired umamusume who worked for Tracen's security team. She glanced around the table before looking back at the television. "Shiro-chan's actually one of the slower runners in Tracen."

"Though her top speed is actually quite competitive on dirt." Tensei did some quick math in his head, and blinked as he realized that his cousin's trainee had only been slightly slower running on dirt compared to turf.

"Well I'll say," Toshiro-snorted, shaking his head in disbelief, "she wiped out the others in this race, so if she's slow for Tracen, then damn is the gap huge!"

"And Shiro-chan's tough too," Drift-san added, her ears flicking idly. "Little filly's got enough stamina to run around town a couple of times."

"Eh? You hear that, Tensei? She's got a lot of stamina!"

Tensei nodded. "It's why she has managed to be competitive with her peers despite not being as fast." At least that was part of it. "As it means she can keep up her own sprint longer than…" he paused, before shrugging his shoulders. "Now that I think of it, I don't think I've seen any other runner manage to sprint for as long as she can."

"Heh, you aiming to be a trainer, Tensei?" one of the other students asked, nudging him in the shoulder. "Heard your cousin was one, and I also heard management was one way to get a leg up on dealing with the exams."

"That was not really in my plans." The Trainer exams were very extensive, and Tensei had not learned nearly enough about physiology to have any chance of passing them, as of yet, though it was true that if he wished to try that path, there were a few levers that could give him an advantage.

"Seriously?" Toshiro muttered, looking at him in disbelief. "Haven't you gotten quite buddy buddy with a bunch of the Tracen girls? Aside from Red Eyes, there's Taiki Shuttle and the pink haired one."

Tensei blinked, not sure how that had any relevance. "Taiki Shuttle-san is quick to make friends with anyone she comes across, and Urara-san sometimes needs some help with her schoolwork." The pink-haired uma tried to study in the oddest places.

"You know, that sounds like what a trainer would say!"

"Nah, he's pretty right about Taiki Shuttle," Drift-san countered, stretching her arms over her head at the same time. "That American likes to invite anyone she can to her barbecue parties."

"Barbecue?"

"You should try it sometimes."

"Alright, gotta point there…but then why'd you get an apartment so close to Tracen then, Tensei?"

"It is not absurdly far from Keio University, and there was a scholarship involved so the rent is cheaper. Really the same reason most of us are here, Toshiro-san."

"...Yeah, fair enough."

Not that the other aspects of living near Tracen Academy lacked their appeal, as the open area was surprisingly calming compared to the press of the denser parts of the city, and despite how competitive the uma students were, they were mostly quite friendly, which made the atmosphere of the surroundings more pleasant.

"The insider information has its usefulness too."

His neighbors laughed uproariously at that, while Drift-san gave him a look of mock offense. It was not something that was supposed to be talked about too much, but there was a lot of gambling involved in uma racing, only some of it officially sanctioned.

Tensei himself was not too fond of gambling, preferring to have more security in his future. He already knew he wasn't the kind that fortune favored closely, but now that the thought had been put into his head by his neighbor…just how feasible would becoming a trainer be? It was a prestigious job, and much more analytical than it was often portrayed.

"Wooo! You can do this Steady!" Azuki and Matcha both cheered for their friend as she strode out onto the Kawasaki race track. Steady bowed to the crowd before straightening up and waving, a wide grin on her face, as typical of her before a race.

"Can you see alright, Shiro-chan?" Taro asked, glancing down at Shirogane, who stood between her and her energetic younger sisters.

"I can see fine," Shirogane reassured her friend, even if her head barely cleared the railing. Taro was nearly twice as tall as her, and her siblings were not far behind. If she had been standing behind them she would not have been able to see, but the three large umas created a natural void in the crowd as people mostly were not too eager to stand near enough to feel the stand shake slightly from Matcha and Azuki's excited hops. "It's always quite easy to spot you three in the crowd."

"What do those things have to do with one another?" Taro muttered, but she was quickly distracted as Steady waved at them specifically, demonstrating just how easy it was to pick out the three tall uma out of a crowd.

Shirogane nodded as she and Steady made eye contact, and the latter laughed, throwing her a mock salute before turning and heading towards the gate, the motion drawing a few more cheers.

While the Kawasaki Kinen was not an internationally recognized G1 race, it was rated as grade 1 in Japan, so the runners were naturally dressed up in their preferred costumes, with Steady wearing a deep navy blue jacket marked by a bright yellow lightning pattern that circled both front and back from her right shoulder to her left hip, following the diagonal fastening of the asymmetrical jacket. The ear sock worn over her left ear was similarly yellow, and two yellow rings broke up her short sleeves, looking a bit like cuffs you would find on a uniform.

Actually, with the matching navy blue skirt, leggings and dark boots, Steady's outfit called to mind a postman's uniform (or postwoman, more specifically), and she even considered wearing a bright yellow cap before she was dissuaded, at least partly because she preferred to feel the wind in her hair.

As much as Shirogane could admit that her talent for fashion was highly limited, she had trouble understanding how Steady could consider herself fashionable if this was her preference.

"Steady's outfit is so cool! It makes her look so fast!"

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't contribute to her speed that much, Azuki."

"Mmm….but Shiro is faster when she has her costume on, onee-san!"

"It is a uniform."

"Shiro is weird, Azuki."

"I resent this observation."

While Shirogane had been present for one of Steady's races before, the last time had been before she was considering uma racing seriously, and now, looking at her friend in the lineup, it stuck out more that Steady had a slighter build than most of the others, especially compared to the favorite for the race, Abukuma Poro, a brown haired uma in what looked to be a red, blue and yellow wrestling outfit, who looked like they did bodybuilding in their spare time.

There were only nine runners, which was less than what Shirogane was used to dealing with, but that didn't mean the competition was weak. Abukuma Poro had a long record of wins in the regional circuits; Toyo Seattle, a chestnut haired uma with a white streak down the middle, had won last year's Tokyo Daishoten; T.M. Megaton, a brown haired uma had won the last Derby Grand Prix race, and while Meisei Opera (another chestnut haired uma with a white streak) had recently performed rather poorly, she had a strong record through most of the previous year, and was younger than most of the competitors, so had more room to improve.

"Quite the competition here for Steady," Shirogane muttered under her breath. "Winning will not be easy." Even though her friend was quite good at distance, she didn't have the strongest kicks to close things out.

"Yeah, she's only the fourth favorite out of nine runners," Taro sighed, her ears dipping slightly. "Toyo Seattle just won the Daishoten, and Poro looks like she's raring to make her pay for that." As she noted, the bulkier uma down on the track was glaring at one of the chestnut umas, who just stared back unblinkingly until it was time for both of them to get into the gate.

"It's even worse because she's starting from the outside," Shirogane continued, scrutinizing the runners' preparations in the gate. "It will be harder for her to get out front and build a lead from there."

"Hey! Don't count her out already!"

"Yeah, Ma-chan's right! Steady neesan's stronger than you think!"

"An upset is possible." Shirogane had to concede that much, as random luck could play a huge role in which runner took home the trophy. "Steady is fast enough and has enough endurance to outrun them, but she isn't going to be able to force her way past them towards the finish line."

The announcers were similarly hyped, but they soon quieted down, the track going still in anticipation–Thunk!

"And they're off!"

The gates swung open and the runners exploded into motion.

Steady accelerated quickly from the start creating a gap between her and the runner next to her, gradually angling inwards as she pushed towards the front. Abukuma Poro accelerated more slowly, holding towards the rear of the pack, Toyo Seattle held more towards the middle, while Meisei Opera and T.M. Megaton pushed forwards as well.

As this race began on a long straight, the faster umas were able to ramp up quickly to their desired speeds, but with Steady, Meisei Opera and T.M. Megaton aiming for the lead position, none of the three were able to cruise in the early stages. Normally this would be to Steady's advantage, as she had better stamina than most, but her position on the outside meant that she had had more ground to cover to reach this point.

On the other hand, because she was further out, she entered into the lead contest after the other two had begun their fight for position, allowing her to slide into third place behind the two of them up to the corner–

"Number one T M Megaton has the lead going into the first corner–oh what's this?! Number nine Steady Distance hugs the rails and slips past both T M Megaton and number three Meisei Opera!"

–before sliding past both of them along the rail as they lost speed accelerating sideways into the turn.

"Wooo! Go Steady!" Azuki and Matcha cheered again, hopping up and down with enough excitement that Shirogane could feel the floor vibrate slightly.

"It was a well executed maneuver," Shirogane concurred, folding her arms in thought as she watched. "But it's still early." And this set had plenty of late race threats.

"You know, now that I'm looking at it…" Taro began, glancing between Shirogane and the racetrack, her tail swishing to one side as she fired up her brain cells. "You like doing that too, don't you?"

"Most runners don't like to run so close to the barrier." Whereas she had been used to dealing with many kinds of distractions and narrow spaces. "It's more troublesome on dirt because your footing shifts more." And as Steady was slighter, it took less energy for her to change her acceleration vector, which compensated for her lesser kick strength enough that the maneuver could be turned into an advantage.

Steady's lead increased through the 180 degree turn, as the other front runners had drifted outwards slightly, but as they got back onto the straight, they kicked off harder and began to close.

"C'mon Steady, you can do this!"

"Steady! Steady!"

The three siblings offered further encouragement, but Steady seemed to slow, using the straight to catch a breather, even as T.M. Megaton closed in on her tail.

"Why's she slowing down?" Taro wondered, ears twitching anxiously, "is she getting tired already? It's still the first lap!"

"There is some fatigue, but no, she is providing a dilemma to her opponents." Shirogane narrowed her eyes as the Megaton pulled alongside Steady on the outside, while Opera was content to tail the leader directly to stay closer to the rail. "They are only midway through the race, so burning energy to pass her could mean they take away from their final charge, and pushing them outwards means they have a longer distance to run, creating more fatigue."

T.M. Megaton still tried to push ahead, but Steady matched her acceleration just enough that the chestnut uma could not both take the lead and shift directly in front of her, so as they passed the finish line position to start the full and final lap–

"Number one T.M. Megaton has retaken the lead! But oh! Number nine Steady Distance counterattacks! She slips ahead around into the corner again!"

–Steady let her opponent take the lead just before she was forced to change direction into the turn, allowing the dark haired uma to retake the lead.

"That is likely not to work on the final turn," Shirogane hummed, watching as the runners made their ways again onto the backstretch. "The other front runners would have to commit to their charge, and it leaves her less energy for the homestretch."

So far, the following pack had remained largely the same, but now Abukuma Poro began to set up for her overtake, angling towards the outside as she slowly picked up her pace, powerful legs kicking up dirt behind her as they all raced down the backstretch.

True to Shirogane's expectations, neither Steady Distance nor T.M. Megaton made a serious challenge to each other as they approached the final turn, both of them showing some signs of fatigue.

"Coming up on the third corner, number nine Steady Distance is still out front, but number one T M Megaton and number three Meisei Opera are not far behind!"

Then they were into the bend, and Shirogane found her eyebrows rising as Steady started to burn her reserve energy immediately, pulling away from her pursuers as she rounded the turn. Meanwhile, Abukuma Poro had moved forwards along the outside, and likewise kicked off as she started the turn, quickly closing in on Meisei Opera.

"Number four Abukuma Poro is making her move! She's starting her final spurt early and has passed Meisei Opera!"

Then they were on the final straight, Steady maintained her increased pace as best she could, but the finish line was about two-thirds of the way down the stretch, something Abukuma Poro and Toyo Seattle took advantage of to rush forwards, their more powerful builds throwing up dirt as they closed in.

"Number nine Steady Distance is still ahead, but number one T M Megaton is right behind her, and number 4 Abukuma Poro is rushing up the outside!"

"Go! Go! Go!" The large twins screamed encouragement, as did much of the crowd, so it was unlikely the contestants could make out any individual voices, especially with their blood pounding in their ears. "You can do it Steady!" Not that it stopped any of the supporters from trying.

"Abukuma Poro and Toyo Seattle have passed T M Megaton! Steady Distance is still in the lead but can she hold it?!"

Steady threw whatever energy she had left into her charge, but her pursuers, having saved more of their strength until this moment, were much more explosive.

"C'mon! Run!" Taro hissed, clenching her fists, ears alert and pointed at the racetrack. "You can do it!"

"It's Steady Distance and Abukuma Poro!"

Steady Distance did not falter at any point, maintaining the speed she had burst out of the last corner with, but in the end–

"It's Abukuma Poro!"

–her slighter frame meant she could not contest her bulkier opponent's charge to the finish line.

"Nooooo!"

"Abukuma Poro takes first place, bouncing back from her loss at the Tokyo Daishoten in a show of strength!"

"Not ideal," Shirogane hummed, "but I hadn't expected Steady to improve this much at this stage of her career." She hadn't seen her senior leverage her ability to turn faster quite so smoothly before. "It seems she is more motivated this year."

"In second place is Steady Distance, followed by T M Megaton in third, Toyo Seattle in fourth and Meisei Opera in fifth."

"A bit of a bummer to start out like this for her last year," Taro sighed, shaking her head as she looked down on the track, where Steady seemed to be exchanging some challenging words with Abukuma Poro. "Maybe we need to teach that poser some manners."

"I recommend against attempting to race fix by targeting competitors," Shirogane snorted, before looking over at the displayed track times. It was on the faster side of what she'd seen Steady achieve. "And however the first race of the year went, if the last race is spectacular that is usually what is remembered."

"Hahaha! Looks like I'll get to show you how unbeatable I am on dirt, after all!"

Mist bloomed out of El Condor Pasa's mouth as she threw her hands up in excitement, seemingly unbothered by the cold February air that hovered just above freezing.

"Ah, such a shame that you won't get the chance to prove your detractors wrong by running on turf." Shirogane was likewise unbothered by the weather, having seen worse in her time as a supply courier. It would be a bit annoying that the normally G2 Kyodo News Service Hai would lose its rating this year due to the track change, but at least the prize pool would be the same.

"Hahaha! Then they'll see how strong I am in the next Turf race I run!"

"So noisy…" Many of the other runners looked far less enthused about the situation, though most were too preoccupied keeping warm to voice their displeasure.

It had snowed heavily during the night, making the turf track supposedly too dangerous to run on, leading to the race being switched over to the dirt track, which was unfortunately shorter, putting Shirogane at more of a disadvantage against El Condor Pasa, but at least some of the other racers weren't very practiced running on dirt, enough so the betting odds had shifted to put her as the second favorite instead of third.

The track was muddy from the melted snow, sticking to her shoes in a familiarly uncomfortable way. It had been bad enough that the racecourse staff had had some trouble getting the starting gate into position.

"I should have worn my boots, cleaning my shoes after this is going to be troublesome."

Grass Wonder could not help the shiver that went up her spine as she looked down at the Tokyo race track, and it wasn't from the slightly above freezing temperature.

"Quite the trial the heavens have set before our fellows, no?" The dark bay uma next to her was more affected by the cold, having wrapped herself in a thick jacket and wearing ear bonnets to keep her ears warm. "It surprises me that none of those participating have decided to heed discretion more than valor." And Grass was surprised her friend still decided to wear her typical string of pink flowers in her hair despite the weather.

"Would you have scratched out, Phalaeno-san?" Grass Wonder asked, ears flicking impishly as she smiled, already knowing what the reply would be.

"Hmm…" Phalaenopsis hummed thoughtfully, but the look in her eyes showed that her answer was never in doubt. "No, I would strive to face this challenge despite its difficulty."

"El tends not to know when to call it quits either," Grass tittered, hiding her smile behind her hand. "And Shirogane-san isn't someone who shies away from the trials, as you call it." And never seem particularly bothered by bad conditions.

"I will have to defer to your judgement, for I have not had a chance to get the measure of Shirogane-san."

It was a bit strange to Grass Wonder, as she saw Shirogane practically every day, but apparently her pale haired classmate was viewed as kind of a cryptid by the other classes, since she didn't live in the dorms and generally kept to herself outside of class, not helped by how she liked to study at the Stump on sunny days or her ability to sneak up on people.

"I get the feeling you two will get along well," Grass hummed, focusing her attention down onto the track as the runners loaded themselves into the starting gate. "Either that, or you two might end up butting heads."

"Hoh? Is that so?" Phalaenopsis wondered, likewise focusing on the racetrack. "I suppose we shall see soon enough."

The ground squelched under her foot as Shirogane took off out of the gate, ignoring the cold spray of melted snow and mud as the thundering footsteps of the racers sent wet dirt flying up into the air.

Laundry for this racing jersey was going to be a pain.

She had started towards the outside again, and had to endure a bit more of Pasa's antics as her dark haired classmate had been in the gate next to her, which would normally make getting to her usual position more troublesome, but with how several of her competitors stumbled or slipped on the slick ground, Shirogane found herself taking the lead quicker than she expected, sliding over to run closer to the rail.

Pasa followed behind her, keeping up with her pace, but choosing not to contest her position, as she knew that she could overtake Shirogane towards the end.

Instead, Shirogane found herself pursued by a brown haired uma the announcers referred to as Doctrine.

This was a short race, one that didn't even make a full lap around the track, so as she approached the end of the backstretch straight, Shirogane only sped up.

"Number seven Shirogane Orzeru is pulling ahead going into the corner!"

"Phew!" Steady Distance whistled as she watched her short friend glide around the bend, seemingly oblivious to the slickness of the surface. "That's some crazy cornering work there."

"It is a remarkable combination of coordination and power," Trainer-kun agreed, though he seemed more concerned than appreciative. "It's more strength than I expected to see in a body that size."

"Number two Doctrine and number nine Intelli Power are fighting for second and third, but number eight El Condor Pasa is closing in on them!"

"Heh." And wasn't that the truth? "Told you my junior was something special."

"I never doubted you." Those words sounded wonderful to Steady's ears, making them wiggle happily. "But I had hoped she would struggle a bit more on dirt when I found out she's primarily a turf runner." He sighed, shaking his head. "If anything, she might be better on dirt than turf, from the looks of it."

"You know, I wouldn't have taken this challenge so seriously if I thought it would be easy, ya know?" Steady grinned up at her trainer.

"Heh, you really have grown up, Steady."

Trainer-kun! You can't just say stuff like that out of the blue, you dummy!

"They're in the homestretch now! Shirogane Orezeru is still in the lead, but El Condor Pasa is flying through the mud towards the outside!"

Luckily for her dignity, the race entering its final stages kept Trainer-kun from noticing her lapse in composure.

"Can the Undefeated Condor overtake the Silver Eagle and maintain her win streak?!"

Faster.

Faster!

Faster!

El Condor Pasa clenched her teeth as she felt her feet sink into the mud, each rushing step requiring a lot of focus to avoid slipping, and a lot of guts to ignore the cold, icky feeling as mud and water splattered all over you.

She had done her best to avoid stepping in the puddles so far, but now she had to do whatever it took! Shirogane was not going to take her down this easily!

"The Condor is gaining on the Eagle, but the Eagle is not making it simple!"

More mud splashed over El as she closed in on her white haired classmate, her short friend's strong legs kicking up a lot of dirt, especially as she tried to cut her off.

Her heart pounded in her chest and her lungs strained for air, but El Condor Pasa would not be stopped like this!

She kicked off harder, narrowing the gap so that Shirogane couldn't completely block her off. She couldn't try and swing out, because she would slip, but that meant that Shiro couldn't juke as much either.

"El Condor Pasa is pulling even–!"

Faster! Faster, faster!

"The Condor and Eagle are neck and neck!"

"Ahhhhhh!" She let out a battle cry, the effort making her vision narrow and she couldn't see Shiro anymore, even if her footsteps still pounded the mud next to her.

Pressure built behind her eyes.

Her lungs burned, and her legs felt numb, but–

"The Condor has passed!"

Yes!

"El Condor Pasa remains undefeated, and the Silver Eagle takes yet another silver medal!"

"Hahaa…ha! See?!" She sucked in a huge breath of the cold, winter air, fighting down the urge cough as it burned her throat. "El Condor Pasa is unbeatable on dirt!"

"Evidently you are well equipped to be a mud wrestler."

"Queeee–?! Ack!" The random comment made her lose control and start coughing, her brain trying to get enough oxygen to understand what her rival was saying.

"You have a lot of mud on your mask, by the way."

"Noooo!" Why did you have to do that, Shiro?!

While Fuji Kiseki enjoyed her job as a dorm leader, there were times even someone as gregarious as her could use some time away from all the ruckus that Tracen Academy could bring, and so this off day found her at her brother's (half brother) house back in Fuji, the city they had both been born in.

His house was comfortable, especially for a bachelor mostly living alone, and it was rather understated, despite his notable fame, so it was a pretty good place to crash when you didn't want to get any unwanted attention.

At the moment she was relaxing on the couch, legs propped on an ottoman as she watched a few talking heads go on about the year's Classic circuit. The actual races were still a ways away, the trial races were coming up soon, like the Yayoi Sho.

A sigh escaped from her and she slumped deeper into the couch, again reminded of her last race. It had been a memorable one, both in how she had won, and how crushing the injury diagnosis had been after the high of qualifying for the Triple Crown races.

She'd never know what it really felt like to challenge the Triple Crown.

It was hard not to get swept up in what-ifs. That was one of the reasons she agreed to be a dorm leader; seeing all the younger ponies running around kept her busy and her mind off of things, and gave her a chance to keep herself in shape without straining her legs too much.

There might be a bit of living vicariously through her charges there too.

"And here I thought you came here to get away from all that stuff."

Fuji glanced up and behind her to see her brother stalking into the room, blue eyes the same as her own staring at her with exasperation and a bit of genuine confusion.

"Heh, I needed a bit of time away from all the ponies, but I don't mind seeing how the field's shaping up this year." She winked at him, one of her ears flicking playfully. "Pretty sure you get the sentiment, Kisuke-kun."

"So it's like that, huh?" He huffed, striding around the couch to plop himself down next to her, and Fuji again was struck by how similar they looked to each other. They might have been confused for twins if not for her being an uma and him not having the white streak of hair that never seemed to show up in humans for some reason. "Too much attention from your juniors for you?'

"They're getting pretty high strung from the classics coming up," Fuji explained, shrugging her shoulders as she sat up straighter to be closer to eye level with him. "Though that means they're less likely to get themselves into trouble aside from training."

"Doesn't that mean they're more likely to hurt themselves?"

Fuji grimaced, ears drooping slightly as she had to concede that point. "Yeah…that's a bit of a problem, but Hishi is better at scaring people straight for that kind of thing. I'm better at talking 'em down when they get mad or talking them up if they're low." She shrugged. "That's also better left to the trainers and adults, you know, while I'm the one they come to for stuff they are more afraid to bring up to more grown up people."

"You are an adult."

"Gah! Don't hurt me like that Kisuke!"

"You own property and drive your own ridiculously fast motorcycle."

"Heeey! I'm still young at heart!" Fuji puffed up her cheeks, giving her big brother an imploring look, which just made him roll his eyes.

"I still don't understand why Tracen likes having some of its staff pretend to be students, but I've learned not to question it," he shot back, leaning back against the couch and putting his hands behind his head. "And let me guess, your mom is asking about when you're getting hitched?"

"Yeah…" Fuji let out a sigh, shooting her brother a sympathetic look. "You too, huh?"

"Every time we talk," Kisuke grumbled, staring off into space vaguely in the direction of the television. "It's like she thinks it'll be easy."

"I don't think you'll have any problems finding a girl," Fuji offered consolingly. "I mean, you got our good looks, and your name's pretty big nowadays too."

"That attracts the poisonous ones too, you know." He glanced back at her with a nonplussed look. "You obviously know, since you mostly stay in a place where you aren't getting hounded by suitors."

"Ehehe, guilty as charged." And she probably had it easier than Kisuke, as people mostly wouldn't be too upset if she kicked someone who was getting a bit too creepy, while he didn't have that luxury. "It's a nice side benefit of my job, but not the main reason I do it."

"So is your job why you're watching this commentary channel? Wouldn't you already have a lot of the information about the runners given what you do?"

"About the Tracen runners, yeah," Fuji snorted, "but there are runners from other places involved too, so I don't have firsthand info about them, and sometimes they end up making it big too. It's also fun to see how much the talking heads get wrong."

"Well, then, turn up the volume. I love hearing about how stupid those morons are."

Fuji reached for the remote, finding it just a bit too far away, before giving up and shifting her body to grab it and obligingly increase the volume so they could both hear it better.

"–Pasa looks to be the strongest in her class, going undefeated so far and putting up great times."

"But she's only run on dirt so far, that doesn't mean anything about what she could do on turf, it's a whole different ball game!"

"That's partly true," Fuji laughed, "but El-chan is actually very strong on both, so the first guy isn't actually too far off."

"You don't agree that she's the strongest?" Kisuke-kun frowned at the screen. "Why does she have a sleep mask with eyeholes on, anyways?"

"It's a wrestling mask, I think it's from her dad?" Fuji hadn't actually asked about the specifics. "And I can't say if she is the strongest or not because there isn't a clear strongest among them."

"With how strong some of her classmates are, it's difficult to say any one of them is the strongest–"

One of the talking heads promptly said the same thing she had said.

"Grass Wonder beat Maruzensky's time at the Asahi Hai."

"Wait, really?" Kisuke exclaimed, looking over at Fuji in surprise. "Wasn't Maruzensky really strong?"

"Yeah, it's true, and it wasn't like Grass ran away with it, Shirogane was close on her tail."

"Don't count out Seiun Sky, she has shown great potential as well."

"Shirogane? Which one of yours was that?"

"Really, Tracen has a set of very strong competitors this year. I think they are too close together for any of them to win a Triple Crown."

"She's actually not in the dorms, and lives by herself in an off campus apartment." And got into the least amount of trouble among her classmates, from what Air Groove told her.

"Speaking of which, I hear that one of Tracen's fillies is planning on running the Triple Crown races."

"Oh? Do we have another Kurifuji in the works? I'm sure I would have heard about that."

"Hey, they're talking about her right now!"

"No, it doesn't look like it. Her times are not bad, but she's not nearly as dominant as Kurifuji, and lost to both Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa already."

"Yeah, but she's got some indestructible legs," Fuji scoffed, ears flicking indignantly. "She's basically a pure stayer though, so with the shorter races for first years she doesn't look as impressive."

"That may be true, but her victory at Wakagoma Stakes was not even close. Even if she can't match the strongest of this year, she is still quite an impressive runner."

"Wait, did she run another race?" A surprised snort escaped from Fuji, and she shook her head. "That little pony never tells people what she's doing."

"Wait…am I reading this right? Her record is fourteen-four-ten-zero?! She's run four races this year already?!"

"That's a lot, right? You only ended up running four, and people thought you were a pretty big deal."

Fuji winced. "Four is a bit short for a career, but yeah, Shiro-chan is very determined." Her durability was something to be envied.

"She's quite a good stayer, from the looks of it, so perhaps she would have a chance at the Kikuka Sho, if she can get that far."

"It will be a difficult road. We haven't even mentioned King Halo! Her times are not quite as impressive as a couple others, but she looks to have good potential, and there is also Special Week, who's got a good bit of power and stamina in her!"

"Is it always like this?" Her brother wondered. "It sounds a bit…weird when they put things that way, kinda like my mom talking about the girls I know."

"Really?" Fuji tilted her head questioningly, "It sounds more like when they talk about athletes in general."

"Oh yeah…I don't really follow that either, so I didn't really know." Kisuke sat still for a moment, his train of thought derailed for a moment. "You know, my mom was wondering if you had a boyfriend or a husband."

"What?!" Fuji sputtered, spinning to face him. "Why would she care about that?!"

"Beats me," her half-brother shrugged, holding his hands up disarmingly. "Guess she really wants grandchildren."

"How does that make any sense?" If Fuji had kids, they wouldn't even be related to her!

"I don't see how either, but the immediate follow up was about whether I could ask you about whether any of your school brats would make a good wife." From the look on his face, Kisuke had not enjoyed that conversation. Fuji certainly wouldn't have.

"There's some umas in my dorm who would probably make good moms, but I'm not gonna tell her that." Some people really got too fixated on matchmaking. "My dorm ponies aren't little foals anymore, but people really ought to remember that they get the final say in any talks of love."

"Don't think there was really much love in what she was talking about."

"You would know better than me, but it sure doesn't sound like it."

They didn't usually talk about their family situation, because it was a bit…weird, like it often was in families that had a serious tradition of uma racing.

Sometimes it was unavoidable.

Kisuke sighed, sinking back into the couch and staring off into space. "Maybe I should actually give dating a go, before my parents decide to try and arrange something." He shook his head, before turning back to Fuji. "They'll probably start bugging you even more when that happens though."

"I guess there's no helping it." While she wasn't getting the urge to have kids many uma her age got (possibly because she already had to manage a herd of juniors), she wasn't the Prez, and thus didn't have the same amount of clout that would let her get away with just staying as she was. "Dang it…and I hardly have any time to myself with my job to begin with!"

"Really, how do they expect us to date when we're so busy anyways?"

While the weather at Nakayama was still fairly cool when the day of the Yayoi Sho arrived, it was quite a bit warmer than it usually was for early March, so the track was firm and in good condition, something that Shirogane had mixed feeling about, as while that meant the track would be easier to run on, it also meant that her opponents would have no problem with accelerating to their preferred speeds, putting her at a significant disadvantage.

While she had some success at Nakayama before, she had also lost to Grass Wonder on this race track, and her teammate had only improved since then.

Even worse, her starting gate was on the outside as well, and while Seiun Sky was also towards the outside, the other front runner would have a simpler time getting out in front. This could potentially aid Shirogane if she could run in her classmate's wake, but that would not be enough to win her the race.

"Shiro-chan!"

Her ears perked up as she heard her name called, turning to see Special Week waving at her from near the entrance to the warmup track, where it seemed she had gathered together the rest of their classmates who were participating in this race.

Aside from the bulky dark haired uma that had called out to her, there was her teammate Grass Wonder, as well as Seiun Sky and King Halo.

"Was there some plan to group together I missed?" Shirogane quipped as she jogged over to them, finding them standing roughly in a circle.

"Sort of?" Special Week replied, ears wiggling excitedly as she pumped her fists. She was the third favorite. "It's just so exciting to finally race you guys for real!"

"It will be a nice prelude to running the Triple Crown Classic together," Grass added, her tail swishing eagerly. She was the most favored to win.

"Ehhh? Isn't that getting a bit ahead of ourselves?" Seiun Sky pointed out, her hands folded behind her head as she leaned against the wall. "Who knows? Maybe we'll get surprised." She was the fourth favorite.

"If they prove their strength against us, then they could claim to be first rate as well!" King Halo was likewise amped up, though she managed to keep it mostly under control, aside from being more animated than usual, which probably came from being listed as the second favorite.

"Regardless, at minimum two of us will fail to qualify for the Triple Crown classic," Shirogane observed drily, expanding on Sky's comment, "assuming the top three placements would come from among us." She was the fifth favorite.

"Oh yeah…that's a little sad."

"For one to win, others must lose, Special Week. At least in racing."

"No hard feelings right?" Grass Wonder asked impishly, smiling behind her hand. "I would hate for this to come between our friendship."

"Ohoh? That confident, are we?" King Halo shot back, ears tilted back challengingly. "I will not concede defeat so easily!"

"Me neither!" Special Week declared eagerly, hopping up and down in excitement. "I've beaten all of you before during practice and I can do it again!"

"We've all won at practice before, Special Week-san." Shirogane saw no need to mention how her own victories had almost always come when the others were exhausted. "But I suppose we shall see soon enough."
AN. And we've reached the Yayoi Sho finally. I might be including too many races because they take a fair bit of time to research. Well, it's too late now, because that's what I've written to be Shirogane's strength. It was kinda funny doing research about the umas Steady Distance would run against, because there's quite a strong lineup. Meisei Opera is the only NAR horse to have won a JRA G1 race, which he does in the 1999 February Stakes (Shirogane has the chance to do the funniest thing). But first, she's going to have to qualify for the Triple Crown. She only has to beat at least two of her classmates, no biggie.
 
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WrandmWaffles said:
"I resent this observation."
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Observation as opposed to accusation, eh? She's aware of it at least. :V

The invincible Iron Grandma strikes again. Condor trying not to explode after running her little heart out, Shirograndma just "you've got dirt on your face, dearie," like she was just puttering around in the garden and not running a race.

And good on Tensei for finding something besides the endless drudgery of the corporate lifestyle to shoot for.
 
When I read 2 of them would fail to qualify I immediately went and looked up the qualifier races for the Satsuki Sho and was confused because the Spring Stakes and Wakaba Stakes were also qualifiers. But then I looked up the dates and realized they're like only a week apart from each other lol. So only Shiro might go for all three, and maybe the other loser might go for the Wakaba Stakes? Idk. The Yayoi Sho is only 3 weeks apart from the Wakaba Stakes.

Also took me a moment to realize Fuji Kiseki and her brother have different moms, which is an interesting dynamic. It's also implied that racing families are a bit wacky with relationships? I'm legit interested to see how you might try to work the horse bloodlines into the story. They call it the Hapsburg Family Tree, because that thing is a circle.

I love how you explained the whole student staff thing lol. Why does Tracen do that? Idk, that's it.

Even if Shiro somehow doesn't make the placements for any of the qualifiers, surely she makes it on prize money right? 14 starts at 4 wins and 10 seconds has gotta flatten the field in terms of prize money. This story got me looking up qualification scenarios like it's Valorant Champs and everyone is scrounging for champs points haha.

Edit: Also, Groundwork? Yeah I sure hope it does.
 
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Well, I just hope Shirogane actually qualifies; after all the back-and-forth about the "sextuple," it would be a real shame if it didn't happen.

Another point is that someone has finally mentioned all the races Shirogane has run; at one point, it seemed like a detail no one would ever bring up. It's curious that the first people to mention it with such astonishment are sports commentators rather than any of the other Uma Musume—though I suppose the ones close to her don't mention it simply because they're used to her eccentricities.
 
I mean she almost always gets second. That's probably enough to get her foot in the door.

But no, she's not able to get a triple, much less a sextuple. The Kikuka Sho is probably her best chance of being the strongest contender and scoring a crown for herself. Maybe she can score an upset on one of the Tiara races, but that's likely a long shot. So I wouldn't get too attached to the idea of a triple crown much less a sextuple. She's just not written as having the ability, and not enough has changed in the interim to make it a realistic likelihood.
 
The contrast in mid-race thought remains hilarious. Shirogane thinking damn, this is gonna be a bitch to clean while running through the mud at the same time Condor is having all this shonen anime if I can just push a little harder!

It's an absolute peak dynamic.
 
WrandmWaffles said:
But first, she's going to have to qualify for the Triple Crown. She only has to beat at least two of her classmates, no biggie.
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I would be quite terrifying if Shiro and her friends break away from the pack near the final stretch and people and literally see the difference in ability between her class and the rest of the generation.
 
Killdread said:
The contrast in mid-race thought remains hilarious. Shirogane thinking damn, this is gonna be a bitch to clean while running through the mud at the same time Condor is having all this shonen anime if I can just push a little harder!

It's an absolute peak dynamic.
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Condor: "More. More! Just a little MORE!"

Shiro: "F laundry."
 
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