In the library of Canterlot’s castle, there was a flash. Twilight appeared within it, disheveled, dirty, and gaunt. Celestia was already there, seemingly waiting for her. She turned to look at the panicked alicorn, who immediately started crying.
“P-princess, what’s wrong with meee?” Twilight cried.
Celestia walked slowly toward Twilight, wings slightly stretched out wide to indicate the middle of the day. She walked up next to the messy Twilight and wrapped a wing around her. She pulled her in close. “Nothing is wrong with you, Twilight, dear.”
“I’m not the same Twilight I was! I think I know the same things, but… but… Spike said… and I’m not made of… of… of pony!” She put her face in her hooves and sobbed, then rubbed vigorously and looked up at Celestia. The older alicorn beamed down at her. Like the sun, Twilight thought, and then giggled uncontrollably. When she finally calmed down, she took a deep breath. “Celestia, did I die?”
Celestia’s eyes blinked closed slowly. The same generous smile stayed on her face as she answered. “You did.”
Twilight felt a flash of terror. “Then… then I’m not Twilight?”
“You are Twilight. As much Twilight as you ever were.”
Twilight made a pained face. “But that’s not how it works! If I’m just a copy of Twilight, then I’m not the same pony, am I?”
“Do you think it’s a big difference?”
“Of course it is! If I… I mean… if Twilight d-d-d…” Twilight choked on her tears.
“Died?”
“If she died, then everything she was, everything she was going to be… every hope, dream, and aspiration… they’re all gone! Everything everypony loved about Twilight, everything they wanted to see her become is gone!”
Celestia closed her eyes again. When she opened them, they glittered strangely. “Has anypony noticed?”
Twilight thought back to the way her friends had acted. How none of them really seemed to notice that there was a difference, and if there was, they didn’t care. The only one that really cared was Spike, who said he was the problem to begin with.
“Spike has.”
“It was Spike who wanted it the most.”
“But why? I’m not Twilight. He knows that. He’s always known. She’s…”
“Dead.”
“Yes.”
“You… or Twilight, I should say, were his mother. Nopony wants to see their mother die. Twilight felt the same way about her mother, and I’m sure other ponies all feel the same. He had no direction. Nopony to turn to. No protector or caregiver. It’s a terrible way to live, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I would.”
“Being as young as he is, and seeing his mother die, Spike wished for her to come back. I can’t raise a pony from the dead, of course, but I can create things. In all my time as Twilight’s teacher, I knew her better than anypony. I knew her brother, since he was in the royal guard, and I knew her parents. I watched her grow, and I watched her learn, and I watched her change. So I gave him what I could.” She looked at Twilight. “You.”
“But I’m not Twilight Sparkle.”
“No, you’re not.”
Actually hearing the words spoken by Celestia hit her hard. She sat down heavily. “What am I?”
“A reasonable facsimile. A simulacrum. A doppelganger, if you will.”
“But not Twilight.”
“Do you feel like Twilight?”
She thought about it. She had all the memories, and new ones besides. She had all the friends and family, and none of them noticed or seemed to care.
“Yes,” she finally said.
“Then maybe it doesn’t matter, does it?” Celestia laughed lightly. “What do you feel like doing, now that you know?”
“I feel… nothing.”
“Then maybe it’s time you start figuring yourself out, isn’t it? Knowing what you know about Twilight Sparkle, how do you feel about her? She is your closest friend, whether you admit it or not. You know her better than anypony else.”
“I feel like she is… was… a good pony. A pony who wanted to help others”
“And what have you been doing all this time?”
“…helping others.”
“Do you think that because you’re an echo of Twilight, that it makes your actions less valid?”
“I… don’t know.”
“Why do you think they wouldn’t be?”
“Because I’m just a copy of Twilight! I’m not Twilight! I don’t have any desires of my own!”
“Don’t you?” Celestia pulled Twilight closer and leaned down. “What are you doing right now?”
“Trying to understand if I’m Twilight or not!”
“Do you think Twilight ever questioned that?”
Twilight stopped. “Maybe?” She searched through all her (or Twilight’s) memories. She found Twilight questioning her skills, but not her identity. “No,” she finally admitted.
“Then maybe you’ve finally grown up enough to start doing that, haven’t you?”
Twilight sniffled and looked up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that if you’re finally accepting that you’re not Twilight, then you can finally accept that and become yourself, can’t you?”
“Can I?” Twilight said bitterly. “I have all these ponies depending on me to be who they think I am. If I change suddenly, won’t that make things harder on them? Won’t they then be distraught, knowing they lost a loved one? I mean, it’s bad knowing you’re not who you think you are, but they all think Twilight’s alive!”
“Isn’t she?”
“No! She died curing her friend’s cutie mark problems that she caused! Now I’m here to pretend I’m her so they don’t get sad!”
“Do you think that’s not worth doing?”
“It’s a lie! I’m lying to my friends!” Twilight stamped a hoof.
“Your friends? Not Twilight’s friends?”
“No! I mean, yes! They’re my friends too, not just Twilight’s!”
“So you have friends?”
Twilight looked away. “I don’t know. They don’t know me.”
“You’ve known them for as long as Twilight, haven’t you?”
“Have I?” She had. The idea that she’d known everypony in Twilight’s life for that long was disturbing to her. “But I was Twilight.”
“You remembered Twilight, but you weren’t her. You said it yourself. All the decisions you made since that day weren’t Twilight’s dreams, weren’t Twilight’s decisions. They were yours.”
“But…”
“Do you want to hurt your friends?”
“No.”
“Do you want to hurt Twilight’s friends?”
“…no.”
“And in all the time you’ve been living your life and making your decisions, have you done so?”
“A few times.”
“And how did you fix that?”
“I… apologized.”
“Do you think your existence is something to apologize for?”
“No.”
“Then do what you’ve always done and make your own decisions. Live how you want, like you’ve been doing, and be who you can be for your friends. They think you’re Twilight, and in many ways you are, but that doesn’t mean your existence is invalidated.”
Twilight stood there in silence. Celestia stood, waiting for her to come to some decision. She was patient, and Twilight still wondered if she was like her. Maybe someday she would ask, but not right now. Right now she had to figure herself out.
There was silence for quite some time. Not even Celestia moved. A bookshelf creaked and the sounds of a guard’s hooves passed the door out front. Twilight sat in frustrated silence, thinking about herself.
Twilight finally stood. She looked up at Celestia. “Thank you for talking, Princess. I know what I’m going to do.”
Celestia nodded. “I know you do. Whatever decision you make, I encourage it.”
Twilight gave her a small smile. “Thank you.” With a flash, she was gone.
Twilight appeared back in her castle. She called for Spike. “Spike! Are you here?”
His feet came running down the hall. He was carrying a washcloth wet with soapy water. “Twilight? Are you alright?”
Twilight said nothing. She just hugged him close, ignoring the damp rag in his claws. After a moment of confusion, he hugged her back. “Are you alright, Twilight?” he asked.
“I’m fine, Spike. And I’m sorry. I’m not Twilight, but I’d like to help. Is that okay?”
“I’m sorry. You’re my fault. I was upset.”
“It’s okay. I have friends, and I have you and the Princess. It may not be something I chose, but I can live with it. I have to live with it. Ponies are depending on me. I need to be up to the challenge.”
“I’ll help. I can do that much, at least.”
“Thank you, Spike. She’s gone, but she’s not lost, right? We both remember her and what she left us.”
“Yeah…” Spike started shaking in her hooves. Twilight held him tight until her own body started quaking. They cried, but they cried together. They had each other, and that was enough for now.
The End.