Stargate: Equestria

Connection

Chapter 10

As it turned out, word had spread throughout Ponyville of the Jaffa. Between the gossip from the nurses at the infirmary and Princess Celestia's impromptu arrival in the village, the news raced through the village like wildfire. Though most of the ponies were sketchy on the details, they knew enough to recognize the threat to Ponyville and Equestria. To O'Neill's mild surprise, despite their skittishness when faced with humans, the ponies reacted with far more backbone than he'd expected to Rainbow Dash's and Applejack's recruiting requests.

As a result, the next morning nearly all the unicorns and earth ponies in Ponyville were gathered at the border between Sweet Apple Acres and the open plains beyond, with a veritable cloud of pegasi off to the side, sitting, hovering, or idly swooping around as they chatted among themselves. Dash hadn't just pulled in most of the Ponyville pegasi, but had made a trip up to the nearby floating city of Cloudsdale and called in a few favors among the fliers there. O'Neill idly reflected that if "the nearby floating city of Cloudsdale" was no longer enough to make him question his sanity, then he had been on this planet for just a little too long.

The ponies all still gave him nervous glances, but the presence of Applejack and Rainbow Dash seemed to reassure them. With the help of his two lieutenants, he split off two smaller groups of volunteers from both main groups and gave them their orders and weaponry. The ground special team was just returning from setting up the baskets of fruit, while O'Neill and Dash finished briefing the air special team on their job.

O'Neill hung the last smoke grenade around the neck of the final member of the air special team. The pegasus, a smallish mare with a grey coat, straight blonde hair, and a bubble mark on her rear, glanced down at her 'necklace' with minor apprehension. At least, O'Neill thought it was apprehension; her eyes were a bit off-kilter, and it made reading her expression hard.

"Don't worry, Ditz," Rainbow said cheerfully from O'Neill's side. "The way the colonel's got that rigged, it's foolproof. Even you won't have any trouble with it." The pony grinned nervously at Dash, or maybe at O'Neill; he couldn't be sure.

He shook his head and turned to Dash herself. The feisty pegasus was wearing the weapon harness taken from Brind'l; though it was a good bit of weight, it settled on her shoulders easily enough and she didn't seem to have any trouble with it. He adjusted the straps, giving her one last check-over, and slid one of SG-1's walkie-talkies into a small holster rig at her side. "You know your job, right?"

Dash saluted and grinned wolfishly at him; a surprisingly predatory expression coming from a cute miniature horse. "Backwards and forwards, boss. Just give me the word."

O'Neill returned the grin briefly and ruffled her mane. "All right. Get your team into position." He glanced up at the sky. "Nice job on the cloud cover."

She snorted and waved a hoof dismissively. "Did you expect anything less?" She winked and turned to the pegasi loitering around. "All right, ponies, follow me!" With a little more cajoling, she got the attention of all the fliers. As one they lifted up into the air, the multitude of beating wings causing the air to stir around O'Neill. The air team followed their captain up into the sky, disappearing behind a rather large cloud they had moved into position the previous evening.

He watched them until they disappeared from sight, then turned to Applejack. He knelt in front of her, securing a second radio in a holster slung over her shoulder similar to Dash's. "You ready?" he asked quietly.

Applejack looked a lot less confident than Dash, and she glanced at the very large group of ponies she was supposed to be leading. She took a deep breath, turning back to O'Neill. "I think so. I jus' don't wanna see anypony get hurt."

He shook his head. "Stick to the plan. Follow my orders. You know what you're doing." He cocked his head to the dog sitting alertly next to Applejack. "Besides, you've got your backup."

A smile crossed the pony's face as she looked to her pet. "Ayep. These Jaffa ain't no cows, but I reckon me an' Winona'll do all right." Winona barked in happy doggy agreement.

O'Neill patted her shoulder and rose. "All right then. Get your ponies into position." Applejack nodded and took another deep breath before turning to the assembled ponies. She started calling out orders, and her voice rang clear as a bell; any hesitation and worry was absent. After a few minutes of coordination, she and Winona led the pack of ponies into the treeline of the Everfree Forest, heading to the preassigned position, well out of sight from the plains.

When the last pony vanished from his sight, O'Neill began heading for the canyon, visible in the near distance. It was only about a mile away from his current position, and he fell into an easy jog. He raised his own radio to his mouth, clicking the Transmit button. "All positions, report in."

A giggle filtered through the speaker, followed by Rainbow Dash's voice. "Nice one, Colonel. You scared the hay out of Ditzy."

O'Neill growled. "Captain..."

Dash recognized the undercurrent of warning in the word and quickly turned professional. "I mean, air team ready and waiting, Colonel."

Applejack clicked on next. "Ground team ready."

"Canyon team in position, sir," came Major Carter's voice.

"All right. Air team, keep an eye out and report in when you see the Jaffa approaching." Rainbow radioed her affirmative, and O'Neill let the radio fall back against his vest as he neared the path that led up to the top of the canyon wall.

It was a tight path, barely big enough for one person, and it cut back and forth as it wound up the side of the mesa that surrounded the canyon. It really wasn't very tall, as mountains went, rising only about 150 feet or so. Its distinctive shape was what had drawn the mapmaker's notice rather than its size.

O'Neill emerged onto the flat top of the mesa on the north side, where the rest of SG-1 as well as Twilight Sparkle stood looking out over the plains. From here he could see into the canyon; the lush green of the plains faded to scrub grass and a couple of lonely-looking trees here and there. It was a wide open spot otherwise, with sheer walls and only the one way in or out. It was as good as he was going to get on short notice.

The others turned to him as he approached, giving him various murmured greetings. He nodded to Carter first. "Everything in place?"

She frowned, but nodded. "We're as ready as we can be up here. I'm not certain the C4 we brought is going to do the job, though."

O'Neill gave her a level look. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? After all, we've got so many options to choose from." The blatant sarcasm in his voice made Carter grimace, but she nodded. "Carter, Teal'c, you two stay on this side and be ready. Daniel, Twilight, you're with me. We need to get to the other side of the entrance before..." Rather than complete his sentence, he held up a hand and began counting off with his fingers. He held up one, then two, then three.

Right on cue, the radio snapped to life and Rainbow Dash's excited voice crackled through the speaker. "Colonel, they're on their way!"

O'Neill snorted. "I hate being right." He lifted the radio. "Copy that. Air team one, you're up. Team two, proceed when the sky is clear." He let the radio go and jerked his head at Jackson and the pony. "Other side. Now."

He turned, intending to sprint along the inner rim of the canyon; the crevasse that permitted entrance into the canyon was not large, but it was still far too wide to leap across. Before he could take a step, however, a brilliant light flared behind him, and he found a soft pressure envelop his entire body. He began to struggle, but stopped when he twisted his head around and saw Twilight Sparkle working her magic, horn glowing a bright pale purple.

She bent her head, face twisted up in concentration, and both O'Neill and Jackson floated up into the air, gliding gently over the crevasse, and their feet touched earth mere seconds after O'Neill had given the order. When both had their feet planted, Twilight released the magic, letting out a pent-up breath. She took another couple of steadying breaths and her horn began to glow again, the intensity ramping up sharply, a bright white glow at the very tip of her horn...

...and with a sudden pop, she vanished from sight, reappearing half a second later next to the two humans. She staggered as the light vanished, and Jackson knelt to steady her against him. All four humans stared openly at her, and as she caught her breath she smiled wearily. "Done."

Jackson, Carter, and even Teal'c all looked impressed by the unicorn's ability. O'Neill only grunted. "Don't wear yourself out too soon. We still need you." He paused a beat, then added, "Good work." He pulled his binoculars from his tac vest and turned to the outer rim of the mesa, getting as close as he could to the approaching herd of Jaffa. A moment later the other two joined him, and Jackson put an open bag at Twilight's feet.

Raising the binoculars, he could see the mass of brown and grey bodies thundering along the plain. A small cloud of dust arose, clods of grass and dirt flying through the air as a hundred and twenty hooves beat the ground. Above the herd of grounded horses, the remainder of the winged horse squadron flew in formation. Five pegasi kept pace over the main herd in a flying wedge, while two pairs maintained a mobile patrol, keeping an eye out for ambushes.

Despite the care the Jaffa took, they didn't manage to fly high enough. As they passed under the cloud cover Dash's team had set up, a pair of energy blasts broke through the underside of the central cloud, lancing through the air directly in front of the lead pegasi and striking the earth well ahead of the ground horses. A moment later Rainbow Dash emerged, diving fast toward the formations. She was followed by her own wedge of ponies, the total formation over thirty strong.

The Jaffa fliers let out calls of alarm and broke, pulling hard to one side as Dash let two more blasts fly, again shooting harmlessly past the horses. Having secured the Jaffa's attention, the ponies pulled out of their dive, banking to the east and flying over the mountains, splitting into several smaller groups as they did. The Jaffa pegasi reformed quickly, tearing after their attackers, and soon staff blasts began to fill the air.

Twilight winced at O'Neill's side, concern in her face and voice. "Oohh, I hope they'll be okay. Rainbow's a great flier, but she can be so cocky..."

"She knows to be careful," the colonel assured her. The herd was becoming more and more visible as it thundered ahead without its aerial escort, their path at an angle away from the canyon, heading toward Ponyville. "She did her job." He nodded up to the sky. "Look."

With the Jaffa pegasi gone, there was nothing to impede the second air team. They appeared from the cloud cover, high and behind the herd, and as one they began a steep dive, aiming for a point well ahead of the Jaffa. This team was much smaller, and each one carried a grenade tied around their necks. O'Neill could make out Ditzy taking up the rear, straining hard to keep up with the others.

He clicked the radio on again. "Ground team, get moving." No sooner had he given the order than the divebombers swooped low over the ground in front of the herd, each one yanking their grenade off the tied cord with both hooves. The cord had been wound through the pin of each grenade, and O'Neill silently began to count out the seconds as the grenades cooked. "...Three, four drop them dropthemnow..."

To his relief, they all did, letting the grenades fall to earth a split second before they exploded. Giant billowing clouds of smoke erupted from the canisters, and soon the Jaffa herd found themselves facing one giant smokescreen. The air team banked away and soared toward the mountains to join the rest of their squadron against the Jaffa pegasi. "Light 'em up!" O'Neill barked.

Twilight sucked in a sharp breath and glared down at the open bag in front of her. Once more, she focused her magic, light streaming forth from her horn. Four flashbangs rose out of the bag, and with a grunt of effort, she yanked the pin on all four, one after the other. With a toss of her head, she directed the cooking grenades out onto the plains, throwing them into the quickly expanding smoke cloud farther and more accurately than any of the humans possibly could. Her aim was true, and as they disappeared she released her hold on them, slumping to the ground in exhaustion.

The lead Jaffa horses let out surprised yells and screams as the smoke appeared, but they had worked up so much momentum that it was difficult to simply stop. Even if they could, the horses behind them were still plowing ahead at full speed, their situational awareness hampered by the press of bodies. To stop now would mean getting trampled.

With little option before them, the Jaffa plunged into the cloud of smoke. At the same time, Twilight's flashbangs flew into the smoke just as Applejack emerged from the forest, running perpendicular to the Jaffa's charge. She galloped ahead at full speed, and her own herd of ponies, half the size but twice the number of the Jaffa, followed close on her heels. A small team split off, led by a huge red stallion nearly as tall as one of the Jaffa, heading for the line of apple baskets that even now most of the Jaffa herd were running past and hadn't spotted.

O'Neill watched intently through his binoculars as several things happened all at once, or at least near enough as to make no difference: the Jaffa herd plunged through the smokescreen, over half the horses already gone from sight in the mist. Twilight's flashbangs lit off in rapid succession, erupting in a cacophony of light and sound all around the herd, very much like cannon fire. As they did, the second team of ground ponies began to buck, kicking the apples into the herd's flanks. Some broke as they struck horses, while others bounced off ribs and hindquarters. Cries of shock, surprise, and distress began to arise from the herd, only to degenerate into mass coughing and choking.

It was in this state of panic and confusion that the Jaffa began to emerge from the smoke cloud. Their forward momentum had slowed, but not by much, and they ran in staggered disarray, slowly trying to get their bearings back. They didn't have much time for it, though, as Applejack's own herd bore down on them.

She cut across their path, her own heading toward the canyon, and the Jaffa started in surprise and began to turn away from her. There were too many ponies to cut through, and the barrage of apples was pelting them from the west, so in desperation the lead Jaffa turned with Applejack to run alongside her, away from the main attack. Winona kept pace with Applejack, bouncing and dodging around the pounding hooves of the Jaffa, snapping her jaws at their ankles and barking wildly to keep them moving forward. Applejack's herd streamed out behind her, and as more and more Jaffa emerged from the smoke, it was all they could do to follow their forward brethren, shying away from the ponies that cut off their path to Ponyville.

The Jaffa horse in the lead shook his head, trying to get his wits back together. He saw the opening to the canyon that Applejack was herding him toward, and to O'Neill's surprise he actually picked up speed. Presumably he saw it as a potential escape, especially as the crevasse was narrow enough that Applejack would need to break off. As the Jaffa began to enter the canyon, Applejack did indeed break off, leading the ground team north and away from the crevasse. The Jaffa continued running into the canyon, the rearmost of them still trusting to the judgment of the leaders.

As the last of the horses passed through into the canyon, O'Neill shot a hand toward the other side of the crevasse and roared, "NOW!" Carter held the detonator in her hand, and all four humans atop the canyon walls ran away from the crevasse, Jackson carrying the exhausted Twilight in his arms, as Carter punched the big red button.

The C4, which had been molded into the deepest cracks SG-1 could find in the crevasse walls, went off with a thunderous roar, the dirt and rock exploding on both sides and sending up a dust cloud nearly as thick as the smokescreen. The ground rumbled and thrashed with the explosion, sending the SG-1 team to their knees for safety. The horses within the canyon screamed in terror and ran for the opposite side, scrabbling about and looking for any escape.

When the dust settled, there was no more crevasse. The rock had settled into a massive pile that filled the space to about halfway up the rock wall. Pebbles and stones skittered down the rubble, and though it looked like the horses might still be able to climb out that way, they weren't going to do so easily.

O'Neill stood, shaking his head to try to clear the ringing in his ears. He pointed at Carter and Teal'c, then down to the Jaffa milling about in confusion. They nodded, Teal'c unslinging his staff and Carter pulling a Zat gun from a holster. They advanced to the lip of the canyon, training their weapons down at the horses.

Jackson said something, but had to repeat it twice over before O'Neill's ears cleared enough to understand him. "They don't have any staff harnesses," the scientist pointed out.

O'Neill shrugged. "Lucky us. Guess they saved them all for the fliers." He frowned and turned, peering up at the sky. "Speaking of which..."

After a few moments of searching the sky, they finally spotted the first pegasi flying back to the canyon. Pairs of ponies flanked captive Jaffa. None were wearing their harnesses, but O'Neill could see a few ponies who'd somehow managed to put them on midflight rather than just throwing them to the ground. The ponies let out cheers as they saw the trapped Jaffa, and directed their prisoners down into the canyon. The horse pegasi glided down sullenly to join their earthbound brethren, kept in the canyon by the steadily increasing guard of ponies.

Not all the ponies got away clean, O'Neill saw. Some of the fliers weren't escorting Jaffa, but wounded comrades sporting burn marks or other small wounds. Small wounds was all they were, though, and he could see even before Rainbow Dash flew down to his side that all the ponies that had gone up had come back down safely again.

The ponies wearing harnesses took up position around the canyon rim, while the others collected on the southern side with O'Neill. On the northern side, Applejack appeared at the top of the path leading down, followed closely by Winona and the rest of the ground team. They all filtered onto the canyon walls, cheering and chattering happily among themselves.

Twilight wasn't cheering, though. She frowned down at the horses within the canyon, then back up at O'Neill. "I...can't believe that worked," she admitted. "Spooking them like that? You said they were military. Shouldn't they have, I dunno, maintained discipline or something?"

The colonel scratched at the back of his neck and shared a look with Jackson. "I didn't say they were good military." He shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not about to question when a plan actually goes right for a change."

O'Neill unslung his P90, holding it casually in both hands. He walked to the edge of the canyon, staring down at the Jaffa. They were all breathing hard, but their panic had settled into a generally nervous unease. The cheering and chatter of the ponies - there were so many that they fairly well carpeted the curved wall of the canyon - eventually began to die down as they took notice of the human. Slowly, the Jaffa's attention was drawn horse by horse up to him as well.

He glanced around at all the silent horses, looking a bit uncomfortable, but cleared his throat. "Hey down there," he called. "Anyone hurt?" There was no response from the Jaffa; they simply stared up at him in dwindling panic and rising frustration and anger. He scowled at the lack of response. "I'll take that as a no. Look, which one of you is the commander?" He waved a hand, vaguely indicating all the horses. "I mean, you kind of...you all look alike."

Silence fell for several more seconds, until a sturdy-looking grey stallion stepped forward. O'Neill could just barely make out the mark of Epona that had been permanently tattooed on his flank in silver. The horse glared up at the human, and the deep-chested rumble of his voice rang off the walls. "I am An'dal, leader of the Ground cohort. What is it you want?"

O'Neill squatted down, resting his firearm casually against one knee. "You might have noticed you're a little trapped, An'dal. I've got a great firing position from up here, we've recovered half your staves, and I've got a horde of little ponies up here who are more than a little upset you were planning to attack their friendly little town. Let's talk terms."

The horse bridled. "You may have us cornered, but we will not negotiate! We fight for our goddess Epona and to rescue our captive brother!" There was a rumble of agreement among the horses, more for the latter than for the former it seemed.

The colonel opened his mouth to respond, but movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He glanced up, squinting into the distance, then looked back down to An'dal. "Hold that thought for just a moment."

The ponies swiftly cleared a landing spot as the two pegasi O'Neill had seen touched down gracefully atop the canyon. The ponies bowed to Princess Celestia as she strode past them to the rim of the canyon, nearly opposite of O'Neill once more. Brind'l tucked his wings in gingerly, one of them still wrapped in white bandaging as he stayed in step beside her.

The Jaffa turned as the two horses approached, and O'Neill could feel the rising tension and defiance that had been filling the canyon dissipate almost immediately. An'dal's voice filled the canyon once more. "Brind'l! First Prime!" As one, the horses snapped to attention, standing straight and staring up at the two horses, specifically at Celestia, in wide-eyed amazement.

Brind'l spoke, shaking his head. "An'dal, Celestia is no longer First Prime. She has not been for thousands of years. There is no goddess to be First Prime to."

Each sentence Brind'l spoke sent larger and larger shocks through every one of the horses within the canyon, and cries of "Blasphemy!" arose from several. Brind'l snorted and stamped his hooves, voice rising over theirs. "Then where is she?" The horses fell silent, and he continued, "Epona lied to us, brothers! She is no more a god than you or me! She tricked us, used us, and sold us off as slaves! We have all lost family to her 'tithes' and 'sacrifices', and for what? To be sent into a thousand-year sleep, awakening in a world we hardly even know as our own, our families long since passed!"

He bowed his head in mute sorrow, then looked to the regal mare standing quietly beside him. "But it isn't a bad world. Princess Celestia has seen to that. The ponies here are free from the oppression and cruelty of a false god. They live their lives happily and in peace." He turned back to face An'dal. "Let us do the same."

The horses fell to muttering among themselves, but none openly rejected Brind'l's heresy this time. Celestia straightened, fanning her wings out to their full length to draw their attention to her once more. "My friends, I don't ask you to renounce Epona right this instant." She smiled a little. "It would hardly be fair given your present situation. But my little ponies are not your enemies, and goddess or not, Epona has no control over Equestria any more. I ask you to stand down and cease hostilities. In return, I will be glad to grant you a plot of land to raise a new town, where you can live as free Equestrians. I've missed you, my friends. Let us live together in peace once more."

The horses stared among themselves, and a group of them formed around An'dal, conferring quietly. After a minute he stepped forward again. "And if we choose not to?"

O'Neill spoke up, causing the horses to twist around and look over their shoulders. "Then you go on a one-way trip through the gate to a planet I choose." His smile lacked anything like humor. "Trust me. This is the better deal."