A Queen's Perspective - Rainbow Rocks

by gerandakis


A Gate reopened

In the throne room of the Royal Palace of Stripped Gear, Queen Cadista and Queen Twilight Sparkle had just finished breakfast and their conversation about a visit by Queen Kreesus several weeks earlier was winding down. They had just finished another discussion about the oddity that was Fluffy, when Twilight was pinged over the link.

<What is it, Ratchet?> The fact that from the outside it was impossible to tell that Twilight was speaking to her consort over the link, was a testament to her improving multitasking ability.

<You may wanna come to our quarters, one of your books is glowing and vibrating.>

<I'm coming. That's something I have to see.> "Mom, I'll have to go to my quarters for a moment, Ratchet says one of my books is glowing."

Cadista was only surprised for a moment, she had long since grown used to the fact that anything from Equestria, where most of Twilight's books (save for her engineering manuals) came from, had a tendency to act in strange ways. Without even saying anything she transmitted her silent affirmation over the link and Twilight left the room.


After only a few short minutes Twilight arrived in her own and Ratchet's quarters and soon heard the humming noise coming from her bookshelf.

"Ah there you are, do you have any idea what this is about?" Ratchet was seated on the bed, suspiciously watching the glowing book, his horn lit with orange light.

Twilight lit her own horn and lifted the book from the shelf. Once more of the tome than it's nondescript back was visible, it was revealed that its cover showed only a picture of a stylized sun.

"Princess Celestia gave me this book. She said I'd know when the time came to read it. This must be what she meant." Thinking back on the occasion, she recalled the conversation. The glowing page, huh? Let's see...

Turning the book so she could see the pages she found that, while the magical glow came from all of them, like on the back of the tome, it was repeatedly increasing and fading again, a single page, partway through the book, however, was indeed glowing permanently. Opening the book to that page she found a message that didn't seem printed.

Dear Princess Celestia,

this is Sunset Shimmer from beyond the mirror. We have a problem over here.

Three new students here are using Equestrian magic in the form of singing to hypnotize the students and faculty. Myself and the others seem to be unaffected at the moment, but we don't know if that will last, if you have any knowledge what they could be or how to defeat them we'd be grateful.

Your former student,

Sunset Shimmer

"This is a message from Sunset Shimmer, she must have some connection to this book, that must be why Celestia gave it to me. What she's describing sounds a lot like the Sirens, I did some research into ancient Equestrian mythology a few years ago."

Ratchet had been reading over her shoulder and now looked at her, intrigued. "This book is connected to somepony in another world? Do you think we could use that connection to force-open the portal? Then you could go help them yourself."

"Yes ... yes, that could work. Come, we have  prototype to build." As they moved onto the balcony and flew off towards one of the workshops, Twilight started setting up a mindscape in which she could start prototyping the device.


A few minutes later, they had arrived in the workshop where the portal was being kept and entered the linkscape.

The linkscape was an exact replica of the workshop they were in. Various shelves and drawers blanketed the walls and in one corner of the room stood, in its crystalline frame, the magical mirror that served as the portal between worlds. Over the next few minutes they created a machine of brass and steel with various crystalline implements to guide the magic it was meant to use. It looked somewhat like a lectern with various magical and mechanical components and a single crystal pointing away from the reader and to where the portal was supposed to go.

Once they were confident that the machine would work they departed the linkscape and Ratchet got to work building the machine, while Twilight went about putting a linking enchantment on two gemstones. Within ten more minutes both finished their respective tasks and Twilight stowed away one of the gemstones in a drawer and the other in her mane.

After visually checking the machine herself, Twilight placed the book on the lectern and pushed up a lever beside it before taking a step back. It only took a few seconds for the gems to the left and right of the book to start glowing. Gears on the sides of the lectern started spinning and puffs of steam came from small funnels next to them. Crystals in an array around the one pointing at the portal started pulsing a soft lavender as the magic flowed through them. Finally the central crystal started glowing brightly before a beam of lavender light erupted from its tip and hit the small horseshoe-shaped crystal formation above the portal itself. A bright point of lavender light started gathering right in the center of the portal. Finally the point exploded in a flash of white light and, after the two of them had blinked the startlingly bright light out of their eyes, they saw a swirling magenta portal where the mirror had once been.

"Well looks like it worked." Ratched gave Twilight a satisfied smile.

Twilight smiled right back, before giving an update of the situation to Cadista, Roseluck, and Ambassador Gloss, in the cases of the latter two, so they could pass the message to her Ponyvillean friends and the princesses in Canterlot respectively. Then she gave a passionate kiss to Ratchet before stepping through the portal, eager to see her friends again.


She didn't have to wait long. When she tumbled out of the portal on the other side, she landed on all fours, much like the first time she came here. She recovered much faster than the first time she arrived. When she looked up, she saw a yellow hand reaching down to her. Sunset was standing in front of her, a genuine smile on her lips and her hand stretched out, ready to help Twilight up. After taking a short moment to get her bearings and comprehend the situation, Twilight took the offered hand and stood up with Sunset's help.

Looking around she saw the rest of her CHS friends standing behind Sunset. After a short moment all seven of them were suddenly gathered up in a large group hug courtesy of Pinkie Pie. Happy chatter erupted afterwards, welcoming Twilight back.

After a moment Sunset spoke up. "So, did you find out anything about those girls?"

"I did, and it's not good. If my suspicions are correct they're the Sirens."

"Anything on how to deal with them?" Rainbow asked.

"Not really.  Starswirl dealt with them by banishing them here. I guess that's not really an option now."

"No. I suppose it isn't, dear. But say, how did you get through to us? I thought you said the portal wouldn't open for a while yet."

"It didn't open on it's own. I forced it open using the connection Sunset used to send her message. It's only been a year. It wouldn't normally open yet. What?!"

The others stared at her, clearly baffled at something she just said. Finally it was Sunset who spoke up. "It hasn't been a year yet, it's been barely over five months."

"It's been a year in Equestria." She looked off into space for a moment, thinking on something. "You think the portal might have a chronal differential?"

At her expectant gaze, Sunset shrugged. "I guess that would explain it."

"A chronal what now?" Applejack interrupted the two.

"They mean that time flows faster in Equestria than it does here." Pinkie explained with her typical wide grin.

As the girls looked like they understood, having long since stopped trying to figure out how Pinkie knew these things, Twilight returned to their contemplations. "But when I was last here the portal was open for three days on both ends."

"Maybe the portals synchronize when the connection is active." Sunset suggested.

"Yes ... That could be it. Anyway, that reminds me," she reached into her backpack and as she expected she found the gem she had enchanted earlier. "Do you know of a place where we could safely keep this?"

As they looked at the gem, the girls seemed confused. "What's that for?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"It's linked to another one back in Equestria. So we can open the portal without having to rely on the book."

"Good thinking. I'll think of something," Sunset agreed.

Putting it back into her backpack, Twilight went on. "Say, Sunset how long were you here before I last came here?"

"About three years, why?"

"Yes, that makes sense then. Celestia said you left twelve years before then."

"Twelve years?!"

"She also said that I was born about ten years after you were. Interesting that despite you having been born about a decade earlier were roughly the same age now."

"Okay, time travel is weird."

"Well, this isn't technically time travel, but having also done that before, I wholeheartedly agree."

"Wait. What?!"


As they walked along the school's corridors towards a destination Twilight could only guess at, Rarity spoke up. "Oh, I do hate that you had to return at a time of crisis. There's so much catching up to do! Perhaps you would give us just the slightest bit of gossip from your world?"

"Oh nothing much to tell, the nymphs are growing up well, and Ratchet's as nice as ever."

"Uhh, who's Ratchet?" Rainbow vocalized the girls' collective confusion.

"Oh, I never told you about him, did I? Ratchet Altair, he's, well I guess over here he'd be my boyfriend, but back home he technically is my consort."

Rarity instantly jumped at the juicy gossip. "You have a boyfriend? Can we meet him?"

"I guess we could arrange that, the portal is open. That being said, what's new here? I mean, besides your school becoming the target of dangerous magical creatures from Equestria?"

"Yeah, so, that isn't exactly the only strange thing that's happened since you left." Rainbow pulled out her phone to show Twilight a short clip of her playing the guitar before suddenly lifting of her feet and taking the part pony shape she’d assumed at the Fall Formal. "Pretty sweet, huh? It happens to all of us when we play."

"So your magic is activated by music?" The nature of harmonic magic alone should be enough to cancel out the effects of the mind control She shuddered as she cast her empathic gaze across some of the other students. Something is clearly off about them, foreign emotions are such a strange thing. If we can all activate this magic with music, we should be able to reverse the effects and maybe even stop the sirens. "Okay, I may have a plan, is there a way to reach all the students who have been hypnotized?"

"Well the final round of the competition is held before the entire school and guests." Fluttershy pointed out.

"Good, you're taking part in this competition, right?"

Rainbow snorted at that. "Obviously!"

"Good, then all we'll have to do, is make it to the final round and release our magic there, that should nullify the mind charm and just maybe take down these sirens as well."