rosavelle | Season of Budding Horsing Around

Umamusume.
They are born to run. They inherit the names of horses from another world, whose histories were sometimes tragic and sometimes wonderful, and run ever forward. That is their fate.
No one knows how the races waiting in the futures of these Umamusume will end. But they will continue to run, aiming only toward the goal in front of them.

[Gold Ship's all goaled out at the moment. It's her birthday and she's down two (2) close friends, one of whom she had a crush on, and one (1) girlfriend. Not exactly the best day to feel cheery for everyone's favorite Sack Wielding Menace. She's done her usual routine throughout the day, 5 AM run, 7 AM horse tending, 8 AM weights. But it's just not getting her mind off things. Saint-Germain is Busy and Golshi is terrified of driving her away too by being too clingy, so she's had to find something else to do.

Experiment with expanding her bloomcraft is what she settles on. If anything will allow her to travel worlds and find Nabiki so she and Corrin can be reunited, it'll be tapping deeper into the power that allows Callie to bring the advisors to Rosavelle in the first place. The source of this power as they all know is the Everbloom, as such it stands to reason, greater power will come as a result of greater connection to the semi-sentient magic tree god thing that stands watch over this kingdom. And not only will this help Golshi, it'll help Calcal! If she can achieve some form of greater connection with the tree maybe she can learn why the one Coronation Crown has started to wilt despite the Everbloom's powers supposedly being enough to sustain the Crowns for eternity. So the question is, how will Gold Ship achieve this?

Cut to Stag's Rest Lounge. Gold Ship has taken to a plush leather couch in a back corner, a darker, private area. The fact it's barely noon also means the lounge isn't quite seeing much traffic. On the table in front of her rests a glass and a bottle of the spiced cider she's become quite fond of, alongside an ashtray, a compass pipe, and a bag full of petals. Petals collected from the ground surrounding the Everbloom. Petals *from* the Everbloom. Smoking, culturally speaking, was used for religious and ceremonial purposes long before it was used as recreation. Burning something and inhaling it through mouth and nose is one of the quickest ways to receive a high concentration of whatever chemical, or in this case mystical, components the burned element has. Gold Ship fully intends to smoke that shit that made the Everbloom.

She steels herself. Either this will be a whole lot of nothing or it could be extremely intense. After a few minutes to work up her courage she fills the pipe with the petals, packs it tight, places it in her mouth, and retrieves the fire starter from her satchel. A few strikes, a spark, puffing, and it catches. The floral aroma fills the air in her space, her draws on the pipe turn steadily deeper, she leans back into the couch, closes her eyes, and focuses.

She can feel it. Something inside her, body, mind, and more, thrumming, building with energy the way it does when she weaves a complicated illusion or pushes through the Wall to reach her Zone. Her pulse quickens, her leg starts to shake, boot tapping the ground rapidly as the overwhelming urge to move, run builds in her. She fights it. Deep breath, further inhalation of the smoke. She can do this, she can control herself, she just needs to let the power wash over her... maybe reach out...? Yeah, that makes sense, the Everbloom is aware. If she reaches out to it, asks it for help...

Her brow furrows in concentration as she focuses on the idea of sending out her thoughts, her feelings, her desires. "Help me. I need to get stronger, I need to be able to find them, I need to Journey like that damned old man does. Can you hear me? Are you out there???"

There it is...! A warmth! A light at the edge of her consciousness. Bright, full of energy, of life, spirit, a pulsating orb of red light in her minds eye. Gold Ship reaches for it careful but eagerly in her minds eye. Her body tenses with anticipation, her tail wags, her ears stand perked up fully. As her fingers touch the orb she feels something! Something aware! Something smart!!!! Something... wait...

Wait... f-familiar...?! ]

What the...

[ Muttered under her breath. She knows this feeling. ]

Umamusume
They are born to run.

[ An old friend... No. More than that. A sibling, a twin. ]

they inheriet the names of horses from another world.

[ She feels it, doesn't see it in her minds eye, feels it. The hot breath against her arm, the gentle nudge of something solid, somewhat moist, the almost mischievous bellow. She takes the pipe from her mouth as she prepares to confront what's joined her.

When Gold Ship opens her eyes it's to find herself face to face with an impressive gray-white stallion of a horse. A little over sixteen hands tall, not quite in prime racing condition, but clearly well taken care of and healthy as one could hope a horse could be. He stares at Gold Ship with his ears perked and leans in, resting his large head against hers, bellowing air against her nose, a gesture she returns by pure instinct.

Gold Ship's eyes are wide, pupils dilated. She STARES at this horse who pulls back and whinnies as if laughing at her reaction. She knows him. He knows her. She can't accept that though, that's too much, and besides-- ]

How the heck did a horse get in here?!

[ For anyone who comes across her? There is not a horse there. She's staring at thin air.

That's probably fine. ]

[Ena had been intending a small break in the Salon today; she's been pushing herself for more than a bit, and it's probably high time she rested for. At least a short bit? A cup of tea and a light book would probably be a good refresher right now.

Then she hears the scream coming from the Lounge, and all thoughts of a break are forgotten, breaking immediately into a run the remaining distance down the hallway. She slides to a stop as she gets close to the door, throwing it open before her momentum even stops, sliding into the doorway, not sure what she plans to do but ready for the martial arts equivalent of blasting-

as she slooooowly surveys the room, sweet scent of flowers and acrid smell of something burning assaulting her nose. And has a lot of questions. And only one place to get answers. And it isn't from the horse that doesn't exist-]

Hi, Gold Ship. Are you all right? I, uh, heard you shouting.

[Tone tightly controlled but small, equal parts concern and annoyance leaking out, partly to keep herself from coughing and partly because there. There could be a totally legit reason for this. There has to be, right? Surely she wasn't just in here smoking leaves for the hell of it- although. Now that she sees this... there is that little tree in their Sekai... no, wait. Bad. Solve this problem first. Also, can't get mad at Gold Ship doing it if you were thinking about it too-]

[ Gold Ship's eyes are, of course, wild and dilated as they swing over to Ena who is ENTIRELY IGNORING THE WHOLE ASS HORSE THAT'S STANDING IN FRONT OF THEM?! Is this a bit? Is Ena doing a bit? Now is NOT the time for a bit...! ]

M'fine, I just wanna know how this big lug got his tail in here!

[ A snort draws Gold Ship's eyes back to the horse only she can see. He maintains eye contact with her, flicks his tail, and bellows. Whatever that means Gold Ship's eyes go some how even wider. ]

What the heck do ya mean I'm the only one that can see y-....

[ Ear flick. She understood that. Like, she's kind of understood the castle horses, but what this stallion just "said"? She understood word for word, crystal clear.

Shakily she raises the still lit pipe up to her lips and takes a long drag off it to calm her nerves. She exhales the smoke slowly, the coiling wisps forming into a ring as they pass past the horse only she can see. Does... does the horse seem more clear now? ]

Goddesses. Ena-chan? I can understand the horse. He says you can't see him. That true?

[She's pretty sure the thing that made her take off was hearing her shout about a horse. There is not one of those in the lounge, discounting the uma in umamusume. And... and yet. Even as the immediate annoyance drains out of Ena's expression, because Golshi is clearly not entirely okay, she's still got problems with this setup. Not least that her friend is talking to something that isn't there and it's talking back to her enough that she's physically responding to it? Still, she steps clear of the door to let it shut behind her, not wanting to keep going on about this quite so publicly.]

No. No, I cannot see a horse in the lounge. It's just you, and me, and the waitstaff who look very concerned right now. Either you've got the really good shit in that pipe, or you're talking to a spirit or something. [A pause.] Or some secret third thing, I guess, but it ends up looking like one of the first two.

[ Okay. Ena can't see him. Neither can the staff if those looks they're throwing over are anything to go by. So the mysterious, apparently invisible, horse isn't a liar at least. That, uh.

That doesn't make this better?! ]

Gah. I hope he's not a spirit, don't wanna step on Manhattan Cafe's territory.

[ She takes another deep breath to calm herself, which translates to another drag on the pipe. Cautiously she reaches out, palm up in offer to the mysterious horse. His ears perk as he moved forward, placing his nose against Golshi's hand. Her wild eyes settle a little at this, and she takes the invitation to stroke the horse's head.

To Ena, Golshi is waving her hand in thin air, but it seems like her palm is actually pressed against something. Weird. ]

Third thing, pretty sure. No idea what, but...

[ She pauses, her ears twitching in response to the horse bellowing again, and glances at Ena. ]

He says we're twins? Does that make any sense to ya?

[ a certain somebody had been a bit busy, continuing to train and work out to get her mind off of a couple unsavory conversations she'd had as of late. sometimes just throwing yourself into work is a fantastic way to cope with how rough a 'potential' truth could be. best to stay naive about the whole thing.

she had planned to go back to the salon to rest a bit, hoping that nobody else she's run into is there... and then, she hears something loud and... interesting?

hence why kyoshika immediately barrels into the lounge, looking around frantically. ]

Where is it?! Did a horse truly walk towards this bar?!

[ the legends are true...! ]

[another victory for emerald wandering around and trying to learn the lay of the land. she catches someone who looks a little bit like gold ship from the front of the lounge, then hears her shouting about a horse and knows for a fact that this is gold ship. it couldn't be anybody but gold ship.]

[sigh.]

[since she also can't see a horse at that booth as she approaches, she assumes—and the absolute scent coming from over there too confirms—that gold ship has been getting into something. emerald places her hand down on the table and leans over it, trying to meet the uma's eyes.]

You told me not to call you a horse, dumbass.

Edited 2026-03-15 23:27 (UTC)

[ Gold Ship and the intrusive stallion both look over at Kyoshika, of course she can only see the uma, then glance back at each other. Incredulously Gold Ship gestures at a spot in front of her with the still lit pipe. ]

Right there! He's the big gray bastard, you gotta be seeing him!

[ The horse flares his lip up at Gold Ship, who grits her teeth in response and stands up in a huff. ]

Oi, oi! You wanna go buddy? Just cause you're a horse doesn't mean I can't take ya, don't under estimate an umamusume!

[ The good news is Gold Ship doesn't try to avoid meeting Em's eyes, the bad news is the uma's own eyes are VERY dilated. At least the presence of a friendly face has her calming down a little bit? Not a lot, but every bit helps. ]

Not me! Him!

[ She jabs an accusatory figure at the horse only she can see. Who's looking at Em and wagging his tail, letting out a happy whiny. ]

Of course she's worried about me! Em-chan's my friend and I'm being accosted by some weirdo horse!

[ She rubs her head with a frustrated grumble, messing up her hair and giving Emerald an almost desperate look. ]

I... you can understand him too, right Em-chan? I ain't going bonkers over here, am I?

[ gasp. kyoshika's looking directly where gold ship's pointing. she waves away some of the odd smoke, like maybe it'll appear if she does that...

her eyes go wide. ]

It can't be... an invisible horse?

Invisible?!

[ Gold Ship and the horse both give Kyoshika the dirtiest look. Gold Ship's ears even droop. ]

Messin' with me right now is a really good way to get kicked, ya know.

[ The horse (who IS invisible to everyone but Golshi) actually takes a two steps back. The stallion is smart enough to know that Gold Ship can be unpredictable and prone to kicking. ]

B-but it's true, I cannot see--

[ kyoshika cuts herself off. before glancing at her waist, then back up at the empty space that theoretically has a horse there. ]

No, do not tell me you see it too...! There's truly only another woman here!

[ the holy jumonji sword might be messing with kyoshika. maybe she also doesn't see the horse. either way, the horse and uma absolutely don't hear the sword saying anything either. ]

... Who the heck are you talking to?

[ Gold Ship and, let's just call him who he is, Gold Ship exchange looks. Gold Ship bellows, Gold Ship's eyes narrow as she looks back at Kyoshika. ]

Oi, you should probably sit down. You're hearin' thi-

[ Her eyes widen, she cuts herself off and looks back at Gold Ship. ]

How the heck can I understand you?!

[ ...she's so confused. she'll sit down anyway? ]

The Holy Jumonji Sword... I'm sure she's playing along, there's no way that that can be true.

[ wait, what?? ]

Are you hearing something as well?! I understand that you may not be able to hear the Holy Jumonji Sword, but a talking horse...

[ Gold Ship proceeds to take a long, hard drag off the pipe that started this problem to begin with. The Everbloom petals smell nice and the repetitive action is calming. Plus the pipe stem gives her something to chew on in her frustration. ]

Dude. This chick's talking to a sword. That's like, the red flag, right?

Gold Ship who from now on will be Gold Ship bellows and nods his head, Golshi who will be Golshi from now on frowns and crosses her arms. ]

Yeah, yeah. I'm talking to a horse, I know I ain't exactly winnin' points in the marble department right now. Don't gotta rub it in.

[ SIGH. Addressing the sword whisperer directly now. ]

Alright Sword Girl, one thing at a time. You don't see the sixteen hand horse standing right in this room, right?

[ sword girl... well, okay. one thing at a time. ]

I do not. There are other patrons, you, your pipe, me, and my sword. No horse.

[ Gold Ship makes a VERY SMUG NOISE that has Golshi's eyes narrowing even further. She lets out a bellow of her own, blowing smoke out of her nose. ]

Really don't like what that's implyin'. Can't be good, whatever it is.

[ Alright, horse in the room addressed. The Confused and Worried Looks from the other people in the lounge kind of confirm it. Next problem. ]

And while I'm over here seein' a phantom horse- [ one could almost say a phantom triple crown, if they wanted to invoke a certain mad scientist at the same time... ] -you're over there, thinking you can hear your sword talking. We still on the same page here?

[ ahhh. the equivalencies. a word kyoshika wouldn't know how to say or spell. ]

I do not think I can, I know I can. [ a brief pause. ] It is understandable though, for you to feel as if I'm not telling the truth. Most people don't believe it when I explain it to them.

[oh yeah, she's fucked up. okay. cool. well. emerald has never dealt with this before and she doesn't know gold ship enough to be a good trip buddy about it, so she's just gonna have to. figure it out. which is fine, she can do that.]

Gold Ship, you're talking to the girl who makes people see things. I'm pretty sure I'd be able to tell if there were a horse here, and I'm telling you that there's no horse here. [she waves her hand through the air in front of her, generally where she suspects the horse might be.]

How much of whatever that is have you smoked?

[ Gold Ship nods along carefully as Em talks. ]

Yeah... yeah okay, that makes sense. Maybe this was a bad idea afte- EH..?!

[ The source of Gold Ship's confusion, and probable soon to be confusion for Emerald, is that when Em goes and waves her hand through the invisible space the horse appears to be standing in?

Her hand stops. She can feel a solid body there, it even responds with a twitch under her hand like a real horse's skin would at being touched. The horse lets at an amused snort at this. A snort only Gold Ship can hear.

Gold Ship? She's just staring in confused horror.

AND WHY DOES SHE FEEL LIKE SOMEONE JUST TOUCHED HER SIDE?! Is she having sympathy sensations from the evil intimidating invisible horse?!

She doesn't like this. ]

It's petals. From the Everbloom. M'starting to think this was a bad idea...

[ And yet she's still puffing on it. Because the repetitive action is about the only thing keeping her from flipping out right now. ]

Edited 2026-03-16 03:32 (UTC)

[ Golshi considers this for a moment, Gold Ship makes a grunting noise in his throat. ]

Big lug's kinda right. I'd be a hypocrite right now if I just dismissed ya as nuts.

[ She sighs, rubs the back of her neck awkwardly, and sits back down. ]

Alright. So you can talk to a sword, I can talk to an... invisible horse. I think we got a baseline established here, yeah?

[ kyoshika gives a chuckle, arms folded. ]

Indeed. I can think of worse ways for two to learn they're somewhat kindred spirits.

[okay well.]

[gold ship's answer doesn't really matter after emerald feels herself petting an animal that she can't see.]

Is there a fucking horse here?

That's what I've been saying!

[ Gold Ship sounds desperate and exasperated all at once. The horse? The horse whinnies happily and proceeds to nudge Emerald with his flank. A physical weight gently pushing at her.

And in turn, a physical weight brushes up against Golshi's side and has her flinching. ]

Dude! Stop that! [ Another Horse Noise, Gold Ship's face goes red. ] Yeah, she's cute, that doesn't mean you can be a butthead! At least stop being invisible!

[ A beat. ]

What do you mean you can't?!

[okay. okay. well.]

[emerald sighs. because she can feel the horse. and gold ship isn't actually crazy. she's sane. she's just haunted by an invisible physical horse. which only sounds insane.]

[and she slides into the booth next to gold ship. the visible one.]

Give me the pipe. Smoking the magic tree that runs the island got you into it and it's probably the only way to get you out.

Season of Budding Horsing Around

Smoking that shit that made the Everbloom-March 6th, Stag's Rest Lounge

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