Mejiro McQueen crossed the finish line in the lead.
The big screen displayed her time.
She'd shattered the previous record.
And as the countdown ended, not a single trailing Uma Musume managed to beat it to the line.
On the screen, behind her ranking, every position from second onward was marked with two brutal words: Daicha! (Overwhelming Defeat!)
The original Mejiro McQueen staggered to the finish, hands on her knees, gasping for air. Sweat streamed down her face—she felt like she was trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake. Looking up at the results on the screen, her eyes instantly welled up.
'I... lost.'
The original Mejiro McQueen bit back sobs, but the tears poured down uncontrollably.
She'd lost her most important race—and in such a crushing fashion!
So unfair.
'But... I really gave it everything. I just couldn't win...'
Thinking of the strength that impostor had shown, she had to admit she stood no chance against this foe right now.
That overwhelming gap in power—it was her first time facing anything like it.
And she wasn't the only one lost in a daze, or the only one crying.
In fact, every entrant in the race reacted much the same.
The Uma Musume in the stands felt a chill run through them—the finale on that straightaway was downright terrifying. To them, it was like a dimensional strike. In reality, only a rare few prodigies could grasp even one or two skills, and those were mostly just white-tier. A colorful Flash-level skill like Mejiro McQueen's? It was like a god descending!
That said, Mejiro McQueen didn't dare underestimate real-world Uma Musume.
According to the game system, the Field (ZONE) operated on a level above Flash skills.
And such immense power? It seemed even top-tier real Uma Musume wielded it to some degree.
As the crowd cheered the race and all eyes locked on Mejiro McQueen...
Flecks of light began drifting from her body. It grew translucent before their eyes, fading into nothingness.
"What the—?!"
The cheers cut off. The announcer's voice cracked with confusion.
Uma Musume clustered around her, faces etched with worry.
The original Mejiro McQueen rushed up, shouting, "Wait—you, who the hell are you? How are you—me—"
Before she could finish, Mejiro McQueen dissolved into bubbly motes of light and vanished.
The eerie scene stunned the entire venue. Symboli Rudolf barreled onto the track with security in tow.
Everyone fell silent, watching the last spark rise into the sky and wink out. Then, in the next instant, the world flipped upside down.
Tracen Academy dorms—every Uma Musume tuned in for tomorrow's Kikuka Sho jolted awake from the "dream."
The original Mejiro McQueen was one of them. She stared blankly at her surroundings, murmuring, "Just now... was that all a dream?"
She glanced at the calendar on the wall—one day till Kikuka Sho. So yeah, just a dream. Relief washed over her; she burst out laughing. "What kinda nonsense dream was that? Me, totally crushed by some knockoff me I don't even know? Ridiculous—impossible! 'Cause I'm the strongest there is!"
Her roommate chimed in out of nowhere: "I had a weird dream too. In it, at Kikuka Sho, you got beaten by a McQueen in white racing silks. You think that was really just a dream, McQueen?"
"..."
The original Mejiro McQueen whipped her head up in horror, staring at Ikuno Dictus.
Wait—was that no dream?!
As Mejiro McQueen reeled from the blow, the "dream" incident began rippling into reality.
For starters, that morning on online forums, a post popped up.
"Kikuka Sho! Strongest! Invincible! Mejiro McQueen(?) Crushes All Foes with a Massive Lead!"
It started as a race fan's ramble, fresh off the dream Kikuka Sho high. He'd dozed off clutching his tickets, only to "attend" the event in his sleep.
Early comments dismissed it as the poster's fantasy.
But soon, one replied: "I had the exact same dream." And more piled on.
Some "watched" live at the venue in their dreams; others caught the broadcast. The post rocketed to hot trends.
Meanwhile, in the real world, folks started buzzing about the dream, sensing something off.
Tracen Academy, Student Council.
Symboli Rudolf sat at her desk like a general, addressing the two members on the sofa: "So, on this incident—Air Groove, Narita Taishin—what's your take?"
"That dream... it was real?"
Air Groove looked like her worldview was cracking.
This was just too unreal.
Narita Taishin said nothing, sitting ramrod straight and icy.
"Hm. Bizarre as it is, it's happened—so we acknowledge it." Symboli Rudolf brushed off the weirdness with brisk efficiency. "I'm just curious about that thing the Mejiro McQueen pulled at the end."
It resembled what she knew... but wasn't quite.
She hadn't sensed ZONE's aura on that Mejiro McQueen.
[Field/ZONE]
In the past, no one even knew ZONE existed.
Uma Musume back then were like shooting stars—briefly cracking ZONE's door before burning out.
Until Symboli Rudolf came along, refining it.
As ZONE's inventor, she could trigger it at will.
Unlike others, overusing it didn't wreck her body or regress her power.
Narita Taishin was a prime example: once a "monster" Uma Musume, she'd unlocked ZONE young but leaned on it too hard, collapsing her frame. Her strength now? A shadow of before.
At Tracen, ZONE was taboo.
In the domestic racing scene, Symboli Rudolf had sealed all ZONE docs and research.
The power was immense, but the side effects? Catastrophic.
Strictly, it ignited an Uma Musume's body for the boost—massive damage.
Countless genius fillies lost their legs to ZONE.
She'd banned research, but self-awakened ZONE users? They always caught her eye.
Any Uma Musume cracking ZONE on willpower alone was top-monster material for her era.
As Tracen president, Symboli Rudolf couldn't resist such prime talent.
And now? She'd glimpsed a ZONE-like Field... but different.
This one had the glow too!
Air Groove caught on late.
"Wait—that wasn't ZONE? It was so over-the-top!"
As vice president, Air Groove knew of ZONE but lacked the chops to open its door.
At least in reality. She'd assumed black-glow, aura-heavy runners were ZONE holders—so she'd pegged dream-Mejiro McQueen as one.
Narita Taishin spoke: "No. I sensed no ZONE aura on that McQueen."
"Exactly—not ZONE. And from what I saw, it doesn't burden the body like ZONE does." Symboli Rudolf's ambition gleamed; she'd zeroed in on that Mejiro McQueen's power.
Crack that, and Japan's Uma Musume would leap forward.
Hell, they might even square up to international ZONE-abusing monsters.
And one hunch: Could ZONE and that power combo?
Just imagining it, Symboli Rudolf envisioned a true [One Horse Ahead, All Others in Shadow] Uma Musume!
"...But Emperor, c'mon—that was just a dream. And that Uma Musume doesn't even exist in reality, right?"
Air Groove facepalmed at the pie-in-the-sky scheme.
Symboli Rudolf slumped in her chair, deflated but persistent: "What if... it's McQueen's potential? Like, Mejiro McQueen awakens that power eventually?"
"..."
Narita Taishin and Air Groove just traded silent looks.
The odds were minuscule... but what if?