I find myself sitting down on the bed I woke up on. It seems to resist being pushed into the ground below. Unlike any bed I have ever tried before, it is as it fights against my weight. I stare down to the tiled floor below. Across from me the small girl with peach hair smiles widely at me, her wide brim hat still has the sleeping cat on it. Do these two not question how odd it balances while snoozing?

  Tazuna takes a sigh of relief, seemingly happy that I am back where I started. “Director, so I managed to get her back down. It seems that she might have some delirium.”

  The young looking girl shoots up. “Hm! Intriguing!” She opens her fan, and I see the same word, “intriguing” seems painted on it. “What’s your name?”

  I stand up and try to do the salute of my kingdom, only to find my chest now gets in the way. “ComMAA-” I pause, my voice comes out much higher pitched from the unknown sensitivities as my face burns. I quickly compose myself. “Commander Aven, 1st rank Cavalier Commander of the Efline Brigaiders.” I pause, before sitting back down, I feel my ears naturally lean back against my hair, disobeying any orders I try to give them. My voice is much different now that my heart isn’t pounding louder than it.

  The two seem to stare at me as if I had stated something odd.

  Tazuna clears her throat before calmly mumbling. “Director, that seems to be a formal military introduction.”

  “Ohhh!” The small woman snaps her fan open a little wider. “A commander! How interesting!”

  Tazuna’s eyes widen, whispering to the young girl. “But, Director Yayoi, she claims she’s a cavalry commander? Umamusume haven’t been conscripted in such a way in over a century!”

  “Yes!” Yayoi snaps her fan shut and uses it to point at me. “But an Umamusume doesn’t just appear in a flash of light out of nowhere either! So who knows!” She jumps back on the bed across from me, legs swinging back and forth.

  I pause, looking at the two’s different reactions, before rubbing my head. “Okay, I need a lot of explanations, but firstly...” I look to Tazuna, the calmwoman with a decent head on her shoulders. “You’re telling me that, she-” I point directly to Yayoi. “Is your superior officer?” I frown, looking to Tazuna, then back to Yayoi, noticing the easily noticeable height difference. “Is she not just a young child? Does she have noble blood, rank, are you in charge of caring for her?”

  The two stare at me silently. Yayoi blinks once, twice. “...Eh?” She tilts her head, as if the idea of what I had brought up was nonsensical.

  Tazuna closes her eyes and exhales with her nose, a smile forming. “No. Director Yayoi Akikawa is not under my guardianship.” Her back straightens as she relaxes slightly. “She is the director of Tracen Academy, my superior. I choose to work for her.”

  Yayoi, as if finally catching up to my statement, chooses to straighten her posture abruptly. “That’s right!” She declares, puffing out her chest. “I’m the ‘superior office’ here.” A sense of pride in her voice.

  Yayoi jumps down from the bed, which makes her look even shorter. “I was appointed director here because I care about umamusume so, so much! Age has nothing to do with it!” She folds her arms proudly.”

  Being used to these types around my world. I make sure to ask the next very important question. “Who was the previous director?” I prod. Trying not to sound accusatory, if she is some noble, I don’t want to get on her bad side.

  “Why, it was my mother!” The short girl smiles.

  Right, typical monarch type transfer system, normally the charge would be given to Tazuna until the young one grows into a more appropriate age. But that can also create power struggles, so it makes sense-

  “Anyway,” Tazuna interrupts my thoughts. “Back to the subject, you claim to be a cavalry commander?”

  “Well…” I avert my eyes slightly. “I… well I was. But.” I sigh. It’s a long story, and I’m still… concerned about aspects, myself.” I reach my hands up, feeling the horse ears on my own head, they are sensitive, twitching slightly as I touch them.

  Yayoi doesn’t speak, but she studies me, seemingly having more knowledge than I gave her credit for moments ago. “You know, most umamusume don’t introduce themselves with ranks.” She looks at me with a smile that screams curiosity. “They also normally don’t appear in a flash of light, immediately run to the roof shouting to the sky, or use ‘hoarse’ when describing their own ears!” Her fan shuts as she points it to me. “I don’t think you’re pretending!” She is pacing around the space between the beds. “As director of Tracen Academy it is my job to ensure safety for all umamusume! Including you!”

  I raise my hand slightly, feeling like I’m back in combat basics.

  “Yes! You have a question.” She smiles as she points to me.

  I nod. “Yes, you two keep using the word, ‘umamusume’ to describe me. Is that the term for ‘beastkin’ around here?” I rub my ears slightly. “Because I have horse ears, what appears to be a horse tail, but otherwise, I am human.”

  “Beast… kin?” Yayoi repeats softly. She glances at Tazuna then back to me. “Umamusume aren’t parts. It is just what you are.”

  Tazuna speaks up, also curious. “When you say horse, you don’t mean… your voice is hoarse right?”

  I shake my head, a bit in awe at this confusion. “No. You… you really don’t know what a horse is? The animal that humans ride to move around?”

  I can see Tazuna thinking hard about it. “An animal… that humans ride?” She suddenly perks up and pulls out a thin black slab. Her thumbs fiddle with it, before she turns it to me. Behind a window on it is a picture of a camel. “Humans ride camels sometimes, is this the kind of animal you mean?”

  I pause, eyes widen, I’m happy we have a point of comparison, but I have a much bigger question! “How in the goddess name did you trap a camel in that slab?!”

  The two pause, sharing a glance with each other, then slowly look back to me.

  “Trap?” Tazuna repeats. “It’s not… the camel is just an image. I looked it up quickly.”

  “An image…? Like… a painting?” I try to peek at the slab’s surface. “How can someone paint something that realistic? And… why do you carry around a small slab that has a painting of a camel on it?” I mumble, as why she happens to have that on her is confusing in itself!

  Tazuna looks back at the director before glancing back at me. “Yes, like a painting, but…” She pauses. “Okay, we’ll cover that later, but, you recognized the camel? Is that a horse where you come from?”

  I sigh, choosing to drop the subject for now, and continue back to horses. “Sort of, a horse is like a camel, but for every terrain other than sand and deserts.” I perk up, if they have camels, then they may have other animals closer. “Okay, you know… a mule right? A donkey? An ass?”

  I notice Tazuna’s eyes widen slightly as she fidgets about the last synonym, but I ignore it.

  Yayoi opens her fan. “Yes! We do have donkeys!”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  I nod, swiftly using my hands to express size and scale. “Right, so, imagine a tall donkey that a human can ride on, about the same size as a camel. That is a horse!” I point to my ears and tail. “I have, horse parts!” My tail is nonstop whipping left and right, but it’s not following any commands I tell it. “So, you don’t have horses. But… humanoid creatures exist, that have these parts, and these parts are exclusive to it?” I take a large breath, as if finally catching everything. “So… no horses… but creatures called oom-ay-moose-oom-ee that are… humanoid horses.”

  Yayoi smiles. “Close enough!” She cheers, pointing at me. “Excellent deduction!”

  I let out a sigh of relief, finally feeling some sense of accomplishment.

  Tazuna pauses and looks at me. “So, you really had no idea what an umamusume is? But, you are one.”

  I nod. “R-Right, but...” I pause for a moment before continuing. “I wasn’t. I WAS a cavalry commander for Efline Kingdom. I was a human! A MALE human!”

  Yayoi smiles, and unfurls her fan. “extraordinary” is written on the side facing me. Although it wasn’t there earlier? “That’s amazing!” She lets out, with enthusiasm matching her appearance.

  Tazuna doesn’t respond right away. She seems focused on something. I look to her. “Is this that hard to believe?”

  Tazuna covers her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. But with the way you are speaking. Everything has been past tense.”

  I pause, and look down at myself. “Right.”

  “Can you explain the last thing you remember before you ended up here?”

  “Right! Right!” Yayoi perks up, opening her fan. Her cat still sleeping and balanced on her hat. (I’ve given up on that point.) “Do you know what could have brought you here?”

  I pause and let out a deep sigh. “Well. I’m fairly certain I died.” I mumble out, quieter. “I was ambushed, squad was routed. My horse…” I feel tears well in my eyes as I try to fight them down. “Archibald, my horse, he… he refused to leave me. And I was already bleeding out. I tried… I tried to get him to leave, save himself.” It’s as if the pain of separation from him had suddenly hit me, tears began to flow down my cheeks, no matter how much I tried to fight them. “He… refused, we couldn’t communicate, but I recognized in his eyes. He wanted to go out the same way I had to. I forced myself back on his saddle. And…” My voice cracks, as I cover it and turn my head.

  The two stand in silence for a moment as I try to wipe my tears on my tunic. “I’m… I’m sorry. I-I swear… I never… this isn’t normal.”

  Tazuna is the first to move, she brings me a soft white cloth. “I believe you.” She says, no hesitation in her voice. “This isn’t some fantasy. You are recounting a traumatic memory.” She looks at me with a serious frown.

  I feel Yayoi’s eyes watch me in silence, her cheerful demeanor seems to be gone for now, as if feeling the same pain I feel.

  Tazuna continues. “And Archibald, that’s the name you said on the roof.”

  I pause, as I let the cloth soak up my tears. “Right… right.” I mumble. “Sorry.” I close my eyes, trying to remember it. “After, I was… gone. I found myself in the sky? But I had no body. Three women spoke to me, and looking back on it. When I was able to peer at their silhouettes, they had the horse… uma-moose-oomee ears.”

  As I say this the small director jumps up. “THE THREE GODDESSES!” She gasps, I quickly open my eyes to look to her, seeing her fan is open with “extraordinary” showing again.

  "Three Goddesses?" I ask. Her eyes practically sparkle as even the cat on her head shows signs of waking at her outburst.

  “You saw them?!” Yayoi asks. “The Three Goddesses are said to guide and protect all umamusume!” She jumps closer to me.

  “I-I…” I scratch my cheek slightly, not expecting this level of excitement. “It’s hard to explain, I didn’t… really have a body, I sensed them? As if it was a vision. They… well, they praised me. Told me thanks to my uma’s loyalty I am here. Saying that I will meet my uma again…” I pause, realizing something. “My uma…” I look at Yayoi and Tazuna. “But… wait, so, horses don’t exist here, and umamusume didn’t exist back in my world… So could they have been referring to… Archibald?”

  Tazuna pauses, her finger to her chin. “It’s possible? Did anything else happen?”

  I pause. “There was a sudden flash of light, then… all my strength was gone, and I found myself on my legs, but unable to keep myself standing.”

  “Hm, hm!” Yayoi smiles, pointing her fan at me. “And that’s when you came into my office!”

  I sigh and nod. “I think so… There were three figures in front of me and someone caught me.”

  “That confirms it!” That happened yesterday!” Yayoi’s fan folds shut as she folds her arms proudly.

  “Yes, but… When I was out… I had another vision.” I let out a deep breath. “The three figures, those goddesses. Were talking to this black… mass, and I’m certain that was Archibald. He spoke in a way I could actually understand him. But spoke of me taking care of him when he was a foal.” I reestablish eye contact with the two women. “A foal is, well, a baby horse. He argued with the goddesses how he couldn’t be reincarnated without me…” I sigh placing my face in my hands. “Stubborn mule… Even beyond death he insists on going out on his terms.”

  “He argued with them?” Yayoi repeats softly, shaking her head. “That does sound like a stubborn mule. Even the three goddesses couldn’t convince him to go alone.”

  Tazuna eyes fill with realization. “So that’s why you reacted the way you did when you woke up! You had a dream of your ‘horse’ refusing to leave you behind, even after death. It makes a bit more sense now why you were so desperate.”

  Yayoi continues, excitement filling her voice. “But, I noticed something!” She points her fan at me again, a proud smile adorning her face. “Early you said that the goddesses said it is thanks to your uma’s loyalty you are here. But in your later vision, you see your ‘uma’ is arguing with them. Who’s to say the latter vision didn’t happen first?” She unfurls her fan, fanning herself with a proud smile.

  I pause, eyes widening in realization. “Wait… If… if…” That makes sense, I don’t know how time work for goddesses, but if they claimed that their offer only stood for umas… I shouldn’t have been brought here without Archibald’s insistence. I let out a huge sigh of relief and turn to the director. “Sorry for questioning your authority earlier…” I mutter. “Clearly you have a good head on her shoulders. Ugh.” I lay my back down covering my face. “I feel like an idiot.”

  Tazuna is holding her hands out, trying to comfort me. “It’s not your fault! If everything you say is true, you JUST died, turned into an umamusume, and needed half a full day of rest to recover! It makes sense you would be stressed!”

  There’s a knock on the door, getting everyone’s heads to turn towards it. A voice speaks out. “Director Yayoi, it’s the student council president, may I come in?”

  The director practically skips to the door, opening it. “Ah! Symboli Rudolf!” She says, as a young woman walks in. The woman has dark brown bangs with a white streak in it, her horse ears and the hair behind her are light brown. She wears a light blue garment with a ribbon in the front, with a white skirt. I can see her tail following behind her as she moves.

  “I heard the unknown umamusume is awake.” She says.

  “Heard?” Tazuna asks.

  “There was a commotion of an uma running past students on the stairs, with you following her.” She responds directly.

  “Oh! R-Right!” Tazuna nods. “Yes, there was an incident, but things are mostly calm now.”

  I stare at the umamusume. The first time I actually am able to lay focused eyes on one. Her tail naturally flicks back every few seconds, reminding me of my time in the stable. It is odd, seeing one move so naturally, it’s… a lot to take in.

  Yayoi closes the door behind Rudolf. “So, this is a very amazing situation!” Yayoi says as she opens her fan. “Not only was this girl not an uma, she has seen the three goddesses herself!”

  Tazuna steps forward, ready to collaborate on the director’s story. “Please understand, this isn’t hearsay or a rumor. You saw it yourself, she appeared in the flash of light. Her account does match up with the flash when she appeared. She also shows prior trauma to her arrival at Tracen.

  Symboli Rudolf simply nods. “I trust you two. If it’s what you say. I have no reason to doubt.” She focuses on me as she approaches.

  I stare closely at her ears, watching the way they situate themselves. Part of me is tempted to scratch behind them. As the horses back at the stable loved that. But, I have a feeling it wouldn’t be right to do so in this situation.

  Rudolf looks at me calmly. “It is said that Umamusume inherit their names from other worlds. What is yours?”

  I pause, something about her feels regal, I try my best to regain my composure. “I…” I quickly stand, doing the Elfine salute (being careful around my chest this time around). “Commander Aven, 1st rank Cavalier Commander of the Efline Brigaiders.” I pause for a moment before muttering, “Former…” I then sit back down. “I appear to be a beas- er, Um, an uma-moose-oomee.” I sigh. “To catch you up, it seems I died, and was transformed into this after being brought here.”

  As they sit with that response, my mind goes to Archibald. This causes my worry to flare up again. “I need to find Archibald.” I say, standing. “Thank you for keeping an eye on me while I slept. I’m sorry for any commotion I caused.” I look at both the director and Tazuna. “I should… focus on finding the reincarnation of my horse.” I begin to step forward, only to have Yayoi quickly step in front of me.

  Her fan snaps shut before she points it at me. “Not so fast! As an umamusume who is present in Tracen Academy. It’s my job, as director, to make sure your needs are met to the fullest! You can't hunt for Archibald, your ‘horse,’ alone!”

  The way she adds “horse” helps me feel more… supported. Despite not knowing what they were an hour ago, she seems serious.

  Yayoi folds her arms. “Tracen has connections, and as the first human to become an umamusume, it is very important we help you adapt to your newfound power. While using our resources to help in the search for this ‘Archibald’ we hope to reunite you with!”

  “Besides.” Tazuna steps forward. “You don’t seem… ready to take on the world yet.” She pulls out her black slab, showing it to me. I notice something jarring.

  “WAIT. WHERE DID THE PICTURE OF THE CAMEL GO?!” I let out, looking at it, noticing it’s gone, only black glass reflecting outward. “D-Do you have two of those?!”

  Yayoi can’t help but chuckle, opening her fan back up as she fans herself. “Point proven!”

  Rudolf walks into my view, her gaze discerning. “If you’re looking to be reunited with someone and you don’t know where they are. I have advice for you.” Her look turns intense. “Run.”

  I pause, trying to comprehend the meaning. She said it in an intense manner. But it doesn’t mesh with what the others seem to be trying to convince me of. It feels, she feels it was meant to be prolific. “Is that… a threat…?” I ask, an eyebrow raised.

  Rudolf pauses, before a smirk grows on her face. “Right. Sorry, I’m used to talking to umamusume with their natural instincts.” She nods, folding her arms, seeming to want to redo that. “What I mean to say is, race.”

  “Race…?” I pause. “Race like… outrace the enemy and flank them?”

  Yayoi lets out a small sigh. “No.” She places her hands on her hips. “What umamusume are born to do! Run in races! That’s what the Pretty Derby is all about!”

  I stare at the small director, blinking, absolutely clueless. “Pretty Derby…?”

  “All in due time!” She says, seemingly pocketing a piece of parchment. “But if we want you to be ready for the races! Then you must be ready for modern day Japan!” She says, pointing her fan towards me. “Your first steps as an umamusume begin now!”