//------------------------------// // Differences in Religion // Story: Cultural Differences // by Highlord Langslock //------------------------------// “Alright, I can buy the part about flooding the entire planet—Discord could probably do that if he set his mind to it,” said Princess Twilight. “And if I assume that the divine equivalent of an internal spatial expansion spell was used to expand the interior of a five hundred and ten by fifty foot boat, then I suppose I can believe that it could hold a pair of every living creature on Gaia, plus enough food to feed them all for the duration of their stay. But do they really expect us to believe that the entire animal kingdom was restored with just two specimens per species? I mean, where would their offspring find mates?” “Keep in mind that the people who wrote this lived in much more primitive times,” said Sunset Shimmer. “They didn’t understand how the world worked like we do today. Besides, this probably isn’t the sort of material you should just assume to be historically accurate.” “Good point,” said Twilight. Setting the book aside, she selected a new one from the pile on the table. Sunset appreciated how quiet the library was in the early Saturday afternoon. With everyone else out enjoying the nice weather, she and Twilight practically had the entire place to themselves. It was the perfect opportunity for them to research a subject Twilight had recently developed an interest in. A familiar voice said, “Twilight, you’re here.” Sunset looked up to see Flash Sentry approaching them. “Oh hi, Flash!” Twilight exclaimed brightly. “What brings you here?” “I was just picking up a book I’ve been waiting for,” said Flash. He turned to Sunset. “You didn’t tell me Twilight was visiting.” Sunset shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry. She just came to do some research, so I didn’t think to tell you.” “It’s cool,” said Flash. “So, I’m not bothering you girls, am I? I can just leave if I am.” “Not at all,” Twilight assured him. “In fact, if you have the time, would like to help us?” “Sure, no problem,” said Flash, taking a seat. He picked up a book with the title “Gods and Monsters of the Ancient World.” “So what exactly are you researching?” “Religion,” Twilight answered. “It's amazing how many different deities you humans have. Back on Equus, everyone worships Queen Faust.” “Not Princess Celestia or Princess Luna?” asked Flash. “I would think that moving the sun and the moon at will would be about as god-like as it gets.” “As a matter of fact, many ponies believe that Celestia and Luna are the daughters of Faust,” Twilight explained. “It’s the reason we call them ‘princesses’ instead of ‘queens’. Of course, they both strongly object to being worshipped as goddesses, and for good reason; any time ponies try to raise them up as such, it always turns into a fiasco. You remember what I told you about Princess Luna’s Nightmare Moon phase?” Sunset thought that it was rather novel for Twilight, of all people, to refer to one of the most significant near-apocalyptic events in Equestrian history as a “phase”. Oh yeah, one of our all-powerful rulers had a psychotic break and developed a split personality that wanted to condemn the entire world to a slow and painful death, just so she would be appreciated more. But she got over it! “I do, and I still don’t think it’s as crazy as anything I’ve seen happen here,” said Flash. Twilight chuckled. “Don’t worry; I’ll top this place one of these days. In any case, in the thousand years between Luna's banishment and return, there have been an alarming number of cults formed in her name that actually wanted the night to last forever. And the ones that worship Celestia are even worse—for some strange reason, they always seem to think that making pony sacrifices to her will get them on her good side.” “Yikes,” said Flash, grimacing. “So, tell me more about this Queen Faust.” “Well, for starters she is a ‘pure’ alicorn like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” said Twilight. “Of course, nopony knows what she looks like beyond that.” “Really?” asked Flash. “Not even her daughters?” “Ponies only suspect that the Princesses are her daughters.” Sunset clarified. “Nobody—well, nopony—knows for sure. Whenever anyone tries to ask Princess Celestia, she always refuses to comment—at least, that's how it was when I was still living in Equestria.” She turned to Twilight. “Did she ever say anything to you?” Twilight shook her head. “I asked her once, but she just told me that it was complicated. She looked so sad when she said it that I didn’t have the heart to ask again. I ended up asking Luna during her first Nightmare Night celebration, and she basically told me to mind my own business. “In any case, while we may not know Queen Faust’s appearance, we do know that she is the creator of Equus and everything that lives on it; not just the ponies, but the griffons, and the minotaurs, and the dragons and everything else. With the exception of the Changelings, pretty much everyone worships her. Speaking of which, which god do you worship, Flash?” “None of them; I’m an atheist,” said Flash. That took Sunset by surprise. “Really?” she asked. “I never would have guessed.” “Well, I’m actually more agnostic these days,” Flash admitted. “After I learned magic was real and my school was next door to an alternate universe filled with talking multicolored ponies, I decided to be a little more open minded about some things.” He turned to face Twilight. “The fact that I’m technically an atheist doesn’t bother you, does it?” “Well, that depends,” said Twilight. She looked perplexed. “What’s an atheist?” “Basically, it means that I don’t believe in any gods,” he replied. Twilight couldn’t have looked more shocked if Flash had sprouted a second head that started singing “Pony Girl”. “W-What do you mean you don’t believe in any gods?” Flash shrugged. “It’s not that I’m absolutely convinced that there isn’t a god; I just can’t bring myself to simply accept the existence of some all-powerful being who created literally everything without some sort of proof. Of course, like I said, now that I know that magic and alternate realities are real, I’m trying to keep a more open mind.” But Twilight only became more agitated. “What are you talking about? Nothing you just said makes any sense!” “Actually, Twilight…” Sunset started to say, but Flash cut her off. “Oh, come on, Twilight. I can understand that your people may have a different perspective on things because of the princesses, but can you honestly tell me that there isn’t a single person—I mean, pony—in Equestria who doubts the existence of Faust?” “The thing is…” Sunset tried to say, only to be interrupted again, this time by Twilight. “Of course there isn’t,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Everyone knows for a fact that Queen Faust exists.” “Oh really?” Flash asked dryly. His expression had become very annoyed. “Didn’t you tell me just a minute ago that no one has ever actually seen Faust?” “Yes, I did, so what?” Sunset tried to speak up again. “If you’d let me explain…” “So if nobody —nopony — has ever seen her,” Flash continued, again ignoring Sunset, “then without any other proof that she actually exists, there would have to be at least a few ponies who don’t believe in her. You probably just haven’t met them yet.” “That’s not it at all!” Twilight cried, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. “EVERYPONY believes in Queen Faust because everypony KNOWS that she exists! And I still don’t understand how you can possibly not believe in any of your own gods!” “Guys, calm down!” Sunset pleaded. Flash got a dangerous look in his eyes. “Dang it Twilight, you’re just talking in circles now! What is your…” “GUYS!” yelled Sunset, slamming her hands on the table. That finally got them to shut up—or it could have just been the massive librarian who was suddenly looming over them with a dark scowl on her face. “This is a library,” she growled menacingly. “We have rules about talking quietly here, and those who cannot respect those rules are not welcome.” “I’m sorry, ma’am,” said Sunset. “I promise it won’t happen again.” The librarian snorted like she doubted that, but turned and walked away without another word. Sunset turned back to Twilight and Flash. “If you two are done tearing at each other's throats, there are a few things that I need to clear up. First of all, Flash, there really are no atheists or agnostics on Equus, because from the moment they are born, every being instinctively understands that they were all created by Queen Faust.” Flash was completely bewildered. His eyes were blinking rapidly. “R-really?” he asked. “It’s true. And Twilight, humans don’t have that instinct. None of them know for certain if any gods or goddesses exist or not.” As it turned out, Twilight really could look even more shocked than she had before. Her face actually paled a little. “T-they don’t? But then how do you explain all of the deities we’ve been researching all day?” “Most of those beings don’t actually exist,” Sunset explained. “Ancient human civilizations made them up in order to explain things they didn’t understand.” She chuckled guiltily. “I probably should have explained that sooner.” “You think?” Twilight growled. “Although that does explain why humans have so many.” She turned back to Flash. “So you really don’t believe in any gods?” “Like I said, I’m keeping a more open mind nowadays, but yeah, I’ve been a non-believer for most of my life,” said Flash. “But why?” asked Twilight. She still looked like the world had been turned upside down. “I mean, how can you stand to live in a world without any higher powers to believe in? Do you even believe in an afterlife?” “I try not to think too hard about that last part,” Flash admitted. “And like I said, I just can’t bring myself to believe in an all-powerful being without any proof of his or her existence. By the way, you still haven’t answered my question—is any of this a problem for you?” Twilight bit her lip the way she always did when she was thinking hard about something. Flash tensed up a bit, but after a minute, she just smiled and shook her head. “It won’t be a problem at all,” she said. “Honestly, after all of the times you’ve accepted my own quirks as a pony, it would be hypocritical of me to hold this against you.” She reached forward and grasped Flash’s hand. “I just hope that I can get you to change your mind someday.” “Like I’ve been saying, I’m keeping an open mind, so you never know,” said Flash, smiling in return. “And I’m sorry I got in your face like that.” “It’s alright. I’m sorry I freaked out the way I did. I’m still getting used to the way things work in this world.” “It’s cool,” said Flash. “So let’s talk more about Queen Faust. Does everyone on Equus really automatically know that she exits?” “Everyone from the most fearsome dragon to the humblest goat,” said Sunset. “That must make things a lot easier.” “What do you mean?” asked Twilight. “Well, I’ve learned in History how disputes between different religions were the cause of a lot of the conflicts and atrocities that occurred here on Gaia,” Flash explained. “Wars were even fought to reclaim so called 'holy land' from people of a rival faith. But you guys don’t have to worry about that, since you have a universal religion, right?” “Actually, you’ve got it all wrong,” said Sunset. “For starters, those wars were actually fought to reunite a separated church. It was all about politics, not faith. Religion is often used as an excuse to cover up more reprehensible goals. And unfortunately, having a universal religion doesn’t stop it from happening on Equus. “The United Griffon Kingdoms is one of the few nations on the Heart of Equus that can rival Equestria's military power, and our relationship with them depends largely on whoever is their High King at the time. In the year four hundred and sixty nine of the Mare in the Moon, High King Godfrey declared war on Equestria, justifying it by claiming that ponies had lost the favor of Queen Faust for some asinine reason, and she instead considered the griffons to be her favorite race. He even went so far as to claim that she changed her form to that of a giant griffon.” “And they believed him?” Flash asked incredulously. “Well, as the High King, he had a certain degree of credibility in the eyes of his subjects,” explained Sunset. “Although they're not immortal, the High Kings possess power over the planet's atmosphere similar to the Royal Sisters' power over the sun and moon. In the eyes of the griffons, they're as good as gods themselves, so there's no point in arguing with them.” “And Faust just lets stuff like this happen?” asked Flash. He was looking skeptical again. “If she actually exists, then shouldn't she do something to prevent these sort of things? Why doesn't she step in?” “Ponies have been asking that question since time began,” Sunset sighed. “Some believe that she allows bad things to happen as some test of character, to divide the worthy from the unworthy.” “I support that theory,” said Twilight eagerly. “Of course you would,” said Sunset, rolling her eyes. “Others believe it's because she thinks they will make us stronger or something. Still others believe that she simply respects free will and wishes to allow us the right to shape our own destinies. Personally, I used to think that she was just too dumb and lazy to do her job and that if I ever got half a chance, I would prove that I was much more qualified.” “Surprise, surprise,” said Flash dryly. “Wow, you certainly were ambitious,” Twilight chuckled. “You have no idea,” Sunset muttered. “If you have anymore questions, Flash, there are clerics in Equestria who can provide better answers than we can.” “I'll keep that in mind,” said Flash. He picked up a new book. “So what do you think of religion on Gaia so far, Twilight?” “It's hard to say,” said Twilight. “I like those that share a lot of the same values as Equestria, but others make me glad that they're probably made up.” Picking up another book, she smiled brightly. “Now this is the one I've really been looking forward to studying.” The book's title was “The Church of Scientology.” “Um, maybe you should skip that one,” said Flash nervously. “Yeah, you probably wouldn't like it,” Sunset added hastily. “Come one guys, it's obviously a religion centered around science,” said Twilight as she opened the book to the first page. “What's not to like?” -------------------------------------------------- Half an hour later, Twilight's scowling face was illuminated in the alleyway's shadows by the flames of burning paper. “You do realize that burning a library book is a crime in this world,” said Sunset, keeping a look out for cops. “Totally worth it,” Twilight growled.