Revelations
Card sat on the bed, shuffling his cards with shadows. His room was dark and he knew it was well past midnight. Despite being tired, he couldn’t make his mind stop thinking long enough to relax. He glanced around his room as he had done all night, taking it in. The walls were bare and a dark blue color, not unlike his mane. The bed was tidy normally, yet now it was folded and wrinkled where he had been sitting. The only noticeable thing in his room was the mirror in the far corner. Long ago, in anger, Card had shattered the large mirror, seeing not his own reflection, but the reflection of a pony similar to him. This pony had come from another dimension, but a dimension where he himself had gone horribly wrong. He had chosen the name Valkyrie in that universe, the name meaning the bringer of war. This version of him, Valkyrie, had accepted the shadows willingly, but could not control their corrupting power. Card had reformed him to the best of his ability, yet still found the pony untrustworthy when he appeared.
Card stood and walked to the mirror, the deck of cards forgotten on the bed. He looked at his fractured image, somehow seeing beyond the whiteness of his eyes. Somehow, he could see, though being blind. And yet… though able to see, he could not see what to do about what was to come. Card sighed slightly. I don’t… want to do this….
“Why so down tonight?~”
Card turned quickly to find himself staring at Valkyrie. His mind flashed back to years ago when his father had appeared before him with much the same words. However, his father hadn’t been accompanied by the shadowy tendrils that always seemed to follow Valkyrie. Card sat on the bed once more, having nearly grown used to Valkyrie’s presence. Valkyrie appeared to him often now, yet mostly just to check on Cards shadow progress. Card didn’t delude himself for an instant that Valkyrie was concerned at all for his own well being.
“You haven’t answered me, little Trick~” Valkyrie grinned and leaned against the wall, using shadows as a support. “What’s got us in such a bad mood?~”
Card glanced at him. “You know the answer already. The battle is coming, Valkyrie.” Valkyrie didn’t respond, staring blankly at the ceiling. “What did you do, in that battle?”
Valkyrie thought a moment. “Well, it’s one of the few things I regret now that I’m like you all here. I suppose maiming gods isn’t on the list of good things to do.”
Card sighed. “That’s what I figured.”
Valkyrie glanced at Cards cutie mark, noticing for the first time that it had changed to the shadow cards he practiced with. “Your cutie mark… it’s changed already, then?~”
“I’m not as young as I once was, Valkyrie.”
Valkyrie looked at him fully, taking in the changes that had taken place before his very eyes. Card had grown a bit taller, and he now held himself in a more respectful frame. Still, beneath that cool edge, Valkyrie could see the doubts and thoughts that so horribly plagued the colt’s thoughts. “Yes… I think I can see it now. You’re nearly a man~”
Card brushed the comment aside, barely taking note of it. He was honestly unconcerned about his age. He had known from an early age he would be unlike anypony he knew, and so he had lived his life as such. Age didn’t matter. “I became a man long ago, Valkyrie. I’m just getting the body of one now.”
Valkyrie lifted his head slightly, watching Card closely. With slight hesitation in his voice, he spoke. “You’re scared.”
Card shut his eyes tightly, hearing his doubts confirmed by himself. “Of course I am, Valkyrie!” He stood angrily, pacing once more that night. “I’m terrified I’m making a mistake in all of this. It’s not for me to try and take on a god. I’m…” There was a slight pause as Card stopped once more in front of the shattered mirror, watching his distorted reflection cracked and unclear. “I’m afraid of my weaknesses.”
Valkyrie stood, a pleasantly puzzled look grin on his face. “No, you’re not.” Card turned to him, confused. Valkyrie looked into the less fractured side of the mirror, looking at the duel reflections. “Who better to talk to about what you fear than yourself? Now, I know what you’re going through, believe it or not. Even villains have deep thoughts. You don’t fear your weaknesses, Card. You fear your strength.”
“How can I be so strong when I’ve made so many mistakes in my life?”
“Because of your fears, Card.” Valkyrie pulled Cards head around to look him in the eyes. “Our weaknesses are always evident, to ourselves and to others. Our strengths, on the other hoof, are hidden until we choose to reveal them – and that is when we are truly tested. When all that we have within is exposed, and we may no longer blame out inadequacies for our failure, but must instead depend on our strengths to succeed – That is your true measure Card… and your greatest fear.”
Card took a step back, somewhat startled at Valkyrie’s directness. Card did not delude himself. He knew Valkyrie did not care personally about him. He only cared about what Card would become. Still, Valkyrie had a very valid point. Several, actually. Everything he said made perfect sense in Cards mind, though that made sense, seeing as they were the same pony at heart. Valkyrie summoned a card with his shadows, a joker card with frayed edges. “Believe in yourself, Card,” he said, spinning the card around with his shadows. Card could see the split edges of the card, seeing the fracturing of the card. It was becoming undone, much like himself. He was changing. “Believe,” Valkyrie continued, “you are not meant to spend your days in dusty caves or the battlefields of war. You are meant for something greater.” With that, Valkyrie threw the card to him, shadows swirling around him.
Card caught the card with his own shadows, feeling the card in his power. Shadows began to swirl around Valkyrie, and Card couldn’t help but smile and make one last remark. “Leave it to myself to make up a pep talk. You realize this does nothing to help me, don’t you? It’s just words!~”
Valkyrie smiled through the shadows, his old grin he used to wear shining through the darkness. “Of course I know that, but saying you’re screwed won’t help you any either~”
Card smiled as Valkyrie disappeared into shadows, departing from this place once more. He sat on the floor, spinning around the joker card. At one point in time, Card had been represented by such a card. Wild and free… He knew now, however, that he was changing. Why else would he be having such doubts and qualms about this battle? Still, he could not help but worry, despite everything he himself had said. He knew he was changing, but what to?
He summoned his average deck of cards, thinking. He knew how to read cards, almost like a tarot. He began to shuffle the cards, choosing from habit to use shadows. He began to deal them, shutting his eyes as he did so. He did not know how, but he had been born with unnatural sight. He had always assumed it was because of his genetic line. His father saw in much the same way he did when his eyes were shut. It was impossible to describe, since he had never truly known anything different. Card had been born as a blind pony who could see – born a conundrum in itself. He dealt faster, until finally the deck had dispersed.
He gently opened his eyes, seeing without truly seeing as he always had. He reached in front of him to the top card, seeing the familiar joker card. Something was wrong with it, he knew. The average face that alighted the card seemed to smile with not joy, but false abandon. It was as though the smiling joker smiled through a broken glass, distorting the image to a horrible, cracked grin. He could see red spots on the card, reminding him of blood. There was a time I was known as the Bloody Joker… Known as a powerful pony who could kill as he needed… That reputation allowed me to go about life without having to kill, for they feared me. “No longer,” he said softly, tearing the card in half. “I will no longer be feared like that.”
He reached forward and pulled out another card, the ace of hearts. He remembered the card being his first cutie mark, having gotten it soon after meeting Lily. He remembered there had been times when he had had doubts about himself being able to protect her. “I WILL be able to protect her from this battle. I will not let her be hurt.” He made the card disappear in a flash of shadow, a small smile on his face.
He reached forward, surprised to see only one card left. There had been a full deck before… Still, he knew cards had power even he did not know. They showed the absolute necessities, editing themselves out of the equation when they served no purpose. He flipped the card over and his eyes widened in surprise. Before him sat a card he had seen only a few times before. It was purely black and seemed to absorb light. When looking at it, your eyes became lost in the darkness of the card, almost like going to sleep.
Card picked up the cards with his shadows, staring directly into the darkness. These cards reflect who I am inside… “I am not dark. I am not shadow.” He twirled the card around, watching the darkness spin around. “My heart may be black, for I cannot see it… yet, in every darkness, light resides.” He felt his shadow powers work into the card as they had the stone from that morning. He could feel the shadows inside the card, surprised at the amount of them in such a small container. Rather like yourself…
Yet, deep within the card, he could feel emptiness. Something that was trying to come out of the card, and yet there was nothing there to come out. It was impossible to tell what was truly inside the card because the shadows obscured the deepest area of the card.
Card threw himself into the card with his powers, concentrating on the heart of the emptiness. Something resided there, he knew, if only he could see it…
Not something for the blind pony to see~
Cards eyes widened as he heard the voice. He knew that tone, that chaotic slur. Discord. With that realization, he broke through to the card, and in a burst of light, the darkness of the card was expelled. He shielded his eyes as the shadows suddenly rebounded from the card, going back to him. He felt his own power strengthen from the new shadows, and yet he felt the light of the card shine through as well. He had been right. The emptiness heralded a deep light source, one purer than any he had known.
Finally, the blinding light stopped and Card could see once more. He looked at the card, seeing no darkness in the card. Instead, there was a simple design on the card, a golden apple shape with an arrow through it. He recognized the symbol as the trademark of Discord. This was one of his old cards, having come from something called the Deck of Disharmony… Such a small card could impact him so much.
He felt his shadows swirling through him more evidently now, but knew not what it meant. He didn’t feel truly different at heart. And yet… He had changed. He remembered days, long ago, when he was just Card Trick, a colt living through life. Now, the truth of what he had become shone through. He was the pony who would have to kill a god. It was kill or be killed now, and he would have to end it.
He made the card disappear, finding himself to be exhausted suddenly. He went to his bed and gently laid down, his powers coming back within a normal range. Nothing horrible had happened. Still, the voice had startled him. He supposed it was something Discord had enchanted the card to do. Discord was not here yet, but he was finally showing his powers. Card knew this was just a sign of what was to come…
Discord would be making his first moves soon, and when he did, Card was determined to be ready. He closed his eyes lightly and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
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I know of another story named Wild Card. Lawl I dunno.
3040041 To be honest, I came up with the name on the spot. Couldn't really think of anything big ^^;
3040115 two and Fifty? Ace and Joker out of fifty other cards?
3040245 Yes, I know, it's not a lot of cards. The latest chapter is a bit confusing, because Discord has started to show himself and his powers. Card has the power to read through cards, and yet he has troubles reading himself through them. The cards cannot describe him, using all of the other cards in a deck of 52. Instead, they go to the heart of the problem, the Ace and the Joker. Not to mention, Discords card.
3040255 ... 58?
3040265 58 what? ._. This conversation is making me a tad bit confused.
3040284 6 disharmonies + 52 cards = 58.
Magical math powers!
3040292 Disharmony is not as simple as a reversal of the elements of harmony. The deck of disharmony has an uncertain amount of cards. In this part of the story, he uses only ONE of the deck of disharmony cards. The card is seen as himself, if you'll find the metaphor -_-;;. Quite honestly, the purpose of this chapter seems to be lost upon others if they focus mainly on the amount of cards used and not the point OF each card.
3040309
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Just gimme da money and nobody get hert.