Stargate Command Infirmary
Doctor Lam had quickly and personally attended to Cassandra's minor injuries. While Cassie was re-hydrated with a saline drip, the scuttlebutt that she had successfully infiltrated the base despite being a transformation victim spread.
To that end, Sam had pulled herself away from her studies of the artifact to visit her charge, and Mitchell had joined her. As with the rest of the transformed base personnel, they were wearing makeshift clothing modified from their PT gear, with holes cut for Carter's wings. It wasn't glamorous, but it covered up all the naughty bits.
As Cassandra stirred from her sleep, both lieutenant colonels rose to opposite sides of her bed.
"Good morning, sweetie, but you really should have tried knocking first," Mitchell said.
Cassandra's eyes snapped open and she gasped with joy. Wrapping her bandaged forelegs around Mitchell's neck, she cried, "Rarity, you're starting to remember!" Mitchell gagged at the sudden constriction of her airway.
"Huh?" Sam waved to get Cassandra's attention, "Hey there, Cassie. Uh, that's Cameron."
"Oh, uh... right," Cassandra pouted, relaxing her death grip on Mitchell. She turned to Sam and asked, "And...?"
"Sam," she responded, as Mitchell pried herself out of Cassandra's grasp.
"What do you mean 'starting to remember'?" Carter asked.
"Well, she called me..." Cassandra stalled with a frown, re-processing Mitchell's earlier words with a fully-awake brain. "Maybe I jumped the gun, but it relates to why I came."
"Sounds like we've got perfect timing, as always," General O'Neill said, stepping into the infirmary with General Landry.
"Sir!" Carter and Cameron reflexively snapped to attention.
"Oh, leave it," O'Neill waved the pair off. He looked away from Carter; a suspicious person might think he looked guilty.
Landry laughed, "You'll get used to it eventually, Jack."
"The hell I will!" Jack glared at the other general, one corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.
Cassandra fussed with the blanket on her bed, looking uncertain. "So, Uncle Jack... about what I said on the phone..."
Jack sighed. "I'm not pleased that you broke out of the hospital," he said, "but since the mandatory isolation was lifted, it's kind of a moot point. And it looks like you've managed to punish yourself plenty enough before I got here."
Cassandra cocked her head to one side, putting her chin in a hoof. "What took you so long to get here, anyway? You should've been able to beat me here, easy."
Jack sat on the side of Cassandra's bed and mussed with her mane before replying. Cassandra scrunched up her muzzle in annoyance as Jack said, "I went to meet with George Hammond first, since I don't get around this way very often any more. It turns out he's a pony now, too."
"And it's probably a good thing you went there, too," Landry added. "Knowing that George's granddaughters were symptom-free helped to get the isolation order lifted."
"Now, what was it you really wanted to talk to me about?" Jack asked. "Surely you invited me here for more than just to scold you?"
"Oh, right!" Cassandra squeaked. "I wanted to give you some important information about this whole transformation thing. Maybe we could go somewhere more, uh... official?" she asked, looking around the group surrounding the infirmary bed.
"Hey, doc!" Jack called to Lam in her office on the opposite side of the infirmary. "Can we take Cassie to the briefing room?"
"Yes, sir! Just bring her back in six hours or so, so I can check on her again!" Lam called back.
A pale green aura formed around Cassandra's horn, and a similar aura formed around the IV needle poking into her foreleg. The needle and the tape securing it in position lifted away from her and floated to the stand with the saline bag in defiance of gravity, before both auras disappeared and gravity reasserted itself once again.
"I can see we've got more than one thing to talk about," Landry muttered.
"By the way, General," Cassandra said, "uh... the lock on the access shaft I used is set to Charlie's birthday. You should probably fix that."
Landry gave O'Neill the stink eye. Charlie was O'Neill's son, who had accidentally killed himself with Jack's personal handgun shortly before Jack was recruited for the first mission through the Stargate. At least Jack had the presence of mind to look chastised about the security code.
Cassandra hopped out of the bed and began walking towards the door, when a cough from Mitchell caught her. Cassandra looked back and Mitchell asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked, looking pointedly at the modified PT gear that she and Sam were wearing.
Jack laughed, "Relax, Cam. Ponies are like the Asgard!" With that, he led the group out of the infirmary.
Stargate Command Briefing Room
The group had taken a detour on their way to the briefing room in order to collect Daniel from her office. Daniel had been busy working with Cameron Balinsky on the radio signal Carter had constructed, but despite Balinsky being able to use the computer keyboards as intended, speeding up their process, the pair were not making much progress with so little context.
The three healthy members of SG-1 sat on one side of the long table, which General O'Neill and Cassandra on the opposite side. Landry sat down at the head of the table after the others were seated and asked, "Now, miss Fraiser, why don't you tell us what you know?"
Cassandra inhaled, then released it slowly. "Okay, first thing's first, my actual name is Sweetie Belle," she said. "And everypony who's been transformed is an alien."
Perhaps predictably, Sweetie's announcement wasn't exactly accepted at face value.
"You'll forgive me if I want more than just your word on the subject, miss Fraiser," Landry said.
"Yes," Mitchell agreed. "I mean, I remember growing up in Kansas on my parents' farm, and I can assure you my mother remembers giving birth to me."
Sweetie scratched on ear with a hoof. "Okay, I don't know all the details, but Discord cursed a bunch of ponies. There was something in his chant about losing memories and ejecting us from Equestria, which is why we're here and why nopony remembers their previous life."
"If everypony lost their memories, how d'you remember this?" Daniel drawled, willing to at least give "Sweetie" the benefit of the doubt that she wasn't afforded in her archaeological career.
"I think my sister's responsible," Sweetie said, smiling sadly at the memory. "She attacked Discord as he was placing the curse on me, and I guess he didn't get to finish it properly. I still got born into a new body on Hanka and I still lost my memories, but as my transformation back into my original pony body progressed, my memories returned, too."
"Yer sister?" Daniel asked.
Sweetie nodded. "Her name is Rarity. She's the most generous pony I know. She's a national hero, working with her closest friends to save the country on more than one occasion, and even the whole world once or twice." Sweetie's voice brimmed with love and respect as she described her sister to the group. "She runs one of the most successful clothing lines in Equestria, yet she still finds time for her friends, and for me. And," Sweetie blushed and stared at the ceiling as though it were the most interesting thing in the base, "now she's Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell."
The others in the room all turned to stare at Mitchell, who fidgeted, slightly uncomfortable under the attention. She sent a silent prayer of thanks when the Stargate began dialling, the noise drawing the attention of the other people in the room.
General Landry glanced at his watch and said, "Sorry, we'll have to take a break here. That should be the Midway Station reporting in about the efforts to reconnect with Atlantis."
As the base commander left the briefing room, Sweetie Belle stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the Stargate. While the others may have become jaded after traveling through the gate so many times, she had only used the gate once as Cassandra, and that was years ago.
Of course, with little else to do until General Landry returned, Jack and Mitchell both joined her, while Sam and Daniel held a private conversation discussing the progress being made on studying the artifact from PHK-519.
"So, Mitchell's a clothes horse?" Jack asked.
Sweetie had to giggle. The absurd juxtaposition of the human idiom and her memories of Rarity called for nothing less. "I guess you could say that," she said. "But—"
"That's not the Midway Station," Mitchell cut her off. "The eighth cheron just locked in."
Mitchell's comment drew the attention of the other two members of SG-1 in the room, who came to join the three at the window. As they arrived, Jack said, "Nine chevrons?!" He turned to Sam as the floor began to vibrate, "Can it do that?"
"The gates have nine chevrons on them, there's no reason to believe they wouldn't all be used for something," she replied.
The nine chevrons turned different colors, and the vibrations halted. "Carter, I think you'd better get down to the control room," O'Neill said. "The technicians probably need your help."
Quicker than you could say "yes, sir," Sam disappeared down the spiral staircase to the control room in a rainbow streak.
Stargate Command Control Room
As Sam clattered down the stairs, she could hear the general below giving orders.
"Open every communication channel we've got! Break out the tin cans connected by string if you have to! Tell whoever's on the other side of that gate not to come through!"
After glancing at the error message on the Stargate's control computer monitor, Carter approached a technician away from the main control console. "Let's look at the raw data the gate is sending us. We need diagnostics on this connection," she said.
"Sir!" One technician called to Landry. "I'm detecting the same kind of radiation as what we've recorded from artifact PHK-519-alpha. It's coming through the gate!"
Carter looked away from the computer terminal she was reading from, pointing one wing at the tech that had spoken. "Record everything! And check if there's a subspace signal coming through, too!"
Stargate Command Briefing Room
Sweetie turned to Daniel, wordlessly asking for an explanation of the significance of the extra chevrons. Before Daniel could begin her explanation of how Stargate addresses worked, however, Sweetie let out a small "Oh!" as she sensed somepony casting Theory's Telecom. After living on Earth, she could compare the spell to a phone call. While she could tell that the "call" wasn't for her, sensing the spell didn't tell her who the call was for.
Fortunately, one of the easiest triple-alliteration spells Sweetie knew was Tapping Theory's Telecom, letting her "join" somepony else's call. It was generally considered rude, but with nopony else around who knew magic, Sweetie was probably the only pony who could pick up.
As soon as Sweetie completed her spell, she could feel a tremendous mental weight, indicative of a similarly massive level of magical power.
<<Tapping Theory's Telecom? Who is this? Where is Sergeant Iron Strike?>> the pony on the other end of the spell asked.
Sweetie's ears folded back, uncomfortable insulting a powerful unicorn by interrupting what was apparently a call for a guardspony. But she was unofficially representing the United States military in a way, wasn't she? Mitchell, Daniel, and Jack were trying to get her attention, but the strength of the spell she had tapped into prevented her from splitting her concentration. <<I don't know who Sergeant Iron Strike is, but if he's a royal guard, he's not here. Or if he is here, he doesn't remember being Iron Strike,>> Sweetie replied.
<<What do you mean? Who are you?>>
<<My name is Sweetie Belle. I was a student at Hoofschule Fur Musik und Tanz when Discord attacked.>> Sweetie gulped, hoping the pony on the other end was at least familiar with the events she was talking about.
<<Sweetie Belle... Sweetie Belle... why is that name familiar to me...?>>
<<Um... you might have heard my name mentioned in relation to Rarity, the Element of Generosity? She's my older sister,>> Sweetie supplied.
Theory's Telecom couldn't transmit reactions like a gasp, but it did include tone, and Sweetie could guess the reaction that wasn't transmitted. <<Family of one of the Element Bearers?! This is the best news I've heard in more than two decades!>> Sweetie imagined a guardspony unicorn mare dancing around in joy. <<Sweetie, this is Princess Cadance! I'll send Princess Twilight to collect you immediately!>>
Sweetie felt like her heart had stopped. She finally drew the connection between somepony casting a spell, attempting to communicate with a royal guardspony, and the still-active Stargate with rainbow-colored chevrons. <<Wait!>> she cried, before Cadance ended the spell. <<Don't send anypony through the gate! There's a barrier on this side. Anypony who tries to go through will die!>>
Sweetie thought quickly, <<Princess, you need to find a radio. The people on this side are probably trying to contact you with a radio signal right now, to tell you about the barrier. If you can get a transmitter and a receiver, you can talk to the people in charge here.>>
<<Using the radio for two-way communication? What a bizarre idea!>> The princess ended her spell, and Sweetie swayed in place, dizzy from tapping into a spell cast by an alicorn.
When Sweetie came fully back to her senses, she looked up to Jack. "I need to talk to General Landry. I just got a communication from somepony on the other side of that gate."
Jack nodded, and motioned for her to walk down the staircase, following immediately behind.
Stargate Command Control Room
General Landry thanked whatever gods might be listening that there hadn't been any incoming travellers. On the other hand, there had been no response to any attempt at communication.
The atmosphere in the control room had relaxed slightly just a moment ago, when the sensors in the gate room detected that the radiation and subspace signal coming through the Stargate had ended. As everyone took a moment to catch their collective breaths, Landry turned to see Jack and "Sweetie" coming down from the briefing room.
"Jack?" Landry prompted.
The visiting general shrugged. "She says she was just in communication with someone on the other side of the connection," he said.
The young mare took a seat on the floor near where Landry was standing, scratching at a bandage on the side of her barrel. "Princess Cadance was trying to contact a royal guard named Iron Strike," she reported.
"We had an incoming connection just like this one late last night," Landry said, his face grim. "Seven incoming travelers ran into our iris."
Sweetie nodded, sad, but understanding the general's position. "She almost sent Princess Twilight to come get me, but I told her there was a barrier on this side. I also said that you were probably trying to talk to them with a radio signal." She scraped one hoof on the ground idly before continuing, "Equestria has developed radio technology, but at least by the time I was sent away, it was only used for broadcasting, mostly musical entertainment. The princess was surprised to hear you were trying to use a radio to contact them, so they probably haven't advanced much in that arena. There are just so many other ways ponies can communicate over long distances..."
"In other words, it might take them a while to get a transceiver together?" O'Neill summarized. Sweetie nodded.
"Well congratulations, Cassandra, or Sweetie Belle, or whatever you want to be called," General Landry looked down at her, "you just got hired on as diplomatic advisor."
Sweetie looked up and gave Landry a mischievous grin. "Do I get paid?" She asked.
Landry chuckled, "Sure thing, kid, I'm sure we can fit a few hours' pay into the budget. But I need an on-the-fly briefing now, while we wait for these people to get their equipment together. Who am I dealing with?"
"Just to be clear, I don't have any information about what's been happening in Equestria since getting turned into a human," Sweetie prefaced her impromptu briefing. "However, when I got cursed, Equestria had five princesses:
"Princess Cadance is the Princess of Love. She was the one I just talked to. She rules the Crystal Empire, which is really more like a territory than an empire now that I think about it... I don't actually know all that much about her personality, but she married Princess Twilight's brother, and I mean, she's the Princess of Love, so she must be a nice pony.
"Princess Flurry Heart is Princess Cadance's daughter. She was younger than me, and didn't have an official position in the government yet. She might have a position now, though...
"Princess Twilight is the Princess of Friendship. Princess Cadance said she was going to send Princess Twilight to pick me up, so there's a good chance she'll be on the radio, or if you let somepony come through the gate, she might be the one in charge of the group that arrives. Princess Twilight is an intellectual, although she's prone to obsessing over things that she really shouldn't. When I left, Princess Twilight didn't technically rule over any land, but she was the de facto ruler of Ponyville, the town we lived in. Um... she's also best friends with the ponies that Cameron, Samantha, and Daniel have become, so that could get a little bit awkward.
"The other two princesses are Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun, and Princess Luna, Princess of the Moon. They're sisters, more than a thousand years old each. They're the main rulers of the country. Princess Luna is generally in charge of the less popular aspects of government, like espionage and taxes, while Princess Celestia is generally in charge of the more popular aspects, like holding court for anypony to get royal assistance with a problem."
"How likely are we to deal with these older two princesses?" Landry asked, taking Sweetie at her word on their ages, at least for now.
"Neither of them are likely to want to leave Equestria for long," Sweetie replied. She glanced at Carter on the opposite end of the room hesitantly before continuing, "The Princesses control the motion of the sun and moon across the sky. While one can do the other's job, the day-night cycle is much smoother if they're allowed to share the burden."
"What was that?!" Carter cried, her wings flaring slightly. Obviously, she had been listening more closely than Sweetie had hoped. "No. I've seen a lot of incredible things through that gate, but I cannot believe there's somepony who can move a star. Even moving a small moon stretches credulity!"
Carter trotted across the briefing room to join the impromptu briefing. Sweetie wilted a bit, but she defended her statement, "I can't explain it, beyond 'it's magic.' But I have seen both the sun and the moon move in ways that wouldn't be possible if Equestria's celestial neighborhood operated like Earth's. I mean, if nothing else, when I was a filly Nightmare Moon caused a night that lasted for more than a full day. It wasn't an eclipse or anything like that, either, the sun just didn't rise."
"Hold on," Landry said, "who's this Nightmare Moon? I thought you said Princesses Celestia and Luna were the ones to control the sun and moon?"
"Ah, that's a bit of a complicated question," Sweetie replied. "Nightmare Moon was—"
Sweetie was cut off by the radio coming to life. The audio quality was poor, but the words could still be heard, "Hello? Is anypony there? Turnip, is this thing working?"
Another voice could be heard over the line, too muffled to make out the words.
"It looks like this briefing is over. Time for first contact," the general said. Stepping up to the microphone, he responded, "This is Major General Henry Landry of the United States Air Force. With whom am I speaking?"
"Oh, it worked!" The speaker on the other end cleared her throat, and said, "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Regent of the Crystal Empire, Keeper of the Crystal Heart, The Winged Spear that Scatters the Darkness..."
Landry turned back to Sweetie. With the microphone off, he asked, "Who is this?"
"That's Princess Cadance. I haven't even heard of most of those titles," Sweetie shrugged.
Eventually, the princess finished her roll of titles, "For the sake of expediency, you may refer to me as Princess Cadance of Equestria. I have recently been in contact with one of my subjects, a unicorn by the name of Sweetie Belle. Do you know her?"
"I do know her," Landry said. "She's right here. Sweetie?" The general offered Sweetie a chance to speak into the microphone.
"Hi Princess Cadance!" Sweetie squeaked "Don't worry, General Landry is a good person. You can trust him!"
"It is good to hear that after decades of trying, my efforts have finally paid off, even if only to find one pony," the princess sighed. "General Landry, I would like to send somepony to collect Sweetie Belle, but I understand there is some kind of barrier on your side of the portal?"
The general nodded, although Cadance wouldn't see it, "Indeed, there is. The iris is so close to the event horizon that a traveler's molecules do not have space to reintegrate. Sweetie tells me you were attempting to contact a subordinate earlier. Last night we detected seven travelers running afoul of the iris; if they were yours, I must convey my deepest apologies, as there is nothing left of any of them."
There was silence over the radio, and when Landry looked back to her, Sweetie's ears and tail hung low in sorrow over the loss of life. Even Carter's wingtips were drooping.
"I see," Cadance finally said. "Is it possible to lower the barrier, this 'iris?' Would you permit us to visit you?"
Landry considered for a moment. "Perhaps it would be useful for you to send a representative, and we can talk face-to-face," he suggested. "I am going to have to insist on no more than one attendant for your representative, and anyone you send will need to submit to a medical examination."
Landry instructed Harriman to open the iris, and everyone got their first look at the wormhole from Equestria. While the event horizon still rippled like liquid, it was not the luminous blue the SGC personnel were used to. Instead, the surface was silvery and reflective, giving the impression of mercury rather than water.
"The path is open, Princess Cadance. You may send your representative when you're ready."
Stargate Command Embarkation Room
"I'm telling you, General, you don't need the defense team!" Sweetie stood next to Landry at one of the doors leading out of the embarkation room.
Landry looked around the room. There was one marine behind one of the M2s fixed to the floor, and an armed guard at rest near each of the two exit doors. "This is hardly what I would call a 'defense team,'" he said when he looked back at the young unicorn.
"But Equestria is peaceful!" Sweetie complained. "We haven't had an armed conflict in over 300 years!"
"Incoming travelers," Chief Master Sergeant Harriman's voice came over the room's speakers.
Seconds later, a bipedal saurian creature stepped through the gate. It was covered in deep purple scales, save for its belly and the underside of its tail, which were a pale green color. A trail of deeper green triangular spines ran down the center of its head, to its back and all the way to its spade tipping its tail. The creature was easily six feet tall, with vicious-looking teeth up to three inches long and incredibly sharp claws on each hand and foot.
"That's Spike Thed'ragon," Sweetie whispered to Landry, as the visitor stood to one side of the gate and scanned the room. "He's Princess Twilight's number one assistant."
Shortly after Spike appeared, he was followed by a pony unlike any of the transformation victims. The instantly-noticeable differences were her height, at least twice as tall as Sweetie Belle, and her slightly translucent mane and tail which constantly floated and waved in the air as though she were underwater.
The pony's ethereal mane and tail sported several shades of blue and purple, complimenting her purple coat. The mark on her rump was a six-pointed pink star surrounded by five smaller white stars, and Landry's mind jumped to the image that had appeared on the late Airman Bosworth's skin.
"And that's Princess Twilight Sparkle," Sweetie supplied. "She's an alicorn, so she has the magic of all three pony tribes."
At Sweetie's comment, Landry took a second look at the visiting princess. The horn which he had previously noticed was easily a foot long, and looked sharp enough to impale someone if used as part of a charge. But in addition to the horn, she also displayed a pair of wings, a combination of features not found among any of the transformation victims, so far as he was aware.
Princess Twilight made her own scan of the room, and when she turned to face Sweetie and Landry, she revealed her right eye to be covered in a navy blue velvet eyepatch. She began to descend the ramp leading to the Stargate, with Spike stepping behind her, holding himself with the demeanor of a bodyguard that took his job seriously.
As Twilight approached, Landry also spotted a nondescript straight sword strapped to her side, mostly hidden under her right wing. No armed conflict in 300 years, eh? he thought privately. That might have been true before whatever expelled Cassandra from their world happened, but it looks like peacetime is over.
The Stargate connection cut out as soon as Spike stepped off the ramp. Twilight stopped a respectful distance from the general and dipped her head, "Greetings, General Landry, Sweetie Belle. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike."
Sweetie was dumbstruck with the stark difference between the Twilight she had known and the mare that stood before her now. This close, she could even make out numerous ridges under Twilight's coat, suggesting extensive scarring.
"Welcome, Princess," Landry replied with a shallow bow. "I will lead you to our infirmary for the medical exam in a moment. But first, we are going to have to confiscate your weapon during your stay. I promise that it will be returned to you before you leave."
Twilight blinked with surprise, glancing at the sword under her wing. "Oh! My apologies," she said. "I suppose it wasn't named the 'Forgotten Blade' for no reason. It has practically become a part of me over the years, and I sometimes forget I am carrying anything at all. I must admit, I've accidentally fallen asleep without taking my scabbard off on more than one occasion," the princess blushed.
Landry motioned for the marine that had been manning the M2 to accept the sword as the scabbard unlatched and levitated away from Twilight's barrel, glowing with a pink aura shared by her horn. "Secure our guest's equipment in the armory," he ordered. To the princess and her assistant, he said, "Please follow me to the infirmary, and my Chief Medical Officer can give you a clean bill of health, then we can formally begin our talks. Cass–Sweetie, I would appreciate your presence, as well."