I stood there looking dumbly at the picture of the...Fuhrer, with brief glances at the unfortunate pony who learned of his existence.
The endless number of World War II TV documentaries, history classes, Hollywood films, and parodies of the German movie Downfall had made me aware of his existence. The not-so pleasant stories my Grandpa Franz and Great Aunt Rachel had of the old country made me...intimately familiar with what he had done.
Yet, seeing the tearful eyes of the purple pony, I began to see the crazed dictator in a new way. In a way that made me feel...uncomfortable. Maybe even...guilty in a way I couldn't describe.
"Your Majesty," Roger asked in a respectful, though concerned voice as he approached the bed. "Are you hurt? Are you injured? Can I get you-," he paused as I shoved the textbook directly in his face. He took it and looked at the open picture of Hitler. While Roger's faced remained stoic, I could by the way his fingers turned white, that he was squeezing the book a bit in anger.
"Your Majesty," Roger said in his overtly professional tone, putting the book away. "These crimes are just are past events. Humanity has made great strides since the dark days of the Second World War. Human rights are celebrated across the world, and our nation is devoted to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Twilight still didn't look up or stop weeping. It was clear that Roger's patriotic pap wasn't doing the trick. The same uncomfortable feeling and the shadows of my own past gave me an inkling of what I needed to say. But, if it came to that, I felt it needed to be a private moment between me and her.
"Roger," I said quietly with a pointed look. He ceased his robotic bromides. "There is a security issue I wish to discuss with you." Roger followed me out the door, having taken the hint that I wanted to talk to him alone. After he closed the door, we both stood near the foot of the stairs.
"I need you to let me talk with the Princess in private," I said to the agent. My tone wasn't the immature frustration I felt when Roger disrupted my routine. It was a low, serious tone that Roger picked up, since he wasn't giving me the same indifferent look he would at my petty complaints. "Believe me, I can talk to her about it in a way no one can."
"But Mr. Klein," he said in a more empathetic tone then he normally used, "it is my job to comfort the princess." I knew arguing with him was futile. Instead, I went back into my bedroom. When I came out, I was wearing the red-velvet yarmulke I only wore about 6-7 times a year. Then I uttered one quiet word to Roger.
"Shalom."
Roger, for the first time since he came into my house, obeyed me. Without a world, he immediately began to walk down the stairs.
"Jake," he said once he got halfway down. I was rooted to the floor in shock, since it was the first time he called me by my preferred alias. He took off his shades, giving me a very serious look,"choose your words carefully. Remember, you and Mary found Twilight when she was near death. You two gave her shelter and food, which saved her from starvation. Thus you share a bond with her that no other human being could ever hope to have. This means your words are the ones she trusts." He took a deep breath, revealing a panic I never thought he could show. It would almost have been funny, if not for the situation we were in. "And if she really is a Princess," he continued in a more quiet tone. "Then whatever you say will alter the course of human-pony relations." Without another word, he continued down the stairs, and walked toward the kitchen.
I immediately felt as if a giant weight had been placed on my shoulder. The fate off a successful first contact between our species was in jeopardy, and I was the one who had to salvage it. I had to convince a creature that humanity, despite being guilty of mass murder, was worth trusting.
I was in a situation where my words...would shape the course of world history.
I mean, I learned about the Holocaust in school. I traveled to Israel and toured Yad Vashem when I was 13. Grandpa Franz told me about how he gave up everything to get tickets to America. Aunt Rachel tell me about how she was betrayed and lost her entire family. I had seen Schindler's List and The Pianist. I read Elie Wiesel's Night and The Diary of a Young Girl. I knew of the centuries of antisemitism that had preceded the Holocaust, like Martin Luther's virulently racist tracts and the blood libel.
I learned about the economic and political dysfunction of the Weimar Republic, the painful loss of World War I, the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles, the threat of Stalinism, and how all these factors would give an opening for Hitler to come to power in Germany.
I knew of the Milgram experiment, the manipulative power of propaganda, and Hitler's insanely effective public speaking.
I read about how so many nations closed their doors to Jewish refugees, and Grandpa Franz had to give up all his cash JUST to save himself, Grandma Ruth, and my Aunt Esther out of Czechoslovakia. I read about how FDR didn't bomb the death camps because he didn't to be seen as waging a "Jewish war," in the eyes of an American public who themselves were still hostile toward Jews.
But even knowing all this, the Holocaust and the cruelties of the Third Reich are still hard to understand.
How was I supposed to explain them to a being who came from a world where they were non-existent. One who, if she wasn't a liar and was really royalty, could pull the plug on any first contact if she desired.
With a sigh, I went back inside the room, and walked toward the pony, who was still lying on the bed. Her tears stopped, but she was giving me a look that was chillingly cold.
"Uh, Twilight," I said, walking toward the bed. She didn't respond. I rubbed the back of my head, and sat in a white chair. "I'm sorry you had to read about-,"
"Why," Twilight asked, in a sorrowful voice.
"Why what?"
"Why did Hitler kill all the....Jews," Twilight asked. "Were they trying to kill him? Did they have special powers?"
"Twilight, I told you, all human beings share roughly the same characteristics." According to Twilight, ponies were divided into three tribes: unicorns, pegasi, and Earth ponies (who had super strength and some connection to the soil). She came from a special breed of pony, called alicorn. In her words, almost all alicorns gained their power once they were deemed worthy enough to rule.
Other sentient races in her world included dragons, cows, zebras, seaponies, hippogriffs, griffons, yaks, donkeys, and changelings. They all totaled about 29 million beings (classified as sentient) on the planet.
Again, it sounded like her world was invented by a fantasy writer.
When I told her about how humans beings were the only sentient creatures on Earth and numbered 7 billion, her mind was truly blown.
"Then why did Hitler work so hard to try and kill them," she responded, almost about to cry again.
"Um," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "Are you saying that hatred and bigotry is absent in your world? That everyone-"
"Everypony."
"Every...pony in your world just gets along."
"No," Twilight said with some hesistance. "Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns used to fight a lot. We used to blame each other whenever something went wrong. And dragons, griffins, and changelings," Twilight paused, trying to sound diplomatic, "would hurt ponies too and vice-versa."
"Well, that's how Hitler came to power," I told her. "I don't know if you read this, but Germany was in bad shape. Under normal circumstances, the Nazis weren't very popular. But Germans lost a war and got the blame for it, and then their economy collapsed twice". Twilight gave me an odd look. "A lot of things went wrong for the Germans, and Hitler gained a lot of popularity because his screaming and ranting was exactly how Germans felt."
"Yes, but why blame the Jews," Twilight asked, her voice full of horror and frustration. "What makes Jews so different that Hitler wanted to kill them all?"
"Well," I said. "In America, for example, there is a lot of racism toward African-Americans, who are usually people with darker skin colors. A lot of people think they are lazy and criminal."
"That is the stupidest thing I ever heard," Twilight said with anger. "In Equestria, ponies and other creatures come in all kinds colors. I don't hate others ponies because they are green or blue, so why would I hate them for being brown or black!"
"You know, that would make a good anti-racism slogan," I said with a laugh. Twilight still looked unamused, so I continued. "As I told you before, humans beings aren't divided by any special physical characteristics unique to one another. They are divided by languages, religions, color and culture. And human beings take those things very seriously."
"So Jews have a different culture," Twilight asked.
"Yes," I said. "In the Middle Ages, Christian religion was a big deal. Jews have a very different religion, and religious leaders were annoyed that Jews wouldn't convert or respect Jesus for his sacrifice. A lot of times, Jews were blamed for the death of Christ, or for killing children and using their blood for matzo."
"So Jews were attacked and persecuted over...superstition," Twilight said with disdain.
"Um, Twilight, I would be careful how you use that word," I said with a serious tone. "For a lot of people, Christianity is a big deal. And they don't like their faith to be called 'superstition'."
"I mean, Christians say that some guy was sent to the planet by his father to die for humanity's sins," Twilight said with confusion. Despite her scholarly extinct, she is also fascinated by mythology and folklore. At the military base, she eagerly read a bible offered to her by a military chaplain. "And then I came back to life. And we have to...worship him. Why would anypony have to believe that?"
"Saying your leaders raise the sun and moon sounds kind of crazy," I replied in a strong tone. Twilight looked at me with frustration.
"That's different. You can't bring people back from the dead. I've seen Celestia and Luna raise the sun and moon," she said, stamping her hoof on the bed. "I told you that already." Apparently, in her world, two alicorns rose the sun and the moon. To say we had an argument over this is an understatement. The idea of the Earth revolving around a sun, and the moon moving on its own boggled her mind. But now was not the time for the discussion again.
"Moving on," I said. "In the old days, religion and superstition was how people lived without scientific study. Not worshipping Jesus meant you were damned to eternal torment, and thus kings wanted to bring that torment to people who didn't convert to Christianity."
"So Jews were persecuted over religious faith," Twilight said with confusion.
"The other issue was of Jews were often merchants and moneylenders. So people assumed Jews were naturally greedy money lovers."
"Are Jews always successful?"
Under any other circumstances, I would've brought up my cousin Isaac. He's a human wreck. But now was not the time for a joke.
"Not always," I replied.
"So did Hitler hate Jews for...not liking Jesus and having a lot of money?"
"Well, no," I said. "In the 19th century, the way nations were built changed. Before that, nations were organized around religion and/or worshipping a king. But with the Enlightenment, empires and kingdoms in Europe were replaced by the nation-state." I paused. "Nation-states are often organized around the idea of a nation being governed by a specific ethnic group or people."
"Ethnic group", Twilight asked.
"Groups of humans who are united by a common culture, language, and/or history," I replied. "Nationalism revolves around the idea of a nation built to protect the interests of those considered to be loyal to that nation. Extreme nationalism revolves around the priorities of the state being revolving around the dominant ethnic group in question." Twilight looked at me, intrigued.
"Well, all the sentient creatures in Equestria kind of do the same thing," Twilight accepted. "Dragons tend to live with dragons, ponies tend to live with ponies. But that's because we kind of need different environments. What does that have to do with Jews?"
"Well, when nation-states first began, Jews initially got equal rights," I replied. "But a new kind of hatred emerged in these new nation-states: Jews were seen as disloyal to the dominant ethnic group." I paused, having done a lot of talking. I noticed Twilight's disgust re-emerge. I took a deep breath. "Hitler was one of these Jew-hating nationalists, but he wasn't the first one. In France in the 1890s, a Jewish army captain was sent to prison for treason because he was a Jew. A lot of French people decided that Jews weren't loyal to France."
"Did Jews...try to get their own nation?"
"Yes. The State of Israel was created for that purpose."
"Then why didn't Hitler send the Jews there," Twilight replied.
"Well, it is a bit complicated," I replied, finding a way to condense the Arab-Israeli conflict into something that was understandable. " Jews had been kicked out of the land thousands of years ago, and thus we believe the land was rightfully ours. But Arabs, another ethnic group, believed that the land of Israel belongs to them. So Jewish settlement there was not always easy. When Hitler came to power, Jews in Germany and other countries tried to go anywhere, and Hitler initially wanted Jews to immigrate to other countries. But like I said, people thought Jews were loyal only to Jews, so the countries they wanted to go to didn't want to let them in." Twilight looked a bit downcast at that. So I continued. "And when Hitler began conquering these other countries, he had more Jews, and still no place that would let them in. So, the Holocaust was his solution to what he called 'The Jewish Question'." Twilight looked stunned.
"But, but," Twilight said, tears falling down her face. "Hitler thought that killing people would make Germany a better place?"
"Unfortunately yes," I replied in a solemn voice. "He also believed in racial purity, and thought Jews were naturally inferior and had no right to live. He felt that eliminating Jews would prevent racial contamination."
"That's insane, "Twilight said with a touch of anger. "You said human beings are all biologically the same."
"People back then thought that some humans had natural superiority to others," I said with a shrug. "Hitler took that idea and brought it to a terrible extreme."
"And Germans, just, thought that it was a good idea?"
"Let me ask you this Twilight," I asked. "Do you believe this Princess Celestia is a nice, kind ruler?"
"Yes," Twilight said with conviction.
"Maybe she is an evil dictator, and she lies to you a lot," I said. I knew I struck nerve, because Twilight's eyes began to narrow.
"Don't you ever say anything like that about the Princess," she growled, pawing at the surface of the bed.
"Why not? I don't know her," I said, my voice shifting to sound more obnoxious. "Maybe she could secretly torture other ponies in her basement. Maybe she cooks ponies in her kitchen, maybe-," I paused as Twilight lit up her horn in anger. A purple glow surrounded me, and I felt myself being lifted into the air.
"Don't you ever talk that way about the Princess," Twilight yelled, her horn glowing dangerously. She lifted me at least 3 meters in the air. "She's not perfect, but everything she does is for the good of Equestria!"
"Really," I asked in an unimpressed tone.
"Yes!"
"Well, that's how a lot of Germans felt about Hitler," I said. Twilight looked at me in shock. She released me abruptly, and I fell to the ground with a thud. I rubbed my pelvis, feeling it throb with agony.
"Jake," Twilight said, leaping out of the bed, and onto the floor, her voice sounding regretful. "Are you OK?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth. Twilight looked like she was about to cry.
"Jake, I'm sorry," she said, tears flowing down her eyes. "I shouldn't have blown up at you. It's just...some monster turned Celestia into stone." Twilight's ears wilted. "He tried to steal her magic, and even though Celestia lived, I'm scared for her. So I get defensive when-" she paused, and began crying again.
"It's OK," I said in a soothing tone. I got on my knees to give her a hug. She wrapped her hooves and wings around me, giving me one of the warmest, most cuddly hugs I ever got. Once Twilight got herself under control, we released each other, and she used her magic to help me back into my chair.
"But as I said," continuing my point. "Many Germans loved Hitler the same way you loved Celestia. Remember, Germany in 1933 was not in good shape. He promised to make Germany a proud and strong nation."
"Did he," asked Twilight.
"Well," I said uneasily. "For the first few years, he kind of did. He gave people jobs, he ended the political chaos in Germany-although that was because he locked up opposition. He also rebuilt the military, absorbed a lot of territory, and his army managed to win a lot of battles. He gave people vacations, and art, and a lot of other things."
"So Hitler...helped a lot of people," Twilight said, shockingly.
"Well, that was mainly to keep power", I said with some quiet disdain. "He also used a lot of propaganda and terror. Germans who rose up against the Nazis risked torture and death. And propaganda, often by radio, made people think of Hitler as this great leader. Thus, a lot of Germans felt, at least in their own minds, he was doing more good then bad."
"So no one cared when he killed Jews," Twilight asked with a sad tone.
"Well," I said somewhat sadly. "That didn't happen overnight. He did persecute Jews, but again, many Germans themselves didn't like Jews. Even those that didn't hate Jews felt Hitler was doing more good then bad. And also, if you did speak up, you could end up in a horrible prison camp. A lot of Germans, therefore didn't really do a thing when he started persecuting Jews, and no one believed he would actually try and wipe them out." Twilight's eyes widened. "When the Holocaust did occur, it shocked everyone, because it was a level of evil no one could imagined. Yeah, there were plenty of Germans who were just plain monstrous, but many Germans who weren't, and felt their actions were for the greater good."
"So a lot of Germans felt Hitler was doing the right thing," she said.
"Yes. Twilight, very few people choose to be evil," I said. "No ruler, even the most kind, most generous one, is perfect. While justice and virtue is what we aspire to, most of us will serve a human who will ensure we have food and shelter. Decent people will do terrible things because authority told them that those things needed to happen to preserve their livelihoods and/or are promised great rewards." Twilight looked a bit nervous. "When you came hear, didn't you steal Mary's flowers?"
"I...I guess," Twilight said, lowering her face into the bed, her ears turning downward.
"Did you do it because you were evil," I asked.
"No," Twilight said. "I wandered a dimensional void for days without any food."
"Should you go to prison for eating my flowers?"
"Well, uh," Twilight stammered.
"Well I don't think so," I said quietly. "You were in a bad place. And Mary and I gave you home. A lot of people often do terrible things because they had no choice."
"I-I guess that's kind of true," Twilight. "Two of my friends....were like that."
"Really," I asked.
"Tempest Shadow was this unicorn who...lost her horn in an accident."
"Ouch," I said with a wince. According to Twilight, magic was central to the identity of a unicorn. Losing a horn for a unicorn would be like a soccer player who lost the ability to walk.
"She worked for some evil conqueror who wanted to take over Equestria," Twilight said gravely. "all because she wanted her horn back."
"She must've been really desperate," I said with shock.
"She became an outcast because she lost her horn and couldn't find work, and the bad guy seemed like the only creature who would help her," Twilight sighed in frustration. "My other friend, Thorax, he worked for-,"
"The Changelings," I inferred. Twilight looked confused.
"How did you-,"
"Well, you told me the Changelings are like horse bugs. So the name Thorax seemed fitting."
"Oh, well," Twilight said, her eyes darting back and forth. "I guess that makes sense. Anyways, Thorax hated the Queen, but felt that ponies would never love him for real," Twilight said, remembering with sadness how the young Changeling looked when Shining Armor glared daggers at him, and how Thorax had to hide being a pony just to be accepted.
"Well there you go. A lot of bad people are often stuck in places they didn't want to be in," I said empathetically. "And thus, they end working for real monsters, because the monsters can pretend to be beings who give them food."
"I guess". Twilight said. "After World War II, did people make sure that something like the Holocaust would ever happen again," Twilight asked hopefully. She frowned when I didn't answer immediately.
"No," I said after a bit of hesitation. "I mean, world leaders wrote new laws outlawing genocide." I paused. "But those laws...weren't always enforced as they should've been."
"Why," she asked. I took a deep breath, struggling not to release the harsh truth. I realized however, that our relationship can't be built off of a lie, and so I forced myself to tell her the truth.
"Because the people doing the genocide were politically useful," I said. Twilight looked horrified at that. "Or...some people didn't care."
"You mean, human leaders willingly worked with mass murderers and/or didn't care about their crimes," Twilight said, with a harsh whisper. She looked calm, but it felt like the calm that masked a raging inferno.
I remember reading about how the US government backed Saddam Hussein, even when it became public knowledge he was gassing the Kurds. As a teenager, I watched on television as Yugoslavia and Rwanda descended into bloody terror. This was around the time Grandpa Franz and Aunt Rachel told me what they went through.
It was shocking how Josip Tito's dream of a united South Slavic nation crumbled so quickly under a wave of nationalism. And it was horrific how so many Tutsis died under a flurry of machete-fueled violence. I remember how Aunt Rachel ranted about how no one gave a fuck when those two atrocities went on. I remember how Bosnia only got help after so many died, and how Rwanda got almost no help from the international community.
And seeing Twilight's coldly furious face, as all these facts swirled within me, began filling me with anger too.
"Yeah, well, the world humans live in is one where money and politics is often more valuable than human lives," I said with some bitterness. I saw Twilight's face become undeniably angry. Knowing that her power was great, and that my job was to talk her down, I swallowed my anger.
"I mean, it isn't as bad as it used to be. The international community has done more in recent years to bring war criminals to International Courts." Twilight stopped fuming, but she still look displeased, crossing her forelegs on the bed.
"But are your leaders clean," I pointedly asked the annoyed pony. "Have they always done the right, or have they often chosen the lesser evil or simply defend their privileges?" A leaned in, as if to make my point clearer. Twilight's temper cooled, and she let out a sad sigh.
"Well," Twilight said reluctantly. "Equestria isn't free of conflict, or selfishness, or terror. Before Princess Celestia, there was...a lot of evil," Twilight said sadly She let out a long sigh.
"Look Jake," Twilight said, with a firm tone. "I don't really know if it is safe for ponies and humans to meet," she said with discomfort. "I am really thinking that it is best for me to go back to Equestria, and never return."
"But why," I said respectfully. "You just said that ponies and humans are capable of the same evils?"
"Well, yeah," Twilight said. "But... well…," she stammered uncomfortably.
"What is it," I said, petting her back. Apparently, in her world, petting her back was a platonic gesture, so she didn't mind me doing it. "Why do you feel that way?" After a moment, she relaxed and looked at me.
"When I first saw your world and what it had to offer," Twilight said wistfully, "I thought it was paradise."
"Really," I asked with confusion.
"Everything I found on Earth seemed like something out of my favorite science fiction books," Twilight said with adorkable joy. "Carriages that could pull themselves by burning liquid dinosaurs, heavier-then air aircraft that didn't need to flap wings, lights powered by electricity". I let out a goofy smile. The stuff she was talking about was pretty typical for most people, even people in poor countries, but Twilight's enthusiasm reminded me how incredible our modern life really is. "Electric boxes that could spread and share information and news, boxy ovens that could cook food in less then a minute." Twilight looked toward me with a proud smile. "And you told me that Norwalk is a pretty small city, but you have more people living here then in Canterlot."
"Well, 7 billion people need somewhere to live," I said with a shrug.
"And it wasn't just your technology, it was your institutions. Your government is so egalitarian, that instead of bowing to the President, you just shook his hand." She let out another smile. "And you don't even call him some fancy title. You just call him 'Mister.'"
"Well America was birthed by those ideals," I said with some pride. "Of course, it hasn't always lived up to those ideals," I said, my patriotic zeal replaced with the solemn candor.
"Yeah well, your world seemed so incredible," Twilight said with some quiet candor. "Your technology and social progress made me think of you humans as enlightened. But after reading about Hitler..." she paused, shaking.
"Reading about him just rained on your parade," I said with a soothing tone.
"That's putting it mildly," Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. "Hitler did all these horrible things because of technology. I always thought technology made the world better, but it just made humans... worse," she said bitterly.
I think I understood Twilight's disappointment. Equestria, based off what she told me, seemed technologically similar to the First and Second Industrial Revolutions. Her world was still one ruled by steam-engines and carriages. Where mail remained the most important form of communication. Where hit singles appeared on vinyl records. Her world remained one dominated by nobility rather then egalitarianism. But it was one where positive changes in living standards within a few generations was palatable.
Her outlook was similar to the Belle Epoque , a cultural period just before World War I. In that period, people often gushed about the wonders of technology, and how it seemed to promise everlasting progress. Utopian ooks of the time imagined that hunger, violence, oppression, and conflict would become a memory within a few generations. That optimism was soon blown out of the sky by the industrial warfare, totalitarianism, and genocide.
It appeared that technology, instead of creating a better world, created new kinds of terror.
Twilight Sparkle loved science, and Earth seemed to fit her humanist mind like a glove. And to see her dream world broken apart tore at her.
"Well technology can be used for good or ill," I said. "Hitler used the printing press to spread his lunatic beliefs. Just because some people write horrible things, does that mean we stop people from writing anything?"
"Well no," Twilight said. "But," she gritted her teeth in anger. "I'm not saying that my world is free of evil, or greed, or violence, or prejudice." She let out a sigh. "I'm saying that in my world, the reasons for it are more...rational."
"What do you mean," I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Yes, prejudice is bad," Twilight said. "But in my world...it makes more sense. Because in my world, there are a great number of tangible differences between species. Differences born from biology. Dragons are very different from ponies, griffins are very different from seaponies, yaks are very different from buffalo, zebra magic is very different from unicorn magic, pegasi are-,"
"You're rambling," I warned her, albeit playfully. She blushed at that.
"Sorry," she said with some embarrassment. "I tend to do that. The point is there are clear and substantive differences between the sentient races of Equestria. These differences, for a long time, prevented interspecies cooperation. Because the life of a unicorn will be very different from the life of a dragon. And the abilities of a Pegasus are different from that of an Earth Pony"
"What's your point," I asked.
"I'm getting there," Twilight said. "Also, while evil exists in my world, the evildoers have a rational, if terrible reason for what they do," Twilight muttered with frustration. "Some villains want magic power, some want to rule over others, many want cash and attention." She gritted her teeth. "Queen Chrysalis brought Canterlot to its knees, and wanted to drain ponies of their love, but she did to make herself magically powerful."
"How do you drain someone of their love," I asked. But she ignored my question, continuing her tirade.
"My point is that in Equestria, evil does occur, as does prejudice among species, but at least those things come from actual tangible desires, and actual tangible differences," Twilight said in a serious tone. She telekinetically lifted the open textbook up, showing off the black and white image of the Nazi dictator. "But the worst crime in recent human history didn't happen because of anything rational, but it was born from a belief in...national identity and...racial purity, despite human beings being biologically the same!"
I started to understand Twilight's point.
"You tell me that in the past, Jews were victimized by Christians out of some idiotic superstition," Twilight asked.
"Twilight," I said with some frustration. "Again, many Christians don't consider it-,"
"That's how it sounds to me," she almost yelled. "A dude rising from dead after being sent to die by his father just sounds to me! And Jews were hated for...not believing it? For not being seen as part of some culture," she said with disgust.
"Again culture is very-,"
"And in America, despite Roger saying that this is a nation where "all men are created equal", is in place where skin color is the thing that determines how you are treated by society," Twilight grumbled furiously to me.
"Well," I stammered, trying but failing to respond to her. Knowing about the deep rooted racism in American society, her tone stung me a bit. She was an outsider casting aspersions on American society, and her words cut a lot.
"The point is, the reasons human commit their worst crimes isn't based on anything rational," Twilight said. She then slammed the textbook on the dresser with force that made me jump. "Human beings seemed to be ruled by social constructs. More so any species in Equestria!" She then gave me a cold, furious look. One that made me think that perhaps her story about being a Princess might be true.
"And," I said, uneasily.
"Let's say I open the door to Equestria," she continued in frosty tone. "What's to stop some human dictator from using … atom bombs to destroy all of Equestria's races," she asked, narrowing her eyes as she finished the question. "And what if he/she does it because he believes Equestrian creatures threaten his/her "national identity" or and decides to do to them what Hitler did to the Jews. Or because he thinks magic was evil."
"Uh," I said, trying to find an excuse. "International Law?"
"You said that people ignore that for personal gain," Twilight said in a exasperated. "Or let's say some religious zealot decides ponies aren't good Christians and decides they need to be blown up." She then hovered in the air and got into my face, a scowl on her muzzle. Her position, and the flap of her wings, made her seem very...authoritative. It made me shrink into my chair a bit.
"Again, I'm not saying ponies are above evil, or that the don't have moments of lunacy or craziness," she looked down a bit." I myself have done many imbecile things. But human beings seem to need little reasonable excuse to do worse," she finished.
"Well-,"
"Unless you can tell me with a straight face that human being won't mass murder ponies for irrational reasons...then I don't believe ponies and humans should meet." Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, I would love bring human science to my world. But the safety of my subjects matters more." Her words made me sink in my chair even more. Twilight said those words with a tone that was...regal. Her voice sounded less girly, and seemed to sound heavy with the tired responsibility of a leader. She flew back into the bed, landing on her haunches with a grace that seemed out of character. She sat if she was sitting on a throne and looking down at me. "So tell me, honestly, are their humans who would butcher ponies over nonsense, and world governments who would ignore for their own personal gain?" She gave the look of forced patience. Of waiting for someone
I felt cold when I realized what Twilight's point was. Her concern wasn't whether or not humans would kill ponies. It is that human beings are capable of tremendous evil for the most stupid, inept reasons. Her world, while less technologically advanced and sounded fantastical, seemed less dominated by blind faith, fanaticism, and myth then our own.
I mean, why worship an intangible God when the real thing exists, if this sun-raising pony isn't a charlatan as I still believed?
In her world, villainy and prejudice were born from real goals and desire, but on Earth, people could be driven to violence for nothing more then blind racism and fanaticism.
And fear of some crazed human zealot bringing death and destruction to ponies out of pure paranoia wasn't something that was inconceivable.
Not to mention pony population was heavily dwarfed by the population of dozens of countries. A single human army had the potential to wipe them out. Hitler himself managed to wiped out 6 million Jews. It would be even easier for a modern day tyrant to cause even greater death and murder.
I could imagine some vile human being enslaving, deporting, and killing ponies out of some fanatical cause. Or some crazed Christian denouncing pony magic as "Satanism," on one of those Christian TV shows. Or some ISIS-style fanatic blowing them up or running them over.
"I see your point," I said with some sadness. Twilight's angry look faded into sadness. I rose from the chair, and went to the top shelf of my dresser drawer. "But, whenever I despair about humanity, there is a story that gives me hope." I went into the dresser drawer.
"Really," she said, her sadness giving way to faint hope.
"Twilight, "I'd like to tell you about my family history." I showed her my trump card. A photo album labeled "Klein Family History" in gold letters.