//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Fellowship is Miraculous // by Praynfaith96 //------------------------------// It was now 5 pm, which means that I’m finished work for the day. As I hoof it back home, I couldn’t help but notice a yellow pony tending to some animals along the path. “Hello, neighbor!” “Eeep!” As I say this, the shy yellow mare retreated back in fear. I don’t know if it was something I did or if this was a more general reaction towards others. “Hey, don’t worry! I come in peace.” As I approach the frightened mare, some of the animals growl at me. “Please don’t worry, my pretties.” Acting upon Fluttershy’s request, the animals stopped growling and stepped back as she approached me, looking to the side. I smile as I reach out my hoof. “Hello, I am Pastor Sharp Iron of First Baptist Church, Ponyville. What’s your name?” “I’m… Fluttershy.” She spoke at a volume just barely above a whisper. I then lean in. “I’m sorry, what was that?” “I’m… um, Fluttershy.” It just managed to be just audible this time. “Lovely to meet you, Fluttershy. Say, you don’t happen to know of a Twilight Sparkle and a Rarity, would you? I was just…” “Oh, but of course I know them! They are my friends!” Out of nowhere, Fluttershy seemed to leap up in excitement that was absent just seconds ago. “Well, they wanted to meet with me along with Spike and Pinkie Pie. They had some questions about my beliefs and wanted to know more.” Fluttershy gave a small smile. “Oh, that sure sounds nice.” I then crouch down next to her as she kept tending to the animals around her. “Pastor Iron, this is my pet rabbit, Angel.” Just as I reached out to pet Angel, he hopped out of Fluttershy’s arms and points at a colorful butterfly. As they both go after it, I was surprised by what I saw next. “Y…you’re a Pegasus?!” Fluttershy quickly turned around in surprise. “Is…something wrong, Pastor?” “Oh, nothing is wrong, Fluttershy. I just thought that pegasi weren’t typically interested in animals like you are.” “Well, I was never that good a flyer, so I never really fit in with the rest of Cloudsdale. Once I was old enough, I left Cloudsdale and came to Ponyville where I wouldn’t be judged.” “I see. You know, there are a small handful of pegasi in my congregation. Many of the ones I’ve encountered, if I’m honest, seem to be too preoccupied with themselves to think about anything more than their immediate desires.” Fluttershy nodded; she knew exactly what I meant. “Why don’t I tell you about my ancestor’s run-in with the pegasi? Also, the clouds weren’t always just restricted for pegasi; there’s a reason they are now.” Fluttershy smiled. “Sounds like a nice story, Pastor. Sure, tell me.” “So, about 400 years ago, I had an ancestor named Wrought Iron, who was born and raised in Canterlot. Yes, he lived among the Earth pony minority in the adjacent slums, regarded as the forgotten underclass of Canterlot, but he was seen as a bright and gifted colt. By which, I mean that he had a gift for oration and drawing a crowd. By the time he was a teenager, he was writing sermons and preaching to the crowds. It’s how he got his cutie mark, which was a piece of paper with words on it to represent a speech.” “Wow, he sounded like he was important.” “He certainly was. As a stallion, his large following meant that he was influential when Princess Celestia introduced the Marena Carta. Here, he managed to help get Section 3 beefed up, which has guaranteed the right of belief and conscience, and established religious liberty here in Equestria; because of this, congregations were able to collect their own tithes and operate independently as long as they did not take up arms against the Crown.” I then frowned. “Even though this breakthrough was made, the unicorn elites of Canterlot grew increasingly intolerant of Wrought Iron’s preaching, as he often called them out for their arrogant and self-righteous ways.” “What happened to him then, Pastor?” Looking down at Fluttershy’s doe eyes, I sighed. “He was soon after driven out of Canterlot when a threat was made to burn down the church he had established there. Faced with a dire ultimatum as well as seeing a newfound opportunity, he, his family, all his followers (which was most of the Earth pony population of Canterlot), as well as a handful of disgruntled unicorns left Canterlot aboard the Mareflower towards a new land. One where we were free to worship God and live our lives in peace. We managed to form a new colony where all ponies could come as a refuge from this tyranny. That colony grew into what is now Ponyville.” “That’s an interesting fact. I had no idea Ponyville was founded for that reason.” “Yes, it’s why Canterlot is now almost exclusively populated by unicorns as those old slums were gradually demolished in the following years, because all the Earth ponies eventually left Canterlot. It’s also how the first unicorns came here. Those unicorns who were followers of Jesus and Pastor Wrought Iron had no choice but to leave, as they already faced scorn from their fellow unicorns. They were instrumental in helping him establish Ponyville. Many unicorns in Ponyville today are the descendants of those persecuted unicorns looking for refuge, as well as unicorns fed up with seeing the Earth ponies being mistreated.” “So, you mean that Twilight Sparkle and Rarity…” “Quite possibly so, Fluttershy. Even if they may not know it.” All of a sudden, a multi-colored blur passed by us, surprising both of us. The rainbow-haired mare came back to us just as quickly. “Hey, Fluttershy!” “Hey, Rainbow Dash. I hope things are well.” Rainbow Dash smirked. “Couldn’t be better! Hey, who’s your friend here?” I then stood up as I shook Rainbow Dash’s hoof. “I’m Pastor Sharp Iron, from First Baptist Church of Ponyville.” “I’m Rainbow Dash, the coolest, most awesome Pegasus in all of Equestria! Say, did you just mention that you work at a church?” “As the Lead Pastor, yes. Have you heard of our church?” “I have, but I never thought it was for me. It needs to be about, no wait, more than 20% cooler, no offense.” “Well, I was just telling your friend Fluttershy about my family’s history here in Equestria. Perhaps that may reach your 20% threshold?” “Sounds interesting, but I can’t stick around now. I have to get back and feed my turtle, Tank.” Fluttershy rushed in to correct her fellow Pegasus. “You mean tortoise, Rainbow Dash.” “Yeah, yeah, gesundheit. Well, I’ll catch up later, ‘Shy! It was nice to meet you, Pastor!” In what seemed to be an instant, we were greeted by another blur as she sped off home. It was a good thing Fluttershy was taking notes in her notebook, perhaps she could tell Rainbow Dash later. “Now, where was I?” “Wrought Iron and his followers helped establish Ponyville.” “Right. So, it’s interesting that I ran into both you and Rainbow Dash because the next part of this story involves pegasi. I must warn you though, our early encounters were not pleasant.” “Oh, my.” Fluttershy sunk into her seat, instinctively afraid of hearing what comes next. “A few years after Ponyville was settled, the Pegasus Empire was engaged in its own military adventurism and colonialism across Equestria. One way they did this was by making allies with certain Native Buffalo tribes, a group of Changeling mercenaries, as well as a nearby Griffon colony facing tough times; they were all accomplices in their plan to harass, persecute, and even slaughter those the pegasi saw as threats in return for favored treatment. They hated what Ponyville represented, because it showed that different types of ponies could peacefully live together, and that nopony was inherently ‘superior’ in the eyes of God. They also wanted Pastor Wrought Iron’s head on a platter because they knew he was their number one threat due to his influence, and he never even took up arms against any of them. As they temporarily occupied Ponyville, this seemed to become more of a reality.” “Yikes, that must’ve been terrible.” “It was, as racism and xenophobia festered among the conquering pegasi towards anypony they saw as inferior. They even turned on fellow pegasi who were suspected of sympathizing with Ponyville’s ‘underponies’ and violently clipped their wings off as punishment. The scorn we faced back in Canterlot was nothing compared to this. A few ponies even returned to Canterlot out of fear for this looming threat. Surely, you would’ve learned about this as a filly in Cloudsdale history class.” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, but we were rather taught that us pegasi were a mighty race who brought about law and order wherever we went. I had no idea we caused so much harm.” “I’m afraid that’s the truth. They saw Earth ponies as uneducated, and unicorns as weak. Both were forced into slave labor, which is how much of Cloudsdale’s early infrastructure was built. Once they no longer thought these slaves were of any value to them, they made it so their slaves could not enjoy the fruits of their labor and so any non-winged creature could no longer walk on these clouds and mingle among them. Even though we were no longer allowed in Cloudsdale, they continued to mistreat the citizens of Ponyville.” I stopped as I noticed tears well up in Fluttershy’s eyes. She leapt into my arms. “I’m so sorry for what my ancestors did to you! Please don’t hate me!” I continued to speak as Angel and the other animals came up and gave comfort to Fluttershy. “Now, now. The pegasi may be brash, but they’re no longer violent. Any pegasus who wants to join my church is welcome to do so, just as Pastor Wrought Iron did with those who disagreed with the Pegasus Empire leadership. Do not feel guilty, Fluttershy.” As Fluttershy’s composure returned, I kept explaining. “These violent acts caught the attention of Princess Celestia, who didn’t want to see Equestria descend too deeply into civil war. As a result, she sent in troops from Canterlot in addition to a large number of Ponyville residents who volunteered as a militia to fight against the oppressive Pegasus overlords and liberate Ponyville. It was a hard fight, but the Kingdom of Equestria won. Ponyville along with the entire former Pegasus Empire were then fully annexed to the Kingdom of Equestria, and the former Pegasus Empire leaders were arrested and jailed for war crimes. However, many of Ponyville’s residents were martyred for their faith.” “Martyred?” “Yes, it means they were executed for their beliefs. Wrought Iron was among these ponies. One night not long before this war ended, he was secretly preaching to his congregation. Out of nowhere, pegasi soldiers kidnapped him and held him for ransom on false charges of ‘sedition.’ Because the congregation couldn’t afford the ransom, he was executed on the spot. He died with a smile; even as the citizens of Ponyville pleaded for him to be spared, he looked over at them. With a single tear out of his eye, his last words were: ‘Do not mourn for me, for I knew what I was getting into. I reckon that these sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).’ He has now gone home to be with the Lord, and I can’t wait to see him there someday.” “Wow, that was an amazing story, Pastor. And his descendants have clearly kept the faith since.” “That’s right, and also continue to spread the good news to our neighbors.” “Thank you for sharing this with me. I should get going now because it’s getting late. It was so nice to meet you, Pastor.” I smiled. “Nice to meet you too, Fluttershy. I have a Bible study to lead tonight, so I should be getting ready for that. If you have any questions, please let me know.” As Fluttershy and her animals went back home, so did I, happy in the knowledge that I could reach out to all these ponies around me.