The crowd roars, filling the racecourse with cheers. The sea of spectators are a blend of colors and sound, almost an overload of Star's senses.
Ikigai Star walks out, alongside with the other races, all of them collectively waving towards the crowd.
Star energetically waves towards a specific duo of people at the railing, Trainer and Kogane Sakura.
Star was especially excited to see her friend along with Trainer... The way those golden flowers sat in a crown on her head... the way her blonde hair, horse ears, and tail equally blew in the wind...
The announcers voice rings out through the track, bringing Star's attention back to the race. She does a few quick stretches, following the other umamusume.
They all line up at the gate, and Star assumes her racing position, her heart racing as she waits in the gate. Her eyes flicker to her left and right, eyeing the competition.
The other racers were good...
From what she could remember...
The race begins, as a grand fanfare sounds out through the track, before the cries from the crowd fades into silence...
The gates snap open, and the announcers yells out through their microphone.
"And they're off! All of the racers are off to great starts, as Ikigai Star takes to the front, leading the pack of racers down the straight!"
Star's heart is beating out of her chest wildly, pounding in rhythm with her steps. The feeling of cutting through the wind, her hair and coat swaying behind her as she sprints down the track.
Born to run.
That's right.
She was born to run.
She keeps her pace, refusing to give up her place to any of the other racers.
As the others fight for position in the pack, Star keeps the same distance ahead, conserving her energy for the final straight.
Rounding the final corner, another racer suddenly pulls up next to Star.
She can't remember who.
Star gasps, leaning more forward in her sprint. The two run side by side, the winner to be the one who overcomes the other, the rest of the racers behind their clash.
Ikigai Star pushes forward, leaning more closer to the ground.
She wasn't just born to run.
She was a shooting star, born to win-
Then, it all happened at once.
The shooting star lost its balance, tilting the wrong way.
The world lurches, suddenly flipping.
Something struck the star, as it veered further off course.
Something twists, in a way it was never supposed to.
Something trips.
Something cracks.
Something lays eerily still.
Something lays, noises muffled around it, reverberating through the head.
Something's hair is frayed wildly around the head.
Something hears a familiar cry, before something fades.
Before the starlight dims out, and all is dark and silent.
Before something loses itself.
Before it sees the edge of nothing.