"The fourth what?" Twilight asked.

Pinkamena brushed her droopy mane out of her face. "This place has many names across the multiverse. It is often known as the time stream, as it is the place where all of time is recorded. Not just your timeline Twilight, but every timeline across reality. I suppose a sciencepony would even call it a 'sixth dimension'." She spoke in a voice filled with sorrow.

"Um there are only three dimensions, that's stuff everypony learns in school... duh." Rainbow Dash said obviously.

"Your... shall we say academically challenged friend here may not understand Twilight, but you do." Pinkamena sighed.

"Hey!" Rainbow argued.

"Time is the fourth dimension, the collection of all three dimensional points at a single moment. A timeline, like the one we just saw and the one Princess Celestia showed me, is the fifth dimension, a collection of all points of time in a single reality. So the sixth dimension would be... the collection of every point of time in every reality." Twilight explained.

"Uh sugarcube... ah didn't get any of that..." Applejack said with a confused look.

"This place is connected to all of reality, every single pony that exists!" Twilight summed up. "Which means..."

"It's connected to every friendship that has existed, exists and will exist." Pinkamena finished, looking even sadder.

"Which is why all Alicorns are connected to this place!" Twilight jumped excitedly. Then she stopped and pointed an accusing hoof at Pinkamena. "That's why you came here with that... machine. You want to steal the power of friendship and become an Alicorn!"

"No." Pinkamena said simply.

"No? But why would you..." Twilight wondered.

"This dimension serves a second purpose. It is a barrier between our reality, and a higher one, filled with beings who manipulate our very fates. To them, this "fourth wall" is merely a metaphysical concept, but to us, it is a very real place." Pinkamena narrowed her eyes and looked at the vortex behind her. "We are nothing but puppets to them. Our emotions, our loved ones, our world... are all just playthings. We have no free will, and thus any choice we make, anything we do doesn't matter." Tears brimmed her eyes.

Rarity made whirled her hoof near her head, making a small 'loco' sign to Twilight. "What do you mean puppets? What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

Pinkamena wiped away her tears. "You may not see what I do Twilight Sparkle, but you're an intelligent pony. Do you really think that you meeting the five perfect friends to host the elements of harmony was a coincidence? Is it coincidence that nearly five times within the course of a year Equestria is under threat of being taken over by an insane villain? Luck, that you were able to stop every single villain you faced, without one even achieving a partial victory?"

Twilight thought for a moment, doing the math in her head. "W-well no the probability isn't high... not even scientifically likely but... maybe it was destiny?"

"Destiny?" Pinkamena sighed. "Sounds more like an arc of Power Ponies to me. We're nothing but a spectacle Twilight, the playthings of wicked beings who want nothing more than to see us suffer. But no more." She pointed to the machine behind her, and the ever growing black vortex behind it. "This cosmic drill is already ripping a hole in this dimension Twilight. In a few minutes, the rip in spacetime will be big enough to merge our world with the one beyond. Finally our reality will become real."

Fear poked at Twilight's stomach. "B-but you could destroy everything! This place is connected to everypony that exists! You're tampering with the very laws of nature!"

"Destroy everything? Hardly. I would be destroying nothing. Because our world, everything we do... it means nothing."

Rainbow stomped a hoof. "Enough talk! You're goin down!"

"Ah dunno what kinda crazy idea you got, but we ain't lettin you hurt anypony!" Applejack agreed.

"Here here!" Rarity agreed. Fluttershy just meekly nodded.

"Give up Pinkamena. You're outnumbered, and the element of Despair is useless now that we defeated the others." Twilight said flatly.

Pinkamena raised her eyebrows. "You still don't understand, do you Twilight? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given how easy it was to manipulate your counterpart. All I had to do was plant the ideas, and her ego did the rest. You are the same way. All somepony like your precious Celestia has to do is plant the idea that someone is in danger, and like a little puppy you'll go racing off to save them won't you? Don't worry though, it isn't your fault. After all, it was never your choice to make was it?"

Twilight felt her blood boil. This pony didn't know her. Yes maybe she did run off to save the day at a moment's notice, but so what? Wouldn't anypony else do the same in her position?

"As for the element of Despair..." Pinkamena took off the locket and tossed it at Twilight's hooves. "I don't need it to stop you."

Before she could react, Twilight saw a pink blur race across the path. Her back erupted in pain as Pinkamena, somehow now behind her, slammed her forehooves down. Twilight felt herself collapse on the starry path beneath her, the pain rendering her unable to move.

In front of her the others turned around. "Twilight!" Applejack yelled in shock.

Twilight saw Pinkamena step into her field of vision. She spread her front hooves and shrugged apologetically. "You see?"

"Why you-!" Applejack dived for her angrily. The path beneath Pinkamena parted, and she simply fell into the endless void below. "What the hay? Where'd she-"

Pinkamena rose up behind Applejack, and whipped her right hoof at Applejack's neck. With a small groan, Applejack collapsed. "Nerve strike." Pinkamena said to Twilight. "Very effective."

"Alright no more tricks!" Rainbow took to the air, flying high above the path. Pinkamena followed Rainbow with her eyes as she flew. Then suddenly she jumped impossibly high, and flipped in midair, kicking Rainbow in the stomach. With a small "oof!" Rainbow crashed back down, knocked out cold.

Rarity stood defensively in front of Fluttershy, her hooves up. There was another pink blur, and suddenly Rarity and Fluttershy were both tied up. With an effort, Twilight forced her head slightly up to see. Pinkamena stood calmly in the middle of the now defeated mares. To her right Applejack was fast asleep, snoring loudly. On her left Rainbow lay on the ground, breathing slowly with her eyes closed. Farther down the path, Rarity and Fluttershy were struggling against their bonds, tape over their mouths muffling their voices. "There is nothing you can do to prevent this. Don't you get it? I'm saving us from this miserable existence. Finally we will be free, and so will everybody else."

So this was it then. After everything they'd faced, all the times they had saved Equestria... this was how the world would end. Some crazy alternate Pinkie Pie was going to destroy reality, because she believed free will was an illusion. All because... they had failed... Twilight had failed. And now she had a front row seat to the destruction of the universe.

"You know what your problem is, other me? You just don't get the joke." a voice said behind her.

Pinkie Pie?