The atmosphere in Sugar Cube Corner was extremely intense. Pinkamena tried to edge her way towards the kitchen knife but Twilight kept her eyes on her constantly, refusing to even blink or look away.

"I know what you are," said Twilight. Pinkamena stopped and smiled. A nervous chuckle emanated from her lips.

"Do you? Do you really?" Pinkamena teased.

"Yes. You're not the real Pinkie Pie. The real Pinkie Pie, my friend, has been locked away deep inside of you. You're a dark shadow of her."

"Oh I'm more than a dark shadow, Twilight Sparkle. I'm a living being. I'm just as real as Pinkie Pie."

"I know, but she's better than you."

"Excuse me?"

"She's better than you in every possible way. You're nothing compared to Pinkie Pie, Pinkamena Diane Pie."

Pinkamena slammed her hoof on the counter and Twilight jumped a bit.

"Shut up! You don't even know what you're saying! I'm better than Pinkie Pie! I'm much better than her! I've been able to do things that she never would have been able to do!"

"Yeah. Pinkie Pie would never do any of the stuff that you've done."

Pinkamena's smile grew. Her eyes turned towards the knife and then darted back to face Twilight.

"It doesn't matter. Sunkick broke his promise. And now I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna kill Scootaloo, and I might just go and kill him before I leave town," she said gleefully. Pinkamena's straight hair fell over her face. Twilight could only make out her dark, sadistic eyes now. She took a step towards the killer as her breathing became heavy.

"You're wrong, Pinkamena. You killed many ponies, attempted to kill me and a few others, and have driven this town to near insanity. It ends here, Pinkamena. You either let Pinkie Pie return, or I will have to kill you," Twilight snapped. Pinkamena cackled again as she continued to glare at Twilight through her long, stringy hair.

"You're gonna kill me?! You're gonna kill...me?! HA! Try your best, Twiley! Don't worry...you'll reunite with Dashie soon enough!"

Pinkamena grabbed the knife and began making her way towards Twilight. Twilight took a step back.

"This ends here," Twilight breathed.

"Come and confront your fate," Pinkamena snarled. Then there was silence. Twilight and Pinkamena stared at each other as the rain tapped on the ceiling above them. Twilight's breathing became heavy. The kitchen knife gleamed in the dim light of the shop. Pinkamena's eyes seemed to emanate a black light. Seconds moved by like hours and a drop of sweat trickled down Twilight's cheek. "DIE!"

Pinkamena charged at Twilight, the knife held firmly in her hoof. Twilight dodged the attack and hid behind a nearby table. She used her magic to levitate a nearby chair. The chair flew through the air and nearly hit Pinkamena. Pinkamena charged again. Twilight got up and levitated the table in front of her, using it as a shield. Pinkamena drove the knife into the table. It nearly came all the way through. Twilight pushed the table forward. Pinkamena fell backward as the table, with the knife still impaled in it, flew over her and smashed into the counter, causing an avalanche of pastries to fall out of the glass display.

This was her chance. Twilight charged at Pinkamena and grabbed onto her. Pinkamena fought back with great force. She snarled, swung her hooves, and attempted to bite Twilight several times. It was almost primal in nature. Pinkamena kicked Twilight in the stomach and threw her into a nearby corner. She then jumped on top of Twilight and began choking her. Twilight gasped for air as her trachea began to close.

"Just let death come to you, my lovely friend," Pinkamena chuckled. Twilight looked up into the eyes of Pinkamena. They glared down at her with pure hatred. Her face was completely psychotic. There was a large smile on her face, her teeth looked as sharp as knives, and her pink coat took on a grayish hue. Twilight groaned. She was beginning to black out.

"No," she choked. "I'm...not...dying!"

Twilight brought one of her hooves up and punched Pinkamena straight in the jaw. The pink killer stumbled back as Twilight kicked her in the face with one of her hind legs. Twilight got up to face Pinkamena again. Twilight coughed and breathed for air fiercely. Pinkamena growled as she wiped the blood off her face. Her nose was slightly broken and some of her teeth had been knocked out. She turned back towards the table Twilight had thrown to see the knife handle sticking out of it. She turned around and broke into a run. Twilight's horn began to glow and Pinkamena found herself floating in the air.

"Let me go!" she screamed. Twilight smashed her into the floor, brought her up, and smashed her down again. Pinkamena looked up at Twilight, her breaths were slow and heavy. "It will never end! I won't allow it to end!" Pinkamena broke free from Twilight's magical grip and flung herself at Twilight, wrapped her hooves around the unicorn's head. "See what I have seen!"

Twilight screamed as her horn began to emanated a blood-red light. Then a series of horrific images began flashing before her eyes. A skinny stallion disemboweling a young filly, Pinkamena ripping Trixie's horn off, Pinkamena tearing off Rainbow Dash and Gilda's wings, Twist's cutie marks getting torn off, an axe coming down on Aaron's neck, an army of rotting corpses staring at her from behind a mirror, and an endless dark void. The images wouldn't stop. Twilight tried to break free but Pinkamena was holding on tight.

"No! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Twilight pleaded.

"You don't like my memories? I spent a lot of time making them!" Pinkamena teased. Twilight closed her eyes but the images wouldn't go away. Blood spilling on the floor, organs getting piled into a large medical bag, and Aaron's head getting impaled on a pitchfork. They wouldn't stop. "You created me, Twilight Sparkle! I thank you for that! You brought on all of this! Just because you used a spell to help Pinkie with a nightmare problem! This is all because of you, my purple little bookworm!"

"No! Get out of my head! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Then the images stopped. Two ghostly images appeared from the darkness. One was a little gray filly and the other was a creature that Twilight couldn't identify.

"You cannot win, Pinkamena," said the filly.

"You!" Pinkamena snapped.

"You will die by your own hoof."

"Shut up, Bellamina! Pinkie Pie is gone! I will never die! I will always win! You cannot stop me!"

"Can we?" asked the creature. Twilight suddenly identified the creature as being a human being named Susie Salmon. Susie walked toward Twilight and Pinkamena.

"Get away!"

Twilight took this opportunity to grab Pinkamena and knock her down. The darkness, Bellamina, and Susie faded away as Twilight found herself and Pinkamena falling down a flight of stairs. They had somehow appeared right next to the basement door and Twilight had managed to knock it open. Twilight hit the bottom of the stairs hard but managed to pull herself deep into the darkness. Twilight silenced her breathing as she listened for Pinkamena. Then she heard her.

"Twiley!" she called with a high, psychotic voice. "Come out, come out wherever you are! Come on! I want to play with you! I want to see what your insides look like!"

Twilight remained silent. She didn't dare cast an illumination spell yet. She simply sat there and listened. The footsteps of Pinkamena reverberated throughout the dark basement. It was so tense that Twilight wanted to scream. Then the lights came on.

Twilight was blinded for a couple seconds but she recovered just in time to see Pinkamena rushing towards her with a large blade in her hooves. Twilight dodged the attack and ran down a nearby hallway.

"Do you like my big knife?!" Pinkamena teased as she gave chase. "I kept it down here to save it for a rainy day!"

Twilight ran and ran. She didn't dare look back. She needed to find something to fight Pinkamena with. Some strange force drew her to a nearby bookcase. She used her magic to move the bookcase aside, revealing a smaller hallway. She ran down the hallway until she came to a somewhat-large, empty room with greenish brick walls and a dirty concrete floor. The floor was caked in the remains of washed up, dried blood. It was a dead end. There was nowhere to go.

"Damn!" Twilight swore under her breath. She could hear Pinkamena approaching.

"I see that you've found my old working chamber! It used to look so much better when all of the decorations were still in place!"

Pinkamena slowly entered the room. The blade was aimed and at the ready. Twilight backed up. She tried to levitate the blade out of Pinkamena's hooves but found that her magic had been greatly weakened by the other-worldly connection. Pinkamena laughed as she made her way towards Twilight.

"I look forward to cutting you open," Pinkamena said as she charged towards Twilight. Twilight tried to dodge the attack but the blade managed to graze one of her legs. Blood began pouring out of a gash in her front left leg. She stumbled back and tried to pick herself. Pinkamena brought the blade down again but missed. Twilight used some of her magic to smash the handle into Pinkamena's nose, breaking it entirely. Twilight suddenly found herself trapped in a corner. "Let's have some fun!"

Pinkamena raised the blade again. Twilight tried to control the blade but her magic was too weak.

"Rainbow Dash," she said under her breath. "Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie! Bellamina! Susie! Gilda! Trixie! Twist! Aaron! Somepony help me!"

Pinkamena laughed as she brought the blade down. Then...she froze. Pinkamena looked at her hooves. Something had stopped her. A rotting, griffin claw was wrapped around her hoof. Rotting, ghostly images of Rainbow Dash, Gilda, Aaron, Bellamina, and several others began appearing around her. Pinkamena backed away into the center of the room and began swinging her blade madly. Twilight looked but saw nothing there except for Pinkamena.

"We meet again," said Rainbow Dash.

"In the place you killed us," said Gilda.

"Does it feel good to be home?" asked Trixie.

"I can't eat muffins anymore because of you!" snapped Derpy.

"You took my horn!" Aaron snapped.

"I never got to go to school again!" Twist cried.

"It hurt so much!" cried Berry Punch.

"My sister's better than you!" Bellamina exclaimed.

"Face us!" Ridley ordered.

"It's time for the final loose end to be taken care of," said the human named Susie.

"You disappoint me," said Rufus.

"GO AWAY!" Pinkamena cried as she swung the blade at them. She cut them up, sliced their bodies, and caused them to bleed profusely, but they refused to go away. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

"Let me through!" Pinkie Pie demanded.

"NO!"

"This is the end!"

"NO!"

"FACE THEM! FACE ME!"

"NOOOOOOO!"

Twilight took this opportunity and charged at Pinkamena. Pinkamena barely had a second to react as Twilight rammed into her. She flew across the room and smashed into the wall. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she blacked out.

Twilight ran up to the unconscious Pinkamena and pulled the blade away from her. She picked up the blade and aimed it at her body.

"This is it...the final loose end," Twilight breathed. She tried to force herself to bring the blade down but, no matter how much she willed it, she couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to stab another pony. Pinkamena began to regain consciousness. Twilight backed away. She kept the knife aimed at the pink pony. Pinkamena stood up and looked at Twilight.

"T...Twilight?" she asked. Twilight tried to force herself to attack Pinkamena but her body wouldn't move. Pinkamena began walking towards her. Twilight then noticed something funny about her. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, her coat had become a brighter shade of pink, and her hair wasn't as straight as it had been. Pinkamena then flung herself at Twilight and...hugged her. "TWILIGHT!"

Twilight dropped the knife. She didn't know what was happening. She suddenly got a vision of Pinkamena sitting in the middle of the dark void. The rotting corpses of her victims were dancing around her.

"NO! LET ME OUT OF HERE! LET ME OUT OF HERE!" she cried. Then Twilight understood. The pink pony hugging her wasn't Pinkamena...it was Pinkie Pie!

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked. Pinkie pulled away from Twilight and nodded her head. A few tears fell from Twilight's eyes as she smiled. "I...you...we...Pinkamena-"

"Twilight...I'm so sorry," she said. Twilight fell silent. She could tell that Pinkie wanted to say something. "I'm so...so sorry! I've killed so many ponies. I've brought on so much pain."

"That wasn't you, Pinkie. It was Pinkamena."

"But she is me! We may be different souls and wills but we used the same body. This body...this body was used to slaughter innocent ponies. It was used to cut them open, saw and sew them up, and bake them into...pastries!"

"It wasn't your fault, Pinkie. I-"

"And it wasn't your fault either, Twilight. You tried to help me. It's not your fault that your magic ended up creating a monster. No...this all stems back to my sister's killer, Rufus."

"Pinkie-"

"Twilight...tell the others that I'm sorry. Tell them that I'm so terribly sorry!"

"We can tell them together."

"No...we can't."

Pinkie walked past Twilight and picked up the blade.

"Pinkie...what are you-"

"I can't face this world anymore. The things Pinkamena used my body for. The pain others have suffered at these hooves. All the bloodshed and sorrow. I...I can't face it. And nopony will ever be safe as long as Pinkamena Diane Pie and I still exist. Dashie and the others that have died at our hooves will never find peace until the final loose end is taken care of."

"Pinkie Pie."

"Twilight. You were a good friend. You were like a sister to me. Even when I was trapped inside Pinkamena's mind, I still enjoyed watching you through her eyes. I enjoyed the conversations we had together and the times we spent hanging out. I just wanted to say that I love you, Twilight. Tell Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, and all of the others that I love them as well. Once again, tell them that I'm sorry. It's time for me and Pinkamena to pay for what we've done. Once again...I'm...so...sorry."

Pinkie raised the blade and aimed it towards her body.

"PINKIE PIE!"

The blade came down and went right through Pinkie's chest like it was wax paper. Pinkie fell to the ground as blood began to pour out of her mouth. Twilight ran to her friend's side and tried to carefully remove the blade. She couldn't, for it was in too deep. Twilight cradled Pinkie's head in her arms as the life began to drain out of her pink friend. Tears were now streaming down Twilight's cheeks. Pinkie raised one of her hooves and weakly stroked one of Twilight's cheeks.

"Hey...Twilight," she choked. Twilight looked down at her friend. Pinkie gave a small, but noticeable, smile and winked. "Don't...forget...to...keep...smiling. Tell...the...others...to...keep...smiling. Never...stop...smiling. Never...ever...ever...stop...smiling."

"I won't stop, Pinkie," Twilight cried. "I'll keep smiling...we'll all keep smiling!"

"I...guess...it's...time...to...go...and...see...Dashie."

"Tell her that I said hello."

"I...will. I'll...make...sure...to...throw...a...party...in...your...honor."

"Thank you, Pinkie."

"Goodbye...Twilight."

"Goodbye, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie smiled as she gave her last breath. Her eyes slowly closed, her hoof fell back onto the ground, and her chest became still. Pinkamena Diane Pie was dead. Pinkie Pie was dead.