As Wallace and Valey broke apart to face each other once again, Starlight watched from high above, sitting in her private box with Maple at her side and tooth marks from biting her lip.
"She doesn't look so good..." Maple whispered, neck craned, echoing the thoughts everyone was thinking. "Come on, Valey... Don't hurt yourself..."
Starlight ignored the hologram, focusing her eyes on the arena pit below. Even at that distance, her eyes were good enough to see the specks of red from Valey's wound. Her frown intensified, and her horn tingled uselessly with the need to be used. She could almost feel herself down there, with that burning need not to lose...
"Pfeh!" Valey spat, clearing her mouth and struggling to stand on four legs. Wallace faced her patiently, not moving to finish her before she was ready. "Bananas..."
"You're picking up," Wallace commented. "But you've a long way left to go. Where was the vigor and determination from the first time we clashed? You tried everything then, and have barely attempted to strike me now! Draw strength from what you're fighting for!"
Valey winced again in pain. This was the kind of injury she could press through, but would get worse the longer she fought, since there was no way to limit her movements against Wallace. He was too big, required too much dodging... It wasn't fair. "Bananas, why do I have to fight you now!?"
"And fighting me later would make a difference?" Wallace shrugged his massive shoulders. "You must surpass me either way to reach the top! You fight because of what you're fighting for! And the heat of battle is the last place for that to slip your mind!"
He stopped waiting, walking forward until he was in the middle of the ring, so big he could strike anywhere in it in half a second or less. He was about to charge again, and Valey knew it, tensing her legs for a counterattack. What was she doing here, anyway? Fighting to get Nyala's body back? She barely even knew her anymore!
Wallace's wings exploded outward, just as Valey had predicted. The charge came, skidding along the ground, but this time she surged forward to meet it instead of rolling away to the side. Two talons grasped for her, and she twirled through them, feeling a few tail hairs snap off as she narrowly avoided being caught. Opening her mouth for a battle cry, she bit at the last moment, bracing herself and using Wallace's momentum against him to tear a large strip of fur from his side.
"Ohh!" Wallace grunted, landing and ending his charge. He definitely felt that! "You're starting to work things through, young Valey! Now how can you capitalize on that?"
Valey rolled as well, the force of her tear knocking her off her hooves. Her belly burned where it had been stabbed, her wing pained her as well, but a raw frustration kept her upright. She'd capitalize alright! This was dumb!
She launched herself upward, making her wings work for her and seeking an opening toward Wallace's freshly-wounded side. But not only did she have nothing to do if she reached it, he was guarding it closely, keeping his other shoulder to her, knowing exactly where she'd strike. Two talons, two wings, his head and that roll attack... She could get through that, right? She had to try.
"Hmmhmmm!" Wallace beckoned approvingly. "Show me what you've got!"
Time flew into slow-motion as Valey approached, Wallace's wings taking a scissor-like formation to block her path as she approached. She looped to the left to avoid the offense entirely, trying to fly above him... but Wallace reared up, both talons grabbing at the path she wanted to take. She couldn't get grabbed! That would be game over.
Flipping, she ducked backwards, surging again a moment later when his balance couldn't support another grab. The motion made her double up in pain again, though, her wings moving her of their own accord as she curled and pressed another hoof into her gut. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she cracked her eyes and saw his injured side open. She had to finish this fast! Lunging downward, she readied a punch... and then Wallace's grinning face was in her way, ready to take a hit and counter with the same bobble attack that had outsped her last time. Bananas if she was falling for that again.
Both of Valey's forehooves struck, and Wallace took it eagerly, more than ready to counter with her own momentum. But it was a gentle tap, her hooves bloodied from being used to staunch her wound... and this time, she struck straight for Wallace's eyes.
"Clever!" he grunted, closing his lids to guard against the strike. Valey's hooves weren't saturated nearly enough to leave more than a residue and a few drops, but those few drops were enough. Wallace opened his eyes to track her again and immediately winced. "Oh, that stings! You're growing more creative!"
"Yaaaaargh!" Valey slipped past him as fast as she could, reaching the area she had injured on his side even as her cute mark alerted her to another impending attack. The skin where the fur had been torn away was badly raw, even bleeding in a few places. Now for the part she hadn't planned for. One of those giant talons was coming, but if she couldn't press this advantage now, make him flinch and back off, she never would.
Wham! Whud! Her forehooves pummeled him one after the other, fighting through her own pain. She wasn't here because of Nyala. In the end, she had entered the tournament for Shinespark... as proof of a promise she couldn't even recall in the moment, but she was sure it was a good one. Just like in Ironridge, she was fighting for her friends, and she let everything she had empower her strikes, jabbing and pummeling with the edges of her hooves to try to make them a little bit sharper.
Then talons closed around her. The danger hadn't abated; she hadn't made Wallace flinch... Big enough to wrap around her entire barrel, Wallace's meaty hand plucked her out of the air. She had a split second to meet his eyes, then was hurled downward, thrown like an anvil toward the stage. Her cutie mark tried to give her time to react, but there was only so much her body could possibly do to break that much momentum in so little time. She managed to get out a foreleg-
CRACK! Valey struck the ground, bouncing again, pain lancing up and all across her. Her jaw slammed into the roof of her mouth, her back barely held together, her hips strained as she was forced spread-eagled by the landing. The leg she tried to land on had it worst, striking at an awkward angle and thundering with pain. If she was lucky, it wasn't broken... She cracked an eye, and the first thing she saw was that that hoof was shattered, several sharp edges protruding where the plate had broken. Well, that stank.
A shadow loomed above her, and Wallace was there, watching her with inevitable concern. "I believe I win," he rumbled, Valey's entire body shuddering as she tried to make it work. "Your injuries are growing severe, young Valey. Referee, please time her out."
"Uhhh..." Howe stared from the side, slack-jawed at Valey's broken, bloodied appearance. "Sure thing, boss. One, two..."
"Shut up," Valey hissed, the broken hoof still firmly in her vision. "Like bananas I'm out."
"Stay down, young Valey." Wallace frowned. "I don't want to hold back for fear of killing you!"
"Oh yeah?" Valey coughed feebly, aware Howe was still counting in the background. "Well, guess what? I..."
"Seven... eight... nine...!" Howe's voice warbled ominously.
Before he could say the final word, Valey vanished, falling into Wallace's shadow.
"Hmm!?" Wallace took a step back in alarm, only ripples where Valey had been before. "What are you doing!?"
With a shadowy rush, Valey erupted from beneath him, propelled by her hind legs with a sharpened shard broken from her hoof in her teeth. Wallace's side, she had hurt more recently, but there was a smaller injury beneath him, too, where she had struck first and first discovered the tactic. The shard struck true, filling her mouth and preventing a battle cry even if she had had the breath to make one.
"Argh!" Wallace's back arched defensively, removing the weak spot from her reach. Immediately, he slammed back down, trying to trap Valey beneath him. "Desist at once, young Valey!"
Valey didn't spit out her weapon to reply. She was too battered by this point to dodge, but that didn't mean she was out of the fight! She shadow snuck again as he came crashing down, gripping onto his feathers and fur as he rose again and rolled away. With the boost in momentum, she flung herself up onto his side... the same side she had gashed earlier. A grin broke out around the precious shard.
Her head moved in wild arcs, slashing and stabbing and tearing and trying to do as much damage as possible to the raw, hairless spot as she could before Wallace removed her. Barbaric or not, she had to do it! She needed a way! Thoughts of Shinespark and even her friends no longer propelled her as Wallace continued his roll, bringing around a mighty punch and finally forcing her to let go.
Smash! Wallace's fist hit the floor with unprecedented strength, breaking the thin seal that formed the arena floor and shattering straight through the boards that constructed it beneath. "This has gone on long enough!" he declared, side bleeding profusely. "Our bout here is merely a prelude! Regardless of who prevails, we will meet again... You've done yourself proud already! Now desist before I am forced to fell you!"
The shard dropped from Valey's teeth as she faced him, barely upright and standing on three legs. "Heh... no..."
"Use your ears!" Wallace urged. "Can you hear them? The crowd? They wait with baited breath on the outcome of our duel. Your profile will be high enough already, having survived me for so long and taken things this far. Are you ready for the fame and pressure of having defeated a champion? You won't even have cleared the second round and will be a favorite contender for ultimate victory! Your convictions to win are here now, but they were lacking as our bout began. Are they really strong enough to sustain that? Are you ready to pay the price of victory?"
"Pfft... no way..." Valey panted, aware of Wallace stepping back, leaving the shattered crater from his punch as a hazard in the stage. "Bananas, it's not even about that. Screw winning. I just..."
She licked her lips, swallowed, and wished she could have a drink... but her eyes glinted nonetheless. "I just really, really hate it when I lose."
Valey charged this time, not breaking eye contact with Wallace as she ran. Despite a heavy limp, she beat her wings to build up speed, a suicidal grin on her face. This would be her last chance, so she had to make it count.
Then Wallace was before her, a wing rocketing in an agile jab at her head. Valey ducked, and the next one came in, forcing her to duck to the right, nearly tripping over her useless leg. Her belly burned even harder as she ran, but there was no point in stopping. There was no way she could stop! The break in the floor was right there, and then...
Wallace spun, lashing out a third time, and a fourth and a fifth. Valey blinked, her cutie mark slowing time and letting her see exactly what was happening: his paws and talons preoccupied with the motion, Wallace was giving her an opening. All she had to do was time it perfectly, make it through his wings, and she could catch the injured side as it came... and timing was something she had on her side.
"Raaaaaaugh!" Valey dropped, sliding beneath a blow on her back, and hit the break in the wood. Her teeth locked around a splintered board end, she rolled, and her wings propped her up, freeing her forehoof to help with grasping the broken arena. The wood came free, a splintered part of a plank about the length of her barrel flipping upright, aimed expertly by her good foreleg. Aided by her cutie mark, she waited one millisecond, two... Wallace continued his spin, his injured side rolling into view... Valey's eyes narrowed, and she coiled her legs and fired.
Her final charge struck true, pumping her wings for a last bit of force as she plowed the broken, splintered spear into Wallace's wound. As unsuitable of a weapon as it was, it stuck, immediately clubbing Valey and tossing her aside as Wallace continued his spin. She landed hard, unable even to brace herself or soften the blow, but managed to get a hoof beneath her before Howe could start his count, lifting her head and looking to see what she had done.
"Nnngh... Good aim, young Valey..." Wallace teetered, his spin slowing and coming to a stop, the plank still embedded in his side. "Were I to fall here, you would have victory. But should I shrug off this blow? What would you do then?"
Valey gritted her teeth. The pain from her broken hoof was getting worse, and she wasn't sure how long she'd last before she went into shock. If more blows were exchanged, she had nothing else in her. She was at her limit. So... "I'd do it again. Harder, this time. Aaah..." She briefly squeezed her eyes, whimpering under her breath.
Wallace gave her a look that saw right through her, blood dripping from his wound as well. While he was in far better condition than she was, he was hardly perfect, and they both knew that. A far sight from when she left him untouched in their practice session over a month ago.
"Is that so?" he rumbled, favoring his injured side. "Even though the outcome of this match ultimately matters not? Both of us will stay in the tournament, either way." He spread a wing, showing his feathers... and between them, a glittering golden card Valey instantly recognized as a Regent. "Won't we?"
Valey sucked in a painful breath, instantly understanding. Using hers on a win could instantly disqualify her opponent, ensuring she would never face them again... and Wallace knew that. But was he...? Her mind flashed back to his spin. He left himself open on purpose! Was this a test? Was he offering her surrender, to see what she would do? She grimaced. "I'm not gonna do that," she hissed. "But I can't give up, either. Not while I can still move my legs. If you want to beat me, you're going to have to knock me all the way out, or lose trying."
"So that's how it will be, isn't it?" Wallace gave her a huge grin. "Very well, then." His talon grasped the broken plank, tearing it from his side and tossing it at Valey's hooves. Then he turned, limping, and calmly stepped out of the arena. "I yield."
"Buh?" Valey folded her ears. He was.
The crowd went completely silent.
"Uhhhhhhh..." Howe's jaw dropped, and he tapped his microphone a few times.
"Cool." Valey wobbled, about to collapse. "Not gonna use the thing..."
"Did Wallace Whitewing really just surrender!?" Neon Nova's voice boomed over the loudspeakers, announcing the happenings to the entire arena. "He did!"
Howe's shock morphed into an eager grin. "Aha! By unprecedence of legendary proportions, it has happened! I'm... actually not sure what's happened! Mister Whitewing, a word for our-"
Wallace tapped him aside, entering back into the ring and stretching out a wing. It curled gently around Valey as she finally collapsed, lifting her into the air. "Come, then. We have things that need discussing, young Valey, But first, shall we see ourselves to the infirmary?"