Earlier at Stargate Command...

Alarms blared at Stargate Command as General Hammond made his way to the control room. A glance out the window confirmed that the Stargate was on, and the Iris locked. "Report."

"It's SG-1, sir," Sgt. Harriman said, turning on his chair just enough to look at him. "They're early."

"Good. Send two security teams in to join me."

"Yes, sir."

Hammond made his way to stand among the gathered soldiers, careful to not block any line of sight. "Open the Iris and send confirmation."

He watched the titanium alloy seal open up and retract, and soon Teal'c and Samantha Carter walked through, followed by a unicorn of all things, along with Daniel Jackson, and finally Jack and the Sunset Shimmer lookalike.

"We're—" Jack began, but was thrown off by the sudden sound of several guns being readied. "...back?"

"Sergeant," Hammond said, "arrest 'Miss Shimmer'."

"Lay down your weapons!" the soldier shouted at the arriving team.

"General?" Jack asked, blinking in confusion as he handed his gun to a G.I. "What's going on?"

"She's not armed sir," the soldier that had walked over to the lookalike said.

"Good, does that mean that you know she's not the real Sunset Shimmer, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

Jack shrugged. "Well… it's a little more complicated than that."

"Nice cell," Shining Armor said.

"It's a trend for these guys," Sunset said. "We'll be fine." She turned to face the unicorn, who was looking at her curiously. "Something on your mind, Shiny?"

He sighed and sat back. "It's really you. I just couldn't believe it. What's with the new body?"

"Well," she said, walking over to sit next to him, so they could both contemplate the excellent quality of the door. "Like I mentioned before, not exactly the same. But this body came with crossing the mirror. I imagine your Sunset probably looks the same at this time. Maybe a bit younger."

"Ah."

They sat in awkward silence for a few seconds. "So…" Sunset said, clearing her throat. "Did, um, your Sunset try to… you know, get between you and Cadance?"

Shining Armor blushed slightly under his fur, something only really noticeable if you knew what you were looking for. "It didn't work out exactly as she planned," he admitted.

Sunset snorted. "Cadance wanted in on it?"

"Yep."

"Lucky."

"Cadance, Sunset, or me?" Shining asked.

Sunset simply smiled. "In any case, when she gets back she'll need friends… I hope you and Cadance could give her a chance."

"Cadance always said she was game for doing it again."

"At friendship," Sunset clarified, this time feeling her own cheeks warming up.

"What did you think I meant?"

"I'm sure we both know."

Shining snorted, and the pair shared a laugh.

Lt. Shimmer stared baffled at the video being recorded by the camera in the brig, where she—or an exact replica of her—sat chatting with a unicorn.

"Imagine my surprise, Colonel," Hammond was saying, "when Lt. Shimmer reported for duty this morning."

"Well," Daniel said, leaning back. "That must have been quite the shock. Just like when we heard her talking in Equestrian while being surrounded by unicorns and pegasi."

"Indeed, or when she was revealed to be the adopted daughter of an ancient immortal being capable of moving the sun and the moon with her mind," Teal'c quipped.

Hammond directed one of his usual unamused glances at Daniel, making the archaeologist raise his hands in a placating manner. "It's not a contest to see whose experience was more shocking, Doctor Jackson," he said. "It's a matter of security. Now, I need to know how she got here, and whether this is going to be something that will keep happening."

"Well sir," Jack said, clearing his throat. "That Sunset," he pointed at the one on the screen, "is the owner and bartender of an inter-dimensional Speakeasy bar."

"She's actually met us all before," Sam added quickly, "or at least alternate versions of us. Apparently in her original universe, the teleportation device that her Equestrian counterpart used took her to Earth, transforming her into a human, but a lot of the ponies she met later had counterparts on Earth as well."

"I see," Hammond muttered. "And, Colonel, do you believe there would be any benefit in obtaining the Equestrian Government's support? I have to admit, I am not very comfortable with the idea of sending any of you to a Goa'uld dominated planet unless it is worth it."

"Well sir," Daniel said slowly, "we promised we would help."

"Whatever you promised, doctor, is still something I need to agree too," Hammond countered. "And as far as I am concerned, the fact that she simply pretended to be one of my personnel is grounds to really doubt her intentions."

"Lieutenant," Jack spoke up, making Lt. Shimmer jump.

"Yes sir?"

"Is the other Sunset Shimmer still in her prison cell?"

"Yes sir."

He turned to look at Hammond and shrugged. "She's cooperating."

Hammond narrowed his eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Well, sir," Daniel ventured, "from what Princess Celestia said, that Sunset Shimmer in the prison is extremely powerful… powerful enough to give her pause."

"This is the alien that can move the sun with her brain." Jack flipped his printed out report to the appropriate page. "We watched her do it."

"There are a lot of benefits of allying ourselves with the Equestrians," Teal'c said after a moment of letting that sink in.

"Oh?" Hammond said, "why don't we start with those, then? I'd very much like to hear why I need to send my best team to rescue an unruly teenager."

Teal'c nodded briefly. "The Equestrians had something similar to Thor's Hammer in their Stargate, in addition to a force field powerful enough to simply dissipate a blast from my staff with no problem. Lieutenant Shimmer—" he stopped when Lt. Shimmer cleared her throat and inclined his head in apology. "The Sunset Shimmer that went with us to Equestria commented that it is a system that can be adapted for us. I believe it would give us a distinct advantage over the Goa'uld."

"Sir," Lt. Shimmer spoke up, "I don't trust this… creature. She claims to be me from an alternate dimension, and now there's another one of me in a random planet. How do we know she's not lying?"

"To what end, Lt. Shimmer?" Teal'c asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I don't know."

"Jack?" Hammond asked.

"Right," Jack said, sighing. "I believe her."

The table grew quiet.

"I thought you had all gone through the psychiatric evaluation," Hammond said, glancing at Teal'c for confirmation.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, frowning.

"Sir, you've… never trusted anyone before," Sam said carefully. "Why is this time different?"

"She owns a bar with every single beer in the universe, Captain." Jack shrugged. "And I want in."

"Right. Dr. Jackson." Hammond sighed. "Do you believe the Equestrians will honor their deal?"

Daniel leaned forward, nodding as attention was centered on him. "Well, yes. They seem to value harmony and trust, among other things. They only detained us initially because of Sunset's previous history with their ruler, and let us return here with all of our weapons, no questions asked. What Teal'c said is also true… their defense system is effective. If they can do that for us, we'd have better protection against incursions than even the Iris can provide." He cleared his throat. "Add to that that our new Sunset Shimmer is apparently a being not only of great power, but also knowledge that goes even beyond anything we have ever encountered… and if we are to take her on her word, she's actually worked as an ally of our own counterparts in the multiverse."

Hammond shook his head. "Fine. I want SG-1 ready to go. I assume you will be taking our guests with you?"

Jack shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

"I would also like you to take Lt. Shimmer with you as well. I believe that this cultural exchange will help her career."

The group turned to look at Lt. Shimmer, who suddenly looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I didn't think you were very interested in proactively going to another world with the intention of making friends with the locals, Lieutenant," Jack said.

"No sir," Lt. Shimmer replied. "I'd rather just be pointed at a target to shoot."

"Or, in fact, have any inclination to create bonds with other alien species," Teal'c added.

Lt. Shimmer stood straighter. "No, sir."

"Sounds like the perfect person to tag along." Jack didn't even bother hiding his amusement and consulted Hammond with a glance before waving his hand dismissively.

Hammond tapped his finger on the table. "Very well then, SG-1 will go back to Equestria and coordinate with Princess Celestia on rescuing her daughter. I have already contacted my superiors, and they are drafting a trade treaty to be discussed with the Equestrian Representatives once the proper channels have been established, pending the results of this mission. I do not need to emphasize that if they can provide us with the technology we have discussed, they could very well be one of our most important allies. Dismissed."

Lieutenant Shimmer saluted, and stepped stiffly out of the room before anyone else, followed by General Hammond, and Teal'c.

"Are you sure it's a good idea, Jack?" Daniel asked as the others walked out of the room. "Lt. Shimmer is not… the most open-minded member of Stargate. Her history aligns much more with the 'shoot first' approach."

Jack looked him straight in the eye. "Nope. But we have our orders. And Lt. Shimmer might not like aliens, but she does follow orders."

"You guys can just call me 'Isekai', it always makes things easier."

Lt. Shimmer looked down at the extended hand of her clone, but made no attempt to shake it. "And you know who I am."

'Isekai' shrugged and dropped her hand to her side. She was not wearing any weapons… not because she hadn't been offered one—as crazy as it sounded to her—but because she apparently didn't need them.

"Hey, I am sorry I pretended to be you earlier. I sort of got caught in the moment, and it's easier to explain to four people who you are than a whole base," Isekai said, "plus all levels of government involved. Come on, let's try and be friends."

"I don't care about your circumstances, copycat. I am following orders, and I was ordered to go with you."

"Careful there," Colonel O'Neill said, walking up to the pair. "Besides, Isekai here is what, five hundred? Six hundred years old?"

Lt. Shimmer watched Isekai raise her eyebrow. "A lady never tells."

Colonel O'Neill nodded, then smiled for a full second before turning serious. "Over six hundred then. In any case, that'd technically make her the original."

"Not helping, Jack."

Colonel O'Neill shrugged and pretended he hadn't heard the alien. Isekai, however, faced her again, smiling apologetically. "There's no 'original' in the sense he says… for this universe you and my counterparts are both original. I can tell you, you're really nothing like she is."

Lt. Shimmer took a deep breath and ignored the alien, who was joined soon enough by Teal'c, Dr. Jackson, Captain Carter, and the unicorn, greeting them all in turn by first name basis. She ground her teeth and focused on waiting for the Stargate to open.

The sooner this was done the better. Aliens might look like them, talk like them, even have similar cultures, but they were not them, and offered little to make up for the hell they usually put them through.

And the liberties this one was taking… the way she interacted with everyone around her. It just made her blood boil.

"Are you feeling unwell, Lieutenant Shimmer?"

She winced and glanced at Teal'c, who was staring at her curiously, before nodding curtly. The jaffa nodded politely in return and left her alone.

She'd never really interacted with the jaffa. The symbiote inside him made her very nervous after all, and although she didn't question his loyalty to Earth, there were rumors that it could shift as easily as it had before. She had worked with the Tok'ra on occasion, but only through being relayed information through communications. SG-5 was not intended for anything other than combat, which is why she suited them best.

She wasn't a diplomat. She didn't support alien-human relations. She stayed quiet. Head down. Follow orders. Her team did not mix with the locals. They took down aliens. She took a deep breath as the others got sorted, thinking back to the files hidden away in her room, including the NID invitation.

In fact, her vacation had been a front to be able to meet with some of them. She wasn't necessarily interested in the money, but the country should be much more reserved. Demand more before they even offered support to other worlds. Demand the Tok'ra share their weapons and secrets. She had thought that working with SGC would be enough. That she would make a difference… somehow. But her superiors had not really delivered on that front.

She didn't like how the NID did a few things but… maybe they had a point. Maybe Stargate Command was too complacent. Right now it was a clone of hers. But what about the future? This other Sunset was… almost a perfect copy, except for the personality, and who knew what alien powers. If they could do that, what was stopping them from replacing everyone in Stargate Command?

Just look at how easily she had befriended SG-1. She'd never been able to call any of them (except Teal'c) by the first name. Captain Carter's voice broke through her musings.

"...you're kidding."

"Nope," Isekai responded, "before he got depressed, he was tall, muscular…" she sighed, a little dreamily. "I don't necessarily think muscles are the greatest thing, but that god… I swear I could poke at his biceps for a day without getting tired."

"Huh." Colonel O'Neill grunted. "And here all we have is a tiny, grey alien out of a Spielberg movie."

"Did I mention the biceps?"

"You did," Dr. Jackson said. "You also mentioned that the muscles were not that important."

Sunset tuned them out, waiting for the siren to announce the gate opening instead. How could they all be… so casual?

The siren blaring was almost a reprieve, before she remembered it was going to mean more alien exposure. But, no one said she needed to befriend any creature out there. She just needed to shoot when ordered, and keep to herself.

Travelling through the Stargate—and on occasion with other, similar inventions—always reminded Isekai of how smooth her bar worked when it came to traversing space, time, and dimensions. No matter how used you got to it, the Stargate always left you feeling kind of chilly, and disoriented for a few seconds.

Experienced travellers, like SG-1, developed a sort of sixth sense when coming out, very similar to some sort of spatial awareness around the gate that compensated for the sudden transfer, meaning they were already reacting by the time the event horizon closed behind them. Thus it was that by the time she had blinked the flashes out of her sight, the group was already in formation around the Equestrian Stargate.

Several guards had been posted around the gate, and one of them waved for them to slow down before his horn glowed and the shields around the gaste shimmered away, allowing them to pass. Shining Armor saluted, while she simply nodded. "Captain, do you have any news?"

The unicorn nodded. "Princess Celestia received a message from um—" he glanced at Lt. Shimmer, then at her "—the other, other, Sunset Shimmer. Her allies have confirmed that there is a Stargate on their planet."

"Great," Jack said. "So we go through the Stargate?"

The unicorn shook his head. "No, they are located closer to the other portal at this time," he said. "The Princess and General Lance have agreed that the most effective way to handle this is to use Sunset Shimmer's expertise to open the mirror portal, then head over to the gate where you can dial your planet or Equestria."

"Who is this Lance guy?"

"That would be the General of the Royal Guard, Colonel," Shining Armor provided. "He's the highest authority in our military, and an accomplished mage in his own right."

"Mage."

Everyone turned to look at Lt. Shimmer, who was giving the unicorn an incredulous look. "As in magic," she continued. "Colonel, how can people that believe in superstitions like magic help our world?"

"Lieutenant, can you not… doubt our friends here right here, right now?" Jack groaned.

"Well, regardless, we are ready to teleport you—"

"Actually, Captain," Isekai spoke up. "Why don't we ride on some chariots? If your pegasi are willing to give us a ride, I think our visitors will enjoy looking at what Equestria is like."

"Chariots?" Daniel asked, looking around.

"Pulled by pegasi?" Carted added.

Isekai grinned as a signal was given and the unicorns transformed several large rocks into adequate carriages. Soon, the pegasi volunteers were strapped on to them, and ready for take off.

"Is this really safe, sir?" Lt. Shimmer asked.

Jack, who was already on his chariot and poking at it, shrugged. "Can't be worse than some of the things we've gone through."

"So, I never got to ask you, but do you know what happened to that castle?" Daniel asked as they took off.

"It's called the Castle of the Everfree, but its original name was the Castle of the Two Sisters," Isekai said. "It's a bit of a sad story."

"Well, it might help us knowing a bit more about their history…"

Isekai chuckled. "Alright, how did it go? Ah, right. Once, long ago, in the magical land of Equestria…"