Gojo stood alone in the open plaza, the dust clouds around him dissipating from the attack he landed on Rockhoof. The place seemed really quiet after his display of strength; grinning at his own grace and power, Gojo spun around on his heels. Only to be greeted by a charging drone from Sombra’s army at him.

“Even with the clear strength difference, these guys still attack me?”Gojo thought with a huff,

Funnelling his cursed energy through his technique, Gojo sent a torrent of force at the charging drone. The effect was immediate; one of his forelegs was twisted ever so slightly with a snap. This caused him to buckle his weight and tumble over to Gojo’s feet, his momentum sending him to drag forward before coming to a stop.

Gojo squatted down to the soldier, bringing his gigantic hand to palm the entire helmet. “What an interesting flow of cursed energy.” He stated, concentrating on the intricacies and ridges of the helmet. Meticulously flowing his own cursed energy into the headpiece in such a way that it cuts the helmet’s cursed energy, binding it to the soldier’s skull.

The two cursed energies clashed within the helmet, foreign and non-foreign, both trying to dominate the space within. In this moment of fine-tuning his cursed energy, a sweat even broke from his forehead, which was quickly absorbed by his blindfold. Speaking of his blindfold, Gojo pulled it up to reveal his eye, granting him better vision and enhancing the smaller details.

He bit his lips, squinting his eye as the helmet’s grip on the soldier’s skull began to loosen. With a final pulse, the latches near the back of his head snapped open as the green light glowing in the inner visors died out, and the sound of a pressurised hiss released from the corners of his jaws. At the angle where the soldier was lying down, the mind-controlling headpiece tumbled unceremoniously onto the ground next to the pony. Releasing him from years of service and finally showing him what he, along with the entirety of the Crystal Empire, wanted. Freedom.

The pony’s cheeks were sunken in, while his mane looked knotted and tangled, almost like they weren’t well taken care of for a long time. Figures. Though, now that Gojo’s gotten a better look at the fellow, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him.

The downed pony took a sharp, ragged inhale. His chest collapsed in as he choked a little, coughing out a little saliva. He cracked an eye open, pupils dilating and adjusting to the desert sun. He tried to speak, but his voice seemed worn out, the movement proving too much for his chapped lips to handle, causing it to break open and a small line of blood to be visible.

“Yo!” Gojo greeted, “How’re you feeling?”

“D-dad…?” The pony mumbled out,

“Sorry, not your pops.” Gojo got up, brushing himself off. Silverstream and Ocellus rushed over to the body, a fluttering sensation filling their chest.

“T-there’s…no way!” Silverstream chirped, reaching down to check on the pony’s condition.

“He’s free from Sombra’s control!” Ocellus added, turning to Gojo. “How did you do it?! Whenever we tried to tinker with the helmet, it would have killed the pony before we could do anything!”

Gojo scoffs, “It’s a matter of cursed energy funnelling. Though tricky, given enough time, even my students can do it.” Looking over to the remaining horde of soldiers, Gojo sighed, looking up to the sky and rolling his shoulder. “This is going to take a while.”

“W-wait!” Ocellus spoke, stopping the sorcerer for a second. “Could you not break their limbs when you are freeing them?”

Gojo gave an even greater sigh, shaking his head. “Okay… sure...” Walking to the bunch, he rolled his eyes behind his blindfold. Kind of glad that it was there in the first place. “Looking out for the weak, huh…” He thought, scrunching his nose. “What a pain.”

Gojo and the crew busted through the door to a local hotel, trudging to the counter in their tired states. Their bodies felt numb from moving all those unconscious bodies, and their legs were leadweight. Silverstream leaned on the desk with great effort, dirt and grim all over her body. “2 rooms please…for the night,” She requested,

“Ya got money?” The receptionist inquired,

Gojo suddenly slams the table with an open palm, shaking the entire front with a smile twitching on his face. “We just liberated your town from Sombra’s rule,” he leans over the counter, bringing his face closer to him. “and this is how you treat your saviours?”

“…” The receptionist took a pair of keys from hanging from the wall and tossed them onto the tabletop, mumbling to himself with a grunt. “Level 2, room 13 and 14.” He stated.

Gojo happily swiped the keys, “Thank you, sweetheart.” Gojo said before making his way to the rooms upstairs.

Ocellus turns over to Silverstream, eyes half-lidded in partial unamusement and partial fatigue. Silverstream shrugged at her, her own expression equally as unbothered and tired as hers.

Catching up with Gojo up the stairs, he tossed a key over to the two, to which Silverstream caught with their talons.

“I think it's best if I have a separate room to myself,” Gojo said, bringing a hand from the top of his head before gesturing it down his body. With my size and all.”

“Yeah,” Ocellus agreed, yawning to herself. “Goodnight, Mr. Gojo.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Gojo,” Silverstream added,

“Goodnight to both of you,” Gojo replied, heading into his room. Ducking under the door frame and closing the door behind him. He set their things down in the corner of the room and sauntered over to the bathroom. Entering it, every single item inside looked either worn down or was poorly taken care of.

There wasn’t even a showerhead, only a large enough bucket with a dipper to manually scoop the water overhead for a shower. Even the bottled shampoos and body wash were all used up and squeezed dry. Dang, he missed Tokyo already. Sucking it up, he begins to get undressed and tossed his clothes outside, getting himself drenched with the dipper as he clears the sweat and grim off his body. Grabbing the squeezed bottle of shampoo, Gojo poured water into the opening of the bottle and shook the bottle for a bit before pouring the remaining shampoo on his head.

He used his fingers to scrub his white set of hair clean, and then he repeated the steps for the body wash. Although the quality of the shower should be under inspection, it is still a shower, as Gojo got out of the bathroom feeling somewhat refreshed with a ridiculously small towel wrapped around his privates.

He took the clothes off the ground and hung his oversized jacket near the window to air them out. Then, he dried himself the best he could and wore back his shirt and long pants. He lay on the bed, the pillow doing very little to give Gojo any comfort with how little structure it has. But it still beats sleeping on the grass out in the wilderness.

It’s been long since the sorcerer had slept for more than four hours for more than two days straight. A real luxury with what was needed to balance his teaching life with high-grade mission commitments.

Well, now that he’s here. It isn’t like he’s got a choice. The best outcome would be to capture that body hopper as soon as possible and interrogate him before finally serving his head on a platter. That’ll be his other goal, to find out what happened and what’s with the strangeness of this world.

Leaning deeper into the bed, he shut his eyes. Best not to ponder more than necessary. It isn’t like he’d get answers now. Best to enjoy the rest while he still can. Whether it was from the long journey through the desert or just from straight fatigue, Gojo’s consciousness faded quickly after a brief moment of relaxation. His mind diving deep into the dream realm.

The ornate chandeliers cast a soft, golden glow on the room, their reflections dancing across the polished marble floor. The air was thick with the scent of fine cuisine and expensive perfume while patrons dined with the clatter of cutlery against posh china plates.

“No way!” Yuji chirped, leaning across the dinner table. “What happened next?!”

“I stole Utahime’s skirt, of course!” Gojo boasted, throwing a hand up.

Yuji busted a gut laughing at this. “Y-your serious!?!”

Gojo grinned. "A little chaos is always good for the soul."

Nobara snorted. "Well, I didn’t know what I’d expected. I swear, my hair would’ve turned grey if I was Utahime-sensei."

Megumi, his face impassive as always, simply nodded. "He still does it, but I'm used to it.”

Nobara laughed. "Yeah, right. Like you didn't enjoy it a little bit."

“Hey!” Yuji interjects, “You’d laugh too!”

As the trio continued to exchange their banters, Gojo bathed in the relaxing atmosphere. Reminiscing on this feeling with his students and taking in the scenery before his smile quickly faded.
“I think I’d enjoyed myself enough,” Gojo said, getting up.

Curious, the students got up as well. “Where’re we going, Gojo-sensei?” Yuji asked.

But Gojo didn’t respond to the young talent. Instead, he shot his hand up to the air on his right. Grasping at an invisible object and gripping it tightly. The world around Gojo quickly dissolved into the void, including his students and the high-end restaurant where they enjoyed dinner.

The air Gojo gripped soon painted a deep sapphire as a figure of a pony manifested quite literally in the palm of his hand. Her mane imitated the stars like that of the night sky, flowing gently in the non-existent breeze while boring both wings and a horn with an image of a crescent moon plastered on her flank.

Gojo frowned, tilting his head whilst tightening his hold. “So, who’re you?”

The pony squealed, eyes bulging out of their sockets. “You’re Gojo Satoru, correct?” The pony laughed, “Your time on this planet is very limited.”

Gojo gave a quick “Huh.” Turned to think for a second before snapping back at the pony. “You’re acting really annoying for someone in neck-breaking distance, you know that?” He tightened his grip once more, this time her face turning from a noticeable red to a deep purple. “So I’ll ask one more time,” He leaned in closer, “Who’re you?”

“Goodnight, Gojo Satoru.” The pony wheezed out with a smile, “Enjoy the last of your- ack-! Days!”

“Tsk.” Gojo reflexively gave out,

Having heard enough of this nonsense, Gojo pulled an arm back and struck the mysterious pony in the face. Right when his fist connects with her cheek, his striking hand emits an ominous red glow.

“Cursed Technique Reversal:” Gojo muttered as the reality and space around them started to shatter, but it wasn’t fast enough to stop his explosive discharge of cursed energy. “Red.”

In the next moment, the expansive, destructive force exploded outwards while the red light washed out the falling remains of the shattered dream realm, combining cursed energy and magic in a sick mixture of clashing energies.

Gojo shot up from his bed, his blindfold still wrapped around his eyes and the bedsheets still covering roughly sixty percent of his legs. He wriggled his toes, even popping some as he hopped off the bed. He caressed the side of his head, rubbing it gently. That was one weird dream.

No point dwelling. Looking over to the clock on the nightstand, Gojo raised his eyebrows in surprise, whistling.

“Seven hours of sleep?” Gojo stated, “New record.”
Walking over to the bathroom, Gojo freshens up and changes, donning his jacket before heading downstairs with an extra prep in his step.

“Mr. Gojo!” Silverstream called out, “You’re up early!”

“Good morning, Silverstream!” He returned the greeting. “Where’s Ocellus?”
“She’s sleeping in for a bit. I thought I’d get a bite to eat first.”

“What are they serving today?” Gojo walked over to the hippogriff, taking the coffee out of the machine. “No way a place like this got room service.”
Silverstream giggled, “You’re not wrong. By the way, Rockhoof’s awake.”
“The pony I punched through the buildings yesterday?” Gojo poured himself a steaming cup while adding unhealthy sugar cubes. “Surprised he’s up and running the very next day.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s “Up and running.” Bedridden is the more adept description.”

“So we’re paying him a visit?” Gojo sipped on the cup, his face instantly souring. “Yuck.”

“After breakfast,” Silverstream grabbed a plate from the pile, walking over to the cafeteria. “You coming?”

“Not if the rest of the café food is like this.” Gojo placed the vile cup of coffee on the table. He won’t be drinking this anytime soon. “But no harm in exploring.” Catching up to the hippogriff in a few easy strides, the pair entered the establishment near the lobby of the hotel. Gojo nearly bumping his head for the second time that morning.

The same night, six in the morning, Canterlot Castle.

In one of the desolate halls of the royal castle, the palace shook with a sudden force, the source in question blasting herself through several walls of the halls and skittering herself across the ruined dusty carpets before coming to a stop at the base of a pillar. The dust settles, revealing Luna’s melted face in the moonlight, the burn exposing a portion of her cheekbones and her lower jaw as she sat in contemplative agony.

“What are you doing?” Came a low growl,

Luna looked up at the figure, her heart racing in her chest. A pony was shrouded in darkness, gazing down upon her. Yet, the two sets of eyes and aura exuding from his person were unmistakable.

“L-lord Sukuna…” Luna tried to bow in her sorry state, lowering her head even further so that her wound was touching the nasty ground. “my apologies for causing such a ruckus at this hour, please punish me as you see fit.”

The king rolled his two sets of eyes, “Is this related to Gojo Satoru?”

“…”

Sukuna snickered, turning around. “Get this place cleaned up.”

Though he couldn’t see it, Luna’s face was burning up from embarrassment. She bit her half-regenerated lip, breaking new wounds as blood dripped from her chin. “Damn you, Gojo Satoru! Making a fool of me in front of his lordship!”

Getting up, Luna teleported a broom next to her, and she began to clean up the mess she had made with a most heinous scowl on her face. She didn’t get very far into the cleaning before a letter popped into existence next to her. Taking it from the air, she unscrolled it and needed to read only one word before ripping it to shreds, already knowing which scoundrel had written that letter to her as her face turned even redder than before.

The word in question: LOL.

Author's Note

Sorry guys I got hooked on RDR2. The story's really got me in a death hold, LOL.