Jack glanced up and down at the… contraption that Isekai had put together. He knew contraptions. After all, he travelled the galaxy with Daniel and Sam, and if there was something to be put together, they would both figure out a way to not only do it, but have tubes and cables all over the place.

This one just looked like the nightmare version of Snow White's magic mirror that had somehow met the innards of an Asgardian spaceship. Crystals, cables, fuses, lightbulbs… and a book on top of everything. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to look like that, or the fact that Sam and Daniel had helped had something to do with the less-than-confidence-inspiring appearance.

"That is very impressive work, Sunset," Princess Celestia said, slowly walking around the contraption, her eyes critical and searching for anything she could find that would make her pull the plug on this one.

"Oh, I'm just following someone else's work, with a bit of tweaking."

And oh, he so wanted that plug pulled. At least the Stargate was a single solid piece of technology. It didn't have cables and tubes all over it unless Sam got creative. He knew what to expect too. This? This thing—this mirror—just didn't make sense. It was asking him to work with magic. Not high tech. Magic.

"You know," Isekai was telling the Princess, "it's an interesting thing, how in this universe, the mirror opens up into simply another planet, instead of a different dimension like back in my original universe."

"Given the nature of the multiverse, I'm sure there are almost infinite variances out there," the princess responded.

It was time for some reassurance. "So, uh," Jack pointed dismissively at all of it. "How safe is this?"

"It's perfectly safe," Isekai said, while the princess leaned in to take a look at pieces of particular interest. "A friend of mine designed the method and she and I, as well as several friends, used it on multiple occasions."

"Oh." Jack gave her a short nod, then turned to face Lt. Shimmer, who looked unconvinced. "She says it's okay," he confided, pointing over his shoulder at the thing. "That's a good sign."

"I'd rather walk if it's all the same to you, sir," she replied.

"If you walked you would die before you arrived at your intended target," Teal'c pointed out, "even assuming you could survive the travel through space."

"I think that's the point, Teal'c," Jack responded. He studied the jaffa. "You know you have a tiny unicorn reading a book on your head, right?"

"Indeed."

Jack thought about saying something else, but Teal'c had that look he got when he wanted to bait him into doing something, so instead he turned to a more reliable source. "So, Carter, how does it look?"

Sam said something apologetic to the princess and Isekai before making her way up to him. "Well sir, I'm not one hundred percent sure of how everything works, but the basics are all there. The diaries are somehow connected through a process similar to Quantum Entanglement, providing us with a method to coordinate the transference of matter once we cross the Event Horizon, which in this case is the mirror itself."

"Right." He nodded. "I understood that."

Sam sighed. "It has all the elements to work. And I don't see why it wouldn't if it's done so before."

"Gotcha." Jack nodded. "So why do you look so worried?"

"It's just… technology and elements I'm not familiar with."

"So what you're saying is that you have no idea if it will actually work," Lt. Shimmer said, crossing her arms.

Jack knew he was usually the suspicious one, but the look the Lieutenant was giving Isekai and the princess was borderline asking for a fight. "Lieutenant, why don't we take a walk." He didn't even try to pretend it was a question. "Sam?" He nodded at the contraption. "Why don't you… try to learn how it works? You know. Just in case?"

"On it, sir."

As he walked to the door, he noticed the unicorn from earlier, Shining… Shield? Looking at him with his head tilted. "If you're just looking for a quiet spot to relax, I hear the gardens on the south wing are currently closed to the public."

Jack smiled briefly. "Got it."

"Want to tell me what's going on, Lieutenant?"

Sunset turned to face her commanding officer. The legendary Jack O'Neill, who had gone through the Stargate with Dr. Jackson and together had blown up Ra into oblivion. The Airforce Officer with the most trips off-world, most hours of space flight, and most just about everythings.

Literally the person she had admired the most for the first couple of years when she was assigned to Stargate and had found out the history behind it. But then he had started hanging around aliens. Sure, Teal'c was instrumental in freeing his team and others from the clutches of Apophis. He was a traitor to his people because he believed that Stargate could help them achieve freedom… but at what cost?

After that, more and more aliens had come in contact with Stargate, each always more powerful than Earth. And even though Stargate Command had proven victorious many times, it was also true that it had put them all at risk just as much, as her contact with the NID had pointed out.

And what did they have to show for it? 'Scientific Discoveries' so mundane that they barely improved the status quo of the United States, much less the world. Jack and SG-1 were legends, true, but they still catered to almost every alien whim. They had even been replaced by robots once and they were just fine with it.

But she wasn't, and having some alien copycat pretend to be her crossed too many lines, no matter how 'friendly' she was supposed to be. She might not like the NID that much, but at least they were thinking of Earth first, right?

"Nothing, sir."

"Look, Shimmer," Jack said, "I know you don't like aliens. I have spoken with Altman plenty of times. I know that you like making up creative nicknames for every species we've encountered. What I don't like is when others pick up on them and I have to reprimand soldiers for calling Asgardians—our most powerful allies at this time—bug eyes in front of them. I'm just glad that they are too intelligent to feel offended by something like that. I used to think that it was the usual thing of making those nicknames up for fun when dealing with Goa'uld or other enemies, but you're actively disgusted by all aliens and that shows."

Sunset grimaced, but held her tongue, instead choosing to snap to attention and lift her chin. "I just want to make sure that Earth comes out on top, sir."

Jack snorted. "Of course you do. We all want that. Even Teal'c. But your attitude is not helping. I distrust just about anything we encounter out there, Lieutenant. I know how hard it is to see past the slime, scales, black, beady eyes. But I can. And what I see in you is less concern for Earth and more concern with what our allies look like."

Sunset held her tongue, standing straighter and Jack shook his head. "Just… don't mess this up."

His gruff disappointment was a stab to her gut. Here she was, on a dream mission with SG-1 and Colonel O'Neill was already disappointed in her a few hours after they had started. "I just… how do you do it, sir?"

"Do what?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Go ahead."

"I just want to pay back for what I've been given," she said, looking down and away. "I don't know who my father was. All I know is that my mother said my name was Sunset Shimmer to the nuns who were with us when she died. I had no living relatives anyone could find, so I was put into the system as a baby, and I guess I got lucky. Going from foster home to foster home, the good US of A had my back. I did well in classes and I never really had any issues with my foster families… we just never got along.

"When I finished high school I didn't see the point in continuing jumping homes. I saw all the good things that were happening to me, and all the bad things that were happening out there that threatened my country… and I strolled straight into the Air Force Academy. I had the grades, and the drive. When Stargate Command contacted me, and I accepted the assignment, I figured it was my chance… I was told that my skills would help make my country safer and better… but it seems that there's very little reward for risking our necks for a bunch of aliens.

"You're notoriously suspicious of everything, but you still make allies with almost every species out there." She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "Any of these aliens—in fact, all of them—have agendas of their own. Their governments want things, just as ours does. And yet you get them on your side, and I have to wonder why do you stop there when we could be arming ourselves not to just be able to defend ourselves against the Goa'uld, but to be able to take the war to them. Why do we need to protect when we should be doing the taking over?"

Jack sighed and glanced warily around. "Maybe Daniel's attitude rubbed off on me, but the fact is, soldier, we need their friendship more than we need their tech." He then frowned and glared at her. "Not a word of that to the others, understood, Lieutenant?"

Sunset frowned, and nodded.

"But maybe," Jack allowed, "maybe… you should try, y'know, talking to them as people instead of assuming that they're out to get you? All aliens are different and most of the time crazy, but they might understand where you're coming from if you give them the chance." He turned to leave. "Seems to work for Carter and Daniel."

"I won't befriend this Isekai person."

Jack snorted. "That's fine, Lieutenant. There are people out there… like Isekai, Celestia or hell, even wrinkly old Thor, who just see things in ways we can't imagine. It takes some time getting used to it."

"This is why I like working with SG-5 better. We just take orders and shoot."

"Sometimes, Shimmer, there are things out there that you can't just make go away with guns."

The mirror hummed and rippled for just a second. Isekai checked her notes and senses, then nodded at Princess Celestia with a smile. "It's working and stable. Once we're back in Equestria, we can send Sunset and the Sirens there through here and have them come back immediately to regain their original forms if things get too complicated over there and we can't send them back through the mirror in the first place."

Celestia nodded. "Dr. Carter, were you able to figure out the Stargate combination for the planet Sunset is at?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, Teal'c had also heard of it, which made it easier."

Teal'c raised his chin. "The planet Ze'bala is well known among the Goa'uld."

Daniel blinked. "Wait, the planet's name is Ze'bala?"

"Indeed, Daniel Jackson."

"Why would they name a planet 'Trash'?" Daniel asked. "That's what it means in Egyptian."

"Well," Isekai said, "that explains why Starswirl sent everything there."

Celestia sighed, shaking her head. "I wish now I had known my old mentor was the type to put things under a rug rather than deal with them."

Isekai turned and coughed into her fist, right next to Daniel.

"Did you just say Turek?" Daniel asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Who's that?"

"I was just coughing!" She ignored Celestia's deepening frown and looked at her wrist. "Oh, hey. Look at the time. We should probably head over to the Stargate now, don't you think?"

Daniel gave her an amused look. "You don't have a watch."

"Hey guys," Jack spoke up from the door, with Lt. Shimmer hovering behind him, trying hard and failing to hide a scowl. "Did I hear right?" he asked, "are we all set?"

"Yep!" Isekai said quickly. "Everything is ready."

"Cool." He gave them a thumbs up, then motioned with his head towards the door. "Let's go."

It took very little time for everyone to get organized, and soon—after a quick teleport courtesy of Princess Celestia—they were all gathered around the Stargate, ready to go.

"According to Sunset, she and the Sirens are closer to the Stargate at this time than the portal," Isekai said as Teal'c and Sam went over to the Dial to enter the coordinates for planet Ze'bala.

"So we go through the Stargate, and take them to the mirror, right?" Jack asked, receiving in response a nod from Princess Celestia. "Cool. Let's go, Carter!"

"Take care of yourself, my little pony, and make sure you all come back."

Isekai smiled and hugged Princess Celestia. "I will, princess. Don't worry." She then followed the others through the Stargate, wondering what awaited her on the other side.