“Kill your… Princess, Twilight is dead. All of my friends are gone.”

“Not in your dream world.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened as she began to understand – At least, she thought she understood. She hoped beyond hope she didn’t, that she had misheard. But hope was a privilege of those who were still able to be happy. “You… I… Kill her?”

“And all of your friends as well. Please, sit down Diane.” Wordlessly, she took her seat, hardly comprehending what was happening. “You see, Pinkie, your mental health is of great worry to me, and to Luna as well.”

“W-why?... I thought I was healing. It’s been awhile since I went back.”

“But that’s the thing, Pinkie. What if you DO go back – Perhaps after meeting the new Elements of Harmony, the ones who now represent the Elements?” Celestia sighed, turning back to Pinkie. “What if you begin to blur the lines between friendships? Between worlds? What if you go on a rampage, thinking a monster is invading when it is simply a dream?”

“P-Princess, I-“

“We cannot allow you to remain among others if you are still in the dark, Pinkie. If there is even the slightest chance you might return to that world, then you must be retained in the Asylum for… Well, until that world is gone, one hundred percent.”

Pinkie sat in silence, processing this. I can’t be in public… I’ll be seen as insane, I would be locked away… My family would have to travel all the way here to see me, and I would be alone most of the time… It’s hard for me to feel any better when I’m so alone. “Princess,” she said softly, questioningly.

“Yes?”

“… Why did you say I have to… to kill them?”

Celestia sighed. “The doctor explained to me certain parts of your condition. This… dream world, it is held together by your 5 friends. Without them, the dream would collapse. You would be able to find what is real in all the lies.”

“But… W-why me? W-why them? Why do I have to…”

“It must be you, Diane. You must be the one to end them – It is the only way you can properly see to it that you bear no love towards them. You must rid yourself of their false images and remember instead the ones who died, here.” Celestia trotted up to her, her horn gently glowing.

Pinkie glanced down at her element. It shone a bright golden for an instant, until the aura seemed to fade into the crack inside. “You must keep this on as you shift between worlds, Pinkie. It will help you remember what is real and what is not.”

Pinkie gently brought her hoof up to the necklace, thinking. Murder… She had read about it, certainly – But it was akin to an old mare’s tale. Nopony had been murdered since the darker times of Discord’s reign. It was like a story gone wrong, thinking of what she had to do. “I… Princess, I don’t know if I can do this. T-they’ve already died once, a-and to murder them, to do this myself…”

“I know, Pinkie. It will not be easy. But you must do it. If not… If not, you put all of Equestria at risk.”

“W-what?...”

“Your Element… You have hardly smiled since the accident, since you made this fake world to retreat to… But it clings to you, instead of fluxing with the rest. You aren’t dead, but… broken. And anything that is broken can be fixed. Your Element senses this, and is begging, pleading that you return to normal. If not… If not, then none of the other Elements can work either. It is all or none.”

“So if something attacks…”

“We will be all but powerless to stop it.”

Pinkie took a deep breath, mulling it all over in her mind. She couldn’t believe she had to do all of this – Her closest friends, the very ones who taught her the meaning of friendship, how wonderful it was to have ponies to talk to, to love… She had to… to end their lives. “… Could you do it? If it was Luna, or Twilight? Could you kill them, Celestia?”

Celestia looked a bit shocked at the question – But her face soon returned to its sorrowful grimness. “… I would hardly be able to… But I would know that I must, for the sake of millions of other ponies.” Gently, she rested her hoof on the broken mare’s shoulder. “… I-It’s… what your dead friends would want… what Twilight and her friends would want.”

All at once, Pinkie felt tears rising to her eyes. One by one, the bodies of her dead friends flashed through her mind. Above each body stood a laughing figure – Herself, drenched in their blood, their bodies pale as that vital fluid pooled around their gutted bodies. She felt sick, disgusted – She would become a monster, for the sake of Equestria.

“I-I…” Pinkie sobbed, feeling herself shaking slightly. “I-I just thought that world was so wonderful… W-we all only have one chance to be here, a-and my only chance will be filled with pain and death…” She wiped away her tears, a broken smile rising to her face. “B-But it’ll be to save them, right? I-I’ll be saving so many ponies, w-won’t I?”

Celestia watched her sadly, her head hung lightly. “Yes… you will…” In another flash of magic, Pinkie felt a tissue in her hoof.

“T-thank you…” Diane blew her nose, wiping away her tears. “I… I’m going to miss them. T-that world, i-it’s like my safety net… I-I had it so that I could deal with them dying…” She laughed bitterly. “I suppose now I have to deal with them dying b-by my hooves…”

Celestia nodded. “Whenever you want, you can return to the asylum. From there, the doctor will watch over you and make sure nothing bad happens with the… process.”

Pinkie stood, nodding. She sniffed, took a deep breath, and smiled. “I… I’m ready to go back now. Please… Let’s just get this over with.”

“Are you sure?”

Pinkie hesitated a moment – Any sane pony would. But she nodded after a moment. “Yes…” She sighed softly, her eyes turning cold. “… Off to work I go, then.”

Author's Note

Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho!
It's off to kill she goes!

Edited by DrakeFang ^^