Early in the morning, Starlight slowly opened her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled back the duvet and eased herself out of bed.
Looking at her fair, delicate ankles, she tried moving her rounded, slightly flushed toes.
The movement was smooth.
'No issues there.'
She moved to the floor, her left foot cautiously touching the floorboards. With a look of apprehension in her eyes, Starlight slowly applied pressure to stand up.
Her calves trembled as they supported the silver-haired Uma Musume.
After a moment, once her posture stabilized, Starlight glanced at her right foot, now free from its cast, and attempted to make contact with the ground.
The moment her sole touched the floor, a slight, sharp sting shot through her.
Holding her breath, the silver-haired Uma Musume endured it, slowly shifting weight onto her right foot as fine beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.
She held on for a long time before she finally managed to stand on both feet.
Struggling to maintain her balance with a heavy expression, Starlight began attempting to walk.
This was a practice routine she had performed every morning lately upon waking up.
Reaching this level of progress was already quite an achievement.
By the door, the wheelchair that had been parked there settled into a pair of crutches.
Once Starlight had changed her clothes, she slowly shuffled to the door and used the crutches to head for her morning wash.
Afterward, she put on her shoes and was just about to push the door open when she paused.
She noticed the doorknob turning.
With a click, the door pushed open. It was Rice Shower.
The black-haired Uma Musume, who was of a similar height to Starlight, was carrying a small bag.
Seeing Starlight's current state, her purple eyes first blinked in surprise before she spoke with delight.
"Starlight-chan! Rice is here to help you! How about... how about we go to the amusement park in a bit? We can go straight to the festival tonight, too."
"That sounds great. Thank you, Rice-chan."
Downstairs, Hishi Amazon was sitting at the front desk of the dorm, registering information.
Seeing the little silver-haired Uma Musume coming down, she quickly put down her pen and ran over to support her.
"Starlight-chan, watch your step. You only just got your cast off, don't get hurt."
"Mm~ Thank you, Amazon-san."
"Hehe, it's nothing! Taking care of injured Uma Musumes is part of a Dorm Leader's job."
"Where's Rudolf? Has she gone to the Student Council already?"
"Yeah... the President still has work to handle. She probably won't have time to rest until the afternoon."
"Gosh, that position really is hard work. Even during winter break, she has to work."
"You're telling me! I still have to sit here and fill out the dormitory reports for this semester. It's so boring, Starlight-chan..."
Having made it downstairs, Starlight leaned on her crutches with Rice Shower supporting her side.
She looked at the slightly pouting Hishi Amazon and narrowed her eyes, reaching out to rub her head.
"Thanks for the hard work, Madam Dorm Leader~ When I get back this afternoon, I'll bring you something delicious."
"Ehehe, Starlight-chan is so good to me, love ya! Oh, right— Rice-chan, could you help me carry this? Drop it off at the finish line when you pass by the training center."
Remembering something, Hishi Amazon went behind the front desk and pulled out a wooden board.
Carved onto it was a photo of Hishi Amazon, flanked by one word on each side: GOAL!
"Ah, o-okay! Rice will take care of it!"
"Great, thank you!"
Starlight's lip twitched as she looked at the sign.
"Did you make that yourself?" she asked, amused. "You really were driven to your limit, weren't you?"
"Tell me about it! With more and more Uma Musumes enrolling, there are races, practices, and duels every single day. Everyone keeps asking me to stand at the finish line— who can put up with that?!"
"Hahaha... Well, we're off then. Bye-bye, Amazon-san."
"Yeah, have fun!"
After saying their goodbyes, Rice Shower carried the goal sign in one hand while supporting Starlight with the other as the two headed toward the training center.
Elsewhere, Tokai Teio woke up and changed into her training gear.
She knelt on her bed, looking at the goals on her wall display board.
Picking up a black marker, she began to make some edits.
She stared at the words "Undefeated Triple Crown" for a long time.
Finally, Teio smiled and crossed out "Triple Crown," instead making the word "Undefeated" bolder and larger, followed by several exclamation marks.
Click.
Capping the marker, Teio rubbed her nose, a confident smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Alright~ Now for the new year! Let's give it our all!"
After tightening the laces of her racing shoes, she hopped and skipped her way toward the training center.
Meanwhile, an orange-haired Uma Musume lying in bed scratched her backside and rolled over to continue sleeping.
Tap, tap, tap.
A cool breeze swept past as Tokai Teio stood at the starting line of the training track and broke into a brisk run.
Running at full power was no longer a problem for her.
Feeling the long-awaited air and seeing the familiar scenery before her eyes, she could finally release the emotions she had been bottling up for so long.
As she neared the finish line, two familiar figures suddenly came into view.
Teio slowed down and called out to them.
"Hey— Starlight-senpai! Rice-chan!"
"Oh~ It's Teio. Working hard so early in the morning?"
"Hehe. I have to work toward my goal of staying undefeated! Starlight-senpai, can you walk around now?!"
"Yeah, more or less. Though I still have to use these crutches for a while, which is a real pain."
"It's already a huge improvement! I need to keep training, so I won't chat for now. See you at the festival tonight!"
Starlight nodded.
She watched as Tokai Teio sped past the "Amazon-style" finish line and continued running, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Such a vibrant little Uma Musume... Rice-chan, let's head over to Agnes Digital's place to pick up our clothes."
"Mm, okay, Starlight-chan."
Rice Shower nodded, and together they headed to the Otaku Club to see Digital.
That evening, Starlight was dressed in a white cotton dress with a scarf wrapped around her and cotton earmuffs on her head.
Her two small horse ears twitched occasionally, looking incredibly cute.
Beside her, Rice Shower wore a dress of a similar style, but hers was a deep blue-black, contrasting with Starlight's white-and-gold palette.
The stalls on either side were bustling with activity and the smell of festive food.
The area was packed with guests as Starlight and Rice moved slowly through the crowd.
"Gosh... Digital-chan's designs are as amazing as ever. The dresses are so cute, right?"
"Mhm. Starlight-chan looks very beautiful... and Rice's dress is cute too."
Not far away, Matikane Fukukitaru in her shrine maiden attire and a rather timid Meisho Doto were tending to a fortune-telling stall.
Gold Ship walked up, grabbed the fortune box, and started shaking it vigorously.
"Is the era that belongs to ME finally arriving?!"
Clatter—
A slip of paper marked "Great Misfortune" fluttered out, leaving the great Gold Ship momentarily stunned.
"Wh-Why would it be like this?!"
"Ahaha, It really is lively here..."
Teio, wearing a yellow hood over a blue denim jacket, watched the scene with a drop of sweat on her face.
However, she soon noticed a failiar face...
"Starlight-senpai, over here, over here!"
"You got here early, Teio."
"I came with everyone else! There are as many people here this year as always."
"That's true."
Wearing a white fox mask, Mejiro McQueen walked over with a smile. She eased her way to Starlight's side and reached out to take her arm.
"Let me help you, Starlight-chan~"
"Ah, it's fine. I can actually walk on my own now."
Upon hearing this, McQueen's expression became stern as she began to lecture her.
"That simply won't do! There are so many people here, what if you accidentally fall?"
"McQueen is right, Starlight-chan. You have to be careful."
Kiryuu Inami walked toward them alongside Ryo Nishizaki, her voice carrying a hint of amusement.
"Alright then... I'll trouble you, McQueen-chan."
"It's no trouble... no trouble at all."
McQueen tightened her hold on Starlight's arm, her tone remaining steady.
"Sigh. You really have to do your best this year!"
"Teio missed the Triple Crown because of her leg injury, and McQueen failed at the Tenno Sho and Takarazuka Kinen one after another because of poor weight management—"
Before Ryo Nishizaki could finish his sentence, McQueen blurred behind him, effortlessly hoisted him up, and delivered a textbook body slam.
"Don't bring up such sad things at a time like this!"