And then, Aragón pulled off his headphones and sighed. End of the journey.

The second season. The second season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was over. No more pony until… until God knows when.

Aragón was in the hospital, watching the show in the old notebook he owned. It was almost midnight. Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow were in the corridor, still talking. Slowly, the fear of having all his bones broken by a girl with rainbows in her mane had disappeared, and now all was calm and quiet. The other ponies –AJ, Twilight and Rarity –weren’t in the real world. They were still in Equestria, or whatever was the place they have come from.

‘Ok.’ Aragón closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, feeling a little sadness in his heart. ‘Now, every Saturday is going to be awful. Well, I guess I can re-watch all the epis-’

And then he stopped.

Because he had realized something.

‘A… narrator? There is a narrator in this fanfic? WHAT THE F-‘
***

So, you have a brother who is the captain of the Royal Guard, and you hadn’t told us before?

Well…

Sugarcube, you should have, Rarity is right. Why didn’t you tell us about it? Shining Armor is a really nice guy, and we’ve been in Canterlot more than a couple of times…

It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t tell you because…
Because…
Huh.
T-that’s weird…

Uh, Twilight? Are you okay?

Oh, it’s just… Well, I… I can’t tell you! I’m trying, but I can’t…

You know you can trust us…

No, you don’t understand! I can’t tell you! I don’t know why, but it’s impossible! I simply can’t talk about it! My mouth closes every time I try!

What?

Twilight?

I SEE. SO, IT’S BEGUN.
WELL… LUCK WITH YOUR SELF-REALIZATION ABOUT THE MEANING OF REALITY. NOW, IF YOU EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO STOP A HOMICIDE.

What?!

What?!

YOU KNOW, PINKIE IS GOING TO LOSE HER SHIT. AND SINCE SHE CAN READ THE FIFTH CHAPTER AND RAINBOW AND APPLEJACK SAID SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING, THE LIFE OF ARAGÓN IS IN DANGER.
CIAO BELLAS!

WHAT THE F-

***

…And that’s the reason why we are here, I think.

Eh… Rainbow.

Yes?

You haven’t explained anything. You’ve only said “…and that’s the reason why we are here” after three hours talking about how awful the author is.

Well… yeah. It’s because the astretisk. Atercicks. The star-like things up there.

Oh.
So… can you explain me why are we here?

Sssure, I guess. Let’s see… a guy named Aragón, a human…

A human? Lyra would be glad to meet him!

I know, right? But, the thing is: the guy started to write a story about us, but he’s so awful that we noticed it and escape from Equestria, and now…

I escaped? Uh, I don’t remember…

Well, the invisible underlined alicorn said something about irony, but I don’t know what he meant.

GOODNIGHT, GIRLS

Speak of the devil! You, invisible underlined alicorn, why is Fluttershy here?

IRONY. I SAID IT BEFORE.

Yeah, I know, but…

IT’S NOT IMPORTANT NOW . HAVE YOU SEEN PINKIE?

Oh, she went to the author’s house, she said. She wanted to do something about…

ABOUT THE COMMENTS, RIGHT? I KNEW IT. WELL, THE FIFTH CHAPTER HAS HARDLY ANY, SO MAYBE WE CAN DODGE THE DANGER FOR, ABOUT… FIVE MINUTES.

Eh… you said danger?

PINKIE IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE… UPSET. AS WILL YOU ALL TOO, POSSIBLY.

What? Why?

BECAUSE THE BOND THAT CONNECTS YOU WITH THE WORLD YOU USED TO INHABIT IS, IF NOT BROKEN, WEAKENED. YOUR MINDS ARE SLOWLY TURNING INTO SOMETHING “REAL”. SINCE PINKIE IS MORE REAL THAN ANY OF YOU, THE EFFECTS ARE GOING TO BE STRONGER IN HER.

E-effects?

UH-HUH. IN FACT, THE CONVERSATION YOU WERE HAVING IS A RESULT OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF YOUR MIND. YOU’D SAID THAT YOU DON’T REMEMBER GOING HERE. THAT’S BECAUSE, TECHNICALLY, YOU’RE NOT HERE.

What?

I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT CORRECTLY, IT’S NOT THE TIME. YOU SHOULD GO AND ASK TWILIGHT.

***
Sometimes, life is a lonely road that you have to cross to reach your goal. Sometimes, it’s more like an endless ocean, mysterious and frightening, where we dive aimlessly.

But for Pinkie, life had never been like that. For her, life had been, was, and always would be a party.

Because she lived to smile and to bring smiles. To be happy and make everypony laugh. She had a beautiful house and a fantastic job. She had friends that warmed her heart when she was sad. Even when she was alone, they were always at her side.

Darkness reigned this world, and Celestia’s light was not omnipresent. There would always be people like Discord, like Chrysalis, like Gilda; people who would try to hurt you for no reason. There would be places like the Everfree Forest; there would be tragedies like Luna’s falling into madness.

Pinkie knew that. Life was not always smiles and happiness. But, inside her chest, really close to her heart, there was a little glow. And that glow had never abandoned her.

The Cutie Mark on her flank showed to the world her philosophy. Be happy, make people happy. Look at the bright side, because the shadows only appear when there is a light they have to run away. Laugh, and the scary things will disappear. Evil can hurt your body, but never your spirit.

A party. Life was a party, in more than one way. Because by your side there would be people who cared for you. Because music and fun would never end. Because laughter and happiness would be always with you, even when you couldn’t feel them.

And then…

And then, in less than a second, everything was destroyed. With a single click, with a single word, with a single thought.

Almost twenty years of memories. An entire life philosophy. A magical friendship with five fantastic ponies…

Everything vanished. And they only left behind sadness.

Sometimes, life is a lonely road. Sometimes, it’s more like an endless ocean.

And sometimes, you simply realize that you have nothing.

That you are not alive.

That you’ve never been.

And that the glow in your heart will never return.
***

OK, NOW WE HAVE PHILOSOPHICAL NARRATION AND A PART OF THE FIC WHERE NO ONE TALKS.
…THIS IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT.

***

Pause for a few minutes of publicity! We’ll be back soon!

AH? WHAT? PUBLICITY NOW? OH, MAN, I HATE THAT. WE’RE HAVING A MOMENT, YOU KNOW?!

Ever wondered how the clouds smell? How many children a rabbit can have? What the hell is happening here? Well, this website is not answering any questions, but it sure is fun!
TvTropes! The people working on it are paying us a HUUUUUGE amount of money, so click on the link and enjoy!

NO, THEY’RE NOT PAYING US ANYTHING. THIS IS A FANFIC OF MY LITTLE PONY. THERE SHOULDN’T BE ANY PUBLICITY HERE. THIS IS NOT FUNNY. IT’S JUST STUPID.
AND WEIRD.
AND STUPID.

Oh, noes! You’re bored, and you don’t know what to do! Sure, you’ll kill for a book, but you haven’t got any…
Luckily for you, now there’s a solution! FimFiction, the only website with more than ten thousand pony stories! And even better, the website is GREEN!
FUN!!!

REALLY? YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT FIMFICTION NOW? THIS FANFIC IS BEING PUBLISHED IN THAT SITE. I DOUBT ANYBODY WOULD BE STUPID ENOUGH TO CLICK ON THAT LINK. ALSO, THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. PUBLICITY IN A FANFIC IS MORE RETARDED THAN ANYTHING I CAN THINK OF.

Oh, the music. There are only two things better than music, and only half of them are food. The other half is only for me. But, what happens when you don’t know where you can find music?
Then, Youtube!!!

…
…WHAT?

Askblogs. They’re funny, they’re colorful, they’re… funny again, because I can’t think about anything more to say about them. I love askblogs. And I’m sure you’ll love them too! Just search for them!
Oh, but you’ll want to start with something good, right? Then, visit Ask Red Spaniard! The only ask-a-pony blog that stars an orange OC that is not stupid!

WAIT. WAITWAITWAITWAIT. I THINK I KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING.
YOU’RE SPIKE, RIGHT?

Ask Red Spaniard!

OF COURSE YOU ARE. YOU’RE SPIKE. THE REAL AUTHOR, RIGHT?

Teee-he-heh. Yeah, you got me. How did you know? I even changed my voice!

YOU’RE THE ONLY PERSON –ER, DRAGON –I KNOW THAT WOULD MAKE PUBLICITY ABOUT HIMSELF.

Oh. The askblog, right?

YEAH.

Well, I’m just starting with it, and I wanted public. It’s not that bad.

YOU INTERRUPTED YOUR OWN FANFIC JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE STARTING AN ASKBLOG?

Hey, if there is someone out there who likes my fanfic, maybe they’ll like my askblog.

I DON’T THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA. WHAT ABOUT THE STORY?

Don’t worry, The story is going to continue, I promise. Also, I had to appear here, or the character tags in the fanfic would be wrong.

UH.

You see, the readers may think that the author of this story is Aragón. Or maybe you. But it’s me, Spike the Dragon, the one who is writing this. I’m the puppeteer that moves the strings.

HOW POETIC.

So, I thought that we had to hurry and start the ending. I’m talking to the readers now…

A CHARACTER BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL IN THIS STORY? WOW. WHAT A SURPRISE.

I’m the real author, Aragón is just a character, the invisible underlined alicorn is somebody you may know but I’m not telling anything yet, and you reaaaally should click on the links I put before. Specially the last one. And ask some questions.

PLEASE, STOP.

Maybe I’m not explaining myself… the one who answered on the comments was me all along. Because Aragón doesn’t exist…
Well, technically, he exists. Just like anybody else. He simply exists in a lower level of reality. But he doesn’t know that, so he thinks that he is the real author. He’s not writing about Pinkie and the others –I’m writing about him writing about ponies that don’t let him write.

AND YOU’RE SAYING THAT BECAUSE…?

Because I like shenanigans. And because, technically, I’m the bad one in this fanfic. You know, I’m the one making all that evil stuff. UuuuUUuuuuh. Scary, huh?

BAD THINGS?

Yeah. Like, you know, faking a pause on the fic and start talking about publicity when in reality there is nothing like that.

WHAT?!

Come on, you were going to stop Pinkie with the homicide, right? That wouldn’t be fun! And the duty of the bad guy is to stop the hero from saving the girl. Or the fake author, in this case.

***

Self-realization? What the hay does that mean?

Hell if I know…

But, Applejack, what did the invisible underlined alicorn say about you and Rainbow? Did something happen in the fifth chapter?

NO! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!

Girls, that’s not important! The invisible underlined alicorn said something about a “homicide”, and I think that’s a ponycide on a human!

Wait, what? Are you saying somepony is going to murder Aragón?

You said murder?!

Hey, girls! Glad to see you!

Hello, girls.

Oh, Fluttershy, Rainbow! You two arrived just in time. Have you seen Aragón or the invisible underlined alicorn?

Well, the invisible guy talked to us a few minutes ago. In fact, that’s the reason why we are here. He said something…

About a homicide? Yeah, we know, and I think it’s important! Also, Pinkie Pie may be in some kind of trouble…

He said something about her, you’re right. Oh, Celestia, we should go with her…

Don’t waste time! Go, go! I think this is really important!

Woah! Hang on, Twilight! What the hay is going on?

Aragón’s life may be in danger, and somehow Pinkie is involved!

Well, maybe that author is not my best friend, but I certainly don’t want him to die!

Oh, Celestia, that would be horrible!

At least, not before I could beat the cr*beeeeep*p outta him one more time!

Eh… what?

We have no time for this! Hurry up!

***

So… Twilight?

Yes?

Can I ask you a question while we’re running?

Of course!

You see, the invisible underlined alicorn said some crazy things about reality and bonds, and irony because Fluttershy is here… Honestly, I didn’t understand anything, and I think that maybe you can explain it to me…

I think I know what you’re saying, Rainbow. He said some things to us too… about reality and that stuff. Twilight, can you explain it?

…

Twilight?

Maybe… I don’t know. I’m not sure if I can explain it… or if I want to explain it.

Darling, that’s something that can be important. I think it’s better for all of us to know.

…
…Sigh. I guess you’re right.
You see, girls, something about that whole situation is just wrong. A human wrote a story about us –well, he tried, and then we stopped him because his writing was just horrible.

Uhm…

Uh-huh, we already knew that.

I’ve studied a lot of magic in my life, and I know that this is not something strange. I mean, all the things that happened –Pinkie traveling between worlds, all the mess made by Aragón, etc. –can be explained by magic. But there are… hints. Hints that show that there’s something more.

What do you mean?

Aragón freaked out when Gummy entered his world, and the invisible underlined alicorn was also very strange. All of this could be explained –the invisible alicorn can be some kind of mystical creature like the Ursa Major, and Aragón can be crazy –if we make an effort, but it seems forced.
And then… Aragón mentioned something… Only I heard it, but I’m, sure he said it.

What are you talking about?

He said that he “watched the show”. He didn’t explain anything about it, but I think that he meant a show starring us.

What?

A show with us as main characters. And that’s not all. He could control us until he made us act out of character. Why? I understand why we became free, yes, but, WHY WERE WE UNDER HIS CONTROL IN THE FIRST PLACE?

…Oh, Celestia…

And all those things that the invisible underlined alicorn said… And the fact that I couldn’t say anything about my brother… You see, you didn’t know anything about Shining Armor, because I never talked about him. And the same happens with Aragón… he didn’t know anything, and now that he does, I can talk about it! Don’t you see the connection?!

Honey, I think I’m lost.

He keeps calling himself “the author”, and if he doesn’t know something, neither do we. He could control us. And the invisible underlined alicorn said that the universe…
Heh. Heh, heh. Don’t you see? It’s clear as day!

Twilight…

We’re not real! We were created by Aragón, we are just characters! We have no life. We thought that Aragón wrote about ourselves and, given the fact that he’s awful, we knew it, but that’s not true!
We were created. And then, we became conscious, I don’t know the reasons. But the hints are there: we were controlled, Aragón talks about a show and a fandom, and that thing is a fanfic. We’re characters in a story, originated because our creator, Aragón, wanted to imitate the work of another human… We aren’t alive. We started to exist once the fic began, and when it finishes, we’ll be dead.

…

…

…

…

Heh. You see? That’s the reason why I didn’t want to talk about this. It’s… hard to assume.
But we can’t lose time. Aragón may be in danger. And one thing is sure: if our author dies, then we’re doomed. Think about your life after that.

Sweet Celestia…

So… so we are… fake?

We’re fake. We are just puppets, dancing at the song that Aragón plays.

But he didn’t write about me! I appeared in the human world for no reason! If we’re fake, then how can I be here?!

Hey, that’s right! Fluttershy came with us without being written by Aragón, so…

So there is somepony above Aragón. In other words, we’re characters created by a character. That's not good news, Rainbow.
And do you know what the worst part is? We all know that what I’m saying is true.
Because the plot says so.

***

Aragón was surprised. Well, maybe “surprised” is not the right word.

Technically, he was terrified.

When he started to write the fanfic, he thought that he had the control. Then, Pinkie escaped, and after that Gummy was in the real world. The invisible underlined alicorn, Rainbow and the others becoming real… a lot of weird things happened, yeah. But he was the author all the time.

It was a matter of identity, of reality. They were fake, he was real. That thought kept him from falling into madness.

But, now? Now, there was a narrator. Somebody, somepony, something that was far above him.

There is a universal truth: in real life, things such as narrators don’t exist. They only appear in fiction.

Shivers running through his spine, Aragón frowned. ‘God. Oh, god…’

‘Oh, now you’re praying? Lucky boy. It’s just the thing you have to do.’

Aragón almost jumped out of his bed. The room was covered in shadows, and he had heard a voice from one dark corner.

‘Who…? Pinkie?’ asked. ‘Pinkie? Are you Pinkie?'

‘Oh, who knows.’ The voice giggled. ‘You see, I think I’m Pinkie, but I can’t be sure. Because I’m fake, after all.’

‘Eh…’ Aragón blinked. ‘What did you say?’

‘You see, just a few hours ago, I thought that reading the comments of the story would be fun. So, I went home and peeked at them.’

Aragón felt fear in his heart. The warning of the invisible underlined alicorn was clear on his mind. ‘Did… did you read them?’

‘Of course I did. And I found something very interesting…’

Slowly, the pink pony left the dark corner.

Pinkie’s hair was straight. Her eyes were cold as ice. A terrifying smile crossed her face. Between her teeth, there was a knife.

Her expression was clear: she wanted blood.

‘My characterization changes a lot depending on the writer, you know?’