"Look, I'm glad I get to run with Mom, okay? It's not like she refuses to run with me—getting to race against her practically in her prime is so absurdly cool that I'm thrilled, but... seriously, Golshi, why the hell are you here?"
"Nyah, worryin' about the little stuff's gonna make your boobs sag~"
"That has literally nothing to do with this!!"
"It's a waste of breath saying anything to her..." one of them sighed. "There's no point trying to reason with the single most illogical and bizarre existence in the entire Uma Musume species."
Getting ready to run were the daughters, plus one extra. A tall, ash-gray-haired Uma Musume whose bright red silks suited her surprisingly well, despite her wildly chaotic personality creating a strange balance in every sense of the word. The daughters knew her, and naturally, so did everyone else.
Someone once said: There are no absolute guarantees in horse racing, but Symboli Rudolf is the exception.
If that was true, then what this girl taught the world was that horse racing is, above all, a gamble where nothing is guaranteed. Amidst a generation packed with formidable rivals, she wasn't just a legendary horse remembered by records, but one etched forever into memory—a magnificent and delightfully eccentric force known as the Unsinkable Gold Ship.
Her pedigree came from Stay Gold as her sire and Mejiro McQueen as her damsire—the so-called "SteMa" cross. But what came out of that match was an utter powerhouse. A two-time crown winner of the Satsuki Sho and Kikuka Sho, she went on to win the Arima Kinen, back-to-back Takarazuka Kinens, and the Tenno Sho (Spring)—a total of six G1 victories, not to mention a three-consecutive-year streak at the Hanshin Daishoten.
Yet, as impressive as her achievements were, her outrageous personality stole the show even more.
Despite her notorious temper, her intelligence was famous. She constantly showed reactions that made people wonder, "Can this horse understand human speech?" She also knew how to conserve her strength, escaping her entire active career completely injury-free—her list of absurd anecdotes was endless.
Naturally, her most famous incident was the Takarazuka Kinen, where everyone expected her third straight victory. The horse that stood in the way of that historic streak was none other than... Gold Ship herself.
She literally stood up inside the gate right before the start. In an instant, 12 billion yen worth of betting tickets turned into useless scraps of paper, cementing her status as a legend. (Of course, her grandfather McQueen had famously rendered 14 billion yen into scrap paper back in his day, too.) Though immensely talented, it was her unrivaled playfulness that truly made Gold Ship a one-of-a-kind idol horse.
"Fuhuhu~♪ After all, this Golshi-chan here is super stoked to run with Ran-neechan!"
"I don't care what your excuse is, stop calling me 'Ran-neechan.' Are you trying to make my hair stand on end?"
"What's with the act? You know you love it~"
"Ah? You want me to summon Grandmother, Su-chan, and U-chan all at once to sort you out?"
"I am sincerely, deeply sorry!"
In a flash, Golshi stepped backward while maintaining a perfectly upright posture, then folded her legs mid-air so fast it looked like she was kneeling in mid-flight. She landed squarely on the ground in a flawless 土下座 (dogeza), pressing her forehead flat to the earth as she blurted out her apology. The display was so breathtakingly pristine that quiet gasps of admiration echoed from the onlookers.
"Golshi, Mom's told you a thousand times to stop doing that... you never learn, do you?"
"Don't be like that, Golshi-chan doesn't mean any harm by it! I've been calling her 'Ran-neechan' ever since I was a refined young lady, and Mac-chan's always been 'Mac-chan' to me!"
"Why are you so friendly only with me?!" McQueen protested. "Not that I particularly mind, but wait—are you saying you're related to the Mejiro family too?!"
"Welp~ maybe I'll kick open the gate and blast off for the start~"
"Listen to me! Aren't you being a bit too clingy with Rampage-san?!"
Despite her flippant behavior, Golshi truly respected McQueen in her own way. As if to prove it, she wrapped her arms around McQueen in a giant hug. Due to their height difference, McQueen's head ended up completely buried in Golshi's chest.
"The Uma Musume I respect most in this whole wide world are just two: Ran-neechan and you, Mac-chan."
"W-what's with this all of a sudden...? W-well, if you truly feel that way, I suppose I can overlook it..."
"Mac-chan... ahh, just seeing a energetic Mac-chan makes coming here worth it..."
Everyone froze at those words. A wave of worry washed over the crowd—had something terrible happened to McQueen in the future Golshi came from?
Seeing the somber mood, McQueen wrapped her arms around Golshi's back, stroking her gently.
"I don't know what became of my future self, but do not worry. I am Mejiro McQueen of the proud Mejiro family. I will continue to be an Uma Musume you can always be proud of."
"Mac-chan..."
Golshi squeezed her even tighter—and began to spin around in circles.
Ah, McQueen must have played with her like this in the future, everyone thought warmly as McQueen went along with it, gently offering a, "Now, now, please stop that~"
Except... the spinning was steadily gaining speed.
"Is it just me, or... is she getting faster?"
"U-um, I think that's quite enough now? Isn't this a bit too fast?! The scenery is turning into lines... Excuse me, seriously, that's enough—!?"
"Wonderful, wonderful, ah, how wonderful... ufufu, ahaha, ehehe!"
Swept up in the momentum, Golshi and McQueen looked like they were practically levitating off the ground. Everyone desperately wanted to believe it was just an optical illusion, until Lord let out a heavy sigh.
"By the way, McQueen-san is totally fine in the future. She's just a little plump from eating too many sweets."
"Then... what did she mean...?"
"Yeah. She meant she was happy to meet a skinny McQueen-san... Also, Golshi tells meaningless lies all the time, so you really shouldn't take what she says at face value."
"PLEASE STOP THIS INSTANTTTT!!!?? No, stop! Mejiro McQueen commands you to stop right nowwwwww!!!??"
"UOOOOOHHH!!! I'M GONNA CENTRIFUGE THE FAT RIGHT OUTTA YOU, MAC-CHAN!! THIS IS GETTIN' INTERESTIN'!!"
"WHAT PART OF THIS IS POSSIBLY INTERESTING TO YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!??"
"Oh, by the way, Okino-san—Golshi is part of Team Spica."
"WHY!? Shouldn't she be on Rampage's team?!"
(I tried to get to the race, but Golshi went completely wild...)
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