The Pegasus Princess Mia Struggles
“Okay, Kuolan, let’s go,” Mia said as she got on the horse.
In her free time over the past few days, she had been riding Kuolan, the moonhare. She stroked its neck softly and then gave its sides a light kick. She had been doing a lot of real work recently.
Since she had been trying to get away from the guillotine timeline, she had always thought that horses were her only way out. She knew she couldn’t skimp on horsemanship because it was a skill she needed to survive.
She knew how important it was and had just finished a short period of intense, cram school-style training, which helped her figure out a basic truth.
“The most important thing about horseback riding, in the end, is to match the horse’s rhythm. Like you’re all trying to breathe at the same time. It’s like dancing, where you have to step at the same time as your partner!”
Slowly, the horse moved into a walk, and she kept giving it light taps to tell it what to do.
Right, left, right, left, right, left…
At this point, it was important to tap in a steady, easy-to-follow rhythm that the horse could follow. When there was a good rhythm, the horse was happy, and when the horse was happy, the ride went smoothly.
When going faster, the same rule applied. The most important thing was to get back in balance before the faster gait and match the horse’s pace while showing it with your feet.
The trick is to move in time with the horse.
As soon as she realised that, everything else made sense. Getting along with her partner… Moving together… She knew all about those ideas like the back of her hand.
She had to move to the beat of the music and match the steps and strides of her partner when she danced. Riding a horse and dancing the waltz were the same thing.
Now, for those of you who have forgotten, which is understandable given Mia’s many quirks, I’ll remind you that Mia was actually a good dancer. Masterful, even. So, it wasn’t hard for her to learn how to ride a horse.
She had already mastered the basics of riding, and her skills were quickly moving from “competent” to “impressive.” She was so happy with herself that it went right to her head, making her think things like, “I should definitely start calling myself The Pegasus Princess.”
“Hm, it’s kind of like triple time at this speed. If we move a little faster, the gait will take four times as long. That means that I should start signalling when…,” she mumbled.
You’re right. Mia’s [Dancing] skill finally led to a bonus branch in her skill tree. Horse Riding was now at a C- level for her.
Given this progress, it makes sense that she thought she was close to being able to ride moonhares like a pro, but for some strange reason…
“Hnnngh… Why…”
She took Malong’s advice and walked slowly with Kuolan, but she still couldn’t help but groan in frustration.
The rhythm is a little off again. How come every time I get into a good groove, it changes? I swore to you, this horse…
Her anger was understandable.
When she got into a good rhythm, signalling when she needed to match the horse’s pace, the horse would change its pace.
And not all at once either, which was the worst part. It would happen slowly, a quarter beat every few seconds, until their rhythms were totally out of sync with each other.
There was something uncannily bad and almost sneaky about how slowly it came on, as if she were slowly slipping into a syncopated state of madness.
At a walking pace, the mismatches were still manageable, but they would become a much bigger problem when they sped up to a trot. At that speed, the horse’s body would bob up and down more violently, forcing the rider to use a technique called “posting,” which involved standing up and sitting down to soften the blows.
When she tried to post this trot, she couldn’t keep up with Kuolan’s rhythm, so its back would slam into her behind over and over again.
“Oh, my butt really hurts… Aren’t you doing this on purpose? I’m sure of it!”
As if it understood what she was saying, Kuolan quickly turned its head toward her and neighed while pulling its lips back.
“Y-You stupid… Oh, I recognise this. This is what you get for making fun of you yesterday with that carrot cake, right? But you still ended up eating most of it!”
She got off her horse while gnashing her teeth in anger.
I can’t do anything with this horse. We don’t get along at all. No, we don’t get along at all. Why do I have to keep this thing? I like the ones that listen to me so much more. They are so quiet and cute…
It’s important to note that almost every competitor in the Horsemanship Tournament would be bringing their own horse from home.
Ruby, like most of the other riders in the speedriding event, will be riding on a moonhare.
Grr… I can’t believe this is the only moonhare the horsemanship club has available.
She couldn’t ask for a horse to be sent from Tearmoon either. When she first joined the club, she tried to ask for a regular horse, but a very worried emperor cut her off and said, “It would be a national tragedy if she got on such a big horse and fell off!”
They sent her a small pony in the end.
Very safe, but also a huge letdown.
What do I need to do… At this rate, I’ll be lucky if I don’t look like a total fool, let alone win the duel…
She crossed her arms and began to think about what she could do when she heard a voice.
“Hello, Mia. How are things?”
When she looked up, a horse was coming toward her. Atop it sat Abel.
“My, Abel. You are also practising today?”
“Of course. I’m trying to win.”
He would compete in the horseback swordsmanship category with Sion.
“I see. Well, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, Abel. You look like you’re very at home on that horse of yours. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Is it? I think you’re pretty good yourself.”
“I’m not a weakling by any means, but this horse—Eek!”
Something hit her in the back, and she almost lost her balance.
“What the heck?”
She turned around and found that Kuolan’s nose was where her back had been.
Flippin’ moons! This animal! He must be pulling my leg!
She was angry. Abel also looked at it, but his face showed more thought.
“Hmm… I wonder if the fact that we’re always together bothers him. Maybe he’s envious of you.”
He scratched his chin.
“He seems to like you, Mia,” he said.
“He likes me? Huh…”
She looked at the horse again, but this time, she was more interested.
He could be right… I do remember that Anne told me that when a boy likes a girl, he acts mean to her because he wants her to notice him.
She looked at Kuolan with pursed lips. Kuolan smiled in its usual way. It made a very annoying move when it pulled its lips back to show its big horse teeth.
“Oh, so that’s the way it is. I now understand what’s going on. You— Hm?”
She noticed all of a sudden that Kuolan’s nose was twitching. Based on what happened in the past, this kind of thing usually led to…
“Oh you’d better not— Wait, let me back away— Gyaaaah!”
There was a loud hack-a-pchoo, and then you could hear fluid hitting fabric.
Mia fell backwards onto her already bruised buttocks when she sneezed so hard that the storm sirens went off.
