Gojo took a deep, hearty breath in. It’s been terribly long since the crisp, cool night air entered his lungs. The moonlight was especially bright this time of evening, probably to welcome the strongest back into the real world. Gojo pulled his shoulders back, stretched his back, and allowed his blood to flow more freely now that he was finally out of that prison. He’d almost forgotten how good it feels to move and not stay stationary, well, almost. First things first, “Where is that bastard that stole Suguru’s body?” Gojo thought.

Before the sorcerer could properly locate that convict, from below, Gojo could instinctively sense a cluster of cursed energy writhing with ill-control. He spun around in mid-air, pulling down his blindfold, and stared at… what are these things?

“Hey,” Gojo said, his tone carrying an aura of authority and power as he slowly descended onto the group. Landing onto wet sand with his expensive Prada boots, he stared at the bunch: two hippogriffs and one changeling. “Who’re you lot?”

“We are the faithful soldiers of his majesty, King Sombra-” One of the soldiers tried to explain but was quickly shut up by Gojo’s interference.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

This seemed to anger the soldiers standing. The contingent stood battle-ready, dragging their hooves into the sand before charging maniacally at the white-haired sorcerer. Gojo rolled his eyes, pointing a finger at the pony leading the charge, and blasted a red orb towards the ground where the leader was about to step on. The earth instantly erupted in a massive explosion of sand and dust; the heat and pressure generated by such a simple motion were so intense that Silverstream could’ve sworn she’d seen glass shards raining about, reflecting the moon’s rays. But it wasn’t glass or sand that was raining; the leading group of soldiers that were advancing on them was raining from the skies as well. Propelled by the force of the sorcerer’s attack, and landing back on the golden sands and into the ocean’s embrace.
Turning back to the trio, he squatted down. Arms rested atop his knees as he’s eye-leveled to them, staring into them and humming to himself. “I was talking to you guys.”

Silverstream and Ocellus both opened their mouths to try and say something, but the encroaching swarm of monsters behind them held their attention more than whatever Gojo was trying to get. The two turned around, ready to fight, only to just in time catch the group of monsters being twisted and pulverised into balls of condensed energy before ashing into the cold, ruthless winds.

They spun back to the creature, looking at his relaxed expression. It was rather unsettling. “Go on,” Gojo gestured with a lazy wave of his hand. “Continue.”
“W-we’re…” Ocellus began, stumbling across her words. Should she bow? Would it be rude not to bow? Whatever, better safe than sorry. Bowing down to her forehead kisses the sea salt sand, she continued. “I’m Ocellus, and these are my friends, Silverstream and Princess Skystar. We freed you from the relic to ask you for your assistance, oh, honour one.”

Silverstream quickly followed suit, followed by Skystar.

“It’s stated in the scripture that you have the might to “Save the world” in these tense times. We humbly request your assistance and cooperation. Please use me to your heart’s content if you require a sacrifice.” As Ocellus finished, she closed her eyes and practically accepted her fate, awaiting her timely demise.

A large hand reached out to her, grabbing her by the head. This sent a shiver throughout Ocellus’s entire body. Fear-stricken to move, tears welled up in her eyes. Right when she thought the worse was going to happen, the hand removes itself, the being speaking.

“Well, then. I’ll need a good massage and something sweet to bite.”
“What.” Skystar and Silverstream verbally vocalised.

Gojo shrugged, “Don’t you know? My powers act on the quality and duration of a good massage someone can give me once freed. That and the latter of my request, wasn’t that written in your scriptures or whatever?”

Ocellus exchanged looks with Skystar and Silverstream. Well, that’s leagues better than sacrificing her life to this deity, Ocellus thought.

For the next hour or so, Skystar and Silverstream did their best to give Gojo, with a shit-eating grin, a back massage to the best of their ability closer inland on an old beach chair.

“Oh yeah…” Gojo moaned through a rumble in his voice. “That’s the spot.”

“We didn’t quite get your name back there,” Silverstream started, “Mr…?”
“Hm?” Gojo propped, “Oh yeah, Gojo’s fine.”
“So, Mr. Gojo, are you able to help us? With our predicament, I mean.” Skystar said, digging the pads of her talons into the thick muscles of Gojo’s back.

Gojo raised his hand, pointing a finger, “Well, first of all. I’m gonna need a rundown of the situation.” He raised another finger, “Secondly, I want a way to get home.”
“Um, okay,” Silverstream spoke, rubbing the base of his back up and down. “We can do that. You’re in the southern section of Equestria, Hippogriffa, to be precise.”

As Silverstream explained, Ocellus walked out of the dense foliage behind them with an apple in her magical grasp. She walked over to them, floating the fruit to Gojo’s face. “I’m sorry, this was the only thing I could find.”

“It’s all right,” Gojo said, picking the fruit from the air and taking a bite from it. It was surprisingly sweet and refreshing! Very few apples back in Japan compared to the one he’s eating now. As he continued to munch on the apple, Silverstream continued.

“Ever since the Canterlot Incident, things have been going downhill from then on. Friends… died, Princess Luna’s gone crazy, nations fell, and King Sombra’s back.”

“Woah,” Gojo huffed, chewing on a piece of the apple. “You gotta explain each in detail. I have no clue what you’re going on about.”
“Canterlot is the capital of Equestria, the land you’re standing on right now.” Skystar chimed in, “After the destruction of Canterlot from that being, Princess Luna, one of the monarchs ruling Equestria, went crazy. Slaughtering nations and countless lives. On top of that, a ruthless king going by King Sombra resurrected from the dead, overthrowing the Crystal Empire and enslaving its inhabitants…” The princess turns over to the fallen troops, their bodies moving slightly from their weak breathing but otherwise alive. “You’ve seen them first claw.”

“Thought so,” Gojo laughed, “Sensed there was some cursed energy in that helmet they’re wearing that’s messing with their minds. Still, that’s a pretty crazy first introduction if I’ve ever heard of one!”

“…Will you help us, honoured one?” The princess begged.

“Sure, I’ll help,” Gojo said, shuffling to sit upright. “But I have to ask, do you know where’s Japan?”

“No?” Silverstream admitted, tilting her head. “If that’s your homeland beyond Equestrian borders, we can help you find it.”

“Well, we’ll talk more about it when we get there. What day is it even?”

“October 30th 1118… or actually, it's the 31st now, if you want to be specific,” Ocellus replied.

Gojo crossed his arms, pursing his lips. 1118? Was The Prison Realm even able to travel back in time? Nothing in the Gojo Family archives for Special Grade Cursed Objects states that it could time travel, other than the prisoner being unaffected by the usual passage of time. Dang, this really was a can of worms Gojo couldn’t begin to hope to digest.

“All right, I get the gist now.” Gojo mumbled, “Bring me to your leader if ya got one. We’ll discuss more there.”

“Is it okay to bring her to you?” Silverstream said, “Our home is actually under the sea.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Gojo waved, “Oh, and could you fetch some restraints to hold those soldiers in one place? I think they’re gonna wake up soon. But don’t try anything funny. I can read minds~” he mocked with fingers pointed at his blindfold-covered temples, a grin plastered across his face.

“Y-yes, Mr. Gojo!” Silverstream and Skystar said in unison, before trotting over to the seaside and diving back into the ocean in a transformation of light.

Gojo pulled his arms back to the back of his head, “So,” Gojo started, requiring Ocellus to crane her head up to face the human. Dang, was he tall. “What are you, anyway? Some bug horse?”

Not 20 minutes later, several sea ponies hopped out of the waves, transforming in a brilliant display into hippogriffs before landing on the seaside. The largest of the group had a strong magenta mane, a pinkish-grey coat with wings spanning several meters, and a blue feather headpiece and tail with silver regalia around the base of her neck. Beside her were several hippogriff guards clad in golden armour and brandishing spears and chains.

“Is this their show of force?” Gojo thought, petting Ocellus in his lap. “How cute!”

Queen Novo walked over to Gojo, holding her head up high with a dignified stride. Gojo smiled. She was nervous—the twitches in her muscles, the subtle sway in her movements, that small beat of sweat on her forehead. All these inconsistencies couldn’t escape the Six Eyes.

“I am pleased to be in your presence, Prince Gojo.” Queen Novo said with a slight bow.

“Likewise.” Gojo nodded.

“Mom!” Skystar whispered yelled, “It’s Mr. Gojo!”

Novo jolts at this, turning back to her daughter with a whisper yell of her own. “Then why’d you describe him like the Princesses!?”

“I don’t know!? He looks regal like that!”

Novo rolled her eyes, “Forgive me. Mr. Gojo.”

Gojo threw a thumbs-up. “All’s good.”

Novo takes this as her cue to continue: “We heard that after you’re freed from the relic, you helped us reclaim our stolen territory. We’re grateful, truly. Is there anything you require or need? Do let me know. We’ll try to accommodate you.” Novo turns to her guards, signalling for them to go and tie up the unconscious soldiers littered around Mount Aris.

“Sure,” Gojo brushes it off, “Are we near the mainland?”

“No, we’re not.”
“Could you bring me there? There’s people I want to find, things I must do.”

“People?” Novo asked,

“Urm, individuals.”
“Ah, I see. In that case,” the Queen turns around, waving for a guard to come closer and speak to him directly. After a minute, the guard nods with a salute before turning around and jumping into the sea. “We’ll prepare a ship for you to travel deeper into the mainlands.”

“Actually,” Ocellus perked, “We could use the ship I used to travel here.”

“That’d be wonderful. It saves us time from fixing up the old ships.” Novo added,

“Whichever’s faster.” Gojo sighed,

“Is there anything else we could do for you?” The Queen inquired,

“I’d like a bag of those apples my good friend Ocellus here picked.” Gojo gestured,

“Considered it done.” Novo smiled.

“Also, you got a copy of this scripture you're talking about?” The sorcerer added,

“The full scripture is with Rarity in Manehatten. We can make our way over there once we reach the shores.” Silverstream expressed.

“Our agenda is dealing with this King Sombra fellow and finding this Rarity. Then, let’s head off when we’re ready,” Gojo declared, getting up and ruffling Ocellus. Pulling out his phone, he tried to dial someone, anyone. “Any objections? If not, we’re off…Damn, no signal.”

“What’s that?” Silverstream asked, leaning in.

“A smartphone,”

“Woah, what’s it do?”
“You got telephones in this world?”
“Yeah we do.”
“It does that and other stuff, too.”
“Woah…” Silverstream awed.

After waiting idle for another hour, the royal guards loaded Ocellus’s ship with bags of apples and other local fruits. Filling their inventory to bring with them travel supplies that would last several days, possibly weeks, if they rationed properly. The boat was slightly larger than a standard travel ship, with a large sail and built-in cabin and deck, but it should serve its purpose. Several seapony guards circle the boat, each swimming at attention.

“These guards will guide you safely through the seas,” Novo explained, nodding to a nearby guard. The troops returned a salute to their queen. “Stay safe, Silverstream, Ocellus. Mr. Gojo.”

“Thank you, Auntie!” Silverstream waved, walking onboard. Whilst Gojo only gave a curt nod, mouth stuffed full of apples.

“Thank you, Queen Novo.” Ocellus bowed.

Novo smiled at them, waving goodbyes. With Gojo around, the world might return to what it once was. Their best bet was to bet on him—to overturn this corrupt and maniacal world.

Ocellus unhooked the lines binding the ship to the wooden decks, drawing the ropes in and on deck before allowing the winds to carry the boat outshore. Skystar waved at the quickly shrinking ship back on land, shouting cheers of encouragement for the departed until her loud chants turned into a mellow silhouette of movement under the moonlight.
“Godspeed, Mr. Gojo.” Novo wished before turning around and commanding the revitalisation of Hippogriffa for the second time in a decade.

Across the lands, in the desolate remains of the Canterlot Castle, a pony walked through the quiet halls all by his lonesome. His hooves clicked on the dusty marble floor, kicking up a small cloud of dust with each step. The once-grand castle, now a shell of its former self, echoed with the sound of his footsteps, a mournful dirge that seemed to mourn the loss of its former glory.

Passing one of the remaining glass windows, still intact and in one piece, the moon's rays bathed him in light and showcased the pony’s features for the briefest moments. A horn, slicked-back mane, two pairs of eyes, and intricate tattoos adorned his face, coat, and horn.

The air crackled with the intensity of the cursed energy surging through his body. Not once had he thought of holding back his strength. It was a burden, a curse, but it was also a part of him. It was another tranquil night, with his thoughts and his thoughts alone. So is the curse of being at the apex of creation, being the strongest.

He stopped by a shattered window, peering out into the city streets below. A gaping, empty hole was present squarely in the heart of Canterlot’s tightly packed city. Smoke billowed out from every back alley street, and fires acted as light sources below as ash filled the air. Every corner you turn, destruction, destruction, and more destruction.

Damn, was he bored.

Right as the pony was about to turn away, a scroll popped up in front of him with a “poof!”. Grabbing it with his magic, he unwrapped it and began to read. It was a simple letter, and he didn't have to try very hard to know who wrote it to him.

Yo!

The pony gave an audible "tsk," this prick again.

I thought I'd let you know that my cursed spirits were exorcised on the shores of Mount Aris, several of Sombra's guards were knocked out in the altercation, and the Prison Realm was broken.

Upon reading the last few lines, his smile grew wider and wider, bearing his toothy fangs and even exposing his gums a little. His heart beat rhythmically like the start of a fight song, a chorus's high hitting him like someone listening to a favorite tune for the first time.

Gojo Satoru is free.

Author's Note

Chapters will be updated slowly from now on; I have a project I gotta do for the next two weeks. Sorry! 🙇