The next morning saw me reaching the floor rather faster than I had planned, as I was suddenly awoken by a loud thud.
"What was that?" I asked, as I looked around. I then realised I was on the floor, having fallen out of bed and onto the carpet. Having said that, the carpet was soft, and felt strangely nice against my fur. That was a sentence that I just said.
I slowly pulled myself to my hooves and wandered over to the mirror to check everything was in order. I looked to be in good shape, all things considered. As I went through my things on the table, some thoughts occurred to me. I certainly looked like Zipp, and I also had her voice (and the mannerisms I could best imitate from what I remembered of the movie at that point). But there was one critical things missing. I didn't have her memories or thoughts, and that was a problem.
If I was going to survive out here, I needed to learn the information that would be considered common knowledge among pegasi, and use that in combination with my knowledge of upcoming events in order to influence things for the better.
I adjusted my mane as best as I could. If my guesses were correct, I knew precisely where I had to go and what I must do today. Hopefully I could wrangle some time out of other duties and get a chance to head away from this particular place.
Later at breakfast, I was amazed at how busy the place already was. Something they didn't show you in the series was the massive army of ponies needed to keep Zephyr Heights functioning. There were guards, soldiers, civil servants carrying red boxes, waiting staff, guardsponies, cooks, butlers, and many others. I said guards twice, didn't I? I couldn't help but notice that the guards seemed to divide into two types. I recognised Thunder and Zoom, but the others were new to me, and wearing very different armour to the others.
Enough of that. I suddenly realised I was thinking too much when a voice interrupted me. "Is everything OK, Zephyrina? You've barely touched your food."
I looked down and noticed this, whilst Pipp had gotten stuck in with hers. "Sorry. I was thinking, that's all."
"Well, that's always a healthy mindset to encourage," Queen Haven replied. "Anything in particular?"
This was my chance. I had noticed on the map of the transport yesterday one of the stops was the Museum, and this provided my best chances to get caught up on Equestrian history. "The past, mainly. I was thinking of going to the museum to do some research, if that's OK."
Queen Haven smiled. "Of course. I'll go with you."
"Really?"
"It just so happens there's an exhibit on our music industry I'm interested in seeing, and the current paperwork can easily be handled by the staff. Today's a Parliamentary recess, and the few bills coming through can be easily dealt with later."
So it was sorted. I was off to the museum... with mom in tow. Feels a little easier saying that now.
The journey to the museum was just as incredible as yesterday. The news was afire with information and broadcasts about the pegasi enjoying another year of record economic growth, and the fact peace seemed to be the norm. Pipp apparently had a new single out (how fast does she churn out songs?), and it was nearly 25 years since Queen Haven had taken the throne. Remember that, dear reader. It will be relevant later, I promise.
When the flying machine docked at the museum, the driver looked back. "Thank you for travelling with ZHRT, Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness," he said.
"ZHRT?" I asked.
"Zephyr Heights Rapid Transit," the driver replied politely.
The door slid open, and as we stepped off onto the marble dock and towards the museum, I discovered they'd laid out the red carpet for us.
Literally.
A full military band had assembled, the carpet was flanked by soldiers all standing perfectly still. Cameras were flashing relentlessly on either side, and crowds had assembled to watch the spectacle unfolding.
"Isn't this overdoing it a bit?" I asked.
"We do need to keep up appearances," Queen Haven replied, before glancing over. "Morning, my faithful subjects!"
I looked away in annoyance. If this was going to happen everywhere I went, no wonder Zipp found it all so annoying in the show.
The brass band began to play a tune oddly familiar to me. Clearly they have a pony version of John Bull here, I thought to myself. The melody is the same as the British national anthem.
The words were different, of course, partly as we're in a different place and the monarch is female here. (RIP Queen Elizabeth.) The public's adoration seemed to be genuine, though.
"Smile," Queen Haven told me, before turning to the cameras. "No pictures! OK, maybe one." She then did a pose.
Maybe this was just one massive PR stunt, and I had missed the memo somehow. I simply kept my face up and tried to look vaguely presentable as I made my way into the museum. All this pageantry and ceremony for a museum visit? I dreaded to think what a coronation would look like!
That was probably in the museum as well, if I'm totally honest. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we were inside, and the silliness stopped.
The inside of the museum was just as wondrous as the rest of the city. The interior was made of marble, and polished to perfection, and light poured into the structure through enormous glass windows up above. Golden trim lit everything up in a glorious golden haze, light spilling over objects and landscape and into the main courtyard.
At the centre was a large rotunda, and in front of that a statue depicting a pegasus diving into battle whilst an earth pony and unicorn look up in shock. The piece was titled Semper Fidelis.
I checked a map to get my bearings. The museum had numerous levels, each devoted to a different aspect of pegasus culture. I was probably looking for history, which was on the ground floor.
Mom said something about coming and finding me, but I wasn't paying much attention. I simply nodded and got on my way into the relevant gallery.
The bombastic nature of the presentation was certainly consistent with everything else in Zephyr Heights. The gallery opened with a short film giving the history of the nation in fast forward mode, which was a handy overview of events. After that, I stepped into the first gallery, which depicted events prior to the founding of Zephyr Heights as the capital of pegasus territory.
The displays started some point after the events of The Last Problem, and told of the breakdown of relations between the three tribes, with the situation eventually becoming so bad they went and lived in different places.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to tell what was legitimate historical fact and what was propaganda, as both seem to have been expertly weaved togther. What I could assess as being the case was that the three tribes were once allies but that the unicorns and earth ponies always wanted pegasus resources. They allied to take technological marvels produced by pegasus engineers and invaded pegasus territory.
The pegasi, naturally, fought back with their superior technology and weapons, soundly defeating both tribes at the Battle of Thunder Bay. This didn't square with what was stated in the film. I'm pretty certain Sprout said the battle was an earth pony victory. I know, Sprout Cloverleaf, that source of scholarly information and facts. But I needed to press on.
The next display stated that the ability to fly was suddenly lost, except for the royal family. I looked at my own wings subconsciously, and moved them a bit. I knew that was a lie, and precisely what it was going to cost us. It was with a heavy heart I turned around and saw a diorama of the Battle of Thunder Bay. It had huge numbers of miniatures on the table, and vehicles rolling across the board. Seems that each group had developed tanks by this point, although pegasus tanks looked to be decades ahead of others, which appeared to be closer to WW1 machines in appearance.
The gallery then continued with the founding of the Pegasus Empire, and the forging of the Pegasus Crystal by Cirrus the Cumulus. A replica sat in a display case nearby. Of course, I knew the film, and knew that the crystal was a lot older.
By this point my notepad was covered in questions, and no answers. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I jumped when a voice spoke.
"Zephyrina?"
I looked over. "Ah! Oh, err, hi mom. Sorry, got a bit carried away."
Queen Haven smiled. "A healthy appetite for knowledge never hurt anypony," she replied. "I was going to ask if you'd like to go for lunch. It is midday, after all."
I quickly glanced from the cabinet with the replica crystal to the crown mom was wearing. "Yeah," I said. "I'd like that."