Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Carrot Juice Overdose
January 1, 2038
Natalie Baker had finally done it.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby as a concept is pretty silly. What do you mean you're racing with anthropomorphized horse girls? But despite the silliness, the game took the world by storm. From the character design to the story beats, the game is crafted so wonderfully that the whole world can't take it's eyes off of the franchise. The animes, the mangas, and most importantly, the game touched many hearts. Among those enamored were Natalie Baker.
It's not as if Natalie has anything else to do. Her immunodeficiency means that she can't get out of bed anyway. Streaming umamusume on youtube gives her some semblance of a purpose. She's on the verge of completing the ultimate challenge in-game: win the URA finale with every single umamusume, and achieve every single epithet.
Not like this last run would be a challenge. She intentionally left Rudolf's career for last. It'd be easy, sure, but she wanted to finish her magnum opus with her oshi. It would be their victory lap. A reward for all those sleepless, hard-fought nights.
Behold Thine Emperor's Divine Might
Symboli Rudolf wins the URA Finale by 5 lengths! What an absolute display of strength!
She celebrates with a pop-off, pours some carrot juice on her head, and drinks the rest of the bottle in one go. Her chat goes absolutely wild, messages coming in faster than any human could hope to read, and Natalie goes a little wild too.
She ends the stream, and the energy slowly leaves her. As it does, Natalie begins to think about what will eventually come for her as a streamer and gamer. After a while (a very long while, of course) Natalie would need to look for another long term project, right? Would she pivot away from Umamusume? No way, at this point umamusume is her life. She decides to browse and look for some way to change up the game for herself and her viewers.
One post in particular stands out, and she clicks through, curious.
Umamusume: First Person VR Racing Mod
249 upvotes, 32 comments
This could be a new series idea! She could do VR races now. She downloads the mod, follows the instructions, and puts on the VR set. The world around her bursts into colors, and she's in a virtual Tracen Academy.
It's… rich to call this a mod. It feels essentially like a completely different game, and instead of a trainer she's actually the umamusume! She even gets to choose her name and customize her character!
Character Name: Peak of Power
Let me be a chuuni in peace, thank you very much.
She walks around in a fully modeled(!!!) Tracen. It all feels so real! She can see Maruzensky talking with Chiyono behind one of the school buildings! She walks around, and in an abandoned classroom she sees- is that Sirius with Katsuragi Ace and Mr. C. B.? and are they- uh,nevermind, if she looks any longer she's never leaving.
How beautifully realistic.
She moves around and makes her way to the cafeteria. It's completely functional! She gets 20 bottles of carrot juice and nobody even bats an eye! She makes her way to a table, and 'drinks' them one by one.
She could 'drink' (and taste!) as much carrot juice as she wanted here without impacting her health! The newest VR technology is so cool. It was worth it to beg her parents for the neurosync model.
As she finishes the last bottle of Juice, she feels herself getting really, really woozy. Huh, she didn't think carrot juice could do that…
She woke up soaking wet, and unable to breath. Blinking, she sees the surface of whatever body of water she's in above her, and claws her way up towards it. She bursts out, gasping for breath and looks around wildly. What the fuck?!?
Is that the statue of the three goddesses? Are those ears on her head? And a tail!?
She's at Tracen still. Right, the VR. She reaches up to take the headset off. The headset. Where is the headset?!? She starts to hyperventilate. Is this a nightmare? Water drips from her shoulder length hair into the fountain below. How is-
"Peak of Power? is that you? What are you doing in the fountain?" Natalie spun around, she knew that voice. There should be no way for Symboli Rudolf to be looking at her, really seeing her. There is no mistaking that the confused look on President Rudolf's face is directed towards Natalie, however.
"W-what's happening?" The voice coming from her mouth was so high. Was that her voice filter? "S-something's wrong… I-I don't-"
Her vision started spinning.
"Peak of Power?" Rudolf sounded so far away. Her knees felt weak. She was falling, falling, falling.
The world went dark.
January 1, 1988
Retirement has been rough on Symboli Rudolf.
Yes, her career has seen incredible highs. Calling her the greatest umamusume to ever run in Japan would not be an overstatement. But that does not mean she did not have regrets. She wishes she and her trainer were friends instead of kept at arm's length. She wishes she did not get injured abroad. She wishes she could win some more.
But most of all, she misses her Zone. Nothing was more difficult than to realize, as the other horses were rushing past her, that she could no longer break the barrier anymore. The Zone that had become second nature to her was out of her reach. Retirement was a difficult pill to swallow. But it was also a no-brainer. There was no point in running if she can't reach that peak anymore.
Despite it all, she has learned to cope with it. Being the President of the Tracen Student Council keeps her busy. She genuinely likes having the opportunity to help the younger umamusume achieve their dreams. Being in a supportive role is not what fazes her.
The general drop in the interest in umamusume racing following her retirement, however, makes her feel like a failure.
She cannot wallow in her feelings for too long though. January is when Tracen admits the new cohort of students, and her work has increased exceptionally as a result. Never mind that the new students sometimes don't know their right from their left. Case in point, the newbie who ran into Sirius being Sirius, and then had the bright idea to chug 20 liters of carrot juice in one go.
She really wants to review the 'all you can eat' policy now.
She also wants to check up on the stupid girl in the infirmary.
The nurse beckons her in, and she takes a seat. The girl seems to be at peace. A face much too serene to have drank 20 liters of carrot juice in one go. It seems that she would be fine.
The sleeping girl shifts a bit. Her eye opens. And Symboli Rudolf is suddenly back on the track. She vividly feels the wind against her face, she feels the blood pump through her veins, and the world around her shatters. She is first, the rest-
She stands up with urgency, and her chair skids back and hits a cabinet. The moment had lasted shorter than an instant, but that feeling is unmistakable. She somehow, after two long years off the track, feels her zone.
No. Her zone was activated. Without her permission.
The girl is staring at Rudolf as if she is looking at a ghost. Rudolf is sure her stare back is much the same.