"Eternal Meteor? Why are you here?!"
The moment she stepped into the competitors' tunnel, Gallop General spotted a familiar white silhouette ahead—one that had been haunting her dreams.
Haunting, as in "waking up at midnight from a nightmare."
In the last race, she'd run so hard she nearly suffocated. She'd finally managed to close the gap to Twin Turbo, only to be told—
Eternal Meteor still hadn't even started accelerating yet.
And in the end, Gallop General could only watch as Eternal Meteor tore up turf and blasted away into the distance. For someone who specialized in going full-throttle from the front, that was a brutal psychological blow.
Especially after Gallop General switched into a pure front-running style in the final stretch—only to discover that no matter how hard she ran, she simply couldn't catch up. That helpless feeling carved itself deep into her bones.
Sure, Uma Musume were supposed to have fierce competitive spirit—supposed to fear no strong enemy.
But when the "enemy" was a monster that outclassed you so completely…
That spirit was like a candle flame—easy to pinch out with two fingers.
In short, Gallop General had been gapped so hard by Eternal Meteor she was basically halfway to shutting down emotionally. She'd barely recovered before entering the next race—specifically to avoid ever meeting Eternal Meteor again.
In her mind, maintaining an all-out runaway lead for an entire race put an enormous strain on the body. She knew that feeling better than anyone.
So Eternal Meteor couldn't possibly be racing again so soon.
She'd even checked the entry list before signing up this time—confirmed Eternal Meteor's name wasn't there—then registered.
So why was that pure-white figure standing right in front of her now?
Did Eternal Meteor seriously not care about her own legs? Was she not afraid of fractures? Or was she so confident she could win without even trying?
Hearing someone call from behind, Eternal Meteor turned, flashed a smile—
and then sped up toward the track, as if she had absolutely zero interest in talking.
Is she looking down on me?
Gallop General felt a flare of irritation.
Okay, last race was a complete domination—but was it really necessary to treat her like air?
She'd finished second, damn it!
Sure, she'd lost by eleven lengths… but still!
If Eternal Meteor had just walked off normally, fine. But why rush away like that? Was she really that unwilling to even see her?
And to top it off, she'd entered another race immediately after going full runaway last time—so arrogant it bordered on insanity.
Could Gallop General tolerate that?
If she kept tolerating it, she'd turn into a full-on ninja turtle.
…Actually, she could tolerate it. Being a ninja turtle wasn't that bad, right? She liked pizza, anyway.
Because what else could she do?
That thing wasn't even the same species as her anymore.
That second acceleration—like a rocket booster kicking in—made it feel like Eternal Meteor could go run against the G1 monsters and still win.
So Gallop General could only stare at Eternal Meteor's retreating back and keep chanting self-comforting lies in her head.
What she didn't know was: Eternal Meteor wasn't ignoring her because she looked down on her—
…Okay, fine. Eternal Meteor didn't really "respect" anyone on the track.
But the real reason she ignored her was much simpler:
Eternal Meteor had forgotten her name.
You know the situation—someone calls out to you, runs up smiling, says your name like you're best friends…
…and your mind is completely blank.
You search every corner of your brain and find absolutely nothing. So you're stuck there doing a stiff, dead-eyed smile—praying you won't be exposed.
Then the other person stares at you for a long time and finally asks:
"Wait… you don't remember me, do you?"
And you want to bury yourself alive.
Eternal Meteor chose the only reasonable solution:
Run.
After she escaped, she urgently asked the one person who might save her.
"So, X—do you remember what her name is?"
She sounded like she genuinely needed an answer to survive.
"No," X replied flatly. "I think she was your opponent last race."
Eternal Meteor's soul left her body.
"I'm finished. What if she tries to chat with me in the starting gate later?"
Just imagining it made her break out in goosebumps.
And in the gate, there'd be nowhere to run.
"Entering now—your crowd favorite in first place: Number 3, Eternal Meteor!"
"And next—second in popularity: Number 4, Gallop General!"
"Eternal Meteor!"
"Go, Meteor!"
"Eternal Meteor! Give us another massive blowout!"
"Eternal Meteor!!! You're number one!!!"
…Bad.
Not only were they in the same race—they were right next to each other.
Eternal Meteor felt her entire body go numb with social panic.
Meanwhile, Gallop General listened to the stadium-shaking cheers and started grinding her teeth.
Every single shout was for Eternal Meteor.
Not one person called her name.
Was her "second place in popularity" fake?
Did these idiots accidentally vote for the wrong person?
While Gallop General was having an existential crisis, Eternal Meteor waved to the crowd, stepped into the gate, and calmly closed her eyes—resting.
"This race will be won by me!"
Even if she knew the likely outcome, Gallop General couldn't show weakness out loud.
She put on what she believed was a terrifying expression, bared her teeth, and declared it at Eternal Meteor.
Eternal Meteor cracked one eye open, looked at her once, then closed it again.
"Then… good luck."
Her tone was so indifferent it might as well have been weather commentary.
Gallop General's teeth nearly shattered.
Damn it.
Even a ninja turtle couldn't endure this.
How could anyone be this disrespectful?!
Fine.
If Eternal Meteor wanted to treat her like nothing—
Then Gallop General would go full runaway from the start and drag the pace into hell.
Eternal Meteor had just run an entire race at full runaway tempo, right?
No way her body could handle another one comfortably.
Even if she could endure it, Gallop General would make her suffer for it.
Decision made, Gallop General settled into her starting posture and fixed her focus on the gate.
She refused to think about anything else.
Mostly because she was still on guard against that bone-chilling sensation from last race—right before the start, the kind that made her hair stand on end.
"All runners are in the gate. The race everyone's been waiting for is about to begin."
At the commentator's call, every Uma Musume who hadn't raced Eternal Meteor before brimmed with fighting spirit.
"The gates open—and they're off!"
"No one has missed the break!"
But even after the race began, Gallop General felt nothing.
That same terrifying sensation from last time wasn't there.
And for some reason…
Eternal Meteor, who had been only a fraction slower out of the gate, was easily overtaken by Gallop General and the others.
…Was Eternal Meteor really unable to go all-out because of the last race?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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