Author's Note:
As mentioned in the previous post, I have fallen down the rabbit hole or should I say pony hole?
I want to lay the groundwork for three MLP-centric stories, then I'll get back to work on the Arknights project.
Some might think that this story is an attempt to remake [Kaleidoscope Adventure (MLP): The Black Knight of the Crystal Empire] in a different light.
I admit the basic idea may be similar, character X arrives in the Crystal Empire, kills Sombra and becomes King.
But the protagonist and the secondary characters are extremely different and the story will go on completely opposite paths.
If in the previous story Arthur is Momonga/Ainz Ooal Gown, this protagonist is Sosuke Aizen or Kenjaku.
XXX
Story Title: The Darkus Archon, the Planeswalker of the Crystal Empire
Plot: A Planeswalker takes a break from his duties to the Commorragh of Voidwalkers, traveling through the Blind Eternities, and ends up in the Crystal Empire. In a single day, he manages to slay the tyrant, find the Crystal Heart, and have himself elected the new ruler of the Crystal Ponies. Then, his gaze turns to Equestria.
XXX
Story Arc: Welcome to the Crystal Empire
Episode 1: The Arrival of the Chosen "Hero"
Chapter 1: A Visitor from Afar
Plot: Paimon and Traveler enter a portal near the Crystal Empire. They explore and discover that the beautiful crystal city is plagued by many problems.
XXX
POV Narrator
The Crystal Empire a thousand years ago was a true Empire whose vastness and influence embraced the entire north, but the rise of King Sombra brought everything to ruin and misery.
Before King Sombra, the Crystal Empire boasted a splendid Capital, three enormous cities, one for each type of Pony, several dozen towns, and hundreds of small villages scattered across the snowy lands.
Today, only a single city remains of the Empire, the Crystal Capital, the Crystal Pony population has been reduced to only Crystal Land Ponies, while the Pegasus and Unicorns are extinct.
It all began when King Sombra used his dark magic to take control of the bodies of the Crystal Ponies, shaping the empire in his image, committing countless atrocities and genocide.
Once the Crystal Empire was no longer enough for King Sombra, he started a war against Equestria and the two Alicorn Princesses, Celestia and Luna.
A brutal conflict that lasted several years, King Sombra had no hesitation in sending entire armies of his magic-controlled subjects to certain death.
The Sombra Empire had obedient soldiers on its side, without hesitation or fear of death.
The Kingdom of Celestia and Luna had a smaller army on its side, but made up of all three types of Ponies, all united by camaraderie and dedication to the Princesses and their good cause.
Quantity versus quality.
When a city or a journey was about to be freed from King Sombra's influence, he would apply the scorched earth tactic and fight to the last Pony, taken to the extreme.
Year after year, piece by piece, the Crystal Empire and its people were reduced to only its capital, 10 million Crystal Land Ponies, and King Sombra, who would rather see everything reduced to ashes than surrender.
The war ended when Celestia and Luna attacked the Crystal Capital, cornering King Sombra, albeit with difficulty.
Sombra, he is certainly one of the most evil Ponies in the history of Equus, but, without a doubt, his evilness is equal to his magical power.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna jointly cast a banishing spell, which would seal King Sombra into an eternal realm of darkness.
But the Tyrant is a Unicorn with dark magic wielding, and in a final act of spite, he placed a curse on the Crystal Empire, well, what was left of it.
King Sombra's curse has linked his dark magic to the Crystal Pony people and the capital itself.
So when he was exiled, the people and the capital followed him against their will, condemning them to further suffering.
The two Alicorn Princesses could not let the Crystal Pony people suffer forever.
Celestia and Luna could not bring back the Crystal Empire without bringing back King Sombra as well, as they were linked by the curse.
Instead they could change the banishment spell, adding a condition for release without allowing King Sombra to commit further atrocities.
The evil Tyrant, the Crystal Ponies, and the Imperial Capital would remain in exile, in a realm of darkness beyond time, until a hero capable of ending Sombra's reign of terror appeared in the far north.
Unfortunately, the arrival of the chosen hero who would slay King Sombra would not appear anytime soon.
The memory of the Crystal Empire would be lost to time, becoming one of Equestria's countless myths, with only the Alicorn Princesses knowing the truth.
A little over a thousand years into the Crystal Empire's exile, a chosen hero has finally emerged.
Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, he is not the classic knight in shining armor wielding a sacred sword.
No, the Crystal Empire would be saved by an anti-hero, a student of all kinds of magic and science, no matter how forbidden or dangerous, who loves war and ambitions that can encompass the entire galaxy.
Perhaps the cure may be worse than the disease itself.
XXX
At the top of a snow-covered hill, a spiral portal resembling a vortex appeared.
The portal is made up of a mix of five colors: red, blue, green, black, and white. Its color is determined by the type of environmental mana infused into it through an Artifact to make it function.
A humanoid figure cloaked in a long, gloomy black cloak with a hood; if he had a scythe, he could be mistaken for the Grim Reaper.
The cloaked figure stands before the multi-colored portal, as if inspecting the surroundings.
"The air is breathable, the atmosphere is rich with ether, as if it were the middle of the Age of the Gods," said the cloaked figure, in an androgynous but slightly synthetic voice, as if wearing a mask or a voice modifier.
"It'll work for me." The hooded figure declares, walking forward as the portal behind him closes unceremoniously.
The steps of this mysterious individual are quick, elegant, precise and silent, leaving barely a trace in the snow.
Even though he is dressed entirely in black in a sea of white snow, he exudes the air of a specter that can vanish at any moment.
The north wind begins to blow, the traveler's cloak dancing in the breeze, as if it were more of a living creature than a piece of clothing.
What seemed like the beginning of a long, silent march through a harsh land of snow and frost was interrupted by the appearance of a small globe of light surrounded by stardust.
Next to the black-cloaked figure appeared a kind of fairy, with the small, graceful body of a ten-year-old girl.
The fairy has thick white hair cut just above her shoulders, dark purple eyes and pale skin.
He wears a white long-sleeved sweater, a midnight blue cape dotted with stars, white socks, and white boots.
Rose gold embroidery and decorative cuffs are applied to the sweater, boots, and sleeves. A gold triquetra is embroidered on the front of the sweater.
The fairy's accessories are a dark blue star-shaped hairpin and a rose gold tiara that levitates above her head like a halo.
Her name is Paimon, she can be considered a sort of sidekick or mascot, her purpose in life is to be around the cloaked figure, keeping them company and occasionally providing comic relief or a cute distraction.
"Traveler, it's just you and I on a new adventure into the unknown." Paimon declares, his expression happy.
Then, the north wind blows and Paimon begins to shiver from the cold.
"Why did our vacation have to take place in such a cold place?" asks the Fairy, realizing that she is in one of the coldest places in the world.
"I like the cold, it makes me feel at home." said the hooded figure, named Traveler by the White Fairy.
"Paimon isn't as resistant to cold and heat as you are. Paimon needs a change of clothes or a source of heat." The White Fairy said, curling up to contain her body heat.
The Traveler extends his right arm outside his cloak, revealing a thin, yet toned arm covered in smooth, blemish-free, light purple/white skin.
The hand has five fingers, with sharp, black, mirror-like nails.
A tight black material covers the entire arm, leaving a section of the back of the hand and the five fingers free.
On each finger are silver rings with an antique and mystical look, each with a different style, each decorated with a different high-quality precious gemstone, emitting a subtle glow of light.
On the back of the hand there is something similar to a tattoo made up of three red segments, together they form a crescent moon.
Around her wrist is a refined-looking bracelet, crafted from a mythical silver-colored material, with golden engravings in the language of the fairies.
From the middle of the forearm to the shoulder, attached to the tight-fitting material covering the arm, are seven amulets of smooth white stone, cut into perfect small circles, with an exquisite golden frame, all seven are positioned to form a vertical line.
Although the basic shape of the amulets is identical, each of them is decorated with a different engraving that looks like a combination of a glyph, a rune, and an alchemical circle.
Drawing a circle in midair with one finger, the Traveler created a simple ring of dark purple light.
This is the translation method for casting a spell from the Boiling Isles, in the world of Ysatnaf.
In an instant, Paimon's outfit is swapped for something more appropriate for the setting, a cute white winter ensemble.
"Thank you so much, BB. You're Paimon's best friend," the Fairy exclaims, using an affectionate nickname to refer to the Planeswalker.
Finishing with thanks, Paimon inspects his new attire, finding only good things.
"Let's move forward, we have seven days before we have to return to the Voidwalker Commorragh, I want to make the most of every second we have." Traveler said, walking forward, without any fear, despite knowing nothing about the world he is in.
"Most people, when they get a week off, go do something relaxing and fun," Paimon said, floating behind the Traveler.
"Exploring unknown worlds is my definition of fun and relaxing," Traveler replies, finding being an explorer stimulating, with all the risks and rewards that entails.
"Isn't that pretty much what you do every day as Rogue Trader?" asks the White Fairy, knowing full well what Traveler has been doing for a living these past few years.
"Rogue Trader Militant, you know I prefer the full title." Traveler said, correcting Paimon for using only part of his title.
"I don't want you to misunderstand. Paimon, she appreciates that we're doing what we're good at together—traveling in search of the next adventure." Paimon said, making it clear that she enjoyed the current situation.
"But, after all, do you use your week off to do what you would do during work? Shouldn't you be doing something you normally couldn't do?" asks the White Fairy, raising a good point.
"I love my job. Plus, this time I'm exploring a new world without having to worry about crew and USKY laws; all the pleasure of exploration, none of the responsibilities and none of the limitations." Traveler said, smiling under the shadow of his hood.
"That last part could be a problem for the natives of this world," Paimon thinks, worrying about what might happen to the unfortunate soul who will draw the Traveler's ire.
"Would you have preferred us to go somewhere else?" Traveler asks, wanting to hear Paimon's opinion.
The White Fairy puts a finger over her lips, assuming a thoughtful expression.
"If you're happy, Paimon is happy too. But Paimon hopes we don't have to walk through the snow the entire vacation," Paimon said, agreeing to let Traveler do what he wants; it's his vacation, after all.
"First, we should find a city and a library to figure out exactly where we are, then we'll see what we'll do. Explore some ruins, kill a great beast, or study the local culture," Traveler said, laying the groundwork for their vacation plan.
"Paimon vows to study culture, especially the culinary arts." The White Fairy said, touching her stomach, which can somehow hold ten times Paimon's weight.
XXX
The strange pair of friends continued down the hill, until something unexpected happened.
"Does Paimon need to wear glasses or is a city materializing in front of us?" asks the White Fairy, rubbing her eyes.
"Your eyes are working well, Paimon. We've just arrived in this world and we're witnessing something interesting," Traveler said, watching as a previously empty valley becomes a valley home to a city.
Down there, in the middle of the valley, was a city made entirely of crystal, built in the shape of a star, with a huge palace standing proudly right in the center of the star.
The city's numerous crystallized towers shimmer and sparkle brightly, even in the absence of the actual sun, as the entire sky above the city was nothing but a swirl of clouds.
"This is something you don't see every day." Paimon said, impressed by what she was seeing.
"A city made of crystal or a city that appears before our eyes?" asks Traveler, in a stoic voice, observing the city with interest, but no surprise.
"Both." replies the Fairy, looking at the crystal city in wonder.
"You're too surprised, Paimon. It's just a civilization that used crystals in their construction. I've seen civilizations do the same with gold, sea coral, ice, and liquid metal." Said Traveler, being a man who has seen it all.
"As always, you're not easily impressed." Paimon said, accustomed to her best friend maintaining his stoicism under all imaginable circumstances.
"Let's take a closer look at what this glittering settlement has to offer." Traveler said, quickening his pace.
"We have to walk, can't we use another means of transport?" Paimon asks, wishing for a faster and less tiring means of transport.
"Why are you complaining? You fly, I'm the one who walks." Traveler said, repeating a phrase he's said thousands of times.
"Flying isn't that easy, especially when it's windy and cold," Paimon said, clearly making up an excuse.
"I've spoiled you too much, worse than my own daughters and granddaughters." Traveler comments, stopping in his tracks.
The Fairy has the good sense to blush with embarrassment, knowing that she sometimes asks too much of her best friend.
Without warning, Traveler grabs the Fairy and holds her under his arm like a small sack of potatoes.
"Hold on tight, Paimon, because we're about to move with the speed of a rocket-powered snowboard," Traveler said, slamming his foot against the ground.
Using his powers, the Planeswalker created a surfboard of pure ice beneath him. In a second, he swung into a surfer's stance, holding the White Fairy close to him and his right hand behind him.
"Paimon likes sledding best," the Fairy exclaims, a little fearful, knowing what's about to happen.
"Next time I promise I'll use a sleigh pulled by demon reindeer, but for now, let's do it my way." Traveler said, then focused on his right hand for a second.
In less than a second, it shot out a burst of flame, propelling the pair of friends forward at enormous speed.
"haaaaaaaaa!" shouts the Fairy, holding on to the Traveler, as the snowboard continues to gain speed.
XXX
Soon, the Pyro-powered snowboard stopped, leaving the Planeswalker and the Fairy on the "outskirts" of Crystal City.
"Five hours of hiking combined with five minutes of snowboarding, definitely a good way to start a vacation." Traveler said, slamming his foot against his ice board, turning it into a puddle.
The Planeswalker looks up, his cloak preventing anyone from reading his body language, but the aura he emanates is less calm than before.
"This city is cursed. Once I set foot in it, I can't help but sense the residual magic everywhere and the evil intent." The Planeswalker thinks, able to understand all this thanks to his high sensitivity to paranormal energies.
The Fairy, unaware of everything, released her grip on the Planeswalker, floating again.
"Next time Paimon asks for faster transportation, pinch her on the cheek." The Fairy said, not being a fan of extreme sports or inhuman speed.
"We've arrived at our destination, that's what matters." The Traveler said, turning his attention to the ground.
Getting down on one knee, the Planeswalker pushes aside the snow with his hand, revealing the crystal terrain.
Touching the crystalline soil with his bare fingers, Traveler uses the spell, Analysis, to understand its properties, then infuses a small percentage of his magical magic into it to see a reaction.
Paimon, on the other hand, looks around as if she were a little girl in Santa's house.
"We absolutely have to take some pictures, this place is beautiful!" exclaims the White Fairy with great joy, wishing to make many wonderful memories.
Paimon is a young girl who clearly wants to be a tourist and enjoy her unusual vacation as best she can.
"BB, why are you looking at the ground? There are countless wonders all around you!" Paimon asks, floating over the Planeswalker's shoulder.
The patch of ground Traveler is touching glows faintly with neon purple energy, and at the same time, what appears to be black smoke evaporates from it.
"I'm studying the road's composition and its reaction to magic. This world, or just this province, must have diamond mines comparable to Wakanda's Vibranium deposits, if they use crystals like that to build roads." The Planeswalker replies, ending his spell and leaving.
stand up.
"The crystal used to build this road is an ideal material for use in various branches of magic. But what I really wanted to see was the energy behind the curse." The Planeswalker thought, having seen how pumping his magical energy into the ground had "burned" the curse's raw energy into a space the size of his hand.
"The curse is old, I'd say a thousand years or so, a far-reaching effect, it must have covered the entire city. But the ease with which it burned away in the presence of my magic indicates that the curse stopped working recently; now there are only remnants of it." Traveler thinks, reviewing what he's learned from a brief analysis.
"Does this mean no one will be mad at us if we take a crystal or two with us?" asks the unsuspecting Fairy, with a greedy expression.
Paimon she has two great weaknesses, food and wealth, she would do almost anything to have one of these two things.
"Before you ask me to give you a pickaxe and a magic pouch, I'm sure those who live here have laws against damaging their streets and walls for the sake of enriching themselves." Traveler said in a stern voice.
The normal Planeswalker would be more open to the idea of taking study samples, but with what he's discovered, playing rogue isn't an option.
"Understood, this time we're not taking anything that isn't ours, at least until we're supposed to leave." Paimon said, giving a small, devious smile as he said the last part.
On other trips, Paimon and Traveler waited until the day of departure to fill their pockets with everything that glittered.
"Your mere desire for easy wealth is foolish. The Crystal they use to make the roads is comparable to a Rank-B gem for Jewel Magecraft. I want to see how useful it can be for Jewel Magecraft, a valuable gem for the denizens of this crystal city." Said Traveler, interested in using the local resources to further his mystical interests.
If the Faerie desires mountains of food and gold, then the Planeswalker desires endless libraries of new knowledge and a cache of rare materials for his experiments.
"I have to meet a local," Traveler said, as something resembling an eye began to glow in the shadow of his hood.
"Speaking of residents, where are they? Haven't we met any of them by now?" Paimon asks, finally realizing that the beautiful crystal city has more in common with a ghost town than a vacation resort.
"Shut up in their homes, trembling in fear in their beds and praying to some deity of theirs." Traveler said stoically, looking toward a building near them.
Paimon's eyes begin to show concern, he begins to look around once again, this time the wonder is replaced by anxiety, caused by the lack of people and some sudden movements near the windows of the houses.
"Traveler, Paimon is not a bright girl and does not possess all of your psychic abilities, so tell her if you have discovered anything important." The Fairy said, floating in front of the Planeswalker, hoping for an answer.
"I've only made a couple of discoveries so far." Traveler confesses, lowering his hood to reveal his face to the public.
The Traveler's face features soft, delicate features, thin eyelashes, and facial features reminiscent of those of Artoria Pendragon or Morgan Le Fay, some of her ancestors through her maternal grandmother.
Thanks to these two characteristics, it is easy to mistake him for a girl, and his androgynous and pleasant voice doesn't help.
Her skin color is light purple/white, smooth and free of blemishes.
Its ears are long and pointed, like those of an elf.
On his left ear is a silver earring with a black gem, specifically a Mox Jet, a rare type of stone that produces one of the five colors of mana, in this case black mana.
On the right ear is a futuristic black and purple earpiece.
Traveler's hair is a light lilac, almost white, and is extremely long, reaching to the ground if it were not tied in a long braid.
As always, a section of the front hair is braided, covering the left eye, then thinning out and continuing down to the heart.
This braid is decorated with a purple ribbon and at the end there are four silver beads.
The right eye is visible and has a fluorescent purple color with the pupil of a raptor.
On top of the head, two large curved amethyst-colored horns with a healthy and shiny appearance.
Threaded onto each horn is a seemingly simple silver ring engraved in an unknown language.
Finally, the lower part of the face is covered by a black and purple cyberpunk-style gas mask.
"In the buildings around us, I can see nearly a hundred souls." Traveler said, placing a hand under his right eye, which grants him a rather unique view of reality.
"Paimon already knows, your right eye allows you to see people's souls, understand what kind of person they are, if they are putting you, if they have special abilities, if they are healthy or sick, etc." said the White Fairy, knowing many of her male friend's abilities in detail; after all, she has been by his side for a very long time.
"All the souls I see in this city are filled with despair and have been touched by black magic," Traveler said, seeing these traces easily, like an ink stain on a white sheet of paper.
"Dark Magic of the good or evil kind?" asks Paimon, having encountered good people with evil powers.
In fact, the Fairy's best friend, Traveler, is a person who studies and practices numerous types of dark/forbidden/dangerous magic, often for good purposes or at least for the good of his people.
"There is no good magic or bad magic, there is only magic and the people who use it." Traveler said, repeating one of the first basic lessons of his personal philosophy.
"BB, don't be a teacher right now. Does Paimon have to worry about seeing people unwillingly transform into hideous monsters or other nightmare material?" asks the White Fairy, who has seen many disturbing things she'd rather forget.
"That's not a likely scenario. The magic that touched their souls didn't go deep enough to alter their bodies. I'd say it was more along the lines of mind control." Traveler said, his tone cold and contemptuous.
"This is very bad news, extremely bad news," Paimon said, knowing full well what was to come.
Traveler is an individual who believes in free will; the use of magic, science, or a special ability to deprive a sentient being of the ability to choose is something he deeply despises.
"I will speak to one of the natives of this city, I will find out who used magic to curse the city and its inhabitants, I will find him and ask him questions." Traveler said, in a calm voice, asking for his right hand in a fist.
"If I don't like his answers, I'll cut off his head and burn his body." Traveler said, as crimson flames burst from the ring on his middle finger, engulfing his entire hand.
The Fairy watches the scene with an alarming calm, as if she had already seen scenes like this, which is very true.
'At least BB didn't take out his ceremonial dagger, that particular instrument promises a hellish scenario, corpses that will be transformed into Beasts of the Night or demonic-looking weapons.' The Fairy thinks, knowing what the tools of the trade are and the type of magical art the Traveler prefers to use when he gets angry.
The purple flames around the Traveler's hands disappeared as quickly as they appeared.
"Paimon, stay close to me and tell me if you see anything strange." Traveler said, considering the Fairy's safety one of his priorities.
"Don't worry, BB, Paimon knows his stuff." Paimon said, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest.
The Fairy, despite having the fighting skills of a five-year-old, has managed to remain whole, while she is practically glued to the side of a person who is a living magnet for paranormal disasters.
Traveler's ear twitched, indicating that he sensed something.
"Hoofbeats and heartbeat at three o'clock, distance five hundred meters." The Planeswalker said, starting to run in the direction of the sound.
"Having long ears has its advantages," Paimon said, chasing the Traveler.
The time has come for the two strangers to meet one of the locals.
XXX
Autumn Gem is an adult mare of the Crystal Pony breed. Normally, her body should have a shine reminiscent of polished crystals, but King Sombra's actions have deprived her and the rest of her kind of this characteristic.
Autumn Gem has what many humans would say is an anthropomorphic body.
A pair of hooves, horse legs with knees bent in the opposite direction to human ones, a thin waist, a pale purple tail emerging from the coccyx, a woman's throne with small breasts, two thin arms ending in four fingers, including the thumb.
His head is not that of a human, but not that of a horse from planet Earth either, rather something in between, with a more kawaii result.
A cute little muzzle, big pale blue eyes, two horse ears on top of his head, and a long mane/hair the same color as his tail.
His inner body is covered in pale blue coat/fur, on his shoulders is his cutie mark which depicts a plant.
Despite having fur, Autumn Gem does wear clothes, though in her case it is limited to old gray shorts that barely reach her knees and a ruined T-shirt of the same color.
Autumn Gem, like all the other mares and stallions in the city, avoid leaving their homes unless absolutely necessary, the thought of crossing paths with King Sombra is enough to paralyze many of them with fear.
The mare with the pale blue coat, like all other living beings, has to eat, taking the few coins she has and going out wanting to get to one of the few shops that are still open.
'Get something to eat, it doesn't matter what, just something edible, then go home and pray that King Sombra doesn't choose you to keep his bed warm.' The Mare thinks, her heart filled with fear.
The tyrant is in the habit of taking walks to admire his kingdom. If during one of his walks he sees a mare that seems beautiful to him, he will take her with him to the palace, where the mare will reluctantly fulfill the King's wishes until he becomes satisfied with her and throws her away.
For this reason, Mares like Autumn Gem are even more afraid to leave their homes.
The pale blue coated mare walks to be safe through the back streets and alleys, keeping her head down and her mouth shut, hoping not to glimpse the monster that has haunted her nightmares for years just around the corner.
As Autumn Gem turned the corner she encountered a pair of strangers who looked completely alien from her perspective.
The mare, seeing Traveler and Paimon, was petrified. Her heart might stop in fear.
"Traveler, do you also see an anthropomorphic horse-woman, dressed in rags?" Paimon whispered, seeing something new that deserves to be written in his travel journal.
When the Fairy and the Planeswalker are alone, she uses the nickname BB to refer to her traveling companion. But when they are in the company of others, Paimon uses her male friend's stage name, Traveler.
"I see it too, but why are you surprised by its existence? We've already seen anthropomorphic animals of various animal species, countless aliens and creatures straight out of folklore books." Traveler said, not even slightly surprised to see a new breed of anthropomorphic animals.
The two strangers' conversation may be without ill intent, but their strange appearance and speaking in a strange language only worsen Autumn Gem's fears.
'King Sombra must have sent his monsters to get me!' thinks the pale blue coated Mare, lying on the ground with her arms above her head, starting to cry.
This action of the Crystal pony made the White Fairy uncomfortable, while the Planeswalker remained impassive.
"Paimon, I'm not responsible for this collapse this time, I didn't do anything at all." Traveler said, having a long list of instances of making people cry/shocked with his words.
"Perhaps we are in one of those worlds where our appearance is monstrous to its inhabitants?" Paimon said, with a sad expression, not enduring seeing people sad or being the cause of others' sadness.
It's easy to see which of the two strangers has the tender heart.
"Most living things, when they see a monster, run away screaming or fight like berserkers, not just fall to the ground and cry," Traveler said, knowing a lot about the fight-or-flight reflex.
Autumn Gem continued to cry and wail as if she were about to be dragged to a fate worse than death.
"Traveler, you are the omnidisciplinary genius, do something." Paimon said, passing the problem to the Planeswalker.
"Sometimes you overestimate me, Paimon. I'm just a polymath genius, or a Renaissance Man if you want to be more imaginative, but I don't have a solution to every imaginable problem." Traveler replies, finding it annoying to always be the smartest person in the room/city/planet.
"Don't decide to be modest just yet, make her stop crying, then ask her politely why the city and its inhabitants were cursed." Paimon said in an authoritative, but still adorable, voice.
"Consoling people isn't my specialty, especially if they're complete strangers, but I'll try," Traveler said, knowing his strengths and weaknesses.
Traveler pulls his left arm out of his cloak. The basic appearance closely resembles the left arm, but the accessories are different, giving it a more sci-fi than fantasy feel.
All five fingers have futuristic-looking metal rings, made of silver, covered with circuit-like engravings.
On the back of the hand is an archaic black crest resembling the face of a draconic creature with large horns.
On the back of his hand is a ShotCode-style tattoo, a type of circular, target-like barcode that is machine-made. Being so meticulously crafted, some of the lines would require a microscope to be seen.
On his forearm, he wears an advanced purple device with white trim, featuring a touch screen. It resembles an improved, multifunctional version of a Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Disk.
Finally, he wears a futuristic-looking purple arm cuff with white trim, covered in circuit-like engravings and three neon purple lines.
Traveler used the device on his forearm to do a quick scan of the mare, getting a basic picture of her overall biology.
'Well, the brain doesn't look that different from the others—some glands are bigger, some are smaller. All in all, I can work on it.' Traveler thinks, looking at the three-dimensional image of the mare's brain on the touchscreen of his device.
The Planeswalker slowly lowers himself, trying not to worsen Autumn Gem's condition; she expects to be dragged in chains to King Sombra's presence.
Traveler's good eye emits a certain weight, a sign that he is studying the soul of the Mare before him.
For a person like Traveler, an individual's soul is like seeing a psychological profile; it allows him to get an idea of the type of person he's observing.
By looking longer, you can see more; the psychological profile can become a diary where the individual's most memorable moments, both good and bad, are recorded.
'A kind-hearted woman, who has been subjected to countless pains, until she is broken and barely functioning, certain things are universal constants.' Traveler thinks, feeling a shred of compassion for the mare.
The Planeswalker isn't an emotional person, honestly; he has rather limited emotional capacity. But he understands the difference between right and wrong.
The fact that good people are often victims of the stronger or suffer tragic fates through pure bad luck is not right.
"I haven't studied the Precursor artifact, Civilight Eterna, for decades, and worked for years on the creation of the Elysium Crown, to make a quick alternative to years of therapy on a random mare. But I can try." Traveler thinks, placing his right hand on Autumn Gem's head.
The pale blue coated Mare shivers at Traveler's touch, expecting the worst, perhaps to be used by monsters and then sent to King Sombra.
'She's in a bad way, what happened to her?' Paimon thinks, with a rare sad expression, watching the scene unfold in silence, hoping Traveler can help her.
Traveler places his left hand high in the right chest, where his biomechanical magitek heart is located, designed not only to give him a spare heart, but to be able to use the Originium Arts and utilize one of his most useful tools, the Elysium Crown.
"It'll hurt at first, but you'll get better soon," Traveler declares, starting to use one of his spells, though in this case, technically, it's a form of "super-science" based on a crystalline material of alien origin.
Planeswalkers have a pretty crazy life, if one doesn't die immediately, they'll end up living a life more complicated than DC Comics lore.
Traveler's right hand has begun to emit jet-black energy with purple highlights. This exotic energy slowly flows into Autumn Gem's head.
The Mare stopped crying, instead letting out a moan of pain, then moved her hands to grab Traveler's arm, whether she was begging for mercy or making him stop, it's hard to say.
"Your eyes are too empty, sad, and tired for my taste." Traveler said, not liking to see such eyes staring at him.
The Planeswalker's words are incomprehensible to the mare.
"What do you want to do to me?" Autumn Gem asks, not understanding why her head is hurting so much.
Unfortunately, the Crystal Pony's words are meaningless to the stranger from another world.
"The language barrier is a problem to address. I don't normally do it, but I can ask for your language as payment," Traveler said, doing nothing for free.
The energy emitting from Traveler's hand began to change, forming what appears to be a small black and purple halo above Autumn Gem's head.
At the same time, the silhouette of a black and purple crown appeared above Traveler's head.
The Mare has begun to calm down, slowly releasing her grip on Traveler's arm.
"So much fear, insecurity, doubt, despair, too much for a single soul to allow me to take your pain." Traveler said, holding his right hand above the Mare's "halo," as if directing or guiding her.
Traveler's "crown" began to emit a small pulse, after which Autumn Gem's "halo" did the same.
An expression of relief appears on the pale blue coat mare's face, as if a great weight on her heart has been lifted and put away.
"Your heart is clearer, but your mind is shrouded in fog, I assume it's one of the effects of the curse. A mind without memories of the past, that knows only pain, is much easier to bend to another's will." Traveler said, placing his left hand near the Mare's head and starting to move his fingers as if he were playing harp strings.
Autumn Gem's blue eyes began to become less empty, and in her mind some long-buried memories began to surface, memories of her childhood and happy moments she no longer knew she had.
"I got my cutie mark when I was ten years old when I saved my grandmother's little garden. She was so happy that I had inherited her green hoof," Autumn Gem mutters, almost crying tears of happiness.
"Dendro." Traveler said, adding some elemental energy into the operation.
"I understand what you're saying!" Autumn Gem exclaims in a surprised voice.
"I'm healing you, and in exchange you're teaching me your language, a simple, honest agreement." Traveler said, continuing to tinker with the mare's mind, repairing the damage she'd suffered.
"I don't know what a cutie mark is, but it seems like a really nice keepsake to have." Traveler said, speaking in the Mare's tongue.
"I don't understand what you're doing or why you're doing it, but I have to thank you. I can remember my parents' faces, they loved me so much." Autumn Gem said, smiling blissfully, but at the same time she was crying.
"Calm down, don't talk, don't move, I'm doing something delicate," Traveler said, sounding like a doctor or an experienced mechanic who needs silence to work.
The mare listened to the stranger's words, closed her eyes, a film forming in her mind that tells the story of her life, from her earliest days to the first years of her adult life.
Then, in his memory appeared the day when a certain Unicorn showed up in the capital of the Empire.
"Enough," Traveler declares, pausing the process, not wanting to expose the source of the trauma and risk triggering a psychological breakdown.
Autumn Gem fainted, her "halo" and "crown" vanished, a sign that the operation had completely died out.
"Traveler, are you finished?" Paimon asks, his tone hopeful.
"No, Paimon, I've just begun." The Planeswalker said, taking Autumn Gem into his arms as if she were a bride.
The Planeswalker's good eye moves to the center of the city, where a certain tower stands.
"I know who's going to lose their minds," Traveler declares, having learned not only the Crystal Pony language, but also other things, like where the person responsible for all the evil that has happened here is.
"But first, let's get you straightened out, Autumn Gem." Traveler said, looking down at the unconscious mare in his arms.
Continues ...
XXX
Author's Note:
Merry Christmas and New Year to everyone who reads this story.
I hope you have a happy holiday season, unlike me, who is struggling with a terrible toothache.
At least writing offers me some distraction from the pain.
Anyway, this chapter was longer than expected, but they ended up writing some pretty satisfying scenes.