>>529892637
I tried. God, I tried.

I gave her the best shoes, the best meals, trained her under the clearest skies, and yet… she lost.
She stumbled on the final corner, and I stumbled as a trainer, no, as a human being.

How do I look her in the eyes after this? Those bright, hopeful eyes that once sparkled with dreams of victory… now clouded with tears.
“I’ll win next time, Trainer!” she said, forcing a smile through her trembling lips — but I knew it was for my sake.

I wasn’t just training a racer. I was nurturing a dream. And I crushed it with my incompetence.
I picked the wrong races. I misjudged her stats. I overtrained when she needed rest.
I failed to notice she was tired.
I failed to see she needed a break.
I failed… her.

The crowds cheered for another, but I heard nothing. Just the sound of her hooves slowing, her breath short, her heart breaking.
And mine with it.