Dawn the Derby Horse

by Meadow_Dawn

8 - Junior Derby Championships

The fair came to a close and the pair went back home, exhausted but happy. Erin had a good time with her enactments and camping out, and Dawn finally had the full exercise she had needed that wasn’t just derby training.

Dawn spent the rest of the night recovering from her energy from spending so much time transformed, worried that she would be discovered. Thankfully, that fear never came to pass as she got time alone each night.

A month passed and the races began, Erin and Dawn continuing their strong performance with each bout as visitors came from neighboring cities, then states as Erin continued to climb the ladder with Dawn’s help. The two continued to spend time together in downtime to the point where Erin slept outside with Dawn on the cooler nights as the weather warmed again.

-----

Jarod Pepper didn’t give up on his project as the pair continued to advance in the races. His daughter didn’t make it far. Her lack of training and discipline was her undoing and he took away her allowance until she learned the meaning of hard work and planning like he had. It made him frustrated to see they only became more bratty and tried to go to her mom to get what she wanted. He would not be the one to spoil her further, even if his wife was too soft.

He looked over the various pictures of the horse and looked over to the lab testing that he could do now that he had the hair samples he needed. The labs were claiming the horse was a pony of some kind, yet wasn’t able to determine more specifics. All attempts to check on the chemical makeup of the mane and fur colors broke down, seeming to dissolve into bits of insect chitin. None of it made sense and the labs now wanted to have the horse even more so they could do more extensive tests. It defied everything they knew and that excited them somehow.

He continued to work his business, but he couldn’t let go of the idea that he could get this unique specimen and do something profitable with it. When his instinct kicked in, he wouldn’t let it rest. It was always right.

After the state competition for derby races completed and Erin and her horse progressed to the national junior races, he was being driven mad with all his offers and ideas failing. He had put off business lunches with key people until he no longer could, leading him to the current discussion with his less than savory but very loyal businessman friend once again.

“Jarod, you’ve been staring off into space this whole time.” The muscular, slightly heavyset Italian man said with hardly any accent. “What’s bothering you?”

“Oh, sorry, just another business venture that’s giving me trouble.” Jarod said dismissively, taking a sip of his red wine to go with his pasta dish.

“Oh? What is it?” He asked, interested and with a glint in his eye that Jarod knew all too well.

“It’s nothing. Nothing I should get others involved in.” Jarod insisted.

“Come on Jarod, you helped me get my businesses off the ground and we’ve been successful ever since that boost. What is it? Maybe me and my boys can do something about this.”

“Frank, we don’t need you acting like you’re a mafia boss on this.” Jarod chuckled, then sighed after a minute, his friend staying undeterred. His friend knew him too well after all this time. “Ok, there’s this horse.”

“Jarod… I know you’ve been busy, but surely there’s better ways to relieve stress.” Frank answered mischievously.

“Frank, no! Ew.” Jarod winced, “No, you know I have a side business in the derby races.”

“Right. Not my thing, but go on.” He answered with a small chuckle.

“Then you haven’t seen or heard… here.” Jarod said, giving some pictures, some showing Erin by Dawn.

“Ohh, there’s a horse of a different color. Dyed for the races?” He tilted his head slightly as he looked each picture over.

“That’s what’s driving my instincts crazy. I know there’s something big going on there, but nothing lines up. Fur samples say she should be a pony of some mix, yet she stands as high as any thoroughbred. The colors don’t come back as dyed, claiming its natural but when labs try to check the chemical compounds, they only find traces of insect chit-in.” Jarod explained.

“It’s chitin.” Frank corrected with a smirk, pronouncing like ‘kite-in’ instead. “Anyway, yeah. That’s real weird… and she won’t sell it?”

“Not even for a million. Her words.” Jarod smirked.

“Was gonna say, you don’t spend a million on anything but business!” Frank smirked, then frowned as he looked things over. “What are you thinking of doing with it?”

“Number of things, figure out how they’ve got the colors to stay in the fur, could put it into some of the pet industry, or see if she breaks any records and keep her going as a derby contender till she’s slowed and get some prize winners bred.”

“So, this girl, what does she want?”

“Not money, not sponsorship.” Jarod said, “Says she loves her horse and wouldn’t part with it for anything.”

“Hm, all girls part with anything… just a matter of finding their price.” Frank hummed, eying them and seeing one picture of the home ranch and a flash of light. He rambled on as he thought, debating how best to help his friend with this problem. “Some girls want chump change, some want a diamond ring…”

“We’re not talking about getting company for the night Frank.” Jarod said.

“Same concept… Tell you what, I’ll see what I can come up with for your little problem here.” Frank offered, setting down all of the pictures and jotting down notes on the notepad in a code only he knew.

“Just… don’t do anything either of us will regret.” Jarod warned.

“I haven’t yet.” Frank said, thinking, ‘hard to regret it if you do it right. I’ll get us squared away with this favor and then we’ll be on an even playing field…’

-----

The national junior championships finally came at the tail end of September, even though Dawn would have sworn it normally happened around springtime in her birth world. Once the junior races were finished, the real derby would come tomorrow, with the winner joining the derby races with the pros as a second prize on top of the money.

"You ready for this girl?" Erin asked as the pair borrowed one of the stadium’s stalls. It had been a long journey and they arrived early the night before while still having the cost of the stables covered by the competition. Most of the other jockeys were at the nearby hotel, but they weren’t taking any chances.

Dawn gave a subtle nod of her head. She had to risk being in her ‘native’ form for the world during the trip so they wouldn’t have any chances of issues during the three days they were expecting to stay. It left her only one day to spare if anything went wrong, but that ignored any resting chances she got in this unusual place. It didn’t help that she felt something in her mind shift. The hive mind’s link with her fellows seemed to click, like she knew someone was out there, but none of its features seemed to work. Rescue, however, had arrived or was in range.

“Good. Rest up, we’ve got races at about eight in the morning and our day won’t be done until about dinnertime.” Erin said.

The two of them knew what they were in for. They got the bracket placements and studied it well, making sure they knew how they would handle the day’s races, when each race would be should they win through it all.

The pair spent a few more minutes together before Erin went off to rest in the hotel. Dawn’s night was quiet, despite her repeated small periods of waking due to unfamiliar noises, and Erin slept similarly from nervousness. They were so close to winning!

The morning came, and Erin entered the stable at the first light, making sure they were both ready.

“You nervous girl?” Erin asked.

Dawn snorted and shook her head.

“Really? Performing in front of everyone whose anyone interested in the derby doesn’t scare you? Remind me to ask you what does scare you when this is over…”

Dawn let out a knickering sound for laughter before they rode out of the stables and began their required warmups to participate.

Their junior races would boil down to four matches. Despite Dawn not being a morning pony, here she was at a few minutes before 8, standing in the stall for the junior derby to begin. The announcer was hyping up the crowd.

“You ready girl?” Erin asked Dawn quietly.

Dawn gave another subtle nod.

“All right… let’s smoke these girls.” Erin said,

Dawn gave another slight nod and the jockey to their right, a boy, asked, “Did your horse just answer you?”

“Yep, we’re that good.” Erin said.

“That makes no sense…” He answered before getting into position.

“The racers are set and we’re about to begin the first matchup of the Junior Derby! Cheer for your favorites for Bracket 1 once the gates open!” The announcer started.

Dawn took her customary deep breath and shifted her weight as she prepared to dash, ready to not let her rider down, or miss this opportunity to broadcast her position. If rescue trackers were already here, it could only help her location spread straight to them, especially since the hive link barely functioned here.

The gates opened and Dawn bolted out ahead, taking the lead as the crowd cheered. She barely had to push herself anymore to keep her lead, galloping along as her breathing took its mid-level exercise stress in stride.

The crowd cheered and the announcer mentioned every move, Dawn stayed just barely ahead of the pack. They had learned the average time of racers was just above two minutes, and once again, Dawn finished at just shy of the two minute mark.

The crowd cheered louder as Dawn kept the lead, and two hours later in the next advancement they cheered again when Dawn set a 2 minute time in the second race. Their third race caused the announcer to nearly yell out over the noise when she finished with 1:59.5, only a tenth of a second slower than the fastest record.

“You’re really somethin’ Dawn.” Erin said.

-Trust me, I know.- Dawn scribbled, having taken up a human form briefly to rest and stretch out better.

“You really want to win huh?- Erin asked.

-I want to win so I can send a message to any rescue groups of where I am, yes. I think breaking the record will do just that.- Dawn relayed with a grin before putting away the notepad and changing back to her form.

“Seriously?” Erin asked in surprise before trying to re-do all of Dawn’s riding equipment from the change to human form and back to her horse. “Geeze… I’d better hold on tight and ride well to not throw you off.”

Dawn gave a brief nod, determination showing through her eyes, and four hours and two more race wins later, she was at the final match.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have had an outstanding lineup of races today and now we end with the most exciting race in the junior derbies to date!” The announcer called, doing their job of hyping up the crowd well since it was nearly deafening to Dawn’s ears. “Today we have our contenders, all of them have done exceptionally well. The bets are in with Erin and her horse, Meadow Dawn, as the current favorites! Will she be able to keep up her remarkable performance? We’ll find out! Racers, get ready!”

“Here we go.” Erin muttered only to her horse as the crowd. “I’m ready girl, give it your all.”

Dawn looked back at Erin with a mischevious eye, and Erin swore she saw a glimpse of yellow in her horse’s eye.

Dawn could hear the buzz of the gate starting to open before it did, and she bolted the moment that she could, gaining a length’s lead over the others.

“And like every time so far, Meadow Dawn takes the lead!” The announcer called, “They just passed the first furlong and- She’s reached it in twenty seconds, gaining a quarter second lead over her competitors!”

‘Good, looks like my pace will get me to the finish at just the right point if I can hold this.’ Dawn thought as she continued to race, trying to ignore the announcer and watch the board progress.

They reached the halfway point and the cheering stayed loud as Dawn kept up her speed through the curve while others started falling behind by up to a second before trying to regain lost ground.

She reached the corner where the others started to catch up, feeling another horse brushing against her tail’s end. She continued to push herself, using Erin’s good posture to keep her speed and reach the final stretch.

“What’s this! It looks like Scooter is starting to make headway toward the lead! They’re neck and neck!” The announcer called.

‘Awww, the stallion’s rider thinks they’re catching up, how cute.’ Dawn thought. ‘Time to stand out!’

Dawn pushed herself harder, breaking out into a sprint.

“I don’t believe it! She made the fifth furlong in 11 seconds and showing no signs of slowing down! Is this a new record in the making!” the announcer cried

Dawn ran, focusing on summoning her strength for that final run. She shaved more time than she expected, and as long as she kept her lead, she’d be fine. The last quarter mile rushed past her mane as she kept up the pace and only registered that the crowd nearly went into a frenzy at her finishing and she started to run around for a second lap, but slowing herself down gradually before looping back aground and realizing Erin’s voice was a part of the yelling.

“Oh my gosh, look at you! One minute fifty eight seconds! You cleared the best times by a second and a half!” Erin roared happily before trying to smother Dawn’s neck as they headed back.

“A neewwwwww record!” The announcer cheered, “The Junior Derby race results are in! Erin and Meadow Dawn are number one this year with one minute and fifty eight seconds! A record that stood for fifty years stands broken today folks! I don’t believe it!”

Dawn breathed heavily as she walked back, getting her stamina back from the push. Honestly, she could have done better if she had started that strong, but this would already be enough to get the attention of the EDF rescue groups if any of them were present. If her hunch that they were in this world now was right, she would definitely help them get to the right direction with that record.

The event coordinating crew quickly moved to get everything in place for pictures, prizes, and appearances as a stand was placed for the three horses and riders, and flowers put into place on the track while a photography station was set up further down.

Erin was on cloud nine, elated from the win and the new record. She and her horse had done it, after months of practice and training, her dream had been realized, one that she knew she didn’t stand much of a chance of getting.

Time seemed to speed up and slow down in the same time for Erin, barely remembering the pictures or the holding of the trophy. Questions flew at her left and right and she answered what she could about her own goals and dreams from there. Many a reporter asked for information on Dawn’s coat color and she said that she still was trying to figure out how it happened to stick, but thought Dawn was beautiful. Her origin was left as Dawn being a lost horse who made their way to her ranch, didn’t get reclaimed by her owner and has been lovingly raised since.

Dawn snorted internally during that part. ‘Lovingly’ wouldn’t quite be accurate despite their friendship. What little emotions she could still taste mostly was happiness, mild adoration, and other positive feelings. Love was not exactly present except with her family, but she could live with that. At least this world didn’t require her changeling magic to be run on love, though for no clear reason.

“Looking forward to your race tomorrow with us.” One female rider said, an adult in her early twenties Dawn assessed.

“I’m glad to join you all.”

“We’ll have to see how you do.” She smiled, eying dawn with cool confidence, “I’d say we’ll go easy on you, but somehow I think your horse won’t let us.”

“Nope! Give it everything you’ve got.” Erin smiled, “I wanna see how much we have to train to keep up with you when we race next year.”

“All right, don’t say we didn’t warn ya!” She laughed, shaking hands with Erin as cameras took many pictures and Dawn had to close her eyes from all the flashes.

After the junior victory ceremonies, Dawn and Erin were released to go into the stables, many of the other junior derbyists having had their horses resting and cleaned up or left to go home early. Erin could barely keep still, brushing Dawn repeatedly just to give herself something to relax herself with.

“I can’t believe it. I really can’t believe it!” Erin kept repeating to herself, “You didn’t just win, you set a new record!”

Dawn let out a rumbling sigh, mildly tired out from the numerous runs and required cool down jogs she was given. She would live. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the EDF training, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t feel tired from it.

“I know, you did a lot of work out there.” Erin said, planting a kiss by Dawn’s ear before putting things away.

“All the love for your horse huh?” The dad’s voice asked before walking around the corner, “I can’t say I blame you though.”

“Dad!” She said happily, rushing over to him and giving him a strong hug.

“Looks like you proved me wrong about using the mystery horse.” He said quietly, “I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks dad.”

“Come on, let’s get you to the hotel. You’ve got a big day ahead.”

“Yeah yeah, see ya tomorrow Dawn!” Erin said cheerfully.

-----

A deep lavender coated pony with cybernetic legs and eyes looked out over a city’s border, a radio sitting on her chest as she stayed under the cover of a thick pine tree, listening to an announcer’s voice and the cheering of crowds.

It was not easy going around this world, staying hidden despite heavy civilization in many areas, but she adapted, much as the rest of her squad did. Every single one of them wore full combat armor and had no less than two firearms, two melee options in easy reach, and plenty of ammunition. They were sitting about under cover, drinking water they had recovered from a nearby running stream.

Discarded newspapers were their first attempts at recovering information, and once none of them seemed to mention anything about Dawn, they knew that either she was still safe and sound or enough time had passed that any news of dawn’s appearance could have passed.

When they found signs of horses in a fenced in field a few days prior, they decided to check for any events that would star horses or need them. It was another week when the lead pony’s AI caught a signal through a nation radio sports broadcast that a green horse was catching attention for consistently staying close to recordbreaking speeds in derby racing.

Here they were, listening to the derby championships with the AI being the only other words for them, speaking through a speaker that was on the lavender pony’s right foreleg while the radio played quietly enough to not give them away should a person investigate their hideout.

“Erin and Meadow Dawn continue to stay ahead, veterans struggling to get ahead of her fast enough to reach the lead and hold her back! This horse is something else! Erin takes her to the outside around the first corner and is keeping up!” The announcer called, continuing to sound excited as the crowd cheered in the background, making it hard to hear him until the race ended a minute later, “And there it is! Meadow Dawn surges forward with impossible speed and stamina, keeping her lead and wins by a length! Precious and Solarus finish second and third a whole three seconds behind! Dawn has done it again! The new Derby record is one minute fifty seven seconds! She beat her own record! This is incredible! The small racer from just east of Denver has-”

A black shiny hoof twisted the knob before the figure connected to it sat down next to the purple cyborg in military gear. It spoke in a soft but hissing voice, “Knew she had it in her.”

“Of course.” A voice said, projected from a shoulder of the cybernetic pony. “Between the two of you, it wouldn’t come out any other way.”

A black equine standing nearly twice as tall as the cyborg enjoyed the shade, the light hitting but not reflecting off the dark carapace. It was a fearsome looking creature, with thick unyielding plates of chitin over its body and legs, a leathery substance covering the gaps and areas where flexibility was required. Green adorned its abdomen under the insectoid wings that laid below the covering plates of chitin.

“Naturally.” She hissed, a toothy sinister smile crossing her face. It was a face that held a reptilian pair of eyes and a strangely jointed mouth, having a plate covering the jaw hinge and a long flexible tongue hidden behind its many predatory teeth. “Denver… we have our intel. That confirms my daughter’s location. Time to switch to retrieval and survival until the gate is remade. We will need to travel one hundred miles to reach our target if this atlas isn’t terribly out of date. Any questions?”

The ponies in armor seemed to make nickering noises of amusement, shaking their head. Four creatures very similar to the speaker shook their head as well, being the same size as the others, answering, “No our queen.”

“Right… This world’s taken everypony’s voices.” The speaker announced quietly, indicating the AI’s work. “Good work everyone, Commander says we’re moving in two hours. Burn, you’re on watch while rations are pulled. Everyone, rest while you can.”

The fourteen ponies nodded, a red and orange furred pony with yellow cuffs near his hooves barely poking out of the armor at the ground moved into position, pulling out and opening a ration pack with their mouth and nibbled on a bite as they scanned through the treeline.

Two hours later, the strange small herd was trotting through dense woods southward.