A Race's Worth

“I’m sorry?”

The Human blinked, uncertain if he had heard Princess Celestia correctly. They stood in the throne room, alone, the Element Bearers and guards having been dismissed. Beside the regal pony was her sister, Princess Luna. She was visibly more uneasy than her elder sibling.

Celestia maintained a steady gaze at The Human, her magenta eyes trained carefully on the subject. In her mind, she reflected over the events that had transpired with his arrival.

Arriving in the form of a flash of light (due to, of all things, a spell gone awry), The Human had grown to become accepted by the ponies, as he posed no threat to them. Sure, there were initial misgivings; but once he had proven himself willing to save Fluttershy from a rampaging manticore, most, if not all, doubts were readily abolished. While the Bearers worked with Equestria’s finest to figure out a way to get The Human home, he had seamlessly integrated himself into pony society. Though he yearned to return, he had conceded to wait, undeterred by the prospect of the unknown.

That last phrase was what had garnered Celestia’s curiosity on humans in general. He had spoken it like it was something familiar, a universal constant that he could always count on. The unknown, as The Human put it, was something all Life had to encounter. Humans simply weren’t afraid of it; they welcomed it, willing to explore and create and expand into the infinite uncertainty. Indeed, he was quite proud of his kind and all they had accomplished.

Yet, in other conversations, The Human had just as readily spited his kind for being some of the most malicious beings in the universe. In comparison to the ponies, humans were monsters and savages, scared and unwilling to accept petty differences. Which was rather hypocritical of them, he had mused, considering their past accomplishments into the murky dark.

Such conversations and words were what had made Celestia decide on asking The Human her question. She had talked to Luna about it, and it was decided that they would confront him alone. Celestia didn’t want The Human to be possibly influenced by others; she wanted the truth from his own mouth, in his own voice, with his own words.

“Princess Celestia?” The Human asked, shaking her out of her thoughts. “I’m sorry; I think I misheard. Could you repeat what you said?”

His manners were, once again, impeccable; so drastically different from the other humans he had talked about. How could such a nice man be a part of such a broken race?

Celestia cleared her throat. “You did not mishear me,” she answered carefully. “I asked, could humans be saved?”

The Human blinked. “I don’t believe I understand what you mean.”

“You said that your kind has many different religions, and most of them all have some idea of an Afterlife. Eternal Paradise, as some call it.” She looked down at him. “Yet, do you really think that humans deserve some sort of after-living reward?”

After a moment, his eyes lit up in understanding. “You are referring to humanity’s past transgressions,” he stated, frowning slightly. She and Luna nodded to confirm. “I see… but what makes you think I have the authority to answer such a question?”

Luna spoke, “We believe that you are the best example of the good of humanity.”

“There were many before me.”

“Perhaps, but they aren’t here.”

The Human said nothing for a moment, thinking over her question. “What makes you conclude that I represent the best of humanity?”

“From what you have told us, humans are generally selfish and uncaring towards each other unless in dire circumstances,” Luna answered. “You, from your actions here, are clearly the opposite. You express Honesty when helping Miss Applejack; Kindness when saving Miss Fluttershy from the manticore; Generosity, when you gave away your bits and gems to Miss Rarity’s associate, Coco Pommel; Laughter, when you helped Miss Pinkie Pie throw a party for the young foals who had gotten their Cutie Marks; Loyalty, when you refused to go on ahead in the Iron Hooves competition while Rainbow sprained her leg; and Magic, when you understood the importance of Friendship to the Six Bearers.”

“In short, you say I represent the physical aspect of Harmony?”

“We know,” corrected Celestia. “And it’s more than physical actions that made us realize this. You have the capability to be one with ponies; to exist with another race, foreign and unknown. Surely you’ve realized this?”

He nodded. “I have. I suppose, then, that you are saying that you don’t think humans have the same capacity as I do to understand Harmony?”

The two Royal Sisters nodded, and silence prevailed as he thought about what to say. Celestia felt a bead of sweat adorn her forehead, but she did her best to ignore it. The Human’s answer would determine her next course of action, and she didn’t want to appear to be weakening in front of him.

Finally, The Human looked back up at them. His expression remained guarded, eyes somewhat hidden beneath his mop of hair. Whatever emotions were boiling inside were carefully masked behind a facade of calm.

“It is true,” he began, “that humans are not, by nature, good. Many of our most famous philosophers have argued that we are inherently evil.” He shook his head. “We’ve fought battles and wars against each other, unaware of the threat that lay outside our cosmic borders. And we fought over petty things—land, money, and corrupted power.”

He paused, still gathering many of his thoughts. The question that Celestia posed was of great importance, he sensed, and he wanted to make sure he gave an equally as thought-provoking answer.

“We’d kill our own kind just to win battles, when we all could have come together and held peaceful negotiations. For millennia, we’ve been on the brink of the apocalypse just by living. In our hands are the weapons of gods—no, demons—and we handle them with great care. Yet we are still willing to threaten to use them should we deem it necessary. The ability to vanquish an entire nation with but the press of a button; steel clouds of death floating above the supposed ‘enemy’s’ head, preparing to drop a rain of blood and metal on them.”

He took a deep breath. “In the grand scheme of all things, we are but mere particles to creation. Yet we pride ourselves—perhaps too much—on being alive and intelligent; when, in reality, we are nothing more than befuddled fools who have for so long only thought of ourselves’ selves.

“Never before were we united, or at least never were we joined by comradity as a whole. Never before have we fought as one kind, as Humanity, as Man, for one righteous purpose.”

His voice took on a chilling tone as he remembered what had transpired before he had arrived in Equestria. “The world watched as the clouds turned red and green, the lights of the hostile arriving on ships made of unknown metals. And the world gasped in horror as these newcomers attacked us, laying waste many a nation and people.”

Celestia nodded slowly. “Yes, the Invasion of the Seven. I remember you describing them.”

The Human looked back at her. “I haven’t told you why they invaded, however.” She, confused, nodded for him to continue: “These Seven were long worshipped by past humans—the Mayans worshipped the giant serpentine creature in the sky, for example. But, in our past, we did not know that they were conquerors. We thought they were gods, willing to help humanity.

“Yet, as we found out on that day, they were willing to destroy us.

“It was only later that we learned why they had attacked. They perceived us as a growing threat. Our intelligence and our technological capacity were rising, and soon we could enter the Cosmic Stage as an emerging Power among Stars. They saw Death and Destruction in our eyes, and they were willing to jump between systems just to end this.

“They weren’t the only Others out there, though. Five other races stood by Humanity, thinking that we were still salvageable. And we fought with those Five, desperately, in a war that spanned decades, trying to drive back the invaders and attackers, trying to prove we weren’t as they thought we were.”

He shook his head. “We won, eventually. But we finally had the chance to look at us as a whole; and we realized that those Hostile Others were right. We were dangerous, and now we knew. Yet that did not stop our thirst to conquer all of Creation. We wanted to spread out among the stars, and provide a piece of Humanity in every corner of the universe.

“With all the knowledge we’ve acquired over the years; all the extensive amount of power and fame we’ve acquired in the cosmos, as Humanity the Riser, have we truly changed? Some may say that we have. The Five thought we did. They believed we could be saved, but were unsure if we possessed the means to save ourselves. They tried by trading secrets of technology; and much good did come out of that deal, but we still remained as scared and as violent as we were centuries ago, back when we thought the Sun and the Bodies revolved around Earth.”

The Human allowed himself a chuckle. “If our ancestors saw where I am now, they’d say they were right.

“Yet, we’ve everything we’ve done in the aftermath of the Invasion, after all the other forms of Life we’ve helped save and educate, have we truly overcome our dark past?”

At this, his gaze fell. “I am not so optimistic as my brothers and sisters. I’ve seen the destruction we’ve caused on other worlds. We tried once to give food to a newly discovered sentience; we almost killed them, and would have driven them to extinction, had it not been for one of the Five’s intervention.

“Do we think ourselves as gods? Are we still as prideful? As arrogant? Willing and stubbornly believing that we are a race of good and for good?”

As The Human looked back up, Celestia sensed a great burden of sorrow fall on his shoulders. “The answer to those questions, as much as we are hateful of it, is yes.” He shook his head sadly. “The Prophets of old and the Son of the God we had long so worshipped said we could be saved; but now? After all the years I’ve been alive, after seeing everything we’ve done… I do not think we could ever reach that elusive Place of Paradise.” He gazed directly at Celestia. “We are beyond our own saving.”

Celestia was silent, taking in his response. Luna glanced between her sister and The Human, understanding what he meant. She, too, had become a victim of her own selfish desires; but, unlike his kind, she had been saved before it had been too late. If Nightmare Moon was her darkness manifested, then perhaps Humanity’s long history of violence was theirs.

But whereas she had two thousand worth of years to be saved, Humanity had nearly five Ages. That did not account for the first Epoch when Humanity first appeared, nor the Times of Great Progress, nor the Time of Great Expansion into space.

The fact remained: Humanity had went far too long without proper guidance. This fact was the focal point of Celestia’s questioning; and she intended to figure out a solution to this problem by the end of the ordeal.

“What is conquering?” Celestia asked The Human. “At least, in human terms?”

“It is the act of overcoming and taking over another, through militaristic means,” he answered.

“And with all of Humanity’s acts of conquest on one another, it is clear that the role of an overtaker is not to be taken lightly, correct?”

“That is right. Why do you ask?”

She frowned, knowing that her choice of words would be controversial. “… Could it not be said that maybe some good could come out of the conquering?”

The Human looked at her in shock. “Are you saying you are defending those who oppressed the lessers?”

She hastily shook her head. “I say no such thing. Only that, sometimes, a show of force is necessary to achieve order.” She looked back at him expectantly. “That, too, is correct, isn’t it?”

He nodded slowly. “I suppose. Some of the greatest minds of Humanity came under conquering rule, and many a great nation was founded by the more powerful lords of the land.”

“And order was achieved, correct?”

“If by order, you mean centuries of civil unrest and much strife among men.”

“But all of that was due to violent conquering,” she argued. “Man’s actions were violent from the start, and carried over to how he treated his fellow kind.”

The Human frowned. “I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. Still, though, why are you asking this? You know as well as I do that Man is inherently evil.”

She and Luna exchanged looks. The Moon Princess nodded, encouraging her sister to speak her idea. Celestia nodded back, turning to face The Human.

“Man cannot be saved by himself, nor by the other races of your universe,” she stated. “But… what if there was help elsewhere?”

“Elsewhere? Where in the universe would we find a race willing to put up with Man’s sins?”

“Nowhere in yours.”

The Human paused, gaining a knowing look, as he appraised Celestia with a shocked expression. “You mean… here? Equestria?” He pointed a finger. “You?!”

She nodded slowly. “You saw how readily you accepted Harmony into your life. And while you may be the exception of your kind by your own admission, who is to say that they, too, would not eventually convert?”

Her wording caught him off guard, and another question entered his mind. “If you want to help Humanity, why do you speak of conquest as a necessary matter?”

Another bead of sweat trailed down her face. She disliked where this conversation was heading, and though she thought she was doing right by starting it, she could not doubt the growing sense of apprehension in her heart. Such matters were not to be taken lightly; and she did not want The Human to be thinking any different of her.

She hesitated before answering, “I do not wish to conquer another race. I only wish to help them see the error of their ways and to provide them the means necessary to fix themselves.”

The Human said nothing, his face betraying none of the emotions—if any—that he felt.

“Would not the Five agree?” she added, trying to divert his attention away from her odd choice of words. “Would they not say that Humanity needs help? Is it not our moral obligation to do right when we can and should? Is it not right to say that, [if]http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972----.htm&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNGJHlStSzfMQ6V7GFUs5vRg4Xulww]if](https://www.google.com/url?q=[url=http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972----.htm&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNGJHlStSzfMQ6V7GFUs5vRg4Xulww) we can prevent something bad from happening without sacrificing something of comparable moral significance, we should[/url]?”

“Perhaps it is. But when would you stop?” he asked.

She blinked. “Well, I suppose it would be when our actions would decrease our own welfare more than it would help Humanity. But I highly doubt that would happen.”

He developed his own frown. This was not at all what she was expecting. If anything, The Human should have welcomed the chance to save his own kind from the deep abyss they had fallen into.

“Celestia,” he began. The fact that he had addressed her without title worried her. “What are you saying, truly?”

She hesitated, knowing that her next words would lead to an end to Humanity’s self destruction—or to nothing at all. There was no point in hiding behind words; he was much too clever to be bothered with illusions. If anything, the safest and smartest decision was to come clean with her plan.

“We ponies of Equestria know Harmony the most out of any other form of sentience out there,” she began. “It is the very basis of our culture, and has helped us through the darkest of times. The Windigos, Sombra’s tyranny, Discord’s reign, and Nightmare Moon’s rise and return, all come to mind.”

“It was Harmony that led us out of those dark time,” added Luna, doing her best not to shirk away from the name of her former persona. “The discovery of the Magic of Friendship that this land had to offer stopped the Windigos; and the Elements of Harmony aided in stopping Sombra, Discord, and Nightmare Moon.”

“Through it all,” continued Celestia, “it was clear that Harmony itself was necessary to combat the darkness that we faced.”

She pointed a hoof at The Human. “So who is to say that Harmony would not help Humanity become better?”

He said nothing for a little while, staring at the white hoof, expressionless. He remained still, unmoving and unblinking, as he thought long and hard. Celestia slowly lowered her hoof, letting it clop on the floor, the sound resounding all around. Yet the sound did not so much break The Human’s exterior; staring into space, his ignored the surroundings as he continued to think. The Sisters waited as patiently as they could.

Finally, he had his answer. Looking up, he held a resolute gaze with Celestia. The light of Man shone in his eyes.

“Humanity is to say that Harmony would not help.”

Seeing Celestia and Luna’s questioning eyes, he continued, “History is written by the winners; but in our history, Humanity has no clear winners. No matter what seemingly divine power or otherworldly force showed up and tried to push in the right direction, we only fell even further.

“Despite the teachings of a simple man, a millennia later, his followers were slaughtering those who had no hostilities to them, all in his name.

“Despite the lessons that the Invasion taught us, there is still strife between ourselves. We may be a United Earth, but we are not a United Humankind.”

He shook his head sadly. “I doubt that anything that creation has to offer will ever be enough to curb us of our inner darkness. We’ve demonstrated our worst; and there’s just so much sin that cannot be taken back through converting to your philosophy.” He glanced back up at the Princesses. “Besides, how would you ever get them to listen?”

“You did,” Luna said.

“But I’m the exception. I was the one willing to give it a chance.” He glanced away. “Sometimes, I wonder if that is because I’m smarter than the average human… or just more naive.”

Celestia decided to answer his question. “If humankind is as sensible as you are, then I have no doubt that they’ll happily conform to Harmony given time.”

He did not initially answer. Looking away, his eyes trailed down the long hall behind him. He observed the alabaster columns and arches; the marble floors and tiled ceiling. He glanced over the numerous stained glass windows that adorned the sides of the room, seeing in them images depicting crucial moments in Equestrian history.

Ponies adhere to their own history as much as we do. They, too, see their value. Yet, theirs is less violent and more bright than ours.

He turned back to the Princesses. “Celestia… how naive are you?”

She blinked in shock, caught by surprise by his accusatory tone. “I beg your pardon?”

“I mean no offense. But do you really expect Humanity to bow down to some new idea, a new ideal to strive towards?”

“Well, I—”

“Every time something new happened or was invented or was thought or was spoken, Humanity rebelled. Wars were waged, battles were fought. Men and women and children lived and died. Nature became overrun by the hate of man. The forests burned with the screams of the dying fools, and the rivers washed away the blood of the fallen.”

A sigh escaped his lips. “Would they not do the same, then? Would not Humanity rebel?”

“They wouldn’t,” Celestia protested. “Not if they knew what was good for them.”

He glanced up at her. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

Guilt crept into her voice, and she had to look away from his intense gaze. “You know how it is. Sometimes, a people will not listen to reason, caught up in their emotions and inconsistencies, unwilling to accept rightful change. Sometimes, a ruler has to step in and personally intervene, and make sure that laws are handed down and accepted. With force, if necessary.”

“You don’t rule the humans, though,” he pointed out. “Are you saying—”

“I do not like to think myself as a conqueror,” she quickly said, looking back at The Human. “But… I see myself as a pony with the ability and tools to teach another universe the way to get along, the way to achieve perfect Harmony.”

“And if Humanity doesn’t listen?”

“They would. I would will them to.”

The Human’s face grew more troubled. “You would forcibly convert them to Harmony?”

Celestia gave a nervous nod.

“But don’t you see?” Luna asked, a bit nervous. “With all we could offer, Humanity would greatly benefit from our involvement!”

He was silent once more, his hand rubbing his chin in thought. Luna and Celestia shared quick glances, unsure if they had overstepped a boundary.

“… It makes sense,” he suddenly said. “Harmony offers a solution to the Human problem; that is, it offers peace to conflict. And it works with many forms of life, from the ponies here, to the plants in the Everfree. Life itself in this universe has achieved a Harmonious balance.” His feet began to move, his body shifting to the side, and he began to pace across the wide rug. “So, by all logic, Humanity ought to welcome the idea of a perfect Harmony. Why wouldn’t they? It’s everything they’ve ever wanted.”

He looked back at Celestia, stopping in his tracks for a moment. “You ponies and we humans are quite similar, if you think about it. We all have this ideal to stand for, to rise up to. But whereas you ponies managed to not only achieve that ideal, but utilize it in amazing ways, we humans can only look up to that ideal as a beacon of hope.”

He resumed pacing, still muttering, still whispering. His tongue would often blend the words, rendering them to mere mumbles; yet his mind seemed able to easily interpret the muffled voice. The Princesses watched him with odd interest.

“If Harmony is such a good thing, then it would stand to reason that the right thing to do is to spread it. To be a benefactor and not spread your product of goodwill is to be a hypocrite to that title.” He stopped, looking down at the floor, tracing the patterns with his eyes and brain. “And yet… and yet…”

He resumed the center of the floor, facing the Princesses. “You can’t.”

Celestia started. “I can’t what?”

“You simply can’t convert Humanity to Harmony.”

With renewed vigor and a determined blaze in his heart, The Human stepped closer, inviting the rulers to join him in sageness. “You assume the best out of us, Celestia. You assume that we would readily give up our false ideals and join you in Harmony.

“And we ought to, by God and by damn we ought to. It would save us so much trouble, and grant us that peace we have so hopelessly clung on to for all of time! And yet… and yet…”

The Human shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense to give us Harmony and expect us to take it.”

“Why is that?” Luna asked.

He sighed. “We don’t like anyone who seems like an oppressor. Just ask those seven races that attacked us centuries ago. We will fight, and will always fight, whether or not in the long run our actions will be in poor taste.” He looked at Celestia. “It matters not what you think, or what I know. In the eyes of Humanity, you coming over and trying to implant Harmony would sound like someone who wanted to control the human race. They would fight back, at the cost of their lives.”

“But why? Why wouldn’t they accept change? Good change?”

“Good is subjective, Celestia. And Humanity has some of the most subjective values of any culture.

“Humanity is constantly evolving, with or without outside help. And even if another world, another species, was out there, trying to point us in the direction to go towards, chances are we would divert from that course. The reason being is our unique talent for exerting a freer will.”

He took another step forward. “We thrive on our ability to overcome challenges on our own. When our world and our kind faced the greatest threat ever against us—extinction for a ‘righter cause’—we banded together, by our own accord, and fought back. Whether our reasons or theirs was right mattered not. What mattered was that we overcame our own differences and tried to fight as one. We had achieved temporary unity.

“Our independence, our unconscious desire to be imperfect, remains a driving factor in all of Humanity’s activities. Whether we are exploring space, creating new medicines, or crafting incredible programs of computing, we all did this by our own rule. Our own self.

“The difficulties that we face; all that we have ever faced; and all that we will ever face; will be dealt with by humans, for humans. No other force will tell us otherwise. We are simply too stubborn of a race to even try to let someone else save us.

“In that sense, we are quite the anomaly, really.” He let out a brief chuckle. “We want help; we need help; and many have offered. And yet, we cannot accept help. Do you know why?”

Their silence admitted their answer.

“It’s because we fear what would happen when we get that help. The phrase, ‘To err is human,’ has long been revered among us. We believe that Humanity, as a whole, is essentially flawed. We believe that humankind and humans in general will always make mistakes, will always create errors. We will always lapse into our darkest phases, and come out darker than ever.

“Perhaps we realized this after the Invasion. Maybe even more. Maybe we always have. Maybe we were just afraid to admit it.” He shook his head ruefully. “Funny. We want to be perfect; but we also want to remain flawed.

“Your Highnesses,” he addressed strongly, “it may seem hypocritical, perhaps even treasonous; but I do not think that we humans will need your Harmony. It may have worked wonders for me, but that was but a chance on one man, not an entire kind. If we were to accept Harmony into our hearts, we would undoubtedly feel less human than before.

“Man has been built on pillars of sand, and man has always fallen. But that’s what makes us different from other species in our universe. We get up from our mistakes, and we keep fighting to escape this dark pit. It may seem inevitable that we will fall; but to us, the try is more important than the achieve.”

“No matter how much failure we have gathered, we must keep trying.”

He stood then, at their level, his eyes brimming with knowledge and kindness. Celestia was quite surprised; she had never witnessed The Human profess such innate knowledge on his own self and kind. Rarely had ponies even gone so far as to address the flaws of ponykind; nor had they shown an interest in keeping it that way.

“Mutantur omnia, nos et mutamur in illis,” he said.

“All things change, and we change with them,” Luna whispered.

He took a slight step back. “We want to keep our humanity, Celestia, Luna, no matter the cost to our future or ourselves. Because, above all else, we pride ourselves on being the one and only Mankind. Maybe one day we’ll find Harmony; maybe we never will. But I like to think that we’ll find it the Human way, without the help of others.”

Celestia took a moment to think over what The Human was saying. He truly valued Harmony, and he was absolutely grateful for the ponies teaching him. Yet, he knew that his kind would not willingly bow down to Harmony given to them; rather, they would fight to stay flawed, to still be human.

She may have had all this power, and The Human may have said that, while Humanity was against it, it would benefit them greatly… but she somehow knew that The Human was right as well. She may have had the power, and the moral obligation; but she didn’t have the humanity. The humanity of Humanity.

A race that wants to be better, but also wants to stay flawed? How can they survive for so long, without tearing each other apart?

“I know you are still confused by our ways. But perhaps I can answer even more satisfyingly. May I ask one question?” The Human queried, getting her attention. She nodded, giving him permission. “Why would you care about Humanity’s development?”

She blinked. Why did she care? The portal that Twilight had used to accidentally summon The Human, while powerful enough to let her through, could be closed at any point. And given the fact that Humanity did not have the most peaceful of relations with foreigners, it would be safer to avoid calling them altogether. Yet, she felt that she had some higher responsibility to help them, even in the smallest of ways.

Her mind thought back to the history of humans that The Human had provided. Despite their hardships, they had overcome each obstacle that they had faced, without the need of the Magic of Harmony. Indeed, even when they were up against technologically superior beings, they still held out. They fought on, against unknown, against uncertainty, against themselves. And while there were no winners, it could not be said that there were losers either.

There were only survivors; and Humankind was destined to survive to the end.

“Perhaps it is because I care too much for everypony,” Celestia said. “Or perhaps, it is because I recognize the potential for the human race, to surpass its own darkness and become the brightest light in all of the cosmos combined.”

The Human smiled. “Then realize that Humanity has also recognized its potential, and we want to discover the limits of our future by ourselves.”

Soon, though, their meeting had to be adjourned. Nobles would soon be arriving to converse with the Princesses, and they needed time to prepare. He had to leave now; but before he did, he turned and faced the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of the Moon, and made a promise to them:

“You may not be allowed to spread Harmony; but I am. And I will try my very best to teach my people a better way, by doing things the Human way.”