//------------------------------//
// 15 - The Rise 
// Story: Stargate - Rise of the Sun God 
// by Arvaus 
//------------------------------//

	"Hello?"

Everything was dark. Sam was only aware of her own body and the ground she was standing on, but that was as black as everything else. It was like the world was missing.

The dream felt strange. It was too empty, and with no reference she had no idea even how long she'd been asleep for. The fact that she knew it was a dream was itself a surprise; she couldn't remember ever having had a lucid dream before. She could only think that there was something interfering with the dream to cause all this, and that something had to be the thing she was looking for.

"I'm here!" she called into the blackness. "Can you hear me?"

There was another empty silence, then:

"Major?"

She looked round in surprise, trying to find the voice, but couldn't see anything.

"Yes?" she shouted. "Where are you?"

"I'll be with you soon," the voice replied shakily. "I just need to… please hold on."

Sam stood still, waiting, taken aback by the voice's tone. It was almost giddy, and seemed very uncertain. She could understand what Koresh had said; this didn't sound at all like the Ra'shek.

"I have it now," came the voice again. "Prepare yourself."

Suddenly Sam felt something, as if the world was stretching out around her. She fell to her knees, barely able to breathe, but just as she started praying that it wouldn't last too long it stopped again. Everything settled down, and as she got to her knees she found she was no longer alone.

As she looked up at the stranger, words escaped her. The dark blue pony standing in front of her was nearly twice as tall as she did, much of the height given by the longest horn she had ever seen. Her mane flowed weightlessly from her head and neck as a field of deep, glowing, star-filled darkness, and her slender body was framed by a pair of enormous wings.

"Major Samantha Carter?" the newcomer said, tears of happiness welling up in her eyes.

Sam staggered backward. "You know who I am?"

"I know only your name," she replied, "and what I have seen in your dreams. You oppose the Goa'uld?"

Sam nodded. Everything was so confusing, but this was a good sign. If this… being opposed the Goa'uld too, then she may be an ally after all. She was bursting with questions, wanting to know who this pony was and how this all fitted together, but had no idea where to start.

But then her eyes caught sight of the ornamental peytral hanging round the pony's neck, its front emblazoned with an image of a crescent moon.

"Of course," she said, almost laughing. "What else would the Ra'shek's twin be?"

There was a sigh, and the stranger's expression fell at the mention of the name.

"'Sun demon'," she said. "Is that what my sister is called today?"

Sam took a cautious step toward her again. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to—"

"No no," the stranger said, shaking her head. "These truths should not be hidden from."

She turned and sat down, taking deep breaths in silence.

"I am doing this to ask for your help," she said after a moment, "but before I can, there are things which first need explaining. If you are to help me, you must know why you are doing so."

She looked round and gestured for Sam to join her. The major walked over and sat down on the ground beside her.

"My name is Princess Luna," she said. "I suspect from your reaction that you have never seen another of my kind?"

Sam shook her head. "What are you?" she asked. "How are you doing this?"

Luna smiled. "Power over dreams is but a small part of the magic my sister and I once had at our disposal," she said. "When we first came into existence dominion over the moon was given to me, along with the power to protect ponies as they dreamed, while to my sister went dominion over the sun. Using this magic we ruled over and guided Equestria for many centuries—"

"Centuries?" Sam said, jumping up and stepping away from her. "You mean, you're Goa'uld?"

Luna sighed. "No," she said. "We are a relic of a much older system of magic – one which protected and sustained this planet long before Ra ever arrived. Please, Major Carter," she added, holding her hoof out again, "I have much to explain. I need you to listen to what I have to say."

Sam sat down next to her again. Luna nodded in thanks, then took a deep breath before continuing.

"You call my sister the Ra'shek," she said, "and I can only imagine what your experience of her has been for you to give her that name, but I need you to understand that she was not always this way. When I knew her, she was a pony much like me, and her name was Celestia."

Images started appearing around them, of strange towns and cities, their streets filled with creatures Sam had never seen before.

"Equestria was a very different place before Ra came," Luna said. "My sister and I ruled over it as princesses, but we were nothing like the Goa'uld. We cared for and protected all creatures around us as best we could, and they loved us in return. We had no need for brainwashing or trickery to gain their trust.

"We were also charged with watching over the heavens," she went on. "Each morning Celestia would raise the sun into the sky, and in the evening I would raise the moon. It continued in this way for a long time, our magic maintaining the cycles and balance of the world."

Sam raised her eyebrows, but she held back from questioning it. After everything she'd seen already today, she was starting to wonder if anything would ever really surprise her again.

"In reality," Luna said, "the sun and moon were under the control of a much deeper magic than our own which radiates through the entire system, keeping it safe and stable and protecting our planet from the darker forms of magic which threaten it. Our task was merely to provide it guidance. That is, it was until Ra came.

"As we learned some time later, he had come to our system months, maybe even years before we found out about him, placing satellites in wide orbits around our planet which sapped the natural magic away, denying us access to it. He then came, assumed control of it himself, and slowly stole the planet, and its inhabitants, away from us."

Sam sat in silence, absorbing it all. She watched the images floating around her again, thinking that nothing had changed at first, but then she saw the armoured ponies patrolling the streets. All the strange creatures she'd seen before were gone as well. It was subtle, but the signs of the Goa'uld were there if you knew what to look for.

"They just let him do this?" she said.

"That was his worst crime," Luna said. "Long before he revealed his true intent, he made them love him. By the time we had sound reason to resist, they simply didn't want to. Some chose to fight, yes, but the only way to make a difference was to kill those we were trying to save. I think that is what hurt my sister most."

The images changed. This time Sam saw battlefields, filled Jaffa and ponies slaughtering each other. She saw towns burning. She saw ponies tortured, and enslaved, forced to work in prison camps. All images she was far too familiar with.

"How long did you go on for?" Sam asked.

"As long as we could," Luna said. "Even as others fell away or were killed, we persevered. We kept fighting against him because it was all we knew how to do by then. But eventually it just became…"

The images flickered and disappeared. Sam looked back round at Luna. Her head had dropped down again and her eyes were closed, holding back tears.

"If you don't want to talk about this—" Sam said, but Luna shook her head.

"No," she said. "I need to. You have to understand this. It is painful to talk about, but… I need to show you what happened."

"Show me?"

Suddenly Luna looked up again, putting a hoof on Sam's shoulder and staring desperately into her eyes, her own filled with tears.

"Major Carter," she said, "before I show you this, you have to know one thing. Celestia is the kindest pony I have ever known. She never hurt anything except to protect others. I… I owe her my life. Please remember that."

Sam was getting more and more confused, and unnerved by what might be coming, but everything about Luna's expression said that she was being genuine. If Sam was going to understand any of this, she was certain that she needed to see whatever Luna wanted to show her.

She nodded. "Okay," she said. "I will, I promise."

Luna smiled weakly. "Thank you," she said.

Then she disappeared. Sam leapt up in surprise, but immediately her back hit something solid. Spinning round, she found herself face to face with a wall, covered from floor to ceiling in a fine golden mesh. Her eyes followed the wall up as it sloped to the ceiling above her before descending down the other side again.

She was on a Goa'uld ship, in the middle of a long corridor. The architecture was unmistakeable, though it didn't quite look like any ship she had seen before. But as she glanced back and forth along the corridor to try and get her bearings, she realised that she had seen this particular ship before; at the end of the corridor, through a pair of narrow doorways, she could see the Stargate. She was right back where all this had started.

There were hoofsteps behind her. She turned again. Walking down the corridor straight towards her was Princess Luna, surrounded by Jaffa guards. Next to her stood another pony, another complete stranger to Sam but unmistakeably Luna's sister. The two walked silently past her, and as they did, Sam looked for the first time into the eyes of Princess Celestia.

"Luna!" Sam called out. "Princess!" But none of the passing group heard her.

The group went further on and turned right; Sam ran to catch up and followed them round into the bridge. Like the corridor it looked very different from when she had last seen it, its walls polished gold embossed with countless markings and symbols, but what drew her attention first as she entered, as it had the previous time, was the view.

She walked up to the window and looked out at the world below; it had to be the same planet she had been on just minutes prior, but it was completely unrecognisable. Vast oceans covered much of its surface, and the land was a mosaic of dense forests, long, snow-capped mountain ranges, and all other climates she could imagine. The geography was different, but it looked almost earth-like. It was not the barren desert she had seen before. In addition to that, she saw that they were no longer alone in space; dozens of other motherships, along with swarms of smaller craft, hung in formation over the planet.

As she gazed down at the surface, Luna's words about Celestia raising the sun came back to her. Was that what killed the planet? With nothing moving the sun, had the planet just cooked?

An unfamiliar voice spoke behind her. She turned and looked at the ponies she was sharing the room with; the guards had taken up positions along the side walls, while Luna and Celestia were standing in the middle of the room blocking her view of the one who was speaking. Walking round to their side she saw a pony – a unicorn with a crimson coat and flowing golden mane, sitting on a throne against the back wall with an ornate black and gold robe draped across him. It was Ra.

"I'm glad you could come," he was saying.

"You hardly gave us a choice," Luna replied. "I assume you've been watching us ever since we returned."

"A necessary precaution," Ra said. "I need to be able to keep my ponies safe from your actions. I wish I didn't have to deprive them of the Chappa'ai as well," he added, "but unfortunately the two of you have proven that you cannot be trusted with it. I felt it was the only viable course of action until we can resolve this."

"Resolve this?" Luna scowled. "You continue to enslave and oppress our ponies, and slaughter any who don't bow to your whim, and you think you can do anything to resolve this?"

Beside her, Celestia stood quietly, staring at Ra with a look Sam couldn't read.

Ra shook his head. "Sisters, I am disappointed in you," he said. "You continue to miss the bigger picture. I brought you up here to make one final offer, in the hopes that you will understand. Allow me to explain it to you."

He got up and walked round them, straight past Carter, to the window, where he stood and looked out over the planet.

"When I came to this world," he said, "I found something truly wondrous. There was magic here like nothing else in the galaxy. Your race – the pony race – have a connection to it at such a fundamental level that it borders on the miraculous. I saw in you potential for something great, if only I could harness, purify, and guide this connection. Imagine it: a world – no, a galaxy – bound together by a single spirit, a single force of magic. Billions of ponies on thousands of planets, all working with a singular purpose."

"And what is this purpose of yours?" Luna asked.

Ra smiled. "Perfection," he said. "Safety, security, happiness, in equal measure for all ponies. That has been my goal ever since I arrived. I have been studying your magic, bringing it under my control, uniting it as the powerful force is should be, such that I may use it to guide all ponies to perfection."

"Why are you bothering to tell us this?" Celestia said. "We've seen your world. This is not perfection."

"Sadly, no," Ra said. "I have tried for nearly a century to achieve my goals, but something has always eluded me. No matter what I try, I have never managed to bring this magic to a true state of unity. Some factor has always remained just out of reach, and this has caused pain and suffering."

He turned and faced the princesses. "As you say, you have seen it," he said. "Many follow me now, and together they work to bring my vision closer to reality, but still some lose their way and try to fight. The chaos pollutes their minds, and they become lost to me. If I could only find the final piece of the puzzle, then I could unite them all at last and there would be peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful?"

"Peace under your absolute rule?" Celestia said. Carter looked up at her, trying to understand the princess, and could see a deep anger behind her eyes, the product of a century of pain. She could understand Luna's words; this pony was being crushed by all the suffering she had seen.

"Actually," Ra said, "no." He walked back to his throne and sat again, "As I told you recently, I have plans, and they concern you."

"Us?" Luna asked.

Ra smiled. "Not just you," he said. "Do you remember from all those years ago, the one piece of information I required from you before I could begin my work?"

"No," Celestia said, her eyes wide with shock. "But you destroyed—"

"I destroyed the Tree, yes," Ra said. "It was of no use to me, nothing more than a conduit. But what I was really searching for that day, what I really needed…"

He pressed a button on the arm of his throne, and a small hatch opened in the floor in the centre of the room, a column rising out of the floor in front of the princesses. It's sudden appearance surprised Sam, and she only then noticed that it hadn't already been there. It was the same pedestal that had been there the entire time she had been working on the ship before, but she'd never even given it a close look. Seeing the princesses staring in horror at what sat on top of it though, she walked forward to see what it was.

There were crystals embedded in the top of the pillar – six of them – but they weren't control crystals as she had assumed. Each one was a different colour, and they were all carved into elaborate shapes.

"The… the Elements of Harmony," Luna stammered.

"Yes," Ra said, getting up and walking forward. "I have been studying their magic in secret, trying to learn how they work and harness their power for myself. I am now convinced that this is what I am missing, but I fear that they will never willingly work for me."

"Willingly?" Sam said, Luna echoing her question.

"Yes," Ra said. "It is as if they have a mind of their own, and they choose who to allow to wield their power. I have tried everything I can, but they are not so easily won over."

"Have you finally found something you can't control?" Luna said. Ra raised an eyebrow and looked up at her, unimpressed.

"As I was saying," he said, "I believe an opportunity has arisen – something which may finally end this unnecessary war." He turned and faced Celestia. "And it concerns you."

"Me?" Celestia said, taking a step back.

"Yes," he replied, returning to his throne. "I have studied your history books extensively, and I know that the Elements have, in the past, chosen to work with you. You have wielded them on no fewer than two occasions in fact, once entirely on your own. If you were to join me, and to bring with you the power of the Elements of Harmony, then together we would finally unite all the magic of this world under one banner."

Celestia's face screwed up as he was talking. Sam could read the princess's expression fine now – she was disgusted.

"You want me to join you?" she said.

"Think about it," Ra said, smiling with satisfaction. "You the former princess of the sun, and me the god of the sun, ruling side by side over my – over our domain. Our ponies would have two figureheads, and old and a new. We could bring unity to this galaxy as never before, and your remaining supporters would finally see that there is no need to fight. I would have the perfection that I have sought for so long, and you would have the peace you wish for.

"And then there is your unique nature," he added. "As I have said before, you are a most fascinating creature. I am certain that you would make an excellent queen."

"As a host?" Celestia shouted. "If you think—"

Ra held up a hoof. "I do not expect you to accept immediately," he said. "This is a lot to ask of you, I know, and I do not wish to force this on you. It will only make the transition—"

Then it was his turn to be interrupted, as a guard ran into the room, went up to him and whispered something in his ear. While Ra was distracted, Sam looked up at the princesses again. Celestia's expression was an enigma, and Sam noticed that Luna was looking over at her as well now, with a slight look of… was it fear?

Ra sat in silence, listening, then with a nod he dismissed the Jaffa, who turned and marched out again.

"Oh dear," Ra said. "I hate to interrupt our discussion, but something has come up on the surface. I suggest you watch this."

He gestured to the window. The two princesses turned round, Sam doing the same, and they watched as one of the motherships broke formation and started moving closer to the planet. The hairs pricked up on the back of Sam's neck; she could see what was coming.

"My guards discovered a small conclave of your supporters hiding in the mountains south of New Canterlot," Ra said. "It seems they had planned to attack the city, and could have caused a lot of damage. Naturally, I cannot allow this to happen."

The ship's weapons began to fire, burst after burst of plasma streaming down to a point on the surface. Sam winced as the first strikes hit.

"I have been tracking a number of such terrorist groups recently," Ra continued. "None have succeeded in their aims, fortunately, as the death tolls could have been massive if they had. This, however, was the last such cell. This is a momentous occasion, Princesses; Equestria is, for the time being at least, completely under my control. It is safe. If you join me, Celestia, then this will never need to happen again."

Sam was barely listening to him anymore. She couldn't draw her eyes away from the planet; she remembered what it was like on Tollana when the Tollan were wiped out, and imagined the ponies on the surface running hopelessly from the bombardment, being killed for the crime of trying to do some good for their world. She even wondered if Ra was actually telling the truth, or if he was lying and just randomly firing on his own planet in an attempt to persuade Celestia.

She looked up at the princess, wondering if Celestia was thinking the same thing, but the look she saw in Celestia's eyes took her completely by surprise. There was no anger, fear or sadness like she had expected. All the emotion seemed to have disappeared from her eyes, and she was just staring down at the planet with a simple, fixed resolve. Sam couldn't place why, but something about the princess just looked… wrong.

Luna saw the change as well. "Sister?" she said.

Celestia didn't respond. She raised her eyes and looked out into space, scanning across the fleet of ships as if she were counting them.

"Celestia, what's wrong?" Luna said, putting a hoof on Celestia's shoulder, but she ignored it.

Ra was speaking again behind them. "I will return you to the planet," he said. "In a month, I will send for you again. If you have not chosen to accept my offer by then, I will be forced to consider other options, so I ask you, for everypony's sake, to—"

"No."

The word made Carter jump.  Celestia's eyes were still fixed on the fleet, but as she said it her eyes started to narrow, filling with a fiery anger.

"Celestia, please," Luna said, her voice pleading to her sister.

"I beg your pardon?" Ra said.

"No," Celestia repeated. She turned and began walking slowly towards the Goa'uld.

"You are either a liar or a fool," she said, her voice low but with a force that echoed through the room. "You offer peace with one hoof while building warships with another. You promise happiness, yet you bombard your own planets from orbit. Did you ever actually think I would fall for your lies?"

"Sister, wait," Luna said, running up next to Celestia, but she jumped back before she got close; Sam looked down and saw that the floor was actually melting around the princess's hooves. Ra stared at her, looking confused, but Sam could see him involuntarily shifting backwards in his seat.

"You can call yourself a saviour, a protector, or a god as much as you wish," Celestia went on, "but I have seen what you do. The only one you have ever done anything for was yourself. You enslave and indoctrinate those you can use, and you kill those who you don't consider worthy."

Sam found herself backing away as well. The guards along the walls were shifting uneasily, with no idea what was even happening.

"You have not saved the pony race," The princess said, her voice filling the room, "you have destroyed it! You have taken their free will, you have taken their history, you have even taken their bodies! Everything you touch is poisoned, cursed to live a half-life in servitude or slavery! You have offered me a chance to bring this galaxy to perfection, but I tell you that there is only one way that can happen now! I stand before you now to tell you that you have been judged for your crimes, and to deliver your sentence!"

"Jaffa!" Ra shouted. The guards leapt to attention, readying their weapons, but before they had a chance to fire, Celestia let out a roar; she threw her wings wide, and from their tips waves of fire lashed out and spread across the bridge. Sam shielded her face from the blast, feeling the heat of it as the memory rushed harmlessly past her. The guards were not so lucky, the flames quickly consuming them, their screams lasting mere seconds before they fell silent. Then the flames receded, leaving nothing but charred bulkheads behind them.

Sam looked back at Celestia, but the pony had completely changed. Her mane, once a beautiful aurora of flowing colours, was now a plume of yellow flames which poured upward to the ceiling, lapping against the sagging metal. Her eyes burned orange, and her entire body seemed to radiate light.

"Your influence is a plague!" she shouted, bearing down on Ra, who was now cowering in his chair. "As long as any trace of you remains this galaxy can never be good again! So I tell you that every trace of your presence will be wiped away! Today you will die, but not before you have witnessed the reaping of what you have sown! I will show you what you have longed for – I will show you perfection!"

The room was filled with light again, but this time it came from outside. Sam and Luna turned to the window and watched as hundreds of fireballs rained down through the sky, tearing through the ships in the fleet as if their shields didn't exist. She saw a few escaping to hyperspace, but in seconds the entire fleet had been reduced to nothing.

Sam hoped that was the end of it, but somehow she knew it wasn't going to be. Her fears were realised moments later as she realised the fireballs weren't stopping. They continued to fall, bombarding the planet's surface in waves. They hit everywhere, their fire spreading across the surface, until nothing of the land below could be seen.

"No," Sam whispered, unable to pull her eyes away from the sight.

"You… you can't do this!" Ra shouted. "All my work…"

"Your work is nothing!" Celestia shouted. "Every world in this galaxy will be cleansed of your evil! Once all memory of your existence is gone, only then will the galaxy be able to rise from the fire and be purified!"

Sam looked round at Luna, who was still staring down at the planet, tears in her eyes. Then she looked back at Celestia. The princess picked up Ra in an aura of yellow magic, holding him up by the neck as he struggled against her grip.

"You can't kill me!" Ra shouted. "The host—"

"—died decades ago," Celestia said quietly, glaring at him. "Now he can rest."

All of a sudden, the two of them were consumed in a pillar of flame, tongues of fire swirling around them and spreading out across the ceiling. It only took a few seconds, then the pillar began to twist, moving back and forth across the room, before pouring out through the door and disappearing down the corridor into the rest of the ship.

The sound died away, the silence broken only by groaning and popping sounds as the bulkheads expanded and warped in the intense heat. The gold-coloured coating plastering the walls had melted away, and was running down into pools on the ground, forming the smooth, charred black surface Sam recognised.

She looked over at Luna, the only other pony now remaining. The princess had her eyes closed and her head bowed. She was saying something to herself over and over again, as streams of magic flowed from her horn and bound themselves around her hooves and body. Sam wondered if Luna was reciting some kind of incantation, but when she moved closer she heard instead the words "Sister, forgive me for what I am about to do."

The magic ceased and she raised her head, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She took a few cautious steps across the searing floor, but the spells she had cast absorbed the heat. Then, after taking a final look out of the window to the burning planet below – Sam didn't dare follow her gaze, not wanting to see that sight again – she walked across the bridge and back into the corridor.

Sam followed slowly, trying to understand what Celestia was doing. No doubt she had left in order to purge the rest of the ship of Ra's forces, but why was she even doing that? Why not just destroy the ship in its entirety like the others.

But when she reached the corridor again she saw it, through the door on her right: the Stargate. Even in the heat that remained she felt a sudden chill. That was Celestia's plan; once she was done with the ship she would be finished in this system, and then she was going to travel to other planets and repeat this.

Luna seemed to have realised the same thing. She stood in the middle of the corridor, her wings held out beside her, waiting. Sam admired her courage, but couldn't see what she was hoping to do against the force they had just witnessed. Momentarily forgetting about the future, Sam was having trouble seeing how Celestia was ever going to be stopped.

Luna stood in silence, waiting, her eyes fixed on the corridor stretching out in front of her and her posture strong, but Sam could tell that she was fighting back tears.

"Luna?" she said. She knew the princess couldn't hear her, but she felt she had to say something. "Luna, I'm so sorry. I wish I could help."

Then she heard a rushing sound coming from behind her. She turned and saw a wave of fire pouring down the hallway toward them. She backed away, but Luna just stood in place, waiting for it.

The fire drew to a halt in front of Luna, pulsing forward as if trying to push her away, but she stood firm. Then, the fire pulled in on itself, and slowly it condensed back into the form of Princess Celestia, her entire form now a spectre of light.

"Sister," she said. "This system has been purged. We must leave."

Luna said nothing.

"Join me," Celestia said. "Let us go through the Stargate together, and bring an end to these cursed times."

"Sister," Luna said, her voice barely keeping steady, "before we do anything, I must speak with you. Please."

Celestia stared at her, her burning eyes blank, and for a moment her bright glow seemed to dim.

"Very well," she said. "But we must act quickly. There is so much which needs to be done."

Luna nodded. "Follow me," she said. She walked past Celestia and returned to the bridge, walking up to the window and looking down over the planet. Celestia watched her, confused, then followed behind her a moment later, standing next to her. Sam stood in the doorway, watching the two of them.

"Why are you showing me this?" she said. "There is nothing left for us here."

"This was our planet," Luna said. "We were princesses once. We had a duty to protect this world."

"And so I have," Celestia replied. "Equestria was sick, but I have wiped that sickness from it as a fever destroys a virus."

"What good is that, if the fever also consumes the body?" Luna said. "What good is left here?"

Celestia looked round at Luna, who returned her gaze. "You are left," Celestia said. "You are the one thing Ra never corrupted. You are the one good thing left in this galaxy. I want you by my side. I want you there at the end."

"You want me to join you?" Luna said. Celestia nodded.

Luna sighed, hanging her head. "After everything you have done here," she said, "after all this destruction, all this death… I am sorry, sister. I cannot join you. I cannot in good conscience let you do this."

Celestia's eyes narrowed, and she turned to stare out of the window again.

"Very well," she said.

Sam stood in the door, watching them, as a tense silence fell between the two sisters. Celestia's bright form was slowly fading, and she wondered if Luna was actually managing to get through to her.

But then, with a loud scream, Celestia spun round, throwing her wing out and hitting Luna in the side. A wave of magic pulsed out from her, throwing Luna across the room. She crashed into the wall on the other side and slid to the floor.

"I must do this!" Celestia shouted across at her. "I have no choice! If you will not join me, then so be it! If you try to stop me, I will kill you!"

Luna stood up slowly, raising her head and staring back at her sister.

"No you won't," she said.

"You think you can defeat me?" Celestia said. "You cannot stand in my way! Even when you were at your most powerful you were unable to beat me!"

"No," Luna said, "I was not. But only because you had help."

"What?" Celestia said, backing up suddenly. "No…"

Her eyes fell on the pedestal standing between them. Sam followed her gaze and saw the crystals – the Elements of Harmony, their facets charred and cracked by the heat – glowing with magic.

"No!" Celestia shouted. She charged at the Elements, her horn flaring with magic. Luna charged forward to meet her, and the two leapt up, meeting each other in the air above the Elements, but at that exact moment a plume of rainbow-coloured magic erupted upward, the light filling the room and completely consuming the two sisters.

Sam backed away from the tumult, the mere memory of the strength of the magical forces swirling round the room enough to overload her senses. In all her years of research she had never experienced anything like it; it felt like the very nature of reality was being rewritten around her.

Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. The bridge, now empty, faded back into view, and she walked cautiously up to the Elements, watching as the last light of their magic faded inside their cracked, warped shells.

"What happened?" she said.

"The only thing that could," said Luna. Sam jumped at the voice, and turned to see the princess standing next to her again.

"That was one of your memories?" Sam asked her, and the princess nodded.

"Everything which I was able to show you, yes," she said. "I do not remember the aftermath, of course. What you see now is based on guesswork."

"What happened?" Sam asked again.

Luna sighed. "These," she said, putting her hoof on the pedestal, "are the Elements of Harmony. They are a part of the magic which once protected this planet, as are my sister and I. They can be called upon to help protect Equestria and its offspring from powerful threats. Including, if need be, us.

"Their nature is closely tied to our own, and one of their stranger powers is the ability to sever the link between mine and my sister's bodies and our spirits, sealing us away either for our own protection or for the protection of others.

"I could not kill my sister, and would never wish to, so my only other choice to protect the galaxy was to use this ability. I was able to activate the Elements without Celestia noticing, and force her into an indefinite exile."

"So, her spirit's trapped in the sun?" Sam said. "That's what the Ra'shek is?"

Luna nodded.

"But…" Sam said, thinking back over the scene she had just watched, "what happened to you?"

"When she realised what I was doing," Luna replied, "my sister attempted to fight back. She tried to resist the spell, and to push it back on me, and as a result we were both affected. So as she was banished to the sun—"

"You were banished to the moon," Sam said.

Luna nodded. "Yes," she said. "The moon is my spiritual home, as the sun is hers."

She turned and approached the window again, looking out into the darkness of space. "Her interference also weakened the spell," she said. "I have, over time, managed to re-exert some of my influence over the planet, and have been waiting in the hope that ponies with the power to help me may one day return. This is how I am able to speak to you now, even though it was more difficult than it would normally have been. If my sister has been able to do so also—"

"She has," Sam said. "We've been attacked a number of times since our arrival."

Luna paused. "I see," she said. "In which case it is only a matter of time before she breaks her bonds entirely. And if that happens…" – she bowed her head – "…I do not know if I will be able to stop her from achieving her aims the next time."

There was a long pause, as the idea of that sunk in. Sam had seen what Celestia could do now, and the thought of that reaching Earth terrified her.

Then Luna turned, staring into Carter's eyes.

"That is why I need you to help me," she said.

"What?" Sam said, stepping back. "You think we can help you against this?"

"Yes," Luna said with a finality which surprised Sam. "When I sensed your presence here, and saw in your dreams that you fight the Goa'uld, I knew that you may finally be the ponies I need to help me save my sister before it is too late."

"Is that even possible?" Sam said. "I saw what happened. How can you undo that?"

Luna sighed. "I know it can be done," she said, "because it has happened to me."

Sam took a step back. Luna sat again, bowing her head.

"It happened many centuries ago," she explained. "Jealousy and hatred clouded my mind, and I became… detached. I lost sight of how my actions were hurting others, and I tried to destroy Equestria. My attack was not as overt as my sister's, but by blocking out the light of the sun I still doomed Equestria to a slow, painful death. Millions would have died, had my sister not intervened. She locked me away in the moon, and then worked until she had found a way to save me and restore my mind to balance. I owe her my life, and I must do anything I can to save her as she saved me.

"Please," she said, standing again and putting a hoof on Sam's shoulder. "I need my sister back, and she does not deserve to be remembered this way."

Sam's mind reeled. She didn't know how to respond. She thought of the Stargate, and their time limit, and wondered whether Luna's plans could be achieved by then. But then she remembered seeing the sorrow in Celestia's eyes before all this began. After everything she had been through, she didn't deserve for her life to end like this.

And even if they couldn't save Celestia, perhaps they could at least save Luna.

She took a deep breath, then looked up into Luna's wide eyes. "Okay," she said. "What do I need to do?"

A wide smile spread across Luna's face and she pulled Sam forward, hugging her.

"Thank you!" she said. "You will not regret this!"

I hope not, Sam thought.

Luna let go of her and stepped back again, wiping tears from her eyes. "First, I just need you to release me from my own bonds. I will ensure that you know how to do so when you wake. Then I will explain the rest. Goodbye, Major Carter, until we speak again."

"Wait," Sam said. "How will I—"

Suddenly the floor disappeared, and she felt herself falling—





She jolted awake, back in the cargo bay, her entire body covered in a cold sweat. The rest of the team jumped up, and Jack ran over to her.

"Major?" he said. "Any news?"

"Colonel," she panted, "we've made a terrible mistake!"