Most people think time is like a river flowing swift and sure in one direction. I'm pretty sure I told you that isn't true before. It's a lot more relevant to what occurred after I got hit with that beam from the Celestia look-alike. The reason being that it was just his own way of giving me information about what I was required to do and how to go about doing it. The process of which took about ten minutes and knocked me unconscious for another six hours. After I woke up right where he left me the only thing that had changed was that there was a note left just floating nearby that told me I was now in charge of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and that my presence would no longer be of any issue, but that he would be back soon to this place to go over a myriad of small details like unwritten rules and perks. I had that time to repair any damage I made myself and to get any outstanding issues resolved.
Knowing this I decided to head back to let them know I was okay. Instead of getting back to find out what happened while I was missing I ended up coming back right at the same time as I had arrived after coming back from the sixth world. That meant that I was able to see the effect of what happened to me. I meant that both literally and figuratively. The literal part was where I watched my past self freeze in place after the portal I made closed, mirroring what happened to me in a way, and the figurative part was when I watched as the ponies there saw me just fade away. I guess the part where I talked to the Doctor... proxy Doctor I guess would be more fitting, didn't happen here.
I could see them panicking, but I was becoming numb. The reason was that I knew I had to tell them about what was going to happen. Not only that, but the fact that they would most likely never see me again after today. At least they wouldn't see me properly. After today every time I might end up interacting with them it would create a split timeline in which one would see me and the other would be as if I never showed up.
That was the power I was given in a nutshell. I could now see the thread of fate that this universe existed upon and tweak it so that it diverged from it's natural path in order to create the many stories that people came up with on their own and make them real. I would be pretty much in charge and as long as I didn't break any major rules then I could get away with a lot of stuff.
One of those major rules was that I couldn't talk to anybody until my new powers had fully integrated. That would take twenty four hours to happen. That meant that if I wanted to talk to them one final time without creating a divergence then I needed to talk to them now. Now would be a bit difficult as they were galloping away at full speed.
...Oh shit, they're galloping away at full speed.
Well... I suppose this was as good a time as any. I halfheartedly drew my hand in a wide sweeping motion and not too far away all six of them plus Celestia and Luna appeared in a wiping effect. The confusion on their faces were quite evident. With a sigh I made myself visible for them so I could have my chat with them.
"Seth!" everyone under the age of one thousand yelled. "Are you okay?" they all asked in one manner or another.
"Yeah, kinda," I drawled out. "More or less anyway."
"Ya don't seem tah be okay. Are ya sure?"
"It's... complicated," I said while averting my gaze.
"You can tell us," Twilight spoke. "We're your friends. We'll listen."
"Yeah, you are... but I wonder if you ever really had a choice in the matter."
"What do you mean by that darling?"
"I was told something after I disappeared. Just like all those other stories, just like your story, I'm also a character in a story. A fanfiction story."
You know, I was expecting some kind of reaction upon saying that, but the blank stares, even from Celestia and Luna, were really disconcerting, so I defaulted into a stupid saying.
"I'm a dude written by a dude who wishes he was another dude!" I yelled waving my arms chaotically.
"Ohhhhh! You're a self insert!" Pinkie Pie commented in understanding.
"Close enough to be right," I answered while facepalming.
"Well, yeah I guess we understand, but why are you making a big deal out of it?" Rainbow Dash spoke. "It's the same as us isn't it?"
"Sort of-"
"He is upset because he feels like his existence is merely based off of the whim of someone else," Celestia explained rather well. "The whim of himself in a matter of speaking. That is why he is... upset."
"Why shouldn't I be upset?"
"Well, think about what you're talking about," Rainbow Dash continued. "Is there really anything wrong with what is happening with you right now?"
"Yes, yes there is something wrong with what's going on. I guess not really with what I've become because I guess it's pretty great. The problem is with what led me to this point. For that reason I can never... truly... see you all again."
"WHAT!!?!?!"
Ah there was the reaction I was waiting for. Still all of the questions came at the same time. I couldn't really discern any of them from the other. Thankfully that was put an end to by a timely shout.
"QUIET!!!"
A little intervention of the royal variety by Luna and everyone went quiet.
"I'm sure that Seth hast an explanation for his words. Let us hear them."
"Thanks Luna. Well... I can only talk about some of this or else bad things will happen to me. The long and the short of it is that I'm a fanfiction character. I'm based off of a representation of myself and was supposed to end up in another story that was created by a fanfiction author. Something happened and instead I was sent here to a canon world. Because of that I'm causing issues here that can lead to problems with your reality. As such some guy who knows how to fix these problems helped fix this problem. However, doing so brought forth a new issue.
"That leads me to what I just said. I might end up showing myself to you in the future or the past. Even if I do, what will happen is that it will create a branching timeline. There will be a set of you that do see me. At the same time, though, there will be a set of you that never encounter me at all. The set that doesn't will be you as of right now: the canon characters of My Little Pony. The only reason that isn't happening right now is because the new energy I'm adapting to isn't finished... adapting. It's why I'm doing this now while I have the chance. That's... pretty much it."
"But if you do meet us then at least we'll know that you're still okay," Twilight countered. "It may not be us that knows, but at least you'll still have someone who does care about you that you can talk to. I mean even if it isn't us, it's still us right?"
A round of affirmations from everyone else got me to start tearing up a little. I didn't deserve this. I had done nothing to deserve this. All I did was take from them and cause them grief. How could they just-
A pony glomping my face tore me from my recriminations as I momentarily forgot to not panic. I barely had time to flail my arms a little before I felt myself gang tackled to the ground by who I assumed to be a herd of ponies. Not sure how that worked considering that I could tank quite a bit but I chalk it up to cartoon physics at work.
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Applejack stated after Pinkie got off of my face. "I mean, ya may be lazy sometimes, but so is Rainbow Dash."
"Hey!"
"And ya may be kinda erratic, but so is Pinkie Pie."
"But I know exactly what I'm doing!"
"And ya can be irresponsible at times too."
"Not going to volunteer anyone for that position?" I asked.
"Nope! That's just you bein' you I suppose, but still, yer loyal like Rainbow Dash."
"You betcha!"
"And you got ah good sense of humor like Pinkie Pie."
"Yepperooni!"
"And even if ya don't do things right ya at least try an do the right thing. No one's perfect. Ya done right by us and we're all proud tah call ya our friend."
I felt a soft hoof place itself on both of my shoulders. Celestia and Luna had both walked over and showed that they agreed with Applejack's, and everyone else's by the chorus of affirmatives, sentiment. I suppose I realized right then that this was the first time since my buddy C. J. back in middle school that I knew without any reservations that they were my friends no matter what. It was funny. I didn't realize that, up until that point, that I guess I didn't trust myself enough to be their friend until right then and there. It just hit home how much I cared about them and how I would be their friend until the end.
I stood up and moved back a little in order to see all of them at the same time.
"Thank you all. Thank you for being my friends. It really means the world to me."
"And as our friend," Celestia replied, "you will always remain the world to us."
I teared up. I couldn't help it. Not from that. Not from any of that.
"Then, as my friend, I need you all to do one last thing."
"Anything."
"I need you all to remember me in your hearts... and never speak of me again. Because!" I yelled; stopping them from reacting. "If you mention me or talk about me specifically they'll do the same thing as before and slowly get rid of your memories of me. What's worse is that... I might have to be the one to do it. So please... do it for me."
Ah damn it now they're tearing up too.
"We won't," Twilight said. "Right everyone?"
They all lined up perfectly and spoke a touching, if not corny, line. Yes, even the princesses.
"Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye."
"Thanks everyone. You're the best."
I did not want them to see me crying so I went invisible and teleported away. My endpoint was the cabin I was staying in while I was hanging out in Equestria. I... Huh... I need to know about my family. What do I do there? It barely occurred to me but my world still exists as long as I do. Now that I have authority over a section of the multiverse, as tangential as it may be, I have a permanent place in any of the stories I visited or will visit if I appear in them.
Maybe... I'll just take this place and live on Earth. That makes sense. With my powers I could just make myself anything back home to have it work. If nothing else it'll help me to keep an eye on things that might happen in other mediums as well.
After all, this is the first day of the rest of my life. I better make it a good one.