Merida and Mulan are coming off of the carrousel. Merida had a wonderful time, but just a slight bit dizzy. Angus didn't run in circles.
"That was so fun. Are all the rides like that?" asked Merida.
"No, some are even more fun. But I enjoy that one a lot, it is pleasant to begin a day with, some of the others you need to build up to. Like the rollercoaster." replied Mulan taking Merida to see the screaming people zoom past.
"Wow. That goes really fast."
"Indeed it does, but it is very safe. Though it doesn't feel safe at all."
"Why?"
"Because it's fun."
Mulan is showing Merida around some of the rides.
Merida was beginning to get used to the fact that the Disneyverse is filled with so many different creatures, people that were shaped so oddly and animals some that walked upright and wore clothes and others that didn't. It was so odd at first but they were all muses like her, taking some rest from inspiring the humans that cared about them.
A small dark colored centauress wearing sunflowers around herself was trotting down the street. She was in color, not everyone was, but she looked faded and translucent. Mulan told her that some muses were being forgotten, not many humans remembered them or their stories. While a muse didn't die exactly it was possible if no one remembered the story and all copies of a story were destroyed a muse would fade into the void of creative intention, to be spun out as a new story. Maybe.
The centauress smiled at Merida and Mulan, who said hello. Suddenly the centauress stopped "Oh no. Oh No." She burst into tears and fell weeping to the pavement as she faded a little more.
Merida, Mulan and other ran to her. "What's wrong?"
"Carla just died. She loved to watch her copy of Fantasia every Sunday after church. There are so few left." And she wept for the loss, they all did because they could all become like her some day. Tiana appeared and gave her comfort.
"Why do so many who remember me only hate me?" she wailed to her best friend.
It took some time but Sunflower calmed down, Tiana took her to her place for some beignets.
Mulan sighed.
"What?" asked Merida.
"Her story is more tragic then most. They have had her cut from Fantasia and so she fades faster then most as the old copies decay."
"Cut!"
"Yes."
"But why?"
"She comes from a time in history that some find disturbing and embarrassing. So they try to make it go away by erasing their own history."
"Erasing their own history? But that will hurt them worse then knowing what happened, won't it?"
"Yes it will, because they will not remember what went wrong, they will do it wrong again. We try to inspire so they remember their own past and become better for it. Not everyone does though." Mulan sighed.
Mulan continued as they walked toward the palace. "The human world is filled with choices, and some choose badly. It is bad enough when it is themselves but virtually all choices effect the people around them. Sometimes humans have burned books to try and change their history, or have not taught people to read. During times of slavery it has often been a capital offense to teach a slave to read."
"They would kill people who taught slaves to read! But reading is no big deal." said Merida.
"Reading is a very big deal. It compresses years, even centuries of experiences and learning into something you can absorb in hours. That makes reading very powerful. But now evil has become more subtle, reading is taught to everyone now, but it is made so difficult or boring that fewer people read all the time. A story looses its power if it is never read. Come I need to show you something."
Mulan leads Merida to the Magic Mirror.
"Magic mirror on the wall.
Show us everything, show it all."
"As you wish, my ladies," the face left the mirror and something very different was seen.
"What is it?" Merida asked not sure what she was seeing. It looked like a big pile of bubbles on a big blue ball.
"This is the creative universe and how it intersects with the real world. Or at least a representation that we can get our minds around."
"Okay." Merida said cautiously, it seemed so big and so much.
"The blue ball is the Earth. This central bubble is the Disneyverse. It's not really the center, we are just starting here because this is where we are. There are all these small bubbles on the outside edge, these are people who are creating something that was inspired by us."
"There's a lot of them." said Merida a little intimidated by how much she was seeing.
"Yes, there are."
"And all these other big bubbles that touch?" asked Merida.
"Those are other creative universes, the big ones are popular and in many people's minds. Over there is The Hunger Games, and that is Twilight, oh over there is Star Wars, that one is really fun." Mulan confessed.
"And why are some bright and others dark?" asked Merida.
"Some are good and some are evil."
"Oh."
"There is so much to do as a muse isn't there. But we can do great things for people."
"Yes there is, but the effects can last for generations. It is worth it." Confided Mulan.
Author's Note: Sorry to stop and explain things, but I couldn't think of a better way.