Rebirth of Magic: Zipping It

by The Blue EM2


Said you'd keep me safe, now you're tearing me down

The cafeteria at the museum was not what I'd call modest. It seemed as though the architect had gotten drunk that day and had used the scale tool in the design software to absolutely ridiculous lengths. The building had a ceiling that was so tall that multiple trolls could have fitted under there with no difficulty, and the windows were each the size of a bus. On the flip side this meant that there was plenty of natural light flooding in.

The tops of the walls had gold relief and plating attached to the walls which caused them to glow. It was a good thing this day wasn't too sunny. On a truly hot day you'd probably need sunglasses to have any chance of seeing where you were going or what you were doing. The centre of the room had a large rotunda, much like the lobby, with there being a space to put your tray and take it to the food serving area. This certainly sped up food serving. The tables were off to the side and this left plenty of room to move through the centre. A very good bit of design, as usually these sorts of eating places are crowd control nightmares with bad flow.

When we arrived, the management of the cafe had rolled out the red carpet and spared no expense- again. Once again, there were people guarding the side and flanking the pathway, and the entire place turned silent as we entered. I could only imagine that people were looking forward to seeing this glimpse of royalty. I got the impression most people didn't get to see royalty on a regular basis, as there were only three of us. Assuming Queen Haven has no brothers or sisters. Or rather, that I have no aunts or uncles. I've only recently become used to that idea. I was an older sibling back in the human world, but the dynamic was a bit different back in those days.

We made our way to the food collection area, where the people we saw were bowing so low their muzzles were scraping the floor. "Most humble greetings, your most royal highness Zephyrina," said the lead cook. "Is all to your liking?"

I glanced at the offerings on display. This looked pretty upmarket for a museum, but then again it's possible somepony informed them of our visit and kicked the menu into overdrive. And my only real point of comparison was London museums, where the food usually ranges from mediocre to surprisingly good. "This looks great! And please, just call me Zipp."

"Of course," the lead cook replied. "If there is anything else you need, just let a member of staff know and we shall make it so." He was then on his way to the side where food preparation was also taking place.

I had no idea what the normal custom was, so I simply slid one or two plates onto the tray and then added what looked like a saucer.

"Would you like some tea?" somebody asked.

"Coffee, please," I replied.

The cup, now fully filled, was placed onto my tray. I then realised carrying it was going to be an interesting challenge. A device then came up, with numbers on it.

"Which table would you like the tray delivering to?" a voice asked.

I glanced to mom, who indicated to table number 25. I punched the number 25 in, and a conveyor belt shipped the tray over to table 25.

After a few moments of trotting, we were both in the right place, and as the second tray rolled into position it was almost time to start. I noticed everypony was looking my way. At least nopony was sneezing.

Mom peered over my tray in mild surprise. "Coffee at mid day?" she asked. "You must be tired. Or perhaps the medication is still affecting you. Normally you don't touch the stuff after 10."

I nodded. "I, uh, fancied trying something different!"

"Well, it's considered a bit odd in Royal circles to take caffeine after the mid morning unless you happen to be outdoors. It would hardly be proper for a Queen to be bouncing all over the place like a tennis ball, would it?"

What a strange expression. From my experience, tennis balls don't bounce very well at all. "And what if we happen to be outdoors?"

"It can be quite useful if it's cold outdoors," Mom explained. "These are all things that you will need to understand when you succeed me to the throne."

Oh no, here we go. This discussion, already? I thought I'd get a break on this until the events of Make your Mark! I tried to shift the topic. "Uh, cheers?"

Unfortunately, somepony in the room overheard me, and raised her glass. "A toast to her excellent Imperial Majesty, Queen Haven, and Her Royal Highness Zephyrina Storm! Long may they live!"

Oh dear. Before long, the room was thronged with ponies, who held glasses aloft and proclaimed, in one voice: "LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!" They then downed the glasses in one go, which was quite impressive.

"That was not what I'd expected," I said. This must have been what Medieval banquets were like.

"Patriotism is through the roof today," Mom replied, who based on the noises coming from the phone screen seemed to be watching a 24-gun salute. "Given my Silver Jubilee is coming up it's hardly surprising."

That gave me an idea. "Mom, we're in danger. Something bad's coming, and we need to be ready."

Mom scoffed. "In danger? In Zephyr Heights! Don't be ridiculous, Zephryina! Zephyr Heights is effectively impenetrable! A natural fortress! Not to mention the army is there to keep the citizens safe. There is nothing to fear."

"And earth pony and unicorn will arrive, and-"

"I highly doubt it. Earth ponies have very small brains, and unicorns couldn't find their way up here even if they tried! There is nothing to fear."

I was clearly getting nowhere, so I chose to shift the topic. "So, uh, about this Silver Jubilee, huh?"

"I know! The first formal milestone!" Mom replied. "It only feels like the coronation was yesterday. Funny how time skates by, isn't it? One moment the crown is being placed onto my head, the next 25 years have passed and you two have entered my life." She sighed. "Of course, we'll be having a grand party at the palace to which the entire citizenry is invited. And Pipp will be performing too! Won't it be wonderful?"

"Hopefully it won't be your last day on the throne," I thought to myself. If I could minimise the chaos that would be a big boon.


Once I returned to the palace I engaged ultra sneaky mode. I had to find Zipp's workshop, which from memory was underneath a grate. I wandered through the lower levels and passed the detention cells. It could be worth remembering where those were. They'd come in handy later.

A few moments later, I found a golden floor panel, and slid it out of place before dropping through onto a basket. This was rigged up to an improvised pulley system, creating a crude gondola of sorts. It skidded down, feeling like I was in the middle of a spy movie. It would not surprise me if Zipp was a fan of Mission Impossible, or whatever equivalent they had here. I mean, if they had pony versions of the Transformers and Terminator franchises, it stood to reason some version of Mission Impossible or James Bond existed.

At the bottom, I hopped out and looked about. I was in the abandoned cableway station that Zipp, Sunny, and Izzy visit in the film. The stained glass window was there, as were the abandoned posters and damaged winding gear. The place was caked in dust, but most notable of all was a large turbine, presumably left over from a ventilation system that had long since ceased to work. There was also a lemon squeezer in it for some reason. Not quite sure what was going in there, but OK.

I soon consulted the large blackboard sitting to one side. Numbers and figures were casually sprawled across it like soldiers on a battle, the author clearly waging a battle against science itself. Zipp must have been trying to figure out how flight worked without magic. Poorly, I suspected; planes are pointy because this shape reduces air resistance. Pegasi have a large flat area at the front which produces a lot of drag, which would make us about as airworthy as a Reliant Robin.

I decided to try and complete the calculations, but let's just say that math was never my strongest subject. I was finding this pretty hard to follow, and I focused hard on trying to get this finished that I had no idea what time it was by the time it had finished.

And as I looked on at my calculations in triumph, a voice made me jump.

"Zipp? What are you doing down here?"

I swung around in surprise. Standing there was Pipp, with a rather quizzical look on her face.