//------------------------------//
// Shadowed Sights 
// Story: Wild Card 
// by Arreis Of Avalon 
//------------------------------//

	Card was sitting on the sofa, reading. He was a man of nearly 16 now. His voice had gotten deeper, settling in a nice baritone. These past few weeks had been peaceful, and Card smiled, remembering the night out he had had with Lily last night. It seemed everything as of late had been going well. 
He glanced up as he heard a clatter in the kitchen. Pinkie had dropped a pan on accident. Card noticed she had been a bit jumpy lately. It was only when he was around, though. It’s as though she was hiding something from him. “Are you alright, Diane?”
Pinkie nodded, picking up the pan. “Y-yeah, just a bit startled is all.” Card noted the slight hesitation in her voice. He heard it every time she spoke to him. There was also a twinge of something there… worry?
Card nodded, then turned as he heard hoofsteps from the hallway. There stood one of Diane’s closest friends, DrakeFang. He used to be human, a prince even, living in a kingdom named Chikaria. After being deemed too weak to rule, however, he was sentenced to death. He managed to escape, and in the end he killed the one who sentenced him to die. After that, he escaped into Equestria, and he had lived there ever since. Drake was also the father of one of Cards closest friends, a colt named Hot Shot who was the same age as him. They were so close; they referred to each other as brothers. “Are you okay, Pinks,” he asked, a tad bit concerned.
Pinkie nodded, a rueful smile on her face. “Just a bit clumsy is all. Nothing to worry about.”
Drake smiled back at her, then turned to Card. “Hey, buddy, can I talk to you in private?” Card glanced up at him, a bit confused, and nodded. He stood and put the book he had been reading down. He noticed a small glance between Pinkie and Drake. Those two had been talking again. 
He walked into the hallway with Drake and turned to him. “So, what’s up?”
Drake looked at him, and Card could see something in his eyes. It seemed to reflect that same worry that had been in Diane’s voice. “… Card, I’m afraid something big is coming.” 
Card looked somewhat confused. “Drake, something big is always coming. We live on a hell gate.”
“I know, but you’re a part of it.”
“So be it then~”
Drake nodded slightly. “Tell me… have you seen Discord as of late?”
Card was somewhat surprised by the out of the blue question. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Yes, a version of him… why do you ask?”
Drake nodded as though Card had answered a very important question. “He’s bound to return,” he said to himself.
Cards eyes hardened slightly, a twinge of anger hidden in them. In a very soft and slow voice he spoke. “… And I hope that he does.”
“Why?”
Card was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Finally, he spoke. “Long ago, I made a vow that I would destroy him for what he did to me and Lily, as well as the pain he has caused others.”
To his surprise, Drake smiled. “Good. Your fighting spirit is strong.” To this, Card could only add silence. Fighting spirit? Card wasn’t sure if he liked the sound of that. He could fight, certainly, but he tried to use his voice and wisdom to sort out problems. Violence typically didn’t solve much. “Now,” Drake continued, “how good are you with… shadows?”
Card stood in silence again, thinking. Shadows… That had been the magic Valkyrie used. The magic he had fought to protect himself from. “What do you mean, Drake? I don’t have shadows.”
“Oh, no, you do. Trust me. You know I can sense shadow magic, Card. I sense a lot of them in you, and they’re not weak either.”	
Card shook his head defiantly, refusing to believe it. “I do NOT have them, Drake. I fought against Valkyrie to prevent ever having them. Now that I have made it so that I do NOT have shadows inside me, I plan to keep it that way.”
“What if I prove it to you?”
Card’s temper was beginning to unfold. “There’s nothing to prove, Drake.” 
Cards eyes widened as Drake raised his hoof. “Isn’t there?” Drakes hoof became encased in black flames, signaling Card to come closer. Card gasped as his chest glowed black, and he began to move closer to Drake. He tried to stop himself from moving, but it was of no use. All the while, Drake smiled. “Still don’t believe me?”
Card glared at Drake. “Y-you’re doing that,” he said, his voice strained from trying to stand his ground. 
Drake shook his head. “All I’m doing is manipulating the shadows within you.”
Card couldn’t see it, but his eyes were beginning to turn a shade of red, something Drake knew well. Whenever Card was angry, his eyes became a brilliant shade of blood red. The same thing happened to Drake when he used powerful shadow magic. “D-drake, you are making me VERY angry at the moment.”
Drake kept smiling, watching Card’s futile attempts to stay still. “Good. Now, try to break free.”
“Using shadows, I assume?” Card glared at Drake, feeling overwhelming anger.
“Whatever you can come up with~”
Card struggled against the shadows, refusing to give in, though in his heart he knew it was of no use. “D-Drake, just let me go!”
Drake shook his head, still smiling. “Break free. Your enemy won’t just let you go if you ask them to.”	
“LET ME GO!” Cards eyes were now a full blazing red, no longer that faded rose color from before. He was truly angry, and he wanted to take it out on the nearest thing that he hated… unfortunately, he didn’t hate Drake. “Drake, you are NOT my enemy!”
“I could be.”
Cards eyes widened as shadows surrounded Drake, and his voice became echoed. “For all you know… I could be Discord already…” The shadows left Drake, but Card saw it wasn’t his old friend any longer. In fact, it wasn’t a friend at all.
“What will it be, little Trick,” Discord said, his voice seeming to bounce around in his mind, flaring up memories he had blocked out, things he had wanted to forget. Pain. Anger. Sadness. He had pushed what Discord had done to him – to all of them – and now it was all flooding back in one giant wave of emotion. “Will you break free,” he continued, “or surrender?”
Cards eyes were now purely red with a slit of shadow in them. All other thoughts were driven from his mind but one soul goal. “I will END YOU.” His voice shook with not only emotion, but power. 
“It will take more than that, little Trick.”
“More? I’ll give you MORE.” In a burst of shadow, Card was standing back where he had originally stood. Around him curled shadows, his own this time, and not seemingly made by his old friend. He felt good, wonderful even. He could feel the power racing through him, and it felt fantastic. He could do anything in this form. He could win. He could face Discord. He could kill.
“Wonderful, WONDERFUL~” Cards eyes widened as shadows encased Discord, and in his place stood DrakeFang one more. He realized with a shock that he had been tricked. Discord hadn’t been there at all. It had all been an illusion, made by Drake. As the realization hit him, he began to calm down, regaining control on his shadows. His eyes returned to their natural white, and he saw Drake was smiling. “I’d say training can begin~”
Card looked at Drake, unbelieving. He had made the shadows emerge. He had done this. What was he now? “N-no…”
Drake saw the pain in Cards eyes and walked closer to him. “Card.”
Card cut him off with a glare. “Don’t talk to me Drake.” He was surprised to hear the touch of anger in his voice. Perhaps it had been left over by the shadowy state of mind he had donned… or maybe it was his own anger at the pony who had made him… this.
“You’re just like me, Card,” Drake continued, “A wielder of shadows. With my help, you can learn how to control and use those powers.”
Card felt tears sting at his eyes. “Drake… you’ve made me the one thing I never wanted to be… the one thing I never wanted to become…”
Drake walked next to Card and leaned down slightly to his level, putting his hoof on the boys shoulder. “Card, that’s not true. You’re you, not the shadow.”
Card stared into his friends eyes. “Y-You was what I become when I touch shadow, Drake… I… I don’t want to become Valkyrie…”
Drake had a small smile on his face. “You won’t, Card. Valkyrie… didn’t have my help~” Card held his head in his hooves, thinking. This was all so much to take in, and even his mind had trouble sorting out what had happened. In the course of even less than an hour, his life had changed dramatically. All he could do was hope it hadn’t changed for the worse. “Card, we need your shadows.”
Card glanced up at him again. “W-why mine?... Why... Why me?”
Drake sat next to him. “Discord is rising again. Since you have so much anger and shadows in you, you’re seen as easy to manipulate, and so he will come after you. As you are right now, you wouldn’t be able to defeat him… and you WILL have to fight him.” Drake lifted Cards head to look into his eyes. “Now, listen closely. You are strong, Card. You’re shadow powers are amazing, seeing as they broke mine. Now, Discord is the God of chaos, correct?” Card nodded slightly. Drake continued. “Chaos is no more than a unity of light and dark. If you fight Discord on your own, your shadows would take over, losing to the chaos. That’s why I want to teach you, and it’s why Diane has been so worried as of late. She’s afraid she’ll lose you to revenge.”
Card sighed softly, knowing it was inevitable. “… I suppose I have no choice.”
“You have the choice of not using shadows, Card, but you’ll just end up like me.”
Card shook his head sadly, a single thread of defiance left in him. This couldn’t just take over his life… “I never asked for this, Drake. I never asked for shadows. I never asked to be born into madness. So why did it all happen to me?”
Drake looked at him seriously, and Card knew the answer instantly through Drakes eyes. Drake had lived a worse life than he. Drake had been purged of his every aspect, everything that made him human, because he had lost control. “We don’t get to chose that, Card.” Card nodded slightly, knowing now the only course of action. “Let me train you, Card. Let me teach you the secrets of shadows.”
Card sighed. “… Very well. Teach me how to control my shadows, Drake.”
Drake smiled brightly, standing at full height once more. “Excellent. Starting today, then, you’re my pupil. Also, you won’t just learn to control your shadows. You’ll be protecting with them. Your training partner will motivate you all the more to get it right~”
Card glanced at him, already half knowing the answer to his question. “Who is… my partner?”
Drake smiled brightly. “Discord is chaos and chaos is only a combination of light and dark. Shadows are darkness. Now, to you, who is light?”
Cards eyes widened slightly. His closest friend, the one with fire powers… He could summon and control fire at will… “Y-your son… Hot?”
Drake nodded happily. “Through this, my son will learn to control his flames even better. He’s a warrior at heart, and he considers himself your brother.”
Card couldn’t help but smile, Drakes confidence rubbing off. “None more suited to help me, then.”
Drake nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Just watch, Card. In the end, everyone will see two great warriors rise. The Trick and the Comet, the two that defeated chaos.”
Card had a small smile on his face, unable to help himself because of Drakes own happiness. Still, under that smile, sorrow still lurked. A warrior… his father had always ending things peacefully, and Card had always thought that teaching to be sound. Why solve violence with more violence when you could easily solve things different ways? 
Drake caught on that Card was still somewhat down. He could see the inner turmoil, and somehow, he knew who it was about. Card had always looked up to his father, and Drake knew him well enough to know what was on his mind. He also knew Cards father well enough to end these doubts. “Do you know what I think Hat would say?~”
Card glanced at him, somewhat startled that he could get to the heart of the problem so quickly. Drake smiled and kept talking. “I remember there was a time he said to you, “Don’t be a Hat Trick. Be Card”. I said much the same thing earlier. You are Card Trick.” To this, Card could only respond with silence. “Heh. I think your father would say something along the lines of ‘Go and fight, son. I’ll hold your hat~”
Card couldn’t help but laugh along with Drake. His impression of his father was a little rough around the edges, but who in the world could imitate Hat Trick? As he lightened up slightly from the joke, Card allowed himself time to think. If Drake was truly as close to him as he knew, deep down… the he should be able to tell Drake his inner most thoughts. All of his doubts... “Drake?”
“Mhm?”
“… Everypony always tells me… ‘You aren’t your father. You’re Card Trick’.” Card was rather surprised to feel tears rolling down his face. Now was the time to let out all of the deep inner thoughts he had. Everything now would be said… and now was the time for the easiest of the questions on his mind. “W-what if Card Trick… W-what if I’m not enough?”
Drake looked somewhat startled by the question. “What in the world makes you say that?”
Card let his tears run, knowing he needed to let go of his inner fears and doubts if he was ever to succeed. “I-I failed to stop the shadows… It had been my goal, and I couldn’t reach it.” He paused slightly to wipe away some of the stream of tears coming from his eyes. “I-If I couldn’t do that much, Drake… H-how can I ever hope to face Discord?”
“Oh Card…” Drake put his hoof on Cards shoulder once more. “Again, you tried to stop your shadows on your own. Controlling them is something we can do together.” Card sighed to himself, refusing to voice the one thing on his mind. Drake wouldn’t be there during the fight to hold him back. Drake heard the small sigh and thought about what to say for a moment. “You know… I never wanted to be DrakeFang.” Card looked up at this. “In fact, I never intended on becoming Drake either.”
“Really?”
“Really. For a long time, I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t want to find out my name or past; I didn’t want to be that. My shadows took me over, and I was gone. Dead, vanished. No more. I was replaced by shadow, literally becoming a Dark Entity.”
Card couldn’t help but smile slightly. “And look at you now~”
Drake chuckled slightly. “Yeah. Look at me now. You know, you and I are more alike than you think. You’re constantly doubting yourself.” To this, Card could only answer with a sheepish smile. “Life is hard. We can’t deny that. It’s got its obstacles. By trying, never giving up and keeping our spirits high, we get through it all. So what are you? A DrakeFang? Or a Dark Entity?”
Card smiled. Reaching into his hat, he pulled out an old blank mask, one he had gotten from Valkyrie after he had been changed back to good. What was he, really? He thought awhile, then his face grew a nice, small smile. “… I’m just a Wild Card~”
“That’s the spirit.”
Cards smile stayed this time. I guess it’s time to stop deluding myself. 
Drake made a small motion with his hoof. “I can see it now, the Wild Card and the Comet. The warriors who defeated chaos~”
Card nodded and yawned. “For now, I think I should get some rest~”
Drake nodded a bit ruefully. “I’m sorry Card. I’m putting you through so much. How you can still like me, I’ll never know~”
“That’s simple, Drake. Don’t you realize? Hot is what I consider to be a brother. What does that make you?~”
Drake was still smiling softly, blushing just a tad. “Think I know the answer, but again, I don't see how.”
“I sat here in pain being told something i didn't want to hear... and you took the time to explain things calmly and rationally, even when i almost threw a childish fit.” He glanced up at Drake, his smile speaking a thousand words. “That’s the definition of a father if I’ve ever heard one~”
Drake rubbed the back of his head, blushing slightly. “Sheesh, Card~”
Card chuckled slightly. “Now, I think it’s time for sleep~”
Drake tussled Cards mane lightly. “Yeah… Sleep tight…” He walked to the hallway, about to go to his room, when he stopped and glanced back once more. “… Son~”
With a small smile, Card watched as Drake left. He glanced at the mask in his hooves once more. Tomorrow… training would begin.