The Cat, Witch and the Wormholes

Chapter 5. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Cat Found There

Seeing the Stargate again, after so long, shook me to the depths of my soul. I thought that I would never see anything related to my past, especially after that wormhole collapsed. Over the past thousands of years, I never even thought that there might be Stargate. After all, there were no rumors, no legends about the Great Ring, which leads to another world. Nothing at all. Not a single word. And suddenly I saw it with my own eyes, being right in front of it. Mesmerized by its greatness and ancient power

Our kind found Stargate very early in our history, when we were still bound to Unas, our first hosts, who still lived in a very primitive society, believing in gods, magic and spirits. Who thought that the Stargate, or Sebenha'ai, 'The Door to Death,' as Unas and Goa'uld called it, is a relic sent by the gods themselves. They worshiped it by making bloody sacrifices on the altar, which they had erected before it. And they used it to execute their enemies with it, throwing them into the rippling surface of activated Sebenha'ai, believing that it leads to the realm of death.

My progenitor Ra was one of those who was thrown into it, thus ended his first reign after the coup, organized by Mahes, his rival. Whose warriors came to Ra's house at night, killing his guards and slaves, and captured him, to use him as a sacrifice to the Spirit of Death. They tied him up and dragged him through the streets filled with people to Sebenha'ai, where the supreme shaman, who was one of the conspirators, pressed the Holy Sequence on the Golden Pedestal, calling the attention of the Ancient Spirits. The spirits as always, responded by creating a rushing splash of deadly magic inside the Sebenha'ai ring, which turned into a wavy surface that looked like water in a well.

And after conspirators said their prayers to the Spirits, they threw Ra into the ring, believing that he would die. But he did not die, because this magic water inside the ancient ring brought him to another similar ring on the other side of the wormhole created by it, to the ring which was in the center of the valley on another world. No one had returned before, due to the fact that the wormhole worked in one direction only. So, Ra spent several decades, surviving in the wild, until one night a star fell from the sky, which crashed into a forest near the cave that served as the home of Ra. Ra became curious and he came to the crash site, where he discovered a heavily damaged artificial contraption made of metal in the shape of a cylinder with a still living creature inside.

The creature was bleeding and unconscious. At first he thought about killing it and loot this construction for useful materials, but then he came up with a better idea. If this creature previously unknown to him can know where to get so much metal for his contraption, then maybe he can take him as his host and absorb his knowledge. With this, he killed his Unas host, left his body and merged with the alien, who turned out to be a representative of the race of two-legged upright mammals from a distant world, who knew a lot of wonders of technology and science, and more importantly, they knew how to use Sebenha'ai rings or build spaceships to travel between stars. Ra did not receive much knowledge from the creature’s brain, because it was seriously damaged, that even his healing abilities could not fully restore everything, but even this was more than enough for a start.

He salvaged everything he could from a downed spacecraft, while at the same time trying to understand how everything works. He built a small hovercraft for a fast trip and returned to the Sebenha'ai ring, which he now knew was called “Astria Porta”, or “Gateway to the Stars”, or may be called 'Chappa'ai' in Goa'uld's own language. From there, he went to another world using the address that he was able to recover from the alien’s memories, and where he knew that there must be some kind of technological cache. His search was crowned with success, and there was an abandoned outpost with several small spacecraft, computers, mini-fabricators, parts and power sources. And with recently acquired resources, Ra began to build his interstellar empire.

I knew all this because of my absolute genetic memory, which does not allow me to forget anything. I had all the knowledge Ra gained in his exile. And I knew how to control Stargate or how they worked. And now, looking at this Stargate, I can say with confidence that something wasn't right.

This ring did not have a dial pedestal next to it, and instead of the non-water surface of the event horizon, which each active Stargate has, there was a reflective wavy surface similar to a mirror embedded inside it. And its outer frame had additions that should not be there. As if someone took Stargate and heavily improved it with their modifications.

The Princess said that this 'Mirror' is activated every thirty moons for three days, which is not possible using standard Stargate. None of the Stargate, which I knew, can work for so long without overloading and turning off. And where does it take energy? And how is it dialed? How can it even be activated with obstructions inside the ring? Everyone knew that putting something into the ring would prevent its activation. Someone definitely knew what they were doing. And this addition to the ring just reek of very powerful magic.

It seems that Starswirl somewhere found this Stargate and modified it for his own needs. And it can still create a tunnel to another world. He was definitely a genius! I would never in my life come up with this kind of upgrades for Stargate. Now I regret not having met this dude before. He would be very helpful. And knowing how to do something like that would be great. I definitely need to find his notes if they are still around.

But now I'm at impasse. Should I go through the gate and see how the world has changed while I lived on Equis? How dangerous will it be? Are Goa'ulds still here? Should I risk leaving my source of magical knowledge in exchange for an uncertain future? I just don't know. I lived so long as a cat that I even became comfortable with my life. I live in the palace with all the luxury, as in the days when I was a False God, but without any responsibility and hatred from my enslaved subjects, without humiliation from my superiors. They even love me here, no matter how ridiculous it may sound. Bah! Goa'uld, who is loved by others and who does give a damn about it. And there is magic that can possibly fix my transformation.

To my own surprise, I do not want to leave. I have no thirst for power, such as was upon arrival. I did not want to lose my lifestyle. It was good here. All this peace and tranquility, all these kind and friendly ponies. I like it here. I am content. I'm happy? I just don' know. I think I am. This life is almost perfect. So should I stay? But what about all those attempts to gain power and become a true god? How about my revenge on those who wronged me? It would be funny if I went, and it turned out that they all died long ago, and I am the only remnant of the past. So much uncertainty. So much to lose.

I cant. Not now. I'm just not ready for this. This mirror is not going anywhere. Therefore, until I have a guarantee return in case of failure, I have to stay. And it would not be a good idea to lead other Goa'ulds here. And not just because I'm afraid to share the magic. I just do not want this paradise to fall. Yes, big bad Goa'uld doesn’t want these gullible ponies to suffer. They do not deserve such a fate.They have been so kind to me, taking care of me all these thousands of years. I would not want something bad to happen to them.

Looks like I'm staying, and this is the last farewell to my old life. Sighing, I turned and left the Royal Vault with renewed confidence in the future.

Sunset spent the last day looking through everything in the royal library about Starswirl and his achievements. All his creations and inventions. Everything he ever did. Looking for any possible clues as to how this mirror works, and what is on the other side of the portal.

She learned that a trip through the mirror will make some changes to you, but they are temporary until you return, unfortunately, there is no information on what these changes are. But now she was sure that the journey itself was safe, and the pony could survive on the other side without any problems, because Starswirl himself traveled many times using a mirror and there were no problems with that. Therefore, she will not die immediately upon arrival and will most likely return without any harm.

The problem was that there were many warnings about how dangerous it was, but for some reason these warnings did not contain details about the dangers. And he also used this mirror to send dangerous villains to another world in exile, so there is some danger of meeting them if they somehow survived and lived to this day. The chances of it were low, and she did not think that they would wait near the exit of mirror for possible travelers from the Equestria. There was also no mention of them trying to return, so they must have died or simply found something new for themselves. That was enough to assure her of the success of the trip, and she ran to her suite to collect supplies and equipment.

Her mentor forbade her to go through the mirror, but she was sure that Princess Celestia would not be too angry with her when she returned, because scientific curiosity could not be stopped, and this trip promises to be incredibly fruitful for the development of science. She will surely understand that Sunset was right when she returns with lots of useful information about the other world. And she will forgive her for a teeny-weeny lie and disobedience.

With these thoughts, she began to collect all that she might need in her little journey. A little bits for potential purchases, a book about edible plants, some magic restoration potions, some healing potions, a few days' supply of food, a small camping kit from a rolled up tent and kindling equipment, and a sleeping bag, and, of course, her enchanted notebook, to keep in touch with Princess Celestia and Cadence.

Speaking of which.

"Why are you packing? Are you going hiking?" Cadence asked, suddenly entering the Sunset room.

"What are you doing here? You should have been sleeping already!"

“Oh! I'm too excited about this cute little thing between Pointed Arrow and Misty Breeze from the royal guards, they look so sweet together. They even take shifts at the same time, just to be next to each other! ”

"Geez! You and your obsession with romantic nonsense."

"You are so tomcoltish about it. Where is your sense of beauty?"

"I just have better things to do!"

"Like what? And where are you going?"

"Tch! I hoped you would forget it."

"I'm not a Goldfish!"

"Okay, okay. I want to use the Starswirl's mirror to go on a little trip to another world.."

"But it is dangerous! And didn't Princess Celestia forbade it?"

"Yes, but you can't just stop the future! We have so many new things to learn!"

"But what if you get lost there? What if you die? What will I do without you?" Cadence's eyes began to water, and she was on the verge of tears..

"Hey, hey, don't be a crybaby! Everything will be fine! I will definitely be back. I promise you!" Sunset hurried to calm her best friend.

"Can you not go? Please?"

"Cadence, you are my best friend, and you must understand how important this is for me."

"But..."

"No more but! I will go and this is final! Do not worry, everything will be fine, and you will not even notice my absence. Because I will be back soon!"

"You promise?"

"Yes, I promise! So stop crying and help me put these saddlebags on me."

"Okay."

And while Cadence was helping her friend put on saddle bags, Seth came into the room in search of his caretaker, who had just disappeared from her bed. He found her standing in the middle of Sunset's suite at the top of the astronomical tower, where she and the red-yellow striped sorceress were finishing up packing things for Sunset trip. And they immediately left the room, descending into the bowels of the castle and heading for the Royal Vault. And the cat followed them.

At first, Seth did not know where they were going and why, but the closer they were to their goal, the clearer it became. He was shocked that Sunset was so stupid as to disobey her mentor, but he admitted that he had to foresee this, because this restless filly would not have left the opportunity to learn something new. Of course, she did not understand the dangers that might await her on the other side of the portal, and so this journey was reckless and suicidal. But he cannot stop her. Even if he ran to Celestia and cried in front of her, she would not understand what was happening. And even if she understood, it would be too late to stop Sunset.

Horseapples. He hated being so powerless to do something. He can not prevent the looming tragedy. All he can do is follow her and hope that his presence will be enough to save this wayward filly from certain death.

Princess Celestia suddenly woke up in the middle of the night with a sinking feeling that something had gone wrong. She did not immediately recognize the source of her anxiety. But the lingering phantom cry for help in her subconscious from her terrible dream did not want to leave her. It was then when she traced the source somewhere to the bottom of the castle. Of all the things that were there, the only thing that could triggered her worry was the mirror and Sunset.

With a cry - "Sunset!", - she run with all her might to the Royal Vault, frightening dozing guards on all the way down there. She almost knocked down the vault doors when she run through them. But it was all in vain. She was late. Sunset has already passed through the mirror.

Cadence was terrified. Sunset's secret journey to another world was taking too long, and she did not write back Cadence in a golden notebook. She didn’t answer once, so the pink princess was very worried. She had already planned to go to Princess Celestia to confess to her crime of assisting Sunset to go through the mirror. Even if she were punished for it, but she did not want her friend to die. And then Princess Celestia ran into the vault, visibly agitated with an expression of worry on her face.

"Where is she?!" Shouted Princess Celestia. "Where is Sunset?"

"She... She..."

"Please don't tell me..."

"I'm sorry, I should have stopped her. I should have to tell you about her plans. But she promised. She promised that everything would be fine. And now something happened to her. I'm feeling it. She gave me this notebook," Weeping Cadence quickly showed the princess a golden notebook, through which Celestia and Sunset secretly corresponded. "And she promised to write me back immediately upon arrival."

"But she didn't." Celestia said in a trembling voice.

"No. There was not a word from her for several hours! And she still hasn't returned." The already weeping pink alicorn began to sob loudly.

"Oh, Faust! How long has she gone?"

"I.. I don't know six, maybe seven hours ago. But she did not go alone."

"Who else?"

"Mister Silky Paws left with her, and I fear that he may have run away, and now she is looking for him."

"It could be. But still she had to write something back to tell you about what was happening."

"But she didn't. You think... You think she may be dead?"

"No, never! I still feel her magic, so she must be fine."

"Oh thank Celestia!" Cadence prayed, but when she saw the slight surprise on the princess's face, she immediately faltered "Uhm, I mean. I'm glad to hear."

"Let's hope for the best."

"Yes, we have to, I'm sorry I'm such a crybaby."

"Everything will be fine, dear. Everything will be fine."

"But can you do something? Maybe send the Royal Guard to get her back?"

"Sorry, I cannot leave the country without good backup, and my magic cannot immediately return Sunset here, and sending the guards to chase her would not be a good idea. They are not as powerful as she is, and if there is something really dangerous there she will be hard pressed to defend not just herself but them too."

"I understand. I should have been more attentive in my magical studies."

"Please don't blame yourself. Sunset will definitely come back. And everything will be as before."

Cadence smiled with hope for the future.

Celestia hugged her ward with her wing.

The warmth of their bodies carefully surrounded them.

But at this very moment, the ring pulsed once with a bluish light and its hum died down.

Then the mirror shattered.

And everything changed.