The Cat, Witch and the Wormholes

Chapter 12. Tranquility

You know, I never thought that I could meet such an annoying person as this brainless idiot in a mouse costume. She is so intrusive and does not know when it is time to stop. I honestly endured a few days. Her sudden appearances, pranks over others and me, her motormouth, which does not close for a minute, her following us on patrols, promotions and speeches. I finally got sick of it. I couldn't take it anymore. And I did the only possible thing to avoid meeting her - I changed my schedule.

You are probably wondering how a change of schedule can save you from an annoying guest? It's pretty simple. You see, sleep time is sacred for any sapient being, and if someone does not want to ruin relations with you completely, then they will not disturb you during sleep. So now I sleep only during the day, and I dedicate the night completely to a much more useful pastime.

Night is the time when most of Tau'ri are asleep. Their waking cycle revolves around the day, while cats, which I belong to, are nocturnal animals. So at night we are much more active and effective. Well, also, at night, I’m much less supervised by both the heroes living here, the guards and the rest of the Protectorate. Which greatly facilitated my search for information about the world and the study of the necessary knowledge.

And first of all, after a thorough study of local grammar, I sat down to study more advanced methods of obtaining information than books — computers and information networks. It may seem difficult for a cat to master a laptop, because the paws do not have the same dexterity as human hands, but I found a slightly simpler way to control typing - I enchanted the keyboard, like ponies do with typewriters, and now I just need to think about the necessary text, and the keyboard will type text itself.

At nightfall, when everyone is asleep, I got the Sunset laptop for my personal disposal and discovered all the delights of unlimited access to information from around the world. With all its advantages and drawbacks. I tell you, these Tau'ri are too obsessed with the procreation process. Well, at least they love cats. It is easier to search for information on this Internet than going through many books in library, and no one on the Internet will know that I am a cat, and ask uncomfortable questions.

And you know, I suddenly realized that I was ready to kiss those Tau'ri who forced me to flee from this planet five thousand years ago. Because despite all their savagery and non-progressiveness, ponies have never been so cruel to each other as the natives of this world. These Tau'ri surpassed by cruelty tens of thousands of years of Goa'uld's conquests. A sheer amount of civilians methodically destroyed and senseless barbarism towards the enemy astonished me, we didn't do this even when we captured entire worlds.

Goa'ulds enslaved the population of the defeated planets. Deprived them of all their rights and freedoms, turned them into slavery. But they never culled civilians like brainless cattle. And so I made a promise to prevent Tau'ri from appearing in Equestria by any means, even if I personally had to kill them. Because these monsters have no place in paradise.

They do not stop harming each other even when threatened with extinction, even when Endbringers kills entire cities and countries, even when gangs of bloodthirsty maniacs travel around the world to bring destruction and horror to everyone in their path. Even then, they do not stop and do not try to live in compromise and friendship. These Tau'ri are like a disease, like a plague, they should never be let out of this world. And perhaps the fact that Simurgh is a natural obstacle to their spread beyond the planet is a blessing in disguise. They are unworthy of the stars.

And their religions, have they completely lost any connection with common sense? They expelled us, Goa'ulds, from this planet, only to invent new religions with invisible cruel gods? Are they nuts?! At least ponies can see their goddess and her actions are quite real, and she will always hear their requests, but these Tau'ris are ready to worship someone who never answers their prayers. It's just plainly stupid.

Some of them even began to worship the Endbringers or people gifted with Special Talents. This is sounds so creepy, that I'm shudder at though what they will do if they met Celestia. The now extinct cult of the Solar Goddess would threaten to be reborn with a new force. And most likely it will be no less bloody than it was in the distant past.

And this even if you do not start talking about local supervillains. Merciless bastards do various atrocities and no one can stop them, all this authorities can do is slap their hands and give them a second chance. Although even Celestia would have put aside her friendliness and forgiveness long ago and would have killed these freaks with all her righteous fury. Well, or turned them into stone, or shoved them into the depths of Tartarus.

How they can allow these butchers from the Slaughterhouse Nine and Three Blasphemy to still roam the world, I just can not understand. Yes, they are strong and cruel, but it would be enough to declare a global gathering like a rally to fight Endbringers and kill them once and for all. But no, let's not touch them, because it is not legal and unfair.

I just don’t know if this world can disappoint me even more. I would never have thought that the years of Goa'uld rule was much more peaceful and sincere than the rest of the history of these people. I have even started to get the feeling that everything that happens in this world these Tau'ri deserve to the fullest. They doomed themselves to suffering and extinction, and even Endbringers will not greatly affect the final outcome.

This world is a death trap, from which I and Sunset need to get out urgently, but so far I haven't come close to finding some useful method or solution. It may be necessary to search the places of the former Goa'uld's outposts on the planet, there may be materials and parts to build our own Stargate, or even ships may remain, although leaving the planet on a starship when you have Simurgh was a very suicidal idea.

And the nearest outpost I knew was in the south of this continent. But how to get there, let alone find it among the jungle, I can't imagine. Yes, and Tau'ri will show an unhealthy interest in our searches, and I simply cannot allow them to get the Goa'uld's technology and weapons. This will be a galactic disaster. Plus, how do I explain to Sunset that we need to go there? And she will be angry to learn that I am not just a magic cat. Damn it!

Sunset still could not understand how they found themselves in such a hopeless situation. Only half an hour ago, she and her team peacefully patrolled Midland Beach, and now they are forced to hide from the Teeth gang on the water treatment plant. And in addition, they lost contact with the console, because the maniac in the samurai's armor destroyed their communicators with a few accurate archery shots.

"Admit it, you can't run away. Ha-ha-ha-ha." Crazy laughter of the villain resounded through the buildings. "Poor little heroes. Nothing you do is quite enough. Ain't that great?"

From the sound of her voice, everything inside Sunset shrank from horror, they had nowhere to run, and the help would be looking for them very far from this place. In addition, Hex and Quasar were seriously injured, and the whole complex was surrounded by thugs driving around on ATVs. Even if Onyx carries both wounded, they will lose their main striking force, and she alone with Lily will not be able to break through the crowd of enemies.

And Midnight, they lost him on the way to the complex. He covered them with his body from the Butcher’s shots, and got all the arrows meant for them, which pierced his body in several places and he remained lying breathless on the road at the checkpoint. He saved them, and she again left him to die. What a friend she is, if she left her comrade in danger. She felt tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Don't cry. We will definitely get out of here." Flechette tried to reassure her.

"I left him to die."

"We could not do anything about it, there are too many of them, and Quasar and Hex were injured."

"And what, we now also left them? And run ourselves away like rats?"

"Even if we take the fight, and kill most of the gang members, we still cannot stop the Butcher." Clarified Onyx.

"But we can try to cripple her."

"Yeah, and who will give us assurance that she will not die by chance, and then one of us will become the new Butcher?"

"But we have no other choice!" Sunset cried out loud.

And in response to her cry, a chaingun burst ran through the pipes above them, dropping trash and debris on their heads.

"Hey, Wards, you are mine! Ha-ha-ha." Hauntingly laughed crazed woman. "Come out, my little chickens, mommy's tired of waiting!"

Another bullets burst came near the hideout of young heroes, making them flinch and forcing them to run to the other side of the machinery, while the trails of bullets impacts followed them closely.

"You can run, but you can't hide, little heroes."

Sunset threw a fireballs at the support of catwalks destroying them and creating an obstacle on the Butcher way.

"Oh, chickens still had fight in them. What's the matter, kiddies, running scared from scare me?" She chuckled. "I love when my prey entertains me."

She shot a long burst from chaingun tearing pipes and supports apart, causing mayhem inside of a plant. The steam, dirty liquids and chemical vapor began to pour from destroyed pipelines on ground, creating clouds of unbreathable mist, nearly chocking Wards with cough.

"She forces us to fight her." Exclaimed Onyx.

"But we can't! If she accidentally dies, everything will get worse!"

"Then we must do everything possible to make her survive!"

"I will go." Said Sunset. "And you will cover me from here while looking after the guys."

"You can't! You are the strongest of us, and if she captures you, she will be unstoppable!" Pleaded Flechette.

"She won't. I promise you."

Sunset deftly jumped out of hiding, bounced off the fallen catwalk and landed in front of the Butcher.

"Oh. Little birdie came out to play." Grinned Butcher. "Come on, show me what you are capable of. Show me!"

"You attacked me and my comrades, you killed my friend. You won't get away with it."

"Really, and who will stop me? Maybe you?"

A crowd of gangsters began to gather around them, surrounding the Sunset and the Butcher and creating an improvised fighting ring.

"I am. And I will stop you no matter what." Sunset said in confidence.

"Mmm. Guys, looks like I will have a new body today. Young, beautiful, strong body. I will be invincible!" Butcher shouted to the crowd, responsively receiving joyous shouts and exclamations.

"Only over my dead body."

"Here you, birdie, are wrong. Because it will be over my dead body. Ha-ha-ha-ha." Butcher burst out laughing loudly.

She suddenly snatched a huge ax from the hands of one of the gangsters and slashed it into the place where Sunset had just stood. The latter, only by a miracle, managed to leap aside at the last moment and roll away from the second blow, sending in return a stream of superheated plasma. But the Butcher didn't stand in the way of the fiery jet, and in one huge leap jumped over Sunset and fire.

"Your fireworks won't scare me, bitch, you're too inexperienced to fight someone like me."

"Then how about this?"

Sunset telekinetically tore off a huge steaming vat from the bindings and threw it at the Butcher and the mob of thugs, scattering them all over the plant. But Butcher, knocked down by the vat, jumped on her feet, and snarling something inarticulate rushed toward Sunset swinging her ax. And Sunset had to use all her dexterity and skills gained in training so as not to get hit by Butcher’s mad blows.

One of the mobsters tried to attack her from behind, but fell pierced by a bolt from Flechette's crossbow. Sunset showed a thumbs up her partner and was immediately forced to hide behind a force shield from a terrible blow. And a shield immediately shattered, unable to withstand the force of impact. Sunset fell, and began to roll away from the slashing blows falling on her from above.

Butcher didn't stopped her onslaught, sending blow after blow, and dropping fragments of pillars and pipes on her, until Sunset managed to twist and kick Butcher in the stomach sending her flying out through the window. And rising to her feet Sunset jumped after the Butcher to the yard.

"You think it will be so simple, little bitch." Grunted Butcher spitting blood on the ground. "Take her!"

The young heroine did not even have time to realize anything when two pairs of strong hands grabbed her from the back and knocking out her legs forced her to the ground. She tried to resist, but these two huge thugs held her very tightly. But suddenly, to her right, there was a roar and an enormous black shiny mass, like a train, rushed at the gangsters holding her, knocking them down and starting to shower them with blows of giant fists.

"Onyx! Thank you!" Happily exclaimed Sunset.

"Anytime, Chika!" He kicked one criminal into the wall, and grabbing the second by the collar sent him to the first.

Butcher screamed furiously and with a blow of the ax butt threw Sunset to the side. Sunset tried to teleport to behind her back, but as if knowing where she would appear Butcher dealt another powerful blow to the body of the young heroine, knocking her breath out and making her fall on all fours. Onyx rushed to her to help, but a crowd of Butcher's underlings surrounded him and began to beat him with bats and hammers.

"I told you that you can't run away from me. Ha-ha-ha." Laughed Butcher and kicked Sunset into stomach with all her might, knocking her to the back. And then she began to kick her legs, arms and torso.

Sunset through the pain of the blows raining on her saw Onyx getting a strong blow with a hammer to the head and fell, and then a group of thugs pulled out of the building the beaten bodies of Flechette and her wounded comrades.

"Look what you made me do." Snapped Butcher. "Now I probably have to kill them."

"No. Please no. Don't do that!" Cried Sunset.

Butcher only laughed loudly, and then still madly grinning, with a force sharply stamped her foot on the right leg of Sunset, breaking it with a crunch, causing her to cry out full of pain.

"Here, only I decide what to do! And if you want your friends to survive, then you need to do one minor thing."

"What thing?" Shuddered Sunset.

"Oh, just kill me. With this knife here." And she threw a bloodied knife on the ground next to Sunset.

"Phoenix, no! You can't do this!" Shouted beaten Flechette, for which she received a kick in the stomach.

"But not that she had a choice, was she?" Grinned Butcher.

Even breathing was painful, and the slightest movement gave off a sharp pain throughout the body. Thoughts were confused, and vision was muddy. He bucked up big this time, he had to take them away towards the residential area, but for some reason led them towards the water treatment plant. And there they were trapped, without the possibility to escape through another exit.

Quasar and Hex were injured when the gangsters started shooting at them, and he himself was forced to jump on the path of flying arrows shot in the direction of the girls. He thought that such a primitive weapon would not be able to do much harm to his durable body. But something with these arrows was wrong, and they pierced through him, as if he were made of paper.

Bleeding, he rose on his paws, and overcoming the pain he went in the direction of shooting and screaming. And only thanks to his supernatural regeneration, he did not fall and did not lose consciousness. He tried to go slowly so as not to disturb the wounds much, carefully thinking through each step and avoiding trash and debris scattered around. But then he heard the cry of Sunset, full of pain and despair, and ignoring his own pain and injuries ran roaring from rage and hatred.

He must get here on time, he has no right to be late. He has no right to lose Sunset, he cannot afford to deprive Cadence of her best friend. He will not fail.

Sunset looked in horror at the bloody knife with which she was forced to stab this psychopath, but Butcher only madly smiled and was happy as a child, while preparing to die.

"Everything will end soon, little birdie, soon we will become one with you." Delightedly said Butcher.

"Phoenix, why did you do it?" Flechette muttered in fear. "You knew how it would end."

"I couldn't let her kill you."

"Oh, and you think that I won't do this after I get your body to myself?" Grinned mad woman.

"You won't. You promised!"

"And who will stop me? You? Welcome to hell, little birdie!"

Sunset screamed in despair, utterly horrified by the fate to which she doomed her comrades. Her mind grew dim, a crushing rumble began to grow in her ears, but suddenly she heard a roar full of fury and malice. And something of motley colors, studded with arrows and bleeding, flew over Sunset, knocking Butcher off her feet.

"Midnight! You are alive!" Happily exclaimed Sunset.

But as if not hearing her, he continued to strike blow after blow with his heavy paws at the Butcher’s body, breaking her bones and tearing her flesh with his claws. She tried to fight back, but he did not stop, did not stop his onslaught, using his teeth and claws to tear her to pieces. And when she tried to get up, he threw her against the wall with a kick on the back, forcibly banging her crippled body against it.

"Midnight! You are going to kill her! Don't kill her! Don't!" The young heroes shouted together, and he, just for a moment, turned to them with his bloodied muzzle.

Butcher coughed and sputtered blood, lying down against the wall, and still trying to get up. Her underlings moved away from the defeated heroes and without doing anything just stood here squeezing various weapons in their hands, demonstrating their whole readiness to continue what they had begun. They were waiting for the outcome of the battle between the huge cat and their leader, knowing that he was only a projection created by a young Ward lying on the ground. Soon Butcher former body will die, and their leader will be reborn with even greater powers, in a new young body.

But Seth had other plans. He could not let Sunset die so that this monster can take over her body. She is still young, and she will have plenty of time to find an opportunity to return home. Apparently he was not destined to return to Equestria, but this does not mean that she, too, should perish. And so he made a decision.

And to everyone's dismay, he grabbed the supporting structure with his telekinesis and brought it down on Butcher's head, crushing it and killing her. He still managed to hear screams of horror from the young heroes, but dizziness and voices already began to appear in his head, which means he could not lose a single moment, and then he rushed off to the side, in the direction of the pier and reaching its edge, jumped into the water, knowing that even his enhanced regeneration will not be able to save his seriously wounded body while sinking in water.

Suicide was certainly a stupid decision, but if it was necessary to save Sunset and her friends, then he will readily do it. The only thing he regretted was that he didn't have time to tell Sunset about possible ways of returning home. But now it will only depend on her when and how she returns. For him, the path in this world is over. And he closed his eyes and took a full deep breath, drawing water into his lungs, causing pain in them and then he began to lose his consciousness.

Almost immediately after the disappearance of Midnight, help arrived. Almost all the heroes of the New York Protectorate, PRT forces and police arrived at the water treatment plant. They attacked and arrested all members of the Teeth gang present here, unceremoniously using force and weapons on them. The doctors provided emergency assistance to the injured young heroes, and the police cordoned off the scene.

But already at the first questioning of the suffered Wards, the situation changed slightly. Sunset didn't hide that she was forced to inflict a mortal wound on Butcher to save her teammates. And the fact that Midnight killed Butcher seriously crippling her and then bringing down metal pillars on her. An exclusion zone immediately formed around Sunset, and then, by order of Legend, she was injected with sedative, and was covered with containment foam.

When she came to her senses, she found herself in a small room with white soft walls, one of which had a monitor hanging, and the other had a simple metal bed.

"Where I am? What's happening?" She shouted in distress. And then a stylized image of a young woman appeared on the monitor.

"Hello, how can I address you?" Said an unknown person.

"Hm, I'm Sunset. Sunset Shimmer." Sunset answered in a slightly shaky voice.

"Sunset? How can I be sure that you are who you say you are?"

"I don't know? And you didn't even introduce yourself, and don't tell me what's going on!"

"Oh, my bad. You can call me Dragon, and right now you are in a specially equipped cell for the Master/Stranger containment procedure protocol."

"M/S procedure? But why?"

"We suspect that after you killed the previous Butcher, you became the new Butcher."

"I killed? But Midnight killed him!"

"And he is just your projection, therefore you are his master, and that means you will become the new Butcher."

"I have already said many times that he is not a projection! And I do not feel anything different! I don't feel like a Butcher."

"And what is he then, if he is not your projection? A biopsy has shown that he is actually a cat, and animals cannot be as intelligent as humans, not to mention its size."

"It's ridiculous! He was always smart!"

"So far, we have no evidence to the contrary, and until we make sure that you have not become a new Butcher, we will have to keep you in this cell."

"And how long will it be? And where is Midnight?"

"We could not find him, and so we believe that either he broke up as a projection, because you became a Butcher, or you gave him the command to hide somewhere where we cannot find him."

"This is stupid! I'm not a Butcher!"

"Unfortunately, we are not sure of this yet."

"So I will have to sit here until you decide that I am not dangerous?"

"Yes, and attempts to escape or damage the cell will only convince us otherwise."

"Damn it!"

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Fine, you have every reason to suspect me, so I just need to sit in this cell until you let me go?"

"Yes, we can not do otherwise. Butcher is too dangerous supervillain to leave him free."

"And if you do not decide that I am safe, then what?"

"Then you will be taken to the Birdcage where you will be for rest of your life."

"Just great." Muttered Sunset.

She climbed onto the bed, curled into a ball and began cry silently.