//------------------------------// // June 15 - Mirrors // Story: Friendship is Revolution // by ultiville //------------------------------// Last night I watched my life on television. I left off writing when RD got home. She brought some ice cream, and we talked for a long time about the differences between our worlds. Thankfully, ice cream isn't any different here. I don't know what to think about this place. When I went through the mirror to that other human world, it wasn't just that the people were colorful like ponies, or had the same names. More than that, even though I couldn't use magic, and there were no native Elements of Harmony, it felt like harmony was present anyway. Sure, Sunset Shimmer messed with it, but bring it back felt easy, and the world as a whole seemed friendly too. Here, though, well. RD says she likes it well enough, but the more she tells me, the more it makes me sad. It turns out she thought my light was from a fire, set by people who sleep and live in that garbage-strewn clearing. People without homes. I just don't understand how they allow that. It's great of her to help them out, as much as she can, but she's just one person. In Equestria the Princess herself would never allow it. Apparently their leaders recently have been helping out struggling humans less and less. I know I'm new here, and maybe I don't understand, but RD couldn't explain it in a way that made any sense to me, and I had to drop it, before she got angry. But then, as I suspected, she seems very loyal, and she does work for her government. I'll have to ask her if there's some way I can do more research on my own. Anyway, we talked about other things, too, like her life. Apparently the country we're in is called the United States of America, and like Equestria, it was settled by refugees from far away. Unlike Equestria, though, people continue to come here even now looking for a better life, but many end up nearly as poorly off as the ones who live in that clearing. I'll have to research what things are like in the places they're leaving, though I'm confident that will just make me even sadder. I think I'm beginning to see how badly this world needs the magic of friendship. RD's parents also came here, but they did well enough for themselves. They're not nobility or anything, though RD says there aren't really nobles here, just rich people, and that anyone can become rich. I don't know what that means, either in economic or practical terms, but she seemed convinced. Maybe there's a different kind of magic here, that lets them create more resources? In any case, her parents own their own business, a small restaurant, and RD thinks the country and city have done well by them. She became a police officer because of that. It seems a lot like what Shining Armor said about his early work with the Guard: sometimes you get to do great things, sometimes you have to do hard ones, but mostly you do a lot of paperwork and telling people off for breaking minor laws. Though here that also comes with a fine, and apparently usually involves putting your car where it doesn't belong, or going too fast in it. I can see why so many humans have cars; hands seem like a useful thing to have if you don't have a horn, but they move so slowly on their two legs. Anyway we talked about that for a long time, but I could tell something was on her mind. I didn't want to be rude, though, so I asked her if she wanted to hear about my life. It turned out that was just like asking anyway, because she said: "Yeah, about that. I think we could just watch it on TV." I briefly ran into television through the mirror, along with all the other strange technological things humans use to make up for lack of magic, but I have no real idea how it works. (*Note to self: research the mechanics of television when you find a library.) It turns out it's like a film, but you can choose what you watch and when. RD thought I looked similar to a character from a show for kids, a cartoon that her little sister watched. So she did some research of her own, and she'd picked up a little stuffed doll on her way home. I have it on the desk as I write this, and looking at it still feels strange, even given these last few days. It doesn't look exactly like me, of course, but it's clearly supposed to be, right down to the wings and the cutie mark, though for some reason it only has the cutie mark on one flank. Anyway, after I got over freaking out a bit about that one, she told me there's a whole series about these ponies - about us. I'm not sure whose little ponies we're supposed to be, Celestia's I guess, though she's not the narrator, so the title doesn't make much sense. But apparently it's a holdover from previous shows about colorful ponies, though no one's quite sure if they're supposed to be in some kind of continuity or not. It's all very confusing. Of course, not as confusing as watching my life rendered in simple-colored cartoons. The likeness is still uncanny, even aside from the frankly creepy faithfulness to the overall shape of our lives. Sure, not everything is totally accurate, but no one could claim it's a coincidence. RD was amused that Rainbow Dash had her initials, especially since she has a friend that goes by AJ. The show apparently didn't want to go into their romance, probably because it's for kids, and I didn't tell her. I didn't tell her I suspected there might be deeper links, either, and she seemed content to find it an amusing coincidence. Apparently going by initials is relatively common here. The show seems to end right around where my memories do, though RD says more seasons are coming. I hope I figure out what's going on before then. Watching kept me up all night, and I've got nothing left to do until RD gets home. She's got a few books here, but they're all police manuals or fiction, and I'm too tired to wade into them now. She mentioned something called the Internet that sounded like some sort of research tool, maybe I'll ask her about it tonight. For now, though, I think I should just go to sleep, so I'm alert when she gets home. Until next time, journal.