Being a fan of a particular show, movie, video game, or music is fine. But not every person in a fanbase is a good person. Case and point, the topic of this chapter.
"I don't know why we're here," Chris said.
"Come on! The show is so good!" Karin said. "Plus, I won free tickets to the Equestranaut convention."
"Where's the writer?" Johnson asked.
The three looked around for a while.
"I see him over there!" Chris said.
The writer was busy talking to another girl.
"So my friend ran away from home because his parents were arrested by the police." He said as if he was speaking to a therapist.
"Do you know why?" She asked.
"His parents were arrested due to abusing their son. But I know they're innocent."
"I see."
The three caught up with the writer.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh hey! This is Emily." The writer introduced.
The three were quiet. Chris was the first to speak up. "Huh?"
"I guess these are your other friends?" Emily asked.
"Yeah." The writer said.
"Should we greet her?" whispered Johnson.
"She seems harmless enough," Karin added.
"This is Chris, Johnson, and Karin." The writer introduced.
"Hi?" Chris nervously asked.
"Attention all Equesticles and Pegasisters, a panel featuring Equestranauts creator, Laura Falkner, will begin shortly."
The group arrived at the panel 2 minutes before it started. Laura and several voice actors of Equestranauts got to their seats.
"You know... I kind of nervous about being here." Laura said.
"Oh really? We're just as nervous as you are." A fan added.
"Okay, welcome to the 9th annual Equestranauts convention." The lead voice actor, Sara Giles said.
Cheers erupted from the audience.
"Now before we begin this year's convention, does anyone have anything to say?"
No one spoke up. Behind the voice actors and Laura, a powerpoint presentation of a particular image appeared. The writer was stunned.
"Okay. I have been getting messages of the worst Equestranauts fanfiction ever written." Laura said.
"What's it called?" Another voice actor, Katie Oslo asked.
"Freedom Fighters. To summarize, my mailers keep directing me to this story about a rag-tag group of resistance members who oppose the Equestranauts because they're evil. Apparently, the author's unknown and the only thing we know about the author is that he's a teenager who can pass off as Asian and Canadian."
"I think we should do a live reading," Sara said.
"Yeah! Live reading!" Part of the crowd cheered.
"No!"
Another part of the crowd opposed the idea.
"Whoever wrote this story clearly hates the Equestranauts to a T. He or she would demonize the entire team and make the villains sympathetic." A fan stated. "Villains can never reform and have a heart."
Laura was confused. "Um, villains can reform. Darth Vader from Star Wars, Magneto from X-Men, and Loki from the MCU are all good examples of reformed villains."
"Don't forget Rezzoch, Dankmire, and even the Storm Realm." The writer thought.
"And we have reformed villains in the show too. Chimera, Pixie, and Chrysalis are perfect examples."
"The fanfiction's not canon. So don't worry." Katie said.
"So should we read chapter one?"
After Day One of Three of the Convention, the group returned to Peter's house to talk.
"They used my story." The writer said sinking onto the couch.
"Well, at least you have a fanbase," Karin said.
"Yeah, but nowadays I cringe at my old work. I wrote that story 4 years ago. It got a lot of attention back then, it got a lot of attention right now."
"So why did you write it?"
"I saw a similar movie to the Equestranauts one."
"What is it called?"
"My Little Pony: The Movie. It's about six ponies who travel beyond the lands to save their kingdom Equestria from the Storm King."
"Is the Storm King similar to the Storm King Newton had as a father?" Chris asked.
"No. The Storm King is a complete idiot in the movie. He often whines about friendship and it's so cringy. The Storm King in my fanfiction is an intelligent but scarred individual. He abused Newton, our protagonist because he lost his wife from the Equestranauts."
The writer then took a breath. "But honestly, I have no idea I would be this popular."
"And I guess people didn't take it too likely when the Equestranauts are killed by Newton," Johnson said.
"At least everyone liked the ending," Karin stated, looking at the bright side.
"It's sequel bait. Newton and the Freedom Fighters resolve to keep fighting for as long as necessary. You may call it open-ended, but that's sequel bait to me. It literally ends with To be Continued..."
"Come on kid, you can't get upset over something non-canon," Chris said.
"Yeah, I think I shouldn't. What could go wrong?"
THE NEXT DAY...
The group attended another panel of the convention. This panel had the voice actors giving autographs to several artists.
"Man, the execution of Newton was more lively than this." The writer thought.
"Guys..." Karin said.
Karin showed the three boys images of Chris, Karin, and Johnson entering their respective houses.
"Are we being stalked?" Chris said.
"Where'd you'd get that?" The writer asked.
The Anti-Freedom Fighters' social media page has already gathered thousands of followers.
"Okay, now that's scary," Johnson said.
"Should we stay in one place for the night?" Karin asked.
"Guys, you're just overreacting. I'm pretty sure whoever's doing this is just trolling us." The writer said.
"Wait, I got another message," Karin said.
This picture had the group together at the Equestranauts convention.
"Hey, that was taken recently!" Chris said. "Someone is stalking us!"
Johnson had his solution. "Judging by the angle where this was shot..."
He ran off in one direction.
"Should we go after him?" Karin asked.
Johnson was sure he caught the culprit. Before running, the stalker was wearing a Dasher outfit. As he turned around the corner, he saw to his surprise, a large group of fans in Dasher outfits.
"Oh come on!" He groaned.
Karin scrolled through the page.
"Whoever's doing this must clearly hate us," she said.
"I think they might've found who wrote Freedom Fighters." The writer said.
Chris was still confused. "But why would they take photos of us and not you?"
"Okay, they're trolls. Block them." The writer said, giving up.
The group stayed at Peter's place for the night.
"Can't sleep, Chris?" Karin asked.
"Yeah, whoever's stalking us must know a lot about us."
"And the writer's just brushing it off as if they're trolls," Johnson said.
"Remember how Chris-Chan dealt with the trolls?" Chris asked.
"But Chris wasn't stalked. He basically asked for the trolling. He gave out personal details about himself to the trolls. Guess where that went."
It was day 3 of the convention. It was also the last day of the convention. The group was prepared for anything.
"Um, guys?"
Along with the fanbase, a large gathering of creatures of Newton's world was there.
"What's going on?" Chris asked.
"Oh no... They might be looking for Newton or Peter..." Johnson said.
"But isn't Newton back where he belongs and Peter is missing?" Karin asked.
"Shh! Don't tell them where they are!" Chris whispered.
Reluctantly, the group sat down with the other creatures as the next panel started.
"Why are they here?" Chris whispered.
"I don't know!" Karin said.
Even Laura was surprised by the abundance of creatures.
"Yes, we are here to find this boy." A pegasus said, showing a picture of Peter on the screen.
"You know, I still don't know how you got here," Laura said.
"Well, the great and powerful being, Discord, has used his chaotic magic to send us here."
As if on cue, a chimera-like creature appeared in front of the crowd.
"What the hell?" The writer gasped.
The chimera's voice was overly hammy. "That bastard Newton and his ally Peter killed the mare that I loved, Shy Fly. I will watch him burn, and scream, and scream, and scream..."
Everyone was silent.
"Next?" A guy said.
"Oh no, they're going after Peter," Chris whispered.
"Guys, I'm certain that Peter's safe." The writer assured.
"Okay, what events do we have left?" Laura asked the voice actors.
"Well, we have the Grand Galloping Gala and the final episodes watch party."
Applause came from the audience.
The gala was just a dance party. Two people will ballroom dance with each other until the music was up. Then, they would find another partner to dance with.
"Should we dance along?" The writer asked.
"Don't know," Chris said.
"Maybe we should. It will keep our minds off."
Chris partnered up with Johnson. Karin partnered up with the Writer.
"This is so awkward," Chris whispered.
"Just keep your head low and make sure they're not looking," Johnson said.
The final episodes of the Equestranauts had everyone cheering and holding their OC plushies out.
"I thank you all for coming here," Laura said. "This series has been a passion project for me. It is really."
"But didn't she leave the show around its second season?" Chris whispered to Johnson.
"You know, back in the day, everyone is like, ponies are for girls! But I proved them wrong. Boys can enjoy the same things that girls can." Laura continued.
"And vice versa," Karin added.
"Now, without further ado, the final episodes of Equestranauts!"
The audience erupted into cheers as the lights went out.
The audience was glued to their seats at the end. Surprise! It was over. A huge wave of thunderous cheers came from the audience.
"I have to admit! This ending was epic!" Chris cheered.
"Yeah!" Johnson said.
"Time to say goodbye to the Equestranauts..." Karin added.
"Thank you for being here," Laura stated. "Even though Equestranauts is over, the fanbase will live on!"
Everyone cheered.
Soon it was time to say goodbye. While more conventions were planned, Equestranauts was truly over. The story would be continued in comic form, but as for the TV show, it was over.
"You know, I actually take back what I said about the convention," Chris said. "It was fun!"
"Where's the writer?" Johnson asked.
"He said he was going out to get some Chinese food."
"All alone?" Johnson said.
"He said he's going to be fine."
It hit Chris. He quickly ran off.
On his way to the Chinese restaurant, the writer was certain things were going to be fine. Suddenly, a shadowy figure approached from behind him, it had a switchblade ready. As the figure approached the oblivious writer, it readied its attack.
WHACK!
The writer fell face-first on the sidewalk. He was out cold. Emily was held down by Chris.
"You. Will. Not. Touch Him!" He stated.
"Chris! There you are!" Johnson said before noticing the situation.
"Hold her down!" Chris yelled.
"I know he was the writer of that shitty fanfic! He must pay for the deaths of Dawn and all the rest!" The assailant yelled.
Karin noticed red liquid on the writer's chin.
"Is that blood?" She asked.
Chris looked at his hand while two civilians held Emily down.
"No, it's my blood." He said.
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"You're a terrible writer!"
"You made a shitty fan fiction!"
"Why is everyone out of character?!"
The writer awoke with a jump. He was in Peter's bed.
"You're safe," Karin said.
"What happened?"
"The girl who assaulted you, Emily, she's in jail now," Chris said.
The writer noticed Chris's bandaged hand.
"What happened?"
"I saved you from being killed."
The writer still looked upset.
"What's wrong?" Karin asked.
"I was wrong. I should have been more careful."
Chris and Johnson were stunned.
"He what?" Chris asked.
"He had to leave South Park for a while. Said he did not want to be tracked." Karin said.
"I guess... good for him?" Johnson said.
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With a knock on the hut, a unicorn and his wife came out.
"You..." Newton said.
"Hi, Newton." The writer said.
Now, not every member of a fandom acts like a lunatic, but there are those that do. This chapter is meant to show the dark side of a fanbase. And yes, before you ask, I am aware of what I'm focusing on.
