The inside of the zeppelin was very much different than anything she had ever experienced in Equestria. The ones she had been on all had luscious wooden floors that were so shiny that a pony could see her reflection in them. There were elegant, white walls that curved out in order to give the impression that the hallways weren’t so narrow to help those who were claustrophobic. The air always smelt pleasant and inviting, whether it be the scent of the food being prepared in the kitchen making its way to one’s nose or simply the various scented candles. This included cruise zeppelins as well as the one military one she had been on when she had gone to visit her brother.
The thestrals of Thunder Valley, it seemed, did things a bit different. Upon landing inside the zeppelin, Twilight’s hooves touched hard metal floors that looked like soot and grease had been ground into it. Darkened halls greeted her ahead with only dim light coming from a few random glowing orbs whose light paled in comparison to the light she was producing with her own magic. The walls of the hallway were narrow and made of black metal with pipes poking out at random places, sometimes at weird angles, while bursts of steam escaped them from time to time. Because of this it looked like two ponies walking side by side could barely fit through. Then there was the smell. The only odor Twilight could identify was oil, but that mixed in with several others was enough to make her stomach wretch. Twilight’s ears flattened against her skull as various clanking noises filled the air. Looking down at Spike, she saw that he had his claws on his head to try and block the sounds.
“Follow me, Your Grace,” said Count Raven as he stood in front of them. Twilight nodded, instantly following him in the hopes that she would be able to move to some place less assaulting to her senses. As she moved further inside, Twilight caught glimpses of oil dripping from the ceiling while random busts of steam further filled the air with the putrid odor. Seeing all this she instantly enhanced the spell around the gifts her friends had given her in order to protect them from this environment.
Slowly they moved down the hallway, passing by both the guards as well as ponies who she assumed would be the crew of the ship. She spotted one of them as they passed through intersecting hallways, looking like he had only recently reached stallionhood. His coat was grey and wore what looked like the type of hat an old newscolt would wear and black overalls. The hat was the thing that stood out to Twilight the most, for it seemed to have several magnifying lens attachments on it that stopped just in front of his goggles. As they passed, Twilight watched as the stallion switched to a smaller lens using one of his wings as he had a large wrench in both his hooves. As they moved deeper inside, Twilight spotted a few other thestrals walking around the zeppelin wearing dark blue button up uniform shirts. Gears seemed to be the motif here as the buttons were shaped like them and each one had a series of interlocking gears on the right side of their chests like medals. Twilight wondered if the positions and the number of gears indicated rank or simply their station aboard the zeppelin.
After several minutes of walking, Twilight began to notice things getting a bit better. The noise was less pounding and the smell was less distinct. The hallways felt less cramped while also appearing cleaner. There even seemed to be more light which made it easier on her eyes. She could now see spiraling metal stairways leading up to higher levels of the zeppelin as well as metallic signs hung up every so often. They were even passing doorways, each one having a glass window on them shaped like a gear with bat wings on both sides. However, despite these improvements, the halls still had a cold metallic feel to them that did not do anything to make Twilight feel at ease.
There was one door that stood out amongst the rest. While it was made of the same dark metal, it had a shine and a polish to it that made it stand out. Twilight also noted that this one’s window was being covered on the other side by a dark red cloth making it impossible to see in. It was this door that Count Raven stopped at. He paused for a moment to look at Twilight who had also stopped before opening the door.
Twilight felt her jaw drop. The wall directly across from her was composed completely of glass panels, allowing her to see everything along the journey. The flooring here was made of bronze that looked like it had been polished recently with a blood red rug placed in the middle. On both sides of the rug were two chairs and two loveseats, both made of bronze with the same blood red colored cushions. Beyond that there was little else in the room. The other walls, which were made of the same black metal as the outer hall except more polished, had no art hanging from them nor were there any personal flourishes. The only thing she noticed were a group of buttons, each with a bronze plaque next to them, and a circular patch of bronze on the other side. Given how dark everything else in the zeppelin had been, seeing a room like this took Twilight completely by surprise.
As Twilight walked in, Count Raven gave a short chuckle. “His Excellency, before his passing, preferred to have few distractions when he traveled. Better to concentrate on his work that way.” After he finished speaking, the Count shut the door which created a clanging sound.
“I see,” said Twilight as she approached the window while setting her gifts down onto one of the chairs. Looking around, she saw that the zeppelin was still parked above Ponyville. Looking down, she saw that her friends were still down there looking up at them. She could hear Spike moving next to her and then saw him pressing his face against the glass. Wordlessly, Twilight opened a wing to wrap around Spike’s body before pulling him in close.
“I’m going to miss them,” he said, never taking his eyes off their friends or the tree house.
“So will I,” said Twilight in agreement.
As they stood there, Twilight heard the sound of hooves against the metallic floor. At first, Twilight thought it was Count Raven coming over to join them by the window or to take a seat. But the sound wasn’t coming closer to them, instead moving off to the side. This peaked Twilight’s curiosity enough to cause her to turn her head just in time to see him pressing one of the buttons on the wall. A series of clicks and fuzzy noises quickly followed as the Count turned his head towards the bronze circle.
“Captain Blasted Weather,” he said normally. “Princess Twilight is onboard and safely in her quarters. You may depart when ready.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at this while the Count released his hold on the button. There was nopony else here and as far as she could tell thestrals didn’t have any magic. So how-
“Copy that Count Raven,” came a stallion’s voice that Twilight didn’t recognize, causing her and Spike to jump before staring at that part of the wall. “This is Captain Blasted Weather wishing you and the princess a pleasant journey.”
As the fuzzy noises died down, Twilight felt the zeppelin begin to move. Turning her attention back towards the window, she was able to see the shifting scenery as they moved through the air. Her eyes darted downwards in order to catch one last look at her friends as they waved goodbye to her. With a sad smile on her face, Twilight waved back while wondering if they could see her. Regardless Twilight continued to wave towards her friends until they were well out of sight. But it was during this time that she noticed something just outside her vision. As the zeppelin crossed the sky, it left behind a trail of black smoke that left flakes of soot fall to the ground below.
Slowly, Twilight pulled herself away from the window to look at the room once more. Count Raven was now seated on one of the loveseats, looking out at the window. An uncomfortable feeling crept over Twilight as she realized that she would be in this room for an unforeseeable amount of time. Perhaps she could get a tour of the zeppelin if she wanted…but she wasn’t that bored yet. The less time she had to spend out there the better. Still, she needed something to pass the time. She supposed she could read the book Rainbow Dash had given her, but there was something a bit more important she needed to do. Something to show how serious she was about being the ruler of Thunder Valley.
“Ah, Count Raven,” began Twilight, a hint of nervousness in her voice as she approached the love seat directly across from him. “Since we have some time on our hooves, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling me about Thunder Valley. Specifically, what happened there that you needed to come to Equestria in order to find a new ruler?”
Count Raven turned his head towards Twilight as she sat down followed by Spike. “Ah yes,” he said softly while giving her an approving nod. “We do have quite a large amount of time to pass and Your Grace should be brought up to speed before we arrive. Please, forgive me for not thinking ahead on such an important matter.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” replied Twilight gently.
Count Raven gave Twilight a thankful nod before lowering his head slightly while also closing his eyes. Twilight and Spike looked at each other, confused as to what he was doing. But when they turned to look at him again, they did it just in time to see the Count opening his eyes again. There was something different about the way they shined. Almost…mournful.
“I suppose it would be best to start with the passing of his late Excellency, King Cobalt,” began Count Raven with a sigh. “On his deathbed the King made a startling decree that his twin children, Prince Obsidian and Princess Alabaster, would share the throne and rule together as one. The twins were opposites in almost every sense of the word. Prince Obsidian had fallen out of favor with his father for some time, having left the capital for only to return upon news that his father was ill. Ever since he was a colt, the Prince was highly antisocial and that did not improve as time passed. Yet, despite this, he was skilled at balancing the books and making sure everything was on budget. Princess Alabaster, on the other hoof, was a social butterfly. Never failing to charm anypony she met with her grace and manners, always making a good impression whenever the Royal Family stepped out. If only she was as skilled in her studies as she was with talking to ponies then she would have been the perfect Queen.”
“After His Excellency’s passing, there was a hint of fear amongst the nobility. While the idea of having them rule together made sense on paper we rightfully feared that they would be unable to share such a responsibility. That they would end up bickering with each other more often than they would run Thunder Valley or try to cut the other out. After so many years of rebellious elements popping up creating civil unrest the last thing we needed would be unrest within the heart of the government. Yet, this was what King Cobalt wanted. To have both of his children taking over the kingdom that he had ruled over for so very long. We decided, in the end, to honor his wishes but only after a trial run of one year. If they proved this could work then we would allow them to work together. If not, we would begin talks on which one would be best suited to rule alone.”
“Two siblings ruling together,” said Spike as he rolled his eyes. “Sounds really familiar to me.”
At that, Twilight fought hard with herself to keep from nodding in agreement. Prince Obsidian and Princess Alabaster seemed to have something in common with the Royal Sisters. Opposites like day and night being asked to rule together as one. What’s more, Twilight couldn’t really fault the nobility for fearing for the worse. While there was little chance that one could become the next Nightmare Moon and bring about eternal night, there could have been a civil war. Especially given the fact that the prince had fallen out of favor with his father. Who knew what disaster that might bring to the table? Obviously things didn’t work out.
“At first, it seemed our fears were misplaced,” continued Count Raven. “Princess Alabaster held court, held parties, and made public appearances while Prince Obsidian tended to the books as well as looking over any new laws to make sure they were sound. While the two barely saw each other in those early days, it was clear that their system was working far better than expected. Things were running faster with little grime in the gears. Our fears slowly began to fade while whispers of ending the trial period began to float around.” The Count then sighed before shaking his head slowly.
“So what changed?” asked Twilight.
Count Raven lowered his head so that his gaze was towards the floor. “It started with small budget cuts in some of the minor departments. At the time, nopony thought too much of it since those things do tend to happen. There didn’t seem to be any signs of trouble. In fact, Princess Alabaster had already sent out RSVP’s for her next several parties so we assumed everything was fine. But we were wrong, so very, very wrong. In the months to come, the budgets and salaries were being cut in every branch of the military. Princess Alabaster continued to throw her parties at an increased rate to assure us that everything was ok, that Prince Obsidian had assured her that this was a necessary measure. Then, when the taxes began to raise drastically, the ponies of Thunder Valley demanded to know what was going on.”
“Sounds to me like this Prince Obsidian guy was stealing bits for himself,” said Spike, his arms crossed as he spoke.
“Bits?” asked Count Raven as he looked up at the young drake.
“It’s the Equestrian currency,” explained Twilight quickly.
“Ah,” said Count Raven with a nod. “I see. Well young dragon, we were also coming to that conclusion given his position. When you add in that he was almost never seen, always shut up in his room or office, ponies begin to wonder what he was up to. Princess Alabaster went to talk to him several times behind closed doors. Not that it did much; everypony there could hear him screaming so loud that it made thunder sound more like a sneeze. Then, when it was over, the Princess would walk out looking flustered as she returned to the public to try and ease their concerns.”
Count Raven shook his head again before getting onto his hooves. Wordlessly, he walked over to the window and stared out at the sea of rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. In the sky, Twilight could make out a few pegasi flying through the air. To any other pony, it would have been a calming peaceful image. However, Twilight doubted that the Count was even seeing all of this. From what she could make out from his reflection he was still lost in the past.
“Then came that fateful morning. The night before I was heading to speak to the Prince, but stopped at his door when I overheard them fighting again. Prince Obsidian was doing most of the shouting and while I couldn’t make everything out I caught him yelling few phrases that caused my blood to run cold. ‘I’m tired of this game’ and ‘I will end this’. I left shortly after that to inform the others, worried that if we didn’t act quickly blood from the Royal Line might flow. But we waited too long. As the sun began to rise, the alarm in Princess Alabaster’s room sounded. The guards broke down her door to find an assassin there with a pistol in hoof pointed at the Princess. According to the report, as soon as he saw the guards he began to panic firing wildly. The guards were forced to take his life in order to protect their own as well as secure the Princess. When it was over, we discovered that Prince Obsidian was no longer in his room. A quick search of the castle revealed that he was on longer on the premises. He had fled.”
“Called it,” said Spike as he moved his hands behind his head and leaned back. A triumphant smile appeared on his lips as he looked up at the ceiling. “Prince was the bad guy. No one runs when they are innocent.”
“They do when they know they are being framed,” said Count Raven as he turned to look at Spike. Spike’s mouth opened slightly in confusion as the Count began to pace across the room. His hooves hit the metal floor with more force than before and his eyes had narrowed. Twilight could almost feel the angry radiating off of him. But she doubted it was towards Spike. “We fell for it like fools. We believed the same thing you did! But after Princess Alabaster was given full rein of the kingdom, we came to see the truth. More parties were being held than ever before and entire departments of the government were being shut down. The army, those sworn to serve the crown and protect our nation, were now ordered to throw entire families out onto the streets for failing to pay the new taxes. All because the Princess wanted her parties. Parties that served the very best food in the kingdom. Ones that had her in the spotlight, being admired while she wore brand new jewelry and dresses each time. She had been spending so much that the Royal Bank Account had long since been emptied.”
As Spike stumbled to try and say anything, Twilight stared at the older stallion as she processed what she had just been told. In her mind, Twilight could see a thestral mare decked out with gaudy gems all over her body as she spent untold riches to gain more. Then she saw a stallion with a crazy mane, looking over documents at a frantic pace while also being forced to make adjustments just to keep things running. Was there a chance he had talked to her about this before the shouting matches started? Did he tell her that this wasn’t a game of dress up back then?
“But the assassin!” shouted Spike.
“It was a setup,” said the Count with a hint of ice in his tone. “Later on, we discovered proof that she had hired him under the impression that he was to kill her brother. She probably snuck him into her room before hoof and then pulled the alarm. Knowing her, she probably had a plan set in place if the assassin had been caught. If the Prince hadn’t fled when he did, we would have imprisoned him for life while stripping him of his title.”
“B-But,” stammered Spike. However, he said no more.
“Taking her brother out of the equation, however, turned out to be her undoing,” continued Count Raven as he moved back to his seat. “Prior to that, she had a scapegoat. A pony to direct everypony’s anger towards. With him gone, the ponies of Thunder Valley quickly realized who was really to blame and what their money was really being spent on. Thanks to her actions as well as her lack of understanding on how to work the red tape, the gears of the government slowly began to come to a grinding halt. Few ponies supported her and even fewer came to the parties she still wished to hold for herself.
“Finally, the ponies of Thunder Valley could no longer take it anymore. The fires of rebellion had been lit. Government buildings all over the country were being destroyed and burnt to the ground. Thestrals everywhere were making makeshift weapons as they headed towards the castle. Then as the stallions, mares, and foals approached the capital the Princess gave one command to the military who were sick of being used as her goon squad and were barely even loyal to her anymore: gun them all down. Well, that did it. The army stepped aside and allow the mob to pass them with some even joining in. The Princess must have realized her blunder, for when they arrived she had fled like her brother.”
Count Raven paused to take a breath, finally lifting his head to look at Twilight’s shocked expression. “Since then, the Five Great House’s have been doing their best to rule as a council until they could decide who shall rule. They have tried Your Grace, they really have tried. Things have gotten better since the days of the rebellion. But each one has their own idea of what’s more important and there are times when their judgment is clouded by their business ties. With the bad blood between them and the petty feuds they hold onto, there is no way one House will support another’s claim to the throne. As for looking for Prince Obsidian, there has been no sign of him after all this time. It’s highly unlikely that he would even come back given how we so quickly jumped to conclusion.”
“And I guess that brings us to today,” said Twilight to which the Count nodded at. She watched as the stallion slumped a bit in his seat Twilight began to think of what she had gotten herself into while the zeppelin sailed onwards through the sky.