//------------------------------//
// I Tricked You 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

"Well... looks like I'm stuck in this for a week more..."

Valey sighed to herself as she wandered the corridors of Stormhoof Colosseum, making her way out to the world beyond. Admittedly, trouncing two enemies at once had been fun. There was nothing quite like an unfair battle to make beating her opponents satisfying, and she didn't regret walking out of this one victorious at all. Would she feel the same next week? Maybe she'd find another excuse to keep herself in the fray and keep pushing her decision down the line. Or maybe she'd actually make up her mind one direction or another.

At last, her hooves carried her back into the public areas, where she registered a familiar orange unicorn waiting for her... alongside a gigantic griffon no one could ever forget.

"Hail and well met, my little pony," Wallace laughed, leaving Shinespark in the dust as he ruffled Valey's mane with a massive wing, knocking her beret askew. "I see you're still up to taking Stormhoof by storm."

Valey nearly lost her hoofing from the impact. "Woah! Bananas, long time no see..."

Wallace grimaced. "Indeed. Some unfortunate business in Izvaldi has required our constant presence as a symbol of encouragement and public support. We haven't had the time to hang out as I'd wished."

"I've been filling him in," Shinespark offered, catching up. "He was already waiting for me in our box when I arrived."

"Oh, I've kept myself appraised of the comings and goings here in Stormhoof," Wallace assured. He leveled an eye at Valey. "Most concerningly, I hear you tried walking out on a fight the moment you got there. What's all this about, young Valey?"

"Oh. Uh." Valey winced, faced with an expression that was outwardly cheerful and triumphant yet knew exactly what she had done. "Look, it was a friend, and I didn't want to throw away her chances..."

"Balderdash," Wallace rumbled, straightening up. "If you cared about her wish well enough to sacrifice your own, you'd fight on in her honor! Her wish being yours still leaves you with a wish, does it not? In a challenge where only the strong survive, laying down and clearing the path does your ally no favors for reaching her ultimate goal, my little friend." He leaned dangerously close. "Now what were you really up to?"

Valey wilted. "Look, I just... This whole tournament thing is like... My friends..."

Wallace let her stammer for a moment before flooring her with a sparkling grin. "Because I'll tell you what I've been up to! Stacking the deck! A little hocus pocus here, throwing my weight around with the right organizers, and presto! You were served a ridiculously unfair battle and cleared it without taking a scratch!" He seized Valey in his talons, holding her off the ground in a distant hug. "I'm so proud of you! Now tell me whatever assails your will to fight has survived such a blow of momentous victory."

"Buh?" Valey dangled in his grip. "Wait, you're talking about just now? Fighting two dudes isn't normal?"

Wallace's mustache drooped faintly. "...Didn't you read the rules?"

"No?" Valey raised an eyebrow.

"Haaa ha ha!" Wallace dropped her, laughing. "Of course you didn't. You've been hoodwinked, young Valey. You would normally have an extra fight after being spared, as is necessary to keep the number of fighters in the bracket stable. A way to earn your way back in, as it were! But to combine those clashes into one? To go up against two of the sixty-four strongest fighters in the continent and emerge victorious? A feat that would wind even the heartiest of champions! Everyone thought I was trying to murder your tournament run like a cold-hearted assassin in the dead of night, but since you had already forfeit I was able to push it through."

"Wait, seriously?" Valey's eyes tried to narrow and widen at the same time, and she wound up just staring. "You... what? Why?"

Wallace grinned. "Because if you forfeit, you had given up. And if you've given up, there's hardly a downside to you losing, now is there? But there's nothing to galvanize hope like a victory in the face of impossible odds, and not only did you win a duel that was designed to be nigh impossible, you did it unarmed, ambushed and without taking a single blow. I judged it to be a risk worth taking. Now tell me how my judgement blew over!"

Valey just blinked. "You... Bananas. You really want me to win this that bad, huh?"

"Have I ever not?" Wallace lowered his voice. "You returned Morena's daughter to us and absolved us of our debt to Izvaldi. You have already given us everything we could wish for. There is nothing I can do but return the favor, and if your problems are ones of spirit, that is my domain."

"I asked him if he could do this, for the record," Shinespark added. "After last week. Not to rig things against you specifically, but to help you in some way. Maybe fighting in the tournament isn't the best goal for you to follow, but trying to drop out didn't seem to be helping."

"I..." Valey swallowed. "Look, it's not that I doubt I can win, it's..." She glanced around at the myriad of nearby corridors. "You think we could go somewhere a little more private for this?"

"Agreed," Wallace rumbled. "Allow me."





Valey and Shinespark clung together to Wallace's back as the gigantic griffon flew, making speeds even Valey wasn't confident she could keep up with. Stormhoof castle was a triangular outline in the distance, with the ocean far below. They winged their way westward, closely hugging the mountain wall at a low elevation.

Neither of the passengers had the breath to ask where they were going, but it quickly became apparent: a hole in the rock wall, just low enough that it could be reached by a rusty ladder affixed to a crevice yet well out of the way of storm spray. The cave was wide enough for Wallace to soar inside without furling his wings, and soon they landed, the interior a homely, sheltered room with an artificially-flattened floor, some seating and a few tunnels leading further in.

"Where is this?" Shinespark asked as she climbed down, staring around at the cave in interest.

Wallace nodded at the abode. "A hideout and lookout post we liberated from bootleggers about a decade back. My team and I have a large network of such locations, and it's usually more efficient to clean them up and repurpose them to our own affairs than to destroy them or abandon them for ruffians to reclaim. If you ever need to squirrel something away, retreat from the public eye or replenish yourselves from a supply cache, remember this place exists." He glanced back at Valey and Shinespark. "It's also supremely private."

"Uh... wow." Valey stared around the cavern, nodding at its small furnishings in approval. "You know, this would actually make a neat place to live for a while if you needed to..." She glanced at Shinespark. "You thinking about who I'm thinking about?"

Shinespark nodded.

"I'm glad you're finding it useful. We have far more than we need, ourselves." Wallace glanced once more at the entrance. "Now then. Your tone made it sound as though you're being blackmailed to quit. Tell me everything you know, and I'll see if we can't get some heat off your back. Barring that, you have a useful device for communicating with your friends, and this place is well-stocked enough for you to stay as long as you need."

"Uhhhh." Valey blinked, suddenly putting two and two together. "No, it's..." Her shoulders sagged. "Nobody's blackmailing me. I'm just... having... I dunno if winning would even do anything to help me anymore." She looked up, staring at a wall. "I've got a million different things I want, and all of them I either could more easily get in other ways that I'm not already doing because bananas, who knows? Or they're things Garsheeva can't even grant. You know, like having the entire world leave me alone and stop hating batponies and improving my luck, period."

"I see," Wallace slowly rumbled. "So your fire really is suffering. You're having trouble looking your goals in the eyes, aren't you?"

Valey frowned. "I mean..."

"Look at what you want and tell yourself honestly you want it," Wallace requested. "And then tell me where that breaks down. Is it the very first step?"

"Look, I just didn't want to lose to that yelling guy," Valey sighed. "In my fight just now. I just hate losing."

Wallace nodded subtly. "Young Shinespark, tell me what your friend wants."

Shinespark folded her ears. "She has a sister called Nyala who got trapped in moon glass a long time ago, and we're halfway to being able to bring back. That's a big one. She also cares a lot about us, all of her friends, and wants us to be safe. And I know she wants to be somewhere where everyone isn't biased against her or treating her unfairly for being a batpony. Garsheeva's heresies..."

Wallace watched Valey intently, noting every time she averted her gaze. "Are you ashamed of your goals, my little pony?"

"No." Valey grimaced. "Bananas, what kind of question is that? Why would anyone be ashamed of themselves for wanting to bring back their soul-siphoned sister?"

"Ashamed of yourself for following them?" Wallace raised an eyebrow, a twinkle entering his eyes. "That's not the answer to the question I asked, but it is an answer, and a helpful one at that. Don't you worry, young Valey. We're going to get to the root of what ails you if it takes us all day."