Starlight lost consciousness during the final straight sprint.
Perhaps the only thing she could faintly feel was being tripped by something the moment she crossed the line.
Then, her entire body went tumbling and flying through the air.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already lying on the ground. Her golden eyes stared up at the sky, her knees were slightly scraped, and several strands of hair from her forehead were plastered to her cheeks.
Beside her, a black bundle was also sprawled on the ground. Rice Shower's breathing was ragged, and her body wouldn't stop trembling.
"Let us congratulate... wait! The officiating panel has raised a sign! There is an objection to the race results."
A single sentence from the announcer sent the entire stadium into a fervor. However, the content of the crowd's discussion was, without question, biased toward Divine Starlight.
Wiping the sweat from her face, Starlight used her knees for support and slowly pushed herself up from the ground.
She looked toward the giant screen in the distance. At that moment, it was playing back the final crossing of the finish line in slow motion.
Tap, tap, tap—
"A simultaneous finish! It's actually... it's actually a dead heat!!!"
Looking at the rank board above, seeing her name and Rice Shower's name appearing together in the first-place slot, Starlight felt a wave of relief wash over her heart.
'Truly... I truly thought I was going to lose...'
It couldn't be helped, she only had three skills in total. She had been suppressed by Rice Shower in terms of skill quantity, and the effects had been hard-countered by her opponent.
Fortunately, through her weight-training methods, Starlight had built a foundation stronger than Rice Shower's.
Combined with that surge of power from heaven-knows-where at the end, she had managed to pull even with a Rice Shower who had activated her Unique Skill.
The entire arena went silent for a heartbeat. Finally, someone shouted Divine Starlight's name. This voice acted like a fuse, instantly igniting the entire audience.
"Divine Starlight!"
"Divine Starlight!"
...
"Let us congratulate racer number six, Divine Starlight, and racer number eight, Rice Shower, for winning this race."
"Starlight has successfully secured three consecutive victories following her debut with an unstoppable momentum, bringing her record to four wins in four starts! Let us look forward to her future performances."
"Rice Shower, through dedicated cultivation and learning from the lesson of her previous defeat, has successfully claimed victory in this race."
From the corner of her eye, Starlight caught sight of Rice Shower slowly standing up from the ground behind her.
She watched as the girl initially looked toward the crowd with elation, only to find that not a single person was directing their applause or cheers toward her.
Gradually, Rice Shower lowered her head. Her tail drooped.
She slowly reached out a hand, gave herself a tiny "fighting" gesture of encouragement, and prepared to turn and leave in silence.
"Wait..."
Suddenly, a fair, slender hand— dusted with a bit of dirt— grabbed her hand.
Turning around in surprise, Rice Shower couldn't help but feel bashful upon seeing Starlight's smiling face.
"Th-that... is there something the matter?"
"The person who's been following me lately was you, wasn't it?"
Upon hearing these words, Rice Shower's body trembled slightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Rice— Rice Shower only wanted to—"
"It's fine! You nearly scared me to death, though. I really thought I was developing some kind of mental illness~"
Exhaling a sigh of relief, Starlight reached out and brushed a small clump of dried mud off Rice Shower's cheek.
"Sunlight bathes us both, so we should enjoy it together. Please don't be a shadow... okay?"
After saying this, Starlight pulled Rice Shower to the very front row of the spectator stands and held their joined hands high in the air. With a smile on her lips, she thanked the audience.
In that moment, the sunlight shone upon the moon, allowing the moon— which couldn't glow on its own— to shine brightly even in the dark of night.
Seeing this scene, the front-row spectators naturally followed the momentum, transferring the cheers and applause intended for Starlight to Rice Shower standing beside her.
Looking at the spectators ahead who were now blooming with kind smiles and offering their applause and cheers for her, the previously dejected Rice Shower smiled once more.
Her eyes sparkled with light, and her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue from excitement and joy.
She slowly turned her gaze toward the Uma Musume beside her, who was about half a head taller than herself.
"Th-thank you..."
"Mhm~ You're welcome. Next time you want to train with me, you can do exactly what you're doing now: Stand by my side instead of behind me."
"I would love to have an Uma Musume as cute as Rice Shower to accompany me through those boring practice sessions."
Starlight's words drifted into Rice Shower's ears like a cool, refreshing breeze. Rice Shower slowly lowered her head, her other hand fidgeting with the hem of her racing silk.
"Is it... is it really okay? Aren't you... aren't you afraid that Rice Shower will bring misfortune?"
"I'm a lucky Uma Musume. Perhaps I can bring some of that luck to you instead?"
After this battle, the front page of the next day's Twinkle Weekly was already set for Divine Starlight.
Aside from her photos from the paddock and the finish line, there was one of her holding hands with Rice Shower.
A Rising Light— Four Wins in Four Starts! Divine Starlight!
The rest day following the race.
On the bed in the early morning, a messy white fluff-ball slowly wriggled out from under the covers. Scratching her hair, she stared at her phone with a speechless, open-mouthed expression.
"Who on earth keeps messaging me...? If it's not something important, I'm seriously going to give your little butt a good smack."
Pulling down the notification bar, she discovered the messages were actually from Rice Shower. Her speechless expression flipped instantly.
Starlight first sent a sticker of a puppy apologizing.
Divine Starlight: [I'm sorry.jpg]
Divine Starlight: Sorry, Rice-chan, I just woke up.
Rice Shower: It's okay. Did I wake you up, Starlight-san?
Divine Starlight: Not at all! I'm very happy that Rice-chan was the one to wake me up.
Rice Shower: Mhm, that's good.
Rice Shower: Trainer told me to find a designer to create my Racing Outfit.
Rice Shower: Starlight, do you want to come with me?
Divine Starlight: Eh? A Racing Outfit? Sure!
Switching off her phone, Divine Starlight happily headed to the bathroom to wash up. The sound of running water was accompanied by the sound of lighthearted humming.
After a while, Starlight emerged from the bathroom with her hair styled in two low buns and a few small braids. The golden gradient at the tips of her hair shimmered brightly.
She changed into a cream-white checkered shirt and denim shorts.
After putting on her shoes, Starlight adjusted her bangs slightly and prepared to head out to find Rice Shower.
However...
"Tsk, who's calling me now? If this delays me going out with Rice, I'm really going to get angry."
Reluctantly pulling out her phone, she saw the caller ID and her face transformed again in a split second.
"Hello? What is it, Madam President~?"
On the other end of the line, Symboli Rudolf's questioning voice rang out. "Where are you? Why haven't you come to the Student Council?"
"Eh~ I just finished a race, I'm on vacation..."
"Vacation or not, you still have to come to the Student Council! Hurry up."
"How can you be like this? I don't want to go! Besides, I have something important to do right now, okay?"
"Oh? What important thing could you possibly have?"
"Going out with Rice Shower, of course."
"Going out with Rice Shower?!!"
"...Ye-yeah, is there a problem?"
"Ahem. And what are you going to do?"
Though Rudolf was asking a bit too many questions, Starlight didn't hide anything and spoke directly.
"Finding a designer for her Racing Outfit. I'll take a photo and show you later, okay? I'm hanging up now."
Upon hearing this, Rudolf, who was sitting in her office, instantly bolted upright from her workstation.
"Wait a moment."
This sudden movement left Air Groove and the other Student Council members nearby completely bewildered.
"Is there anything else?"
"I'm coming too."
"Wha— the President is coming too?"
"Naturally. As Uma Musume of my Tracen Academy, their Racing Outfits cannot be too eccentric. The Graded stakes you're participating in are high-profile events, I must personally oversee this."
"It concerns the image of our Academy."