"Trainer… Please… Please…"
"I'm sorry, McQueen. But you can't satisfy me anymore. I was grasping onto a fleeting hope that you had left to wither. Goodbye, my failed trainee."
*RIIIIP*
In front of the light purple-haired Uma, the red-haired young man ripped their contract paper. The symbol and foundation of their vow. And with it gone, so is their relationship.
"Throw her away. The Mejiro Family doesn't need failures."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I… I… I… I… I didn't do anything wrong… Please… Please… One more chance… Just give me one more chance."
"We have given you enough, and you failed every one of them."
"Go away, failure. We're ashamed to even call you our sister."
"You're just lucky to meet trainer Igo Heita first. It's not some fateful meeting or anything like that."
"Don't worry. Trainer Igo has us now. He never needed you."
McQueen was lifted by the Uma guards away. She was laughed at the entire way by her sisters, grandmother, and ex-trainer.
*Thud*
The light purple-haired umamusume was thrown out of the door, and she landed her butt squarely on a wooden floor.
"Sniffle… Sniffle… Guuuh… Sniffle…"
The cry of a young umamusue echoed in the empty hall, which caught the ears of a particular tomboy umamusume. Jungle Pocket, who was cosplaying as an Amazoness.
"Oh! Crying!? Did we go too far?!?"
Pocket ran as fast as she could toward the source of the cries. She feels guilty since she is a cast member of this haunted house. It should be funny scary, not horrifyingly scary.
"Hello!! Are you okay?! It's okay!! Nothing here is real! Tell me who hurt you!!"
"Sniffle… Sniffle… Tachyon…"
"Gah!! Knew it!! That girl oversteps the line sometimes. Come on. I'll guide you to the exit."
"Sniffle… Sniffle… Okay…"
So the light purple-haired umamusume was guided by the brown-haired tomboy. McQueen was so devastated that she didn't notice that the door she was thrown out of no longer exists.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"PANT!! PANT! PANT!! PANT!! PANT!! PANT!! PANT!!"
Equinox was drenched in sweat. Her body is soiled with dirt, dust, and defeat. She glanced at the time board, and her name was dead last. Worst of all, the distance between her and the runner just in front of her was 'Distance'.
"DAMN IT!!!"
The crushing feeling of defeat was too much for Equinox's young heart. She, who had never tasted even her own sweat, was being defeated in such a manner. It wasn't easy to swallow. It was the biggest and bitterest pill she ever had. She had people taste the dirt of defeat behind her, and now, it is her turn. To feel the wrenching feeling of losing. The feeling of regret and disappointment. The feeling of not being fast enough.
"PANT!! PANT!! PANT!! WHY?! HOW!?! PANT!! PANT!!"
She couldn't fathom the umamusumes present. Their powerful kick. Their top speed. Their agility. Their strategies. Their movement. Their way of thinking. And their desire to win. Equinox had thought that she had it all, but all of it was dwarven. She was a small matchstick fire standing between stars.
Is this… Is this the level of Central?
"Pant! Pant! Pant!"
"So that's your limit, Equinox."
"!!! BIG BROTHER!!!"
Equinox quickly turned her head when she heard the familiar voice. Behind her, her beloved big brother is standing with a stopwatch and a table in his hands. It reminds her of when he was still her trainer.
"No… This won't do… You'll be a waste of space if I pick you up."
"No… Big… Brother… What are you saying…?"
"What am I saying? Gosh, you're dumber than I even remember. Do I need to spell it out?"
"No… No… Please…"
"You're slow."
"No! No! No!"
"Just go home and never come back here again."
"NO! NO!! NO!!"
"You don't belong anywhere near me."
"NOOOOOO!!!!"
Equinox slammed her fists on the turf. As if to mock her even further, the umamusumes that she was racing against gather around him. Filling every single spot around him to show Equinox how there's nowhere for her anywhere near him.
"What about our dream, Big Brother? Our shared dream to be the best…"
"If you expect that to soften my heart, then you truly have failed, Equinox. Umamusume talks with their run, not their words. That dream died with your defeat."
"Ah… Ah… No… I… Ah…"
"Tell me. Why should I choose you over anyone here, Miss Last Place?"
"Ku! Ku!! Kuh!! No reason!! No reason at all!!"
"Thank you for using your brain for once. Now, please leave. We're going to train."
"Ku! Ku!! I couldn't win!! I couldn't win against them!! I couldn't win against him."
Since the defeat condition has been met, the hallway from where Equinox came from slowly opens. The sound of the stones scraping against each other as the gate is lifted added more insult to Equinox's already destroyed heart.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
Droplets of water consistently drop onto the turf from Equinox's face. The black-haired umamusume's face was looking down onto the turf below.
"YET!!"
*CRACK* *CRACK* *KRAKATHOOOM*
Multiple black thunders struck from where Equinox is kneeling. They zap everything around her with extreme prejudice. The intensity of her fury is so overwhelming that she damaged her gums from biting down too hard, and blood trickled out from the edge of her mouth.
She slowly stood without bothering to clean herself, as she was too focused on staring down at her enemies. At the umamusumes and at the traitor, that is her big brother.
"I swear!! I swear on my life that I will crush Igo Heita!!"