Chapter Text
“Don’t you want your name to be known?”
White stood staring at Cyan, her arms folded over her chest as she looked at the other horse with a mix of pity and disgust.
“Can’t I just be content to be here?” Cyan asked with a shrug.
“Content?” White scoffed. “If you want to be content, go be a trail horse. You’re a racer, act like one.”
Cyan reached her hand up behind her head and scratched behind her ear, trying to process what White was saying.
“Well, what about Merry?” she asked. “You never see her acting super serious.”
“Because that orange idiot is too drugged up to have any thoughts.”
“That’s not true…” Cyan trailed off and glanced around, trying to see if anyone was overhearing them.
“Oh, don’t be naive. You don’t even sound sure yourself.”
“We really shouldn’t be gossiping about our friends like this.”
“Friends? Hah! Who made you think they were your friend? There’s no room for that here. Maybe if you realized that, you’d actually start winning.”
Cyan’s heart plummeted and her throat began to tighten. “But…” she choked out. “Aren’t we friends?”
“Not anymore. Today one of us wins and one of us loses. I’m not going to let you hold me back anymore.”
Turning about on her heel, White smoothed out her skirt and pushed her hair back over her shoulders. “See you on the track, Cy,” she said over her shoulder. “Winner takes all.”
As she watched White walk off from the stables, Cyan brushed the back of her hand against her cheek, feeling the tears that ran down her face. Anxiety gripped her chest. She couldn’t let her friends see her like this, if they were even her friends. She ran off into her stall and slammed the gate closed behind her. Her knees felt weak, and it was all she could do to hobble over to the wall and rest against it.
Will there ever come a day when I don’t cry?
“3…2…1…race!”
The gates slammed open and White and Cyan dashed forth. Their speed was equally matched, hooves pounding against the dirt with fury. Almost as much dust was kicked up as when the track was full. To Cyan, less horses only made the race feel more intense. Or maybe it was just that she couldn’t stop thinking about White. About what she said. How could she toss away all they had, just like that? After all they’d been through, all those long nights staring up at the stars, talking about the places they’d go, the life they would build together.
Cyan gritted her teeth and plowed forwards. As the two horses reached the gateway at the same time, White shoved her shoulder into Cyan’s, sending her back away. White ran into her before while racing, that was the nature of the game, but had she ever done so with such force? There was a malice in the act that wrenched Cyan’s heart in a way that didn’t feel possible.
Oh no, I’m going to cry again, aren’t I?
White rushed ahead down the hall, leaving Cyan behind. Cyan’s cry of pain echoed out from behind, and White chanced a glance over her shoulder. She was lagging behind, back in the starting stalls and gripping her arm in pain. Such weakness, White thought. God, let me win, so I don’t have to be like her .
The next corner came up, and White quickly hooked a right. This was too easy. The carrots would be hers in no time. But as she ran down the next hallway, she could hear hoofbeats behind her. There was no way Cyan caught up already, right? She had to look back to check. That loser was about to round the next corner! White skid to a stop and ran back down the hall. Better to play dirty than to let Cyan catch up. This was the dawn of a new day, a day when people would finally know her name, and she couldn’t let anyone dare to think this was a close match.
Cyan began to round the corner and her eyes went wide as she saw White charge forth. “That’s the wrong way, White!” she said while slowing down. “Did you get lost?”
As soon as she had finished talking, White’s elbow plunged into her stomach. All the air in Cyan’s lungs rushed out at once. Surely that was a mistake, right? Cyan looked up to White, pleading with her eyes. She didn’t even have to say sorry, she just had to look surprised, anything to indicate that this was no on purpose.
“Stay back,” White said. “You’re getting in my way.”
There was only so much more heartbreak she could take. Cyan stuck her leg out, tripping White as she tried to get back into the hallway. White retaliated, kicking up dust and blinding Cyan, causing her to run into one of the walls. Pushing herself off, she backed up into White on accident, redirecting her back away. The two continued into a confused dance, shoving each other both on purpose and accidentally, as they tried to enter the next hallway and prevent their competitor from following.
As Cyan spun on her heels and tried to catch her balance, White saw an opportunity and fled down the hallway once more. Cyan recovered, and took her chance to go down another hallway. She may have been dizzy, but she at least remembered her left from right. It was something White always struggled with.
“It doesn’t matter who wins, White,” Cyan said to herself as she continued to plow forward. “As long as we have each other, our love will be sweeter than any carrots. I hope you’ll realize that someday.”