//------------------------------// // 3 - Meeting the Competition // Story: Dawn the Derby Horse // by Meadow_Dawn //------------------------------// Dawn eventually fell asleep fitfully, keeping herself alert in case someone were to drop by and discover a strange creature in the stables. It was early morning when her ears alerted her to the sound of a distant motor and swiftly began to use her now less-aching magic to go back to her disguise. She heard the motor rev immediately after and quick footsteps were rushing into the stable. ‘Dammit, guess the fire is visible through some of the windows up there.’ Dawn mentally complained. The footsteps slowed as they grew closer, revealing Erin looking on with worry before saying, “That’s weird… I swear I saw a light in here. You ok girl?” Dawn acted like she was still mostly asleep, not that it was terribly hard. Erin approached the horse, amused that they were laying down and had not yet gotten up yet. Horses couldn’t do much in hostile situations other than run and took time to get up, so a horse who would lay down in your presence trusted you a great deal. She smiled, pulling out her phone and took a picture without flash before slipping the phone back into her pocket. “Come on, let’s get you up and groomed and get to the fields. Time to meet some other horses.” ‘Wait, you’re seriously taking a horse you’ve barely known for four days out to meet other horses than the ones I’ve already met?’ Dawn thought, ‘Considering how skittish the other horses were here around me, and still are, that can’t be a good idea…’ Despite how bad an idea it might have been to Dawn, Erin once again set up Dawn for travel and she drove the family pickup, this time taking a good twenty five minutes to get to their destination. ‘So where are we now?’ Dawn thought as they finally slowed to a stop. Erin got out of the truck, closing the door behind her before going somewhere that wasn’t the trailer, leaving dawn to poke her head closer to the ‘window’ holes in the trailer and saw a multi-story stadium about half a mile away. ‘That’s strange, why would we be taken to the stadiums to meet other horses when they probably wouldn’t want them in use except for the races?’ Dawn thought. ‘Then again, maybe it’s off season or something? I won’t know anything just wondering here though.’ The truck started again and the sound of gates rolling away seemed to reach her ears before they moved another small ways and then came to a stop again. Dawn could hear the truck door closing and the sound of footsteps going around the trailer. Wherever they were, she’d find out soon enough. “Hey girl, let’s get you suited up and outta here.” Erin said reassuringly. Dawn stayed put. A half hour was hardly any issue, if still boring, another few minutes for her to get the saddle and harness on wasn’t anything to worry about. Erin grinned, but little things like accidentally fumbling with a strap made Dawn wonder if she was nervous. Dawn twisted her head to bump Erin gently, a reminder of their partnership and an early movement to bond further so if she did need more love energy, she could gather some. “I’m ok girl, really.” Erin said with a weak chuckle, “Just got some time trials and mock runs with some other girls that come here. You’ll smoke ‘em.” Dawn simply rubbed her nose down their arm as a subtle way of confirming that she would. She had a bad feeling about this, and wondered if these other girls might not be friendly. Dawn was backed up out of the trailer once again and another truck pulled into a small gravel trail that led from a small parking lot to the greens of a track. Erin tried to ignore the truck, but Dawn turned her head to look. A vivid red truck hauled a way-too-pristine painted horse trailer, pulling nearby until an overly dressed male got out of the driver side while a pair of girls got out of the passenger side. Dawn could see one of the girls dressed in racing gear and the other in more casual attire, presumably the one who actually cared for the animal since these two exuded an air of ‘I’m too rich to do that myself’ vibe about them. Dawn snorted and looked away as she heard an annoying voice say, “What do you think you’re doing, entering that into the time trials? I can’t believe you don’t have the money to get a better truck but can waste it on dying your excuse of a horse!” ‘Oh I can tell I’m going to like her.’ Dawn thought, ‘A freaking Veruca right here.’ “Some of us don’t believe in throwing out something that works just fine just because it’s ‘newer.’” Erin said, trying to ignore them and walk Dawn over to the hitching posts so that she could park the truck. "You keep telling yourself that. It’s good advice some of the time." the father said, dressed in a crisp business suit with an ugly navy blue color and some kind of insignia on the lapel that Dawn couldn’t recognize. Dawn rolled her eyes and stayed by the hitching post as her reigns were tied there. Erin walked to her truck and ‘thought out loud’ as she did so, “You keep telling yourself that when we smoke your overpaid excuse of a horse.” Any retort was lost in her truck’s engine starting and her driving off to park the truck in the designated pull through zone. Dawn watched as the dad and daughter turned their attention to her and approached, clearly trying to assess her. “She really thinks this can win? Hah!” the Veruca tried to say, raising her nose at Dawn, ignoring how the mare was staring her down aggressively. “I doubt the paint has dried enough!” “I don’t understand why she would bother dying it.” The father said, being more critical, “wasting money to make it seem like a horse of a different color? … What possible advantage could that even give? She would only stand out and be easier to block.” “It won’t do her any good if she’s at the back of the pack anyway father.” The child countered, reaching her hand to touch Dawn’s shoulder to prove the ‘paint’ theory she had. Dawn swiftly moved her muzzle to block and bat away the hand, snorting at them and watching them closely. “You ugly brute, how dare you!” she responded, reaching back with her hand raising as if to slap Dawn when her father grabbed her wrist. “Veronica… I have told you before, no lashing out in anger. It’s a fast track to waste business opportunities.” The father said. ‘So you don’t give a damn about proper social behavior and cooperation because it could benefit everyone involved, you give a damn only if it affects your wallet.’ Dawn thought, now feeling committed to showing them up, ‘Good to know. I’m agreeing with Erin, we are smoking your asses.’ Erin came back a half minute later, the father being too close to her horse for no clear reason as Veronica pouted hautily by her own horse. She had a bad feeling about the situation and ran forward. “Hey! What are you doing with my horse?” She yelled out, closing the gap quickly. The father simply folded up a hankerchief, ignoring the mare’s aggressive posture toward him and snorting as he put it back into his pocket, “I was merely testing if the color was natural or dyed, nothing outlandish after seeing her.” “Don’t you have some business meeting or a golf course to go to?” Erin asked as she took the harness and held it tightly so she could help control Dawn. She could tell Dawn was agitated and didn’t want anything to do with this pair, and Erin trusted animal instincts. They far too often could tell the intent behind human behavior, a skill she believed humans mostly lost and buried under their desires for advanced technology. “Later today. I set aside this morning’s schedule to watch how well my Veronica has done with her lessons.” He said with a practiced smile, “As any parent would want to cheer on their child after all.” “Fine. See you in the stands.” Erin said, knowing quite well only the most hardcore of horse race enthusiasts or the racer’s families were going to be in the stands for this event. She had paid for their entrance fees and this trial, but every person in the stands helped keep it lower than it could be and kept the place going in its off season. Dawn watched as two others came while Erin took her harness and led Dawn to the registry area. Erin seemed to focus only on getting their time trial runs going as soon as possible, leading Dawn to wonder just how badly they didn’t get along. Dawn could see an elaborate setup for the gates, as well as numerous cameras posted at the desired finish line. There were about fifty people in the stands, looking over the horses in the distance while the single camera operator managed the central platform camera with his crewmate operating his extended stand. A bag was near him with a waterbottle in a side pocket, and made her think he most likely was prepared to be up there for most of his time, shy of any breaks he got to have. A sign warned that they were ‘training’ and to leave them alone. Dawn heard a buzzing sound and in another area of the stands, it appeared there was another pair of crewmembers calibrating a drone with a camera on the underside and she considered her options once again. ‘So, you wanted to blend in and failed, becoming a girl’s favorite horse and are being entered in the races… at this point, best choice is to continue to stand out, become a fan favorite, and use this as an easier way of notifying the EDF of where I am when they come along and get wind of the news. It goes against some lessons, but general low key survival isn’t always possible, so garnering attention and favor is better here… hopefully.’ Erin worked with an employee who was at a table and filled out some forms, and from what Dawn could read, it was information about them both. They finished the papers, and then Dawn was taken to a sheltered area where they seemed to note her height and weight, the worker asking about Dawn and her colors and so on, while Erin seemed to only answer some of the questions and listed Dawn as a thoroughbred horse like the others her family had, just with a surprise coloration. ‘Seems like she’s eager to keep me as a partial surprise.’ Dawn snorted, ‘I expected as much. It’d be poor press if she explained we only met under a week ago. I wonder if her dad knew this was happening or not. Erin has to be rushing this since he said we had two months, though the real question is for what reason.’ After some close inspections, some closer than others and much to Dawn’s annoyance, they were taken to the track to do their first recorded time trials. Erin received an explanation how they would go through a round separately, then have two more after the other seven had gone, and after three time trial runs, the average will go on their records and they will have a mock combined race that will have no impact to their records beyond having predictions of who might be favored for certain races. Erin had mounted Dawn and Dawn felt her now familiar pre-competition rush which she tried to keep in check. They walked into dark grey painted metal cages that held the horses in place until the race would start, and they both seemed to take a deep breath and let it out at the same time. “Heh, you nervous too girl? Come on, let’s get our nerves out and hit this track running… you ready?” ‘Damn right. Let’s get some attention.’ Dawn thought back as she turned back toward Erin before she saw the light signals turn on and focused forward, adopting a ready stance. After the long-yet-short time waiting for the gate to turn, Dawn heard the buzz and the gate opened. Dawn was on the heels of the metal gate, almost banging Erin’s legs into them in the process. Dawn rushed down the dirt track, tearing up parts of it as she pushed herself to run, even as she saved her best efforts for later. Erin could hear the quiet cheering of some of the crowd as the timer kept track of their progress, listing each furlong’s time as the overall timer ticked on. A brief glance told her some phones were out, recording them. She figured it had to do with Dawn being a new color at first, but according to the board, they had another reason to record this racing duo. Dawn ignored the cheering, settling in to her gait as she rushed along the track, enjoying the feel of the wind in her face and playing with her mane behind her. She was definitely going a little faster than before, that much she was sure of, but she wasn’t about to give her best time until the final one, or maybe in the mock race. They rushed along and before Dawn knew it, they crossed the finish line and their time was logged. The enthusiasts were excited, even as Dawn took a slowed trot back across the front of the crowd, making sure she was easily seen, not that Erin minded. Erin finally turned to look at the board and was surprised. Dawn had an average of 15 to 16 seconds for each furlong, and had a final race time of 2 minutes and 1.2 seconds. It was only two seconds slower than the record! “Dang girl! Trying to break the record already?” Erin said happily, “Let’s see how the spoiled brats take that news!” The father of Veronica applauded politely having a look on his face he only got when he saw a profound business opportunity. Dawn didn’t need her ability to taste emotions to tell he wasn’t angry, or that he was up to something. She trotted back to the starting position exit as they were instructed and Veronica was acting unaffected. “Poor thing, I bet they felt sorry for her and tweaked the times in her favor.” She said to her friends, who tittered in agreement. “Poor thing,” Erin started to say to Dawn, rubbing her neck to cover for her retort, “So insecure despite all the things money can buy… you’d almost think they’re compensating for something.” Erin ignored the gasps as they walked on, Dawn going to the further part of the waiting area as Veronica moved into position and her race started despite her wish to throw another jab. Dawn could better understand what was going on here. Much like home, assuming this wasn’t home anyway, horse racing seemed to be a passionate hobby for those who needed to have horses for their living as is, or for the stereotypically rich. The spectators were probably going to be of all sorts from the ones she saw in the stands, like most sports, but the participants generally had good funding and sponsoring of some sort. The others went through their races, somehow being proud of their two minutes and twenty five second times on average, then they raced another round. Like before, Dawn was close to two minutes, while the others trailed behind. Erin was confident now, and kept an eye on the others as they huddled together. “Get a good look Dawn,” Erin said quietly waiting for their third time trial, “That’s what arrogance without anything backing it looks like… probably trying to figure out a way to beat us in the race now that they know you’re no fluke… you won’t let me down, will ya girl?” Dawn gave a small shake of her head and neck, acting like she was just itchy and received a scratch on her right side, hearing, “Yeah, didn’t think so.” ‘I can’t tell if this girl is calling my bluff, or genuinely reads too much into my behavior.’ Dawn thought before they were called to perform again. She had a surprise for the upstarts, that’s for sure. They went to do their third time trial, and Dawn kept a close eye on the time, pacing herself for the desired end result. The small crowd that was present cheered her on, and even more so as they realized what they were up to. Dawn finished with a time almost exactly 2 minutes long, 1:59.9. After the cheering went down and Erin and Dawn soaked in the cheering, murmurs began seeding the small crowd about how it was only half a second away from the track records. When they got back to the waiting area, they were approached by a well-tanned girl with almost bleached blond-white hair that Erin recognized as one of Veronica’s henchmen. “Good job on your time trials.” She said, pulling out an apple that seemed to have a pierced skin on it. “Thanks.” Erin said cooly, trying to use the harness to pull Dawn’s head away, not wanting her to get hurt or poisoned. Dawn had other ideas. Overpowering the harness, despite Erin’s fears, she moved her head closer, inspecting the apple. Sniffing it told her there wasn’t anything wrong, but there was piercing on the top and bottom of the apple. She suspected a blade or needle had been put in and so she used her head to butt the apple out of her grip, and proceeded to step on the apple carefully, revealing the contents. The blonde girl’s face almost seemed to get as white as her hair, looking down at the small box opener blade that had been shoved into the apple and partially revealed. “Looks like she doesn’t trust your gift either.” Erin said, then walked over to their usual spot to wait for the race. Dawn waited casually for the next race, trying to act normal by inspecting some of the longer grass by the post, aware that Erin was watching her closely after that display. The other girls left her alone at that point, finishing their runs and getting as low as two minutes and ten seconds. The one who had offered the apple still looked pale and to Dawn’s surprise, mildly ashamed. They were all assigned positions with all the statistics being recorded for their public records, sorted out by slowest horse recorded on the inside, with the fastest on the outside, to make things as fair as possible. Their race wouldn’t start for five minutes while small time bets could be set based on the figures given so far. Dawn was amused that few wanted to make any bets, since Dawn’s times were so good, they’d barely get more than their money back. No words were said once the girls were all put into their racing pens, Dawn on the outer most pen, closer to the middle, considering the number of horses a proper derby is supposed to accommodate. ‘All right, let’s give them what I can do.’ Dawn thought, ‘I’ll even stay on the outside unless they can keep up, just to give them a handicap.’ “Let’s get them good girl.” Erin said, just before the racers were given the signal they were about to start. Dawn watched, and no sooner than their light turned on and the gates opened enough she could avoid hurting Erin, she sprinted to the track. Dawn could notice the horses on her left, already a head behind her as she continued to run along the center of the track, reaching the same stride that she had before. Erin kept her head ducked down just barely above Dawn’s neck, letting the wind resistance be as low as possible. She tried to guide Dawn over to the left to save energy, feeling the mare push herself more than before. By the first furlong, they were already a horse and a half ahead of the others, yet Dawn wouldn’t turn in. “Come on girl, we got this, lean in more!” she insisted. ‘You want me to do my best? You do it my way.’ Dawn thought and continued to ignore the commands. Erin didn't complain, they were leaving the others in the dust, trying to spur their horses on to keep up, yet were losing ground. Dawn rushed on, hitting just under a minute at the halfway mark, causing the crowd to cheer in hopes that this’ll be the best race time out of the newcomer yet. Dawn left little room to doubt. She finished the race nearly fifteen seconds ahead of the rest, a furlong ahead of the others as she breathed a bit more heavily than she had before. It wasn’t the best she could put out, but it was close. The crowd gave polite cheering as the others finished their races, but most were talking about dawn, who began trotting around the track to lower her heartrate slowly till Erin turned her around, encouraging her to go slower. When Erin got back in sight of the timeboards, she was speechless… one minute fifty nine seconds even, beating the standing record for about fifty years on their first race against other horses. She couldn’t help letting out a happy squeal and a big hug around the neck of Dawn, who simply got her breathing under control and a mischievous glint in her eye. “I know that time isn’t official yet, but you did amazing girl!” Erin said enthusiastically. The organizers who had stayed to watch put together a small prize to hand off to the top three racers, a hundred dollars for first place, fifty for second, and twenty-five for third, but the other two simply scoffed at the prize and said it wasn’t worthwhile. The organizers frowned, and after a quick word, proceeded to give all of the prize money for their race to Erin, making the girls even more indignant that ‘their’ prize money went to Erin. “Best… day… ever.” Erin said with a wide grin, taking the prize money and seeing the faces of the stuck up pair of humans. The others left ahead of Erin, photographs being taken with the time visible in the pictures. Dawn habitually took up her regal public pose, trying to compliment her ‘rider.’ Several spectators were permitted to join the field and give Erin a handshake, mostly saying they look forward to her future racing career. ‘Funny how I did most of the work that got us that time, yet they congratulate her.’ Dawn thought to herself as she put her head closer to Erin’s own for the pictures, ‘Still, she’ll be the one helping me get seen by the EDF when they come around, so I suppose that will be fair pay.’ They were released to go back home about fifteen minutes later, but not before Victoria’s father approached. Erin was wary, suspecting nothing good was about to happen. “Congratulations Erim,” he said, offering his hand for a shake, “Quite the horse you have there.” “Thanks.” She said flatly, keeping only as much of a smile as she had to for the last pictures, thinking, ‘My name is Erin, not Erim.’ “Ah, sorry. You know… if she keeps that up for the rest of the season, I’d like to reach out to you on helping her have some of her skills carry on to the next generations of race horses.” It took every bit of self-control for Dawn to resist physically reacting, instead turning her head away toward the rest of the field like she observed the rest of the horses doing. She was glad to hear Erin’s reply, “She’s a very special horse, and I’m sure she knows how to find the right one to do that.” “Of course.” He said, “I simply like paying what extra is needed to ensure good results, it’s just good business to invest in good ideas.” “Of course.” Erin said, not bothering to point out she wouldn’t want to do business with him, even if he did have the next best race horse in the main derby and paid the usual breeding fees. “Well, good day Erim.” He said as he left the track, going to meet his pouting daughter. “It’s Erin.” Erin said, but not loudly enough to be caught by him. ‘Erim… Erim…’ Dawn thought, the name sounding more familiar, ‘Oh, right, the Sinistral of Death… How apt, though I doubt that’s connected. A mediocre to average jrpg game’s character sharing a name with someone in life isn’t that uncommon. I’d think only if it were intentional would it be an issue… or if that world was really a thing.’ “Come on Dawn, let’s get going.” Erin said as they walked along back to the truck, thinking of two things. The first was what part of her renaissance outfit this money would go toward, and the second was what her dad would say when he found out she didn’t just go to their practice track and wait like he wanted. Dawn got into the trailer, feeling mildly worn out and ready for a small break anyway. Erin got Dawn unsaddled and secured before driving Dawn home. The road home was a happy one, until she reached the driveway and saw her father with crossed arms in the way. “Uh oh…” Erin said, feeling herself shrink in her seat.