Stargate SG1: Equestrian Arcby ArgumediesChaptersChapter 1: AbscondChapter 2: AwakeningChapter 3: AssemblyChapter 4: ConnectionsChapter 6: FlightmareChapter 7: FruitionChapter 8: ShockscapeChapter 5: ContingencyChapter 1: AbscondStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 1: Abscond 02:36 Northern Atlantic Ocean, 750 nautical miles off the coast of Iceland. The winds whipped violently, and the waves crested only feet below the choppers tail section as it flew low across the North Atlantic. Staying blow radar in a UH-64 Black Hawk meant staying as close to the water’s surface as possible while avoiding the icebergs that floated everywhere. “Gotta love those crazy pilots,” Jack said to himself as the craft slowly made its way to its destination. Colonel Jack O Neill pulled his hood up on his parka and loaded his P90 compact assault rifle as the pilot brought the chopper around looking for a release point. He had dealt with him many times in the past, and Jack didn’t like dealing with him anymore now than he did back then. Maybourne was a slime ball who was always looking for a handout while searching for a place to stick a knife in your back. He didn’t trust him before, and he sure wasn't going to start now. But he had information, or so he said, on the location of the N.I.D. vessel out on the waters somewhere below. There has been recorded gate activity for the last month or so, discovered only because of some dialing problems in the computer. They knew it wasn't the Russians because their Stargate was located in a sealed container under wraps of the Soviet Military. The activity still originated from earth, so it had to be someone else. It was also hard to pinpoint through seismic activity, but Major Carter discovered that it was in proximity to the northern end of the Mid Atlantic ridge probably to make it look like magma displacements. She had figured that, because seismic wave movement wasn’t as strong as it should be, it must have originated near the surface and not on a ground base, which meant that it was possibly on a cargo ship or Goa’uld craft with a cloaking device. But with the lack of physical evidence from the satellites they had concluded that the gate moved from location to location to where every time the S.G.C. or the Air force got close, they would already be one-step ahead. Then after receiving a coded message, it turned out that Maybourne knew where the next stop was going to be. Jack hated Maybourne but in the past, his information usually proved fruitful, but that still didn’t make him a trustworthy. As always, Jack was going to paint on a smile and try to restrain himself from wringing his scrawny little neck. Standing a small ice shelf at the edge of the northern pack, a lone figure stood next to a small watercraft and listened for the sounds of the helicopter on approach then pulled out a small red lens flashlight as the chopper flew around the final iceberg. He then threw the flashlight on the ice marking the landing point, the pilot, confirming the signal brought the Black Hawk around over the target location, and dropped the lines. Jack looked over at his team, Major Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal’c as they each hooked to their lines and descended to the surface. Jack patted one of the crew on the shoulders “As soon as I’m down get this bird out of here,” and with that, he made his way down his line. The Black Hawk didn’t waste any time once Jack was on the ground it quickly flew off into the darkness leaving its passengers behind in the cold of the arctic north. “Heck of a place you got here Maybourne. Cozy if you’re a penguin.” Jack said. “Ya, I’m thinking about retiring here,” said Maybourne returning the snide remark. “But let’s get down to brass tax; the ship you’re looking for is a cargo freighter called the ‘Sorrel Roan’ which supposedly sank during freak storms in the Bermuda Triangle a couple of years ago. But in truth, it was ‘acquired’ by the NID and its being used as a covert floating warehouse. It’s disguised as an iceberg, which was why your satellites couldn't find it but we should still be able to see as it passes by which should be any time now.” “Any time,” Jack questioned, “How many minutes in an ‘any time?” Jack yelled irritated as he clasped his gloved hand together trying to warm them up. “Soon,” Maybourne said reassuring him as he pulled a small pouch from his pocket. “Now before you ask, I don’t know where they got the Stargate from, but more importantly, is what they’re doing with it. It seems that someone in the N.I.D. has come into a vast amount of wealth lately, enough to pay off some rather high up individuals.” Maybourne grabbed Jack’s hand and dumped the rather large diamond and several other gems into it. “And that’s not all, Rubies, Sapphires, and Emeralds’ the size of your fist. “Enough to saturate the economy,” Jack said rolling around one of the diamonds in his hand. “Enough to start their own economy,” Maybourne replied. And to top it all off many of these gems emit high levels of energy. “How high are we talking?” Jack said putting the gems back into the bag. From what I understand, I would say Naquadah levels. Like preloaded batteries,” Maybourne said holding out his hand for the pouch. “I agree, Carter said, “I can sense the Naquadah in them. Wherever they got these, the place must be rich with them, and if the Goa’uld got their hands on this, it could change everything. Jack gave Maybourne a funny look as he placed the pouch into his own pocket. “Anything else?” ‘Ya,” Maybourne said annoyed at Jack and his empty palm “I’ve kept up my end of the bargain. You just keep your end like you promised,” Maybourne said. “I never promised anything,” Jack said warming his hands with his breath. “Come on Jack, I thought we were old friends,” Maybourne said with a witted smile. “We were never friends…” Jack said letting his aggravation show. “O Neill!” Teal’c interrupted, “A ship approaches.” “All right everyone, Jack said calming down as he grabbed his gear. ‘Let’s get moving, Maybourne, after we get there, take off and meet us at the rendezvous point” he ordered as he placed his gear into the boat. “Fine by me Jack, I don’t want to be anywhere near that place when this goes down. You guys have a nasty habit of getting into trouble when stuff like this happens.” Maybourne said as he fired up the engines. They made their way across the water and approached the ship from the stern to avoid detection as the massive freighter slowly drove through the ice-filled water. Maybourne brought the watercraft alongside, and Jack and Teal’c deployed the grappling ropes. “You know Jack; we should get together and have lunch sometime when this is all over,” Maybourne offered. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up” Jack responded as he and the others made their way to the top of the ship. Once at the top, Jack turned and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Maybourne leave. Having him around made his skin crawl but you know what they say about ‘friends’ like that who needs enemies. They quickly made their way across the stern of the ship and Teal’c and Carter dispatched two guards with a blast from their Zat-nik-tel weapons. Jack and Daniel went on to scout ahead as they threw the bodies into a dinghy raft then quietly they made their way to the interior of the ship. Jack was uneasy as they moved along the long hallway towards the stairwell. They had met up with little resistance; in fact, they had not seen anyone as they walked onto the lower decks of the ship. “Well they didn’t just abandon the ship, did they?” Jack thought to himself as he made his way down the corridor. After securing several rooms, they made their way down the last hallway they were just about to come to the last door when the ship began to shake violently all around them. “Jack,” Daniel said holding on to a railing, “I think this confirms that they do have a Stargate.” “This also means we’re running out of time Sir,” Carter added. As they walked down the last corridor, there was an open door and Jack could hear voices inside the room. He could also hear the sound of the activated Stargate inside the room and he gave the hand signal to the others to hold for a moment as he crept up to the doorway to listen in on the conversation. He couldn’t tell who they were, but one voice was human, and the other was Goa’uld. “Great,” thought Jack, “That’s all we needed,” he said under his breath, “Guess they were already in on this the whole time. I wonder if Maybourne new about it… probably.” The light of the Stargate filled the room as the Goa’uld spoke to the other in “The shipment will arrive in a few days. My Jaffa soldiers have already begun advanced mining operations on the planet, and I will go there myself to take control. The Chaapa’ai is yours to do as you will as we agreed. You will hold this position until then and when I return I will have everything ready for your NID counterparts.” “Ya, that’s not going to happen,” Jack said to himself as he pulled a smoke grenade off his belt. As Jack went to toss the smoke into the room as the alarms went off. “Those guards must have come to,” Jack said to himself as he followed the smoke into the room. Gunfire erupted from his P-90 and Jack took aim at the Goa’uld, but he wasn’t fast enough. The alarm had given the Goa’uld enough time to use his hand device to place the personal shield before stepping through the portal and deactivating it before Jack could run after him. Carter and the others followed him in taking out the other person in the room with a Zat, stunning him before he could fire a shot. All right, Carter, Daniel, figure out where he went.” Jack ordered. “Teal’c, did you happen to get a look at his crest?” “Indeed.” Teal’c replied in his usual calm voice, “He held the symbol of Ra.” Daniel and Carter sat at the desk looking over the computer monitors delving through the information. “Well we’re not worried about Ra anymore,” said Daniel digging through the information on one of the computer drives. “It could have been one of his remaining Jaffa, but what I find that’s confusing is that this information doesn’t talk about Ra, it talks about Khonsu.” “Khon-who?” Jack said puzzled. “Khonsu…” Daniel said glaring at him. “Well as you know, Ra was the god associated with the sun. But Khonsu was more associated with the moon. His name means ‘Traveler’ and was said to be the watcher over the travelers of the night.” Daniel spoke still sifting through the data. “Khonsu was revered as a gentle and compassionate healer who was said to have personally healed the pharaoh Ptolemy IV. But, he also had a darker side as his name also appears in the ‘Cannibal Hymn,’ which is part of the Pyramid Texts, and he is shown to be a bloodthirsty deity who helps the deceased kings to catch and eat the other gods. “Oh.” Jack replied even more puzzled than ever. “Khonsu was also believed to be the son of Mut and Amun but others speculate that he may be the offspring of Sobek and Hathor.” Daniel said. “Now those last names I do know.” Jack said. Daniel shot him a look over his glasses. “What I don’t understand is; why would a follower of Ra, have information on Khonsu,” he said turning his attention back to his monitor. “Either way O Neill,” Teal’c added, “If he is indeed Ra or a follower pretending to be Ra, he must be stopped.” “Agreed,” Jack said. “I have the dialing address of where he went to,” said Carter “It’s definitely not one we had in out lists, but we need to get this information back to the S.G.C. for further analysis.” “Okay, let’s pack it up and get out of here,” Jack ordered. Carter jacked in her portable computer and downloaded all the system files of the N.I.D. computer when they heard the explosions and the ship rocked violently. “I think we set off a booby trap Sir,” Carter yelled, “But I think I can still activate this Stargate before we lose power.” “Do it,” Jack shouted “This place is going down.” Carter punched in the address into the computer “Got it,” she shouted as the gate finished its sequence, and a portal opened up and water started pouring in from the doors. The ship started to lean when Teal’c Carter and Daniel jumped through the Stargate opening, and the last thing Jack saw was a wall of water rushing at him through the doorway. Author's Note Updated 3/27/14 Chapter 2: AwakeningStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 2: Awakening Jack pulled himself out of the water and onto the dock. He turned around and sat with his feet dangling in the water pondering how he got there in the first place. He didn’t remember jumping into the pond only that he found himself surfacing next to the dock. He kicked his feet a few times splashing the water and watching it ripple across its surface then he lay back, resting on his arms for a moment feeling comfortable as the coolness of the water slowly evaporated from his skin. Above him, the bright summer sun beamed down upon him, and it warned him almost to the point where he didn’t need the towel that lay at the edge of the dock. As he looked out over the water, the trees gave a gentle sway as a soft breeze blew in and brought with it the scents of the flowers and grasses of forest that surrounded his property. His place was always warm and welcoming even on the coldest winter days. Jack grabbed hold of the towel, dried his face, then tossed it over his shoulder as he stood up and walked around to the front door to the cabin when he spied the beer sitting on a small table at the far end of the front porch where he must have left it before he went swimming. He walked over to it, grabbed the bottle, and popped the top taking a long drink of its contents. It was warm, flat, and tasteless as if it had been there a long time he made a sour face as he put the bottle down, walked back over to the front door of the cabin, and stood there where he strangely found himself studying the trim work around the door. He had stepped through this door many times before but for some reason, this felt odd and out of place. He wasn’t sure, but it was as if he were looking at a stranger. Unlike the summer sun that surrounded the cabin, it felt cold and deceptive as if waiting to torment him should he pass through. But this was his home, one that he had known for many years, and he wasn’t about to let that stop him and so he shrugged it off and reached the handle when he heard the activation of the staff weapon breaking the serenity of the silence within him. The blast exploded against the wall next to him and Jack dove for cover. As Jack lay prone upon the ground, he spied the nine-millimeter lying in front of him. With deft swiftness, he grabbed the weapon and brought it around to fire upon his assailant. More blasts hit the wall where he stood moments ago and in return, he fired several shots but could not see who it was that was shooting at him and missed his target. In his haste, he quickly ran out of ammunition but he knew he had more weapons inside the house and he got up with a barrage of staff weapon energy bolts erupting all around him. He reached for the door handle and opened the door but stopped in his tracks coming within inches of the wormhole event horizon that lay upon the other side of his cabin doorway. Confusion gripped Jack as he stood there staring at the shimmering light that belonged to the Stargate in front of him. The unprovoked attack seemed to stop as quickly as it started, as Jack stood there mesmerized by the portals opening. Jack took his hand, placed his palm against the event horizon, and watched it ripple out like the waves on a pond. It was warm and welcoming much like his cabin, much like the touch of an old friend. And for the first time in a long time, Jack felt at peace, when the portal erupted in front of him as the form of the giant Goa’uld worm broke through the portal, screeched and attacked. ….. “I think he’s finally wakening up,” Daniel said. Jack pulled his arm from beneath the blanket and rubbed his head with his hand, trying to drown out the ringing in his ears when his shoulder popped, and he realized just how much he hurt. Jacked looked around the room. It was a light blue colored room with three beds. Teal’c lay in one of them the other he guessed belonged to Daniel. A long white curtain flapped next to an open window that let in what felt like a warm summer breeze. And there was a small lamp sitting next to a vase on a tiny round table with some small pink and yellow flowers in it that looked freshly picked this morning. Probably all the things that made up his dream he thought. “Easy,” Daniel said. “You have a few bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder but the, um… doctor, here said you’ll be somewhat fine in a few days.” “So this is what it feels like to be, ‘flushed.” Jack said as he rotated his shoulder a few times trying to work out the kinks. Looking down at his chest, he found that his ribcage wrapped in a bandage. “Are Teal’c and Sam okay?” he asked. “Yes, Teal’c is in his usual state of Kel’no’reem and Sam is down the hall, I talked to her a little bit ago. We were picked up by the um… locals after we were washed out through some underground passageways and into a large canyon of sorts. I was told a few of them were, ‘flying,’ by when they spotted us.” Daniel said trying to mask the tension in his voice. Jack paused the rubbing of his eyes with the palm of his hand over his nose and shot him his usual perplexed look. “Flying,” he quoted raising one eyebrow. Jack sat up and gave him a stern look, clasping his hands together, “So now we have little ‘flying’ aliens,” he emphasized. “Are they at least green this time?” Daniel just gave a steady sigh trying to break the news as gently as possible. “Yes, some are green, but mostly, multicolored. But at least they speak English and their friendly enough, once you get used to the fact that they’re…” he paused. Jack knew something was amiss; they had been to many countless worlds and encountered aliens of all kinds before. “Go on,” he said. Anymore, strange was all part of the job. Meeting the ‘out of the ordinary’ and ‘unusual things’ has practically become routine, so Jack sat back, crossed his arms and waited for the preverbal punch line. “This won’t faze me. As they say, I’ve seen it all,” and was prepared for anything… There came a knock at the door, and the door slowly opened a small, light brown horse creature with a horn on its head, surrounded by a short but well-kept chocolate colored mane. It was also wearing what looked to be a stethoscope around its neck over top a doctor’s lab coat that hung over its tail of the same color of its mane. It stood about the size of a welsh pony only it’s hooves were much larger around than any standard horse he’s ever known, but what really got Jack’s attention was that it had two of the biggest eyes he had ever seen. They took up nearly the entire head, which was also unusually large for such a small creature, and except for the small nose muzzle and large ears, it gave it a very human like aspect. Jack sat in awe and silence staring at it as it walked over to him and spoke. “Ah, I we’re finally awake. My name is Doctor Farrier, and I wanted to step in here and check on you. To make sure, your bandages are in place.” By the sound of it, voice Jack surmised that this ‘Doctor’ was female but he wasn’t about to go searching for confirmation on that. The creature’s horn began to glow a soft tan colored aura and Jack felt a tightening of the bandages around his ribcage. “I also wanted to inform you that the word of your arrival has been brought to the attention of Princess Celestia and she is on her way here to meet with you personally. You’ll find your belonging over there in the closet, or at least as much as we could find.” Jack and Daniel watched in silence as the unicorn doctor levitated a clipboard and pen in front of them and jotted down some notes then levitated them back into the pockets of her lab coat. “The princess should be here shortly, I assume you will want to make yourselves presentable for her. Good day to you.” And with that, she turned and walked out of the room. “… Anything except that,” Jack thought as he looked up at Daniel at a complete loss for words. Daniel put a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat, “Mythological creatures.” “Mythological creatures,” said Jack now questioning his sanity and the possibility that he might actually be dead or hooked up to yet another alien machine to drive him mad. “Yes,” Daniel said. “The main denizens of this planet seem to be Unicorns, Pegasus, and other equines. But they seem to use the general term “Pony” when talking about themselves. They call this land Equestria, but I am not sure if that is a local or planetary name and we are in a hospital that in the village of Ponyville. The majority of these ‘Ponies’ are female and judging by the fact that there’s a Princess on her way; I’m guessing this is a matriarchal society. They do not seem to be at odds with bipedal creatures, but I do not get the impression that they have ever seen a human before either. But with the fact that there was a Stargate here, and by some of the things that I have seen so far, I suspect that there was some kind of human influence some time in their past. Quite possibly the Ancients, but I have yet to prove that theory. Jack shook his head and threw up his hands, stopping him in mid babble. “Just how long have you been awake?” “Oh. About a half hour or so” Daniel said trying not to sound too uncanny. “Well, it goes to say that until recently, Egyptology and Norse mythology were but mere myths and it turned out that had their root beginnings with the Stargate on earth. So, is it so farfetched an idea that Mythological creatures such as Unicorns and Pegasus also started with the Stargate, as well. Who knows, we might even see a dragon or two here,” Daniel said, failing to hide his enthusiasm. Jack put a hand on his face “Multi colored talking horses,” Jack said, “We have officially seen it all.” “Funny, that’s what Teal’c said,” said Daniel. ….. A short while later both Jack and Teal’c were up and about finishing up a checklist of items that were recovered by these ‘ponies,’ including all their weapons, the p-90’s, Zats, and Teal’c staff weapon. Either, they didn’t know what weapons were, or they felt secure enough to let us keep them, Jack wasn’t sure which, but ‘he’ felt safer with them in their hands. They had also recovered the backpack items and rations along with the GDO. Nothing here seemed the worse for wear despite being through the spin cycle of a wormhole. They had even gone as far as to wash and fold all their clothing and had them neatly tucked away in the closet “Tidy little things,” Jack said to himself as he passed Teal’c’s staff weapon over to him. It was nice and warm here, so they decided to forgo the overcoats they wore in the cold Atlantic sea, fatigues always suited him better anyway. They gathered their things and headed for the door; Carter and Daniel were outside and had already started talking with some of the locals. They had been trying to find out if any of them knew if they had seen any others like them in recent days but so far, no luck but he was sure that, without the gate, the Goa’uld would soon have to make their move. This of course was a problem for them as well, According to Carter the gate lie buried under a mountain of rubble. This was by far the biggest problem because they were going to have to find it first, and hope it still works. That will have to be the first priority, Jack said to himself as he donned his hat and sunglasses walked outside. He stood outside with Teal’c at the front doors to the hospital, surveyed the area, and was a bit surprised on its size of the village for such small inhabits. Ponyville, he guessed, was approximately about a mile and half or so around give or take. Many of their homes were well crafted and covered in a thick layer of flowers or vines making it a quaint little village that kind of reminded him of an old English town, right down to the thatched roof design, nestled between rolling hills. There were scattered tents with wares for sale, and the air held a sweet smell of baked goods like fresh bread from the oven, nothing like what he was expecting. The pathways were neat and clean; there were wagonloads filled with fresh piles of hay, and straw probably harvested not that long ago. Birds sang from many of the trees, and the clear skies were a wonderful bright blue with the warm glow of the sun beaming its warm radiance across the land. This could be just like any place back home… except for the thousand pairs of large eyeballed horses staring at him. There were ponies everywhere of all colors of the rainbow. Some wore clothing; many did not. There were ponies on the balconies and windows of the homes in town, and even a few of the ones with wings were flying or hovering nearby and all of them watching them. “Curious bunch,” Jack said. “Indeed,” Teal’c said in his usual monotone voice. “Hello,” Jack said waving a hand in the air. “I’m Colonel Jack O Neill and this is Teal’c” pointing to Teal’c, who bowed in greetings. Jack had that awkward feeling wash over him like a flood. You would think that after talking to both Sam and Daniel that these ponies’ reactions would have been more receptive but he got nothing more than whispers and talk amongst their selves until one of them bravely stepped forward through the crowd. Judging by what he saw with the doctor, and the fact that Daniel said they were mostly female, he easily guessed she was a she. There were only slight differences between the mares and the stallions but once you learned it, you could clearly distinguish the two. The one that walked forward was a light colored purple pony with short curly pink striped main and tail. She didn’t have wings or a horn, nor did she were the clothing like some of the others. But what stood out most, was the fact that she had these three little yellow flower marks on her, um, butt. “Probably some sort of ritual markings,” Jack thought. He couldn’t see it on the doctor because of the outfit she was wearing, but now that he noticed, he noticed that they all had some sort of markings on their collective rumps. “Greetings" she said; "My name is Miss Cheerilee. Don’t mind the others, their skittish at first until they get to know you. When Mister Jackson and Miss Carter came out, most of them ran away except for Twilight and her friends, but they are starting to feel more comfortable around you." “I’m honored,” Jack said trying to hold back the cynicism. “I don’t suppose you know where, um, ‘Mister Jackson’ and ‘Miss Carter’ went to?” “I believe that they went with Twilight and her friends to the library. I can take you there if you like,” she said. “Lead on,” Jack said painting a smile on his face as best he could. ….. The sounds of chains rattling in conjunction with pick axes, shovels, and the scraping of bare claws upon the rock, stone, and mud echoed throughout the caverns as three dog like figures, pushed along a cart full of dirt and muck towards the dumping point. Each one, chained at the neck and ankles to the cart, labored as hard as they could trying to push the heavy load up the rocky path, all under the watchful eyes of the creatures in silver armor who stood there with the fire and lightning sticks in their claws. The ceiling had collapsed when water that sprang from the large metal ring flooded the caves and now their new masters forced them to dig new tunnels. No dog rested, and when a dog fell, punishment came with pain from the smaller lightning stick until he began to move again. Many dogs were hurt and tried to escape at first, but they failed and were captured then quickly bowed down to their new masters. They began by making them dig for all the gems and crystals that their caverns held, but even the dirt and mud held a special interest to the silver creatures left nothing to waste. As the three pushed the cart onto the dumping point, three of the silver creatures walked up to them, two of the guards pointing their fire sticks at them and the three dogs cowered in fear. None of them spoke as the third guard unlocked one of them and dragged him off down the corridor with his friends looking on with terror in their eyes knowing there was nothing they could do about it. He walked between them; his body slumped over with his ears drawn low. He was frightened of the silver armored ones. He was once the leader of the Diamond Dogs until the silvered ones ripped his shirt off and placed him in chains like the others. He let out a small whimper as they led him down deeper into the mines. He knew where he was going. They were taking him to see the one in gold armor that showed up before the flood. One that he quickly learned to fear even more than the silvered ones; the one called Ra. Author's Note 12/7/13 Errors and corrections made Chapter 3: AssemblyStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 3 Assembly Laca’s, First Prime to Lord Ra, walked his prisoner through the caverns with his head held high. A Jaffa was a proud warrior even while gathering lowly creatures such as these. His orders were to gather slaves, and he did so without question. These were useless beasts even as slaves and lord Ra has a purpose for them, and he would follow his orders to the letter. They walked into one of the caverns that they had the slaves build in order to accommodate Lord Ra’s presents even though it was unbefitting of a god, to lower himself to such paltry accommodations. But that wouldn’t be for long; Lord Ra’s plans have already been set in motion, and after he conquers this world, he will regain his throne as supreme leader of the System Lords. They took the prisoner to the edge of the throne where Laca’s reached back to the dog like creatures collar and yanked it to the ground where it curled up in a ball whimpering on the floor. “Silence in the presence of your god” Laca’s said in Goa’uld. The creature may not understand the words, but it understood his activated Ma’Tok staff now pointed at him and it quickly became silent and Laca’s turned back to attention and waited for Lord Ra. A lavish room, created for Ra’s private chambers, with items brought forth from the Tau’ri home world through the Chaapa’ai, one of the most significant was the sarcophagus where Ra slept. The sarcophagus itself stood upon one end, surrounded by many of Ra’s personal belonging. As the sarcophagus started to open up, it bathed the cavern in the light; Ra stepped forth from within, and Laca’s and the other Jaffa knelt in honor to their god while the dog creature covered his head with his trembling paws. The light reflected off his traditional golden armor and ceremonial helm giving him an aura of power as Ra walked over to the alter table that had been placed next to his sarcophagus. Upon it sat a small container, extravagantly decorated and surrounded by gold and gems gathered from this world along with an assortment of items of Goa’uld technology, at its foot rested a rather large and ornate container. Ra placed his hand over the small jar, staring at it in silence for a moment, then reached over and placed his hand within a small glove like device. “Report.” “As you ordered my lord,” answered Laca’s “The slaves are continuing with digging out the Chaapa’ai, but these creatures cannot determine its exact location within the rubble. We have also begun our campaign of enslaving some of the surface dwellers. We had some difficulty in capturing some of the prisoners, but we were successful in bringing these beasts under your rule.” “And the device?” Ra asked. “We are still in the process of securing the location my lord, when we secure the Chaapa’ai and bring forth more Jaffa we…” “Enough,” Ra spoke, his eyes glowed through the helm in frustration but his anger quickly faded away. “You will begin the second phase of our operation and take what Jaffa you need to secure that location.” “And what of the slaves in the mines?” Laca’s boldly asked. “Leave them; they will not be unguarded for long.” Ra said. “Their fear of my wrath will keep these slaves in line.” “Yes my lord,” Laca’s said as he stood up “Kree, Jaffa,” he ordered as the other two stood attention. Then the three of them marched from the room leaving the prisoner alone on the floor. After a moment of silence, Ra walked over to the prisoner as it once again started whimpering. “As for you, do not fret creature, your god is a merciful one” Ra spoke in perfect Taur’ri, a language these creatures understood, “And all that you have to do, is tell me everything I want to know.” ….. As the three of them made their way across town, Jack made mental notes of the area while the pink pony, Miss Cheerilee, babbled on about something on pony history. Turns out that she was a teacher from the local pony school but that was about the only thing of interest he picked out of the conversation. Fortunately, Jack was so used to Daniels lectures that ‘babble,’ was something he learned to auto tune out long ago. Teal’c, on the other hand, seemed to be quite interested in her conversation. Either that or he was so used to silently gathering information on someone by letting them talk on their own as a trait left over from his First Prime days. She led them down some winding paths and around several homes and shops, one of which he swore looked like a gingerbread house that his grandmother made one time, that lead to a rather large tree in the center of town. A signpost just outside the small red front door marked the place with the picture of a book painted on it and Jack surmised that this was the library. They had carved out the tree and made it look just like any of the other homes in the area. There were several windows and a couple of balconies, up in its branches that seem perfectly at ease with the swaying in the gentle breeze but Jack stopped short of being impressed as Miss Cheerilee knocked on the door then stepped back as it opened with a subtle glow that had a purplish tinge. “Come in.,” another female’s voice said. While Teal’c talked some more with the teacher pony outside, Jack stuck his head inside the doorway to see that Daniel and a purple Unicorn were holding a conversation while delving through a stack of books, both seemingly so involved that they didn’t even move when the door opened. “Looks like Daniel found a new study buddy,” Jack thought to himself. He didn’t care what they were reading as long as it was about a way to get him back home. Making more mental notes, she was a darker color purple pony with purple eyes, deep purple and pink striped mane neatly trimmed around the horn with matching colored stripped tail. He also noted the markings of this pony with a large pink star surrounded by five smaller white stars that rather reminded him of the locking sequence of the Stargate, but not quite. Carter was also in there sitting at a small table with another group of “ponies” surrounding her, enthralled by the laptop computer that she was using. One was a bright yellow Pegasus with light blue eyes, long pink mane and tail with three small butterflies for her markings, “Butterflies, how quaint.” A second was an orange freckle faced pony with a blond mane and tail with green eyes and sporting three apples as a mark. He didn’t see any wings on her, and he couldn’t tell if she was a Unicorn underneath that western style hat. “A real cowgirl that one.” The third was definitely another Unicorn. All white with blue eyes and lavender colored mane and tail, both with long drawn out curls. Her marking was that of three blue diamond like shapes. “Oh yes, this one must be a real gem” Jack mocked to himself. All this color was making him ill and never did he appreciate olive drab more than he did right now. Jack decided then and there that when he got back to earth he was going to spend the next month watching old movies on a black and white TV in a dark room just to get this crazy place out of his head. “What in the world would the Goa’uld want with these guys? You wouldn’t think they would want them as hosts… or worse… Jaffa. Can you imagine, a whole army of pink and purple Jaffa ponies, striking fear across the galaxy with the power of colorful cuteness? Enemies would give up because they wouldn’t want to hurt something they might find adorable. Oh yes, I can so see the Asgard bowing down before them now. The rainbow of colors alone would bring them to their grey little alien knees.” Jack stifled himself in mid snide chuckle coming to the realization that he might actually be right. Oh, how he hated his gut reactions sometimes. The purple pony finally looked up at them “Hello,” she said as she stood up and walked over to the door. “You must be Colonel O Neill. My name is Twilight Sparkle…” “Twilight… Sparkle…” Jack quickly thought but again stifled a crude remark. “…And these are my friends Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy,” she said pointing a hoof at the white, orange, and yellow ponies respectively as they each walked forward; except the yellow one Fluttershy, who seemed to live up to her name and just wanted to hide behind the other two but was still there to be introduced. “Um, Hi…” Jack started to say, but he jumped and banged his head on the top of the door frame as another pony, who seemed to pop in from nowhere below him. “Aww, they’re here, and I was planning a big surprise party for them,” it said in a high pitched, almost rubbery squeaky voice. “And this is Pinky Pie” Twilight continued her introduction. “Ohh, this is so exciting though. We can still throw a party. It wouldn’t take me long to set one up, all you have to do is stand outside for a few minutes, I just got done reloading my party cannon, then you can come back in, and we can all yell SURPRIZE,” the pink pony yelled. “Ah… no, maybe later,” Jack said holding one hand up stopping her in mid excitement while rubbing the back of his head with the other. This blue eyed pony was pink from her curly mane head to curly tipped tail with three party balloons as a mark, no surprise there, and about as bubbly as a bottle of Champaign, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Jack thought to himself. “Actually,” he said, “I just need to take these two away from you for a few moments,” pointing at Carter and Daniel. As the four of them walked outside, they made their way over to a bench. Jack turned and was unsurprisingly amazed that he saw the little pink pony had already begun zipping back and forth dragging things back into the library from who knows where. “Little bundle of energy that one.” He said then chose to ignore it and turned his attention back to his team. “Okay guys, I hate to break up the fun, but we’ve still got a Goa’uld roaming around and a Stargate to find. Have we found anything useful?” “Well Sir,” Carter said, “I have been going over some maps that Twilight provided and according to the information based on where they found us The Stargate is buried deep under the mountain range to the east. According to Rarity, an indigenous tribe of whom they call, ‘Diamond dogs’ who dwell underground and may have unknowingly uncovered it by accident. “So now we have intelligent dogs as well?” Jack questioned. “Well,” Carter said, “from what I understand, calling them ‘Intelligent’ may be overstating it a bit. “Actually I’ve discovered,” Daniel added, “most of the life forms on this planet have some sort of intelligence and these ponies have a lot of respect for everything here, including insects, so think twice before you swat a mosquito, they might consider it murder.” “Right now,” Carter continued, “I’m in the process of triangulating the depth of the Stargate based on the amount of time it took for the water pressure to push us to the surface and the elapsed time for the Stargate to auto shut down. And from what I’m calculating, it’s deep. And because the tunnels have collapsed, I’m not sure how we can even get to the Stargate. “Twilight and I,” Daniel added, “were looking to see if there were any references to the Stargate within their history trying to find out who put it there in the first place. We didn’t find anything in her books, but her assistant Spike was in Canterlot and will be bringing some more books back with him tonight. Even then, she admits that the only one who may know anything about it would be her mentor Princess Celestia. When I questioned her why, she told me that because the Princess has been ruling over Equestria for over a thousand years…” “…And now you might be thinking she already is a Goa’uld,” Jack said and ‘this’ Ra ‘wanna-be’ is trying to get back in touch with her after being gone so long.” “That is one hypothesis,” Daniel said. “She may even be this Khonsu ally that I read about in the file back on the ship.” “But the real Ra is dead,” Teal’c added, “killed by you and Colonel O Nell on Abydos.” “Yes, but if she is Khonsu, she has been stuck here for over a thousand years and she may not know that ‘this’ Ra is a fake and that he could be planning a reunion that she may not be expecting,” Daniel said. “Teal’c, Carter, if this Princess Celestia is a Goa’uld, do you thing you can sense it when she gets here?” said Jack. “I do not know O Nell,” Teal’c said, “This place gives me the feeling as if there were Goa’uld all-around us.” “I’m the same way Sir,” Carter said, “but I don’t think is anything related to the Goa’uld. The sensation is based off the amount of Naquadah in our blood in relevance to the Naquadah in the area and this whole place feels like one gigantic Naquadah reactor. I can even sense Naquadah in the ponies of this village, especially the Unicorns. And it’s even stronger around Twilight and her friends. But I didn’t observe any location wounds left by a Goa’uld entering their bodies and natural Naquadah in their blood would explain why these ponies have abilities such as telekinesis but without a blood sample, I couldn’t prove it.” “Well then,” Jack said, “there’s only one way left to find out. Someone’s got to go up to the Princess and lift her… mane and look.” “And if she does indeed turn out to be this Khonsu,” Teal’c said. “Then I guess these ponies are going to have to figure out how to live without their precious Princess,” Jack said. “After all, she’s just a little pony. How hard could she be?” “Well let’s not get too hasty on that, I think we need to do some more digging before we start shooting up the place. I at least want to find out a little more about her… and this place.” Daniel said as a rather large shadow quickly passed over them. They each looked up and saw that the shadow belonged to a rather large carriage, pulled… well flown, by a small team of four Pegasi like an old west stagecoach. Jack noted that each Pegasus looked to be a larger white stallion wearing some sort of gold plated armor that looked something like an old Greek military uniform. He also noticed the small squadron of Pegasi working in pairs of two flying circles high above much like fighter pilots would do back home. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Jack said as the carriage circled around and came in for a landing on the other side of the Library tree where Twilight and her friends now gathered. The carriage itself was painted white and decked out in violet and gold trim. “A little ostentatious,” Jack said unimpressed with the flamboyant entry. “Guess this must be our little princess,” Jack said as they slowly made their way over to the field where she landed. “Little?” Daniel said questioning Jacks choice of words. The carriage’s lone rider was much larger than the other ponies of the village, about the size of a good riding horse. She was all white and had the wings of a Pegasus, with a much larger wingspan, and she had the horn of a Unicorn, which was not a combination that he had seen in the other ponies of this world. Her pastel colored rainbow mane and tail seemed to flow gracefully around her body. She wore a rather large, gold and jewel encrusted collar around her neck with a matching gold and jewel crown upon her head. All of which screamed typical Goa’uld entry, but Jack was willing to be both courteous and diplomatic about this, for the moment anyway. “She’s an Alicorn,” Daniel whispered loudly and Jack gave him a quick glance from the side. Princess Celestia stood upon her carriage, spread her wings, and leapt into the air, soaring briefly then touching down in front of the carriage where Twilight and her friends bowed and greeted her respectfully. “It’s good to be the princess,” Jack said muttering a miss quote from an old movie he once saw just loud enough for the rest of the SG team to hear. “Is anyone getting any Goa’uld vibes off of her?” “It is as I had suspected O Neill; I sense what could be an extremely strong presence around her, but if it is a Goa’uld, I cannot say,” Teal’c said and Carter nodded in agreement. Jack silently watched her and despite the excitement of Twilight and the other ponies who gathered around her. Celestia stood tall, folded her wings in place and greeted each and every one of them, while, at the same time, she placed a firm but thoughtful look with those deep violet eyes over at Jack and the rest of his team assessing their strengths and positions. She eyed each of them, and the weapons that they carried calculating the risk of open engagement should it come to that, much the same way that he was doing to her. “A little fan fair and a show of strength,” Jack thought to himself re-evaluating the situation as they each locked eyes on one another “clever.” Like a mental game of chess, it only happens in that first moments when you only have that split second to make a decision to over… or underestimate you’re opponent. Most leaders fail one side or the other but Jack did not get the impression that she had, when she smiled and walked over to them. “Greetings Travelers, and welcome to Equestria, What do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” “Greetings Princess” Daniel said cautiously stepping forward “We travel from a place called Earth through what we call a Stargate, but before we get into talks I must ask to do something personal of you…” he started to say as he reached a hand out towards her. Suddenly all the ponies became excited and alert, Twilight and her friends all gasped as the guard stallions snorted, spread their wings and trotted forth to defend their princess, but Celestia herself remained calm by spreading a wing out towards her guards halting them in place then gave a nod to Daniel of permission to continue. “I trust that you will inform me on what you are looking for,” she said as he cautiously proceeded to her side. Daniel reached in with a hand and swept a part of her surprisingly soft mane away from the back of her neck in search for the mark of an entry wound left by a Goa’uld when it entered a host. As he made a quick study of her physique and he noticed the mark of the sun upon her flank when something from out of the blue knocked him to the ground. It was a light colored, ill tempered, blue Pegasus with a rather colorful mane and tail of dark red to deep blue like that of a rainbow that came in and pushed Daniel to the ground. Jack looked up and saw a single Pegasus flying a circle overhead confirming his suspicions of where she came from. And she was so involved and almost pugnacious in chewing him out for touching her princess that she didn’t even notice the purple and white auras surrounding her, holding her back. “Rainbow Dash!” Celestia said slightly raising her voice in ire. “But, he…”Rainbow Dash replied in protest. “It’s quite all right,” The Princess said in a calmer tone as she and Twilight released Rainbow Dash from their respective spells. “Are you okay Daniel?” asked Samantha. Rainbow Dash hovered closer, looking down upon him apologetically, and holding out a hoof to help him up, “Sorry about that.” “Ya, I’m okay, she just knocked the wind out of me.” Daniel said as he grabbed hold of her fore hoof, picking himself off the ground. He stood there for a moment re-adjusting his glasses, and noted that she just helped him up with the strength of her wing beats alone. “Ah, She’s clean” Daniel continued dusting himself off. “The princess, that is.” “And what pray tell were you looking for?” Celestia asked. “I was looking for the entry wound of a Goa’uld symbiote,” Daniel said. “We followed one here through the Stargate, which is why we are here. We’ve come to find it and stop whatever it has plans for here on your world.” “And what is a Goa’uld?” Twilight asked. “Oh, they’re these little snake like things that like to take over the body and make them do all kinds of crazy things…evil things… like trying to take over the universe kind of evil, stuff like that.” Jack answered sarcastically. Twilight and her friends let out another mass gasp as the sound of that hit home and the little yellow Pegasus curled herself into a shaking little ball behind the orange one. “And you thought one of them might be inside the Princess,” Twilight concluded calming down and thinking rationally. “Yes,” Samantha said, “Normally Teal’c and I can sense them, but something about your world nullifies this feeling, so we had to look in order to make sure that you weren’t already compromised.” “Then I understand your concern; it is unfortunate, but I do not know anything about these ‘Goa’uld,” said Celestia. “Our other problem,” Samantha continued, “is that when we came through to your world, your Stargate was buried deep under a mountain and the one on the other end was on a sinking ship in the middle of our ocean which is why your world got flooded. Thankfully, between the subsequent collapse of the cavern and the gate’s thirty-eight minute window, your world averted disaster from the sheer volume of water of our ocean. “So that leaves you without the ability to get back to your world.” Twilight interjected. “Yes, until we can get the gate unburied,” Samantha said. Twilight looked at her, “But if yours is under water how can retrieve our gate help you get home?” “Thankfully, there are more than just two gates. The Goa’uld that we followed through the gate must have brought it there from another planet. Once we get your Gate up and operational then we can send a signal through to our original gate to get home.” “Then it is settled,” Celestia spoke up. “I must go for now,” she said looking up at the position of the sun. “Twilight; You and your friends will assist them in any way that you can. If there is a new threat to Equestria, I trust that you and the other bearers can handle it.” “IF!” Jack snorted to himself as he watched her turn and walk away, “And just what are these ponies going to do about it, kill a Goa’uld with kindness? That’s not happening.” “Look Princess, Jack shouted irritated. “I don’t think you don’t quite grasp the situation you’re in. The Gould’s mean business and they won’t stop trying to take over your world especially if you have something of value to them…” “All the more reason why it is they who must help you,” Celestia spoke cutting Jack off in mid rant. “I think it is you who does not understand. I have learned to trust in them and their abilities as a team as I am sure you have in yours.” Celestia spread her wings, leapt into the air and landed upon her carriage. “There is a higher value in the friendships that they hold that no creature can take away. A lesson you could learn from them. So do not underestimate them based on what you see. Their guidance could be the key to the success of this endeavor.” And with that, she then nodded to the Pegasus team, and they took off leaving Jack to ponder her words and to eat his own. “Alright everyone, you heard the Princess,” Twilight said. “Let’s bring it together and figure out what we need to do next. It will be dark in a couple of hours so we will need a place for you to stay at while you’re here.” “Ya’ll can stay at with me.” Applejack said. “It’s probably the biggest place we have in order to accommodate ya’ll till we get this figured out.” “Awww,” Pinky whined. “What’s the matter sugar cube?” “I had the party all set up in the library, now I’ll have to move it all out there. Oh well, good thing I’m always ready for a party emergency.” She said reverting to her bouncy old self. ….. Jack stood in the doorway of the barn and looked out over the farm. “Sweet Apple Acres they called it,” he said to no one in particular biting down into one of its fruit. “My how like Eden this world is.” quoting something her heard long ago, but couldn’t remember where. It was a rather large apple orchard farm nestled in the foothills on the outskirts of town, and it had all the amenities that one would expect from any farm back home. There were more piles of hay and buckets upon buckets of apples everywhere and even a crazy old grandmother pony in a rocking chair on the front porch. Only thing missing was a shotgun, “Thankfully.” Oh, and the other animals, the cows, the pigs, the sheep only, back home, you didn’t have to worry about them trying to strike up a conversation with you. A least he was able to talk that perky pink pony out of throwing this party or whatever it was that she had planned. He still couldn’t understand how she got here and had it almost set up when he knew they had left Ponyville long before she had. “I swear when I get home, General Hammond is going to have to lock me away in a rubber room.” On the down side, there was still a Goa’uld on the loose and for a moment there was nothing they could do about it. There was a dense forest a few clicks away that he and Teal’c are going to check out in the morning, while Daniel and Carter make their way to the mountain tunnels in search of the gate. The ponies had sent word out to some of the other towns and villages across Equestria, but no one has reported anything as of yet, but he suspected that, that will all change by morning. “Nothing to do but try and get some rest,” he thought. He doubted that any of them would get any rest once all this hits the fan. The sun had begun to set in the west as the full moon rose over the eastern sky. The moon shined brightly as Jack studied it for a bit. He had seen many moons across the galaxy, and each one had its own unique characteristics. Some moons were either larger or smaller than that of earth or they had multiple moons, which always threw him off. But this one, this one here reminded him of home for some reason. It was almost the same size and shape of earth’s moon, but there just wasn’t something quite right about it and Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Twilights assistant Spike, who turned out to be a dragon… a baby dragon had returned form the pony city of Canterlot with a whole wagonload of books with the help of Applejacks older brother, Big Mackintosh, who was a large red colored stallion with a big green apple on his side. “What’s with this place and apples?” he questioned. After Daniel ogled over the fact that there are real dragons in this world ‘yay,’ he was once again engrossed in the new books, while Carter and Twilight went over some calculations. Even Jack had to admit that that pony, despite her lack of experience, was almost as smart as Carter was. She was almost like having both Carter and Daniel rolled into one. It was hard enough to understand one of them let alone two. The other ponies, thankfully including that perky pink one, had all gone to their respective homes for the night. As for Teal’c, he was doing his thing off by the fire pit in the yard. Jack learned long ago, never to bother him when he’s trying to meditate. Feeling useless Jacked wandered over to Daniel side and peeked into the pony book that he was reading. “Does it at least have a good plot?” Jack questioned. “Actually it is a history book,” Daniel said without even looking up at him. “How can you even understand that? It’s all scribble. It’s as if someone stuck a pen in their mouth and scribbled a bunch of lines on a page.” “Actually, you are correct. That’s how ponies write. But the one thing I noticed right away was that their written language uses a line style dialect similar to that of the Ancients and crossed with symbols based off their cutie marks that resembles Egyptian hieroglyphics so that alone makes me feel more positive that the ancients did something here long ago. “Whoa, whoa, whoa… cutie… marks?” he said giving Daniel one of his ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ looks. “Yes, that’s what they call that symbol on their flanks,” Daniel said looking back at him with that ‘where have you been for the past several hours’ look, then returning his attention back on subject. The other thing that I found out was that the ordinary pony, that’s the non-Unicorn and Pegasi, call themselves “Earth” ponies.” “Okay...” “Well, how many other planets that we’ve been too, know of the word “Earth.” And the only place I’ve found the word is in Ancient writings on earth so that alone shows that there was a connection between our worlds long ago.” Jack just shook his head “Ya know, I think I’ll go see what Teal’c is doing.” “Maybe you should try to get some sleep.” “Where, I don’t exactly see a cot around here.” “I think they piled some fresh hay in one of the stalls in the corner.” “Great,” Jack muttered, “they’re the animals, and we get to sleep in the barn. Oh, how I love the irony.” ….. Teal’c sat next to the pit as the fires light reflected off him and casting a long shadow behind him doused only by the brilliance of the light of the moon. Normally he would perform this by candle light in the privacy of his room but the fires light would have to suffice for the time being. As for the privacy that was another matter as he could hear the attempted whispers and giggles of someone hiding behind one of the bales of hay nearby. “You may come out now, I am aware of your presence,” Teal’c said. “I told ya’ll to keep quiet,” a small pony said as she came out from behind the hay bale. The small pony was a yellow Earth pony with a larger red ribbon in her mane followed by another, another small white Unicorn with curly pink stripes. “I just wanted to see it,” she said in a tiny, crackly voice. “I just want to know what awesome thing he had to do to get it!” a third said who turned out to be another small pony, a Pegasus with an orange coat and violet colored mane. Teal’c nodded and greeted each of them as they walked out. He could easily tell that they were but children and was not offended by the interruption of his meditation “For what pray tell are you referring to,” he questioned. “My name is Apple Bloom,” the yellow one spoke and these are my friends Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo.” She said pointing to the young Unicorn and Pegasus. “And we were wondering how you got your cutie mark.” “My cutie mark?” “Your cutie mark; the one on your forehead” Apple Bloom said pointing a hoof at his head. Teal’c quickly realized what they were talking about “I am afraid you are incorrect; this symbol is not a cutie mark as you say. It is the symbol of a false god, and it serves as a reminder that someday all Jaffa will be free.” “What’s a Jaffa?” Scootaloo asked. “Jaffa are those who serve the false gods as soldiers. Many still believe that the Goa’uld are still gods.” “Are there any here?” Sweetie Bell said shaking and obviously scared. “Do not fret little one. No harm will come to you. Of that, I promise. Now if you will excuse me I must meditate,” Teal’c said and closed his eyes once again. “Come on Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo as she and Sweetie Bell walked away leaving Apple Bloom there for a moment staring at Teal’c. ..... The sounds of staff weapon fire echoed across the field as a tall, incorporeal figure surveyed the land in front of it. “Report!” Ra’s voice boomed from the holographic device. “My Lord,” Laca’s spoke on bended knee. “It has been done as you have commanded. We have captured some of the denizen creatures of this world and have taken them to the mines for interrogation. We have also secured the location for the device. Two of my Jaffa warriors have sacrificed themselves in your name in order to secure it and the device shall be fully operational by morning. “Excellent, I have a new mission for you Laca’s, there is one among the equine creatures that has the ability to search and locate objects even deep underground. You will find this one… this one call 'Rarity' and bring it to me.” “Yes my lord. It shall be done.” Author's Note Made a few corrections 12/7/13 Chapter 4: ConnectionsStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 4 Connections Jack stood at the end of the dock; The warm summer sun overhead and the cool breeze gently wafted in from the east bring in the scents of the flowers and trees filling him with an uneasy calmness as it slowly evaporated the sweat from his skin. His place was always warm and welcoming even on the coldest winter days. He looked down at the towel that sat on the dock and ran a hand over it. The towel wasn’t smooth as he thought it should have been; Instead, it was rough, more like one that was used and left out to dry. He picked it up and tossed it over his shoulder; it was warm to the touch, filled from the heat of the sunshine above. An odd sensation washed over him as he turned and walked over to the front door of the cabin. He saw the beer that was sitting on the table next to the door and he picked it up and took a long swig from it. As expected, it was warm, flat, and tasteless, and he made a sour face as he sat the bottle back on the table. He then turned his attention back to the front door but something made him pause, a feeling of something, but what? Jack couldn’t pin it; this was his door, to his cabin, why would he hesitate? Then Jack heard the clicking of the Goa’uld staff weapon activating behind him, and he immediately ducked and rolled bringing up a nine-millimeter pistol that had been laying upon the ground as the barrage of staff energy erupted all around him. He fired in the direction of his assailant but shot nothing. He paused as the weapons fire ceased; he saw no one. Jack counted his shots; nine fired; one bullet remained in the chamber. Still on edge, he knew he had more inside but as he made his way back to the front door, he paused once again. He pointed the weapon at the door; he was expecting something, but he didn’t know what. He slowly reached for the handle and turned the knob with his free hand not taking his aim off with the other. The door creaked and opened up. Inside was his cabin; it was as he had left it last, strewn with half eaten pizzas in opened boxes and empty beer bottles scattered upon the floor. Jack never knew himself to be a neat freak, but then he was no slob either but he remembered this party. A pity party of one, filled with binge drinking and old movies. The others had been busy that night or off on some other world without him. Still, something was off, and that didn’t sit well with him, so he made his way to one of his supply cabinets where he kept his ammunition. Reloaded, he felt more relieved but then a sound came from down the hall and Jack cautious once again, made through the cabin investigating the sound, weapon at the ready. It was the sound of running water and it was coming from his bathroom. He opened the door and fell back in horror. Not a bathroom, there was a sink and a tub filled and overflowing with dirty brown water and scattered across the floor was piles of hay mixed with manure. An in the center of the room was a deep dark hole that the water and debris flowed into. The sound of the staff weapon activated again, this time from inside the home, Jack wheeled around and fired his pistol as another barrage of staff energy came zinging down the hallway. Jack lost his balance and fell into the bathroom rolling around in the sticky brown and wet goo. The weapons fire stopped, but the water got heavier as the room began to flood, racing towards the open hole in the floor and Jack soon found himself struggling against the current. Jack tried to grab onto anything to keep himself from being dragged into the abyss that lay before him. He dropped the nine-millimeter and held onto the pipe from under the sink but everything was slippery in the hay-filled mud that now coated his body. He then heard a new sound, and he turned and saw the creature who had risen from within the hole, a creature he had seen many times before in the form of a large Goa’uld symbiote. Gunshots rang out; the Goa’uld screamed and dove back into the hole. Jack flinched but held firm to the pipe then quickly turned his head, his eyes widened at the figure before him. “Hello Sundance.” ….. Jack startled and awoke from the dream. No, a nightmare, and one of the worst freaking nightmares he had ever had. He rubbed his eyes; this was no dream; he was still in a barn covered in hay, and what he hoped was really mud, stuck in a world with talking colorful horses dreading the fact he might never get home… with his sanity intact. Jack got up and saw both Carter and Daniel laying in their own respective piles, “looks like the others finally decided to hit the hay themselves,” he said then pardoning himself for the pun. He walked over to the door sliding it open just a bit where he saw Teal’c deep in his Kel-no-whatchma-call it, next to the fire that had all, but extinguished itself under its own ashes and glowing coals. A young yellow filly with a big red ribbon in her mane slept curled up in a ball across from him on the opposite side of the fires pit. With the fire gone, she shivered a little, so Jack went and found his cold weather parka jacket and laid it over top of the little pony. He looked up at the full moon above; its soft white glow radiated down upon them bathing this colorful world in translucent light. But unlike the sunlight with its welcoming warmth, the moonlight here felt odd. Not as it did earlier in the evening, this moon gave him a chill despite the cold of the night air. No, this moon was different like an old specter with an ever presence watching over them. It gave him a feeling he knew, feeling he could not explain, a feeling that he had felt before. Then he felt a different urge. “I guess some things never change no matter what world you’re on and just because you’re on a world of animals, doesn’t mean you have to act like one,” and he headed for the bushes. Jack rounded the barn when he thought he saw a flash of light. At first, he thought it was a light of a Zat, but there was no sound. Jack looked around some more but saw nothing, no Goa’uld, no ponies, no one around. Good a spot as any Jack said to himself, but only then, did he finally noticed the two ghostly crescent shapes embedded upon the ground. ….. Princess Celestia flew across the morning sky, a worried look upon her face. It had taken her all night to get here and had to carry out her morning ritual of raising the sun in mid travel, but she had to make sure. She didn’t lie; she kept telling herself, she didn’t know anything about these humans, their Stargate, nor anything about these creatures, they called Goa’uld, but with the events of the past few days, she couldn’t deny the jeopardy that they were all in. Colonel Jack O Neill’s face, now engrained in her memory, had spoken truthfully; she could see it in his eyes. They may not have been from Equestria, but eyes never lie no matter what creature they were attached to, a lesson she had learned the hard way a long time ago. That didn’t mean she trusted him nor any of his companions for that matter, but had they intended any ill towards any of her ponies, then they surely would have done so by now. She got the impression that while this Colonel may act imprudent, he was no fool so if there were these Goa’uld creatures are indeed the threat they claim then; it is imperative that she succeed. “Why could I not sense the danger? If these creatures have been lurking around Equestria surely there would have been signs,” she said in a low, worried voice to no one. “How could I have been so blind?” She knew the answer didn’t matter, right now, what did matter was the fact that she needed to take charge as ruler of Equestria… and deal with another failure later. She didn’t want to gather the Royal Guards because any large-scale military operation would cause widespread panic among the population. We may train for combat, but ponies were not warlike creatures. Most ponies are timid and peaceful although she did trust that they could defend themselves if need be. She wanted to inform Luna personally before she left, but she was not available, the magical rituals they had to perform left both of them drained and Luna was not as of yet back to full strength from her ordeals and time was of the essence. When Luna slept during the day, it was hard for her to awaken, but there were instructions for her, filling her in on all the details that she had left with Luna’s Royal guards for when she did arise. She had also placed her own guards on alert and ordered small units in key in defensive positions around Canterlot and other major pony cities across Equestria. Ponies may not be true worldly fighters, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t capable. Twilight and her friend’s faces came to the forefront of Celestia’s mind. She had the utmost confidence in her star pupil and her friends; they were brave enough to hold their own, and she believed in them. Not because they were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, but because they were friends, who will stick together no matter what faced them. Although they had faced many dangers together, this one, she feared, could be the greatest danger they had ever faced in their lives. If they, this Colonel O Neill and his companions, could indeed stop these invaders, they would need every advantage they could get which was why she was here. Celestia circled over a spot in the trees pondering her thoughts. She knew there was something buried deep inside her mind. She didn't quite know if it were just a memory, or voice echoing from her past. She did, however, know that it happened a long time ago, long even before Luna was born. Although she couldn't quite remember exactly ‘what,’ was said, she knew where it had been said, and she hoped that coming back here would jog her memory. She wasn’t sure of what she would find, but she had to be sure of everything before sending any information onto Twilight. Celestia landed on the old cobblestone steps and peered beyond the rusted wrought iron portcullis into the dark and blackened entryway behind it. It had been a long time since she had set hoof in here and never thought she would ever have to again. A loud grinding squeaking sound filled the air as Celestia used her magic to raise the rusted gate from its eternal slumber until it locked in its open position then stepped inside. She folded her wing in tightly, lowered her head, and illuminated the entry hall with the light of her horn as she made her way down the passageway. “This place is a lot smaller then I remembered,” she said to herself. “But then I was barely a filly myself back then.” An old wooden door stood before her, its rounded cobblestone archway covered in dust. Upon the door was the engraved symbol of a small orb with a line jutting from its center and surrounded by a swirling cloud of seven stars. She paused for a moment studying the patterns the front of the door that held the embedded lock of a magical seal. She concentrated… This seal was made from ancient magic, and she hoped she had the strength left to break it. The magic from her horn began to bubble then everything lit up in bright yellow and gold colors, her eyes flared and burned with the intensity of the sun as the spell channeled and funneled down on a beam of hot, energetic magic and into the doors symbol. It glowed for a moment, cooled as the magic faded and as the door slowly opened, Celestia made her way inside. ….. Daylight came around, and Jack stood outside the barn door eating another local apple and a granola energy bar from his rations. Apparently, ponies ate apples, hay, flowers, and more apples, oh, what he wouldn’t give for a good steak and eggs right about now but he doubted that the cows and chickens would cooperate with him in that matter. The Grandmother pony did at least offer to bake them some fresh apple pies and turnovers later and as wonderful as that sounded to Jack he did have to wonder if there were any other kinds of fruit on this planet other than apples. Most everyone was gathered up around the barn; Carter stood talking to Twilight and the white unicorn Rarity while Daniel was off talking to Twilights little dragon assistant Spike and the last of the stacks of books with the help of the yellow and orange ponies Fluttershy and Applejack. Teal’c had been led away by some children foal ponies, including the bright yellow one with the big red ribbon and two others. Teal’c wanted to get a broader view of the area any way in recognizance, and they were more than willing to show him the area. And because books were not his thing, Jack finished off his meal then walked over towards Carter, who seemed to be having a conversation with Twilight and her friend. Well conversation was putting it lightly, more like a battle of the eggheads on the verge of being argumentative when Twilight suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared, and reappeared on the other side of the group. “See that’s magic,” she said. “All Unicorns have the ability to control magic to some degree depending on spell variant, Take Rarity here, for example; she’s very good with levitating multiple objects.” And to prove that point, Rarity proudly picked up several small objects at once and floated them around in demonstration. For the first time, Jack almost thought he saw Carter at a loss for words. She was a scientist through and through and Jack knew there was no such thing as magic in her vast vocabulary and as if right on cue, Carter found her scientific answer. “What you have is not magic. We've seen countless beings with the abilities to control objects before. Teleportation and levitation can be explained by the natural amount of Naquadah that I suspect is in your blood allowing you to control the energy patterns on a subatomic scale. Your Unicorn horns acts as a focal point much like that of a Stargate. It too takes the natural energy patterns from one gate and breaks them down on a subatomic level then transfers then to the other end where the second gate reassembles them. If it were natural magic then I would say that all ponies in Equestria would have the same abilities, not just Unicorns. Magic is nothing more than parlor tricks and sleight of hand.” Twilight did not look amused. Oh, Jack knew that this was going to get ugly fast if he didn’t do something about it. “All right people… er… and ponies, we have some things we need to get accomplished today. Carter, have we found that location yet?” Carter looked up at him, snapping her attention back to the mission at hand. “Ah, yes sir, sorry sir, I got a bit distracted.” “It’s okay Samantha,” Twilight said, “We were not offended.” Sam smiled back at her and continued. “Twilight and I have calculated the time and distance of the proximity of the Stargate.” “Rarity and Fluttershy will accompany us,” Twilight injected not missing a beat. “We will be able to move any debris from the area and Fluttershy should be able to enlist the aid of some of the critters that can help us recover your Stargate. “I hope one of those ‘critters’ has a bulldozer,” Jack muttered under his breath. “Take who, and what you need and get going and make radio contact every twenty minutes, The Goa’uld may have been hiding for the moment but that can all change. “Jack!” Daniel shouted running over to him; book in hand. “I think I found something. Last night Twilight was filling me in on Princess Celestia and her sister…” “That would be Princess Luna.” Twilight said. “And?” Jack questioned, twisting his head from one speaker to the other. Princess Luna is our princess of the night,” Twilight continued. “She raises the moon at night and sets it in the morning while Princess Celestia controls the sun during the day.” “Wait, wait,” Samantha interjected. “You’re Princesses control the rotation of the planet and orbiting moon?” “According to their theology they do,” Daniel said. “Except for the time when Princess Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years, It was during that time Princess Celestia used her magic to control both the sun and the moon.” “Banished, why, was she banished?” asked Sam. “It’s a long story,” said Twilight. “But over a thousand years ago, Princess Luna allowed her jealousies get the better of her. She was hurt because she and the ponies she loved didn’t understand one another. She felt that they did not lover her beautiful nights and was afraid of her and in her hurt and pain; it transformed her into Nightmare Moon who wanted to make the night last forever, so it was up to Princess Celestia to stop her by using the Elements of Harmony upon her and banish her to the moon. Not too long ago, Nightmare Moon had returned, and my friends and I had to seek out the Elements of Harmony and became its new bearers in order to free Princess Luna from the grip of Nightmare Moon.” “So that’s why you’re Princess chose you to help us,” said Sam. “Yes, My friends and I, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinky Pie, and Rainbow Dash are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty… and Magic.” Twilight paused on that last word giving a smile over to Samantha. “Well,” Jack said looking at each of his teammates, “that explains a few… things.” He then looked at Twilight, “Even the rainbow colored fly girl?” “Yes, Rainbow Dash is the element of loyalty.” “Loyalty… I see… and you’re just telling us this…now.” “Actually Jack,” Daniel spoke up defending Twilight, “She told me about this last night, but you were asleep already and you usually get bored with such details and I didn’t want to wake you… sooooo…. Jack was irked but understood why; it’s not like that he didn’t know a few military secrets himself that was only on a need to know basis. “So why hasn’t this… Princess Luna, come by to see us yet?” “Princess Luna is our Princess of the night and as far as we know, she only comes out at night,” “Really,” Jack said, but it was the other thought that went through his mind that didn’t settle right with him. “Anyway, getting back on track,” Daniel continued. “There may be more to Princess Luna’s story than you may realize. I found that Princess Celestia’s and Luna’s marks are that of the sun and moon respectfully. The Gould’s are very self-centered in their vanity. Both Ra and Khonsu are worshiped gods of the sun and moon. Now I checked Princess Celestia’s neck and didn’t find an entry wound but we didn’t know about Princess Luna until now. We do know that there is a Goa’uld out there using Ra’s name…” “I sure hope so, Jack interrupted, because I would hate to think that the original snake head escaped his own destruction back on Abydos. “It is a possibility Jack,” Daniel said. “No, no,” Jack shouted, “We shot that nuke right up his…er..tail… pipe.” Jack nearly cringed at what he wanted to say, but polite correctness got the better of him. “There’s no way he could have survived… anyway, continue.” “Anyway,” Daniel continued, looking at Twilight with a question on his mind, “Are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna the only Alicorns with such power and longevity?” “No, there is my new sister in law Princess Cadence who lives in the Crystal Empire to the north who is also an Alicorn, but as far as I know, no pony has ever lived as long as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Why?” “I believe there are two, System Lord Gould’s here, both Ra and Khonsu. We have already seen Ra, but we don’t know where Khonsu is. Now at first I thought Khonsu would be in Princess Celestia but that wouldn’t fit with the egos of the Goa’uld. But Princess Luna, on the other hand, would be a proper host for Khonsu. And if Princess Luna is already compromised, she may be leading Princess Celestia into a trap.” “Spike, Twilight ordered understanding the situation. “We need to get a message off to the Princess immediately!” and Spike without hesitation, fetched one of his scrolls and quills and started writing down the information. “That’s going to be a long run on those little legs,” Jack thought to himself raising one eyebrow. Twilight and Spike finished off the letter, and Spike stepped to the side, let out a small green flame, and burned the letter…, which promptly turned to ash and floated to the ground. All the ponies stood a gasp, especially Spike and Twilight. “Is it supposed to work like that?” Jack asked. “Spike, what did you do?” Twilight said walking over to him. Spike looked at the pile of ash that was the note more frightened then astonished. “I… I don’t get it; it should have sent off. I… I didn’t mean to burn it Twilight, honest.” “It’s okay Spike,” Twilight said lowering her horn at the ash to pick it up “We’ll just….” Twilight gasped. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” Spike looked over to her nervously. “My magic… It’s gone!” The radio on Jack’s belt crackled with the sound of Teal’c voice “Colonel O Neill.” Jack freed it from its holster, “Go ahead!” “You had better come quickly; I believe we have a situation.” “Understood.” …. Jack could hear the sounds of the Jaffa weapons fire from across the town, and he, Carter, Daniel and the pony friends raced into the village “Remember, Zat’s only” barking an order to his team. “Twilight, you and your friends start evacuating the village, get them to safety, as far away from here as possible. If you run into anyone who looks like us but isn’t… us, then run, and get as far away from here as you can.” “We’re supposed to be helping you.” “Trust me… That will be helping, now GO!” and with that Twilight and two others followed. “Oh, you’re not going to hurt anyone, are you?” Fluttershy meekly spoke flapping up next to him. Jack put his back against a building, outwardly ready for the fight, inwardly he was amazed the little yellow pony kept up with them. He didn’t answer her, and he peeked around the corner. From what he had seen from her, he expected her to be the first one to run and hide but instead she hovered next to him… “Get back!” he yelled at her. Thankfully, his reactions to the incoming staff weapons fire bolts came first as he grabbed her by the waist. Fluttershy gave a timid little squeaked as Jack yanked her back around the side of the building before their impact. “You’re going to get yourself hurt worrying about others getting hurt, don’t worry, we’ll try not to hurt anyone.” He said trying to reassure her. "and if you're that worried then go help Twilight." Another voice shouted, and Jack and Fluttershy turned in time to see a light blue unicorn pony charging right at them. In Jacks first reaction, he pushed Fluttershy aside, she Eep’ed, and then dove the opposite direction as the pony ran right through where they were. “Was that an attack?” Jack quickly thought as he instinctively pointed the Zat at the charging pony. Sure enough, the pony turned and charged again, only this time, it didn’t stand a chance. Jack fired the Zat; the pony convulsed under the electrified blue light, then dropped to the ground. “I thought you said you weren’t going to hurt any pony,” Fluttershy cried almost hysterically. “There not hurt,” Jack, replied calmly. “They’re only stunned. They will, however, wake up with one doozy of a headache in a little bit.” Jack knew better than to try to explain the intricacies of the Zat where it was only the first shot that would stun, and that the second one would actually kill. He didn’t want to have to resort to that kind of action unless he had too. He didn’t get the impression that this world of ponies knew the more violent aspects of reality where life death hung in a delicate balance and hoped he could end this without showing it to them first hand. He figured that Ra wouldn’t harbor the same feelings and if push came to shove Ra wouldn’t hold back. He suspected that this attack was more for gathering prisoners and slaves than anything, but he knew these Jaffa would kill if provoked. Fluttershy ran up to the stunned pony checking her over and making sure Jack had told the truth. “What’s wrong with her? Why did she charge at us like that? Oh My…. I know who this is. It’s Trixie.” Jacks radio crackled with Daniels voice. “Jack I think there using some of these ponies as hosts!” Jack grabbed his radio. “Okay, everyone, Gather up who you can and back off for now, Well rendezvous in that thick forest on the other side of the farm. We don’t want to risk any more of these ponies getting hurt.” And with that, Jack picked up the unconscious pony, draped her over his shoulders, and headed back to the rendezvous point. Author's Note 12/7/13 Errors and corrections made Chapter 6: FlightmareStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 6 Flightmare Rainbow Dash hovered over the tiny cloudbank trying to catch her breath. “I must be slacking off,” she said between heavy gulps of air, “Too many hay and daisy sandwiches.” Gingerly she flapped to the edge of the cloud, peered over and looked around. “The cloud makers must be slacking off, as well. They were supposed to be working on some thunderheads today, but the sky was almost clear with only a few stray clouds left over from yesterday. And what’s with Thunderlane and the others today? They’re all acting weird this morning, barging in on some pony’s home without so much as knocking first. I wasn’t that late for drills. And then, trying to shove me around and order me to the ground. Like, that’s ever going to happen. Good thing I can fly circles around him and all the others.” Dash flittered closer to the cloud, “Next time I see Spitfire…” she paused in surprise as she attempted to land upon it, only to find herself falling right though, the cloud dissipating as if it had never been there. She hadn’t even given it a ‘gentle’ buck, let alone anything that would normally scatter a cloud. “Definitely too many hay and daisy sandwiches.” A flash of light caught her attention below. “Speaking of Spitfire…” There in the distance, flying at about one hundred foot or so off the ground, roughly tree top level and cursing fast were the three leaders of the Wonderbolts, Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Spitfire. She watched them as they split off in three different directions then circling around in a crisscross pattern over the trees then recognized it as the standardized academy search pattern, but; what were they looking for? “Maybe they’ll know what the hay is going on,” she said as she folded over into a dive. With just a few flaps, she gained some speed then when she got closer; she spread her wings curling and cupping the air currents underneath and bringing her body level with the treetops. She estimated that she was still about a quarter of a mile behind them, but that was nothing for her, she ate quarter miles in her sleep. She loved going fast, the feel of the wind in her mane, the rush of air under her wings, the feeling always exhilarated her, sometimes to the point where fast, was never fast enough. She looked forward for them; she had closed the distance, but not close enough to talk to them. In the meantime, they had formed back up and continued south towards equestrian mountain ranges “Just where are they going?” she pondered aloud to no one. “Guess I’m just going to have to pour on the speed and find out.” Arching her wings, she gave a few hard flaps but her speed didn’t increase, and it surprised her as she looked back at her wings. The air was still the same as it had always been, and she was still flying, but it was as if there was nothing to push against to gain any speed. Her attention drawn; she hadn’t realized she had fallen slightly and struck a branch of an extended tree top limb with her forehoof. A sound caught her attention, and Fleetfoot looked back and saw the light blue and rainbow colored Pegasus following them. Fleetfoot winged over and tapped Spitfire on the shoulder then nodding back in Rainbow Dash’s direction. Spitfire, eyes hidden behind dark wire rimmed glasses, nodded in agreement then split left with Soarin and continued forward allowing Fleetfoot to handle the situation. Fleetfoot then banked hard right, circled around gaining speed, and headed straight for Rainbow Dash. Dash saw her approach and brought herself to hover just a couple of feet above the treetops. She couldn’t believe just how out of breath she was. In her whole life, she had never been in bad enough shape where even simple flying took effort. Something was wrong. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be effecting Fleetfoot any, she was coming fast… too fast. “What the…?” Thankfully, Dashes reflexes hadn’t slowed, and she folded her wings in letting gravity pull her down into the tree branches only inches from Fleetfoot crash coursing into her at full speed. Dash shouted, spitting out a leaf and pulling herself up from the branch, “Hey, what gives?” Fleetfoot didn’t even acknowledge her as she circled around again. “What in Equestria are you doing?” Dash shouted again taking flight once more climbing up to about five hundred feet. It was just like Thunderlane this morning, only; Fleetfoot wasn’t going to tell her to ground. No, she could tell by the training classes she got in the academy that this was an attack maneuver. While the Wonderbolts were mainly an aerial show, they also trained in Pegasi air combat. “But why would she attack ME?” Was Spitfire and Soarin in on this? None of this was making sense. Ever since those humans from earth showed up, ponies have been going crazy… “That’s it! It had to be something about why they were here, and I’m willing to bet that Spitfire knows.” That meant that she had to follow Spitfire before she got away, but she had one other problem to deal with first. If Fleetfoot wasn’t going to hold back, then neither would she, and she flipped over backwards avoiding another strike, then dove back towards the ground gaining much needed momentum, nosed up then climbed once again to a higher altitude. Normally she would have just out flown Fleetfoot but things were not normal and without any clouds in the sky, hiding was going to be impossible. “Now I know how Fluttershy must feel sometimes trying to keep up with me.” Dash looked back and saw that Fleetfoot was closing in on her. She then took a deep breath, angled downward and headed for the closest mountain pass. Rainbow Dash angled sideways through the narrow corridor, jagged rocks within striking reach of her belly as she quickly calculated the distances between herself and Fleetfoot. Dash knew that Fleetfoot was the most maneuverable of the Wonderbolts but with shadows that danced along the walls and unpredictable winds that sheared through canyons and valleys this would be difficult for even expert flyers. Dash’s eyes darted left and right scanning the area while dodging in and out of passageways looking for an opportunity. She passed through another corridor only to find the formidable vertical cliff in front of her and let out a loud teeth-grinding grunt as the jolt knocked the wind out of her when she tried to bank hard left and struck the cliff side. Undaunted, her hooves knocked away loose gravel to find traction enough to run horizontal along the bluff before flying once again. Pain flew through her body, and she tried to ignore it when she felt the strike of hooves on her backside that sent even more pain into her, Fleetfoot was on top of her. Dash barrow rolled over as Fleetfoot came in for another blow then locked herself in with Fleetfoot, hoof to hoof, at full speed down the canyon wall “Fleetfoot, What’s wrong with you?” Fleetfoot thrashed about trying to struggle free from her grip, but Dash only pulled her in closer wrapping her hind hooves around her waist holding her in place. Dash then looked into her eyes; cold blank eyes stared back at her. “You will bow before the gods or be destroyed,” and with that Fleetfoot angled in to scrape Rainbow Dash off her belly on the canyon floor. Dash let go of her at the last second, rolled over and skidded to a halt. She was completely out of breath. Emotions churned; her ribs, wings, and body ached the confusion of what Fleetfoot had said riddled her mind, “Gods? Destroyed?” Dash’s eyes went wide, tears streaking her face; this wasn’t like fighting Discord, Nightmare Moon or even Chrysalis and her changeling hordes. She had always considered Fleetfoot her friend; she grew up pining her and all the Wonderbolts. And now one of them wants to destroy her. What about Twilight and the others? Did they want to destroy everyone, the ponies of Ponyville, of Canterlot, of all of Equestria? Fleetfoot tapped the ground then up onto another wall then rebounded back towards Rainbow Dash. Dash pushed aside her thoughts and steadied herself, anger replacing sorrow, “Not gunna happen!” Dash turned, galloped a few steps, and then took flight once more, a new determination invigorating her mind and spirit. “I don’t know what’s happened to you but I intend to find out.” Rainbow Dash climbed higher out of the canyons when she spotted something then veered off in its direction heading back towards the ground. In her condition, she knew it was only a matter of time before Fleetfoot caught her again. Pushing herself as hard as she could fly, she kept an eye out for Fleetfoot behind her. Fleetfoot increased speed; her enemy was almost within her reach when Rainbow Dash suddenly cupped her wings forward almost stopping in mid-flight while bringing her lower body up underneath and Fleetfoot, missing Rainbow Dash my inches, flew right underneath her body and into the mouth of the cavern directly in front of her crashing headlong into the darkness within. Rainbow Dash then landed on a boulder above the entryway to the cave and with a couple of bounces, it gave way-sealing Fleetfoot within. “I’m sorry Fleetfoot,” she said with a heavy, winded breath. “I hope you’re okay in there, But I will come back for you when this is all over, I promise.” She wanted to rest right then and there, but finding Spitfire and Soarin was more important. …. Jack followed the bright yellow Pegasus through the dense jungle, the dead weight of the unconscious blue unicorn draped across his shoulders only reminded him on how much his ribs hurt. It was noon or there about, as Jack estimated looking up at the Equestrian sun at it peaked across the cloudless sky. The Jaffa and turncoat ponies had given up pursuit at the edge of what they called the Everfree forest where thick underbrush and trees made tracking nearly impossible. Jack recalled his dream and the cottage home far away. “Why can’t I ever get a nice place to get stuck at, instead of these hot steamy jungles all the time?” Carter and Twilight, followed by Daniel, who had the baby dragon Spike nestled in his arms, had made their way to the rendezvous point where they had met up with Jack and Fluttershy, then continued on making their way along through the trees. The ponies had led them to a place where the forest opened into a large area. Jack was somewhat relieved, and yet the canopy still provided cover from any aerial probing although a turncoat Pegasus could just fly through, and no-one would be the wiser… if they knew where to look. In the center of the grove was a large hollowed tree and judging by the door, window, and… oddities that surrounded it, he surmised that this was Zecora’s home. “Strange, a hermit pony?” Jack thought to himself. Twilight went and knocked on the door but did not get an answer then peaked in the window confirming that no one was home. “I don’t know where she is, but we should be safe around here,” Twilight said halfheartedly, “Although, with what were up against, I am not sure for how long. I know you said that these… Goa’uld’s were fearsome, but I would never have thought even they would have done this. And how is it that they can turn those ponies against us?” “We don’t know just yet, but it is a possibility…” Carter paused, “That they may already have been implanted with a symbiote Goa’uld, who would then take over their bodies and force them to their will.” “One way to find out, Jack said as he gently set Trixie’s body next to a tree, then got back up and walked over the crowd of ponies that had started to gather around. “Okay everyone, take five,” he said waving them off trying to give the girls some privacy. Besides, some things were on a need to know basis and these ponies didn’t need to know. Daniel sat nearby listening to Sam and the ponies that gathered around her with the unconscious Spike next to him under an elm tree. The bump on his noggin was starting to fade, and Spike stirred a little so Daniel was confident he would come about any time now. Twilight walked up next to Trixie and brushed a lock of mane from her eyes. She looked over at Fluttershy, who also sat next to her holding Trixie’s hoof in hers. Twilight turned to Sam, “How can you tell if she does have one of those symbiotes inside her?” Sam looked back at Twilight; she had already concluded that Twilight could handle the reality of the situation but then looked over to Fluttershy, “Are you sure you want to know?” Fluttershy looked back at Sam, her calm demeanor failing to hide her the fact that she was trembling in her feathers. But she closed her eyes, gulped, and stood her ground. “It’s okay Fluttershy; you don’t have to stay,” Twilight said walking over and giving her a much-needed hug. “No, I will be okay, she stuttered. “If I am to help other ponies, I need to know.” Sam turned her attention back to Trixie. “The Goa’uld’s are large, parasitic worm like creatures. One of the places they will enter the hosts body, is located at the base of the neck, and then they will migrate their way into the base of the brain and attach themselves to the brain stem, controlling mind and body. And although they do have excellent healing abilities they cannot cover up the initial point of entry, and it leaves a scar.” Sam moved her mane around examining her but not finding an entry wound. “Could you help turn her over?” Sam ran a hand over Trixie’s belly “The other place is within the stomach lining but this is more reserved for Goa’uld larva who will create a pouch and will incubate inside the hosts. These are the Jaffa soldiers of the Goa’uld. Here they do not have control of the hosts but the functionality is still the same. Twilight tried not to think of it as her queasiness welled in her stomach but watched closely as the examination continued with scholarly interest. She felt the same way as Fluttershy. These were her friends, her family and their lives were in danger. What if this had been Applejack, or Rarity, of any of her closest friends. To know that any one of them could have one of these creatures inside of them, not even Trixie deserved this. Like Fluttershy, she needed to know and understand everything she could. “And if she has one, can we get it out of her?” “That’s the bad news, we don’t know of any way to remove a Goa’uld symbiote… that doesn’t kill the host body.” Twilight cringed at that information, and Fluttershy was almost in full tears. This was beyond anything they had ever faced before, Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, not even Queen Chrysalis and her Changeling horde; they all bided for control of Equestria, but this… Twilight tried to steady herself, she wasn’t sure of anything. And what of Applejack and Rarity, surely they should have shown up by now. She had sent them to go find Pinky Pie. She hadn’t seen Rainbow Dash either. Had they, too been captured because of her decision? Because of her, they may all end up like Trixie. “Princess Celestia is counting on us…but without my magic…” A cold sweat ran down Twilights back, and she started to topple over, overwhelmed by everything, but only found herself being held up by Fluttershy’s embrace. Fluttershy was in full tears now, but each took solace in each other hooves. Sam turned away letting the ponies have their moment, but “Well, the strange, but possibly good news is that I cannot find any wounds on her at all.” Daniel looked up, “But clearly she was attacking like all the others?” “Yes, and that’s the strange part, there are no signs or marks on her anywhere and although I cannot sense them from afar, up close I should be able to tell if she had a symbiote inside of her, but I get nothing. I don’t think she has one.” “But if she doesn’t have one, how are the Goa’uld controlling them?” “Twilight wiped a tear from her eye, “Could it be, whatever it is that has stopped our magic?” “It is possible,” Sam said, “But I don’t think so, because if it were, then it would have taken control of you as well, although, they may have more than one device at work. One device to interrupt the flows of energy and the second one for mind control, only the second one, isn’t as powerful and can only control a few minds.” “Sounds logical,” Daniel said, “but where would they have gotten such devices?” “I don’t know,” Sam concluded, “but the Goa’uld have always had scavenged technologies; they could even be Asgard or even Ancient in origin. There’s no way to find out until we find them.” “Then we had best find them.” Jack said. “Ee… excuse me sir,” a male’s voice spoke up from behind. Jack turned; he was looking at a tall lanky stallion with an off yellow coat and orange mane and tail and three small cakes on his flanks, he hadn’t met the baker pony but had seen him around the village and had been told about him and the bakery in the town square. Then he looked up and saw two of the three children ponies running up to him and the others, they were missing the bright yellow on with the big ribbon in her mane. “Eh… you’re friend… the, ah… big one. Had helped up get away but he was supposed to have followed us…” “…Then Apple Bloom jumped off the wagon and went to go find him,” the little orange Pegasus huffed out as she and Sweetie Bell come up alongside them. You’ve got to go find them.” Jack said as he grabbed his radio. “Teal’c, got a copy?” Only silence filled the airwaves. “Teal’c?” Moments later his radio crackled with Teal’c’s voice, “Do I have a copy of what O-Neill?” “Never mind, are you on your way?” “Indeed.” “Is… Apple, Bloom with you?” “Indeed.” “Good, we need you here as soon as you can.” They all breathed a sigh of relief. …. Less than half hour later, Teal’c and Apple Bloom had rejoined them and despite the tail chewing that Apple Bloom received for her stunt, they were all glad that she was able to help. At first, Twilight was relieved to see that they had Pinky Pie with them and then realized that Rarity and Applejack was not. And Pinky Pie looked horribly sickened by a strange ailment. She was groggy as if in a continual state of half consciousness. Her mane and tail were straight; her smile deflated. She tried to move, but it was if she had no energy at all, leaving only a shell of the pony she once was. All they could do was to leave her resting in the wagon as they all gathered and tried to figure out what to do next. “Could this be a part of whatever these devices are doing this, draining or blocking our magic?” Twilight asked. “It could be,” Samantha said, “But I didn’t think earth ponies had any connections to the flows of energy like Unicorns. What’s the connection?” Twilight thought for a moment, “They don’t, as you can see by the other earth ponies, and they do not seem to be effected. But Pinky Pie is different; she connected to us through the Elements of Harmony, and that has to be it. Pinky Pie doesn’t control magic, but rather the magic expresses its self through her. The Elements of Harmony are our greatest source of power but without Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, we could not use them. And even if they were, the device that’s draining us would probably drain them, as well. “Well then it looks like we’re going to have to find these devices,” Jack spoke up. “Twilight, gather up all of your Pegasus friends that you can find. We need then to do an aerial recon for us. I need them to see if they can scout out any Jaffa activities ‘without’ getting caught and report any findings back here. Find others and post watches, all they have to do is keep an eye out and make sure none of them are sneaking up on us. Fluttershy, do you think you can guide Teal’c and I to these Diamond Dog caves?” “Yes, but why?” Well, while we still cannot get to the gate, that’s where it originated, and I suspect that Ra would still be close by, probably searching for it his self. This way, we take the fight to him.” Twilight stood up without so much as a pause, “I’m going with you. I’ve been in the caves before and can help find a way through. If we get started now, we might make it there before dark. Fluttershy, stay here and wait for Zecora, fill her in on our situation. And find some Pegasi for those details that the Colonel requested. We will need every pony’s cooperation for this.” “Carter, we'll keep in touch every half hour.” …. Rarity, opened her eyes. The memory of the day slowly returned to her like a fog, lifting from a pond. They had been a part of a group of other ponies, captured by these soldiers who had attacked Ponyville this morning and made to walk many miles down the hot, dusty trails to an unknown destination. She and Applejack had been attached at the necks by a length of rope that also led to the next pony in line, a rather long line. Each of their hooves were also tied together with just enough slack for walking, but a run would be impossible. Those who were not in binds walked alongside the group, unwilling or unable to comprehend that the predicament their fellow ponies were in. When she was first placed in the line, she had launched a protest on the treatment of her and her fellow ponies but it was quickly quelled by the demonstration of the firepower of their staff weapons. With that lesson, she had learned very fast not to talk. But then as continued punishment, they were marched without break or water until it was nearly dark. When they reached the mountain caverns, she and Applejack were placed into small cage cells next to one another while the other ponies were herded off to some place else. Applejack had started to say something to her, but she was so exhausted that even the disgusting smell of old moldy hay couldn’t keep her from passing out. She looked around; Applejack was not in the cage next to her. The cave was lit by torch light; their flames danced creating moving shadows along the walls. She looked down where a bowl of what she guessed was water sat next to the door and a small bag securely hung from a bar. She looked across at Applejacks cell and saw the same things. She opened hers up; it was filled with raw oats. “Humph, the nerve, treating us like common animals.” Her stomach growled, and she could feel her dry, parched throat. Without her magic, she would have to make due the old fashion way “At least there are no witnesses to undignify myself around.” She steadied herself and dug in to get a mouth full of oats. Her mind raced with thoughts of her friends, of Applejack, trying desperately to keep them positive. The thoughts of what they could be doing to her scared her and the thought that she was going to be next. “Oh, Princess Celestia, help us.” Chapter 7: FruitionStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 7 Fruition Jack stood next to the hollowed out tree not knowing what to think as he watched the ponies under the canopy that covered the glen of the forest. He wasn’t sure who started it but suspected it was Twilight and Fluttershy. They were devastated; they had every right to be. And just like many of the races they had encountered across the galaxies’, they each dealt with the sorrow and misery each their ways. How long had it been? Just how many trips had they taken through the Stargate and how many cultures had they run across over the past couple of years? Jack couldn’t remember but in all that time, he had never known any of them to deal with it in a song. Twilight’s melody was soft, humble, and spoke of lost friends or loved ones. But what was stranger still was that soon all were all singing with her, as if they had all practiced this long ago each giving their recant of the day’s events. It was like watching a horse version of ‘Cats.’ It was almost… moving. Almost. “Well that was minutes wasted,” Jack thought to himself. “What’s the matter Jack?” Daniel said clasping a hand onto his shoulder, “Never felt the urge to just ‘let it out’ before.” “Only when I’m in the shower,” Jack sneered. “You know, there are those who say that music and song are two of the most universal languages.” “I thought that was ‘Death and Taxes.” Jack replied with an overt but subtle bemused look. Daniel just shook his head and walked away. “Ya know; you could have jumped in on that song at any time; I don’t think they would have minded.” Twilight gave Fluttershy one last hug and started to walk away when the pink one shakily got back onto her hooves. “I’m going too.” “No Pinky,” Twilight said walking over to her friend “You’re in no condition for this, please stay here and rest.” “I’ll be all right Twilight, really,” Pinky Pie said through a half-witted smile. Pinky Pie took a step forward, then another but the third became difficult and her mind began to spin. Then sudden dizziness enveloped her causing her to loose balance and would have fallen over had she not been caught by Twilights embrace. “See Pinky, it would be too hard on you, please go back, and lay down.” “But Twilight, I wanna help out! It’s hard to know that every pony is out there doing their parts, but I can’t do anything.” “Pinky Pie, I understand that you want to help out, but you can help out best by staying here and regaining your strength. I’m not even sure on how much help I can be without my magic.” “Maybe you should try changing your batteries,” Jack muttered just above his breath followed by a moment of awaked silence, Daniel put his palm over his eyes while Teal’c merely raised an eyebrow. But it was Sam who spoke first, “Wait a minute,” realizing for a moment, the un-realized truth of what was said. “Batteries… Colonel, do you still have those gems Maybourne had?” Jack looked at her puzzled then reached into a pocket and pulled them out. “Bear with me for a minute, remember what Maybourne said about them? He compared them to preloaded Naquadah batteries, and just maybe he unknowingly was right about that.” Twilight walked over looking at the gems that Sam now held. “Those definitely come from Equestria. They are extremely common, and you can find them just about everywhere. Rarity can hone in on them easily with her gem-finding spell. And Spike eats them faster than Pinky Pie with a cupcake. What does this have to do with my magic?” Sam presented the gems up close to Twilight, “I theorize that the energies that you control are not just from within you, but are within your world around you. I suspect that whatever device the Goa’uld are using, is nothing more than a jammer of sorts that is interrupting the frequencies and your too far away from the source of the flows of energy to tap into them. But, if we bring those power sources closer to you…” Sam finished by handing Twilight one of the smaller gems. Twilight, following Sam’s theory, sat on her haunches holding the gem close to her unicorn horn and concentrated on a simple levitation spell. It took a few moments, and it blinked in and out but Twilight could feel it once again. Then the purple aura brightened around her horn; the gem levitated in front of her and Twilight let out a tear of joy realizing that the loss was not permanent. But the joy was short lived as the energies of the gemstone quickly drained and the spell failed once more dropping the gem to the ground. “Well, at least we know it works. But knowing that,” Twilight said turning her attention back to Pinky Pie, “I still want you to stay and get more rest.” “I understand,” Pinky Pie said saddened and sullen as she turned and walked away. She gave a hardened sigh then lay back down and closed her eyes. Twilight hated herself for doing that to her and in truth; Pinky Pie did need the rest, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Twilight knew that deep down inside that both Rarity and Applejack had been captured, and that it was all her fault. Also, Rainbow Dash was missing, was she captured too? She couldn’t answer that for sure. The only thing Twilight was sure about was that she wasn’t going to let another one of her friends fall into their grasp because she wasn’t strong enough to stop it. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. With her resolve resolved, she walked over to Jack, Teal’c, and Spike, who stood to help her with her saddle bags now stuffed with some larger gems, “I’m Ready.” …. Rainbow Dash flew low across the ridgelines, stopping only long enough to catch her breath and surveying the terrain ahead of her among the outcrops of boulders on the peaks. Whatever it was that was sapping her strength wasn’t natural, that much she knew. “And it also didn’t seem to have any effect on Fleetfoot,” she said to herself. Thinking of Fleetfoot, Dash, blew on her hoof and rubbed her chest with a slight grin across her face, “Aww yea, even burdened down I can out fly them with one wing tied behind my back!” Bringing her attention back the matter at hoof, she looked around. Following Spitfires last known direction, she had flown past the mountain’s ranges far to the south of Ponyville almost to the edge of Equestria. To her west lay, the deserts with Appaloosa but to the east lay more mountains and high range forests. She wondered for a moment if had they ever been explored? “No pony ever comes here; there are no trains or even villages that she knew of in these parts of Equestria, not even the Pegasi weather ponies work out here.” It’s like the Everfree forest; it just does what it does on its own... only larger.” Knowing her tail trail had gone cold, she pondered her situation “Why would Spitfire, and Soarin fly way out here? And which way would they have gone?” Dash put a hoof to her head; all this thinking was making it hurt. “All right, they had to come this way for a reason and I doubt it was to say hello to the Appaloosians. So, find the reason, and you’ll find Spitfire. And that means going east.” …. As the day wore on, Fluttershy sat by Trixie’s side with a worried look across her face trying to hold back the flood of emotions that she knew would explode from her in a torrent of tears at any moment. Trixie was still unconscious from whatever it was that Jack did to her. Samantha did explain to her that the weapon was only to stun, and she assured her that Trixie would be all right with no ill side effects once it wore off. But she also admitted that the effects should have worn off long ago. And although Fluttershy trusted her, she felt deeply that there was more to the story, but was relieved to watch the rise and fall of Trixie’s chest. Another concern was Pinky Pie, who had curled herself up in a ball on the straw mat at the base of Zecora’s hut. She had never seen Pinky Pie this down before. Even when she was sick with the flu, she never stopped smiling and laughing. But this, this was nothing like she had ever seen. “It could be the same thing that was stopping Twilight from using her magic,” Fluttershy thought. “Pinky Pie always did have a way of being able to do things that could only be explained with magic.” Fluttershy looked down at the dirt and gently pawed at the ground with her hoof, her mind lost in thought “If Twilight and Pinky Pie were affected, Why do I not feel… changed? I can still fly, and I’m not sick like Pinky Pie. Why did it affect them and not me?” Trixie twitched a little in her sleep; a grimace across her face and Fluttershy knew it was still quite warm out, but the evening shouldn’t be too much longer, and the cool night air would soon be here, so she got up, and walked over to the wagon with some supplies in it. The wagon had come from Sweet Apple Acres hauled in by Big Macintosh shortly after Twilight left with Colonel O-Neill and Teal’c. Inside was an assortment of food, fruits, and vegetables, but mostly apples. Blankets among other things and topping it off with one ornery Granny Smith, who was fussing about not leaving her home to be chewed to bits by Timberwolves or such nonsense. His compassion was one of the things she liked about Big Mackintosh; he was always looking out for other ponies. He cared about them, much the same way she cared about her animals. Big Mackintosh was a good friend to every pony. Fluttershy’s mind drifted bit, and she had begun to hum a little tune as rummaged through the wagon and brought forth two of the heavier blankets in her teeth. With Princess Luna’s night was coming on, she didn’t want either of them to get cold. Although, it sure seemed like it took a long time to her for Princesses to bring about the end of the day, but Fluttershy suspected it was because of the creatures that had come to Equestria. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been raising the sun and moon for as long as she could remember. Even when Princess Luna was banished to the moon, and Princess Celestia took over both duties, there has never been a day or night missed, and they would not let this intrusion intervene in those duties now. Suddenly, Fluttershy’s eyes when wide, and she gasped in a breath, dropping the blankets as she turned and stared face to face with Trixie, who had snuck up behind her, a brief flash of light shown in Trixie’s eyes. …. Rainbow Dash flew just above tree top level, then landed on rocky cliff outcropping overlooking the valley, she took in a deep breath then wiped the sweat off her brow with her hoof. She felt as if she had just had the biggest work out in her entire life. The sun was beating down on her, and she was extremely thirsty. She looked up at the sun, shielding her eyes a bit so as not be blinded by its light, “Is it me, or is it taking longer than normal for night to fall?” Looking down across the valley, she spotted the river as it meandered through the trees. Her thirst getting the better of her, she walked off the cliff, fell for a few feet then quickly spread her wings and caught the updraft and gently glided towards the river’s edge coming to a stop on the rocky bank. Dash leaned in to take a drink when the caught sight of something else that snapped her attention away from the river. “Whoa!” Hidden beneath the canopy of trees was outcrop of old stone buildings. Picking her way through the trees, she flapped her way around until she spied what looked to be larger temple of sorts with a small rusted portico gate. Dash grinned from ear to ear This place looks just like one of the places she had read in one of her Daring Doo books only, this was real. Ever since Twilight introduced her to the Daring Doo books, Dash had come to idolize the character and her adventures “Times like this, I wished she was real.” And that was when she saw the fresh hoof tracks in the sand that lead into the doorway beyond the rusty gate. There were three sets of tracks, two of which she guessed as Spitfire and Soarin, but who was the third? Dash looked beyond the gate; inside was a wooden door that was cracked in half and lay open in the entryway, the tracks continuing inside. She could make out some sort of symbol on the door, but it was nothing she had ever seen before and paid it no further attention. “So what would Daring Doo do in a situation like this...? Investigate.” And with that, Dash steadied herself and walked inside. …. Twilight had led them into some mountainous terrain, but she had assured them that it was the best route to the caverns where they had ‘exited’ from the underground Stargate. The rush of water had scoured the land for miles leaving a mass of debris of downed trees, jagged rocks, and tons of mud everywhere. Jack placed his fingers inside a cut edge hauling himself up over the ledge. Once over the lip he turned and sat on the edge looking around at all the devastation, Jack was amazed that they were still alive. The place looked like a Naquadah bomb had gone off. Thankfully, the gate shut itself down or else they would be under an entire planets worth of ocean water by now. The only good part according to Twilight was that the valley’s river where most of earths water drained into, led straight into the Equestrian Ocean. The rest harbored in shallow pools now rimmed with salt stains as it evaporated by the heat of the blazing sun. Jack checked his watch; Twilight had said they might make it there by dark, and he knew things would be slower having to crawl over all this rubble, but even then, by this time yesterday it was almost dark. Was the sun even moving? Jack took a sip from his canteen; he could also swear that it was getting hotter. Teal’c had gone on ahead to scout around and Twilight came and sat beside him, a grim worried expression across her face. Jack thought to himself… no matter how far they went traveling across the galaxies and all the beings that they met along the way, it was still amazing just how ‘human’ we all were. “They’ll be all right Twilight. We’ll find them.” “I know they will,” Twilight said with a painted smile “But I still cannot help but feel that I am responsible. They are my friends, and I told them to go and find Pinky Pie, and now…” she paused, not wanting to say the horrible thoughts that were running through her head. Jack didn’t even look at her. “Friend? Ya, that’s what you are to them, but you know what else you are?” Twilight looked over at him slightly confused. “You are also their leader and as a leader you made a decision, and they followed you’re decision. Why? Because you’re their friend? Yes… but it is also because you are their leader, and they trust in your leadership and the decisions you make. Now all you need is to trust in your friends.” Twilight paused for a moment taking in what Jack had said. She had never really thought of herself as a leader before. “But did I make the right decision?” “Right or wrong no longer matters, what’s done is done. If Daniel were here, he’d spew on about something with paved roads and intentions. But I’ve trained a lot a people over the years and one of the biggest things that always seems to slip through their minds, is that we never leave anyone behind. You made that decision when you chose to go find your friend. The real question is where do we go from here and then deal with things as they come along. Regret is something you can’t afford to hold on to.” Twilight forced and actual smile, she wasn’t quite sure if that made her feel better or not, but for the moment she believed him and that would have to do. “Up ahead is the location where Rainbow Dash and her Wonderbolt team found you. And from there it shouldn’t be too much longer until we reach the mouth of the caves.” …. Trixie reared back onto her hind legs; no thought nor emotion came across her face, her target; her enemy lay in front of her cowering in abject fear. She would be the first to feel the wrath of the Goa’uld, those who will not submit will be punished accordingly, the gods demanded it. Trixie leaned all her weight into the assault, hooves poised to strike at the pony’s head when a flash of something red came to her and suddenly she felt her body losing its stance and falling to the side with a heavy weight behind it. she didn’t know what it was only that she had been sent flying to the side from where she stood over her prey and into the base of a large tree where she lay moments before. As she got back on to her hooves, she looked around and saw a rather large red and angry stallion standing in front of the cowering yellow Pegasus. “Noope!” Trixie looked around; with the commotion, her surprise attack was lost. The others were gathering trying to figure out what has transpired, but it mattered not. She would take them all on for the glory of the gods, not even this big behemoth will stand in Trixie’s way. They will all bow before… Trixie paused as a small sharp pain hit her in the neck. It felt as if a bug had bitten her. Trixie tilted her head slightly; she was getting dizzy she couldn’t see… and then she lost her footing and fell to the ground. Daniel and Sam waded through the crowd of ponies who had gathered around the fallen body of Trixie, Zats at the ready but quickly concluded that they were no longer needed when a new pony had waded out from behind some thickets holding on to what looked like a rather large straw or pipe of sorts. “No, not a pony,” Daniel said to himself adjusting his glasses, “A zebra” “Never a day I thought I’d see, when there were these many ponies in Everfree.” Chapter 8: ShockscapeStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 8 Shockscape Rainbow Dash walked along the darkened corridor, the light from the entryway quickly fading into nothingness. She paused for a moment and closed her eyes allowing them to adjust to the darkness then continued down the long narrow path following the hoofmarks in the dirt. After rounding a few bends, all light sources had ended and she stretched out a wing feeling with her feathers against the wall. After wandering for what seemed hours in absolute darkness, she thought that if this place was like any of those in her Daring Doo books then could be traps around here, but then she figured that if three other ponies could make it through here then so could she. Then her hoof touched something solid and she jerked her hoof back, frozen for a moment with the thought of that she had just stepped on a pressure plate ran through her mind, but then, nothing happened. Slowly she brought her hoof forward and gently sat it back in the same spot. It was cold, hard, and damp, and when she tapped on it, the sound echoed through the tunnel. Whatever it was, it wasn’t stone; it felt more like, metal? She tapped harder, the clanging echoed louder, but then she stomped on it, the clang turned into a click and the wall began to move. Immediately the cavern filled with a blinding light and Dash had to cover her eyes with her wing or risk blindness. “Whoaaaaaa.” As her eyes adjusted to the light, she found herself standing in front of an open doorway that led into a small room with another door just a few steps inside. “Nothing ventured,” she muttered then stepped inside the chamber. The first door closed behind her with a whoosh and a hiss, and then the air changed rapidly taking her breath away as if she had ascended high into the atmosphere then back to ground level in less than a second. “What a rush,” she said breathing in once more. With another click, hiss and whoosh the second door opened up that led into a shortened hallway. The walls were boxy and brown like stacked blocks with golden trim work all around them and next to the door was a small lit up panel that flashed in green the words “Air lock” across its screen. She continued. The hallway quickly opened up into a larger room with something that looked like a pedestal in its center. To the front of that, there were two side-by-side chairs, the right one with another smaller pedestal with two red orbs on each side. “This looks awesome,” she said to herself with a grin. She jumped in the seat and the panel and both orbs in front of her began to glow and hum. “Whoaaaaa, check this out,” she said aloud to no one then placed her hooves upon the red orbs. The room began to shake violently, dust fell from the ceiling, and Dash jumped from the chair immediately and the shaking stopped as quickly as it started. “Ahhh yaa, lets not do that again.” Dash turned around and walked over to what looked to be another door way and pushed the button next to it and as expected the doorway opened up into yet another empty room. “Where did they go?” Although the room was of the same color and design, this room was much larger than the other was. On the far wall was another lighted panel that flicked between blue and red and she walked over to it. This one was different from the door switches or even the air lock. “Well, with all the weird stuff that’s been happening lately, things can’t get any weirder." With the push of another button, the building began to hum yet again only this time it was just from the room. Dash backed away from the switch and into the middle of the room then turned to run for the door when something popped up from the floor surrounding her in a ring followed by several others. “What the?” Dash vaulted to the ceiling but the rings were too fast, even for her and in a blinding flash of light, she was gone. “Ahhhhhhh…” …. Rarity sat in the middle of the cage facing to only doorway, the horrid, almost rancid oats weighed heavy in in her stomach. When was the last time she saw Applejack? Minutes, hours… days, she couldn’t tell. She perked an ear and listened but no sound came. The halls seemed to be empty, time seem to have no meaning. She watched the flames of the torches as they flickered and danced but didn’t seem to move. She tried once again on using her Unicorn magic but… nothing. It was gone. She sighed, feeling helpless, then, she stood remembering her friend, and remembering that she needed to be strong so that together they might be able to find a way out of this. But where had they taken her? “Applejack!” she cried out but again no sound came to her, even the echo of her own spoken word seemed to have abandoned her. It was if she could only hear the words from within her own mind but nothing came from her mouth. She tried again, “Applejack, can you hear me?” Again, nothing. Her eyes darted around the room, “Can anyone hear me.” “Anyone?” Absolute silence. She bit into her lower lip, worry flowing across her face. “Oh, buck up Rarity,” she said to herself gathering her courage around her “Twilight and the other will be here soon,” Her eyes turned and fixed on the doorway as if to see her friends suddenly walk through at that very moment. “I hope...” In her mind she gathered her strength, but try as she might, she couldn’t stop her body from shaking, the cold hard reality of her situation digging itself in to her and for the first time since her capture, she was truly afraid. “This wasn’t like the time with the Diamond dogs who were easily manipulated into doing her very bidding. These creatures were smart, cunning, and cold hearted. And the way they converted other ponies into doing their bidding was even easier then what she would have ever thought possible. But how? Could it be as how Samantha and Daniel said? Could these creatures be “inside” other ponies? but how did they do it? Daniel said something about these Goa’uld needing to perform a ritual of some sort but when did they have time? How long had they been in Equestria? Surely, Princess Celestia or even Princess Luna for that matter should have seen this coming. How could they have done all this and no pony knew of this?” Rarity sat there with her mind pondering her questions in the silent eeriness that when it happened, she wasn’t sure she heard it. But slowly the sound grew louder, no, not a sound… a voice, yes, a stallions voice but one she couldn’t recognize. But what was it saying? “Qua… Quasar’s crystal.” She muttered. “What in Equestria is Quasar’s crystal?” Suddenly the voice disappeared, overshadowed by an alarm so loud, it pierced her ears and she jumped, gasped, and held her hooves over her ears as the noise that finally broke through her solemn prison, pulsated the room with a vibration so deep it touched every fiber of her being. Then, the sound stopped as quickly as it started, ending the emptiness of the absolute silence and returning sound back to normal and with it, she could hear things once again. Holding on to a stranded effort, she breathed deeply, pulling herself away from the edge of a panic. She starred through the bars of the cage when she noticed that the vibrations had jarred the door open just a crack. Had the sound, unlocked the cage? She reached out with her hoof for the door, her body violently trembling and her pulse galloping through her at rain-boom speeds and it was now more than ever she knew she needed her courage and dug even deeper for it finding that hidden spark within. She took a deep breath. “I can do this. Now’s your chance Rarity, get out and go for help… But what about Applejack, I can’t just leave her… But if I am caught… No, no. I can be caught either way, No I must find her… I have to find her.” Rarity reached out, pushed the cage door open, and stepped through. Her stomach rumbled, she felt queasy and stumbled into Applejack’s cage. As she touched the cage, another distant voice echoed “Rrraarriityy." Rarity paused. Her eyes blurred, her stomach hurt, the sickness increasing. Again the voice echoed in her mind “Rarrrriity…. Upp!" That one she did recognize. “That sounded like Applejack…. Applejack, Can you hear me darling?” Rarity stood up but nearly fell again as dizziness and nausea enveloped her. Water, she needed water, she told herself and began to crawl her way back into her cage and over to the water dish. With concerned earnest, the voice in her head grew louder, the voice of Applejack, “Rraarity, you need to get up!” Rarity lapped at the water but as the soundless room played upon her ears, the soothing touch of the water in her throat eluded her. Again, the voice shouted, “Raarity, you must… up!” Her eyes grew wide as her search for the Applejack drew her gaze upon the feedbag. Like her stomach, the bag wriggled and moved on its own. Suddenly the bag burst open as hundreds of worm like creatures spilled onto the floor, hundreds, thousands, an endless flow coming at her like a torrent wave. She screamed and tried to back away but only to run into the bars of the cage. Cornered, she could no longer contain her fears and screamed louder as the worm wave engulfed her crawling over her body. Stunned in absolute shock and terror she could only watch as one of the largest ones had crawled itself up and on to her neck, then around through her mane and finally wrapping itself around her unicorn horn. Poised to strike with its mandibles dripping with malice, it paused for a moment, as it looked straight into her eyes, beyond it and into her very soul. Rarity could no longer contain herself, like the bag, like her stomach, the realization hit her; the worms, these creatures, were already inside her. “Rarity, you have to wake up. Wake up Rarity, Wake up!” …. Applejack stood in her cage; her eyes affixed on Rarity as she screamed herself awake then rolled over and un-dignifying herself with the contents of her previous meal into the hay. “Oh thank Celestia you’re awake. Are you alright there sugar cube?” Rarity struggled but brought herself up to a trembling sitting position; eyes tear swollen and red, she wiped the edges of her mouth on her forehoof. She turned her strained neck taking in her surroundings she was still inside the cage and in the room the locked doors, the flickering torches, and avoided looking at the feedbag. She then breathed a sigh of relief to see her friend standing there inside the other cage next to her. Regaining her composure brought herself up on wobbly hooves then leaned into the bars using them as support then “Oh Applejack, I… I’m so glad to see you.” “What in tarnation happened? One minute you were quietly sleeping then this happened. Are you sure y’all are alright?” “Oh Applejack, I… I must have been dreaming. No, no that was a nightmare, and one of the worst ones I had ever had. She sat and explained the whole ordeal of the dream to her friend, knowing that talking about this would help her in the end and took great comfort in knowing that Applejack was always a true friend and listener. Their bond was closer than sisters were and with her strength and fortitude beside her, she knew there was nothing they couldn’t do together. “I can understand that sugar cube, these critters are nastier then a nest of newborn rattle snakes.” Rarity hobbled over to the cage door and tested it, was it unlocked as was in her dream? She pushed on it but to no avail. “So, what do we do now Applejack? Why bring us here and separate us from the rest of the ponies who were captured” “I… I don’t know, y’all think they figured us out being the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?” I’m not so sure about that Applejack, they already have the ability to stop our unicorn magic, even Twilights. For all we know they could already have the ability to stop the power of the Elements of Harmony. No, I get the impression that they are after something. But I don’t know what that is.” Rarity tried to recall something, something from her dream but the only thing that came to her was horrible image of the creatures that surrounded her inside and out. The image was almost strong enough to induce another wave of looing her lunch but she held on and brushed it aside. But she knew there was something there, something she needed to recall but couldn’t. “Applejack, did you fall asleep and have a nightmare like mine?” “I couldn’t sleep. I tried, but I was so worried about you and everyone else to get any real sleep then you started moving and screaming, and well… you know the rest." …. “Ahhhhh……” With a whoosh and almost blinding light, the rings fell down and back into the floor where they had popped up and Rainbow Dash sat there in stunned amazement. It took her a moment but recovered quickly and although she didn’t know what happened she did manage to shout out the first words that came to her.” “That… was… Awesome!!!” She grinned from ear to ear in one huge smile and looked around for the panel that would activate that once more, then she realized that she was no longer in the same brown boxy like room. The walls floors and ceilings were all of a light colored grey and every few steeps there were clear glass like recesses where lights illumined what the room and hallways that led off in three directions. She stood upon a platform where the rings had placed her with a two-step stair that led to the floor. To one side stood a pedestal with the control panel for what Dash assumed was for the operation of the rings as it was identical to that in the last room. She so wanted to do that again. As Dash approached the pedestal a sound echoed from down one of the hallways bring her attention back to the matter had hand, some pony was coming. “Finally, now, let’s see about getting some answers,” Dash said and with a flick of her tail, she set off down the hallway. The hall was long and narrow and rounded to the left. About every few paces, she would pass a doorway or short hall that would end in a door. She ignored these As the closer she trotted, the voices grew louder. In fact, she could now make out the sounds of several voices emanating from up ahead and stopped to listen for a moment. One of those voices was definitely Spitfire; she would recognize her voice anywhere, but what in Equestria was she saying? She couldn't understand any of it. was it another language? And who was with her? Soren? No, although she knew he had to be one of them, it wasn't him. This was getting way too confusing which frustrated and annoyed her even more. “I wish that some pony would explain just what the hay is going on here.” And with that she stomped a hoof and started to move when the whoosh sound of another door opened next to her. Then out of the darkness she was struck by a bluish light, and it felt as if she had been hit by a lightning bolt from a rogue cloud then her body went stiff, then limp as she fell to the floor and the darkness enveloped her. …. Rarity sat but leaned heavy on the cage bars; she fiddled with the curls of her mane trying to do something, anything with it. The thought of going back to sleep scared her, the emotional scars of her dream still haunted her, and all she could do was to sit here and wait for these ‘monsters’ to do something was driving her crazy. But at least Applejack was here. Funny, Applejack didn’t seem to be in the least bit worried. She just rather laid there, starring back at her, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Well, Applejack always did have the strongest will of all of them and Rarity almost felt jealous of her demeanor. But yet, in a way, she was very glad of it and she took security from it. Out of any pony to be captured with, she was glad that it was her. “Do you think Twilight and the others are on their way?” “I sure hope so sugar cube. These Gould’s sure are some nasty critters and when we get out of here we can find something to get rid of um. Something like one of those Elements of Harmony pendants.” Rarity stared at her for a moment, “I don’t think they will work, Samantha said that these Goa’uld’s have machines that are beyond anything you’ll find in Equestria, as I said before, one of which is blocking our magic and I suspect that it would most likely jam their magic as well.” “Well then I guess will just have to find something even stronger or something that can’t be blocked by their doo-hickys. I got to thinking, why are these Gould’s here? Just what are they after? It can’t be just about enslaving everyone. There’s got to be more to it than that.” “I agree with you there Applejack but what? According to Jack, they may have been here for months now.” “And that’s another thing, why are we all listening to them. They really haven’t done much since they got here, fact is, things have gotten worse because of them. In fact, I’m beginning to think they’re both on the same side.” Rarity looked at her, taken aback by the increasing anger in Applejack’s words. “Really, I don’t think that’s the case at all.” “Are you sure Rarity? Think about it, even if the Gould’s have been here for months, they didn’t start taking prisoners until ‘they’ showed up. Then, without warning were under attack, over half our people have been captured and they didn’t do anything to stop them. I’m beginning to think they planned all this.” Rarity sat there, stunned into silence and yet, deep down, she almost felt the same, “Well… I… I don’t think they…” “Well, how else would you explain this?” She didn’t have an answer. “And as far as to what these Gould's are lookin fer. While you were sleeping I kinda over heard something in the hallway, It seems they are looking for some sort of crystal. Now we both know that Equestria is just chuck full of um and honestly I think they can have every last one of um but this one seemed kinda special but I couldn't pick out what they called it.” Rarity perked up her ears and turned to face her “It’s called Quasar’s Crystal and don’t ask me how I know that.” Applejack sat up in her cage, “Do you think you can find it.” “If I had my magic I think I could, now that I know what to look for.” “Good, now all we need,” Applejack paused as she stood, “is a way out.” “And how do you intend to do that?” “Well this morning, while you were sleeping, it seems that our guards are a couple of royal stallions…" “Applejack, you’re not suggesting that I… that we...” “No, no… Look, all you gotta do is distract them long enough for me to bop um one and were home free. Of course, how you do it is entirely up to you.” Chapter 5: ContingencyStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 5 Contingency Teal’c pondered the morning’s events. He had spent most of the time in recon of the village and the surrounding area. Along the northern road, he had come across a pony blockade with several Royal Guard soldier ponies staffing. They had told him that Princess Celestia had sent them out during the night and had set up security checkpoints along the road at the village’s access points; they had reported nothing. Teal’c didn’t like, nor trusted that answer. Surly there would have been some news or information on the activities of alien species somewhere in this world. Even gossip lines of communications would have brought about some reactions. The activities of the Goa’uld do not simply go unnoticed. If it had not been for the children ponies’ insistence to show him the bakery, they would have all been caught in an ambush. There was at least ten Jaffa that he counted when the attack began, led by those very guard ponies from the checkpoint. On top of that, there seemed to be even more civilian ponies, twenty or more he guessed, helping the Jaffa gather up their fellow citizens. Had Teal’c not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed it. Either these ponies had betrayed them, or they held implanted symbioses; Teal’c didn’t know which. Normally, if they had symbiotes, he would have sensed their presence. But because the ponies all gave off the same feelings, they masked themselves from him. The only thing Teal’c knew now was that he could no longer rely on those sensations. The Jaffa had begun their attack in broad daylight and fanned out across the village. It was unfortunate that he could do nothing more for the villagers Teal’c told himself as he watched groups panicking ponies fleeing from the battle. He couldn’t risk exposing his self and those he now protected in order to help and to do so would only get every one captured. Thankfully, he could tell that, by the angle of the shots, the Jaffa fired, that those ponies were not targeted directly, but rather, herded towards the towns train’s station. With Zat in hand, Teal’c took up position behind the upturned wagon. He didn’t want to inadvertently hurt an innocent pony with his staff weapon, so he had strapped the weapon across his back but still within easy reach. He looked over his shoulder; the pony family that the children brought him to was hastily preparing their own wagon for departure. The young fillies were now helping the stallion, Mr. Cake with the pink pony who had unexpectedly and mysteriously, passed out, into the back of the wagon while Mrs. Cake tended her own children. A staff weapon blast landed nearby as dirt and debris rained down upon him; The Jaffa was closing in on them. “Colonel O Nell said that everyone was to rendezvous in the dense forest, go now quickly, I will create a diversion.” Apple Bloom looked over at him, “What about you Teal’c?” “I will be fine, get the others to safety. I will be right behind you.” Carrot clicked himself into the harness as Cup fastened the twins into their seats in the wagon. “Go sugar plumb, were all set!” “Hold on Honey bun, I’m running like we were late for delivery!” The passengers of the wagon screamed as another staff blast exploded next the wagon when the Jaffa soldier walked around the corner of the building. Teal’c turned and returned fire, stunning the soldier before he could fire again, “Go, and don’t stop for anything.” Then Teal’c stepped from behind the drawing the attention of another two soldiers as Carrot took off at a solid run down the road. The first soldier tried to take aim at the departing wagon but only got a point-blank shot from Teal’c’s Zat-nik-tel instead. As the first soldier, fell; the second Jaffa swung his staff weapon around like a club knocking the Zat from Teal’c hands. He then brought the weapon around to fire upon his opponent , but Teal’c, with reflexes of a seasoned warrior, grabbed hold of the end of the soldier’s staff weapon just inside the staffs cannon’s end, redirecting the shot harmlessly into the ground then thrusting an uppercut to the soldier’s mid-section disarming him, as well. Teal’c then stepped to the side and with the one hand, brought the procured weapon around in a wide arc over his head then down low to the back of his opponent’s knees, falling him backwards, folding him over his own legs and onto the ground, finishing him off with blunt blow to his head, knocking him unconscious. Teal’c knelt down next to the soldier looking him over. Clearly, he had the mark of Ra upon his forehead but something seemed different about it. It was the mark was that of his eternal eye but instead of a pupil, it was that of a crescent moon. He turned his attention to the other; he too had the same mark; then he noticed the marking on each of their arms, or more importantly, the lack of a mark. There were burn marks on each of them where old tattoos had been removed. By the pattern outline of the burn marks, he could only tell that they were not from Chulak nor any other world from which Jaffa came from. But he had seen this outline before, and this could only mean one thing… He had to get this information back to Colonel O Nell Teal’c told himself and as he reached out and grabbed hold of his Zat, then paused as he felt the point of the staff weapon just behind his head. …. How could she leave him? Apple Bloom thought to herself as she held on the edge of the wagon as it bumped down the road. She looked back down the trail, expecting him to come running up around the bend. Surely, he would have caught up by now especially now that Mr. Cake had slowed to a trot when they were out of sight of Ponyville. Try as she might, Apple Bloom couldn’t shake the worry from her mind and the gnawing in her gut. Something went wrong; she knew it. She glanced over her shoulder at the others. She was only going to get one chance at this and if she asked for permission, she already knew what the answer would be. “I’m sorry everyone,” Apple Bloom said in her mind as she leapt from the wagon and headed back towards town, the screams of the others for her to come back, drowned in faded echoes. …. “Spread the word for every pony to run into the Everfree Forest. It should be safe for them once they’re inside,” Twilight ordered as she, Rarity, and Applejack ran into the town. “You two, take the east side, Spike and I will take the west.” “Relatively safe,” said Rarity reminding her. “Most of the ponies in Ponyville avoid going there for good reasons and those who have, haven’t been in there as often as we have.” “I know, I don’t like it either, but it will be safer for them in there than being here. Once we get everyone, we can stay around Zecora's hut. From there, we can figure out what to do next. And keep an eye out for Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash.” “I saw Pinky Pie at Sugar Cube Corner early this morning before heading out to Applejacks,” said Rarity. “She should still be there. We’ll go check on her first.” And Rainbow Dash was still at the Wonder Bolt training Academy,” Applejack added. “But I’m kind of surprised that she isn’t here already here. We all know that if Ponyville were in danger then she would be the first one here.” “Maybe something has happened to her at the Academy,” Twilight said, maybe the Academy has been attacked as well.” Twilights eyes narrowed as the multitude of thoughts permeated her brain. Now, it wasn't just an attack on Ponyville that worried her, it was all of Equestria. If the Academy has also been under attack, what about Canterlot. What of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? What about…” “Don’t worry Sugar cube,” said Applejack placing a hoof across her shoulder. “We’ll find them. Then once we’re together, we’ll head to Canterlot to find out what’s going on. Com’on Rarity, let’s see if we can track down Pinky Pie.” Twilight winced as she watched them go, she felt so helpless without her magic. Twilight turned to run but stopped and fell back onto her haunches in utter shock of the tall stallion that stood before her. Its dark grey coat and midnight blue armor and flared out bat like wings, gave it an overwhelming presence that halted them both where they stood. She couldn't believe what she saw, but there was no mistaking it, it was a Lunar Guard. The guard reared back on its hind legs and aimed its attack. Without hesitation, Twilight instinctively concentrated on her spell to take them both out of harm’s way. The spell of teleportation was almost a part of her now, and she could use it without even have to think of a destination and activate it in the blink of an eye. A split second later Twilight's eyes went wide; the stallion was still in front of them bearing his weight down upon his front hooves, and she froze in panic as the realization that the spell did not initiate. Spike shook off the effect first and shouldered his body into the distracted Unicorn, pushing her to the side. The stallions hooves came down with a loud thump, and Spike’s little body skidded across the ground. Time seemed to slow for Twilight as she toppled over to the ground. The sounds of the battle echoed through her ears as the scene played out in front of her like a wave of fog underwater. She saw him fall; she screamed his name. She tried to move, but her body wouldn’t respond. The night stallion had become three, like an ominous black cloud that stood over her. Was this the end for her? What had happened to them? What force could drive them to do this? Was this the fate for all her ponies? The stallion reared again; Twilight closed her eyes. The stallion’s eyes went wide as the electric blue light enveloped his body; then he went limp and fell to the ground. The other two turned to face the attackers but before they could react, they too fell to the ground under the spell of the stranger’s device. “Twilight!” “Twilight, come on snap out of it, we’ve got to go!” Twilight recognized that voice… it was the voice of the human woman… the voice of Samantha. Sam had knelt in front of her calling to her; Twilight shook her head and remembered. “Spike!” “Daniels got him, but we’ve got to go now. Can you run?” Warily, and with the help of Samantha, Twilight righted herself back onto her hooves and watched as Daniel reached out and scooped Spike up in his arms. “Yes; But what of Apple Jack, Rarity, and Pinky Pie? Have you seen them?” “I don’t know,” said Sam. “We did not run into them but there is no time to go looking. If they’re as smart as I think they are, they will be fine on their own.” Twilight nodded, she was still worried but trusted Sam’s opinion, and they all started for the forest. …. With the staff weapon mere inches from the back of his head, Teal’c cursed himself for being so careless. “So, I see you did survive Shol’va, how unfortunate for you.” Teal’c showed no sign of emotion, focusing only on the one who spoke as another Jaffa retrieved the weapon from his hand. “And you are?” “I am Laca’s, First prime to Lord Ra, not that it will mean much after I kill you.” “Then I will take heart in knowing that I will die by a warrior such as yourself… one who would kill his enemy in defiance of his god.” “Unlike you, I would never betray my god. I have served Ra faithfully for nearly one hundred years. My Loyalty is absolute. His word is law and will be obeyed without question.” Teal’c pushed his luck, the more he could get him to talk, the more time he had to think of a way out. “Then if you were to kill me now then you would be doing exactly that. Any First Prime loyal to his god must capture and interrogate any high value prisoners. To do so, would go against the will of the gods. If you are indeed loyal to Ra, then why were you, not with him on Abydos?” Laca’s grew angry,“That is none of your concern Shol’va. Ignoring that answer, he continued. “And what of this Khonsu? Do you feel the same loyalty to him, as well? A joint collaboration of gods; who will you answer too?” Laca’s activated his staff; Teal’c knew his time was up. Laca’s weapon was steady in his hand; it was so close to the back of his skull of his enemy. He could see the sweat dripping from Teal’c’s neck, and knew the shot would take his it clean off. Laca’s afforded himself a smile and glance at his surroundings. Ra will be most pleased with his actions but in truth, the pleasure would be all his. “Ra is all knowing, your information is useless to him. But I… I have waited a long time for this day. And to watch you die on this wretched planet next to these filthy animals will be a most fitting end for you… And one I will cherish for another hundred years.” Teal’c lifted an eyebrow in thought as Laca’s’s words floated across his mind. There were many reasons why loyal Jaffa would want to kill him, but this sounded like there was something more to it… more personal. He wasn’t quite sure on what to do about it when a small voice called out. “Let um go ya big bullies!” Teal’c didn’t waste the opportunity and the moment he felt Laca’s’s attention waver, he reacted. Teal’c spun around as Laca’s pulled the trigger; his perfect shot missed. In one fluid movement, Teal’c grabbed the mid-section of his opponent’s staff pulling him closer and landing his left fist across Laca’s’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. He then spun again planting a heavy boot into the second Jaffa also knocking him back. He knew the surprise attack wouldn’t last for long, as the others would realize quickly what had just transpired and would quickly ascend upon them so this only left him with one course of action; He dropped the staff weapon, pivoted, and ran for the voice. Apple Bloom stood at the far edge of the building. She had put her life in danger to come back for him, now he had to get her out of here before that would happen. Apple Bloom leaped out from behind some boxes where she kept herself concealed. Teal’c held out an arm and scooped her up and she crawled over his shoulder and onto his back. “Teal’c, you’re hurt?” Apple Bloom shouted as she saw the graze of the staff weapons burn mark across the ridge of his shoulders. Teal’c didn’t miss a stride as they passed the last buildings of the village and into the forest thick. “I will be okay Apple Bloom. Thanks to you, the burn will heal.” …. Laca’s was furious; Teal’c had gotten away. Ever since Lord Ra told him that, he and his Taur’ri allies had survived the flooding of the caverns he knew his revenge on the murderer would soon come to pass. There had always been war between the gods, but what Teal’c had done went beyond war. No, the day Apophis had found Kel’noc would be a day forever scorched in his mind. And even as a Shol’va, Teal’c was First Prime to Ra’s archenemy Apophis… and he would answer for his crimes. Laca’s stood and with a wave of his staff, he ordered his soldiers to attention. “Kree, Jaffa,” Right now, there was much to be done, he did not trust those creatures in their new servitude, but Ra had ordered their use in gathering new slaves for the mines. The attack and capture of these creatures had gone according to plan with over fifty percent of the population now under Ra’s control. The Tau’ri and the Shol’va had retreated with the survivors like cowards and Laca’s smiled like a predator stalking his prey; the mice would soon come out, and he would pounce on them and devour them like the vermin they were. Laca’s turned and started walking back for his station when he heard something moving from inside one of the buildings. He halted his group then silently signaled for two of them to go around back. “Hurry up Rarity; it’s gotten mighty quiet out there. Pinky Pie isn’t here, and we gotta go.” “I’ll be there Applejack; I just needed to make sure some pony wasn’t hiding in a closet or something. I fear something bad has happened to her. Even under circumstances such as this, she of all ponies wouldn’t be hiding, and it would have taken an army to pull her away from wanting to throw even these ruffians a party.” “All of which means, Twilight and the others may have found her already. We had better catch up to them.” “What do you think these… aliens, want with us anyway?” “I don’t know, but I do know that they sure could hurt a lot of us. And without yours and Twilights magic working properly, I gotta nasty feeling that even the Elements of Harmony might not be able to stop them. This sure took us all by surprise. According to Jack and his friends, they weren’t expecting this neither. I…” Applejack paused, “you hear that?” She whispered as the squeak came to her again. Applejack pointed a hoof. “Out the back…” It was too late… As the front doors of Sugarcube Corner burst in, staff weapon fire blasted the bakeries front sales counter sending burning pastries flying through the air. Flames and smoke filled the air as Applejack and Rarity ran through the hallway and into the kitchen. The rear door came crashing open as two of the alien soldiers stood in front of them. Rarity gasped but ducked to the side as one of them brought his staff weapon to bear on her. Applejack, however kept her momentum and with a powerful heave from her strong hind legs, leapt over Rarity and plowed into their, would be, attackers sending both of them back out into the street. Rarity was already on her hooves and ran past Applejack as she skidded around to face one of the soldiers who had already recovered and back on his feet “Thars no way y’all are gunna lay a hand on this pony.” The soldier brought his weapon around like a club, and Applejack dogged it with easy. A second thrust from the other end missed as well striking the ground. The creature was fast and almost twice her size in height but this wasn’t the first hoof fight she had ever been in, although, never against someone wielding a giant stick. Applejack wavered as she underestimated the range he had with it. The soldier swung the weapon around holding it from one end clipping her in the ear and knocking off her hat. Now she was mad. She wanted to pick it back up, but the soldier would let her near it and kept wildly swinging at her. She knew that if he ever made contact with her then it would be all over; she had to go on the offensive. “I sure hope Rarity got away,” Applejack thought as danced around with her opponent maneuvering him into position. A moment later, she found her opportunity. Applejack turned abruptly and planted her forehooves into the dirt, reared her hind legs and delivered a tree shattering kick to the creature’s midsection. The Jaffa soldier let out a gurgling gasp of air as he flew back dropping his staff weapon, then lay silent, and still upon the ground. Applejack walked over to her fallen hat, when a fire blast landed between them spraying her with rock and dirt, sending her hat flying and Applejack falling to the ground. “Enough! or I will kill the other.” Applejack looked around; the blast had come from another soldier kneeling down next to another who stood over top of Rarity. She had been captured, bound, gagged, and lying at their feet. Applejack couldn’t understand what he said, but she knew what he meant as Laca’s placed the opened end of his weapon at Rarity’s head and stood in silence and allowed two other soldiers to do the same to her. “Take them to the mines and place this one in a holding cell, Ra has ordered that the white one be delivered directly to him. If the other tries to escape, Kill it.” Author's Note This chapter is shorter then I wanted but work has been really busy since the holidays and i haven't had much time to work on it
Chapter 1: AbscondStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 1: Abscond 02:36 Northern Atlantic Ocean, 750 nautical miles off the coast of Iceland. The winds whipped violently, and the waves crested only feet below the choppers tail section as it flew low across the North Atlantic. Staying blow radar in a UH-64 Black Hawk meant staying as close to the water’s surface as possible while avoiding the icebergs that floated everywhere. “Gotta love those crazy pilots,” Jack said to himself as the craft slowly made its way to its destination. Colonel Jack O Neill pulled his hood up on his parka and loaded his P90 compact assault rifle as the pilot brought the chopper around looking for a release point. He had dealt with him many times in the past, and Jack didn’t like dealing with him anymore now than he did back then. Maybourne was a slime ball who was always looking for a handout while searching for a place to stick a knife in your back. He didn’t trust him before, and he sure wasn't going to start now. But he had information, or so he said, on the location of the N.I.D. vessel out on the waters somewhere below. There has been recorded gate activity for the last month or so, discovered only because of some dialing problems in the computer. They knew it wasn't the Russians because their Stargate was located in a sealed container under wraps of the Soviet Military. The activity still originated from earth, so it had to be someone else. It was also hard to pinpoint through seismic activity, but Major Carter discovered that it was in proximity to the northern end of the Mid Atlantic ridge probably to make it look like magma displacements. She had figured that, because seismic wave movement wasn’t as strong as it should be, it must have originated near the surface and not on a ground base, which meant that it was possibly on a cargo ship or Goa’uld craft with a cloaking device. But with the lack of physical evidence from the satellites they had concluded that the gate moved from location to location to where every time the S.G.C. or the Air force got close, they would already be one-step ahead. Then after receiving a coded message, it turned out that Maybourne knew where the next stop was going to be. Jack hated Maybourne but in the past, his information usually proved fruitful, but that still didn’t make him a trustworthy. As always, Jack was going to paint on a smile and try to restrain himself from wringing his scrawny little neck. Standing a small ice shelf at the edge of the northern pack, a lone figure stood next to a small watercraft and listened for the sounds of the helicopter on approach then pulled out a small red lens flashlight as the chopper flew around the final iceberg. He then threw the flashlight on the ice marking the landing point, the pilot, confirming the signal brought the Black Hawk around over the target location, and dropped the lines. Jack looked over at his team, Major Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal’c as they each hooked to their lines and descended to the surface. Jack patted one of the crew on the shoulders “As soon as I’m down get this bird out of here,” and with that, he made his way down his line. The Black Hawk didn’t waste any time once Jack was on the ground it quickly flew off into the darkness leaving its passengers behind in the cold of the arctic north. “Heck of a place you got here Maybourne. Cozy if you’re a penguin.” Jack said. “Ya, I’m thinking about retiring here,” said Maybourne returning the snide remark. “But let’s get down to brass tax; the ship you’re looking for is a cargo freighter called the ‘Sorrel Roan’ which supposedly sank during freak storms in the Bermuda Triangle a couple of years ago. But in truth, it was ‘acquired’ by the NID and its being used as a covert floating warehouse. It’s disguised as an iceberg, which was why your satellites couldn't find it but we should still be able to see as it passes by which should be any time now.” “Any time,” Jack questioned, “How many minutes in an ‘any time?” Jack yelled irritated as he clasped his gloved hand together trying to warm them up. “Soon,” Maybourne said reassuring him as he pulled a small pouch from his pocket. “Now before you ask, I don’t know where they got the Stargate from, but more importantly, is what they’re doing with it. It seems that someone in the N.I.D. has come into a vast amount of wealth lately, enough to pay off some rather high up individuals.” Maybourne grabbed Jack’s hand and dumped the rather large diamond and several other gems into it. “And that’s not all, Rubies, Sapphires, and Emeralds’ the size of your fist. “Enough to saturate the economy,” Jack said rolling around one of the diamonds in his hand. “Enough to start their own economy,” Maybourne replied. And to top it all off many of these gems emit high levels of energy. “How high are we talking?” Jack said putting the gems back into the bag. From what I understand, I would say Naquadah levels. Like preloaded batteries,” Maybourne said holding out his hand for the pouch. “I agree, Carter said, “I can sense the Naquadah in them. Wherever they got these, the place must be rich with them, and if the Goa’uld got their hands on this, it could change everything. Jack gave Maybourne a funny look as he placed the pouch into his own pocket. “Anything else?” ‘Ya,” Maybourne said annoyed at Jack and his empty palm “I’ve kept up my end of the bargain. You just keep your end like you promised,” Maybourne said. “I never promised anything,” Jack said warming his hands with his breath. “Come on Jack, I thought we were old friends,” Maybourne said with a witted smile. “We were never friends…” Jack said letting his aggravation show. “O Neill!” Teal’c interrupted, “A ship approaches.” “All right everyone, Jack said calming down as he grabbed his gear. ‘Let’s get moving, Maybourne, after we get there, take off and meet us at the rendezvous point” he ordered as he placed his gear into the boat. “Fine by me Jack, I don’t want to be anywhere near that place when this goes down. You guys have a nasty habit of getting into trouble when stuff like this happens.” Maybourne said as he fired up the engines. They made their way across the water and approached the ship from the stern to avoid detection as the massive freighter slowly drove through the ice-filled water. Maybourne brought the watercraft alongside, and Jack and Teal’c deployed the grappling ropes. “You know Jack; we should get together and have lunch sometime when this is all over,” Maybourne offered. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up” Jack responded as he and the others made their way to the top of the ship. Once at the top, Jack turned and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Maybourne leave. Having him around made his skin crawl but you know what they say about ‘friends’ like that who needs enemies. They quickly made their way across the stern of the ship and Teal’c and Carter dispatched two guards with a blast from their Zat-nik-tel weapons. Jack and Daniel went on to scout ahead as they threw the bodies into a dinghy raft then quietly they made their way to the interior of the ship. Jack was uneasy as they moved along the long hallway towards the stairwell. They had met up with little resistance; in fact, they had not seen anyone as they walked onto the lower decks of the ship. “Well they didn’t just abandon the ship, did they?” Jack thought to himself as he made his way down the corridor. After securing several rooms, they made their way down the last hallway they were just about to come to the last door when the ship began to shake violently all around them. “Jack,” Daniel said holding on to a railing, “I think this confirms that they do have a Stargate.” “This also means we’re running out of time Sir,” Carter added. As they walked down the last corridor, there was an open door and Jack could hear voices inside the room. He could also hear the sound of the activated Stargate inside the room and he gave the hand signal to the others to hold for a moment as he crept up to the doorway to listen in on the conversation. He couldn’t tell who they were, but one voice was human, and the other was Goa’uld. “Great,” thought Jack, “That’s all we needed,” he said under his breath, “Guess they were already in on this the whole time. I wonder if Maybourne new about it… probably.” The light of the Stargate filled the room as the Goa’uld spoke to the other in “The shipment will arrive in a few days. My Jaffa soldiers have already begun advanced mining operations on the planet, and I will go there myself to take control. The Chaapa’ai is yours to do as you will as we agreed. You will hold this position until then and when I return I will have everything ready for your NID counterparts.” “Ya, that’s not going to happen,” Jack said to himself as he pulled a smoke grenade off his belt. As Jack went to toss the smoke into the room as the alarms went off. “Those guards must have come to,” Jack said to himself as he followed the smoke into the room. Gunfire erupted from his P-90 and Jack took aim at the Goa’uld, but he wasn’t fast enough. The alarm had given the Goa’uld enough time to use his hand device to place the personal shield before stepping through the portal and deactivating it before Jack could run after him. Carter and the others followed him in taking out the other person in the room with a Zat, stunning him before he could fire a shot. All right, Carter, Daniel, figure out where he went.” Jack ordered. “Teal’c, did you happen to get a look at his crest?” “Indeed.” Teal’c replied in his usual calm voice, “He held the symbol of Ra.” Daniel and Carter sat at the desk looking over the computer monitors delving through the information. “Well we’re not worried about Ra anymore,” said Daniel digging through the information on one of the computer drives. “It could have been one of his remaining Jaffa, but what I find that’s confusing is that this information doesn’t talk about Ra, it talks about Khonsu.” “Khon-who?” Jack said puzzled. “Khonsu…” Daniel said glaring at him. “Well as you know, Ra was the god associated with the sun. But Khonsu was more associated with the moon. His name means ‘Traveler’ and was said to be the watcher over the travelers of the night.” Daniel spoke still sifting through the data. “Khonsu was revered as a gentle and compassionate healer who was said to have personally healed the pharaoh Ptolemy IV. But, he also had a darker side as his name also appears in the ‘Cannibal Hymn,’ which is part of the Pyramid Texts, and he is shown to be a bloodthirsty deity who helps the deceased kings to catch and eat the other gods. “Oh.” Jack replied even more puzzled than ever. “Khonsu was also believed to be the son of Mut and Amun but others speculate that he may be the offspring of Sobek and Hathor.” Daniel said. “Now those last names I do know.” Jack said. Daniel shot him a look over his glasses. “What I don’t understand is; why would a follower of Ra, have information on Khonsu,” he said turning his attention back to his monitor. “Either way O Neill,” Teal’c added, “If he is indeed Ra or a follower pretending to be Ra, he must be stopped.” “Agreed,” Jack said. “I have the dialing address of where he went to,” said Carter “It’s definitely not one we had in out lists, but we need to get this information back to the S.G.C. for further analysis.” “Okay, let’s pack it up and get out of here,” Jack ordered. Carter jacked in her portable computer and downloaded all the system files of the N.I.D. computer when they heard the explosions and the ship rocked violently. “I think we set off a booby trap Sir,” Carter yelled, “But I think I can still activate this Stargate before we lose power.” “Do it,” Jack shouted “This place is going down.” Carter punched in the address into the computer “Got it,” she shouted as the gate finished its sequence, and a portal opened up and water started pouring in from the doors. The ship started to lean when Teal’c Carter and Daniel jumped through the Stargate opening, and the last thing Jack saw was a wall of water rushing at him through the doorway. Author's Note Updated 3/27/14
Chapter 2: AwakeningStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 2: Awakening Jack pulled himself out of the water and onto the dock. He turned around and sat with his feet dangling in the water pondering how he got there in the first place. He didn’t remember jumping into the pond only that he found himself surfacing next to the dock. He kicked his feet a few times splashing the water and watching it ripple across its surface then he lay back, resting on his arms for a moment feeling comfortable as the coolness of the water slowly evaporated from his skin. Above him, the bright summer sun beamed down upon him, and it warned him almost to the point where he didn’t need the towel that lay at the edge of the dock. As he looked out over the water, the trees gave a gentle sway as a soft breeze blew in and brought with it the scents of the flowers and grasses of forest that surrounded his property. His place was always warm and welcoming even on the coldest winter days. Jack grabbed hold of the towel, dried his face, then tossed it over his shoulder as he stood up and walked around to the front door to the cabin when he spied the beer sitting on a small table at the far end of the front porch where he must have left it before he went swimming. He walked over to it, grabbed the bottle, and popped the top taking a long drink of its contents. It was warm, flat, and tasteless as if it had been there a long time he made a sour face as he put the bottle down, walked back over to the front door of the cabin, and stood there where he strangely found himself studying the trim work around the door. He had stepped through this door many times before but for some reason, this felt odd and out of place. He wasn’t sure, but it was as if he were looking at a stranger. Unlike the summer sun that surrounded the cabin, it felt cold and deceptive as if waiting to torment him should he pass through. But this was his home, one that he had known for many years, and he wasn’t about to let that stop him and so he shrugged it off and reached the handle when he heard the activation of the staff weapon breaking the serenity of the silence within him. The blast exploded against the wall next to him and Jack dove for cover. As Jack lay prone upon the ground, he spied the nine-millimeter lying in front of him. With deft swiftness, he grabbed the weapon and brought it around to fire upon his assailant. More blasts hit the wall where he stood moments ago and in return, he fired several shots but could not see who it was that was shooting at him and missed his target. In his haste, he quickly ran out of ammunition but he knew he had more weapons inside the house and he got up with a barrage of staff weapon energy bolts erupting all around him. He reached for the door handle and opened the door but stopped in his tracks coming within inches of the wormhole event horizon that lay upon the other side of his cabin doorway. Confusion gripped Jack as he stood there staring at the shimmering light that belonged to the Stargate in front of him. The unprovoked attack seemed to stop as quickly as it started, as Jack stood there mesmerized by the portals opening. Jack took his hand, placed his palm against the event horizon, and watched it ripple out like the waves on a pond. It was warm and welcoming much like his cabin, much like the touch of an old friend. And for the first time in a long time, Jack felt at peace, when the portal erupted in front of him as the form of the giant Goa’uld worm broke through the portal, screeched and attacked. ….. “I think he’s finally wakening up,” Daniel said. Jack pulled his arm from beneath the blanket and rubbed his head with his hand, trying to drown out the ringing in his ears when his shoulder popped, and he realized just how much he hurt. Jacked looked around the room. It was a light blue colored room with three beds. Teal’c lay in one of them the other he guessed belonged to Daniel. A long white curtain flapped next to an open window that let in what felt like a warm summer breeze. And there was a small lamp sitting next to a vase on a tiny round table with some small pink and yellow flowers in it that looked freshly picked this morning. Probably all the things that made up his dream he thought. “Easy,” Daniel said. “You have a few bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder but the, um… doctor, here said you’ll be somewhat fine in a few days.” “So this is what it feels like to be, ‘flushed.” Jack said as he rotated his shoulder a few times trying to work out the kinks. Looking down at his chest, he found that his ribcage wrapped in a bandage. “Are Teal’c and Sam okay?” he asked. “Yes, Teal’c is in his usual state of Kel’no’reem and Sam is down the hall, I talked to her a little bit ago. We were picked up by the um… locals after we were washed out through some underground passageways and into a large canyon of sorts. I was told a few of them were, ‘flying,’ by when they spotted us.” Daniel said trying to mask the tension in his voice. Jack paused the rubbing of his eyes with the palm of his hand over his nose and shot him his usual perplexed look. “Flying,” he quoted raising one eyebrow. Jack sat up and gave him a stern look, clasping his hands together, “So now we have little ‘flying’ aliens,” he emphasized. “Are they at least green this time?” Daniel just gave a steady sigh trying to break the news as gently as possible. “Yes, some are green, but mostly, multicolored. But at least they speak English and their friendly enough, once you get used to the fact that they’re…” he paused. Jack knew something was amiss; they had been to many countless worlds and encountered aliens of all kinds before. “Go on,” he said. Anymore, strange was all part of the job. Meeting the ‘out of the ordinary’ and ‘unusual things’ has practically become routine, so Jack sat back, crossed his arms and waited for the preverbal punch line. “This won’t faze me. As they say, I’ve seen it all,” and was prepared for anything… There came a knock at the door, and the door slowly opened a small, light brown horse creature with a horn on its head, surrounded by a short but well-kept chocolate colored mane. It was also wearing what looked to be a stethoscope around its neck over top a doctor’s lab coat that hung over its tail of the same color of its mane. It stood about the size of a welsh pony only it’s hooves were much larger around than any standard horse he’s ever known, but what really got Jack’s attention was that it had two of the biggest eyes he had ever seen. They took up nearly the entire head, which was also unusually large for such a small creature, and except for the small nose muzzle and large ears, it gave it a very human like aspect. Jack sat in awe and silence staring at it as it walked over to him and spoke. “Ah, I we’re finally awake. My name is Doctor Farrier, and I wanted to step in here and check on you. To make sure, your bandages are in place.” By the sound of it, voice Jack surmised that this ‘Doctor’ was female but he wasn’t about to go searching for confirmation on that. The creature’s horn began to glow a soft tan colored aura and Jack felt a tightening of the bandages around his ribcage. “I also wanted to inform you that the word of your arrival has been brought to the attention of Princess Celestia and she is on her way here to meet with you personally. You’ll find your belonging over there in the closet, or at least as much as we could find.” Jack and Daniel watched in silence as the unicorn doctor levitated a clipboard and pen in front of them and jotted down some notes then levitated them back into the pockets of her lab coat. “The princess should be here shortly, I assume you will want to make yourselves presentable for her. Good day to you.” And with that, she turned and walked out of the room. “… Anything except that,” Jack thought as he looked up at Daniel at a complete loss for words. Daniel put a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat, “Mythological creatures.” “Mythological creatures,” said Jack now questioning his sanity and the possibility that he might actually be dead or hooked up to yet another alien machine to drive him mad. “Yes,” Daniel said. “The main denizens of this planet seem to be Unicorns, Pegasus, and other equines. But they seem to use the general term “Pony” when talking about themselves. They call this land Equestria, but I am not sure if that is a local or planetary name and we are in a hospital that in the village of Ponyville. The majority of these ‘Ponies’ are female and judging by the fact that there’s a Princess on her way; I’m guessing this is a matriarchal society. They do not seem to be at odds with bipedal creatures, but I do not get the impression that they have ever seen a human before either. But with the fact that there was a Stargate here, and by some of the things that I have seen so far, I suspect that there was some kind of human influence some time in their past. Quite possibly the Ancients, but I have yet to prove that theory. Jack shook his head and threw up his hands, stopping him in mid babble. “Just how long have you been awake?” “Oh. About a half hour or so” Daniel said trying not to sound too uncanny. “Well, it goes to say that until recently, Egyptology and Norse mythology were but mere myths and it turned out that had their root beginnings with the Stargate on earth. So, is it so farfetched an idea that Mythological creatures such as Unicorns and Pegasus also started with the Stargate, as well. Who knows, we might even see a dragon or two here,” Daniel said, failing to hide his enthusiasm. Jack put a hand on his face “Multi colored talking horses,” Jack said, “We have officially seen it all.” “Funny, that’s what Teal’c said,” said Daniel. ….. A short while later both Jack and Teal’c were up and about finishing up a checklist of items that were recovered by these ‘ponies,’ including all their weapons, the p-90’s, Zats, and Teal’c staff weapon. Either, they didn’t know what weapons were, or they felt secure enough to let us keep them, Jack wasn’t sure which, but ‘he’ felt safer with them in their hands. They had also recovered the backpack items and rations along with the GDO. Nothing here seemed the worse for wear despite being through the spin cycle of a wormhole. They had even gone as far as to wash and fold all their clothing and had them neatly tucked away in the closet “Tidy little things,” Jack said to himself as he passed Teal’c’s staff weapon over to him. It was nice and warm here, so they decided to forgo the overcoats they wore in the cold Atlantic sea, fatigues always suited him better anyway. They gathered their things and headed for the door; Carter and Daniel were outside and had already started talking with some of the locals. They had been trying to find out if any of them knew if they had seen any others like them in recent days but so far, no luck but he was sure that, without the gate, the Goa’uld would soon have to make their move. This of course was a problem for them as well, According to Carter the gate lie buried under a mountain of rubble. This was by far the biggest problem because they were going to have to find it first, and hope it still works. That will have to be the first priority, Jack said to himself as he donned his hat and sunglasses walked outside. He stood outside with Teal’c at the front doors to the hospital, surveyed the area, and was a bit surprised on its size of the village for such small inhabits. Ponyville, he guessed, was approximately about a mile and half or so around give or take. Many of their homes were well crafted and covered in a thick layer of flowers or vines making it a quaint little village that kind of reminded him of an old English town, right down to the thatched roof design, nestled between rolling hills. There were scattered tents with wares for sale, and the air held a sweet smell of baked goods like fresh bread from the oven, nothing like what he was expecting. The pathways were neat and clean; there were wagonloads filled with fresh piles of hay, and straw probably harvested not that long ago. Birds sang from many of the trees, and the clear skies were a wonderful bright blue with the warm glow of the sun beaming its warm radiance across the land. This could be just like any place back home… except for the thousand pairs of large eyeballed horses staring at him. There were ponies everywhere of all colors of the rainbow. Some wore clothing; many did not. There were ponies on the balconies and windows of the homes in town, and even a few of the ones with wings were flying or hovering nearby and all of them watching them. “Curious bunch,” Jack said. “Indeed,” Teal’c said in his usual monotone voice. “Hello,” Jack said waving a hand in the air. “I’m Colonel Jack O Neill and this is Teal’c” pointing to Teal’c, who bowed in greetings. Jack had that awkward feeling wash over him like a flood. You would think that after talking to both Sam and Daniel that these ponies’ reactions would have been more receptive but he got nothing more than whispers and talk amongst their selves until one of them bravely stepped forward through the crowd. Judging by what he saw with the doctor, and the fact that Daniel said they were mostly female, he easily guessed she was a she. There were only slight differences between the mares and the stallions but once you learned it, you could clearly distinguish the two. The one that walked forward was a light colored purple pony with short curly pink striped main and tail. She didn’t have wings or a horn, nor did she were the clothing like some of the others. But what stood out most, was the fact that she had these three little yellow flower marks on her, um, butt. “Probably some sort of ritual markings,” Jack thought. He couldn’t see it on the doctor because of the outfit she was wearing, but now that he noticed, he noticed that they all had some sort of markings on their collective rumps. “Greetings" she said; "My name is Miss Cheerilee. Don’t mind the others, their skittish at first until they get to know you. When Mister Jackson and Miss Carter came out, most of them ran away except for Twilight and her friends, but they are starting to feel more comfortable around you." “I’m honored,” Jack said trying to hold back the cynicism. “I don’t suppose you know where, um, ‘Mister Jackson’ and ‘Miss Carter’ went to?” “I believe that they went with Twilight and her friends to the library. I can take you there if you like,” she said. “Lead on,” Jack said painting a smile on his face as best he could. ….. The sounds of chains rattling in conjunction with pick axes, shovels, and the scraping of bare claws upon the rock, stone, and mud echoed throughout the caverns as three dog like figures, pushed along a cart full of dirt and muck towards the dumping point. Each one, chained at the neck and ankles to the cart, labored as hard as they could trying to push the heavy load up the rocky path, all under the watchful eyes of the creatures in silver armor who stood there with the fire and lightning sticks in their claws. The ceiling had collapsed when water that sprang from the large metal ring flooded the caves and now their new masters forced them to dig new tunnels. No dog rested, and when a dog fell, punishment came with pain from the smaller lightning stick until he began to move again. Many dogs were hurt and tried to escape at first, but they failed and were captured then quickly bowed down to their new masters. They began by making them dig for all the gems and crystals that their caverns held, but even the dirt and mud held a special interest to the silver creatures left nothing to waste. As the three pushed the cart onto the dumping point, three of the silver creatures walked up to them, two of the guards pointing their fire sticks at them and the three dogs cowered in fear. None of them spoke as the third guard unlocked one of them and dragged him off down the corridor with his friends looking on with terror in their eyes knowing there was nothing they could do about it. He walked between them; his body slumped over with his ears drawn low. He was frightened of the silver armored ones. He was once the leader of the Diamond Dogs until the silvered ones ripped his shirt off and placed him in chains like the others. He let out a small whimper as they led him down deeper into the mines. He knew where he was going. They were taking him to see the one in gold armor that showed up before the flood. One that he quickly learned to fear even more than the silvered ones; the one called Ra. Author's Note 12/7/13 Errors and corrections made
Chapter 3: AssemblyStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 3 Assembly Laca’s, First Prime to Lord Ra, walked his prisoner through the caverns with his head held high. A Jaffa was a proud warrior even while gathering lowly creatures such as these. His orders were to gather slaves, and he did so without question. These were useless beasts even as slaves and lord Ra has a purpose for them, and he would follow his orders to the letter. They walked into one of the caverns that they had the slaves build in order to accommodate Lord Ra’s presents even though it was unbefitting of a god, to lower himself to such paltry accommodations. But that wouldn’t be for long; Lord Ra’s plans have already been set in motion, and after he conquers this world, he will regain his throne as supreme leader of the System Lords. They took the prisoner to the edge of the throne where Laca’s reached back to the dog like creatures collar and yanked it to the ground where it curled up in a ball whimpering on the floor. “Silence in the presence of your god” Laca’s said in Goa’uld. The creature may not understand the words, but it understood his activated Ma’Tok staff now pointed at him and it quickly became silent and Laca’s turned back to attention and waited for Lord Ra. A lavish room, created for Ra’s private chambers, with items brought forth from the Tau’ri home world through the Chaapa’ai, one of the most significant was the sarcophagus where Ra slept. The sarcophagus itself stood upon one end, surrounded by many of Ra’s personal belonging. As the sarcophagus started to open up, it bathed the cavern in the light; Ra stepped forth from within, and Laca’s and the other Jaffa knelt in honor to their god while the dog creature covered his head with his trembling paws. The light reflected off his traditional golden armor and ceremonial helm giving him an aura of power as Ra walked over to the alter table that had been placed next to his sarcophagus. Upon it sat a small container, extravagantly decorated and surrounded by gold and gems gathered from this world along with an assortment of items of Goa’uld technology, at its foot rested a rather large and ornate container. Ra placed his hand over the small jar, staring at it in silence for a moment, then reached over and placed his hand within a small glove like device. “Report.” “As you ordered my lord,” answered Laca’s “The slaves are continuing with digging out the Chaapa’ai, but these creatures cannot determine its exact location within the rubble. We have also begun our campaign of enslaving some of the surface dwellers. We had some difficulty in capturing some of the prisoners, but we were successful in bringing these beasts under your rule.” “And the device?” Ra asked. “We are still in the process of securing the location my lord, when we secure the Chaapa’ai and bring forth more Jaffa we…” “Enough,” Ra spoke, his eyes glowed through the helm in frustration but his anger quickly faded away. “You will begin the second phase of our operation and take what Jaffa you need to secure that location.” “And what of the slaves in the mines?” Laca’s boldly asked. “Leave them; they will not be unguarded for long.” Ra said. “Their fear of my wrath will keep these slaves in line.” “Yes my lord,” Laca’s said as he stood up “Kree, Jaffa,” he ordered as the other two stood attention. Then the three of them marched from the room leaving the prisoner alone on the floor. After a moment of silence, Ra walked over to the prisoner as it once again started whimpering. “As for you, do not fret creature, your god is a merciful one” Ra spoke in perfect Taur’ri, a language these creatures understood, “And all that you have to do, is tell me everything I want to know.” ….. As the three of them made their way across town, Jack made mental notes of the area while the pink pony, Miss Cheerilee, babbled on about something on pony history. Turns out that she was a teacher from the local pony school but that was about the only thing of interest he picked out of the conversation. Fortunately, Jack was so used to Daniels lectures that ‘babble,’ was something he learned to auto tune out long ago. Teal’c, on the other hand, seemed to be quite interested in her conversation. Either that or he was so used to silently gathering information on someone by letting them talk on their own as a trait left over from his First Prime days. She led them down some winding paths and around several homes and shops, one of which he swore looked like a gingerbread house that his grandmother made one time, that lead to a rather large tree in the center of town. A signpost just outside the small red front door marked the place with the picture of a book painted on it and Jack surmised that this was the library. They had carved out the tree and made it look just like any of the other homes in the area. There were several windows and a couple of balconies, up in its branches that seem perfectly at ease with the swaying in the gentle breeze but Jack stopped short of being impressed as Miss Cheerilee knocked on the door then stepped back as it opened with a subtle glow that had a purplish tinge. “Come in.,” another female’s voice said. While Teal’c talked some more with the teacher pony outside, Jack stuck his head inside the doorway to see that Daniel and a purple Unicorn were holding a conversation while delving through a stack of books, both seemingly so involved that they didn’t even move when the door opened. “Looks like Daniel found a new study buddy,” Jack thought to himself. He didn’t care what they were reading as long as it was about a way to get him back home. Making more mental notes, she was a darker color purple pony with purple eyes, deep purple and pink striped mane neatly trimmed around the horn with matching colored stripped tail. He also noted the markings of this pony with a large pink star surrounded by five smaller white stars that rather reminded him of the locking sequence of the Stargate, but not quite. Carter was also in there sitting at a small table with another group of “ponies” surrounding her, enthralled by the laptop computer that she was using. One was a bright yellow Pegasus with light blue eyes, long pink mane and tail with three small butterflies for her markings, “Butterflies, how quaint.” A second was an orange freckle faced pony with a blond mane and tail with green eyes and sporting three apples as a mark. He didn’t see any wings on her, and he couldn’t tell if she was a Unicorn underneath that western style hat. “A real cowgirl that one.” The third was definitely another Unicorn. All white with blue eyes and lavender colored mane and tail, both with long drawn out curls. Her marking was that of three blue diamond like shapes. “Oh yes, this one must be a real gem” Jack mocked to himself. All this color was making him ill and never did he appreciate olive drab more than he did right now. Jack decided then and there that when he got back to earth he was going to spend the next month watching old movies on a black and white TV in a dark room just to get this crazy place out of his head. “What in the world would the Goa’uld want with these guys? You wouldn’t think they would want them as hosts… or worse… Jaffa. Can you imagine, a whole army of pink and purple Jaffa ponies, striking fear across the galaxy with the power of colorful cuteness? Enemies would give up because they wouldn’t want to hurt something they might find adorable. Oh yes, I can so see the Asgard bowing down before them now. The rainbow of colors alone would bring them to their grey little alien knees.” Jack stifled himself in mid snide chuckle coming to the realization that he might actually be right. Oh, how he hated his gut reactions sometimes. The purple pony finally looked up at them “Hello,” she said as she stood up and walked over to the door. “You must be Colonel O Neill. My name is Twilight Sparkle…” “Twilight… Sparkle…” Jack quickly thought but again stifled a crude remark. “…And these are my friends Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy,” she said pointing a hoof at the white, orange, and yellow ponies respectively as they each walked forward; except the yellow one Fluttershy, who seemed to live up to her name and just wanted to hide behind the other two but was still there to be introduced. “Um, Hi…” Jack started to say, but he jumped and banged his head on the top of the door frame as another pony, who seemed to pop in from nowhere below him. “Aww, they’re here, and I was planning a big surprise party for them,” it said in a high pitched, almost rubbery squeaky voice. “And this is Pinky Pie” Twilight continued her introduction. “Ohh, this is so exciting though. We can still throw a party. It wouldn’t take me long to set one up, all you have to do is stand outside for a few minutes, I just got done reloading my party cannon, then you can come back in, and we can all yell SURPRIZE,” the pink pony yelled. “Ah… no, maybe later,” Jack said holding one hand up stopping her in mid excitement while rubbing the back of his head with the other. This blue eyed pony was pink from her curly mane head to curly tipped tail with three party balloons as a mark, no surprise there, and about as bubbly as a bottle of Champaign, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Jack thought to himself. “Actually,” he said, “I just need to take these two away from you for a few moments,” pointing at Carter and Daniel. As the four of them walked outside, they made their way over to a bench. Jack turned and was unsurprisingly amazed that he saw the little pink pony had already begun zipping back and forth dragging things back into the library from who knows where. “Little bundle of energy that one.” He said then chose to ignore it and turned his attention back to his team. “Okay guys, I hate to break up the fun, but we’ve still got a Goa’uld roaming around and a Stargate to find. Have we found anything useful?” “Well Sir,” Carter said, “I have been going over some maps that Twilight provided and according to the information based on where they found us The Stargate is buried deep under the mountain range to the east. According to Rarity, an indigenous tribe of whom they call, ‘Diamond dogs’ who dwell underground and may have unknowingly uncovered it by accident. “So now we have intelligent dogs as well?” Jack questioned. “Well,” Carter said, “from what I understand, calling them ‘Intelligent’ may be overstating it a bit. “Actually I’ve discovered,” Daniel added, “most of the life forms on this planet have some sort of intelligence and these ponies have a lot of respect for everything here, including insects, so think twice before you swat a mosquito, they might consider it murder.” “Right now,” Carter continued, “I’m in the process of triangulating the depth of the Stargate based on the amount of time it took for the water pressure to push us to the surface and the elapsed time for the Stargate to auto shut down. And from what I’m calculating, it’s deep. And because the tunnels have collapsed, I’m not sure how we can even get to the Stargate. “Twilight and I,” Daniel added, “were looking to see if there were any references to the Stargate within their history trying to find out who put it there in the first place. We didn’t find anything in her books, but her assistant Spike was in Canterlot and will be bringing some more books back with him tonight. Even then, she admits that the only one who may know anything about it would be her mentor Princess Celestia. When I questioned her why, she told me that because the Princess has been ruling over Equestria for over a thousand years…” “…And now you might be thinking she already is a Goa’uld,” Jack said and ‘this’ Ra ‘wanna-be’ is trying to get back in touch with her after being gone so long.” “That is one hypothesis,” Daniel said. “She may even be this Khonsu ally that I read about in the file back on the ship.” “But the real Ra is dead,” Teal’c added, “killed by you and Colonel O Nell on Abydos.” “Yes, but if she is Khonsu, she has been stuck here for over a thousand years and she may not know that ‘this’ Ra is a fake and that he could be planning a reunion that she may not be expecting,” Daniel said. “Teal’c, Carter, if this Princess Celestia is a Goa’uld, do you thing you can sense it when she gets here?” said Jack. “I do not know O Nell,” Teal’c said, “This place gives me the feeling as if there were Goa’uld all-around us.” “I’m the same way Sir,” Carter said, “but I don’t think is anything related to the Goa’uld. The sensation is based off the amount of Naquadah in our blood in relevance to the Naquadah in the area and this whole place feels like one gigantic Naquadah reactor. I can even sense Naquadah in the ponies of this village, especially the Unicorns. And it’s even stronger around Twilight and her friends. But I didn’t observe any location wounds left by a Goa’uld entering their bodies and natural Naquadah in their blood would explain why these ponies have abilities such as telekinesis but without a blood sample, I couldn’t prove it.” “Well then,” Jack said, “there’s only one way left to find out. Someone’s got to go up to the Princess and lift her… mane and look.” “And if she does indeed turn out to be this Khonsu,” Teal’c said. “Then I guess these ponies are going to have to figure out how to live without their precious Princess,” Jack said. “After all, she’s just a little pony. How hard could she be?” “Well let’s not get too hasty on that, I think we need to do some more digging before we start shooting up the place. I at least want to find out a little more about her… and this place.” Daniel said as a rather large shadow quickly passed over them. They each looked up and saw that the shadow belonged to a rather large carriage, pulled… well flown, by a small team of four Pegasi like an old west stagecoach. Jack noted that each Pegasus looked to be a larger white stallion wearing some sort of gold plated armor that looked something like an old Greek military uniform. He also noticed the small squadron of Pegasi working in pairs of two flying circles high above much like fighter pilots would do back home. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Jack said as the carriage circled around and came in for a landing on the other side of the Library tree where Twilight and her friends now gathered. The carriage itself was painted white and decked out in violet and gold trim. “A little ostentatious,” Jack said unimpressed with the flamboyant entry. “Guess this must be our little princess,” Jack said as they slowly made their way over to the field where she landed. “Little?” Daniel said questioning Jacks choice of words. The carriage’s lone rider was much larger than the other ponies of the village, about the size of a good riding horse. She was all white and had the wings of a Pegasus, with a much larger wingspan, and she had the horn of a Unicorn, which was not a combination that he had seen in the other ponies of this world. Her pastel colored rainbow mane and tail seemed to flow gracefully around her body. She wore a rather large, gold and jewel encrusted collar around her neck with a matching gold and jewel crown upon her head. All of which screamed typical Goa’uld entry, but Jack was willing to be both courteous and diplomatic about this, for the moment anyway. “She’s an Alicorn,” Daniel whispered loudly and Jack gave him a quick glance from the side. Princess Celestia stood upon her carriage, spread her wings, and leapt into the air, soaring briefly then touching down in front of the carriage where Twilight and her friends bowed and greeted her respectfully. “It’s good to be the princess,” Jack said muttering a miss quote from an old movie he once saw just loud enough for the rest of the SG team to hear. “Is anyone getting any Goa’uld vibes off of her?” “It is as I had suspected O Neill; I sense what could be an extremely strong presence around her, but if it is a Goa’uld, I cannot say,” Teal’c said and Carter nodded in agreement. Jack silently watched her and despite the excitement of Twilight and the other ponies who gathered around her. Celestia stood tall, folded her wings in place and greeted each and every one of them, while, at the same time, she placed a firm but thoughtful look with those deep violet eyes over at Jack and the rest of his team assessing their strengths and positions. She eyed each of them, and the weapons that they carried calculating the risk of open engagement should it come to that, much the same way that he was doing to her. “A little fan fair and a show of strength,” Jack thought to himself re-evaluating the situation as they each locked eyes on one another “clever.” Like a mental game of chess, it only happens in that first moments when you only have that split second to make a decision to over… or underestimate you’re opponent. Most leaders fail one side or the other but Jack did not get the impression that she had, when she smiled and walked over to them. “Greetings Travelers, and welcome to Equestria, What do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” “Greetings Princess” Daniel said cautiously stepping forward “We travel from a place called Earth through what we call a Stargate, but before we get into talks I must ask to do something personal of you…” he started to say as he reached a hand out towards her. Suddenly all the ponies became excited and alert, Twilight and her friends all gasped as the guard stallions snorted, spread their wings and trotted forth to defend their princess, but Celestia herself remained calm by spreading a wing out towards her guards halting them in place then gave a nod to Daniel of permission to continue. “I trust that you will inform me on what you are looking for,” she said as he cautiously proceeded to her side. Daniel reached in with a hand and swept a part of her surprisingly soft mane away from the back of her neck in search for the mark of an entry wound left by a Goa’uld when it entered a host. As he made a quick study of her physique and he noticed the mark of the sun upon her flank when something from out of the blue knocked him to the ground. It was a light colored, ill tempered, blue Pegasus with a rather colorful mane and tail of dark red to deep blue like that of a rainbow that came in and pushed Daniel to the ground. Jack looked up and saw a single Pegasus flying a circle overhead confirming his suspicions of where she came from. And she was so involved and almost pugnacious in chewing him out for touching her princess that she didn’t even notice the purple and white auras surrounding her, holding her back. “Rainbow Dash!” Celestia said slightly raising her voice in ire. “But, he…”Rainbow Dash replied in protest. “It’s quite all right,” The Princess said in a calmer tone as she and Twilight released Rainbow Dash from their respective spells. “Are you okay Daniel?” asked Samantha. Rainbow Dash hovered closer, looking down upon him apologetically, and holding out a hoof to help him up, “Sorry about that.” “Ya, I’m okay, she just knocked the wind out of me.” Daniel said as he grabbed hold of her fore hoof, picking himself off the ground. He stood there for a moment re-adjusting his glasses, and noted that she just helped him up with the strength of her wing beats alone. “Ah, She’s clean” Daniel continued dusting himself off. “The princess, that is.” “And what pray tell were you looking for?” Celestia asked. “I was looking for the entry wound of a Goa’uld symbiote,” Daniel said. “We followed one here through the Stargate, which is why we are here. We’ve come to find it and stop whatever it has plans for here on your world.” “And what is a Goa’uld?” Twilight asked. “Oh, they’re these little snake like things that like to take over the body and make them do all kinds of crazy things…evil things… like trying to take over the universe kind of evil, stuff like that.” Jack answered sarcastically. Twilight and her friends let out another mass gasp as the sound of that hit home and the little yellow Pegasus curled herself into a shaking little ball behind the orange one. “And you thought one of them might be inside the Princess,” Twilight concluded calming down and thinking rationally. “Yes,” Samantha said, “Normally Teal’c and I can sense them, but something about your world nullifies this feeling, so we had to look in order to make sure that you weren’t already compromised.” “Then I understand your concern; it is unfortunate, but I do not know anything about these ‘Goa’uld,” said Celestia. “Our other problem,” Samantha continued, “is that when we came through to your world, your Stargate was buried deep under a mountain and the one on the other end was on a sinking ship in the middle of our ocean which is why your world got flooded. Thankfully, between the subsequent collapse of the cavern and the gate’s thirty-eight minute window, your world averted disaster from the sheer volume of water of our ocean. “So that leaves you without the ability to get back to your world.” Twilight interjected. “Yes, until we can get the gate unburied,” Samantha said. Twilight looked at her, “But if yours is under water how can retrieve our gate help you get home?” “Thankfully, there are more than just two gates. The Goa’uld that we followed through the gate must have brought it there from another planet. Once we get your Gate up and operational then we can send a signal through to our original gate to get home.” “Then it is settled,” Celestia spoke up. “I must go for now,” she said looking up at the position of the sun. “Twilight; You and your friends will assist them in any way that you can. If there is a new threat to Equestria, I trust that you and the other bearers can handle it.” “IF!” Jack snorted to himself as he watched her turn and walk away, “And just what are these ponies going to do about it, kill a Goa’uld with kindness? That’s not happening.” “Look Princess, Jack shouted irritated. “I don’t think you don’t quite grasp the situation you’re in. The Gould’s mean business and they won’t stop trying to take over your world especially if you have something of value to them…” “All the more reason why it is they who must help you,” Celestia spoke cutting Jack off in mid rant. “I think it is you who does not understand. I have learned to trust in them and their abilities as a team as I am sure you have in yours.” Celestia spread her wings, leapt into the air and landed upon her carriage. “There is a higher value in the friendships that they hold that no creature can take away. A lesson you could learn from them. So do not underestimate them based on what you see. Their guidance could be the key to the success of this endeavor.” And with that, she then nodded to the Pegasus team, and they took off leaving Jack to ponder her words and to eat his own. “Alright everyone, you heard the Princess,” Twilight said. “Let’s bring it together and figure out what we need to do next. It will be dark in a couple of hours so we will need a place for you to stay at while you’re here.” “Ya’ll can stay at with me.” Applejack said. “It’s probably the biggest place we have in order to accommodate ya’ll till we get this figured out.” “Awww,” Pinky whined. “What’s the matter sugar cube?” “I had the party all set up in the library, now I’ll have to move it all out there. Oh well, good thing I’m always ready for a party emergency.” She said reverting to her bouncy old self. ….. Jack stood in the doorway of the barn and looked out over the farm. “Sweet Apple Acres they called it,” he said to no one in particular biting down into one of its fruit. “My how like Eden this world is.” quoting something her heard long ago, but couldn’t remember where. It was a rather large apple orchard farm nestled in the foothills on the outskirts of town, and it had all the amenities that one would expect from any farm back home. There were more piles of hay and buckets upon buckets of apples everywhere and even a crazy old grandmother pony in a rocking chair on the front porch. Only thing missing was a shotgun, “Thankfully.” Oh, and the other animals, the cows, the pigs, the sheep only, back home, you didn’t have to worry about them trying to strike up a conversation with you. A least he was able to talk that perky pink pony out of throwing this party or whatever it was that she had planned. He still couldn’t understand how she got here and had it almost set up when he knew they had left Ponyville long before she had. “I swear when I get home, General Hammond is going to have to lock me away in a rubber room.” On the down side, there was still a Goa’uld on the loose and for a moment there was nothing they could do about it. There was a dense forest a few clicks away that he and Teal’c are going to check out in the morning, while Daniel and Carter make their way to the mountain tunnels in search of the gate. The ponies had sent word out to some of the other towns and villages across Equestria, but no one has reported anything as of yet, but he suspected that, that will all change by morning. “Nothing to do but try and get some rest,” he thought. He doubted that any of them would get any rest once all this hits the fan. The sun had begun to set in the west as the full moon rose over the eastern sky. The moon shined brightly as Jack studied it for a bit. He had seen many moons across the galaxy, and each one had its own unique characteristics. Some moons were either larger or smaller than that of earth or they had multiple moons, which always threw him off. But this one, this one here reminded him of home for some reason. It was almost the same size and shape of earth’s moon, but there just wasn’t something quite right about it and Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Twilights assistant Spike, who turned out to be a dragon… a baby dragon had returned form the pony city of Canterlot with a whole wagonload of books with the help of Applejacks older brother, Big Mackintosh, who was a large red colored stallion with a big green apple on his side. “What’s with this place and apples?” he questioned. After Daniel ogled over the fact that there are real dragons in this world ‘yay,’ he was once again engrossed in the new books, while Carter and Twilight went over some calculations. Even Jack had to admit that that pony, despite her lack of experience, was almost as smart as Carter was. She was almost like having both Carter and Daniel rolled into one. It was hard enough to understand one of them let alone two. The other ponies, thankfully including that perky pink one, had all gone to their respective homes for the night. As for Teal’c, he was doing his thing off by the fire pit in the yard. Jack learned long ago, never to bother him when he’s trying to meditate. Feeling useless Jacked wandered over to Daniel side and peeked into the pony book that he was reading. “Does it at least have a good plot?” Jack questioned. “Actually it is a history book,” Daniel said without even looking up at him. “How can you even understand that? It’s all scribble. It’s as if someone stuck a pen in their mouth and scribbled a bunch of lines on a page.” “Actually, you are correct. That’s how ponies write. But the one thing I noticed right away was that their written language uses a line style dialect similar to that of the Ancients and crossed with symbols based off their cutie marks that resembles Egyptian hieroglyphics so that alone makes me feel more positive that the ancients did something here long ago. “Whoa, whoa, whoa… cutie… marks?” he said giving Daniel one of his ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ looks. “Yes, that’s what they call that symbol on their flanks,” Daniel said looking back at him with that ‘where have you been for the past several hours’ look, then returning his attention back on subject. The other thing that I found out was that the ordinary pony, that’s the non-Unicorn and Pegasi, call themselves “Earth” ponies.” “Okay...” “Well, how many other planets that we’ve been too, know of the word “Earth.” And the only place I’ve found the word is in Ancient writings on earth so that alone shows that there was a connection between our worlds long ago.” Jack just shook his head “Ya know, I think I’ll go see what Teal’c is doing.” “Maybe you should try to get some sleep.” “Where, I don’t exactly see a cot around here.” “I think they piled some fresh hay in one of the stalls in the corner.” “Great,” Jack muttered, “they’re the animals, and we get to sleep in the barn. Oh, how I love the irony.” ….. Teal’c sat next to the pit as the fires light reflected off him and casting a long shadow behind him doused only by the brilliance of the light of the moon. Normally he would perform this by candle light in the privacy of his room but the fires light would have to suffice for the time being. As for the privacy that was another matter as he could hear the attempted whispers and giggles of someone hiding behind one of the bales of hay nearby. “You may come out now, I am aware of your presence,” Teal’c said. “I told ya’ll to keep quiet,” a small pony said as she came out from behind the hay bale. The small pony was a yellow Earth pony with a larger red ribbon in her mane followed by another, another small white Unicorn with curly pink stripes. “I just wanted to see it,” she said in a tiny, crackly voice. “I just want to know what awesome thing he had to do to get it!” a third said who turned out to be another small pony, a Pegasus with an orange coat and violet colored mane. Teal’c nodded and greeted each of them as they walked out. He could easily tell that they were but children and was not offended by the interruption of his meditation “For what pray tell are you referring to,” he questioned. “My name is Apple Bloom,” the yellow one spoke and these are my friends Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo.” She said pointing to the young Unicorn and Pegasus. “And we were wondering how you got your cutie mark.” “My cutie mark?” “Your cutie mark; the one on your forehead” Apple Bloom said pointing a hoof at his head. Teal’c quickly realized what they were talking about “I am afraid you are incorrect; this symbol is not a cutie mark as you say. It is the symbol of a false god, and it serves as a reminder that someday all Jaffa will be free.” “What’s a Jaffa?” Scootaloo asked. “Jaffa are those who serve the false gods as soldiers. Many still believe that the Goa’uld are still gods.” “Are there any here?” Sweetie Bell said shaking and obviously scared. “Do not fret little one. No harm will come to you. Of that, I promise. Now if you will excuse me I must meditate,” Teal’c said and closed his eyes once again. “Come on Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo as she and Sweetie Bell walked away leaving Apple Bloom there for a moment staring at Teal’c. ..... The sounds of staff weapon fire echoed across the field as a tall, incorporeal figure surveyed the land in front of it. “Report!” Ra’s voice boomed from the holographic device. “My Lord,” Laca’s spoke on bended knee. “It has been done as you have commanded. We have captured some of the denizen creatures of this world and have taken them to the mines for interrogation. We have also secured the location for the device. Two of my Jaffa warriors have sacrificed themselves in your name in order to secure it and the device shall be fully operational by morning. “Excellent, I have a new mission for you Laca’s, there is one among the equine creatures that has the ability to search and locate objects even deep underground. You will find this one… this one call 'Rarity' and bring it to me.” “Yes my lord. It shall be done.” Author's Note Made a few corrections 12/7/13
Chapter 4: ConnectionsStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 4 Connections Jack stood at the end of the dock; The warm summer sun overhead and the cool breeze gently wafted in from the east bring in the scents of the flowers and trees filling him with an uneasy calmness as it slowly evaporated the sweat from his skin. His place was always warm and welcoming even on the coldest winter days. He looked down at the towel that sat on the dock and ran a hand over it. The towel wasn’t smooth as he thought it should have been; Instead, it was rough, more like one that was used and left out to dry. He picked it up and tossed it over his shoulder; it was warm to the touch, filled from the heat of the sunshine above. An odd sensation washed over him as he turned and walked over to the front door of the cabin. He saw the beer that was sitting on the table next to the door and he picked it up and took a long swig from it. As expected, it was warm, flat, and tasteless, and he made a sour face as he sat the bottle back on the table. He then turned his attention back to the front door but something made him pause, a feeling of something, but what? Jack couldn’t pin it; this was his door, to his cabin, why would he hesitate? Then Jack heard the clicking of the Goa’uld staff weapon activating behind him, and he immediately ducked and rolled bringing up a nine-millimeter pistol that had been laying upon the ground as the barrage of staff energy erupted all around him. He fired in the direction of his assailant but shot nothing. He paused as the weapons fire ceased; he saw no one. Jack counted his shots; nine fired; one bullet remained in the chamber. Still on edge, he knew he had more inside but as he made his way back to the front door, he paused once again. He pointed the weapon at the door; he was expecting something, but he didn’t know what. He slowly reached for the handle and turned the knob with his free hand not taking his aim off with the other. The door creaked and opened up. Inside was his cabin; it was as he had left it last, strewn with half eaten pizzas in opened boxes and empty beer bottles scattered upon the floor. Jack never knew himself to be a neat freak, but then he was no slob either but he remembered this party. A pity party of one, filled with binge drinking and old movies. The others had been busy that night or off on some other world without him. Still, something was off, and that didn’t sit well with him, so he made his way to one of his supply cabinets where he kept his ammunition. Reloaded, he felt more relieved but then a sound came from down the hall and Jack cautious once again, made through the cabin investigating the sound, weapon at the ready. It was the sound of running water and it was coming from his bathroom. He opened the door and fell back in horror. Not a bathroom, there was a sink and a tub filled and overflowing with dirty brown water and scattered across the floor was piles of hay mixed with manure. An in the center of the room was a deep dark hole that the water and debris flowed into. The sound of the staff weapon activated again, this time from inside the home, Jack wheeled around and fired his pistol as another barrage of staff energy came zinging down the hallway. Jack lost his balance and fell into the bathroom rolling around in the sticky brown and wet goo. The weapons fire stopped, but the water got heavier as the room began to flood, racing towards the open hole in the floor and Jack soon found himself struggling against the current. Jack tried to grab onto anything to keep himself from being dragged into the abyss that lay before him. He dropped the nine-millimeter and held onto the pipe from under the sink but everything was slippery in the hay-filled mud that now coated his body. He then heard a new sound, and he turned and saw the creature who had risen from within the hole, a creature he had seen many times before in the form of a large Goa’uld symbiote. Gunshots rang out; the Goa’uld screamed and dove back into the hole. Jack flinched but held firm to the pipe then quickly turned his head, his eyes widened at the figure before him. “Hello Sundance.” ….. Jack startled and awoke from the dream. No, a nightmare, and one of the worst freaking nightmares he had ever had. He rubbed his eyes; this was no dream; he was still in a barn covered in hay, and what he hoped was really mud, stuck in a world with talking colorful horses dreading the fact he might never get home… with his sanity intact. Jack got up and saw both Carter and Daniel laying in their own respective piles, “looks like the others finally decided to hit the hay themselves,” he said then pardoning himself for the pun. He walked over to the door sliding it open just a bit where he saw Teal’c deep in his Kel-no-whatchma-call it, next to the fire that had all, but extinguished itself under its own ashes and glowing coals. A young yellow filly with a big red ribbon in her mane slept curled up in a ball across from him on the opposite side of the fires pit. With the fire gone, she shivered a little, so Jack went and found his cold weather parka jacket and laid it over top of the little pony. He looked up at the full moon above; its soft white glow radiated down upon them bathing this colorful world in translucent light. But unlike the sunlight with its welcoming warmth, the moonlight here felt odd. Not as it did earlier in the evening, this moon gave him a chill despite the cold of the night air. No, this moon was different like an old specter with an ever presence watching over them. It gave him a feeling he knew, feeling he could not explain, a feeling that he had felt before. Then he felt a different urge. “I guess some things never change no matter what world you’re on and just because you’re on a world of animals, doesn’t mean you have to act like one,” and he headed for the bushes. Jack rounded the barn when he thought he saw a flash of light. At first, he thought it was a light of a Zat, but there was no sound. Jack looked around some more but saw nothing, no Goa’uld, no ponies, no one around. Good a spot as any Jack said to himself, but only then, did he finally noticed the two ghostly crescent shapes embedded upon the ground. ….. Princess Celestia flew across the morning sky, a worried look upon her face. It had taken her all night to get here and had to carry out her morning ritual of raising the sun in mid travel, but she had to make sure. She didn’t lie; she kept telling herself, she didn’t know anything about these humans, their Stargate, nor anything about these creatures, they called Goa’uld, but with the events of the past few days, she couldn’t deny the jeopardy that they were all in. Colonel Jack O Neill’s face, now engrained in her memory, had spoken truthfully; she could see it in his eyes. They may not have been from Equestria, but eyes never lie no matter what creature they were attached to, a lesson she had learned the hard way a long time ago. That didn’t mean she trusted him nor any of his companions for that matter, but had they intended any ill towards any of her ponies, then they surely would have done so by now. She got the impression that while this Colonel may act imprudent, he was no fool so if there were these Goa’uld creatures are indeed the threat they claim then; it is imperative that she succeed. “Why could I not sense the danger? If these creatures have been lurking around Equestria surely there would have been signs,” she said in a low, worried voice to no one. “How could I have been so blind?” She knew the answer didn’t matter, right now, what did matter was the fact that she needed to take charge as ruler of Equestria… and deal with another failure later. She didn’t want to gather the Royal Guards because any large-scale military operation would cause widespread panic among the population. We may train for combat, but ponies were not warlike creatures. Most ponies are timid and peaceful although she did trust that they could defend themselves if need be. She wanted to inform Luna personally before she left, but she was not available, the magical rituals they had to perform left both of them drained and Luna was not as of yet back to full strength from her ordeals and time was of the essence. When Luna slept during the day, it was hard for her to awaken, but there were instructions for her, filling her in on all the details that she had left with Luna’s Royal guards for when she did arise. She had also placed her own guards on alert and ordered small units in key in defensive positions around Canterlot and other major pony cities across Equestria. Ponies may not be true worldly fighters, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t capable. Twilight and her friend’s faces came to the forefront of Celestia’s mind. She had the utmost confidence in her star pupil and her friends; they were brave enough to hold their own, and she believed in them. Not because they were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, but because they were friends, who will stick together no matter what faced them. Although they had faced many dangers together, this one, she feared, could be the greatest danger they had ever faced in their lives. If they, this Colonel O Neill and his companions, could indeed stop these invaders, they would need every advantage they could get which was why she was here. Celestia circled over a spot in the trees pondering her thoughts. She knew there was something buried deep inside her mind. She didn't quite know if it were just a memory, or voice echoing from her past. She did, however, know that it happened a long time ago, long even before Luna was born. Although she couldn't quite remember exactly ‘what,’ was said, she knew where it had been said, and she hoped that coming back here would jog her memory. She wasn’t sure of what she would find, but she had to be sure of everything before sending any information onto Twilight. Celestia landed on the old cobblestone steps and peered beyond the rusted wrought iron portcullis into the dark and blackened entryway behind it. It had been a long time since she had set hoof in here and never thought she would ever have to again. A loud grinding squeaking sound filled the air as Celestia used her magic to raise the rusted gate from its eternal slumber until it locked in its open position then stepped inside. She folded her wing in tightly, lowered her head, and illuminated the entry hall with the light of her horn as she made her way down the passageway. “This place is a lot smaller then I remembered,” she said to herself. “But then I was barely a filly myself back then.” An old wooden door stood before her, its rounded cobblestone archway covered in dust. Upon the door was the engraved symbol of a small orb with a line jutting from its center and surrounded by a swirling cloud of seven stars. She paused for a moment studying the patterns the front of the door that held the embedded lock of a magical seal. She concentrated… This seal was made from ancient magic, and she hoped she had the strength left to break it. The magic from her horn began to bubble then everything lit up in bright yellow and gold colors, her eyes flared and burned with the intensity of the sun as the spell channeled and funneled down on a beam of hot, energetic magic and into the doors symbol. It glowed for a moment, cooled as the magic faded and as the door slowly opened, Celestia made her way inside. ….. Daylight came around, and Jack stood outside the barn door eating another local apple and a granola energy bar from his rations. Apparently, ponies ate apples, hay, flowers, and more apples, oh, what he wouldn’t give for a good steak and eggs right about now but he doubted that the cows and chickens would cooperate with him in that matter. The Grandmother pony did at least offer to bake them some fresh apple pies and turnovers later and as wonderful as that sounded to Jack he did have to wonder if there were any other kinds of fruit on this planet other than apples. Most everyone was gathered up around the barn; Carter stood talking to Twilight and the white unicorn Rarity while Daniel was off talking to Twilights little dragon assistant Spike and the last of the stacks of books with the help of the yellow and orange ponies Fluttershy and Applejack. Teal’c had been led away by some children foal ponies, including the bright yellow one with the big red ribbon and two others. Teal’c wanted to get a broader view of the area any way in recognizance, and they were more than willing to show him the area. And because books were not his thing, Jack finished off his meal then walked over towards Carter, who seemed to be having a conversation with Twilight and her friend. Well conversation was putting it lightly, more like a battle of the eggheads on the verge of being argumentative when Twilight suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared, and reappeared on the other side of the group. “See that’s magic,” she said. “All Unicorns have the ability to control magic to some degree depending on spell variant, Take Rarity here, for example; she’s very good with levitating multiple objects.” And to prove that point, Rarity proudly picked up several small objects at once and floated them around in demonstration. For the first time, Jack almost thought he saw Carter at a loss for words. She was a scientist through and through and Jack knew there was no such thing as magic in her vast vocabulary and as if right on cue, Carter found her scientific answer. “What you have is not magic. We've seen countless beings with the abilities to control objects before. Teleportation and levitation can be explained by the natural amount of Naquadah that I suspect is in your blood allowing you to control the energy patterns on a subatomic scale. Your Unicorn horns acts as a focal point much like that of a Stargate. It too takes the natural energy patterns from one gate and breaks them down on a subatomic level then transfers then to the other end where the second gate reassembles them. If it were natural magic then I would say that all ponies in Equestria would have the same abilities, not just Unicorns. Magic is nothing more than parlor tricks and sleight of hand.” Twilight did not look amused. Oh, Jack knew that this was going to get ugly fast if he didn’t do something about it. “All right people… er… and ponies, we have some things we need to get accomplished today. Carter, have we found that location yet?” Carter looked up at him, snapping her attention back to the mission at hand. “Ah, yes sir, sorry sir, I got a bit distracted.” “It’s okay Samantha,” Twilight said, “We were not offended.” Sam smiled back at her and continued. “Twilight and I have calculated the time and distance of the proximity of the Stargate.” “Rarity and Fluttershy will accompany us,” Twilight injected not missing a beat. “We will be able to move any debris from the area and Fluttershy should be able to enlist the aid of some of the critters that can help us recover your Stargate. “I hope one of those ‘critters’ has a bulldozer,” Jack muttered under his breath. “Take who, and what you need and get going and make radio contact every twenty minutes, The Goa’uld may have been hiding for the moment but that can all change. “Jack!” Daniel shouted running over to him; book in hand. “I think I found something. Last night Twilight was filling me in on Princess Celestia and her sister…” “That would be Princess Luna.” Twilight said. “And?” Jack questioned, twisting his head from one speaker to the other. Princess Luna is our princess of the night,” Twilight continued. “She raises the moon at night and sets it in the morning while Princess Celestia controls the sun during the day.” “Wait, wait,” Samantha interjected. “You’re Princesses control the rotation of the planet and orbiting moon?” “According to their theology they do,” Daniel said. “Except for the time when Princess Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years, It was during that time Princess Celestia used her magic to control both the sun and the moon.” “Banished, why, was she banished?” asked Sam. “It’s a long story,” said Twilight. “But over a thousand years ago, Princess Luna allowed her jealousies get the better of her. She was hurt because she and the ponies she loved didn’t understand one another. She felt that they did not lover her beautiful nights and was afraid of her and in her hurt and pain; it transformed her into Nightmare Moon who wanted to make the night last forever, so it was up to Princess Celestia to stop her by using the Elements of Harmony upon her and banish her to the moon. Not too long ago, Nightmare Moon had returned, and my friends and I had to seek out the Elements of Harmony and became its new bearers in order to free Princess Luna from the grip of Nightmare Moon.” “So that’s why you’re Princess chose you to help us,” said Sam. “Yes, My friends and I, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinky Pie, and Rainbow Dash are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty… and Magic.” Twilight paused on that last word giving a smile over to Samantha. “Well,” Jack said looking at each of his teammates, “that explains a few… things.” He then looked at Twilight, “Even the rainbow colored fly girl?” “Yes, Rainbow Dash is the element of loyalty.” “Loyalty… I see… and you’re just telling us this…now.” “Actually Jack,” Daniel spoke up defending Twilight, “She told me about this last night, but you were asleep already and you usually get bored with such details and I didn’t want to wake you… sooooo…. Jack was irked but understood why; it’s not like that he didn’t know a few military secrets himself that was only on a need to know basis. “So why hasn’t this… Princess Luna, come by to see us yet?” “Princess Luna is our Princess of the night and as far as we know, she only comes out at night,” “Really,” Jack said, but it was the other thought that went through his mind that didn’t settle right with him. “Anyway, getting back on track,” Daniel continued. “There may be more to Princess Luna’s story than you may realize. I found that Princess Celestia’s and Luna’s marks are that of the sun and moon respectfully. The Gould’s are very self-centered in their vanity. Both Ra and Khonsu are worshiped gods of the sun and moon. Now I checked Princess Celestia’s neck and didn’t find an entry wound but we didn’t know about Princess Luna until now. We do know that there is a Goa’uld out there using Ra’s name…” “I sure hope so, Jack interrupted, because I would hate to think that the original snake head escaped his own destruction back on Abydos. “It is a possibility Jack,” Daniel said. “No, no,” Jack shouted, “We shot that nuke right up his…er..tail… pipe.” Jack nearly cringed at what he wanted to say, but polite correctness got the better of him. “There’s no way he could have survived… anyway, continue.” “Anyway,” Daniel continued, looking at Twilight with a question on his mind, “Are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna the only Alicorns with such power and longevity?” “No, there is my new sister in law Princess Cadence who lives in the Crystal Empire to the north who is also an Alicorn, but as far as I know, no pony has ever lived as long as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Why?” “I believe there are two, System Lord Gould’s here, both Ra and Khonsu. We have already seen Ra, but we don’t know where Khonsu is. Now at first I thought Khonsu would be in Princess Celestia but that wouldn’t fit with the egos of the Goa’uld. But Princess Luna, on the other hand, would be a proper host for Khonsu. And if Princess Luna is already compromised, she may be leading Princess Celestia into a trap.” “Spike, Twilight ordered understanding the situation. “We need to get a message off to the Princess immediately!” and Spike without hesitation, fetched one of his scrolls and quills and started writing down the information. “That’s going to be a long run on those little legs,” Jack thought to himself raising one eyebrow. Twilight and Spike finished off the letter, and Spike stepped to the side, let out a small green flame, and burned the letter…, which promptly turned to ash and floated to the ground. All the ponies stood a gasp, especially Spike and Twilight. “Is it supposed to work like that?” Jack asked. “Spike, what did you do?” Twilight said walking over to him. Spike looked at the pile of ash that was the note more frightened then astonished. “I… I don’t get it; it should have sent off. I… I didn’t mean to burn it Twilight, honest.” “It’s okay Spike,” Twilight said lowering her horn at the ash to pick it up “We’ll just….” Twilight gasped. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” Spike looked over to her nervously. “My magic… It’s gone!” The radio on Jack’s belt crackled with the sound of Teal’c voice “Colonel O Neill.” Jack freed it from its holster, “Go ahead!” “You had better come quickly; I believe we have a situation.” “Understood.” …. Jack could hear the sounds of the Jaffa weapons fire from across the town, and he, Carter, Daniel and the pony friends raced into the village “Remember, Zat’s only” barking an order to his team. “Twilight, you and your friends start evacuating the village, get them to safety, as far away from here as possible. If you run into anyone who looks like us but isn’t… us, then run, and get as far away from here as you can.” “We’re supposed to be helping you.” “Trust me… That will be helping, now GO!” and with that Twilight and two others followed. “Oh, you’re not going to hurt anyone, are you?” Fluttershy meekly spoke flapping up next to him. Jack put his back against a building, outwardly ready for the fight, inwardly he was amazed the little yellow pony kept up with them. He didn’t answer her, and he peeked around the corner. From what he had seen from her, he expected her to be the first one to run and hide but instead she hovered next to him… “Get back!” he yelled at her. Thankfully, his reactions to the incoming staff weapons fire bolts came first as he grabbed her by the waist. Fluttershy gave a timid little squeaked as Jack yanked her back around the side of the building before their impact. “You’re going to get yourself hurt worrying about others getting hurt, don’t worry, we’ll try not to hurt anyone.” He said trying to reassure her. "and if you're that worried then go help Twilight." Another voice shouted, and Jack and Fluttershy turned in time to see a light blue unicorn pony charging right at them. In Jacks first reaction, he pushed Fluttershy aside, she Eep’ed, and then dove the opposite direction as the pony ran right through where they were. “Was that an attack?” Jack quickly thought as he instinctively pointed the Zat at the charging pony. Sure enough, the pony turned and charged again, only this time, it didn’t stand a chance. Jack fired the Zat; the pony convulsed under the electrified blue light, then dropped to the ground. “I thought you said you weren’t going to hurt any pony,” Fluttershy cried almost hysterically. “There not hurt,” Jack, replied calmly. “They’re only stunned. They will, however, wake up with one doozy of a headache in a little bit.” Jack knew better than to try to explain the intricacies of the Zat where it was only the first shot that would stun, and that the second one would actually kill. He didn’t want to have to resort to that kind of action unless he had too. He didn’t get the impression that this world of ponies knew the more violent aspects of reality where life death hung in a delicate balance and hoped he could end this without showing it to them first hand. He figured that Ra wouldn’t harbor the same feelings and if push came to shove Ra wouldn’t hold back. He suspected that this attack was more for gathering prisoners and slaves than anything, but he knew these Jaffa would kill if provoked. Fluttershy ran up to the stunned pony checking her over and making sure Jack had told the truth. “What’s wrong with her? Why did she charge at us like that? Oh My…. I know who this is. It’s Trixie.” Jacks radio crackled with Daniels voice. “Jack I think there using some of these ponies as hosts!” Jack grabbed his radio. “Okay, everyone, Gather up who you can and back off for now, Well rendezvous in that thick forest on the other side of the farm. We don’t want to risk any more of these ponies getting hurt.” And with that, Jack picked up the unconscious pony, draped her over his shoulders, and headed back to the rendezvous point. Author's Note 12/7/13 Errors and corrections made
Chapter 6: FlightmareStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 6 Flightmare Rainbow Dash hovered over the tiny cloudbank trying to catch her breath. “I must be slacking off,” she said between heavy gulps of air, “Too many hay and daisy sandwiches.” Gingerly she flapped to the edge of the cloud, peered over and looked around. “The cloud makers must be slacking off, as well. They were supposed to be working on some thunderheads today, but the sky was almost clear with only a few stray clouds left over from yesterday. And what’s with Thunderlane and the others today? They’re all acting weird this morning, barging in on some pony’s home without so much as knocking first. I wasn’t that late for drills. And then, trying to shove me around and order me to the ground. Like, that’s ever going to happen. Good thing I can fly circles around him and all the others.” Dash flittered closer to the cloud, “Next time I see Spitfire…” she paused in surprise as she attempted to land upon it, only to find herself falling right though, the cloud dissipating as if it had never been there. She hadn’t even given it a ‘gentle’ buck, let alone anything that would normally scatter a cloud. “Definitely too many hay and daisy sandwiches.” A flash of light caught her attention below. “Speaking of Spitfire…” There in the distance, flying at about one hundred foot or so off the ground, roughly tree top level and cursing fast were the three leaders of the Wonderbolts, Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Spitfire. She watched them as they split off in three different directions then circling around in a crisscross pattern over the trees then recognized it as the standardized academy search pattern, but; what were they looking for? “Maybe they’ll know what the hay is going on,” she said as she folded over into a dive. With just a few flaps, she gained some speed then when she got closer; she spread her wings curling and cupping the air currents underneath and bringing her body level with the treetops. She estimated that she was still about a quarter of a mile behind them, but that was nothing for her, she ate quarter miles in her sleep. She loved going fast, the feel of the wind in her mane, the rush of air under her wings, the feeling always exhilarated her, sometimes to the point where fast, was never fast enough. She looked forward for them; she had closed the distance, but not close enough to talk to them. In the meantime, they had formed back up and continued south towards equestrian mountain ranges “Just where are they going?” she pondered aloud to no one. “Guess I’m just going to have to pour on the speed and find out.” Arching her wings, she gave a few hard flaps but her speed didn’t increase, and it surprised her as she looked back at her wings. The air was still the same as it had always been, and she was still flying, but it was as if there was nothing to push against to gain any speed. Her attention drawn; she hadn’t realized she had fallen slightly and struck a branch of an extended tree top limb with her forehoof. A sound caught her attention, and Fleetfoot looked back and saw the light blue and rainbow colored Pegasus following them. Fleetfoot winged over and tapped Spitfire on the shoulder then nodding back in Rainbow Dash’s direction. Spitfire, eyes hidden behind dark wire rimmed glasses, nodded in agreement then split left with Soarin and continued forward allowing Fleetfoot to handle the situation. Fleetfoot then banked hard right, circled around gaining speed, and headed straight for Rainbow Dash. Dash saw her approach and brought herself to hover just a couple of feet above the treetops. She couldn’t believe just how out of breath she was. In her whole life, she had never been in bad enough shape where even simple flying took effort. Something was wrong. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be effecting Fleetfoot any, she was coming fast… too fast. “What the…?” Thankfully, Dashes reflexes hadn’t slowed, and she folded her wings in letting gravity pull her down into the tree branches only inches from Fleetfoot crash coursing into her at full speed. Dash shouted, spitting out a leaf and pulling herself up from the branch, “Hey, what gives?” Fleetfoot didn’t even acknowledge her as she circled around again. “What in Equestria are you doing?” Dash shouted again taking flight once more climbing up to about five hundred feet. It was just like Thunderlane this morning, only; Fleetfoot wasn’t going to tell her to ground. No, she could tell by the training classes she got in the academy that this was an attack maneuver. While the Wonderbolts were mainly an aerial show, they also trained in Pegasi air combat. “But why would she attack ME?” Was Spitfire and Soarin in on this? None of this was making sense. Ever since those humans from earth showed up, ponies have been going crazy… “That’s it! It had to be something about why they were here, and I’m willing to bet that Spitfire knows.” That meant that she had to follow Spitfire before she got away, but she had one other problem to deal with first. If Fleetfoot wasn’t going to hold back, then neither would she, and she flipped over backwards avoiding another strike, then dove back towards the ground gaining much needed momentum, nosed up then climbed once again to a higher altitude. Normally she would have just out flown Fleetfoot but things were not normal and without any clouds in the sky, hiding was going to be impossible. “Now I know how Fluttershy must feel sometimes trying to keep up with me.” Dash looked back and saw that Fleetfoot was closing in on her. She then took a deep breath, angled downward and headed for the closest mountain pass. Rainbow Dash angled sideways through the narrow corridor, jagged rocks within striking reach of her belly as she quickly calculated the distances between herself and Fleetfoot. Dash knew that Fleetfoot was the most maneuverable of the Wonderbolts but with shadows that danced along the walls and unpredictable winds that sheared through canyons and valleys this would be difficult for even expert flyers. Dash’s eyes darted left and right scanning the area while dodging in and out of passageways looking for an opportunity. She passed through another corridor only to find the formidable vertical cliff in front of her and let out a loud teeth-grinding grunt as the jolt knocked the wind out of her when she tried to bank hard left and struck the cliff side. Undaunted, her hooves knocked away loose gravel to find traction enough to run horizontal along the bluff before flying once again. Pain flew through her body, and she tried to ignore it when she felt the strike of hooves on her backside that sent even more pain into her, Fleetfoot was on top of her. Dash barrow rolled over as Fleetfoot came in for another blow then locked herself in with Fleetfoot, hoof to hoof, at full speed down the canyon wall “Fleetfoot, What’s wrong with you?” Fleetfoot thrashed about trying to struggle free from her grip, but Dash only pulled her in closer wrapping her hind hooves around her waist holding her in place. Dash then looked into her eyes; cold blank eyes stared back at her. “You will bow before the gods or be destroyed,” and with that Fleetfoot angled in to scrape Rainbow Dash off her belly on the canyon floor. Dash let go of her at the last second, rolled over and skidded to a halt. She was completely out of breath. Emotions churned; her ribs, wings, and body ached the confusion of what Fleetfoot had said riddled her mind, “Gods? Destroyed?” Dash’s eyes went wide, tears streaking her face; this wasn’t like fighting Discord, Nightmare Moon or even Chrysalis and her changeling hordes. She had always considered Fleetfoot her friend; she grew up pining her and all the Wonderbolts. And now one of them wants to destroy her. What about Twilight and the others? Did they want to destroy everyone, the ponies of Ponyville, of Canterlot, of all of Equestria? Fleetfoot tapped the ground then up onto another wall then rebounded back towards Rainbow Dash. Dash pushed aside her thoughts and steadied herself, anger replacing sorrow, “Not gunna happen!” Dash turned, galloped a few steps, and then took flight once more, a new determination invigorating her mind and spirit. “I don’t know what’s happened to you but I intend to find out.” Rainbow Dash climbed higher out of the canyons when she spotted something then veered off in its direction heading back towards the ground. In her condition, she knew it was only a matter of time before Fleetfoot caught her again. Pushing herself as hard as she could fly, she kept an eye out for Fleetfoot behind her. Fleetfoot increased speed; her enemy was almost within her reach when Rainbow Dash suddenly cupped her wings forward almost stopping in mid-flight while bringing her lower body up underneath and Fleetfoot, missing Rainbow Dash my inches, flew right underneath her body and into the mouth of the cavern directly in front of her crashing headlong into the darkness within. Rainbow Dash then landed on a boulder above the entryway to the cave and with a couple of bounces, it gave way-sealing Fleetfoot within. “I’m sorry Fleetfoot,” she said with a heavy, winded breath. “I hope you’re okay in there, But I will come back for you when this is all over, I promise.” She wanted to rest right then and there, but finding Spitfire and Soarin was more important. …. Jack followed the bright yellow Pegasus through the dense jungle, the dead weight of the unconscious blue unicorn draped across his shoulders only reminded him on how much his ribs hurt. It was noon or there about, as Jack estimated looking up at the Equestrian sun at it peaked across the cloudless sky. The Jaffa and turncoat ponies had given up pursuit at the edge of what they called the Everfree forest where thick underbrush and trees made tracking nearly impossible. Jack recalled his dream and the cottage home far away. “Why can’t I ever get a nice place to get stuck at, instead of these hot steamy jungles all the time?” Carter and Twilight, followed by Daniel, who had the baby dragon Spike nestled in his arms, had made their way to the rendezvous point where they had met up with Jack and Fluttershy, then continued on making their way along through the trees. The ponies had led them to a place where the forest opened into a large area. Jack was somewhat relieved, and yet the canopy still provided cover from any aerial probing although a turncoat Pegasus could just fly through, and no-one would be the wiser… if they knew where to look. In the center of the grove was a large hollowed tree and judging by the door, window, and… oddities that surrounded it, he surmised that this was Zecora’s home. “Strange, a hermit pony?” Jack thought to himself. Twilight went and knocked on the door but did not get an answer then peaked in the window confirming that no one was home. “I don’t know where she is, but we should be safe around here,” Twilight said halfheartedly, “Although, with what were up against, I am not sure for how long. I know you said that these… Goa’uld’s were fearsome, but I would never have thought even they would have done this. And how is it that they can turn those ponies against us?” “We don’t know just yet, but it is a possibility…” Carter paused, “That they may already have been implanted with a symbiote Goa’uld, who would then take over their bodies and force them to their will.” “One way to find out, Jack said as he gently set Trixie’s body next to a tree, then got back up and walked over the crowd of ponies that had started to gather around. “Okay everyone, take five,” he said waving them off trying to give the girls some privacy. Besides, some things were on a need to know basis and these ponies didn’t need to know. Daniel sat nearby listening to Sam and the ponies that gathered around her with the unconscious Spike next to him under an elm tree. The bump on his noggin was starting to fade, and Spike stirred a little so Daniel was confident he would come about any time now. Twilight walked up next to Trixie and brushed a lock of mane from her eyes. She looked over at Fluttershy, who also sat next to her holding Trixie’s hoof in hers. Twilight turned to Sam, “How can you tell if she does have one of those symbiotes inside her?” Sam looked back at Twilight; she had already concluded that Twilight could handle the reality of the situation but then looked over to Fluttershy, “Are you sure you want to know?” Fluttershy looked back at Sam, her calm demeanor failing to hide her the fact that she was trembling in her feathers. But she closed her eyes, gulped, and stood her ground. “It’s okay Fluttershy; you don’t have to stay,” Twilight said walking over and giving her a much-needed hug. “No, I will be okay, she stuttered. “If I am to help other ponies, I need to know.” Sam turned her attention back to Trixie. “The Goa’uld’s are large, parasitic worm like creatures. One of the places they will enter the hosts body, is located at the base of the neck, and then they will migrate their way into the base of the brain and attach themselves to the brain stem, controlling mind and body. And although they do have excellent healing abilities they cannot cover up the initial point of entry, and it leaves a scar.” Sam moved her mane around examining her but not finding an entry wound. “Could you help turn her over?” Sam ran a hand over Trixie’s belly “The other place is within the stomach lining but this is more reserved for Goa’uld larva who will create a pouch and will incubate inside the hosts. These are the Jaffa soldiers of the Goa’uld. Here they do not have control of the hosts but the functionality is still the same. Twilight tried not to think of it as her queasiness welled in her stomach but watched closely as the examination continued with scholarly interest. She felt the same way as Fluttershy. These were her friends, her family and their lives were in danger. What if this had been Applejack, or Rarity, of any of her closest friends. To know that any one of them could have one of these creatures inside of them, not even Trixie deserved this. Like Fluttershy, she needed to know and understand everything she could. “And if she has one, can we get it out of her?” “That’s the bad news, we don’t know of any way to remove a Goa’uld symbiote… that doesn’t kill the host body.” Twilight cringed at that information, and Fluttershy was almost in full tears. This was beyond anything they had ever faced before, Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, not even Queen Chrysalis and her Changeling horde; they all bided for control of Equestria, but this… Twilight tried to steady herself, she wasn’t sure of anything. And what of Applejack and Rarity, surely they should have shown up by now. She had sent them to go find Pinky Pie. She hadn’t seen Rainbow Dash either. Had they, too been captured because of her decision? Because of her, they may all end up like Trixie. “Princess Celestia is counting on us…but without my magic…” A cold sweat ran down Twilights back, and she started to topple over, overwhelmed by everything, but only found herself being held up by Fluttershy’s embrace. Fluttershy was in full tears now, but each took solace in each other hooves. Sam turned away letting the ponies have their moment, but “Well, the strange, but possibly good news is that I cannot find any wounds on her at all.” Daniel looked up, “But clearly she was attacking like all the others?” “Yes, and that’s the strange part, there are no signs or marks on her anywhere and although I cannot sense them from afar, up close I should be able to tell if she had a symbiote inside of her, but I get nothing. I don’t think she has one.” “But if she doesn’t have one, how are the Goa’uld controlling them?” “Twilight wiped a tear from her eye, “Could it be, whatever it is that has stopped our magic?” “It is possible,” Sam said, “But I don’t think so, because if it were, then it would have taken control of you as well, although, they may have more than one device at work. One device to interrupt the flows of energy and the second one for mind control, only the second one, isn’t as powerful and can only control a few minds.” “Sounds logical,” Daniel said, “but where would they have gotten such devices?” “I don’t know,” Sam concluded, “but the Goa’uld have always had scavenged technologies; they could even be Asgard or even Ancient in origin. There’s no way to find out until we find them.” “Then we had best find them.” Jack said. “Ee… excuse me sir,” a male’s voice spoke up from behind. Jack turned; he was looking at a tall lanky stallion with an off yellow coat and orange mane and tail and three small cakes on his flanks, he hadn’t met the baker pony but had seen him around the village and had been told about him and the bakery in the town square. Then he looked up and saw two of the three children ponies running up to him and the others, they were missing the bright yellow on with the big ribbon in her mane. “Eh… you’re friend… the, ah… big one. Had helped up get away but he was supposed to have followed us…” “…Then Apple Bloom jumped off the wagon and went to go find him,” the little orange Pegasus huffed out as she and Sweetie Bell come up alongside them. You’ve got to go find them.” Jack said as he grabbed his radio. “Teal’c, got a copy?” Only silence filled the airwaves. “Teal’c?” Moments later his radio crackled with Teal’c’s voice, “Do I have a copy of what O-Neill?” “Never mind, are you on your way?” “Indeed.” “Is… Apple, Bloom with you?” “Indeed.” “Good, we need you here as soon as you can.” They all breathed a sigh of relief. …. Less than half hour later, Teal’c and Apple Bloom had rejoined them and despite the tail chewing that Apple Bloom received for her stunt, they were all glad that she was able to help. At first, Twilight was relieved to see that they had Pinky Pie with them and then realized that Rarity and Applejack was not. And Pinky Pie looked horribly sickened by a strange ailment. She was groggy as if in a continual state of half consciousness. Her mane and tail were straight; her smile deflated. She tried to move, but it was if she had no energy at all, leaving only a shell of the pony she once was. All they could do was to leave her resting in the wagon as they all gathered and tried to figure out what to do next. “Could this be a part of whatever these devices are doing this, draining or blocking our magic?” Twilight asked. “It could be,” Samantha said, “But I didn’t think earth ponies had any connections to the flows of energy like Unicorns. What’s the connection?” Twilight thought for a moment, “They don’t, as you can see by the other earth ponies, and they do not seem to be effected. But Pinky Pie is different; she connected to us through the Elements of Harmony, and that has to be it. Pinky Pie doesn’t control magic, but rather the magic expresses its self through her. The Elements of Harmony are our greatest source of power but without Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, we could not use them. And even if they were, the device that’s draining us would probably drain them, as well. “Well then it looks like we’re going to have to find these devices,” Jack spoke up. “Twilight, gather up all of your Pegasus friends that you can find. We need then to do an aerial recon for us. I need them to see if they can scout out any Jaffa activities ‘without’ getting caught and report any findings back here. Find others and post watches, all they have to do is keep an eye out and make sure none of them are sneaking up on us. Fluttershy, do you think you can guide Teal’c and I to these Diamond Dog caves?” “Yes, but why?” Well, while we still cannot get to the gate, that’s where it originated, and I suspect that Ra would still be close by, probably searching for it his self. This way, we take the fight to him.” Twilight stood up without so much as a pause, “I’m going with you. I’ve been in the caves before and can help find a way through. If we get started now, we might make it there before dark. Fluttershy, stay here and wait for Zecora, fill her in on our situation. And find some Pegasi for those details that the Colonel requested. We will need every pony’s cooperation for this.” “Carter, we'll keep in touch every half hour.” …. Rarity, opened her eyes. The memory of the day slowly returned to her like a fog, lifting from a pond. They had been a part of a group of other ponies, captured by these soldiers who had attacked Ponyville this morning and made to walk many miles down the hot, dusty trails to an unknown destination. She and Applejack had been attached at the necks by a length of rope that also led to the next pony in line, a rather long line. Each of their hooves were also tied together with just enough slack for walking, but a run would be impossible. Those who were not in binds walked alongside the group, unwilling or unable to comprehend that the predicament their fellow ponies were in. When she was first placed in the line, she had launched a protest on the treatment of her and her fellow ponies but it was quickly quelled by the demonstration of the firepower of their staff weapons. With that lesson, she had learned very fast not to talk. But then as continued punishment, they were marched without break or water until it was nearly dark. When they reached the mountain caverns, she and Applejack were placed into small cage cells next to one another while the other ponies were herded off to some place else. Applejack had started to say something to her, but she was so exhausted that even the disgusting smell of old moldy hay couldn’t keep her from passing out. She looked around; Applejack was not in the cage next to her. The cave was lit by torch light; their flames danced creating moving shadows along the walls. She looked down where a bowl of what she guessed was water sat next to the door and a small bag securely hung from a bar. She looked across at Applejacks cell and saw the same things. She opened hers up; it was filled with raw oats. “Humph, the nerve, treating us like common animals.” Her stomach growled, and she could feel her dry, parched throat. Without her magic, she would have to make due the old fashion way “At least there are no witnesses to undignify myself around.” She steadied herself and dug in to get a mouth full of oats. Her mind raced with thoughts of her friends, of Applejack, trying desperately to keep them positive. The thoughts of what they could be doing to her scared her and the thought that she was going to be next. “Oh, Princess Celestia, help us.”
Chapter 7: FruitionStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 7 Fruition Jack stood next to the hollowed out tree not knowing what to think as he watched the ponies under the canopy that covered the glen of the forest. He wasn’t sure who started it but suspected it was Twilight and Fluttershy. They were devastated; they had every right to be. And just like many of the races they had encountered across the galaxies’, they each dealt with the sorrow and misery each their ways. How long had it been? Just how many trips had they taken through the Stargate and how many cultures had they run across over the past couple of years? Jack couldn’t remember but in all that time, he had never known any of them to deal with it in a song. Twilight’s melody was soft, humble, and spoke of lost friends or loved ones. But what was stranger still was that soon all were all singing with her, as if they had all practiced this long ago each giving their recant of the day’s events. It was like watching a horse version of ‘Cats.’ It was almost… moving. Almost. “Well that was minutes wasted,” Jack thought to himself. “What’s the matter Jack?” Daniel said clasping a hand onto his shoulder, “Never felt the urge to just ‘let it out’ before.” “Only when I’m in the shower,” Jack sneered. “You know, there are those who say that music and song are two of the most universal languages.” “I thought that was ‘Death and Taxes.” Jack replied with an overt but subtle bemused look. Daniel just shook his head and walked away. “Ya know; you could have jumped in on that song at any time; I don’t think they would have minded.” Twilight gave Fluttershy one last hug and started to walk away when the pink one shakily got back onto her hooves. “I’m going too.” “No Pinky,” Twilight said walking over to her friend “You’re in no condition for this, please stay here and rest.” “I’ll be all right Twilight, really,” Pinky Pie said through a half-witted smile. Pinky Pie took a step forward, then another but the third became difficult and her mind began to spin. Then sudden dizziness enveloped her causing her to loose balance and would have fallen over had she not been caught by Twilights embrace. “See Pinky, it would be too hard on you, please go back, and lay down.” “But Twilight, I wanna help out! It’s hard to know that every pony is out there doing their parts, but I can’t do anything.” “Pinky Pie, I understand that you want to help out, but you can help out best by staying here and regaining your strength. I’m not even sure on how much help I can be without my magic.” “Maybe you should try changing your batteries,” Jack muttered just above his breath followed by a moment of awaked silence, Daniel put his palm over his eyes while Teal’c merely raised an eyebrow. But it was Sam who spoke first, “Wait a minute,” realizing for a moment, the un-realized truth of what was said. “Batteries… Colonel, do you still have those gems Maybourne had?” Jack looked at her puzzled then reached into a pocket and pulled them out. “Bear with me for a minute, remember what Maybourne said about them? He compared them to preloaded Naquadah batteries, and just maybe he unknowingly was right about that.” Twilight walked over looking at the gems that Sam now held. “Those definitely come from Equestria. They are extremely common, and you can find them just about everywhere. Rarity can hone in on them easily with her gem-finding spell. And Spike eats them faster than Pinky Pie with a cupcake. What does this have to do with my magic?” Sam presented the gems up close to Twilight, “I theorize that the energies that you control are not just from within you, but are within your world around you. I suspect that whatever device the Goa’uld are using, is nothing more than a jammer of sorts that is interrupting the frequencies and your too far away from the source of the flows of energy to tap into them. But, if we bring those power sources closer to you…” Sam finished by handing Twilight one of the smaller gems. Twilight, following Sam’s theory, sat on her haunches holding the gem close to her unicorn horn and concentrated on a simple levitation spell. It took a few moments, and it blinked in and out but Twilight could feel it once again. Then the purple aura brightened around her horn; the gem levitated in front of her and Twilight let out a tear of joy realizing that the loss was not permanent. But the joy was short lived as the energies of the gemstone quickly drained and the spell failed once more dropping the gem to the ground. “Well, at least we know it works. But knowing that,” Twilight said turning her attention back to Pinky Pie, “I still want you to stay and get more rest.” “I understand,” Pinky Pie said saddened and sullen as she turned and walked away. She gave a hardened sigh then lay back down and closed her eyes. Twilight hated herself for doing that to her and in truth; Pinky Pie did need the rest, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Twilight knew that deep down inside that both Rarity and Applejack had been captured, and that it was all her fault. Also, Rainbow Dash was missing, was she captured too? She couldn’t answer that for sure. The only thing Twilight was sure about was that she wasn’t going to let another one of her friends fall into their grasp because she wasn’t strong enough to stop it. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. With her resolve resolved, she walked over to Jack, Teal’c, and Spike, who stood to help her with her saddle bags now stuffed with some larger gems, “I’m Ready.” …. Rainbow Dash flew low across the ridgelines, stopping only long enough to catch her breath and surveying the terrain ahead of her among the outcrops of boulders on the peaks. Whatever it was that was sapping her strength wasn’t natural, that much she knew. “And it also didn’t seem to have any effect on Fleetfoot,” she said to herself. Thinking of Fleetfoot, Dash, blew on her hoof and rubbed her chest with a slight grin across her face, “Aww yea, even burdened down I can out fly them with one wing tied behind my back!” Bringing her attention back the matter at hoof, she looked around. Following Spitfires last known direction, she had flown past the mountain’s ranges far to the south of Ponyville almost to the edge of Equestria. To her west lay, the deserts with Appaloosa but to the east lay more mountains and high range forests. She wondered for a moment if had they ever been explored? “No pony ever comes here; there are no trains or even villages that she knew of in these parts of Equestria, not even the Pegasi weather ponies work out here.” It’s like the Everfree forest; it just does what it does on its own... only larger.” Knowing her tail trail had gone cold, she pondered her situation “Why would Spitfire, and Soarin fly way out here? And which way would they have gone?” Dash put a hoof to her head; all this thinking was making it hurt. “All right, they had to come this way for a reason and I doubt it was to say hello to the Appaloosians. So, find the reason, and you’ll find Spitfire. And that means going east.” …. As the day wore on, Fluttershy sat by Trixie’s side with a worried look across her face trying to hold back the flood of emotions that she knew would explode from her in a torrent of tears at any moment. Trixie was still unconscious from whatever it was that Jack did to her. Samantha did explain to her that the weapon was only to stun, and she assured her that Trixie would be all right with no ill side effects once it wore off. But she also admitted that the effects should have worn off long ago. And although Fluttershy trusted her, she felt deeply that there was more to the story, but was relieved to watch the rise and fall of Trixie’s chest. Another concern was Pinky Pie, who had curled herself up in a ball on the straw mat at the base of Zecora’s hut. She had never seen Pinky Pie this down before. Even when she was sick with the flu, she never stopped smiling and laughing. But this, this was nothing like she had ever seen. “It could be the same thing that was stopping Twilight from using her magic,” Fluttershy thought. “Pinky Pie always did have a way of being able to do things that could only be explained with magic.” Fluttershy looked down at the dirt and gently pawed at the ground with her hoof, her mind lost in thought “If Twilight and Pinky Pie were affected, Why do I not feel… changed? I can still fly, and I’m not sick like Pinky Pie. Why did it affect them and not me?” Trixie twitched a little in her sleep; a grimace across her face and Fluttershy knew it was still quite warm out, but the evening shouldn’t be too much longer, and the cool night air would soon be here, so she got up, and walked over to the wagon with some supplies in it. The wagon had come from Sweet Apple Acres hauled in by Big Macintosh shortly after Twilight left with Colonel O-Neill and Teal’c. Inside was an assortment of food, fruits, and vegetables, but mostly apples. Blankets among other things and topping it off with one ornery Granny Smith, who was fussing about not leaving her home to be chewed to bits by Timberwolves or such nonsense. His compassion was one of the things she liked about Big Mackintosh; he was always looking out for other ponies. He cared about them, much the same way she cared about her animals. Big Mackintosh was a good friend to every pony. Fluttershy’s mind drifted bit, and she had begun to hum a little tune as rummaged through the wagon and brought forth two of the heavier blankets in her teeth. With Princess Luna’s night was coming on, she didn’t want either of them to get cold. Although, it sure seemed like it took a long time to her for Princesses to bring about the end of the day, but Fluttershy suspected it was because of the creatures that had come to Equestria. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been raising the sun and moon for as long as she could remember. Even when Princess Luna was banished to the moon, and Princess Celestia took over both duties, there has never been a day or night missed, and they would not let this intrusion intervene in those duties now. Suddenly, Fluttershy’s eyes when wide, and she gasped in a breath, dropping the blankets as she turned and stared face to face with Trixie, who had snuck up behind her, a brief flash of light shown in Trixie’s eyes. …. Rainbow Dash flew just above tree top level, then landed on rocky cliff outcropping overlooking the valley, she took in a deep breath then wiped the sweat off her brow with her hoof. She felt as if she had just had the biggest work out in her entire life. The sun was beating down on her, and she was extremely thirsty. She looked up at the sun, shielding her eyes a bit so as not be blinded by its light, “Is it me, or is it taking longer than normal for night to fall?” Looking down across the valley, she spotted the river as it meandered through the trees. Her thirst getting the better of her, she walked off the cliff, fell for a few feet then quickly spread her wings and caught the updraft and gently glided towards the river’s edge coming to a stop on the rocky bank. Dash leaned in to take a drink when the caught sight of something else that snapped her attention away from the river. “Whoa!” Hidden beneath the canopy of trees was outcrop of old stone buildings. Picking her way through the trees, she flapped her way around until she spied what looked to be larger temple of sorts with a small rusted portico gate. Dash grinned from ear to ear This place looks just like one of the places she had read in one of her Daring Doo books only, this was real. Ever since Twilight introduced her to the Daring Doo books, Dash had come to idolize the character and her adventures “Times like this, I wished she was real.” And that was when she saw the fresh hoof tracks in the sand that lead into the doorway beyond the rusty gate. There were three sets of tracks, two of which she guessed as Spitfire and Soarin, but who was the third? Dash looked beyond the gate; inside was a wooden door that was cracked in half and lay open in the entryway, the tracks continuing inside. She could make out some sort of symbol on the door, but it was nothing she had ever seen before and paid it no further attention. “So what would Daring Doo do in a situation like this...? Investigate.” And with that, Dash steadied herself and walked inside. …. Twilight had led them into some mountainous terrain, but she had assured them that it was the best route to the caverns where they had ‘exited’ from the underground Stargate. The rush of water had scoured the land for miles leaving a mass of debris of downed trees, jagged rocks, and tons of mud everywhere. Jack placed his fingers inside a cut edge hauling himself up over the ledge. Once over the lip he turned and sat on the edge looking around at all the devastation, Jack was amazed that they were still alive. The place looked like a Naquadah bomb had gone off. Thankfully, the gate shut itself down or else they would be under an entire planets worth of ocean water by now. The only good part according to Twilight was that the valley’s river where most of earths water drained into, led straight into the Equestrian Ocean. The rest harbored in shallow pools now rimmed with salt stains as it evaporated by the heat of the blazing sun. Jack checked his watch; Twilight had said they might make it there by dark, and he knew things would be slower having to crawl over all this rubble, but even then, by this time yesterday it was almost dark. Was the sun even moving? Jack took a sip from his canteen; he could also swear that it was getting hotter. Teal’c had gone on ahead to scout around and Twilight came and sat beside him, a grim worried expression across her face. Jack thought to himself… no matter how far they went traveling across the galaxies and all the beings that they met along the way, it was still amazing just how ‘human’ we all were. “They’ll be all right Twilight. We’ll find them.” “I know they will,” Twilight said with a painted smile “But I still cannot help but feel that I am responsible. They are my friends, and I told them to go and find Pinky Pie, and now…” she paused, not wanting to say the horrible thoughts that were running through her head. Jack didn’t even look at her. “Friend? Ya, that’s what you are to them, but you know what else you are?” Twilight looked over at him slightly confused. “You are also their leader and as a leader you made a decision, and they followed you’re decision. Why? Because you’re their friend? Yes… but it is also because you are their leader, and they trust in your leadership and the decisions you make. Now all you need is to trust in your friends.” Twilight paused for a moment taking in what Jack had said. She had never really thought of herself as a leader before. “But did I make the right decision?” “Right or wrong no longer matters, what’s done is done. If Daniel were here, he’d spew on about something with paved roads and intentions. But I’ve trained a lot a people over the years and one of the biggest things that always seems to slip through their minds, is that we never leave anyone behind. You made that decision when you chose to go find your friend. The real question is where do we go from here and then deal with things as they come along. Regret is something you can’t afford to hold on to.” Twilight forced and actual smile, she wasn’t quite sure if that made her feel better or not, but for the moment she believed him and that would have to do. “Up ahead is the location where Rainbow Dash and her Wonderbolt team found you. And from there it shouldn’t be too much longer until we reach the mouth of the caves.” …. Trixie reared back onto her hind legs; no thought nor emotion came across her face, her target; her enemy lay in front of her cowering in abject fear. She would be the first to feel the wrath of the Goa’uld, those who will not submit will be punished accordingly, the gods demanded it. Trixie leaned all her weight into the assault, hooves poised to strike at the pony’s head when a flash of something red came to her and suddenly she felt her body losing its stance and falling to the side with a heavy weight behind it. she didn’t know what it was only that she had been sent flying to the side from where she stood over her prey and into the base of a large tree where she lay moments before. As she got back on to her hooves, she looked around and saw a rather large red and angry stallion standing in front of the cowering yellow Pegasus. “Noope!” Trixie looked around; with the commotion, her surprise attack was lost. The others were gathering trying to figure out what has transpired, but it mattered not. She would take them all on for the glory of the gods, not even this big behemoth will stand in Trixie’s way. They will all bow before… Trixie paused as a small sharp pain hit her in the neck. It felt as if a bug had bitten her. Trixie tilted her head slightly; she was getting dizzy she couldn’t see… and then she lost her footing and fell to the ground. Daniel and Sam waded through the crowd of ponies who had gathered around the fallen body of Trixie, Zats at the ready but quickly concluded that they were no longer needed when a new pony had waded out from behind some thickets holding on to what looked like a rather large straw or pipe of sorts. “No, not a pony,” Daniel said to himself adjusting his glasses, “A zebra” “Never a day I thought I’d see, when there were these many ponies in Everfree.”
Chapter 8: ShockscapeStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 8 Shockscape Rainbow Dash walked along the darkened corridor, the light from the entryway quickly fading into nothingness. She paused for a moment and closed her eyes allowing them to adjust to the darkness then continued down the long narrow path following the hoofmarks in the dirt. After rounding a few bends, all light sources had ended and she stretched out a wing feeling with her feathers against the wall. After wandering for what seemed hours in absolute darkness, she thought that if this place was like any of those in her Daring Doo books then could be traps around here, but then she figured that if three other ponies could make it through here then so could she. Then her hoof touched something solid and she jerked her hoof back, frozen for a moment with the thought of that she had just stepped on a pressure plate ran through her mind, but then, nothing happened. Slowly she brought her hoof forward and gently sat it back in the same spot. It was cold, hard, and damp, and when she tapped on it, the sound echoed through the tunnel. Whatever it was, it wasn’t stone; it felt more like, metal? She tapped harder, the clanging echoed louder, but then she stomped on it, the clang turned into a click and the wall began to move. Immediately the cavern filled with a blinding light and Dash had to cover her eyes with her wing or risk blindness. “Whoaaaaaa.” As her eyes adjusted to the light, she found herself standing in front of an open doorway that led into a small room with another door just a few steps inside. “Nothing ventured,” she muttered then stepped inside the chamber. The first door closed behind her with a whoosh and a hiss, and then the air changed rapidly taking her breath away as if she had ascended high into the atmosphere then back to ground level in less than a second. “What a rush,” she said breathing in once more. With another click, hiss and whoosh the second door opened up that led into a shortened hallway. The walls were boxy and brown like stacked blocks with golden trim work all around them and next to the door was a small lit up panel that flashed in green the words “Air lock” across its screen. She continued. The hallway quickly opened up into a larger room with something that looked like a pedestal in its center. To the front of that, there were two side-by-side chairs, the right one with another smaller pedestal with two red orbs on each side. “This looks awesome,” she said to herself with a grin. She jumped in the seat and the panel and both orbs in front of her began to glow and hum. “Whoaaaaa, check this out,” she said aloud to no one then placed her hooves upon the red orbs. The room began to shake violently, dust fell from the ceiling, and Dash jumped from the chair immediately and the shaking stopped as quickly as it started. “Ahhh yaa, lets not do that again.” Dash turned around and walked over to what looked to be another door way and pushed the button next to it and as expected the doorway opened up into yet another empty room. “Where did they go?” Although the room was of the same color and design, this room was much larger than the other was. On the far wall was another lighted panel that flicked between blue and red and she walked over to it. This one was different from the door switches or even the air lock. “Well, with all the weird stuff that’s been happening lately, things can’t get any weirder." With the push of another button, the building began to hum yet again only this time it was just from the room. Dash backed away from the switch and into the middle of the room then turned to run for the door when something popped up from the floor surrounding her in a ring followed by several others. “What the?” Dash vaulted to the ceiling but the rings were too fast, even for her and in a blinding flash of light, she was gone. “Ahhhhhhh…” …. Rarity sat in the middle of the cage facing to only doorway, the horrid, almost rancid oats weighed heavy in in her stomach. When was the last time she saw Applejack? Minutes, hours… days, she couldn’t tell. She perked an ear and listened but no sound came. The halls seemed to be empty, time seem to have no meaning. She watched the flames of the torches as they flickered and danced but didn’t seem to move. She tried once again on using her Unicorn magic but… nothing. It was gone. She sighed, feeling helpless, then, she stood remembering her friend, and remembering that she needed to be strong so that together they might be able to find a way out of this. But where had they taken her? “Applejack!” she cried out but again no sound came to her, even the echo of her own spoken word seemed to have abandoned her. It was if she could only hear the words from within her own mind but nothing came from her mouth. She tried again, “Applejack, can you hear me?” Again, nothing. Her eyes darted around the room, “Can anyone hear me.” “Anyone?” Absolute silence. She bit into her lower lip, worry flowing across her face. “Oh, buck up Rarity,” she said to herself gathering her courage around her “Twilight and the other will be here soon,” Her eyes turned and fixed on the doorway as if to see her friends suddenly walk through at that very moment. “I hope...” In her mind she gathered her strength, but try as she might, she couldn’t stop her body from shaking, the cold hard reality of her situation digging itself in to her and for the first time since her capture, she was truly afraid. “This wasn’t like the time with the Diamond dogs who were easily manipulated into doing her very bidding. These creatures were smart, cunning, and cold hearted. And the way they converted other ponies into doing their bidding was even easier then what she would have ever thought possible. But how? Could it be as how Samantha and Daniel said? Could these creatures be “inside” other ponies? but how did they do it? Daniel said something about these Goa’uld needing to perform a ritual of some sort but when did they have time? How long had they been in Equestria? Surely, Princess Celestia or even Princess Luna for that matter should have seen this coming. How could they have done all this and no pony knew of this?” Rarity sat there with her mind pondering her questions in the silent eeriness that when it happened, she wasn’t sure she heard it. But slowly the sound grew louder, no, not a sound… a voice, yes, a stallions voice but one she couldn’t recognize. But what was it saying? “Qua… Quasar’s crystal.” She muttered. “What in Equestria is Quasar’s crystal?” Suddenly the voice disappeared, overshadowed by an alarm so loud, it pierced her ears and she jumped, gasped, and held her hooves over her ears as the noise that finally broke through her solemn prison, pulsated the room with a vibration so deep it touched every fiber of her being. Then, the sound stopped as quickly as it started, ending the emptiness of the absolute silence and returning sound back to normal and with it, she could hear things once again. Holding on to a stranded effort, she breathed deeply, pulling herself away from the edge of a panic. She starred through the bars of the cage when she noticed that the vibrations had jarred the door open just a crack. Had the sound, unlocked the cage? She reached out with her hoof for the door, her body violently trembling and her pulse galloping through her at rain-boom speeds and it was now more than ever she knew she needed her courage and dug even deeper for it finding that hidden spark within. She took a deep breath. “I can do this. Now’s your chance Rarity, get out and go for help… But what about Applejack, I can’t just leave her… But if I am caught… No, no. I can be caught either way, No I must find her… I have to find her.” Rarity reached out, pushed the cage door open, and stepped through. Her stomach rumbled, she felt queasy and stumbled into Applejack’s cage. As she touched the cage, another distant voice echoed “Rrraarriityy." Rarity paused. Her eyes blurred, her stomach hurt, the sickness increasing. Again the voice echoed in her mind “Rarrrriity…. Upp!" That one she did recognize. “That sounded like Applejack…. Applejack, Can you hear me darling?” Rarity stood up but nearly fell again as dizziness and nausea enveloped her. Water, she needed water, she told herself and began to crawl her way back into her cage and over to the water dish. With concerned earnest, the voice in her head grew louder, the voice of Applejack, “Rraarity, you need to get up!” Rarity lapped at the water but as the soundless room played upon her ears, the soothing touch of the water in her throat eluded her. Again, the voice shouted, “Raarity, you must… up!” Her eyes grew wide as her search for the Applejack drew her gaze upon the feedbag. Like her stomach, the bag wriggled and moved on its own. Suddenly the bag burst open as hundreds of worm like creatures spilled onto the floor, hundreds, thousands, an endless flow coming at her like a torrent wave. She screamed and tried to back away but only to run into the bars of the cage. Cornered, she could no longer contain her fears and screamed louder as the worm wave engulfed her crawling over her body. Stunned in absolute shock and terror she could only watch as one of the largest ones had crawled itself up and on to her neck, then around through her mane and finally wrapping itself around her unicorn horn. Poised to strike with its mandibles dripping with malice, it paused for a moment, as it looked straight into her eyes, beyond it and into her very soul. Rarity could no longer contain herself, like the bag, like her stomach, the realization hit her; the worms, these creatures, were already inside her. “Rarity, you have to wake up. Wake up Rarity, Wake up!” …. Applejack stood in her cage; her eyes affixed on Rarity as she screamed herself awake then rolled over and un-dignifying herself with the contents of her previous meal into the hay. “Oh thank Celestia you’re awake. Are you alright there sugar cube?” Rarity struggled but brought herself up to a trembling sitting position; eyes tear swollen and red, she wiped the edges of her mouth on her forehoof. She turned her strained neck taking in her surroundings she was still inside the cage and in the room the locked doors, the flickering torches, and avoided looking at the feedbag. She then breathed a sigh of relief to see her friend standing there inside the other cage next to her. Regaining her composure brought herself up on wobbly hooves then leaned into the bars using them as support then “Oh Applejack, I… I’m so glad to see you.” “What in tarnation happened? One minute you were quietly sleeping then this happened. Are you sure y’all are alright?” “Oh Applejack, I… I must have been dreaming. No, no that was a nightmare, and one of the worst ones I had ever had. She sat and explained the whole ordeal of the dream to her friend, knowing that talking about this would help her in the end and took great comfort in knowing that Applejack was always a true friend and listener. Their bond was closer than sisters were and with her strength and fortitude beside her, she knew there was nothing they couldn’t do together. “I can understand that sugar cube, these critters are nastier then a nest of newborn rattle snakes.” Rarity hobbled over to the cage door and tested it, was it unlocked as was in her dream? She pushed on it but to no avail. “So, what do we do now Applejack? Why bring us here and separate us from the rest of the ponies who were captured” “I… I don’t know, y’all think they figured us out being the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?” I’m not so sure about that Applejack, they already have the ability to stop our unicorn magic, even Twilights. For all we know they could already have the ability to stop the power of the Elements of Harmony. No, I get the impression that they are after something. But I don’t know what that is.” Rarity tried to recall something, something from her dream but the only thing that came to her was horrible image of the creatures that surrounded her inside and out. The image was almost strong enough to induce another wave of looing her lunch but she held on and brushed it aside. But she knew there was something there, something she needed to recall but couldn’t. “Applejack, did you fall asleep and have a nightmare like mine?” “I couldn’t sleep. I tried, but I was so worried about you and everyone else to get any real sleep then you started moving and screaming, and well… you know the rest." …. “Ahhhhh……” With a whoosh and almost blinding light, the rings fell down and back into the floor where they had popped up and Rainbow Dash sat there in stunned amazement. It took her a moment but recovered quickly and although she didn’t know what happened she did manage to shout out the first words that came to her.” “That… was… Awesome!!!” She grinned from ear to ear in one huge smile and looked around for the panel that would activate that once more, then she realized that she was no longer in the same brown boxy like room. The walls floors and ceilings were all of a light colored grey and every few steeps there were clear glass like recesses where lights illumined what the room and hallways that led off in three directions. She stood upon a platform where the rings had placed her with a two-step stair that led to the floor. To one side stood a pedestal with the control panel for what Dash assumed was for the operation of the rings as it was identical to that in the last room. She so wanted to do that again. As Dash approached the pedestal a sound echoed from down one of the hallways bring her attention back to the matter had hand, some pony was coming. “Finally, now, let’s see about getting some answers,” Dash said and with a flick of her tail, she set off down the hallway. The hall was long and narrow and rounded to the left. About every few paces, she would pass a doorway or short hall that would end in a door. She ignored these As the closer she trotted, the voices grew louder. In fact, she could now make out the sounds of several voices emanating from up ahead and stopped to listen for a moment. One of those voices was definitely Spitfire; she would recognize her voice anywhere, but what in Equestria was she saying? She couldn't understand any of it. was it another language? And who was with her? Soren? No, although she knew he had to be one of them, it wasn't him. This was getting way too confusing which frustrated and annoyed her even more. “I wish that some pony would explain just what the hay is going on here.” And with that she stomped a hoof and started to move when the whoosh sound of another door opened next to her. Then out of the darkness she was struck by a bluish light, and it felt as if she had been hit by a lightning bolt from a rogue cloud then her body went stiff, then limp as she fell to the floor and the darkness enveloped her. …. Rarity sat but leaned heavy on the cage bars; she fiddled with the curls of her mane trying to do something, anything with it. The thought of going back to sleep scared her, the emotional scars of her dream still haunted her, and all she could do was to sit here and wait for these ‘monsters’ to do something was driving her crazy. But at least Applejack was here. Funny, Applejack didn’t seem to be in the least bit worried. She just rather laid there, starring back at her, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Well, Applejack always did have the strongest will of all of them and Rarity almost felt jealous of her demeanor. But yet, in a way, she was very glad of it and she took security from it. Out of any pony to be captured with, she was glad that it was her. “Do you think Twilight and the others are on their way?” “I sure hope so sugar cube. These Gould’s sure are some nasty critters and when we get out of here we can find something to get rid of um. Something like one of those Elements of Harmony pendants.” Rarity stared at her for a moment, “I don’t think they will work, Samantha said that these Goa’uld’s have machines that are beyond anything you’ll find in Equestria, as I said before, one of which is blocking our magic and I suspect that it would most likely jam their magic as well.” “Well then I guess will just have to find something even stronger or something that can’t be blocked by their doo-hickys. I got to thinking, why are these Gould’s here? Just what are they after? It can’t be just about enslaving everyone. There’s got to be more to it than that.” “I agree with you there Applejack but what? According to Jack, they may have been here for months now.” “And that’s another thing, why are we all listening to them. They really haven’t done much since they got here, fact is, things have gotten worse because of them. In fact, I’m beginning to think they’re both on the same side.” Rarity looked at her, taken aback by the increasing anger in Applejack’s words. “Really, I don’t think that’s the case at all.” “Are you sure Rarity? Think about it, even if the Gould’s have been here for months, they didn’t start taking prisoners until ‘they’ showed up. Then, without warning were under attack, over half our people have been captured and they didn’t do anything to stop them. I’m beginning to think they planned all this.” Rarity sat there, stunned into silence and yet, deep down, she almost felt the same, “Well… I… I don’t think they…” “Well, how else would you explain this?” She didn’t have an answer. “And as far as to what these Gould's are lookin fer. While you were sleeping I kinda over heard something in the hallway, It seems they are looking for some sort of crystal. Now we both know that Equestria is just chuck full of um and honestly I think they can have every last one of um but this one seemed kinda special but I couldn't pick out what they called it.” Rarity perked up her ears and turned to face her “It’s called Quasar’s Crystal and don’t ask me how I know that.” Applejack sat up in her cage, “Do you think you can find it.” “If I had my magic I think I could, now that I know what to look for.” “Good, now all we need,” Applejack paused as she stood, “is a way out.” “And how do you intend to do that?” “Well this morning, while you were sleeping, it seems that our guards are a couple of royal stallions…" “Applejack, you’re not suggesting that I… that we...” “No, no… Look, all you gotta do is distract them long enough for me to bop um one and were home free. Of course, how you do it is entirely up to you.”
Chapter 5: ContingencyStargate SG1: Equestrian Arc Chapter 5 Contingency Teal’c pondered the morning’s events. He had spent most of the time in recon of the village and the surrounding area. Along the northern road, he had come across a pony blockade with several Royal Guard soldier ponies staffing. They had told him that Princess Celestia had sent them out during the night and had set up security checkpoints along the road at the village’s access points; they had reported nothing. Teal’c didn’t like, nor trusted that answer. Surly there would have been some news or information on the activities of alien species somewhere in this world. Even gossip lines of communications would have brought about some reactions. The activities of the Goa’uld do not simply go unnoticed. If it had not been for the children ponies’ insistence to show him the bakery, they would have all been caught in an ambush. There was at least ten Jaffa that he counted when the attack began, led by those very guard ponies from the checkpoint. On top of that, there seemed to be even more civilian ponies, twenty or more he guessed, helping the Jaffa gather up their fellow citizens. Had Teal’c not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed it. Either these ponies had betrayed them, or they held implanted symbioses; Teal’c didn’t know which. Normally, if they had symbiotes, he would have sensed their presence. But because the ponies all gave off the same feelings, they masked themselves from him. The only thing Teal’c knew now was that he could no longer rely on those sensations. The Jaffa had begun their attack in broad daylight and fanned out across the village. It was unfortunate that he could do nothing more for the villagers Teal’c told himself as he watched groups panicking ponies fleeing from the battle. He couldn’t risk exposing his self and those he now protected in order to help and to do so would only get every one captured. Thankfully, he could tell that, by the angle of the shots, the Jaffa fired, that those ponies were not targeted directly, but rather, herded towards the towns train’s station. With Zat in hand, Teal’c took up position behind the upturned wagon. He didn’t want to inadvertently hurt an innocent pony with his staff weapon, so he had strapped the weapon across his back but still within easy reach. He looked over his shoulder; the pony family that the children brought him to was hastily preparing their own wagon for departure. The young fillies were now helping the stallion, Mr. Cake with the pink pony who had unexpectedly and mysteriously, passed out, into the back of the wagon while Mrs. Cake tended her own children. A staff weapon blast landed nearby as dirt and debris rained down upon him; The Jaffa was closing in on them. “Colonel O Nell said that everyone was to rendezvous in the dense forest, go now quickly, I will create a diversion.” Apple Bloom looked over at him, “What about you Teal’c?” “I will be fine, get the others to safety. I will be right behind you.” Carrot clicked himself into the harness as Cup fastened the twins into their seats in the wagon. “Go sugar plumb, were all set!” “Hold on Honey bun, I’m running like we were late for delivery!” The passengers of the wagon screamed as another staff blast exploded next the wagon when the Jaffa soldier walked around the corner of the building. Teal’c turned and returned fire, stunning the soldier before he could fire again, “Go, and don’t stop for anything.” Then Teal’c stepped from behind the drawing the attention of another two soldiers as Carrot took off at a solid run down the road. The first soldier tried to take aim at the departing wagon but only got a point-blank shot from Teal’c’s Zat-nik-tel instead. As the first soldier, fell; the second Jaffa swung his staff weapon around like a club knocking the Zat from Teal’c hands. He then brought the weapon around to fire upon his opponent , but Teal’c, with reflexes of a seasoned warrior, grabbed hold of the end of the soldier’s staff weapon just inside the staffs cannon’s end, redirecting the shot harmlessly into the ground then thrusting an uppercut to the soldier’s mid-section disarming him, as well. Teal’c then stepped to the side and with the one hand, brought the procured weapon around in a wide arc over his head then down low to the back of his opponent’s knees, falling him backwards, folding him over his own legs and onto the ground, finishing him off with blunt blow to his head, knocking him unconscious. Teal’c knelt down next to the soldier looking him over. Clearly, he had the mark of Ra upon his forehead but something seemed different about it. It was the mark was that of his eternal eye but instead of a pupil, it was that of a crescent moon. He turned his attention to the other; he too had the same mark; then he noticed the marking on each of their arms, or more importantly, the lack of a mark. There were burn marks on each of them where old tattoos had been removed. By the pattern outline of the burn marks, he could only tell that they were not from Chulak nor any other world from which Jaffa came from. But he had seen this outline before, and this could only mean one thing… He had to get this information back to Colonel O Nell Teal’c told himself and as he reached out and grabbed hold of his Zat, then paused as he felt the point of the staff weapon just behind his head. …. How could she leave him? Apple Bloom thought to herself as she held on the edge of the wagon as it bumped down the road. She looked back down the trail, expecting him to come running up around the bend. Surely, he would have caught up by now especially now that Mr. Cake had slowed to a trot when they were out of sight of Ponyville. Try as she might, Apple Bloom couldn’t shake the worry from her mind and the gnawing in her gut. Something went wrong; she knew it. She glanced over her shoulder at the others. She was only going to get one chance at this and if she asked for permission, she already knew what the answer would be. “I’m sorry everyone,” Apple Bloom said in her mind as she leapt from the wagon and headed back towards town, the screams of the others for her to come back, drowned in faded echoes. …. “Spread the word for every pony to run into the Everfree Forest. It should be safe for them once they’re inside,” Twilight ordered as she, Rarity, and Applejack ran into the town. “You two, take the east side, Spike and I will take the west.” “Relatively safe,” said Rarity reminding her. “Most of the ponies in Ponyville avoid going there for good reasons and those who have, haven’t been in there as often as we have.” “I know, I don’t like it either, but it will be safer for them in there than being here. Once we get everyone, we can stay around Zecora's hut. From there, we can figure out what to do next. And keep an eye out for Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash.” “I saw Pinky Pie at Sugar Cube Corner early this morning before heading out to Applejacks,” said Rarity. “She should still be there. We’ll go check on her first.” And Rainbow Dash was still at the Wonder Bolt training Academy,” Applejack added. “But I’m kind of surprised that she isn’t here already here. We all know that if Ponyville were in danger then she would be the first one here.” “Maybe something has happened to her at the Academy,” Twilight said, maybe the Academy has been attacked as well.” Twilights eyes narrowed as the multitude of thoughts permeated her brain. Now, it wasn't just an attack on Ponyville that worried her, it was all of Equestria. If the Academy has also been under attack, what about Canterlot. What of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? What about…” “Don’t worry Sugar cube,” said Applejack placing a hoof across her shoulder. “We’ll find them. Then once we’re together, we’ll head to Canterlot to find out what’s going on. Com’on Rarity, let’s see if we can track down Pinky Pie.” Twilight winced as she watched them go, she felt so helpless without her magic. Twilight turned to run but stopped and fell back onto her haunches in utter shock of the tall stallion that stood before her. Its dark grey coat and midnight blue armor and flared out bat like wings, gave it an overwhelming presence that halted them both where they stood. She couldn't believe what she saw, but there was no mistaking it, it was a Lunar Guard. The guard reared back on its hind legs and aimed its attack. Without hesitation, Twilight instinctively concentrated on her spell to take them both out of harm’s way. The spell of teleportation was almost a part of her now, and she could use it without even have to think of a destination and activate it in the blink of an eye. A split second later Twilight's eyes went wide; the stallion was still in front of them bearing his weight down upon his front hooves, and she froze in panic as the realization that the spell did not initiate. Spike shook off the effect first and shouldered his body into the distracted Unicorn, pushing her to the side. The stallions hooves came down with a loud thump, and Spike’s little body skidded across the ground. Time seemed to slow for Twilight as she toppled over to the ground. The sounds of the battle echoed through her ears as the scene played out in front of her like a wave of fog underwater. She saw him fall; she screamed his name. She tried to move, but her body wouldn’t respond. The night stallion had become three, like an ominous black cloud that stood over her. Was this the end for her? What had happened to them? What force could drive them to do this? Was this the fate for all her ponies? The stallion reared again; Twilight closed her eyes. The stallion’s eyes went wide as the electric blue light enveloped his body; then he went limp and fell to the ground. The other two turned to face the attackers but before they could react, they too fell to the ground under the spell of the stranger’s device. “Twilight!” “Twilight, come on snap out of it, we’ve got to go!” Twilight recognized that voice… it was the voice of the human woman… the voice of Samantha. Sam had knelt in front of her calling to her; Twilight shook her head and remembered. “Spike!” “Daniels got him, but we’ve got to go now. Can you run?” Warily, and with the help of Samantha, Twilight righted herself back onto her hooves and watched as Daniel reached out and scooped Spike up in his arms. “Yes; But what of Apple Jack, Rarity, and Pinky Pie? Have you seen them?” “I don’t know,” said Sam. “We did not run into them but there is no time to go looking. If they’re as smart as I think they are, they will be fine on their own.” Twilight nodded, she was still worried but trusted Sam’s opinion, and they all started for the forest. …. With the staff weapon mere inches from the back of his head, Teal’c cursed himself for being so careless. “So, I see you did survive Shol’va, how unfortunate for you.” Teal’c showed no sign of emotion, focusing only on the one who spoke as another Jaffa retrieved the weapon from his hand. “And you are?” “I am Laca’s, First prime to Lord Ra, not that it will mean much after I kill you.” “Then I will take heart in knowing that I will die by a warrior such as yourself… one who would kill his enemy in defiance of his god.” “Unlike you, I would never betray my god. I have served Ra faithfully for nearly one hundred years. My Loyalty is absolute. His word is law and will be obeyed without question.” Teal’c pushed his luck, the more he could get him to talk, the more time he had to think of a way out. “Then if you were to kill me now then you would be doing exactly that. Any First Prime loyal to his god must capture and interrogate any high value prisoners. To do so, would go against the will of the gods. If you are indeed loyal to Ra, then why were you, not with him on Abydos?” Laca’s grew angry,“That is none of your concern Shol’va. Ignoring that answer, he continued. “And what of this Khonsu? Do you feel the same loyalty to him, as well? A joint collaboration of gods; who will you answer too?” Laca’s activated his staff; Teal’c knew his time was up. Laca’s weapon was steady in his hand; it was so close to the back of his skull of his enemy. He could see the sweat dripping from Teal’c’s neck, and knew the shot would take his it clean off. Laca’s afforded himself a smile and glance at his surroundings. Ra will be most pleased with his actions but in truth, the pleasure would be all his. “Ra is all knowing, your information is useless to him. But I… I have waited a long time for this day. And to watch you die on this wretched planet next to these filthy animals will be a most fitting end for you… And one I will cherish for another hundred years.” Teal’c lifted an eyebrow in thought as Laca’s’s words floated across his mind. There were many reasons why loyal Jaffa would want to kill him, but this sounded like there was something more to it… more personal. He wasn’t quite sure on what to do about it when a small voice called out. “Let um go ya big bullies!” Teal’c didn’t waste the opportunity and the moment he felt Laca’s’s attention waver, he reacted. Teal’c spun around as Laca’s pulled the trigger; his perfect shot missed. In one fluid movement, Teal’c grabbed the mid-section of his opponent’s staff pulling him closer and landing his left fist across Laca’s’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. He then spun again planting a heavy boot into the second Jaffa also knocking him back. He knew the surprise attack wouldn’t last for long, as the others would realize quickly what had just transpired and would quickly ascend upon them so this only left him with one course of action; He dropped the staff weapon, pivoted, and ran for the voice. Apple Bloom stood at the far edge of the building. She had put her life in danger to come back for him, now he had to get her out of here before that would happen. Apple Bloom leaped out from behind some boxes where she kept herself concealed. Teal’c held out an arm and scooped her up and she crawled over his shoulder and onto his back. “Teal’c, you’re hurt?” Apple Bloom shouted as she saw the graze of the staff weapons burn mark across the ridge of his shoulders. Teal’c didn’t miss a stride as they passed the last buildings of the village and into the forest thick. “I will be okay Apple Bloom. Thanks to you, the burn will heal.” …. Laca’s was furious; Teal’c had gotten away. Ever since Lord Ra told him that, he and his Taur’ri allies had survived the flooding of the caverns he knew his revenge on the murderer would soon come to pass. There had always been war between the gods, but what Teal’c had done went beyond war. No, the day Apophis had found Kel’noc would be a day forever scorched in his mind. And even as a Shol’va, Teal’c was First Prime to Ra’s archenemy Apophis… and he would answer for his crimes. Laca’s stood and with a wave of his staff, he ordered his soldiers to attention. “Kree, Jaffa,” Right now, there was much to be done, he did not trust those creatures in their new servitude, but Ra had ordered their use in gathering new slaves for the mines. The attack and capture of these creatures had gone according to plan with over fifty percent of the population now under Ra’s control. The Tau’ri and the Shol’va had retreated with the survivors like cowards and Laca’s smiled like a predator stalking his prey; the mice would soon come out, and he would pounce on them and devour them like the vermin they were. Laca’s turned and started walking back for his station when he heard something moving from inside one of the buildings. He halted his group then silently signaled for two of them to go around back. “Hurry up Rarity; it’s gotten mighty quiet out there. Pinky Pie isn’t here, and we gotta go.” “I’ll be there Applejack; I just needed to make sure some pony wasn’t hiding in a closet or something. I fear something bad has happened to her. Even under circumstances such as this, she of all ponies wouldn’t be hiding, and it would have taken an army to pull her away from wanting to throw even these ruffians a party.” “All of which means, Twilight and the others may have found her already. We had better catch up to them.” “What do you think these… aliens, want with us anyway?” “I don’t know, but I do know that they sure could hurt a lot of us. And without yours and Twilights magic working properly, I gotta nasty feeling that even the Elements of Harmony might not be able to stop them. This sure took us all by surprise. According to Jack and his friends, they weren’t expecting this neither. I…” Applejack paused, “you hear that?” She whispered as the squeak came to her again. Applejack pointed a hoof. “Out the back…” It was too late… As the front doors of Sugarcube Corner burst in, staff weapon fire blasted the bakeries front sales counter sending burning pastries flying through the air. Flames and smoke filled the air as Applejack and Rarity ran through the hallway and into the kitchen. The rear door came crashing open as two of the alien soldiers stood in front of them. Rarity gasped but ducked to the side as one of them brought his staff weapon to bear on her. Applejack, however kept her momentum and with a powerful heave from her strong hind legs, leapt over Rarity and plowed into their, would be, attackers sending both of them back out into the street. Rarity was already on her hooves and ran past Applejack as she skidded around to face one of the soldiers who had already recovered and back on his feet “Thars no way y’all are gunna lay a hand on this pony.” The soldier brought his weapon around like a club, and Applejack dogged it with easy. A second thrust from the other end missed as well striking the ground. The creature was fast and almost twice her size in height but this wasn’t the first hoof fight she had ever been in, although, never against someone wielding a giant stick. Applejack wavered as she underestimated the range he had with it. The soldier swung the weapon around holding it from one end clipping her in the ear and knocking off her hat. Now she was mad. She wanted to pick it back up, but the soldier would let her near it and kept wildly swinging at her. She knew that if he ever made contact with her then it would be all over; she had to go on the offensive. “I sure hope Rarity got away,” Applejack thought as danced around with her opponent maneuvering him into position. A moment later, she found her opportunity. Applejack turned abruptly and planted her forehooves into the dirt, reared her hind legs and delivered a tree shattering kick to the creature’s midsection. The Jaffa soldier let out a gurgling gasp of air as he flew back dropping his staff weapon, then lay silent, and still upon the ground. Applejack walked over to her fallen hat, when a fire blast landed between them spraying her with rock and dirt, sending her hat flying and Applejack falling to the ground. “Enough! or I will kill the other.” Applejack looked around; the blast had come from another soldier kneeling down next to another who stood over top of Rarity. She had been captured, bound, gagged, and lying at their feet. Applejack couldn’t understand what he said, but she knew what he meant as Laca’s placed the opened end of his weapon at Rarity’s head and stood in silence and allowed two other soldiers to do the same to her. “Take them to the mines and place this one in a holding cell, Ra has ordered that the white one be delivered directly to him. If the other tries to escape, Kill it.” Author's Note This chapter is shorter then I wanted but work has been really busy since the holidays and i haven't had much time to work on it
