01. Ascent, Apotheosis, Acceptance, Assent

The palace was enormous.

As Derpy stared up at the structure towering over her she realised that this description hardly did Canterlot Castle justice, but it was all that she could bring to mind. Enormous. Magnificent. Frankly, it was huge. And more than a little scary.

When she'd been offered the opportunity to courier a package to the palace she'd jumped without even a thought; it was a sign, she'd decided. The first inkling of advancement in a career that had, up to now, been a single gigantic, never-ending disaster. A disaster of proportions not dissimilar to the palace before her in fact. Enormous. Magnificent in scale if not outcome. Huge.

Scary.

That morning, when her boss had called her into the office before her round, she'd thought she was going to be fired. Oh she'd never had any official complaints, not even that time she'd accidentally destroyed the entire frontage of the Carousel Boutique, but the accidents had always weighed on her conscience. Always nagged at her. Sometimes she'd get yelled at when she made a particularly big mess, but the complaints never seemed to get to her employer.

Boss had never mentioned all the little slips, but she'd been careful to write them up anyway just in case they ever came up. That morning Derpy had worried that maybe, just maybe, all that collected karma had finally piled up high enough to fall on her. Instead she'd been given a package and told in no uncertain terms to get to the palace and deliver it as quickly as possibly.

And now she stood with that package weighing on her back – more in a metaphorical sense than any other, for it was really quite light – staring up at the needle-like towers of Canterlot Castle, seat of government, home of the Princesses and source of everything intimidating in her life at that moment. Yet for all that they were beautiful, their marble facades glowing a deep orange against the dark bulk of Canter Peak in the bright evening sun.

The metallic ring of an approaching guard's steel-shod hooves dragged Derpy back into the real world. She blinked and tried to compose herself before turning to the guard with a broad smile. As she had long ago come to expect from anyone who met her for the first time, at the sight of her grinning face he faltered slightly and tilted his head.

"May I help you?"

"Yep!" Derpy hefted the package from her saddlebag and held it up to the guard's face. He backed away lest it hit his snout. "I'm here to deliver this."

The guard stared at the package for a moment, taking in the crudely written label and simple brown paper wrapping all tied up with string. It was obviously the work of a foal, likely the foal of someone important too, which was probably why her boss had been so keen to have it delivered quickly.

"Oh. Mail room, straight ahead for a few hundred yards and then follow the signs." He turned away with a snort and sauntered back to his post. "And no flying in the grounds without permission."

"Don't I have to sign–"

"Only if you're an assassin."

"Oh." Derpy put the package back in her pack and wandered through the gates. The courtyard beyond was filled with the bustle of ponies going about their apparently urgent business, for none slowed to allow her passage or even seemed to notice Derpy as she trotted between them. A few times they bumped into her, but before she could apologise they had left without even acknowledging her. Derpy just smiled after them and kept walking.

Soon though she realised that, thanks to all the bumping and pushing, she'd got completely turned around and was nowhere near the path the guard had indicated. Normally Derpy would fly up over the crowd to get her bearings, but the guard had been quite clear on that point. Instead she wandered toward a nearby wall for shelter from the crowd and eventually found herself before a door, though no signs gave any clue of where it might lead. Derpy tried asking after a few passers-by but they quickly dismissed her with a wave of a hoof, though one was kind enough to smile along with it. She didn't mind. Chances were she could find what she was after inside, perhaps from another guard.

Derpy pushed the door open and stepped through into a dimly lit interior. An anteroom opened onto a short corridor that ended in a stout but serviceable door. Both seemed to be little-used if the thin film of dust on the floor was any indication. The silence of the room was shocking after the commotion of the courtyard and Derpy could feel her ears drooping unprovoked, as if the quiet itself was some sort of existential threat.

Hoofbeats echoed in the corridor, the sound of another pony approaching her temporary sanctuary. Perhaps there was another way. She backed toward the door, but before she could open it to escape another door at the far end of the corridor popped open and a short, dark-coated mare trotted through.

"Oh." The mare slowed as she spotted Derpy. She trotted up to the Pegasus and smiled at her. "Might I assist you, lady pegasus? You appear lost."

"Kinda," Derpy replied, lowering her head. This unicorn seemed to be eyeing her saddlebags. "I was looking for the mail room, I can just–"

"A courier! Let none stay these noble messengers from their appointed rounds lest doom and calamity fall upon their heads! No wait, that was the motto in Thunderhead's time..." The unicorn turned, her pale mane bobbing as she shook her head, apparently having forgotten Derpy as she mused. Then her eyes widened and she shot the mailmare a curious glance. "Is that how you came hence? You are bringing a package to the palace?"

"It says for the Princess. Dunno what's in it, we're not allowed to look."

"I see." The mare tapped her chin and seemed to reach a decision. A grin crossed her face. "Come, I shall take you to whom might render assistance!"

Head bobbing and ears forward the mare led Derpy back along the corridor and into the servant-stuffed warren of Canterlot Castle. Derpy soon found herself hopelessly lost in the twists and turns of the back-ways and narrow corridors they travelled and wondered how she would ever find her way out of the palace again. Getting trapped here forever didn't seem like it'd be all that much fun.

Her escort remained silent the entire journey, a strange sort of melancholy having settled about her as soon as they turned back to the castle. Occasionally she would glance out of a narrow window, especially when they faced to the south or west, as if she was looking for something in particular. The only thing Derpy knew of in that direction was Ponyville and she was sure this beautiful Canterlot mare would find nothing interesting there.

By the fourth or fifth flight of stairs Derpy realised they weren't going anywhere near the mail room. The corridors were wider here, and quieter, hung with flags and tapestries and lit by broad windows along one side or the other. They also tended to curve around a lot more. She tried to ask where they were going, but the unicorn ignored Derpy's entreaties and so silence fell between them again. Just moments later they paused outside a large, gaily decorated door bearing the twin crests of the diarch, a sun and moon interposed.

Derpy blinked and swallowed and her ears did their best to try and flop against her head. She forced them forward as the unicorn pounded on the door, which opened a moment later at the hoof of a servant in a bright red coat. He glared at Derpy, then perked up as he saw the unicorn.

"Ma'am?"

"We require entry," the unicorn said with a curious grin. She cocked an eyebrow at Derpy. "Ask no questions and be on your way."

"As you wish, Lady Sable," the servant said through a deep bow. He backed away, pulling the doors open with him and the unicorn cantered through. Derpy followed a few cautious steps behind her, looking all over as she walked. The room beyond was opulent, its towering windows casting their golden light on pale blue and cream walls trimmed in gold and silver. High above a ceiling bore the stylised crest of the reigning diarchy surrounded by idealised representatives of each of the pony tribes. Definitely not the mail room.

She was led through the broad, deeply carpeted room to another set of doors that opened under the faint glow of her companion's magic. Beyond lay a broad corridor, one wall constructed almost entirely of glass, the other lined with a series of doors leading to Celestia-knew where. And, Derpy had begun to suspect, Celestia probably did know where and might even be lurking behind one of them, ready to jump out at her at any moment. Of the servant there was no sign.

As the door closed behind them her escort slowed and then stopped, eyes fixed on the landscape beyond the window. Derpy was used to impressive aerial views – she was a pegasus, after all – but a view that might be the normal background of her life when she was flying suddenly became very impressive when seen from behind glass. It was as if the hoof-built structure somehow transformed mere altitude from mundane to spectacular.

"It's amazing," she offered. The unicorn by her side nodded slowly before turning from it.

"It is likely the last time I shall see it," she said quietly. Her eyes met Derpy's – just about – and she smiled without humour. "Forgive me little one, I am afraid I have deceived you, for I am rather greater than I appear."

"I dunno, I think I might be taller than youuu..."

Derpy's voice trailed off as the pony before her melted into a cloud of impenetrable darkness. Black and blue mist chased around a quietly whispering core of light before suddenly reforming into a rather larger pony. Wings spread wide and a mane filled with the light of an infinite field of stars flowed across the corridor, and Princess Luna looked down at Derpy with eyes that seemed almost on the verge of tears.

"Oh."

"That is often the reaction of ponies to whom I am so revealed," Princess Luna replied. "Forgive my deception. I was set to travel out incognito when I stumbled across you and did not wish to scare you away."

"You wouldn't have scared me," Derpy said as fast as she could manage. Her shivering legs told a different story, but she refused to let them get the better of her now. To keep her mind off the thought of running away she swallowed hard and started nosing at her saddlebags. "If you want to take the package now I need you to sign–"

"Nay, little one, it is for another Princess than I." Luna turned and strode along the corridor, her long gait making it difficult to for Derpy to keep up unless she fluttered her wings.

"How can you be sure?"

"Let us say that the last time such a package was addressed to me, the postage stamp had yet to be invented."

"Oh." Derpy didn't need to know much history to realise how long ago that meant. She remained silent as they approached another set of doors at the end of the corridor, already ajar and allowing a slender stream of light to shine on the wall alongside. Luna didn't even hesitate as they reached the door but simply cast it aside and marched through.

"Sister, I bring tidings!"

Princess Celestia, arrayed in all her glory, looked up for only as long as it took to register Derpy's presence before turning her attention back to the stallion dancing nervously before her. "Have her put it on the table. Alabast, are you telling me that you can't find Twilight anywhere?"

"No your highness," the stallion replied. His hooves stopped trapping at the floor and he shot Derpy a wary glance. "We've had ponies looking for her all over the city. It's as if she's completely disappeared."

"Probably lost herself in some hidden cache in the library again," Celestia said, with a slight smile and a shake of her head. She turned from the stallion and to her sister. "Of all the times she would choose to indulge herself, it would be a day such as this."

"Such is fate, sister," Luna replied with a sad smile of her own. She settled down on a pile of cushions in the corner and composed herself.

"Luna, I thought you travelled to visit–"

"I did, until I met this little one. She had found her way into the east entrance."

"That should have been impossible!"

"It was," Luna replied, with a hint of reproach that almost masked the uncertainty in her voice. "I checked the wards myself not more than a week ago. Nevertheless, there she was."

"And so you brought her here rather than undertake your journey." Celestia's voice seemed... dead. Empty, as if acknowledging the existence of something without admitting its truth.

"It seemed I could do no other."

"I am so very sorry, Luna."

"Perhaps it is for the best. Nothing can last forever, after all." Luna smiled again. Her hoof had slipped to her cheek. "Yet I know I shall see her again. To think she of all ponies would be my last on this earth."

Celestia took a long breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled. She walked to the window and stared at the sun, straight at it without blinking. Derpy wondered how she could do that as she carefully deposited her package on the desk.

"Such is fate," Celestia echoed, her voice blending in the background as Derpy tried to work out how she'd escape the palace now her job was done.

Something rustled behind her, the sound of wings spreading. When Derpy turned again Princess Celestia was staring straight at her, moving toward her with a curious expression. Derpy held up a scrap of paper and a pen as if it would somehow shield her from the attentions of her liege.

"You need to sign." Her voice trembled. It wasn't every day she had a princess staring into her soul. Celestia gave the paper a confused look and then shook her head.

"What is your name, little carrier of parcels?"

"Derpy. Uh, Ditzy Thunderpeal Hooves, highness, but everyone calls me Derpy, or Ditzy Doo sometimes. Or just Ditzy. I don't mind, I like all the names."

"Derpy."

Celestia frowned, as if such an expression could appear on that perfectly formed face. At first Derpy thought the Princess disapproved of her name, but it soon became clear that she was simply lost in thought. She stepped away from the mail mare and glanced at Luna before speaking again.

"We can no longer assume Twilight will be found in time, Luna."

"Then we are lost," Luna replied. She looked over to Celestia, then between the princess and Derpy, and suddenly raised her eyebrows. "Tia, surely you're not–"

"I am," she said quietly.

"Celestia, she knows nothing! By any natural law– you– you cannot do this!"

"I can. I must."

"Twilight might still be found–"

"We know she shall not be! No other here shall suffice, none suitable will be found in time. Look at her, Luna. Look at her heart! She found a way to us when no other could. It is fate that she should be here now and I must take this chance, or everything will be undone." Celestia turned back to Derpy, ignoring her sister's futile protests. A strange bright light sprang from her eyes, its ethereal glow flowing like tears down her cheeks. "I am so very sorry, young one. Please forgive me. I have no choice left."

Light sprang up around Derpy before she could reply, moving across her skin and tickling at her coat like a gentle breeze. She giggled until she saw the sadness in Celestia's eyes. The alicorn was weeping now, real tears flowing and mingling with their diaphanous counterparts. She closed her eyes and spoke again.

"Forgive me."

And then it was as if the sun rose all around her and poured its fire into her very bones.

"Thunderpeal?"

Derpy looked up from her reverie – and the cup of tea that had apparently contained it – and gave Twilight a cautious smile.

"Out of everything I just told you that's the bit that got your attention?"

"Well, yeah," Twilight replied. She chuckled into her cup as she took a sip. "I mean, I'm used to all sorts of magic. There's not a week gone by where I'm not facing down some interdimensional monstrosity, overpowered badguy or parathaumic energy cascade event, but that name... I just never saw you as a Thunderpeal, somehow. I wonder why she didn't use it in her proclamations."

"She had a lot on her mind," Derpy replied.

Twilight took another sip of her tea, her motions slowing as her mind went over the story.

"It must have hurt. Magic of that strength is never much fun."

"Having a horn suddenly sprout out of my head wasn't," the Princess replied, tapping her forehead. "But honestly? Between all the accidental lightning and crashing into things I've felt a lot worse."

Twilight gave her a skeptical look and seemed about to reply, but then her mouth shut with a quiet click of her teeth and she very deliberately looked away. Derpy laughed. Much to her relief Twilight joined her a moment later and soon the room felt light again.

They fell silent then, each lost in thought. Derpy glanced toward the broad windows of her study, taking in the brightly sunlit vista of the world beyond and the slowly rising sun hanging above it all. It had been two days since she'd first raised it. Just two days and it felt as natural as getting up in the morning.

Twilight took a breath and her teacup tinkled as she placed it gently in its saucer. "I can't imagine how you felt afterwards."

"You don't need to," Derpy replied. She could still feel the faintest lingering sense of Twilight's mind in her own. Like the scent of a long-departed flower.

"No, I suppose not." For a moment Twilight's eyes lost their focus, as if she were looking at some distant place. Derpy knew she was trying to recall memories that weren't her own. The mage shook her head and bit her lip. "It's not really like memory, it's more like an impression. Like I should be able to remember but I can't quite bring it to mind. And I keep having these odd dreams."

"I've had the same," Derpy replied. She swirled her cup and wondered when she'd be able to use her magic to drink from it. "I had a nightmare about losing my horn and all my magic last night. I think that might have been one of yours."

A slight nod confirmed the statement. Twilight was lost in her thoughts again, her prodigious mind working over the possibilities and outcomes of their brief experience together.

"And that's another thing," Derpy said. "I'd no idea what prodigious meant until now."

"Wha?"

Derpy shook her head and smiled. "It doesn't matter."

Silence again, broken only by the faint whisper of wind around her towering home and the distant bark of a guard sergeant bossing his troops around for the changing of the guard. They'd probably have the House Guard marching band out today. Derpy had enjoyed watching them when she'd visited Canterlot several years ago, perhaps she should go out and watch again. She'd have a much better view this time.

Twilight toyed with her cup, forgoing her magic to do so. She kept glancing at the window as if watching the passage of time. After a few rounds of fiddling and staring she cleared her throat.

"We still need to organise your coronation." She pushed the teacup to one side, deliberately placing herself away from even that little pleasure. After a moment's thought Derpy did likewise.

"Can't we skip it? It's pretty obvious I'm the Princess now."

Twilight giggled. She had to look away to force the smile from her face. "It's obvious to you and me but there's a few odd laws that say otherwise. Parliament requires a crowned monarch to function, there are a few treaties that were worded in such a way that there needs to be some form of officially approved sitting royal around for them to remain in effect. Oddly the nobility don't seem to mind all that much, though I heard some of them pushing to have you crowned Queen instead."

"I dunno, queens are always evil aren't they?" Derpy toyed with her cup, though she had no idea when she'd pulled it back. She gave up pretending and took another sip of her tea even though it was cold by now. "I don't think I could be evil. I've not got the brains for it."

"The main problem..." Twilight spoke slowly, ignoring Derpy's crack about intelligence. Her whole body had tensed just a little. She shook her head and shoulders and forged on. "The only problem is that there hasn't been a coronation for more than a thousand years. Nopony knows how the ceremony was performed or if there even was one. The only precedent in living memory is the coronation of the Duke of Canterlot."

"Couldn't we just copy that?"

"Not really. Apparently it's considered bad form." Twilight's eyes strayed to the window again. "I thought about duplicating some elements of the Crystal Empire's ceremony but they spent most of their time talking about how beautiful the crystal heart is. There's only five minutes spent on the coronation. Not that they'll be having one any time soon."

"No?"

"They declared a republic the day after Celestia– last I heard they'd elected a former member of the EGC as interim president while they work out what to do next. She seems to be handling things quite well so far." Twilight pondered her hooves. "Which still leaves us as we were before, without any idea of how the coronation is meant to go."

"So make one up? I know you've already thought about it Twilight, you're a smart pony. You're half way to fixing things like this before anyone else has even noticed there's a problem."

The sight of Twilight preening at the praise, even if only for a moment, brought another smile to Derpy's face. She made a mental note to remember this if she ever needed to extract another favour from the arch mage. Her arch mage. Again the oddity of the situation and how quickly it had become normal filled her mind to the point that she didn't even notice Twilight's response.

"Sorry, I– Sorry." Derpy pushed her empty tea cup away and gave her full attention to Twilight. Hopefully the unicorn would see sense and refill it soon.

"I said I'd considered a few possibilities for the ceremony." A pile of folders floated from beneath the table, though heavens knew how Twilight had managed to get them there in the first place. Derpy pulled one at random and flipped it open while Twilight continued to speak. "One option would be a joint ceremony crowning yourself and the Duchess of Canterlot at the same time, that way we could shorten things down and not have so much to– to make up."

"I like the sound of that," Derpy replied as she scanned the page. Her gaze caught on a particular sentence and she laughed. "Twilight, why does this have an oath sworn on a muffin?"

"I, ah– how did–" Twilight quickly snatched the folder away. "I'm sorry, I was writing these all night. I must have been tired."

"I do like the odd muffin now and then, but I've never seen poetry about one."

"I'll just get rid of that." Gripped in Twilights aura, the folder floated up into the air and glowed briefly before disappearing in a flash of fire.

"I never said it was bad poetry," Derpy replied as the flame died down. A few flakes of ash drifted away to the carpet, a sad remnant of a tale briefly glimpsed. The Princess watched until they were lost in the pile. "I guess something simple would be best."

"As you wish, Princess." Twilight gave a formal bow that lasted just long enough to tweak Derpy's sense of annoyance without actually letting her express it. Just as she was about to complain, Twilight looked up and stuck out her tongue.

"You're incorrigible," she muttered, returning to the folders. Each contained an order of ceremonies that seemed mostly alien to her no matter how simple they might be. Motions she had to make, oaths to ancient gods she'd never even heard of, dedications to the harmony and unity of Equestria... Derpy stared at the parchment in front of her but her mind was already drifting back to an earlier thought.

She found herself looking out of the window again, watching a wing of pegasi as they slowly cleared another front of rogue weather bearing down on Canterlot. In the aftermath of what had been all but officially labelled the Long Night, the weather over Canterlot had been efficiently managed to provide a near-perfect summer despite the tang of frost that still hung in the air. Yet nature kept trying to change that.

"Twilight?" Derpy stood and walked to the window. If she looked carefully she could see a faint wall of grey cloud ringing the horizon. "What's the weather like in the rest of the country?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Large parts are still cut off for all but military communication and they seem to be reluctant to share information with the privy council. Not that I blame them, all things considered." Twilight trotted to Derpy's side and looked up at the sky with her. "If what I saw in Ponyville is any indication a lot of areas will be having a pretty hard time."

"Have the Canterlot weather teams moved where they can do more good."

"Uh. Yes, of course. H-highness." Twilight's magic seized a sheet of parchment and a quill and the order was written up in moments. The scroll disappeared in a flash, dispatched to whoever took care of such things. The Princess wondered when she'd be able to do that.

"And," Derpy added, turning from the window with a smile. "Come up with a plan that keeps the coronation indoors or move it somewhere other than the city. I suspect it might be a bit wet."

She sat at her desk again. Her desk, already stacked with her notes and her letters. Twilight was pouring another cup of tea by the time Derpy had settled herself, giving the new Princess enough time to settle her thoughts along with her body. She lifted her cup to her lips and took a delicate sip.

"There's also the issue of the Duchess of Canterlot," Twilight said as she poured her own cup. "Sparkler seems a little reluctant to take on the role."

"I know, she all but told me she didn't want it a couple of days ago." Derpy shrugged and tilted her head to peer at the ceiling, idly wondering if she should have the celestial motif replaced with something less showy. Probably not. "She has a choice. I'll support her no matter what she does."

"Well. I have to confess I took the liberty of extending a royal invitation for a very special pony to design her investiture outfit. It might help convince her."

Derpy raised an eyebrow, but Twilight just smiled as she sipped her tea. A few minutes later, with the weather now abandoned to nature's capricious grasp, the first drops of storm rain fell against the study windows.