The Sorcerer of Everlasting Summer

It was still another blazing day in Klugetown, though the heat was somewhat more bearable as compared to yesterday with the metal towers shielding Gojo and Silverstream from coming into direct contact with the sun’s merciless rays.

The duo walked downtown and into the supposed and reformed territory of Sombra’s troops; there were merits to being under Sombra’s rule. One was free healthcare. But only to the soldiers serving his army, and said soldiers would get the most basic forms of treatment. But free healthcare is free healthcare. Who could possibly complain?

Walking past the street and turning at the sign, Gojo spoke.

“Don’t suppose the food they serve there is better than the café?”

Silverstream blew a raspberry, “C’mon, hospitals aren’t well-known for their quality of foods.”

“Whichever serves the better breakfast.” Gojo shrugged, “That sludge they served just now just isn’t it. I think I can still feel it slopping down my throat.”

“Ewww.” Silverstream stuck her tongue out. “You don’t have to remind me or put that image in my head.”

After crossing another street, Gojo could see the hospital over the horizon. Its black paint and Crystal Empire logo, with its sleek design and large, menacing red cross, stuck out amongst the rusted buildings.

Gojo whistled, “I didn’t know the tyrant’s a designer!”

“You shouldn’t be praising a tyrant either.” Silverstream’s eyes threw daggers at him. To this, Gojo surrendered with his hands up.

“Hey, I’m giving props where it’s due!”

Silverstream squinted her eyes further. “Whatever you say,”

Upon entering the building, Gojo and Silverstream made their way to the front desk. To their surprise, a pony was there to greet them. It was the same pony Gojo first freed; his dishevelled mane seemed to calm down a bit, and he even regained colouration on his cheeks.

“Hello, mister!” The pony greeted with a smile, “Hello, Ms Silverstream!”

“Silverstream is fine.” The hippogriff waved off.

“Gojo,” Gojo added,

“Sure! The pony hopped off the chair, trotting over to an entrance of a hall. “Please follow me!”

Gojo and Silverstream walked behind the pony at a steady pace, noticing medical equipment left in the open and bits of trash lying about in a heap of unhygienic mess.

“You sure you can be up and about?” Gojo inquired, picking up a lone syringe off a table stand as they passed by, inspecting the glass. “You looked worse for wear.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. Mr. Gojo.” The pony said, turning his head back to look at him. “With the things I’ve done, I couldn’t possibly rest while others continue to suffer from my doing.”

“It isn’t your fault, you know that?” Silverstream tried to console him, but the pony just laughed it off.

“Thank you, Silverstream. I get what you’re coming from.” The pony smiled, “But for ponies like me, there’s never a moment we could ever get any peace of mind.”

“Say, what’s your name?” Gojo asked, tossing the syringe behind his back and forcing Silverstream to jump back and catch it before it shattered on the hospital tile floors. “Didn’t think we asked you before.”

“Star Striker,” Star said, turning a corner to another corridor and guiding the duo to follow him.

“Fancy name, Star Striker,” Gojo commented,

“Thanks, my dad picked it out for me.”

“Figured.” Gojo laughed, glancing at his shooting star cutie mark. “So, what was being mind-controlled like?”

“Mr. Gojo!” Silverstream reprimanded, turning to the towering human.

“It’s fine, Silverstream!” Star assured, “Well, safe to say I wasn’t all there for those past five years.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “I would remember flashes of memories from time to time and even be fully conscious of others. There was an event I could recall. I was deployed in Appleloosa, uh, I think I was holding a family hostage. A mother and her filly, but I wasn’t too sure what happened after. I hope they are well.”

The trio turned to another corridor. “Another time, I was eating some MRE in a bunker with five other ponies. The rations were laughable! No way was it enough to be filling! And the room was awkwardly silent, too!”

“Must be weird,” Gojo folded his arms behind his head. “having something else pilot your body.”

“You said it.” Star agreed. “Oh, we’re here.”
Stopping by a large metal, reinforced door. Gojo glanced at Silverstream, which she promptly shrugged him. Star approached the door, knocking at it to produce thuds loud enough to alert anybody else in the corridor of their presence. Gojo turned to look down the corridor, catching a few glimpses of curious ponies and residents of Klugetown staring at the trio. Eyes wide with curiosity, almost like they’re seeing an alien with the way they’re staring.

“Mr. Rockhoof? Silverstream and Mr. Gojo are here to see you!”

“Come in!” Rockhoof spoke through the barrier.

Opening the metal door and stepping aside, Star guided Gojo and Silverstream into the room while still staying out. He smiled, bowing as they passed him. “I’ll be waiting outside to give you some privacy.”
“Thank you, Star!” Silverstream smiled, “You’ve been a big help!”

“Don’t mention it,” Star pulled back, trotting over to guard the door with a nod. “It’s the least I could do.”

Shifting their focus over to the lone bed where Rockhoof lay, he looked… well, being hooked to an IV drip with a giant brace and cast over his midsection really speaks volumes of his condition. Despite his condition, he welcomed the two with a smile and a hearty laugh.

“Silverstream!’ Rockhoof greeted, “And my saviour, Mr. Gojo! I couldn’t express my gratitude with words for freeing me!”

“Don’t thank me,” Silverstream waved off, gesturing over to the sorcerer. “You should have all your thanks directed at him. Mr. Gojo’s the one that got that helmet off you!”

“Yes, you’re right!” Rockhoof tried bowing but stopped midway when he whinced in pain. “T-thank you, Mr. Gojo!”

“You shouldn’t move too much, with your injuries and all.” Gojo walked over to the nearby chairs, picked it up and flipped one of them around. Placing it next to the bed and motioning for Silverstream to come over. She quickly did and sat on one of them, followed by Gojo, who was sitting on the flipped chair. Resting his arms on the top rail and leaning his head on his forearm in a more relaxed manner. “Aside from your condition, Silverstream and I came to ask if you have any other information that would be valuable for our travels. Stopping that mad tyrant Sombra and all.”

“Of course! Hold on, let me think for a moment…” Rockhoof hummed, looking up to the ceiling in mock recollection. “It was back when Sombra resurrected after the Canterlot Incident and Luna’s defection. Sombra had cornered me and my friends in his wicked magic and forced his dastard helmets onto us. My memory after that was fuzzy. I remember leading a contingent for the sake of that maniac, and Starswirl, Mistmane, and Flash Magnus all are currently acting as Sombra’s foremost generals, leading his army to conquer more of Equestria each passing day.”

Rockhoof stifled a groan, rubbing his temple in gentle circles. “After the defeat of that behemoth of a raging monster back when Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow attacked Canterlot, I have no idea what came over Princ- I mean, Luna to warrant an all-out war against the other nations.”

“This Luna you speak of,” Gojo gestured with a circular wave of his hand. “How does she look like?”
“She’s an alicorn, Gojo.” Silverstream filled him in, “A pony with both wings and a horn, her coat’s an evening blue with an equally majestic mane that looked just like the night sky.”
“Hmm,” the human hummed, “Does she have some sort of magic to alter dreams?”

“Yes, she does.” Silverstream shifts in her seat, “Why’d you ask?”

“I’ve met her already,” Gojo pursed his lips with his hand, head still resting atop the top rail. “Just last night, actually.”
“W-what!?” Silverstream jumped up from her chair, “How’d you survive? No one survived an encounter with Luna in the dream realm!”
Gojo smirked with a raised eyebrow, snapping his fingers. “Hehe, I just punched her really hard in the face.”

Silverstream creased her forehead, “Is your solution to everything just punching it?”
“If it gets the job done, you can’t complain~”

Silverstream sat back down in her seat, holding back a chuckle.

“Well said, my friend!” Rockhoof laughed once more but stopped when another jolt of pain triggered in his abdomen. “Oof! That reminds me! The reason for my control over this territory was due to a sudden upsurge of strange energies in this area, as well as searching for an object called “The Prison Realm”. But all my team managed to dig up was this strange limb that resembled a minotaur’s fingers.”

“A finger? So that was what that weird sensation of cursed energy was?”
“Do you know something about it, Mr. Gojo?” Silverstream asked, her body shuddering at the thought of handling some dismembered limb.

“Maybe, but I have to see it for further examination,” Gojo said, swaying in his seat.

“If memory serves, that finger is held within a mini vault in my office,” Rockhoof noted, “that the particulars are still a bit vague…”

Gojo got up from his seat, stretching a little with a lean. “Thank you for your time, Rockhoof. Best we get going and let you rest up. Oh, and sorry about the caved-in chest, by the way.”

“You did what you had to, lad. Don’t worry about it! And if you’re going to continue your journey north, the ponies and towns folk both agreed to organise an airship for your travels. Just let us know when you’re ready to leave!”

“That’d be greatly appreciated, Rockhoof.” Gojo turned back with a smile, waving at the hospitalised pillar. “Thanks again!”

Stepping out of the room, Star eagerly turned to the two with an excited hop in his step. “So, how’d it go?”

“Got some good intel.” Gojo turned on his heels over to face Star. “Could you lead us to Rockhoof’s office?”

“Uh… Sure?” Star glanced around, finding the fastest route for an exit before signalling for the two to follow. “Follow me.”

“Is Rockhoof also staying in back in town?” Silverstream questioned, trotting close behind the other two.

“Yeah, like the rest of us, he also feels responsible for enslaving the residents. He promises to rebuild Klugetown piece by piece before heading to other places he “wrecked and destroyed” to aid recovery efforts. With his strength, it shouldn’t take long to bring Klugetown back to its… uh… glory. I’m surprised; why didn’t you ask him personally?”

“Didn’t feel it was right”, Silverstream sighed, “Or appropriate.”

“I understand.”

As the ex-militant led the human and hippogriff tag team out of the building, Rockhoof rested deeper into his pillows, staring at the black ceiling and sighing. “That blindfolded alien sure was creepy…” He thought, trying to adjust his position and stopped once another jolt of pain rocketed through his body.

“Found anything yet?” Silverstream piqued from behind the drawers in the desk.

“Nope, nothing,” Gojo replied from the small cabinet in the corner; everything on the desk ended up empty or useless.

“I’m pretty sure we ransacked the place, but the finger isn’t here.” Silverstream walked over from behind the desk, eyeing every corner of the tent. Her talons dug into the thin carpet beneath them, practically able to feel the grains of sand below it as her body shifted on the uneven plains.

“Wait, we’re near it. I sense it.” Gojo reached for his blindfold and tugged it down, revealing the eyes that reflected the ocean blues—the same pair of eyes that see it all. “Let’s give it one more go-around.”

Scanning the entirety of the inner tent, a striking influx of cursed energy emanated from the desk. Curious, Gojo walked over to the same desk that Silverstream had rummaged, rechecking each drawer.

“I’ve already checked the drawer thrice. That finger isn’t there.”

Huffing, Gojo brought a hand up into a fist and hammered at the desk, smashing and splintering the table into two and sending stacks of paperwork and such littering across the carpet floor. From the inside of the two-piece wooden structure was the same mini vault Rockhoof was talking about, tucked neatly in a hidden compartment within the table. Gojo’s first pummel already dented the metal safe; crouching onto one knee, the sorcerer brought his hand down again, denting the safe even further and leaving an imprint of his fist.

Taking the two corners of the vault, Gojo tore it straight open, releasing the finger trapped within as it plopped onto the carpet with a soft thud. Tossing the hunk of junk metal aside, Gojo picked up the finger as Silverstream jogged over to his side.

“That…” Silverstream began, her face turning a tinge of green. “Looks disgusting…”

“It’s strange…” Gojo commented, rubbing his chin.

“Yeah, seeing a dismembered finger oozing a weird aura does that to a creature…” The hippogriff gagged, covering her mouth. “I think I’m gonna puke…”

“No, that isn’t it…” Gojo mumbled, “his cursed energy feels different…”

“Who’s is?”

“Hmm… never mind, it’s nothing.” Gojo stood up, stashing away the finger into his jacket. “We should start heading out of town; go wake Ocellus up; I’ll go talk to the ponies and towns folk.”
“Will do,” Silverstream nodded, walking over to the covers of the tent. “Meet you at the airship’s take-off pad?”

“Sure.” Gojo threw a thumbs-up.

Silverstream took this as her cue to leave, leaving Gojo alone in Rockhoof’s tent and office hybrid. Gojo pulled his blindfold to cover his eyes while staring at the finger stashed in his jacket. “What are you hiding, Sukuna?” He mumbles as he, too, leaves the tent.