Celestia stood calmly in the halls of her castle. Several fillies and colts standing alongside her, the sun casting colored patterns on the group through the stained glass windows. The group had been gathered of several foals visiting the castle for a school trip.
Celestia looked out the windows, to her kingdom and her people. It had been so many years since Luna had gone, the presence of foals had made her a tad uncomfortable. Though they were definitely younger than Luna age in both Alicorn and regular pony years, her most defined memories were often from when Luna was her little LuLu, the bright filly looking up at her sister with adoration.
"Tell me... if you could be anything you wanted to be when you grew up, what would you be?"
It was an average question, one most had heard before. Three little fillies were the first to speak.
A little blue filly with a small star covered cape flipped her mane "The best unicorn mage ever!"
A pink unicorn filly rubbed her chin with her hooves, thinking about the important decision "Maybe... a scholar, like Mommy?"
After scarfing a muffin down, a grey pegasus laughed"A muffin!! No, then I'd eat myself... uh..." she stared blankly while trying to think of anything, a half eaten muffin in her hooves.
"60 bits." a gruff gray pony placed the medium-sized volume on the desk. "Wha-" a pink unicorn practically dropped her bit-purse from her magical grip "Look, Notepad, I get it's a pretty old historical volume but... come one, I'm like 15 bits short and I really need it-"
Notepad sighed "School?"
She shook her head "No, no, just for my scholarly curiosity but-"
Notepad lifted the volume in his magic and placed it away "No can do, Ms. Sparkler. As much as you curiosity impresses me, I'm not giving you a discount." Sparkler groaned and exited the bookshop, tucking her bit-purse into her saddlebags.
Nearby, two royal guards carried a flailing blue unicorn in their grips "U-Unhand me you fool! I am the Great and-"
A guard sighed as he began "For the last time, Trixie, nopony's allowed to see the private spell archives. Your lucky the princess is letting you go."
Trixie groaned "For the last time, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE-"
The other guard sighed "We know, you lost your way. Of course."
A grey pegasus flew dizzily through the air landing by a mailbox, saluting "Ditzy 'Derpy' Hooves, reporting for duty! Your package sir!"
Jet Set eyed the pegasus carefully from his seat on his deck "Are you... Dear Celestia... are you supposed to be the mailmare? Even the mailmare is an uncouth-"
Derpy laughed "Nope! No mailmares here! I'm Ditzy D. Hooves, secret agent on a mission- to deliver a package for the good of all muffin-kind!"
A unicorn filly perched on her back laughed "Mom! You have to be secret! Hey, let's go to flying now! You're done with work right?" After a clumsy nuzzle, Derpy gently flew off, Dinky hanging tight.
"Excuse, me but- did he just call you... Ms. Sparkle?" a random noble whispered as Sparkler walked.
"No um... Sparkler, not Sparkle. Excuse me..." Sparkler groaned, the sixth time someone took her for the Element of Harmony today. Sure, their names were similar but they didn't even look alike. She took out her planner, which people very often reminded her was also something the Element supposedly did. Although her schedule was just a loose list of things to get done in any order. Though the pink, leather bound book seemed fancy, it was just a to-do list.
In semi-neat, hasty scribbles, the words "Canterlot Gardens: Nature Notes" were printed in one of the boxes. Realizing she was walking in the opposite direction she quickly about-faced and trotted to the castle, turning left at the gates to the gardens. Waving to Mr. Greenhooves, the grounds-keep she trotted further into the garden. If she had stayed only a moment longer, she would have seen the elderly stallion's eyes widen in shock, running back while keeping his sights on the skies. As she walked, a scroll slipped out of the bag of a Pegasus flying overhead.
Her scholarly curiosity getting the best of her, she poked the scroll, unfurling it, a trick she mastered over years of work. Or you know, one very boring class lecture. The twisted diagrams in fast pin-like lines of black ink danced around the center of the page. "Doppelganger Device..." she read at the head of the scroll, moving to the words below the symbol "Dear... Chrissy? Combining your magic with this spell-"
As Sparkler spoke, Trixie sat by the front gate, laughing with Shimmering Sentinel, a female guards pony. Her only friend since she came to Canterlot to be under the watchful eye of the princess.
"You will be able to change-"
Derpy flew right over Canterlot Castle with Dinky giggling. The clumsy flight pattern somewhat similar to a slower version of a roller coaster, to Dinky at least.
"Into not only one's physical form-"
Sparkler gulped before reading on, her hoove had unconsciously reached for her deceased mother's necklace around her neck.
"But to acquire their abilities and knowledge."
A rainbow colored blur flew down, past Derpy, knocking Dinky off, making the filly fall down to the Canterlot Castle, the blur moving speedily downwards. In her panic to rush for Dinky, Derpy didn't notice the horde of blurs zooming down, a piercing noise beginning to fill her ears. Even the princesses' looked up from the sun roof in the throne room, trying to see the cause of the noise, before gasping.
"Sincerely... King Sombra-" her eyes widened but before she could speak, she turned to see a horde of what could only be the Element of Loyalty sonic rain-boom into the castle, a massive rainbow like light spreading out, engulfing Canterlot and spreading down the mountain outwards.