"Are you an impressive horse girl?"
Symboli Rudolf paused, slightly troubled by the question.
Known as the undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl—nicknamed "The Emperor"—she now serves as the student council president of Tracen Academy. The question came during a formal interview.
"Well, yes," she replied thoughtfully. "There are many famous horse girls. Whether it's speed, strength, or the stories they carry…"
The interviewer followed up: "What about Tokai Teio?"
Symboli Rudolf's expression softened.
"Tokai Teio is a junior I truly care about. Her speed, born from incredible flexibility, is unmatched—even by generations of horse girls. More than that, I adored her. She is someone who could entertain and inspire. She's essential to the future of the Twinkle and Dream series."
Then, she added with a hint of embarrassment
"But… I'm a horse girl too. So naturally, I'm most influenced by those I ran alongside and the seniors I admired."
"Maruzensky, etc perhaps?"
She nodded. "Yes. There was something thrilling about the Twinkle series."
Then, with a shy laugh, she turned the tables.
"But there's one horse girl whose name you didn't dare mention, isn't there?"
The reporter stiffened. That name was a star—and a shadow.
Symboli Rudolf looked up dreamily. Her face held both fondness and regret.
"Black Traitor. She's known as the stain on the Twinkle series."
She leaned back in her chair. The historic student council seat creaked beneath her.
"Villain of the century. Demon lord. Natural enemy of the Triple Crown horse girls… She was always in the double digits in popularity polls. Reporter, do you have time today?"
The reporter nodded. He'd been trying to extend the interview it seems his wish had come true.
"Let's talk about Black Traitor. I don't know everything, and she'll probably be furious if she hears I told this story. But few people remember her now."
Symboli Rudolf smiled.
"She's the horse girl who left the deepest impression on me. Let me tell you what I know about Black Trater."
A Memory from Another Life
I never believed in reincarnation.
But just before I died, I wished for happiness in the next life. I didn't expect to be actually reborn.
And yet—I remembered. Vividly. It was a past life, but the memories were strangely clear. Because of that, I never felt like a child, even from a young age. Being an orphan, I didn't dwell on it.
Still, the drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
There's a race called Uma Musume.
They're all female, with extraordinary physical abilities. When they run, they can reach speeds over 60 kilometers per hour. They have horse ears and tails, and they're all strikingly beautiful.
Interestingly, in this world, there are no horses—only Uma Musume.
I had become one of them.
They say we were reborn, but that means we weren't human to begin with.
It was hard.
Even though I was strong, I broke things, got hurt, and carried the spirit of an adult. I was scolded far more than those around me.
And while Uma Musume are intelligent and conversational, they're driven by powerful instincts. My desire to run—and to win—was overwhelming.
At first, I tried to suppress the instinct.
But it wasn't something that could be buried. It surged up in me like a child's passion—raw, uncontrollable. I cried often. I got angry. I tried to rid of it, but soon learned it was something I'd carry for life. Some say it can be dulled with age or even pregnancy, but that wasn't an option for me.
Until then, there were parks and public facilities designed for horse girls to run. That's how most dealt with it.
I spent countless hours—alongside cups and chopsticks—learning that truth.
I didn't know if anyone would explain it to me. It was my first time as a horse girl in an orphanage, and the staff seemed just as confused as I was.
Eventually, I decided to use one of those facilities.
By the way—I have a twin sister.
Her name is A-chan. She's a horse girl too.
Sickly, but full of life and innocence. That was my sister.
She called me Bee-chan and always led me around. I was always trailing behind her at the facility.
That's when I noticed something strange.
It was about our names.
Horse girls are born with names. Even Japanese ones are written in katakana, and many are long and unusual.
One day, we were talking about a girl we'd befriended at the facility and horse girls we admired. A-chan mentioned names of horse girls she'd seen on hospital TVs—celebrities, or so I thought.
Our orphanage didn't have a TV, but A-chan had been hospitalized several times. She told me about a horse girl named Ten Point who won the Arima Kinen.
That name stopped time for me.
A world with horse girls instead of horses. Horse girls with names that weren't human. And races like Arima Kinen.
That's when I realized- Uma Musume were connected to the horses of my previous life.
I began researching famous horse girls. I didn't know much about horse racing, but I remembered names my horse-loving friend used to mention—Centrite, Tokinominoru, Shinzan. I even learned about Marengo, who served Napoleon.
But then I wondered: What about me?
Uma Musume children might not be well-known, but maybe they had names from past lives. Maybe A-chan did too. I wasn't sure. My memory was hazy.
But my name didn't match any famous horse. I doubted it would've belonged to a regular one either.
Maybe… I was defective?
There's something called Umasoul—a spirit that gives horse girls their names. I understood that. But my name didn't seem to exist in any record of horses from the past.
I did get worried.
But nothing happened.
What is a horse from a past life, anyway? I was human. I didn't know much about horse racing. My name wasn't famous. I had no mission. No one here knew about the world before.
At best, A-chan would talk about what we should do as horse girls.
Horse racing—the Twinkle Series—wasn't well regarded in this world. It was popular entertainment, sure, but Japan didn't seem to have a proper system for it.
I felt sorry about that.
Still, I believed famous horses would rise again.
Symboli Rudolf, Oguri Cap, Narita Brian, Tokai Teio… I didn't know their eras, but I remembered my friend's eyes sparkling as he spoke about them.
"They run hard, unaware of our dreams. But we dream of them. Sure, there's money involved—but you can't bet without believing in them."
Those words stayed with me.
A-chan always said, "I'm going to be a hero horse girl of justice!"
She wanted to save poor horse girls like us. She wanted to be the best in the world.
She was inspired by the heroes she saw on hospital TV.
She said she needed to enter the Central Tracen Academy to do that.
I listened and thought, Maybe that kind of future isn't so bad.
But A-chan's dream never came true.
Our orphanage was poor.
We needed money to treat A-chan's illness.
The director begged URA, the organization behind the Twinkle Series.
"This child will make it big. Please, help us."
But URA couldn't respond.
They didn't have the funds. Saving one child also meant they would also need to save horse girls across the country. They couldn't afford that.
I understood.
You can't swing sleeves you don't have.
All I could do was feel helpless.
A-chan's condition worsened.
I remember our last conversation.
She was lying in bed, humming as she looked out the window.
"Bee-chan! You came!"
"Yeah. How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay!"
"I see."
"I want to run soon."
"If you're good, you'll be able to."
"You sound like the director!"
"I have to listen to the director after all."
She turned on the TV and showed me her favorite race—Ten Point.
"I'll be like Ten Point! A horse girl of justice!"
"Yeah."
"I'll be the best horse girl in the world!"
"You can do it, A-chan."
"Really? Bee-chan thinks so too?"
"I do. You're fast."
"Right!? Bee should run too!"
"I'm… not cut out for it."
"No way! You'll be the second-best horse girl! I'll be happy!"
"If A-chan guarantees it, maybe I can."
She took my hand.
"Then let's run together in the world's best race."
"…Yeah, okay."
"Promise!"
"Promise."
We tied our pinkies.
I was a coward.
I made a promise I knew wouldn't come true.
Soon after, A-chan's condition worsened—and she passed away.
I've thought a lot about being reborn.
It wasn't until I understood Uma Musume that I realized what I was.
A defective product.
No horse name.
But maybe I wasn't reborn to follow. Maybe I was reborn to lead—to make the horse girls who ran before proud.
"This is the path we ran."
I was born to be a horse girl.
Blacktraitor, she believed that.
But what now?
The Twinkle Series isn't well-maintained. Maybe it's not dark—just misunderstood.
I heard about Maruzensky, a fast and powerful horse. But being foreign-bred, he could only enter limited races.
Still, his jockey said:
> "Let Maruzensky run in the Japan Derby. He won't disturb other horses. No prize money needed."
Horse racing is a competitive sport. Domestic and foreign horses are treated differently.
But the Twinkle Series shouldn't have those problems. Yet there are restrictions.
Probably financial ones.
Major races like the Japan Cup offer 300 million yen in prize money—for a single win.
But unlike my past life, there's no betting in the Twinkle Series. It's a poor system for raising money.
If a foreign horse girl wins and leaves Japan, the prize money goes with her.
That's likely why restrictions exist.
So how do we fix it?
There are many ways, but I'm not smart. All I could think of was this:
Make the Twinkle Series so popular that it thrives.
To do that, we need a star.
A horse girl with overwhelming charisma.
And if no one else will do it—then I will.
I'll become the strongest horse girl.
Watch me, A-chan.
I'll do it.
"My name is Mr. CB. Nice to meet you."
That's what I thought—standing beside the superstar Uma Musume.