Chapter 112: The Path to My Dream Begins Here

Surrendering myself to a transcendent sensation, I burst through the finish line shining in the light. The moment I instinctively recognized the race had ended, all the strength left my body.

It wasn’t a loss of focus causing me to slow down, but rather the natural result of having poured out every ounce of power. I had thrown all my stamina into the full-speed sprint across 2800 meters, and now even the act of slowing to a jog felt unbearable.

Still, coming to a sudden stop would risk injury. Stick to the basics. Always be cautious about getting hurt. Tomio had drilled that into me endlessly. After a long deceleration and stopping in front of the stands, I spotted my trainer in the front row—wearing the biggest smile I’d ever seen.

—Apollo, that was amazing.

Amid the thunderous cheers and applause shaking the ground, I could clearly hear his voice. A voice I shouldn't have been able to hear from this distance.

But no matter where I am, his voice always finds its way to me. That’s just how it is. Our eyes met, and we exchanged a small nod. Then, slowly, I raised my right fist. It trembled slightly, but the exhaustion that bordered on my limit had already transformed into something warm and pleasant.

As I let out a victory cry, a roar of cheers and relentless applause erupted from the packed audience. A heat welled up from deep within my chest. My fatigue vanished somewhere, and a smile came naturally to my lips. Looking down, I noticed the bib on my chest rising and falling with each deep breath.

I’m alive right now. I’m here.

I came to Europe chasing a dream, and now I’ve won a major stakes race. It doesn’t get better than this. It feels like a dream. …But it’s not. I made it this far in reality—we made it. Tomio and I pushed reality this high together. We fought, we ran like mad, and finally, finally, I’m standing at the true starting line. If I’m with my trainer, I feel like I can keep running forever.

—Thank you. I love you.

With my heart pounding wildly, I whispered that to Tomio. He probably didn’t hear it, but he nodded over and over again, showing his joy so openly it made me embarrassed just watching him.

Honestly, if there hadn’t been a barrier in the way, I probably would’ve leapt into his arms. I was that overwhelmed. After blinking a few times, tears rolled down my cheeks even as I kept smiling. Not big sobs or anything—just a single tear tracing down my face.

『Oh! A glimmering tear has rolled down Apollo Rainbow’s cheek! Overcome with emotion, perhaps? What a beautiful sight! Even the other Uma Musume who finished far behind her are offering generous applause, as if saying they’ve been utterly outdone!』

『Ahh, everything she does is picturesque, isn’t it? But unlike the fierce, almost possessed way she ran that race, right now she’s showing an expression befitting a girl her age. Honestly, during the race I half-thought something might’ve possessed her…』

Brushing the sweat-dampened strands of her gray hair from her face, I made my way to the paddock in front of the stands. There’s no winners' circle at the York Racecourse; instead, a square-shaped paddock serves that purpose.

Once I’d caught my breath, a short one-minute post-victory interview began. The female announcer had sparkling eyes, and seeing that my running had moved someone like this made me genuinely happy.

“Congratulations, Apollo Rainbow! That was an incredible race! Do you have a message for your fans who’ve been cheering you on?”

“Um… thank you so much for all your support! I was worried about a lot of things, but I’m so glad I was able to deliver my best performance!”

During the interview, I caught glimpses out of the corner of my eye—Lumos-san was screaming like Agness-san usually does, and Double Trigger-san had his fists clenched tight. Lumos-san’s reaction, especially, felt even more rewarding than just having someone I admire watch me race. Feeling like some destined force was at work, I gave a little wave to my brilliant seniors.

“Woooohooooo!! You did it, Apollooooooo!!”

“That girl—she’s completely, completely overcome her weaknesses. If it comes down to a clash of strengths, she might just be the strongest in the world.”

“So she really got past her weaknesses, huh! How’s anyone supposed to beat her now!?”

“A monster has been born.”

I couldn’t quite make out all the details since I was still responding to the interview, but it seemed even to them this race had left a powerful impression. Once the interview wrapped up, I headed to the waiting room to prepare for the Winning Live. As I stepped into the corridor for staff, the mood shifted entirely—the air was quiet and cool, wrapping gently around me.

The battlefield had given way to everyday life. On the way to the waiting room, I spotted Tomio standing awkwardly, checking his watch. When he saw me, he let out a breath of relief and his expression softened.

“I’m back!”

“Welcome back, Apollo. You did great. No injuries?”

“None at all!”

“Any pain or weird sensations?”

“You worry too much.”

I ran up to him, wanting to be praised more, but he just started staring intently at my feet. Hey, look at my face, not my legs… I tapped the ground with my toes to show I was fine, and seeing that, he seemed satisfied and didn’t press further.

When it comes to us Uma Musume, our bodies are our livelihoods. We both know there’s no point lying in moments like this—it would only lead to trouble later.

Tomio and I resumed our walk to the waiting room. Maybe because he could tell how tired I was, his pace was slower than usual.

“That makes your first overseas win, huh?”

“Yeah. Now let’s fine-tune everything so we can keep the momentum going for the G1 Gold Cup. With a performance like today’s, we’ve got a real shot—even against Enzeli and Kayf Tara.”

“…Yeah, you’re right. I absolutely want to win the Gold Cup next month. I’ll have to train harder than ever.”

“In other words, business as usual.”

“Ehehe.”

I was still on cloud nine from winning my first overseas major race, but Tomio was already looking ahead to the next one—the G1 Gold Cup. I couldn’t help but think, You could celebrate a little more… But then he mentioned Enzeli-chan and Kayf Tara-san, and I instantly sobered up.

Right. Don’t get carried away. Stay sharp. This win earned me only one thing: the right to challenge for the Steayers’ Million.

If I can’t go undefeated through the upcoming triple-header—G1 Gold Cup, G1 Goodwood Cup, and G2 Lonsdale Cup—I’ll never achieve the world’s first full conquest of the Stayers’ Million.

There may be no age-class restriction like the Classics, but completing the Stayers’ Million is no easy feat. In terms of required distance aptitude, it’s on par with the Classic Triple Crown or Triple Tiara. Maybe even tougher.

There’s probably no other feat in the world that demands such extreme long-distance adaptability. Even the Japanese Classic Triple Crown, with its wide distance range, stays within 1000 meters—from 2000 to 3000 meters.

But the Stayers’ Million? That requires competing over a spread from 2700 to 4000 meters—a massive 1300-meter range of long-distance stamina. The distances of the upcoming three races are 4000, 3200, and 3300 meters. Even with those, there’s still an 800-meter gap in distance to deal with.

A girl might have the stamina to endure 3200 meters, but once it stretches to 4000, she runs out of gas… That’s not uncommon. The Stayers’ Million pushes heart and lungs to their absolute limits.

So yeah—even if I want to celebrate today’s victory, going overboard would be risky. Like bragging about it for a week straight or something… Ugh, yeah, no. That would be way too annoying, even for the people around me. Switching gears is crucial.

As I reached the waiting room and chugged a sports drink, a certain pre-race moment came back to me. Those words from Chief’s Glider-san—

“If I win this race, I’ve got a date lined up with your trainer.”

“You’re not assertive enough—that’s why he hasn’t noticed you. But once this race is over… you’ll understand everything.”

Even now, just remembering those words makes my blood boil. It was almost certainly a lie, meant to throw me off my game before the race… but there’s always that tiny, 0.01% chance it might actually be true. Just to be sure, I should ask him directly.

“…Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have… plans to go on a date with Chief after this, would you?”

“…Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Ah—no, never mind. Just something weird Chief said to me before we got in the gate.”

Yep, that makes sense. There’s barely any connection between Tomio and Chief's Glider. At most, they might’ve talked briefly at the Dubai World Cup. And honestly, Tomio's never shown interest in anyone but Apollo-chan. Probably. Maybe. I’m just joking… sort of.

“So that’s why you were acting so off. I was worried you’d felt something wrong with your footing or got hurt.”

“Not a big deal. I just almost fell for a cheap trick.”

“Haha, I can’t imagine thinking about anyone else. You’re the only one for me.”

“Nyah—!”

……Ughhhh, there it is again. There it is. Why is he like this?! He says exactly what I want to hear. Idiot. Total idiot. I love him. Stupid. I hate how easily I melt.

“D-Don’t think I’m going to be happy just because you say something like that!”

Even as I said that, my tail and ears were bouncing like crazy. My tail was wagging wildly, my ears twitching nonstop. Totally out of control. We've been together long enough—he’s absolutely noticed. Actually, now that it’s this obvious, maybe he meant to say that just to see how I’d react?

Tomio just kept smiling gently, saying nothing. So, yeah—he definitely thought saying that would make me happy. Not just my ears and tail—he sees right through me. I can’t read him at all, and yet he reads me like an open book. It’s not fair. It’s sneaky. I want to understand his feelings, too.

“…Tomio, you’re really good at poker face, huh.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Never really thought about it.”

“Come on, seriously?! You always just smile at times like this!”

“Maybe it’s just because talking to you makes me genuinely happy.”

“Fweh—”

“I’ve never faked that. And right now, I’m happy too.”

“Wha—?!”

This is bad. His emotional firepower is off the charts. He keeps striking all my most vulnerable spots—but not like a straight-up attack. It’s like I’m being wrapped in a cocoon of warmth and happiness. It’s frustrating, ticklish, nothing like the pain from training. It takes over my whole body.

I’m not used to resisting this kind of feeling. I can deal with pressure and exhaustion just fine, but the joy he gives me? I can never seem to get used to that.

…Seriously, this is dangerous. If I try to flip the dynamic with my words, I’ll lose. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I guess this is what they call being lovestruck. Maybe he thinks it’s just a harmless tease, but I really wish he’d be more considerate of how girls feel.

“…A-Anyway, I need to get changed for the live performance now…”

“Oh, right. You’ve got the live show. I’ll head out.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“I’ve seen you practice your singing and dancing. You’ll be fine, Apollo.”

With that, Tomio left the dressing room. I let out a deep, deep sigh and slumped into the chair in front of the mirror.

The reflection staring back at me had flushed my pale cherry blossom-colored coat a deep red. My ears were drooping, soft and steaming. My tail was spinning like a fan, and my face was burning hotter than when I have a fever.

This right after a mentally draining race? My emotions are completely fried. As I adjusted my bobbed bangs, I curled a lock of hair around my finger.

…Okay, stop daydreaming! Calm down. Keep your composure. Pull off a nice, clean smile. The live show’s being broadcast to the entire world, so I can’t go out there with this dopey grin. I’d rather not make it obvious how much I like my trainer, after all…

“Suuu… huu…”

Once I’d managed to steady my breathing, I took off my race number and gym uniform, then changed into the standard outfit for the live show. Since this was a Grade 2 race, I wasn’t allowed to wear my winning outfit—those are only for Grade 1 races.

But some fans actually prefer the standard outfits, saying they create a sense of unity on stage and help them imagine different unit combinations more easily.

These standard outfits have slight design variations depending on the country. Even within Europe, you can spot regional styles. Here in the UK, for example, the design is a little more refined: longer hems, wide-leg layered shorts instead of tight ones, and overall a more graceful vibe.

Just as I finished changing, a voice called from beyond the door.

“Apollo, can we come in? Double Trigger and Yeats are here too.”

“Sure, come on in!”

“Thanks. Excuse us…”

The door opened, and Lumos, Double Trigger, and Yeats filed into the dressing room. Noticing I’d finished changing, Tomio came in after them, quietly closing the door behind him.

When Lumos saw me in my standard outfit, her eyes turned into hearts as she clasped her hands together. “I thought I was looking at a real princess,” she said, flirting as naturally as breathing.

But then her expression turned serious, and both she and Double Trigger checked to make sure I wasn’t hurt. Maybe it was because the race ended at such an unusually fast pace for Europe. I felt fine, but just to be safe, I told them I’d report the results of my post-race check-up later.

After a bit of small talk, it was time to go. The three of them started to leave the room. “I wanted to chat more!” “We should be grateful she’s this friendly to us at all.” That was Lumos and Double Trigger as they left.

Just before Yeats exited, she looked back at me with unusually teary eyes. I couldn’t help but call out.

“What’s wrong, Yeats?”

“Ah, um… that is…”

“No need to rush. Just take your time and tell me.”

I knelt down in front of her and gave her a soft smile. Yeats took a breath, then widened her eyes with resolve.

“Th-The race was amazing! You were so cool, so dazzling—so radiant—!”

“——……”

“Watching it made me realize!! I want to be a strong, cool horse girl like you, Apollo-san!! So—so…”

“Go on.”

“I’ll keep cheering for you!! You’re my dream, Apollo-san!! Please win the next Gold Cup, too!!”

Why did she choose me and not Kayf Tara-san? Only Yeats knows. But she must’ve fallen for me after watching how flashy my win was. No need to ask—it would just ruin the moment.

So I nodded deeply and gently brushed the meteor marking on her forehead.

“Thank you, Yeats. I’ll win. I’ll become the strongest stayer there is.”

“Y-Yes!!”

She scrunched up, all bashful, then bounded off to rejoin Lumos and the others.

I waved to her, then waited until the door closed behind them and let myself sink into thought.

“…This all feels kind of surreal.”

“Hm?”

“I’ve always been the one doing the admiring, you know? But then Yeats-chan said that to me, and suddenly… I don’t really know how to put it, but I was just so happy.”

“……”

…I see. I was never the kind of Uma Musume that others looked up to. I was just someone who admired greats like Lumos-san from afar. Maybe that’s why I kept wandering without a clear vision, with that thorn-in-the-throat kind of discomfort stuck with me. Caught in a cycle—chasing after someone else’s light and losing sight of myself.

But then, Yeats-chan said it clearly: You are my dream. It was a complicated feeling—in the best way. I had been running with everything I had, focused on nothing else. And yet somehow, even someone like me… had become the kind of Uma Musume who could carry someone else’s dream on her back and keep running.

I didn’t quite feel it in the moment, but I was undeniably happy. It felt like I’d finally found my true self. Yeats-chan’s words sank into my heart and left it feeling warm.

“…Apollo. When you first began to dream—do you remember who you looked up to?”

“Yeah. I don’t have any doubts about my dream anymore.”

“I see… I’m glad.”

“…It’s almost time for the live, so I’m off! Watch closely from the crowd, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll be watching.”

Following behind one of the staff members, I headed for the outdoor stage at York Racecourse. Behind the stage, several other Uma Musume were already in their standard outfits. I joined their ranks, diving into the group.

The song was different from Japan’s Winning Live, and of course the lyrics were in English. Singing wasn’t the same as speaking it, but… I’d be okay. I’d worked hard on both the dancing and singing.

When it was our turn, energy returned to the night-lit York Racecourse. White glowsticks waved through the crowd, and laser beams shot toward the sky. Spotlights illuminated the stage, revealing us to the audience. A cheer erupted just as rock music began to blare—the live had begun.

Standing center stage, I stepped in rhythm with the beat, letting my voice ride the melody and lyrics through the mic. I winked at a fan holding a sign that read “Give me your gaze!” and waved during the choreography—giving fanservice worthy of someone representing Japan.

The venue trembled with thunderous cheers, the voltage rising with every step toward the chorus.

Amid that explosive energy, my thoughts wandered to a state I’d reached before a race—that serene clarity. Yeats-chan’s words had stirred something that overlapped with my past self.

Deep in my memory, the words of an Uma Musume on TV played back, distorted with static:

『To be able to face off against the greatest rivals on the greatest stage—I…』

…The words cut in and out. But they were what steered my heart toward the world of racing. That wish—to race on the greatest stage against the greatest rivals—came from that line.

Remembering it right before a race sent a shock through me unlike anything I’d ever felt. My spirit erupted, power surged into my limbs—setting fire to the dream-bound heart that had wandered for so long.

The spark was anger. The fuse was love. And the source—was the very core of my dream. What I needed to break through that wall was a chance encounter. That twist of fate wove itself into destiny and led me to my dream.

And here was another twist of fate: the Three-Way Showdown orchestrated by Lumos-san and the others. It referred to the clash between Apollo Rainbow, Kayf Tara, and Angely on Europe’s stayer circuit. But those words—“Three-Way Showdown”—called forth another memory.

In the history of Japan’s Twinkle Series, there was a legendary three-way showdown—TTG.

…My dream had come from them.

Tosho Boy—She was called the “Uma Musume of the Heavens,” battling fiercely against the strongest rivals. She was the one I admired.

Ten Point—the Arima Kinen she won, the emotion and excitement it gave me, lit a fire at the core of my being.

Green Grass—after the other two left, I watched her back as she continued to fight at the frontlines. her endurance as one of the all-time great stayers deeply moved me.

I admired Tosho Boy, cried for Ten Point, and reflected on Green Grass. They were the ones who gave me the spark that started it all—my dream of becoming part of the Twinkle Series.

Mommy, look! It’s Tosho Boy!

She’s amazing, isn’t she?

Yeah, she’s so cool! Do you think I can be like her someday?

Of course you can. I believe in you.

Then I’ll become a sparkling Uma Musume, just like Tosho Boy!

Remembering that innocent conversation with my mother, I felt a smile tug at my lips. I’ve ended up a stayer, nothing like Tosho Boy-san. It’s true I once wanted to be a great Uma Musume like her, but as I nurtured the dream I received from TTG, it gradually shifted into something that fit me—my dream: to become the strongest stayer.

That’s why even if Yeats-chan sees her dream in me, what she dreams of can be anything. The strongest stayer, the fastest sprinter, the ultimate miler—whatever she wants.

To dream of someone. To admire them. To strive hard because of it.

And when you finally stand on the stage of your dreams, someone out there might dream because of you. That’s all it takes.

…Maybe the reason Maruzensky-san always looked out for me was because she was from the same generation as TTG?

I don’t know all the details. But what I do know is that the me standing here today is built upon the dreams of many people. The dream I inherited from others—I’ve made it my own and now I run with all my heart.

Winning Lives are also a chance to express gratitude to the fans and all the people who support the Uma Musume.

Catching sight of Tomio, Lumos-san, Double Trigger-san, and Yeats-chan at the edge of my vision, I gave them a big wave.

My trainer, who always believed in me.

The two-time Triple Crown Uma Musume who shone on Europe’s long-distance circuit.

The great senior who’s always supported me, in every aspect.

And—one small Uma Musume who dreams because of me.

To everyone, thank you. "Thank you" doesn’t feel like enough—but if I don’t say it, it won’t be heard.

“Thank you, everyone—!”

As the live song ended, I turned to the crowd and spoke those words from my heart. A thunderous cheer shook my eardrums—and I couldn’t help but smile, baring my teeth.