"Loulou," Rudolf lifted her head toward the girl who said her nickname. It was Mejiro Ramonu.
Rudolf blinked for some time before looking around her surrounding, it's her old childhood house. She became confused for a moment before realising that she was dreaming. She looked at her body and found herself to be a child, further solidifying her thought that this was a dream.
"Yes?" Rudolf's lips moved on her own accord; she wasn't in control. 'A memory?' Rudolf thought.
Ramonu tugged Symboli Rudolf back to their backyard with an excited grin, "Come on! Run with me!" Rudolf could feel her younger self's emotions: confusion and dismay. Ramonu would always force Rudolf to race with her daily.
'I remember now. She was always happy when I raced with her, which is one of the reasons why I took up the mantle of the Emperor.' Rudolf blinked and the scene before her changed.
Sirius Symboli was now in front of her, shouting angrily with tears falling.
They had finished racing each other at the Symboli household track.
"Why did you change?! Where is the old you? Where is the real Symboli Rudolf?!" Sirius yelled at Rudolf. They were both 10 years old at that point.
Sirius learned Rudolf took on the mantle of an Emperor, and her way of running was no longer the same style Sirius and Ramonu used to love. They missed the old Rudolf, but this is the real Rudolf. She is the Emperor and Symboli Rudolf at the same time.
"Who are you even running for?!"
Sirius panted as 'Rudolf' responded, "Isn't it obvious? I run for everybody's happiness." Her tone was cold and strict.
"Ramonu, think of me as a perfect and flawless moon... You think of me as your goal to overcome. So, I will run for the happiness of all Uma Musume and their goal to overcome. For that, they need an icon. A leader. An Emperor,"
Rudolf spread her arms outward, coldly gazing at her. "That is me."
Sirius's lips quivered, "Your fangs became dulled... Rudolf." Her fingers curled into her palm to the point of bleeding. "I will overcome you. Rudolf, I will overshadow your every achievement. I will make everyone forget about you!" She spat angrily at her; her intense and overwhelming obsession had grown out of her.
She will ruin Rudolf's reason for existing.
The young Rudolf smirked, "I'll be looking forward to it."
Rudolf gazed at her younger self and at Sirius, feeling a slight pang in her chest. What does it mean to become an emperor? She questioned herself before answering.
"To bring happiness to those who are unable to run. To carry their burden and defeat all others." She said, as the scene flashed forward; now she is facing her younger version.
She observed her younger version, noticing a determined look on her face.
The young Rudolf said, "But why?"
Rudolf responded, "That is my purpose of existing, my reason for running."
Her younger counterpart tilted her head, "Even if it brings you regret?"
"That is also my burden; one cannot become an emperor without any regret." She said with a solemn tone, "Only I can carry this burden; nobody else."
The young Rudolf turned her head to the right. "Then I hope we don't break underneath the burden."
"We won't."
"..." The younger Rudolf stayed silent before nodding, then she ran off to her track.
Her eyes opened as she woke up, staring at the ceiling she was familiar with. She sat up and subconsciously turned her head toward Echo's direction, finding her still asleep and snuggled up comfortably on her bed.
"Rudolf Reindeer..." Echo mumbled in her sleep, her tail twitching before she started chewing on her pillow.
A soft smile appeared on her face before she silently got up from the bed. Today is the last race of this year.
The Arima Kinen.
---
December 23rd, 1984.
To enter the Arima Kinen, one needs an outrageous amount of fans, and those who voted for her. Among the sixty thousand people in the stadium, most have voted for her as the favourite.
They are expecting her to win, expecting her to be the first.
She stood in the Nakayama paddock, the tension and pressure easily shrugged off by Rudolf, as she closed her eyes. To be an emperor meant not holding back. No politeness, no holding back.
She mustn't resist the weight of the crown; she will run with the burden on her shoulder. How strange; she felt freer once she stopped resisting her crown. Once she truly accepted that she was the Emperor, both outside and inside. She doubts she could ever return to how she used to be before her emperor persona.
Rudolf had given up trying to be careful about it.
She looked at the stands, not really looking for any particular face. Sixty thousand people. Her name can be heard from countless others' lips before the gates had opened. She simply looked at them before she turned and walked to her gate without an acknowledgement to them.
Gate 3, she stepped in as the bars closed around her.
She got into her running position and went absolutely still, no jitter, no twitches. Just like a statue, gaze forward.
2500m long, the air will be cold, her skin will sting from the temperature, but it doesn't matter. No matter in any environment or weather, she will not lose. Not now, not ever.
The answer was always the same: she will dominate all.
...
The signal fired.
She went to fourth in the opening seconds. She will not waste her energy duelling for the front. An emperor did not need to spend carelessly. Her arms low and her stride long, feeling the field arrange itself around her. They are fighting for position, burning their determination and fighting spirit into the turf.
There is no need for an emperor to compete, so she lets them.
400 meters in. She had entered the [Flow]; usually, she would always enter the Flow at a late stage or not. But the reason she can enter now is that Symboli Rudolf is undergoing an evolution. Will she be able to evolve truly as an emperor, or crumble away from the crown?
800 meters in. She can feel the air warping around her; the crowd from the spectator seats slowly fizzled out as Rudolf gazes ahead. At this moment, she can see everything. The minuscule changes in the runner's speed, their stride, their breathing, the angle of their arms. Everything.
Because the Emperor knew everything that was happening on the track.
She smoothly moved to third. There wasn't any burst of speed, nothing. By the time the runner she had passed noticed what had happened, Rudolf was already gone.
'Ahhh,' she thought, 'this is what the year was for.'
Not for the Triple Crown. Not for the Japan Cup. This race serves as a validation of who she will be in the future.
She had been built for this.
She had built herself for this.
She was born to dominate all on the track.
1200 meters in. Halfway on the track, Rudolf moved to second at that exact moment between one stride and the next.
1500 meters in, she approaches the back straight. Smoothly stealing from the forest. Now in 1st place.
The runner who had been leading gritted and tried to duel Rudolf; however. 'What made you think you are allowed to duel me, the Emperor?'
She thought as she sped up ahead, causing the crowd's sound to be excited. The runners behind her felt something instinctually.
This race was over. They simply were unworthy to confront the Emperor.
Even though the race technically isn't over, with still 1000 meters remaining. As long as Symboli Rudolf doesn't have an accident, she won't lose her spot.
So she ran.
The last corner arrived, and she took it without a thought. She can feel herself in perfect condition; she can feel herself evolving into something else. Her challengers aren't worthy of surpassing her.
1900 meters in, she can feel the runners behind her trying. The pressure of seventeen intense fighting spirits aimed at her back, their entire efforts and hard work for this moment. But she does not feel threatened.
'Give it your all, and lose graciously against me. I shall remember your attempt, and your faces.'
She did not lengthen her stride, nor surge forward.
She also did not slow down.
2300 meters in.
The crowd became louder; the ground shook, but she paid no attention.
2400 meters in.
Her mind became strangely clear as if she wasn't in the [Flow]. 'Oh, I see. The world is celebrating my evolution; this is a ceremony for my becoming as the Emperor...'
Before she knew it, the finish line was crossed beneath her.
Her momentum continued, carrying her onward on the track until she slowed down. Stopping to breathe and look at the turf beneath her hooves for a moment. Then she straightened.
She turned and spotted Katsuragi Ace crossing the finish line after her. Then Mr C.B. coming in 3rd. Gold Way managed to become fourth. She watched them cross, one by one.
Then she lifted her gaze to the stands.
Sixty thousand people.
She could feel the weight of their gaze, their expectations, their excitement. This is the burden she had chosen to carry: the responsibility, the obligation. The people who could not run.
'This is my era, and I have never lost once,' Rudolf thought, not a boast, not a pride either. It's a simple recognition of a fact about herself that had been forming the entire year. It is simply the truth. This is arrogance that nobody can refute.
This is Symboli Rudolf.
She raised one hand. Fist in the air slowly. This is a gesture of someone who has fully become the Emperor; she will no longer decide otherwise.
The crowd erupted in excitement, and Rudolf held the gesture, feeling the noise pour over her. She wondered of Sirius Symboli, 'Is she watching me abroad? Through the TV? Will you be able to overshadow me?'
'Come then, better start soon. Otherwise, the Emperor will be remembered throughout history,' she chuckled inwardly.
One hand still raised, chin still up, she slowly turned toward the fence, and she easily found Echo Eclipse without a need to search for her. Both arms in the air, laughing happily with the same wide smile, waving at Rudolf. Completely unbothered by her evolution as the Emperor, she was simply happy for Rudolf.
Rudolf held the gesture one moment longer before lowering her hand.
Allowing the corner of her mouth to curl up in private.
The Emperor must shoulder the burden on their shoulder in solitude, but there is one exception to that rule.
And she intended to keep it that way.