//------------------------------//
// LP44: The Unicorn Twilight Sparkle [General] 
// Story: Half Hour Horses: Legacy Prompts 
// by HoofAndQuill 
//------------------------------//



The prompt:

Who are you?

OR

Who am I?





Anyway, here's this.  Didn't go quite as I expected, but it came out alright.  Minor spoilers if you haven't seen season five yet, also mentions a location/pony from the Princess Celestia chapter book, but nothing that spoils anything for that.



Princess Twilight:

I need to see you and your friends in Canterlot immediately.  Do not delay.

-Princess Celestia





Twilight Sparkle found herself suddenly being forced to think about how quickly a day could turn from completely normal into a harrowing strangeness.

The morning had come and gone quite easily, an early sunrise brightening everypony's spirits, with a pleasant breakfast with Spike in their admittedly oddly decorated castle kitchen, and then a quiet, invigorating walk through one of Ponyville's parks.  She had spent the rest of the morning preparing for lunch with her friends, just a nice, calm picnic to celebrate the sunny weather.  After the picnic was over and everypony was relaxing in the sunshine, Spike had delivered the strangely terse letter from the Princess.

It was never a good thing to get a letter like that.

So inside of two hours, Twilight and her friends were in Canterlot, and after a strangely serious checking over by castle security, they were allowed into one of the secure meeting areas in the Castle.

There, they had found Princess Celestia, and the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle.

So yes, Princess Twilight found herself going back over the events of the day in her mind, to remind herself of normality.

Princess Celestia gestured to the purple unicorn by her side, speaking in calm, level tones as she finished her explanation.  "So you can understand why I would be concerned.  This Twilight had decided to extend her stay in Morocolt some years ago, and has been studying there for the past while.  Her letter to me about leaving my school was lost in the mail, it seems, and now we have two Twilight Sparkles."

"No we do not!"  Princess Twilight stamped a hoof on the stone flooring of the room, and then folded her ears back in embarrassment at her outburst.  "Sorry!  But Princess Celestia, how could you believe this pony over the rest of us?  I've been your student since I was a filly!  You've been watching over me for most of my life, I became an alicorn through my studies and my friendship with these ponies!"

Her friends stood resolutely with her, nodding their agreement in varying levels of stalwart determination.  The other Twilight looked unimpressed.  "Listen, whoever you are, I know who I am.  I'm the real Twilight Sparkle, I spent years studying under Celestia, and then under the Duchess Diamond Waves in Morocolt, only to find that somepony has been pretending to be me, all this time!"

The impostor Twilight Sparkle calmed herself as Celestia lay a hoof on her withers, blushing deeply and quieting immediately, with a familiar hero worship in her eyes that made Princess Twilight frown.  Princess Celestia continued.  "Twilight, please.  Both of you, I understand this is confusing.  I'm not sure what to make of it myself."

Princess Twilight pressed a hoof to her chest, took a deep breath, and then let out her breath as she moved her hoof forward.  As always, it helped calm her nerves just a bit.  "Okay, 'Twilight', this should be pretty easy to fix.  What was the day that you got your cutie mark?"

"The twelfth of Hay, ten years ago.  What was the first test you got a perfect mark on at Princess Celestia's school?"

"'The Basics of Unicorn Magic and Spellcasting', in Miss Sunny Days' class.  Which book did I, I mean, you, and Shining Armor memorize together as foals?"

"The Monster-pedia!  Which first edition book did Moon Dancer give you- I mean, give us, on our birthday?"

Princess Twilight hesitated a moment, looking a bit confused.  "... The Principles of Magic.  I had forgotten all about that until recently, though.  How did you--  Ugh!  Nevermind, I know how to fix this!"

Everypony had spent the last while looking back and forth between the two purple ponies as they quizzed one another on their lives, but now all eyes were on Princess Twilight as her horn glowed with magic. Nopony but Celestia could recognize the spell being cast, but it looked awfully complex.  Still, Princess Twilight was practiced enough in magic that she could speak while she cast.  "This will reveal any changeling that might be in here, PRETENDING to be somepony they aren't."

The other Twilight only raised an eyebrow skeptically.

Princess Twilight's horn flashed, and everypony shielded their eyes.  When they could see again, the unicorn Twilight was still standing next to Princess Celestia, and everypony was staring open-mouthed at Princess Twilight.  She looked around at her friends and mentor, and then down at her black, carapaced hooves.  Her eyes widened, and she flexed a muscle she didn't know she had, turning herself back to the familiar purple fur almost on instinct.  "I.. what?  But... I..."

In a flash, two of the stallion guards waiting by the door were beside Princess Celestia, though she stopped them with a motion of her hoof.  At the same time, Rainbow Dash leaped up and planted herself between Celestia and Princess Twilight, wings flared.  "Hey!  I don't know who THAT is, but if she's been in Morocolt all this time, then THIS Twilight is our friend!  I don't know what's going on, but nopony is touching her until we figure it out!"

Princess Twilight knew she'd have to thank Rainbow for her defense later, but right now her head was spinning and she wasn't sure that she was who she thought she was anyway.  All she could think about was how normally this day had started, and how now it seemed very possible that nothing would ever be normal again.