Pony Mail - 24

Dear Princess Celestia,

You hit the nail right on the head, to use a turn of phrase.  Mankind is pulling itself apart.  The problem is that, inherently, we are divided along imaginary lines.  Race, religion, ethnicity; these are all barriers that divide us.  And these divisions, more often than not, lead to conflict.  And, unfortunetly, that conflict leads to bloodshed.  Over the course of human history, billions of people have been enslaved, discriminated, beaten, raped and murdered, all for small details such as the color of one's skin or the god one worships.  There are times when I pray that whatever end we drive ourselves to, that it be a swift and merciful one.

Yet, every time I think about the atrocities mankind has dealt, I am reminded even more of its kindness.  Over the past five years, many countries have suffered terrible natural disasters.  Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico, the Indonesian Tsunami, the earthquake in Haiti, and most recently, a devistating earthquake AND tsunami in Japan.  During each one of these catastrophes, man has proven to be his own greatest resource.  To prove this, I'd like to share with you a song that was written.  In response to the earthquake in Haiti, several dozen musicians came together and recorded this song:  We Are The World.  I think, that if mankind is remembered for one thing, just one good deed, I'd wish it to be this song.

You are right.  We cannot be judged by a select few.  Mankind is capable of great evil, and even greater good.  I simply hope that we can come together as a people, before we destroy ourselves.  It is a very real fear.

I'm sorry for getting up on my soapbox.  I don't know a lot about pony politics and such, so I can't exactly relate what humans do to how ponies act.  Its difficult not having an appropriate frame of reference, but I like it.  Our correspondence is, comforting.  Perhaps it is simply because even if we end up destroying ourselves, there will be someone, or some pony, beyond our world, who can remember us.

Perhaps I should change the subject.  Again I'm sorry for the waxing philosophy.

Yes, movies and television are an incredible achievement.  Though, not many authors enjoy the movies of their books.  I assure you, more than one author has renounced a movie made from their book because it did not remain faithful to the original book.  But, there are exceptions.  I intend on sharing one with you.  More about that soon.  But in spite of that lack of faithfulness, sometimes movies themselves go on to become legends in their own right.  Again, I shall expand upon that soon.

Umm... About that 'parade'.  Yes, I know what happened.  Like I said, Twilight Sparkle's adventures in Ponyville, at least some of them, have been made known to us.  And, as far as that... incident, goes...

You might want to ask Pinkie Pie herself.  Trust me on that one.  She might just give you the straightest answer out of all of them.

After you get past the sugar-induced speech.

A magical book?  Hmm.  I think someone sent you a laptop.  It's a computer designed for travel, sort of like a smaller reference guide in comparison to a whole encyclopedia set.  You probably will not be able to connect to the Internet though.  I don't think Verison's broadband service reaches Canterlot.  Or, in other words, we don't have the ability to link the Internet between dimensions.  Although, this does lead me to some interesting ideas.

Laptops are able to play music and video.  My idea is that I can attach electronic versions of media I have on MY laptop, and send them to you.  My theory is that when it appears on your end, it might appear as a disk.  This you can play on the laptop and view whatever I send you.  And to clarify, the 'electronic' copy of the textbook I sent you meant that, rather than being a physical book with paper and ink, it was saved on my computer as data.  The fact that it appeared as actual paper leads me to believe that whatever link we share between my email and Canterlot, it must automatically reconfigure whatever is sent into a medium that the recipient can view.

In other words, whatever magic is linking us together must be changing my emails into your scrolls.  And I think that we can exploit this.

If the movies do appear as disks, it is quite simple to use.  The disk should be a flat piece of circular metal, shiny on one side and dull on the other with a hole in the middle.  To play the disk, open the disk drive in the laptop.  It should be a small button on the side.  Press it, gently, and a tray should pop out.  Put the disk, shiny side down, in the tray, making sure that the hole fits into the groove in the tray.  Push the tray back in, and you should be ready to go.

I've decided to attach three movies, along with the song.  Each one of these movies are classics in their own right.  They are

Star Wars:  Episode IV, A New Hope.  Please ignore the 'Episode 4'.   It was the first movie made in the Star Wars series.  Its meant to be viewed first.  This epic is entirley fictional, using technology and science that humans haven't yet developed, so don't worry if you can't understand the details, I'll be willing to explain anything you don't understand.

Raiders of the Lost Arc.  This is the first film in the Indiana Jones series.  Again, it is fictional, but it is set about seventy years in the past.  I don't wish to spoil the movie, but to explain:  The characters and events are fiction, but the religion and the organizations (Nazis) are real.

The Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring.  Unlike the first two, this film was based off of a famous book series, The Lord of the Rings.  It is fiction; set in a fantasy realm created by its author, JRR Tolkien.  I'd advise you to watch this movie first, considering that there will be less questions about its technology.

Yes, each film is the first in a series.  And yes, I do have the others.  If you can get them to work, I will send along the next movies.  But please note, each one of these movies are a bit violent.  I'd advise you to watch each one yourself and make the judge on who you think is mature enough to see them.

Tetris is not a curse, though some people might think it is.  It is what we call a video game; another form of human media.  Unlike television and movies, video games are interactive.  They require the input from the player in order for them to operate.  My advise: take it away from them.  They're obviously not mature enough to handle it in moderation.  I assure you that eventually, they will grow bored of it.  Specifically, once someone reached a high score no one else can beat.  Its bound to happen sooner or later.

And no, I'm in no way being fiscally deprived.  Everything I've sent you are copies of what I have.  One of the benefits of technology is that duplicates are easy to make.  I'm happy to share my culture with you.

If Princess Luna is wondering why I haven't addressed her yet, it is because I'm sending a separate letter to her personally.  I figured that this was long enough, and that I can simply send something to her on its own.

Regards.

Z.A. Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. Fiction,

I am afraid I cannot comprehend the sheer destruction you humans have tormented yourself with, nor can most any pony alive. Our pastoral lifestyle does not lend itself to such acts of violence. Certainly we have conflicts, but usually they are resolved on a personal level, not on... such a scale as you have written of.

I apologize for my continued ignorance, but natural disasters? Do you not control the weather? It was one of the first things we ponies learned to do once it was discovered that every type of pony had magic in them. However, I can see the gleaming light of hope for humans shining in the darkness of all the strife you have described. I am certain that we ponies would remember you for more than that one song, should you vanish from this multi-verse. A wise pony once stated that the goodness shall always outlast the bad.

In times of greatest stress, a diamond shall be formed that will shine for all. I sincerely hope that the humans find such a diamond to rally behind, to overcome the darkness in their hearts. You humans fascinate me with your dual natured ways.

Do not apologize, for it spoke to the goodness in your heart that you could see the brightness when the darkness is so prevalent. Generally our politics break down to everypony turning to me for guidance on the larger matters, however most know the path to choose for the greater good of all.

How can these movies not remain faithful to the original material? Would that not violate the spirit of the works? It just seems like a rather insulting way to perform a derivative work.

I usually trust my most faithful student in all that she does, why should this matter be any different? Twilight Sparkle has never once given me less than her absolute best performance. Is there something more that she did not tell me? Was that parade of cute little creatures not for me?

I do not understand the reasoning behind asking Pinkie Pie, but if you insist, I can.

As for the 'laptop' might I ask why this seems to have no trouble running in Equestria, but the other computer cannot even power up? We may be able to set up some form of network similar to the Internet once we learn more about it, and get our dragons to stop playing that accursed game, or at least let me have a turn.

Ah, it would seem that your theory holds merit, as these texts are physical copies for me, as are your scrolls. As for these disks you speak of, my sister has received similar ones from a penpal, and we have enjoyed the music they play immensely. Once again, I find that my horn has more uses than controlling magic. As with its length and point it seems to work ideally for the button you mentioned.

I have not had the chance to view these movies yet, but we were able to work out how to place them inside the machine and play them, after I had all the laptop lifted out of the reach of the young dragons that were be-spelled by that game Tetris. But I will be certain to make some time with Luna to enjoy these movies. Thank you again for forwarding them to us.

My sister and I will preview these movies, and decide on the appropriate age groups for ponies to view them. We will most likely utilize the system for books that we already have in place. It makes sense that not all material is acceptable to be viewed by all parties involved.

The problem with this 'interactive video game' is that the dragons are putting too much input into it, and not enough into their other duties. I suppose it shall fall to me to be the pony to set the unbeatable high score, lest they continue playing for all eternity.

I appreciate your gestures towards us, and hope that you will continue to maintain our correspondences. As for your letter to Luna, I am certain that she is answering your letter as we speak. It is nice to see that others are reaching out to her. Thank you once again.

Blessing of the Sun be with you,
Princess Celestia.