What is this—!!!
The pink-haired horsegirl, Agnes Digital, stood among the crowd, staring blankly at the figure on stage. Her hands went to her throat on reflex to ease the feeling she couldn't breathe—but it did nothing. The performer glittering up there had locked onto every part of her. Agnes felt her body's control stripped away, her strings in Stardust Mirage's hands…
How could she be this cool and this beautiful!!!
Just watching a Winner's Stage of this level made her feel she might faint. At first she was only looking forward to what kind of show it might be. As a horsegirl "deep appreciator," her favorite thing was any scene where they shone. She'd watched almost every live she could find; if it existed on video, she had likely seen it.
Before the lights went up, she'd been chatting with a staffer about which track might come. "Probably 'Uma Pyoi Densetsu'—lowest difficulty and most common." Then the overhead lamps clicked in succession—
[Thunk!]
[Thunk-Thunk!]
"As long as… I run out."
At the voice in her ear, Agnes froze, because this was not any Winner's Stage song she'd ever heard. The voice was clear but a bit husky—not special on its own, yet perfectly matched to the song's simple, brisk style. It felt like the song had been born for her.
A new live?
A track exclusive to Stardust Mirage?!
Lights bloomed from every side, painting the space pale blue as if a breeze blew, then pooling in the right hand she raised. A giant screen at the back of the stage flashed on. The images flowing behind Stardust Mirage were scenes few in the audience had seen: sights from her path as a runner. She had failed; she had hurt. In some unseen corner, she had wept freely because she lost. In morning practice, she'd retched after one more 200 m dash. In race after race, she'd run faster and faster, letting the wind lash her face and taking victory back.
This wasn't just an ordinary live—the pictures and the song were one. This was—this was her declaration of existence, from a runner who had lost and grown stronger.
Agnes couldn't help blurting, to vent the joy boiling out of her: "You were really unwilling to lose to Tokai Teio, weren't you? That's why!"
"To stand with her again on the course—on the same stage—you poured out this sweat…"
"Run, sing… You want to fight her again for the winner's throne!"
"This isn't a Winner's Stage."
"This is what you want to show every spectator, every horsegirl—what you want to show Tokai Teio—your very own…"
"—Confessional Revue!"
"I understand (wakari-mas)!"
—
"An original Winner's Stage?"
Tokai Teio stood by the nearest railing, staring up. As the show unfolded, her face flushed; her ears pricked and wagged, her tail flicking, unable to calm. Hearing the song's sense, she felt shaken. Stardust Mirage was accusing the weaker self—herself who lost to Teio in her debut. She learned for the first time what was in that rival's heart. Mirage had always looked like someone nothing could break, but she had cried after losing?
Was this why she had declared a challenge after that Winner's Stage?
The song wasn't exactly rousing, or sad—it was simply an upbeat runner announcing she'd keep working tomorrow. Teio could feel the sunny confidence—only a feeling truly from Mirage's heart could be so moving. She was baring her most fragile side to everyone—so that with the crowd, she could face her failures and have the courage to take tomorrow's step.
It was a song to herself. By Stardust Mirage's singing, she was telling herself she would stand on the Triple Crown stage and seize the winner's world. She was challenging me, Teio thought.
But as she thought that, she noticed the screen featuring more and more of herself. Not just race shots—anything that had caught Mirage's eye played for all to see. Even footage suggesting, in the last two races, Mirage thought constantly of Teio…
"T-t-t-t-this!!!"
Teio's face went bright as a boiled shrimp; her ears flicked hard. The screen jumped to a scene of her and Mirage talking in the ward. Teio could not help remembering the booklet Agnes had shown her afterward, all hush-hush…
No way?! Mirage can't actually— "What are you doing, idiot! Why keep showing me!?"
"Don't look! Don't let everyone—look at me!"
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