I wake up in her bed, hooves wrapped around her, with fresh tears stinging my eyes. I can tell I've been crying for some time now. It takes a few moments for the shock of what I just experienced to wear off.
A thin, silvery string of light that connects my horn to her forehead recedes back into me, and the light fades away.
With the spell canceled, she opens her eyes, which are also wet with tears.
"Pinkie..." I say.
"I'm so sorry, Twilight, I shouldn't have asked you to—"
I shush her with a gentle press of a forehoof to her lips, shaking my head. "No, Pinkie, I'm glad you shared this with me."
There's a moment where she's struggling with what to say, clearly wanting to argue. But, she settles on a simple "Okay."
"When you told me about it, I had no idea it was this bad," I say.
She nods. "These thoughts show up every now and then, and it's always... hard. I can't just make them go away. Not without... well, you saw. It's like a big, nasty fight in my own head. And I didn't wanna make anypony else have to see it. I didn't wanna be selfish."
I hug her tighter. "Pinkie, sharing your burdens with your friends is not selfish, and I would never take any of this back. I'm glad you came to me."
Her lip quivers, and she sobs quietly for a moment before she can reply. "I just hate it, Twilight. I hate it. I hate how much I doubt my friends, and I hate how easy it is to forget about them, and I hate how stupid it is but how m—" she says, stopping to gasp for air, "how much I believe it! When it happens, it feels like you all h-hate me, and I just wanna disappear like... like I did."
I stroke her mane in the most reassuring way I can as she presses her face into the crook of my neck. "Sshhh, sshhh, it's okay, Pinkie. I'm here. I know how real it feels now. I was there, remember?" I say. She nods against me and I can hear her swallow a lump of sadness down. "You'll always have your friends."
A muffled "Thank you," comes up from my chestfluff.
"It won't necessarily be easy, but you've been facing this alone for... most of your life?" I ask. There's another nod from her, followed by a sniffle. "We'll get through it together, now. We all love you, and nothing is gonna change that. You're more than worth it."
We spend some time in silence, with her pressed against me while she recovers. Eventually, as her breathing becomes steady again, I remember how convinced she was that her friends really wanted her gone. How hard it was to remember that it's not true. How much it helped to be reminded.
"You've made such a positive difference in so many ponies' lives, Pinkie," I say, petting her mane just liked my mom used to do for me when I had a bad nightmare. "We would all be crushed if you... well, you know. You're definitely not a burden to us. Any of us. And I'm so happy to have a friend like you. You believe me, right?"
Pinkie pulls back from me with a sad smile and nods.
And in her eyes, there's a glint of hope.