//------------------------------// // Crosscurrent [Part 3] // Story: Stargate: Shangri-La // by Grey Ghost //------------------------------// "That's the last of the small pockets ma'am," Wilson spoke up, looking to the general, who had taken to sorting out other pressing matters, "I'll do one last scan but I think the tower's clear." "Excellent," Carter replied, nodding her thanks. She reached up, tapping her earpiece. "This is General Carter. It looks like you can take a breather, Princess, we think that was the last of the small groups." "That's a relief," Cadance's voice spoke over the radio, relief evident in her tone. "We're going to start scanning the unexplored portions of the city," Carter informed her, looking at the image of Shangri-La on one of the larger screens. "Don't want any more nasty surprises. Lieutenant, you can return to the control room." "Right away, General," Lieutenant Kim began to respond, though a sudden rush of noise drowned out the rest of her reply. Carter turned, watching as the stargate started to light up. "Wilson, raise the shield." Wilson didn't need to be told twice, activating the gate's shield just as the wormhole connected. "We're receiving Major Marshal's IDC." Carter let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "Let them through." Wilson nodded, deactivating the shield. "Uh ma'am, we have a problem." Wilson frowned, turning her attention to a flashing screen. Carter barely contained a groan, starting to feel the beginnings of a headache. "What is it, Wilson?" "We're detecting a major buildup of heat just above the jumper bay's outer door." Wilson paused, studying the screen intently. "What?" Carter asked, moving to look for herself. "The ice covering the outer doors is melting," Wilson repeated, a frown growing across her face. "Which would mean we could use the bay, if the doors weren't damaged," Carter muttered, looking up as the offworld team came through the gate, which promptly deactivated behind them. "Wilson, send a message to Iwu, I want a team working on the outer bay doors as soon as possible." "Right away." "Bowers," Carter tapped her earpiece, switching to the colonel's frequency, "I want two security teams in the jumper bay." "Ma'am?" came Bowers' confused reply. "It looks like we may be getting some more uninvited guests," Carter informed him. "I'll take care of it," Bowers acknowledged, beginning to pass out orders. "Major Marshal," Carter turned turned her attention to the Puddle Jumper as it moved up into the bay. "I want that jumper unloaded and the civilians evacuated from the bay in the next ten minutes." "Right away, General," Marshal responded. At least they could be prepared this time. She registered a flash in the corner of her eye, gazing over to see Cadance had teleported in, though judging by the looks her guards were sporting, they hadn't expected it. "Sorry," Cadance spoke up sheepishly, looking between her companions, "I didn't want to walk." "It's alright, Princess," Lieutenant Kim assured her, straightening up. "Sergeant, Lieutenant," Carter cut in, getting their attention, "I want you to go up to the jumper bay and assist Major Marshal." "Yes ma'am!" They saluted before moving out of sight. "Samantha, is something going on?" Cadance asked with a frown. "Please tell me it's not more parasprites." "Something is melting the ice covering the jumper bay," Carter explained, glancing upward, "Do you know of anything that could do that?" Cadance thought for a moment before her face lit up. "That has to be Celestia!" "Let's suppose it is her," Carter gestured for her to come over. "How is she putting out enough heat to do it?" Cadance giggled, bringing a hoof to her mouth. "My aunt is directly connected to the sun, this weather is just a light flurry to her." Cadance got serious, dropping her hoof. "Though, I've never actually seen her go all out, I can only imagine it's terrifying." "Connected to the sun how?" It wouldn't be the first time a ruler presented themselves as having some supernatural power, hell that's all the Goa'uld did. Though, there was always the possibility that said boasting was true. "That, my friend, is something you should see for yourself." Cadance smiled mischievously. "If it is her," Carter began, frowning down at her, "would she see us as a threat?" "I'm not going to say that the situation looks all that good," Cadance admitted sheepishly, "but I think if I'm there, things will calm down." "Right," Carter noded, a plan forming in her head. "Are you good with confined spaces?" "And you never got caught?" Roland asked, giving Floyd a skeptical look. "Nope," Floyd shook his head, looking up from his laptop. "Everyone assumed a coyote had just knocked over a lantern or something." "How did you get into the program, again?" Krysiline glanced at him, a frown on her face. "Dad's a suit," Floyd explained, stretching out. "He works with the pentagon or something. Personally, I think he got me the job as an apology." "What's a suit?" Lyra asked from nearby, looking at some pictures of Earth with Jace. "It's a set of clothes," Floyd responded, making Lyra roll her eyes. "I know that. I was asking why you called your dad a suit." "Oh, that." Floyd leaned back. "It's just what you call people that work for the government." "I... don't get it," Lyra admitted, frowning. "People employed by the government normally dress very formally, usually in some type of suit," Roland answered. "You know, I'm actually surprised you know what clothes are." "Ponies wear clothes," Lyra giggled. "Although we normally only wear them during special occasions, or for protection. It really just depends on the pony, I suppose…" "I dunno, I kinda figured they'd be too hot to wear, I mean, with the fur and all," Floyd gestured, scratching his neck. "Sometimes it can be," Lyra nodded before looking at Floyd curiously. "Hey Floyd, what was that thing you said before?" "That's... not very specific." "The, uh…" she tapped her hoof a few times. "You said 'yee something.' I don't know of any word like it in modern Equestrian." "That's because the language we're conversing with right now is English," Floyd explained, absentmindedly toying with his amulet. "Yee naaldlooshii is a word in Diné bizaad, the language of the Navajo." "You're Navajo?" Krysiline asked, sounding genuinely curious. "One half," Floyd nodded. "I spent a lot of time in the nation, normally summers." "That's nice and all but it doesn't exactly answer my question," Lyra complained, poking Floyd's leg. "Geez, relax will ya?" Floyd shook his head. "The most direct translation is 'skin walker.'" "That... doesn't sound so nice." "It's not. Most Navajo don't talk about them. Skin walkers are people who have gained the power to turn into an animal by wearing its skin." "Humans can do that?" Lyra made a face, the thought being utterly horrid. "No," Roland assured her, "It's just a belief, humans can't just turn into animals." "Yeah, well, I saw one," Floyd insisted, scowling. "Let's just talk about something else shall we?" Krysiline suggested, doing her best to defuse the situation. Salvation came when General Carter's voice crackled over Floyd's earpiece. "Hendrix, come in." Floyd didn't respond right away, taking in a deep breath before letting it out. "Yes, General?" he asked, turning away from the others. "I need you and Lyra up in the Jumper Bay," Carter instructed. "Bring your camera." "Copy that." Floyd got up, peering at the mare. "Come on Ly, the General wants us." He stopped, looking at Jace, the older man having grabbed his arm. "Don't let things like that get to you, yeah?" Jace encouraged, releasing his arm. "Nothing's impossible right?" "Thanks." Floyd managed a smile before making his way out of the room. As the steam cleared, Luna raised her eyebrow at the sight of the tower. Instead of just having a normal door on the roof, the doors were set down into a short shaft and took up the entirety of the roof. Not to mention the shield was up, though unlike its normal dome, it seemed to be acting as a second skin to the city. "I don't understand," Celestia muttered, frowning at the doors while the shield reacted to each step they took, "Why would they leave the shield in such a way?" "It seems that they didn't want anyone to get in," Luna commented, adjusting her gear, "What's your next bright idea?" "Just... let me think," Celestia huffed, trotting away from her. What was she supposed to do now? Shangri-La's shield was supposed to be impenetrable, and she didn't exactly want to just start blasting at it. "We're not going to get anywhere just standing here, perhaps there is another way in?" "No," Celestia shook her head quickly. "If the shield is up, we won't be able to get in." Luna said nothing, just giving her a flat look. "Don't give me that look, Luna, I had no way of knowing that the shield was active." "Tell me sister, do you actually plan things out, or do you just make it up as you go along and hope for the best?" "Luna, is this really the best time for this?" Celestia scowled, returning Luna's flat look. "Celestia, you're the one who dropped everything and decided to just come here," Luna countered. "It would have taken us months to mount a proper expedition!" Celestia protested, fluffing her wings in agitation. "Cadance can't wait that long." "I know that, what I'm saying is that you dragged us up here without any plan whatsoever, like usual." Luna snorted, fluffing her own wings. Celestia opened her mouth to reply, only to stop as the doors started to slowly slide open under the shield. They both lit their horns, peering down into the darkness. After a few tense moments, one of the Teachers' flying craft rose up, passing through the shield. Celestia gazed through the window, freezing up momentarily. Memories flooded her mind as she stared at the pilot, obviously one of the teachers. "Auntie!" Cadance's voice cut through the tide, drawing Celestia back to the real world. "Cadance!" she shouted, nearly reaching the Royal Voice. The younger alicorn had appeared next to the Teacher, waving at them. "I'll be right out," Cadance spoke, her voice projected by the machine. She disappeared from sight, reappearing from the opposite end. Only once had Celestia ever felt this kind of relief, the day Luna returned to her. Celestia darted over, pulling Cadance into a bone crushing hug. "Ack! C-can't breathe..." Cadance wheezed, squirming futilely. "Sister," Luna spoke softly, putting her hoof on Celestia's shoulder, "If you do not release Cadance then our reunion will be very short lived." "O-oh yes, of course," Celestia muttered quickly, releasing Cadance. "I apologize Cadance, my emotions got hold of me..." "I-it's fine, Auntie..." Cadance coughed, rubbing her throat. "Are you well, Cadance?" Luna asked, looking her niece over. "They treated you well, yes?" Cadance took a long deep breath before responding, "Yes, Luna, I'm fine. I've been treated very well." She held up her hoof, cutting them off preemptively. "I'll explain everything once we're inside. I'm not exactly dressed for the weather." "And we are supposed to climb into..." Celestia frowned, trying to recall the name of the vehicle. Her hazy memories were starting to become rather bothersome. "General Carter called it a 'Puddle Jumper,'" Cadance quoted, gesturing to it. "Now come on, I'm freezing." Celestia and Luna exchanged looks, taking a moment before following Cadance inside of the Jumper. It took them a few minutes to get inside, as Celestia was slightly too tall to stand normally, forcing her to lay on her belly, with the other alicorns taking a bench to either side of her. The hatch behind them closed, and the Jumper descended back into the tower. "Cadance, I must ask about the people of this city," Celestia spoke, making sure the pilot couldn't hear. "A general is not something the Teachers would have." "Well..." Cadance bit her lip, choosing her words carefully. A bit of panic shot through the young monarch, a misphrased statement could seriously hamper any potential diplomatic relations Cadance had already begun. "The Teachers... are gone." "What?" Luna asked first, her eyes narrowing as a very disturbing look began growing on her face. "Okay, hold it," Cadance quickly shook her head. "They've been gone since before the Great Exodus. Some kind of sickness took them. They put the shield up around the city so it wouldn't get out, so it wouldn't infect us." "Then, why does that one look like them?" Celestia asked, her tone and expression unreadable. "They call themselves humans," Cadance began, recalling what Dr. Jackson had told her the day before. "They come from a planet called Earth, a galaxy away from us. They are, more or less, the Teachers' descendants." "We shall see," Luna snorted, her expression having softened slightly. "Please, just give them a chance, they've been nothing but kind to me and the others," Cadance pleaded, looking between them. The Jumper rocked a bit, signaling their arrival. "One moment please, and we can all get out of this tuna can," their pilot joked, lowering the rear hatch. Instead of going through the time consuming process of getting out one at a time by walking backwards out of the hatch, the three alicorns took the most logical course of action – teleporting out. Luna let out a small gasp as she took in the surroundings, this time being the one assaulted by old memories. Glimpses of figures and the echoes of words long forgotten washed over her. It was Celestia who threw her a life saver. "Are you General Carter?" the eldest princess asked, gazing intently at the human closest to them. "That would be correct," General Carter nodded. "I take it you are Princess Celestia?" "That would also be correct, General." Celestia gazed behind the General, noting the dozen or so guards behind the general. Off to the side were Lyra Heartstrings and... Agent Sweetie Drops. The two locked eyes for a moment, with Sweetie Drops giving a barely noticeable nod. Next to them stood another human, holding what looked like a camera. Her eyes stopped, resting on the amulet hanging from his neck. "Where did you get that?" Celestia asked, causing the human to jump. "Uh... I got it off a skeleton..." he admitted, reaching up to touch it. Celestia raised her eyebrow, watching as it glowed ever so softly. "Please, Your Majesties," Carter spoke, getting their attention, "we have a lot to talk about, and I imagine we'd all like to do it somewhere more comfortable. If you'll please follow me, my colleague Dr. Jackson should have the conference room set up." She turned, quickly moving out of the room. "Were you expecting them to be so... tall?" Daniel whispered, leaning ever so closer to Carter. The ponies in question were seated across from them, more or less grilling Bon Bon and Lyra about their time in the city. Floyd was seated on the human side with his camera set up and rolling. "Honestly, I was expecting them both to be around Cadance's size," Carter replied. Celestia was the taller of the pair, standing at at least six and a half feet, horn included, while Luna was slightly taller than Cadance. Both, for reasons unknown, had flowing manes and tails, which moved in a non-existent wind. Luna's was more on the ethereal side, her mane like the night sky. "I would like to thank you," Celestia spoke, her voice soft and reserved. "My subjects tell me that you have treated them very well." "I won't lie, your Majesty," Carter replied, meeting the alicorn's gaze, "we weren't exactly prepared for their appearance, but our people would much rather have friends than enemies." "I feel much the same way," Celestia agreed with a nod. "From what Cadance as told us, it seems you intend to claim the city for your own." "Thieves!" Luna snorted, flaring her wings out. "What right do you have to—" "Luna, calm yourself," Celestia chided, sipping at the tea their hosts had graciously provided. "Such outbursts are ill-suited for talks such as these." "Sister, they wish to—!" "Luna," Celestia frowned, her magic clamping Luna's mouth shut, "this is not the Empire. There is no dictator to slay. If it is true that the Teachers died out, that would mean that the city has sat here, unclaimed. Equestria has no land here, and if they intend to claim it, we have no legal right to stop them." "About that," Daniel cleared his throat, "do you know exactly where we are?" "Of course," Celestia nodded, releasing a clearly angry Luna. "We are in a region known as the Frozen North." Celestia levitated a map out of Luna's gear, laying it out in front of the humans. "It was once the pony homeland, but it has since become an uninhabitable frozen waste." "Right," Daniel nodded, scanning the map. Several names caught his eye, mostly the ones that seemed to be equine-related puns of locations back on Earth. "This is incredible," he noted, continuing to scan the map. "So many places seem to have names that mirror locations on our world." "Doc," Floyd started, looking at the map, "those are a bunch of pun names." "I know, it's fascinating," Daniel replied, ignoring how unimpressed the young man sounded. "I mean, Baltimare is a harbor city just like our own Baltimore. The fact that they parallel each other warrants further study." "If I may, doctor Jackson," Celestia spoke, setting her cup down, "I assume you came through the..." she paused, looking at the stargate. "Yes we came through the stargate," he explained, curbing his enthusiasm slightly. "Is that what you call it?" Celestia asked, returning her gaze to him. "The Teachers' name for it continues to elude me." "Well it's been given many names during our travels," Daniel offered. "Chappa'ai has been a common one, and ring of still waters is one we've heard a few times that is an apt description. 'Stargate' is our translation. We got it from the Gau'uld, who got it from the Ancients name 'Astra Porta'. The operation of the device is keying in several coordinates in space and finally inputting the symbol for the point of origin. Earth's point of origin symbol is this," he pointed to the SGC logo with the pyramid and sun. "If I remember correctly..." Celestia levitated over a sheet of paper and a pen, quickly drawing out what looked like a tree, its snaking branchings resembling a star. "This is Halla's symbol, the Tree of Harmony." Daniel peered down at the drawing, taking a moment to think. "Princess... have you been through the gate before?" "I..." Celestia paused, a far away look spreading across her face. "I believe so. Forgive me, my memory of that time is foggy at best." "It's alright, Princess," Daniel said. "I only ask because Earth has several legends and myths about things like pegasi, unicorns and other beings from your world. The far east even has an equine creature known as the qilin." "How did you find our world?" Luna spoke up, glancing between the humans. "We found reference to Shangri-La in another city," Sam answered. "It took us a little longer to find out the address." "And an address is how you refer to the coordinates in space you have to input, correct?" Celestia asked, her interest piqued. "Exactly," Daniel agreed, "It sort of came to me after reading about Shangri-La." "This is all truly fascinating," Celestia told him. "It seems we'll have much to learn from you during your time here." She cleared her throat. "I want to formally thank you for taking care of Cadance and her companions. I cannot tell you how worried we were for her safety." "It was no trouble at all," Daniel said. "One of the SGC's primary goals has always been to ensure friendly relations with the inhabitants of other worlds and to learn from them as well as they from us." Of course, he left out the bit about collecting technology for Earth's defense. "Cadance has assured me of that," Celestia nodded. "I do hope our people can be friends." "We're hoping for the same thing," Sam said. "Once this facility is fully operational, we'll work on establishing formal relations. From there, we can discuss the future between our races." "If I may hazard a guess, you plan on expanding the shield to free the city of ice?" Celestia asked, a smile on her face. Sam blinked, not sure what to make of that statement. "Yes, that was our plan. Did Cadance tell you that as well?" "My own deduction," Celestia smirked, "You can't lower the shield until you remove the ice and the only way to do that is to expand it." "Well Princess, you're absolutely right." Sam said. "We should be able to do that rather quickly if we don't run into any unforeseen circumstances. Shangri-La should be free of ice in less than a day." "To see the city again in all its glory." Celestia closed her eyes. "Don't you agree Luna?" "It will certainly be a sight to behold, sister," Luna agreed, closing her own eyes. "It is not one that I thought we would ever see again." "You've been here before?" Floyd asked, peeking past his camera. "Yes," Celestia said. "When we were just fillies. I remember only a little of our time here, but I do remember being in awe of what we were seeing." "I... wasn't expecting that..." Daniel frowned, looking between the princesses. "Neither did we, until we heard the name Shangri-La again," Celestia replied. "Something seems to have tampered with our memories. I wouldn't be surprised if Discord was at least partially responsible." "General" a voice crackled over Carter's earpiece. "What is it?" Sam asked, putting a finger to the earpiece. "Did something happen?" "The shield emitters are good to go," the voice replied, "We can expand the shield whenever you're ready." "You are clear to expand the shields," Carter told him. "Let's get Shangri-La clear." "Right away ma'am." "Looks like the emitters were in better condition than I thought," Carter relayed to the others, smiling. "In a matter of minutes, Shangri-La will be cleared away of ice. Then, we can send you home." "That is wondrous news," Luna said. "I can hardly wait to see it." All of a sudden, a series of rumbles started to run through the city, alerting everyone. "Probably should have warned us about that..." Floyd muttered, holding his camera steady. "I wasn't expecting it either," Carter said. "But think of it this way, it beats digging the city out by hand," she offered, a certain incident in Antarctica replaying in her mind. "That's it, General, the shields are at full. "I suggest keeping it up," Celestia spoke up, "I'd rather we not find out if the windigos still lurk in the tundra." "And I thought this place was all sunshine and rainbows," Floyd muttered. "That's why you have to learn to keep your guard up," Carter told him. "Even something that seems completely innocuous can turn out to be dangerous. Just like those parasprites." "It's just, I wasn't expecting a world of magical ponies to co-exist with a native american spirit of cannibalism," Floyd spoke, yawning softly. "And did you think we expected to find out that the ancient norse gods were actually the famous Roswell Greys?" Daniel asked with a chuckle. "First rule of gate travel, always expect the unexpected. Especially when it comes to our myths and legends turning out to be real." "Did you say... cannibalism?" Lyra spoke up, a horrified look on her face. "Yeah, the legend of the wendigo starts with a man committing the horrific act of cannibalism," Floyd explained. "Once he has tasted the flesh of man he becomes a hideous beast." "I would hope such an act is rare?" Luna asked, eyeing Floyd. "Yeah, cannibalism is seen as one of the most despicable things someone can do," Floyd said. "And I'm not quite sure of the exact number, but I do think it doesn't happen very often." "Before we continue," Daniel spoke up, getting everyone's attention, "We've all been up through the night, perhaps we should get some sleep?" "I could go for some sleep, the fuzzballs kept me up," Floyd mumbled, glancing at his fingers. "Very well, we shall retire for the night and reconvene in the morning," Celestia said, standing up and stretching out a bit. "Once we wake up I can take Cadance, her companions, and all of you to the Crystal Empire. I am sure that Dr. Jackson will immensely enjoy seeing it." "Good night everypony!" Lyra waved, getting to her hooves. "I can show you to some empty rooms, Princess," Carter spoke up, standing and looking between Celestia and Luna. "I think we can find our old rooms." Celestia smiled. "Though I would understand if you assigned us escorts." Carter nodded, grateful for the princesses' understanding. She turned and motioned to a few guards that were standing by the door. They came up to her and snapped to attention. "Please see to it that the princesses make it to their rooms." "Night guys." Floyd waved. He blinked, watching as Luna stepped past, the alicorn studying him for a moment. "Uh... can I help you?" he asked, not sure what to make of the look she was giving him. "That amulet once belonged to our mentor," Luna explained, her eyes locking onto the pendant hanging from his neck. "If you are to wear it, we ask that you keep it safe." "That was the plan, Princess," Floyd told her, putting a hand on it. "I can't quite explain it, but it's like this thing... called out to me." "Then perhaps you are worthy of it," Luna smiled cryptically, trotting out of the room. "Yeah... that wasn't weird at all," Floyd muttered, his hand dropping from the amulet as he began walking toward his own room. "And to think, I almost said no to going through the gate." "That was... odd..." Daniel commented, turning to Carter. "Daniel, we've dealt with odd things for about a decade now," Carter reminded him. "That doesn't even crack the top ten. But, it does bear looking into." "Right," Daniel nodded, getting to his feet. "Try not to stay up too late." "I could say the same to you," Carter shot back, getting up with him. "I saw the way your eyes lit up when you read that map. That look usually comes before you pull an all night research session." "The way I see it, we're going to have a busy day tomorrow," he replied, walking to the door. "I'd be disappointed if we had walked through the gate and there was nothing for us to do," Carter offered. "As it stands, we've struck metaphorical gold on this find." "You just know the IOA's going to pull something," Daniel sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We've dealt with them before and we can deal with them now," Carter said. "Let's not forget, they removed you from Atlantis for being too good at your job." "I'm not going to let that happen again," Carter told him with a frown. "Even if I have to pull every string I have at my disposal." "Lets hope it doesn't come to that." He turned, looking at her, "Night, Sam." "Good night, Daniel," she replied, parting ways with him to go to her own room. "I was worried you were going to bite that young stallion's head off," Celestia commented, looking around their old quarters. "I was half-tempted to when I saw the amulet he had so brazenly taken," Luna replied, laying comfortably on her bed. "But you didn't," Celestia pointed out, taking her own bed. "You once told me that you felt Twilight Sparkle's potential the moment you saw her," Luna began, looking over at her, "I believe I felt the same thing." "Hmm, these descendants of the Teachers are rather interesting," Celestia mused with a smile. "We will have to watch the young stallion and see if you were right about him." "I hope we are right about them..." Luna muttered, laying her head down. "I do not think we have anything to worry about this particular group of humans," Celestia offered. "Though I do not know about any others." "Cadance and her companions gave them high praise." "True, just call me paranoid," Celestia said, laying her own head down. "Let's hope that our dealings with the humans continue to be pleasant ones." "Good night, sister." "And pleasant dreams to you," Celestia replied, letting out a yawn as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.