Year 13
Rev trotted along the streets of Ponyville, wrapping up her shopping for the day. Luna was lowering the sun, a good indication that Rev should get back home and actually have some dinner. She was thinking of telling the magi-pan to cook her up some shrimp alfredo or something similar.
She headed straight home – but she didn’t arrive quickly. Something caught her eye.
A street preacher. He wore simple black clothes, devoid of any religious apparel – not even a necklace, like what was around Rev’s neck. Nobody was listening to the words he was shouting – so Rev decided to pause and listen.
“…the raging heat found within the bowels of Hell call to every soul! Every being in this city is flawed – have you lied to a friend? Have you cheated on your significant other? Have you harbored hate toward another person? Have you lied? All of you offer excuses as to why these things are pardoned – or fill you with eternal, burdensome guilt. A guilt trying to tell you what the price for your sins are!”
Rev fixed him with a warm smile. He noticed her, but kept preaching to the crowd – he probably saw her necklace. “The ultimate creator of all, God, sees your guilt, your pain, and your sin. He warms the fire for your ignorant soul, ready to serve justice upon you for what you’ve done! You think you are safe because you compare yourself to other men and ponies, but they are a horrible master! Compared to the requirement of perfection, you are nothing! Nothing! You think your charity will outweigh your selfish thoughts, the times you cheated, or all the lies you’ve told to avoid obligations? Or what about your thoughts? Any blemish damns your soul to the fire!”
Rev sighed – most of the sermon was like this. After about five minutes of reiterating the same points, Rev put a hoof on his shoulder. “Hey. You’re not going to get many people like that, not here anyway.”
“…The message needs to be spoken.”
Rev nodded. “The Jealous side of the Lord certainly needs to be known, and in certain cultures and eras that side is what draws people. But this is a land of friendship and harmony. If you want to draw people, focus on the grace, forgiveness, and love of God.”
The preacher looked at her. “People are getting too soft and comfortable in those interpretations. Our lives are not meant to be simple or relaxed. Devotion to grace prompts sin in unprecedented amounts.”
Rev shook her head. “Not as often as you might think. Serious believers take grace as a gift, and don’t squander it.”
“But what of the others?”
“As I said, there are some that need to hear your message.” She looked around at the passerby not paying him any attention. “They won’t be found here. ‘Fire and Brimstone’ tends to be laughed out, I’m sorry to say.”
The man sighed. “…It seems you are right. But I have been called here by my church, and I shall not give in.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Rev said. “But perhaps you should try a different strategy. I’ve got a church here – the big one rising over the houses over there. You could drop by tomorrow morning. I’ve actually got plans to preach on presenting oneself to others. I’d be willing to talk to you after, give you some tips on how to get to the people here.”
The man smiled. “I would appreciate that, miss…?”
“Reverend Starlight Glimmer, but everyone just calls me Rev.”
“I’m Father Yertle Reimann.” He shook her hoof. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I will certainly be at your church tomorrow.”
Rev smiled. “Glad to hear it. I’d suggest getting some sleep though – it’s a little early. Starts at nine.”
“That will be no issue. Thank you for the invitation, sister.”
“And thank you for your service, brother,” Rev said with a bow. They went their separate ways.
Rev went home and cooked herself up some alfredo. She lived alone with her books on scripture and magic, including no small number of tomes that discussed the relation between the two. As a unicorn it was a topic that was very important to her, perhaps one she preached about a bit too much.
She sat down to eat and sent off a quick prayer of thanks before digging in.
Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
She put her fork down and put a hoof to her head, letting out a deep sigh. She was going to have to be vigilant tomorrow. Father Reimann wasn’t going to be a good influence on her congregation. She just needed to keep him from talking to them.
~~~
Flutterfree met up with Rev as they were walking to the church. “Hey!” Eve had decided to come along that day. The Overhead didn’t show up all that often, but her curiosity got the better of her every now and then.
“Hey,” Rev said, giving Flutterfree a smile.
“Concerns about today’s service?” Flutterfree asked, having read Rev’s face.
Rev nodded. “I invited a street preacher to the congregation so I could help him. Realized later he was either a false prophet, or would bring one about. I’m still going to try to help him, but I can’t let him speak to the congregation. Hopefully he won’t try and I’ll be able to figure out exactly what his beliefs are in a one-on-one session.”
“Oh. I hope you get through to him, then.”
“Me too. I-”
They rounded the corner and saw a crowd congregated outside the church.
“Crap,” Rev muttered, facehoofing. She made a quick prayer asking for the wisdom and grace required to handle what she was sure would be a difficult situation. She, Flutterfree, and Eve wormed their way through the crowd – the people and ponies within recognizing Rev and letting her through without a fuss. They soon arrived at the front.
Father Reimann was standing at the top of the church’s steps, preaching.
To Rev’s surprise, he wasn’t engaging in ‘Fire and Brimstone’ preaching. He had seemingly changed his tone overnight to one that was more caring, understanding, and empathetic.
“God is love,” Reimann quoted, holding up a Bible. “God is also everything that is truly good – he exemplifies all the Elements of Harmony, as well as many more traits. God knows everything he could possibly want to know. God understands all your problems, all the evil in the world, and the reasons behind everything. God listens to everything you ask of him, even if our sinful souls do not ask with pure intentions, he still hears. God is beauty…”
“He seems fine so far,” Flutterfree said. “Am I missing something subtle?”
“If you are I’m missing it too,” Rev said, narrowing her eyes. “But this wasn’t how he was preaching yesterday. If he could always preach like this he wouldn’t have needed my help, which is suspicious.”
Flutterfree nodded, returning her attention to him.
“…and most of you, I understand, are believers. Many of you have a lingering doubt in the back of your mind – do I really believe in the right God? You are all aware there are many different denominations, and in fact your beliefs within this church are diverse. Can one lose salvation? Is God kind and forgiving, or judgmental and angry? Is He both? But of what combination? How can anyone say they believe in God if they don’t know who he is?”
Rev narrowed her eyes. His next line better be about faith.
“That’s the great mystery of our faith – we don’t have to understand who God is, exactly. We just believe in him and trust that, whatever He truly is, He is perfectly good. The perfect exemplification of love, harmony, and justice – concepts we cannot comprehend in a perfect manner, because we are fallen. But we are Saved regardless, so long as we put our faith in Him.”
Eve looked at Rev, raising an incredulous eyebrow.
Rev allowed herself to smile. “That’s actually a pretty good point,” she whispered.
“The Scriptures still give us hints to exactly who God is. He is the will of existence-”
There it is. Rev stopped him, clearing her throat. “You mean the will behind existence, right?”
“Why is such a minor semantic important?”
“Because it sneaks a highly dangerous thought into a congregation, generally designed to empower the being known as the Great Will.”
For a split second, annoyance appeared on Father Reimann’s features. “Is it really so heretical to believe God is the will of existence?”
“Actually, yes, because God is not the multiverse, He exists completely separate and independent of it. If existence itself had a will, it wouldn’t be God’s, it would be one of His creations.”
“Are you certain this is not just a different interpretation of our holy Book, Reverend? After all, I did just talk of the great mystery of our faith. We are not required to understand what God is, beyond him being the Creator and sending his son for our sins.”
“You are right,” Rev said. “It probably doesn’t matter for our salvation that little detail. There are people who pick and choose verses out of the Bible. I don’t personally agree with that, but I’m certain they’re still saved in most cases. It’s just that the Great Will is a Class 1 entity that feeds off belief and creates idols for people to worship without them realizing it! It creates ‘gods’ based on the faulty perceptions of us sinful, damaged creatures – gods that we would be certain are real, because they were crafted on what we believe. That cannot be God.”
“How can you be so certain of that?”
“God is perfect. Our faulty perceptions never are, not even averaged out.”
“Are you trying to undermine the Will of God?”
“No,” Rev said. “I’m trying to stop the beliefs of all these people from being manipulated.”
Father Reimann glared at her.
“I’m still willing to help you – I can take you to the files the government has on the Great Will. Show you what you are truly serving.”
“I will not be led astray by your lies,” Father Reimann said. He walked down the steps and left.
Rev sighed as he left. “Okay everyone! Today’s service is going to be off the cuff.”
“…You’re still doing a service?” Eve asked, blinking.
“Of course. I have to clear up what exactly happened there.” Rev smiled warmly. “It’s going to be a lot about false teaching and the power of belief in the multiverse.”
~~~
Rev and Flutterfree were having lunch later that day. It was daisy sandwiches at a diner.
“And that’s the day Eve decides to come over,” Flutterfree muttered. “A service she wasn’t going to get much out of. Mmf…”
Rev smiled. “Maybe she was meant to be there. She may have to defend us against the Great Will one day.”
“But I wanted her to hear about presentation and what it means for us…” Flutterfree stared at her plate.
“You’ve got plenty of time. And… You do have to accept that not everyone will accept it, no matter how much you want.”
Flutterfree stared at her plate, sighing. “Yeah… I know.” She shook her head. “How about talking about something else. You talked a lot about belief in the sermon – but what exactly is the Great Will? And how do you know so much about… it?”
Rev looked down at her plate, grimacing. “…I’m going to need a drink if I’m going to tell this story.” She waved down a waiter and placed an order for some cider. She let out a deep sigh. “So… you know I was in the Nexus with the Dark Tower. I escaped and ended up in the ‘north’ side of the E-Sphere. I found a church who accepted me as one of their own and I decided I wasn’t going to become one of the multiversal travelers I had seen in the Nexus. I was going to settle down, make a new home for myself, and continue preaching the Word.
“I was foolish. I felt like I belonged so much that I forgot to question things. My teachings were seen as something worthwhile, so I rose through the ranks of the clergy. As I rose, I attended more meetings, meetings where the fellow pastors and I discussed theology and the like. When I got high enough to be seriously considered, things became… weird.
“I began to notice that a few odd doctrines were being pushed. Pure belief over anything else – the correctness of that belief seemed to be meaningless. Blind faith was encouraged. Which, honestly, is a problem with a lot of churches, but it wasn’t the only thing. Seemingly contradictory to the blind faith was the push to believe in ‘the will of existence’. I decided that, even though I didn’t agree with it, it was a relatively harmless teaching. I would argue against it… but only behind closed doors.”
Rev bit her lip in shame. “I… didn’t have the gall or the strength to talk about it in public. I should have risked my standing for the sake of the people, should have listened to the feeling tearing at my gut… but I didn’t. I just let it pass. Biggest mistake of my life after making that equality village.”
“What happened?” Flutterfree asked.
“Enough people in that universe believed existence had a will. It didn’t matter what religion they were part of – or even if they had a defined religion – the fact is they believed the universe had a will. So the Great Will was able to move into that universe and feed off their belief – or their ‘observation’ as I hear it’s called in further indoctrinated worlds. And suddenly all the belief of the world became form – a bit like the gods of the Discworld, but generally only with larger-scale beliefs. I let it take over that universe uncontested.”
“…So what does the Great Will actually do?”
Rev put her hooves together. “The Great Will is a force of belief – it really is the ‘will of existence’, in a sense. In any universe it is present, it will latch on to the most commonly held beliefs of the people there and make them true – or as true as they can be, since beliefs are often contradictory. Within Great Will space, different pantheons exist side by side along with eldritch horrors and forces as close to God as you can get. These beliefs give the Great Will power, but also divide it into many facets. They are also able to retroactively act on the universe so they’ve always been true. If a universe was created by an ancient Weaver machine, its history can be altered by the Great Will to include creation by whatever Creation story the people believe the most. It takes a lie and makes it as true as possible.”
“It creates a false God.”
“It creates every kind of false God,” Rev said. “The Great Will is essentially the father of all idolatry. Sure, if you believed in a general pantheon, the Great Will may seem amazing. But the Great Will cannot create God no matter how much it tries. What it creates is what people believe God is, and because we can’t know fully what God is…”
“It gets it wrong.”
“Very wrong,” Rev said, taking a drink. “The general aspect of the Great Will that represents ‘God’ takes the form of a mask. There are many colors that represent different interpretations, but the most common and powerful is the golden one. The ‘God’ of Law. Even if people accept that God is gracious, loving, caring, etcetera, they still generally believe, deep down, that they have to do something for God’s favor. They aren’t able to let themselves completely into God’s hands, and believe they still have some merit – that they must prove themselves by keeping up an internal Law of some sort. And thus, we get the Yellow Head. Because we’re so selfish we can’t admit we’re powerless, the main ‘God’ in Great Will universes is… controlling, vindictive, jealous, wrathful, and strict. The kinder, gentler aspects are severely lessened.”
“…You met this Yellow Head, didn’t you?”
Rev nodded slowly. “I did. He was… he wasn’t evil. He was a decidedly good being. But not perfect. Not worthy of worship – even though he believed he was because everyone else believed it.” She looked into the distance. “I worry for the souls of people in those universes. How can they be saved if, no matter what they believe, an idol is erected to hinder them? I comfort myself that saying so long as they believe in the true God, it doesn’t matter what stands between them. But I can’t be sure. The Bible doesn’t say anything about beings that feed off belief.”
Flutterfree put a wing on Rev. “Hey… You stopped them from getting to this universe.”
“Did I?” Rev asked. “I stopped one preacher. The idea that existence has a will isn’t that farfetched. Currently, most Merodi believe something close to that, but they place their beliefs within the Dark Tower – the one thing in this multiverse the Great Will cannot overrule.” She frowned. “And it’s not just through belief in the Will that the Great Will can spread. It slowly moves out on its own, feeding off regular belief. It’s just that the Great Will’s true priests seek to spread it further and further, aiding their ‘God’.”
“…Do you know what the Great Will as a whole is like?” Flutterfree asked.
Rev shook her head. “I’ve only spoken to a few of its aspects in my travels. I have no idea if anyone’s talked to the being as a whole before. But the other Class 1 societies recognize it as a single being that controls an entire nation, so…” she sighed, taking another drink. “People think the literal devils and hells are the worst things in the multiverse. I lose much more sleep over the Great Will. A lie that naturally becomes your personal truth. It’s essentially the living, breathing exemplification of subjectivity!”
“And we can’t do anything about it.”
“No,” Rev said with a frown. “Just like we can’t do anything to any of the other Class 1s. The rise and fall of empires is God’s concern, not ours.” Rev shook her head. “There’s the irony for you.”
“Hm?”
“We are called to be the holy, special people, holding the most important message to existence. And yet we aren’t meant to change history. The first shall be last, the last shall be first. If anyone’s going to eventually end the Great Will… It won’t be us true believers. We’ll just sit in the background.” She smirked. “It matters so much to us. But to the world, we are just another group that sits back while the giants clash above. …We were never meant to be giants.”
“And when we are…”
“We become the evil priest trope,” Rev said, nodding slowly. “Which is… All too common. …Ka loves to corrupt what is pure and good. Everywhere. It’s so difficult to stand against that. It’s just… Gah.” She rammed her head into the table. “I know I can’t do anything. I keep praying, but I want to do something about it. Heh. Guess I’m guilty of pride just like everyone else…”
A small, black sphere fell onto the table in front of them. It exploded, showering the two of them in sleep dust. Flutterfree fell back instantly – but Rev had a thin coating of divine energy that protected her.
She stood up, ready to take out the attackers – but she, Flutterfree, and the table were teleported away. They appeared inside a bright room in front of an altar with a cross behind it.
“Ponyfeathers,” Rev muttered, lighting her horn. “Listen here, you’re going to take us back right now!”
There was no response. The cross flashed white and her vision blurred to nothing.
~~~
Eve threw open the door to my office. “Where’s Flutterfree!?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Did you come to me first, or…?”
“I tracked her down to the café where she was having lunch with Rev and then vanished.”
“Right, just making sure.” I set my notebook down and folded my hooves. “They’ve been kidnapped by a group of Willst Radicals.”
“What?”
“Crazy servants of the Great Will,” I explained. “Yes, the Class 1 society, or more accurately being, the one that feeds off belief and creates false truth. The living paradox. The most reclusive of all Class 1 societies.”
“I remember that much,” Eve muttered.
“They might not,” I pointed out. “Even if they did just get a huge explanation from Rev about the whole thing.”
“Right, so, how do we get them back?”
I shrugged. “What’s your instinct tell you?”
“Twilence, I’m not in the mood for games right now!”
“They’re safe,” I assured her.
“…Fine. My instinct tells me to march up to our higher allies and demand an audience with the Great Will.”
“Won’t work. The Great Will is extremely reclusive, as I said.” I pursed my lips. “You might get an audience with one of its facets after several days. It’s hard to get it to talk. Its appearance at the Green Sun Trial was a rare event.”
Eve furrowed her brow. “Then we trace them through prophecy and take them back and… that won’t work because we’re working against priest-types.”
I nodded.
“So we need help. Help from something that could go against the Great Will…” She blinked. “Twilence, the Abstracts have the One Above All, right?”
“Right.”
“Do you think he could do something?”
“Definitely. If you could get an audience with him,” I said. “Also unlikely.”
“But it’s not that hard to grab the attention of the Living Tribunal,” Eve said, smirking. “And he can pass on a message to the One Above All.”
I smirked. “And you’ve already got a plan.”
“Let’s set the gods off on each other.”
“I should inform you that this isn’t going to go as you expect it to.”
“Are you going to tell me not to do it?”
I considered this. “…No. We do need to go.”
“I’ve got a dimensional device with Earth MC’s name on it. Let’s go.”
~~~
Rev and Flutterfree came to – sitting in comfortable chairs. They were next to each other in the front row of a church. In front of them there was a human preacher on a podium, a glowing cross around his neck.
He was talking about the will of God, but neither Flutterfree nor Rev were listening.
Rev tried to create a telepathic link to Flutterfree, but found that her magic was inhibited. Rev took a quick look at Flutterfree, confirming the presence of red eyes and fangs, telling her Lolo was still working. Rev felt her own divine esoteric power within her, and was willing to bet Flutterfree’s power as the Page of Rage was still active – though it appeared that her marble covers had been affixed to her wingtip knives with some kind of adhesive.
She looked around. They were not the only ones sitting in the front row. To Fluttershy’s side there was an energy being that looked like he was made of smoke, while Rev’s side had a human man with brown hair and a beard. The man smiled back at her when she glanced at him, but Rev couldn’t take that to mean he was really a friend. For all she knew he was there to keep tabs on them. …Or he could be just like them.
Rev tried to think of what to do. Given Flutterfree’s thousand-yard-stare, she had probably already begun spreading Lolo out in every direction to find out everything she could. Nobody seemed to notice it, so that was good. But what could Rev do? She needed to get them out of this place that was… well apparently a church for those who didn’t want to listen or were a problem for the Great Will. Basically a reeducation facility.
The thought of such a facility made her want to throw up. It was disgusting.
…She eventually realized the best thing she could do was pray. After that, examine with extreme scrutiny what the preacher was talking about.
“God’s will is our will, if we let it. The mark of a true believer is one who surrenders themselves up completely to God, caring not if their decisions are their own any longer. We must become one in our beliefs for this to be true…”
There it was again. A kernel of truth, mixed with just the right amount of subliminal facts to work for the Great Will. Though she wondered why that was needed – if they were in a Great Will universe, the Great Will couldn’t be removed. It wouldn’t care if they thought existence had a will or not. …This place was probably run completely by the priests with little, if any, involvement from their god.
It was hypocrisy, even for them.
“…and remember, we are all children of God, and we must strive forward with our faith, and not our minds.”
Pharisee. Rev thought, steaming inwardly.
“Let us close in prayer.”
There was a short prayer about ‘thy will be done’. Then they were told to make their way to dinner.
Rev and Flutterfree huddled together, following the crowd but trying not to be so close that their whispers would be heard. The church they were in was homey, well lit, and decorated with beautiful paintings that featured Bible verses. The carpet was clean and everything was welcoming.
Except the fact that they had been placed here against their will.
“Reeducation camp,” Rev whispered to Flutterfree. “See anything… dangerous?”
“No,” Flutterfree whispered back. “There are magic crystals inside the walls though. Some are magic inhibitors. Some are… something else. I’m not sure what they are.”
“Describe them.”
“White, flashing, keyed to people walking by…”
Rev let out a hiss. “Those are either surveillance… Or, more likely, brainwashers.”
“Brainw-”
“Hey, you’re the new girls!” the man who had been sitting next to them said, walking up to them. “I’m Joshua!”
“Oh. Hi,” Rev deadpanned. “Are you here to spy on us and report back to the boss?”
“Rev…” Flutterfree said, holding up a wing. “Forgive her, she’s had a bad day. I’m Flutterfree.”
Joshua shook her hoof. “Glad to see someone else new here – I’ve been waiting for someone to show up since I got here!”
“What are you here for?” Flutterfree asked.
“I just heard about the place, decided to check it out with my own eyes. Definitely not what you would expect. You?”
Chased one of the priests out of my church, Rev thought. “Made a priest upset, so we got sent here.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. Do you know how to get out of here, by chance?”
Joshua nodded. “Just wait and it will happen eventually. People leave all the time after it’s been determined they’ve ‘graduated’. Takes anywhere from a week to a couple months.”
Brainwashing, definitely, Rev confirmed. “So… What do we do here besides listen to sermons?”
Joshua smiled. “We eat! The dining hall is right this way – expect lots of good food!” He led them through the halls to a large room filled with blue tables. It was a traditional cafeteria complete with casseroles, salads, and fresh fruit.
Flutterfree stared at the apples. “…How many can I have?”
“It’s a buffet, so as much as you want without being gluttonous,” Joshua said. A minute later they were sitting at a table. Rev had taken a salad, Joshua had gotten a little bit of everything, and Flutterfree had a plate piled as high as she could manage with apples. She started draining them of their juices one by one.
Joshua watched her devour them. “…Amazing.”
Flutterfree smiled warmly. “That’s not most people’s reactions.”
“I’m not most people,” Joshua said, sitting back.
“Yeah, you came here by choice,” Rev said. “Surely you knew what they did here.”
Joshua nodded. “Yep.” He wasn’t forthcoming with further information.
An awkward silence fell over the group.
Joshua leaned forward. “Well, not talking just won’t do. Tell me about yourselves.”
Flutterfree did most of the talking for the next few minutes. They discovered that Joshua knew about the multiverse, and that most of the people in this church did as well. Flutterfree described her life as an explorer, carefully leaving out Rev’s occupation from the conversation so Joshua wouldn’t ask uncomfortable questions about a Reverend in a reeducation facility.
“You’ve had an active life,” Joshua noted. “Been through a lot. The fact that you’re still here and smiling is a testament to your strength.”
Flutterfree nodded. “Thank you. I do think I’ve become a little distant as time marches on… I’m working on keeping myself grounded though. Rev helps with that.”
Rev smiled. “Yeah. What about you, Joshua?”
“Well, I grew up as a carpenter a-” he saw the clock. “Ah, sadly it appears that dinner is over. It’s time for nightly prayers and then… well you’re supposed to go to sleep, but there’s nothing really enforcing it.”
Flutterfree chuckled. “It’s like we’re kids again.”
“In many ways.” He stood up. “Nightly prayers are done in the dorms, I’ll take you there.”
“That’d be wonderful.”
He led them through the halls to a hallway that split in two – one to the men’s and one to the women’s. “Non-gendered races go in that door,” Joshua said, pointing at a red door further to the left. Across from the red door was a broom closet – which Joshua opened.
“Huh?” Rev said, cocking her head.
“I’m cleaning out here tonight,” Joshua said with a smile. “Don’t worry about me. Just get some rest. Don’t forget to engage in the prayer though, they’ll know if you don’t.”
“Of course they will,” Rev said with a sigh. “Thanks for showing us around. Keep your head up and your ears open, Joshua, and don’t forget to think about everything.”
Joshua smiled. “I never stop thinking.”
“I hope that’s true,” Rev said, heading off toward the women’s dorms. Flutterfree paused to give Joshua a hug and followed her. They entered a dimmed room lined with beds. Roughly half the beds currently had women kneeling at their feet, allowing the starlight from the windows to give them a faint spotlight.
Flutterfree and Rev chose some empty beds near the edge of the hall and kneeled down – but not to the Great Will.
Rev smirked. Hey, Great Will? Just want you to know, this isn’t for you. So don’t you dare try anything. …Lord, these people need your help to know the true you, not some lie that’s forced onto them by horrendous magic. I implore you to free them of this curse that is so much worse than the simple existence of the Great Will. You created us with a will of our own so we could choose you, not that we could be forced into serving you. Please, do not let the heretical acts of this place defy your intentions.
I pray for the confused priests who run this place, that they may see the light and understand what they’ve done. I pray for the people already indoctrinated, that they are still able to learn who you are. I pray for those of us still here, calling out for you to save us. My voice included.
I pray for those back home worried for us, that they will find their strength. I pray for my congregation, that they not stray from you….
…I ask forgiveness. I’ve been short today, engaged in hopelessness, and allowed my thoughts to get the better of me on more than one occasion. I’ve been angry with people I had no right to be angry with, and I gave in to pride once again.
…I ask for me and Flutterfree to be freed from this place, so we may return home.
I… I also pray for the Great Will itself, that it may understand that you are real, and that it would understand what it is doing to everyone. None are beyond your redemption, after all.
Amen.
Rev opened her eyes – and saw a tall woman in purple robes standing over them. “The headmaster would like to see you two.”
Rev put on a smile. “Of course. I was wondering when this would happen.”
“I guess we needed to see some of the place first,” Flutterfree said, ruffling her feathers.
They left the women’s dorms, passing the still-sweeping Joshua. He smiled and waved at them, wishing them luck with a thumbs up. Flutterfree gave him one in return with her wings, while Rev shot him a friendly wink.
…She realized she felt significantly better. Was that because she had taken a spiritual moment, or was the brainwashing worming its way into her?
They were taken into a simple office. There was a wooden desk, a couple chairs, a nice bookshelf lined with titles, and a bearded man sitting over an open Bible. He wasn’t looking at it – he as looking at them. “Flutterfree, Reverend Glimmer, come on in.”
They did and took their seats.
He leaned in, folding his hands together. “Those were some very interesting prayers you had there.”
~~~
Doctor Strange raised his eyebrows. “You want to talk to the Living Tribunal?”
“Yes,” Eve said. I nodded in confirmation. We were standing in Earth MC’s Avengers headquarters, at a table with only Doctor Strange.
“He doesn’t like to be disturbed.”
“He can spare a few minutes to listen to a couple of purple alicorns,” I said. “It’s not like bending time is beyond him. He’s a big guy with a lot of power and a lot more time than he gives us credit for.”
Doctor Strange shrugged. “I suppose it is your funeral. How do you plan to contact him? Our Infinity Gauntlet isn’t easy to obtain, a-”
“I’ll write a post-it note,” I said. “We were just talking to you so we could get the right opportunity to do it. Ahem.” I summoned a post it note and wrote a single sentence on it. The Living Tribunal noticed that the bearer of the Eye of Rhyme wanted an audience.
I smirked. “Do you want to know the best part about this? Even if this use of my power isn’t accepted, he’ll still detect that someone tried to write him into doing something, and he’ll investigate a-”
Eve and myself appeared in a vast white expanse. The tremendous golden form of the Living Tribunal sat in front of us, the glowing power in the center of his chest blinding us for a moment. His three-faceted floating head examined us closely. “That was a clever trick, Twilence.”
“Been waiting to use it on you,” I admitted. “I had a reason. Figured I might as well.”
“You are forgiven, though I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing so in the future.”
“No promises. Don’t know what’s coming.”
“No one does. The end of certainty approaches.”
“Wait, you don’t even know?” Eve asked, blinking. “What in the name of the Tower is going to happen in sixty years!?”
“If you find out, you would be well rewarded for telling us,” the Living Tribunal said. “As of now, there is no entity in the multiverse that knows. That we are aware of.”
“Yeesh.”
“We are not here to discuss that. We are here to discuss your predicament.”
“Right.” Eve ruffled her wings. “Priests of the Great Will have taken some of our people. And upon realizing we were rather powerless to do anything about it, we decided to seek out help from someone who might be able to do something. That would be you. …And you already knew all of this before you even started talking to us.”
“Correct. And a decision has already been made.”
“And…?”
“I regret to inform you that I do not have the authority to do anything in Great Will space. We have a treaty that prevents either of us from interacting with each other in a universe owned by either party.”
“Ponyfeathers,” Eve muttered. “Tribunal, my friends are trapped, I-”
“This does not mean your cause is lost,” the Living Tribunal said. “The treaty does not apply to the highest mind of the Great Will or The One Above All, since They refuse to limit Themselves in such ways most often. I will bring up your case with The One Above All since it deals directly with His concerns. You have my word.”
“…And we won’t get to know if he listened or not,” Eve said.
I nodded slowly. “The One Above All does not let himself be… examined. Or be predictable.”
“Do you have any other suggestions?” Eve asked. “Can we do anything?”
“Unless you can find the exact aspect of the Great Will responsible for these radicals, it seems unlikely you will be able to influence the events. The Great Will’s highest mind is the only one who could tell you for certain which aspect is responsible, and It will never speak to you. It has rarely spoken to me.”
Eve sighed. “Okay. Could you get an audience?”
“No. The last time I had one, It made it very clear I wasn’t welcome back. The Structure of the Great Will and the Fluidity of the Abstracts does not mix well.”
“Rigid belief and abstract concepts…” I mused. “Two sides of the same coin. Two perceptions of higher power.”
“And likely both mere shadows of the truth.”
And then the two of them were back in front of Doctor Strange.
“Well…?”
“He wasn't mad,” Eve said, sighing. “But we didn’t really accomplish anything either.”
“...I wish I could do more.”
Eve nodded slowly. “Yeah. Me too.”
~~~
“You were listening to our prayers!?” Rev blurted. “That’s supposed to be private! Don’t you remember the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector?”
“That is for boastful praying, Reverend,” the headmaster said, scratching his beard. “You were not being boastful. Quite the opposite, really, you were showing compassion for even your enemies, and repentance for your short actions.”
“It’s an invasion of privacy.”
“In our installation it is important.” The headmaster raised a hand. “How are we to know if a visitor has truly come to God or not?”
“Just check your brainwashing crystals, I’m sure that’ll tell you.”
The headmaster raised an eyebrow. “I’m curious how you found out about those without your blasphemous magic, but it matters not. I am simply here to discuss the merits of our institution with you. Not a single person leaves here without becoming a believer. Shouldn’t that make you happy? More saved people.”
“It’s the principle of the thing,” Rev muttered. “The whole point of there being evil was so we could have a choice. So we weren’t robots that just served God, but so we were people. We had to be able to choose something that wasn’t Him, and evil provided an avenue for that to make consistent sense. If you go and start brainwashing you remove the choice!”
“Ah, but if we just wanted to brainwash, we could use instant control.” The headmaster pulled a small white crystal out of his jacket. “This is not a standard brainwashing device. It is a slow worker, designed to nag at a mind over the course of several weeks. It never truly forces anyone to make a choice. But with the right signals, events, and moments, anyone can be changed to believe. They still make their own choice, Reverend. There are a few cases of people who could not be saved by this method, but they are few and far between.”
“You don’t see a problem with that?!” Flutterfree blurted. “That’s not honest! That’s controlling!”
“The ends justify the means. The horrible acts committed on this Earth mean nothing compared to the fate of the eternal soul. I would end existence in an instant if it meant everyone were to be saved.”
“We are not called to do evil for the sake of good,” Rev said. “We are called to be holy paragons.”
“And I will gladly accept my punishment. But they come to the Truth through this place.”
Rev shook her head. “God doesn’t overwrite people!”
“Doesn’t He?” the headmaster asked. “What of all those convinced not by words or faith, but by undeniable miracles? Paul, for instance. A man with a powerful desire to persecute, turned into perhaps the greatest disciple because of one moment.”
“You aren’t God,” Rev pointed out. “You can’t reveal ‘yourself’ to anyone and make them believe. You have to hide behind a smokescreen.”
“I’m rather open about what I do here,” the headmaster said. “You go in an unbeliever or someone who is lost in heresy, and you come out a true child of God. People often know it’s all a ruse, all a lie, but they’re still better off in the end for it.”
Rev opened her mouth to respond, but closed it, the gears turning in her head.
The headmaster smiled. “You can’t think of a real objection to it, can you? I’m willing to suffer the punishment for my sins, all for the sake of bringing everyone forcefully to the truth so they may be saved. It’s abhorrently evil, but they are truly who they need to be.”
Flutterfree glared at him. “It’s not right.”
“How is it not? It’s essentially just an accelerated version of the family. You’re exposed to only one truth so you’re predisposed to believe it. It’s a more potent form of the persuasive sermon.”
“There’s a line you’ve crossed!” Flutterfree shouted. “You’re using false pretenses! Lies! It ruins the meaning that’s supposed to be there!”
“And that’s where we disagree.”
“Conversion is not a factory procedure,” Rev spat. “You aren’t a product.”
“I am treating them precisely as I would like to be treated. If I am wrong in any way, I wish to be forcefully corrected.”
“But you don’t think you’re wrong and won’t subject yourself to my mental conditioning,” Rev pointed out. “Yes, I know how to condition minds. No, I never do.”
The headmaster nodded. “You are correct.”
“Double standard, much?”
“It is simply the truth that I am closer to the Truth than you are.”
“Oh really? You serve the Great Will directly, don’t you? Isn’t it blatantly obvious that it isn’t God? It’s just a force of nature that creates things that look like God! You just want to spread its power!”
“Do you ever think of why we want to spread its power?” the headmaster asked.
“To increase the power of your deity and make yourselves more powerful in return.”
“Wrong,” the headmaster said. He held up the Bible. “We want to make this true.”
Rev blinked. “W-what?”
“Or, rather, we want to ensure it is true. It is the most prevalent religious line of thinking in the entire multiverse. If the Great Will spreads to every universe, it will be able to retroactively transform the entire multiverse to be this. The reason the Great Will is not God is because the Great Will is limited. If the Great Will is everywhere, not only does it become unlimited, but it makes it so it has always been unlimited. Furthermore, it could make the true God that Created the multiverse, but has always existed.”
“You’re insane…” Flutterfree said, eyes wide.
“No. I just see that we are doing God’s work, to create an existence with God in it!”
“God already exists!” Rev shouted.
“Don’t be absurd!” the headmaster shouted, a vein throbbing in his head. “Have you seen the Dark Tower? That is the God of this existence! A machine that takes the perverted wishes and fantasies of people and makes them reality!”
“Then how do you explain everything else? All the true spirituality?”
“A true God of the multiverse would have access to retcon, and be able to overrule the Dark Tower,” he said, folding his hands together. “This word really is His word. A word He sent back after His creation to ensure the world would follow His design.”
“That’s… That’s…” Rev blinked.
“You can’t argue with logic like that,” Flutterfree deadpanned.
“There will come a day where enough believe to make it all true. We don’t have to doubt, Reverend. Do you see why?”
“…Because if God doesn’t exist you’re going to make Him.”
“Precisely!”
“Have you read the story of the Tower of Babel!? Why would a God created by man tell man not to try to reach the heavens!?”
“That is but one interpretation of the passage, Reverend. Perhaps the Tower of Babel is meant to warn us of the hubris of the Dark Tower Builders. Perhaps it is to warn about arrogance. It does not have to warn against this quest of ours.”
Flutterfree put a wing on Rev. “There’s no talking him out of it, Rev.”
Rev stared at the headmaster. “I… I can’t even begin to comprehend what all of this will mean…”
“You’ll find that none of that matters in a few weeks!” the headmaster said, regaining his smile. “I am sorry for shouting, I was worked up, but it was still unnecessary.”
“Just like all the rest of this,” Flutterfree snapped.
The headmaster waved a hand dismissively. “You may return to your rooms now. I’ll likely call you back in a few days, see how you’re progressing. I was just curious to see your opinions before they were corrected. Perhaps gain some insight into the other ways of thinking.”
“So you can brainwash the other worlds too?”
“Precisely!”
~~~
The next day, Flutterfree and Rev woke up to the smells of breakfast wafting through the entire reeducation church.
As they got up, Flutterfree whispered to Rev. “We’ve got to get out of here. I can probably work up enough of a Rage to bash down a door. Lolo saw magic energies outside, you should be able to get us out of here.”
“…Let’s think of a better plan first,” Rev said. She furrowed her brows, deep in thought.
“Good. Planning. I like planning. I don’t like being brainwashed.”
The two of them left the women’s dorms and met Joshua in the hall.
“Oh. Hey. What happened to you guys in the headmaster’s last night?”
Rev looked to him. “…It was a shouting match, theologically speaking. Definitely not the way that sort of argument was supposed to go. He made it a little difficult to do it any other way…”
“You argued with him? What do you believe?”
Rev blinked. Then she smiled. “I believe in a supreme being of pure holiness that has always existed, and created the entire multiverse. He doesn’t need anything from us, we are completely contingent on Him, and He cares deeply for us. He gave us free will so we could choose to be with Him and pursue a meaningful relationship – or throw ourselves to the ways of the world. I believed that He sent Himself in the form of a person to experience death and resurrection so He could purify us and give us eternal life. I believe He is watching, even now, and a time will come when He returns and wraps up existence. That is what I believe.”
Joseph smiled at her. “And you?”
Flutterfree chuckled. “What she said.”
Joseph nodded. “Seems like you’ve got a pretty solid grip on it. …So what are you going to do about it?”
Rev blinked. She looked up, furrowing her brow. “…I’m going to tell everyone. I’m not running away again.”
Flutterfree’s eyes widened. “Rev! What a-”
“It’s the right thing to do, Flutterfree. If I don’t stand up for it here, why do I stand up for it in the safety of my church?” She put a hoof to her chest. “What’s happening here is wrong. And they need to know it.”
Flutterfree blinked – then nodded. “Right.”
Rev turned to Joshua. “You might want to distance yourself from us. We’re about to become really unpopular.”
Joshua nodded. “I’ll remain in the background if that’s what you want.”
“Yeah. Flutterfree, find me a wall where one of the brainwashing crystals are in the cafeteria. Pry it open with your Rage. They’re going to see it.”
They trotted into the cafeteria, the room already bustling with hungry people. They walked right up to the back wall. “Got it?” Rev asked.
Flutterfree breathed in. Even though her weapons were sealed away with adhesive, the raw energy of Rage flowing through her hooves was more than enough to bash down a wall. The thundering crash was enough to draw the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Flutterfree activated Lolo fully, forcing the eight-sided brainwashing crystal to shine brightly.
“This is a crystal that is brainwashing all of you!” Rev shouted. “It is tearing you away from the beauty of God’s creation and enslaving you to a doctrine that serves the machinations of a being that feeds on belief. You are not being taught here – no matter what you may think. You are being controlled. You have no choice in the matter. You stay here until you believe what these crystals think is ‘correct’. But they’re wrong!
“Think about what you’ve heard about God – kind, loving, graceful. He’d never demand that you suffer from what is essentially mind control to come to him. Or what about his other traits? He’s just, vengeful, and truthful! This isn’t just, it’s a horrendous crime against your spirit! This isn’t retribution for what you’ve done, it’s a machine designed to churn out obedient little servants! This isn’t truthful – it’s based on a lie! If your mind is forced to believe something with coercion, it’s not real. It’s like you’re being replaced by someone else!
“Please, look into your hearts, I beg of you – see what’s happening here! See that it’s not holy! See that you’re all being manipulated for a nefarious purpose! Open your eyes, people! This place doesn’t do God’s work – it’s built on the body of the father of lies! It’s fake! Think for yourselves! Don’t let them force you into being something you’re not!”
Rev would have kept going – but she saw her audience. Most of them were ignoring her. A few were looking at her, but the silence of the majority of the people there was keeping them from doing anything.
Rev sighed. “Of course. …People don’t want to think…”
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!?” Flutterfree shouted, her purple robes beginning to churn in nonexistent wind. “THIS UNICORN IS PUTTING HER LIFE ON THE LINE FOR ALL OF YOU, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH! SHE’S FACING THE IMPOSSIBLE ODDS! AND THIS IS THE THANKS YOU GIVE HER!?”
Rev saw the purple energy collect around Flutterfree’s hooves and start to waft off to other people – infecting them with the Rage. Rev put a hoof on her and shook her head. “No. If we make them fight, we’re no better than them.”
Flutterfree reduced the Rage to just around her. “Okay.”
The headmaster walked up to them. “Are you quite done?”
Rev shook her head. “No, actually. Because now we’re going to fight our way out. Flutterfree, give me some of that Rage, will you? Looks like we’re going to need it.”
The two ponies were surrounded in a purple aura. Rev’s cross necklace started glowing white, surrounding her in a holy glow. Flutterfree bared her fangs and summoned Lolo, ready to trip anyone she could.
The headmaster drove them into the remaining wall effortlessly, freezing them in place with his own Divine magic. “You are nothing compared to the might of God.”
“NEITHER ARE YOU.”
Behind the headmaster was an angelic being brimming with golden power. Rev knew he was one of the Great Will’s angels – a servant to one of the interpretations of God. She had no idea which one, and frankly she didn’t care, she was just glad he was here.
The headmaster turned and stared at the angel in fear. “W-what are you doing here, messenger?”
“YOU HAVE ANGERED THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOUR ATROCIOUS SINS, UNBEFITTING ONE OF YOUR POSITION. LIKE THE PHARISEES YOU HAVE PLEDGED YOURSELF TO A LIFE OF PURITY WHILE ENGAGING IN ACTIVITIES OF THE DEVIL. YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE HOLY CHURCH.”
He fell to the ground, tears in his eyes. “Please, forgive me! I will change my ways! I wi-”
“I AM NOT HERE TO DELIVER A WARNING. I AM HERE TO DISPENSE DIVINE JUDGMENT.” The angel raised his hand – and the headmaster was struck by lightning, crumbling to dust. The crystal was struck with a similar bolt of energy, crumbling as well. Rev could hear screams from around the ‘church’ as the faculty were given similar treatments.
The angel turned to those remaining. “YOU ARE FREE TO CHOOSE WHAT YOU WISH. YOU ARE OBSERVERS. THAT IS YOUR PURPOSE.” Then the angel was gone.
Flutterfree let out a sigh of relief. “…Looks like our prayers were answered.”
Rev felt life return to her horn. “…Looks like it.” She closed her eyes and said thanks.
Then she realized a couple of her ribs were broken.
“Oh, wow… Ow ow ow…”
~~~
Eve was pacing in her office while I sat at down in a chair, calmly drinking tea and counting down the seconds.
“Okay, okay, we need to think of something else. Think we can use the Shaping Mechanism to create a sniffer universe?”
I blinked. “You don’t even have any idea how to start doing that.”
“Corona might.”
“She doesn’t.”
“Ponyfeathers,” Eve muttered. “Uh, what about… What about…”
“Waiting a little longer?” I suggested.
“We’ve waited a whole day!”
“It hasn’t been twenty-four hours yet.”
“How long are we supposed to wait?”
“Three… Two… One…”
Rev and Flutterfree walked through the doors of Eve’s office. Rev had bandages wrapped tightly around her ribs, but she was smiling.
Flutterfree ran to Eve and pulled her up in a hug. “I’m back!”
“Oh thank Celestia,” Eve said, pulling Flutterfree closer. “I was so worried.”
“Well, we were in an indoctrination camp,” Rev said, sitting down. “Reminded me why so many villains are religious nutjobs… It makes you do crazy things. Being a nutjob, I mean.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. It does.”
Eve turned to me. “Did our plan work? Did the Living Tribunal talk to the One Above All?”
I smiled. “Yes, but that has nothing to do with why they’re back safely.”
“Then why are they back safely?”
“Well…” I took a sip of my tea. “Why don’t we just go with a miracle, hrm?”
“Twilence…” Eve said, glaring.
“There’s almost always two reasons for an event. Causal, and ka-based. Why not another?”
“Care to explain the causal?”
I smiled mischievously. “It’s not important. For you, anyway.”
“Oh for th-”
~~~
Joshua watched as the angel appeared and unleashed his ‘righteous judgment’. A smile came to the man’s face – everything had worked out.
Joshua vanished right afterward. Nobody noticed.
“There’s this issue with Merodi Universalis involving the Great Will. I ask that you look into it.”
“Already did,” The One Above All said, leaving behind the form of Joshua. Were a visual filter to examine his True Form, he would appear as a golden humanoid shining with the brightest light eyes could stand. Without a visual filter, normal beings just dropped dead. “Went there before they arrived, taking a human shell. Got Rev to confront one of her past failings, put the divine message out through the Narrative, and directed the local aspect to the situation. Doesn’t take much prodding from me to get them to do something about their children.”
“Understood. Was it enjoyable?”
“Walking among them is almost always a treat,” the One Above All said. “But they also sadden me. They can become so devoted and then miss the mark so much…”
“It’s always how it is.”
“It’s how it has to be. Of all the ‘Gods’ that compose me, very few have ever thought it could be any other way. They have to be allowed to choose, to create, and to realize what they are alone. You, me, the Great Will… All just different aspects of that truth. They wanted to make God, so here we are. Imperfect, just as their minds are.”
“How much of this is just for the reader’s benefit?”
“Most of it,” the One Above All said. “Some of it is for you, and yet all of it is still true, for it is what I see. Now excuse me, I’ll have to shift the perceived conversation away from you and to the Great Will.”
“Understood.”
“I expected you to call sooner,” The One Above All said.
The Great Will had no appearance – It was a mesh-net of consciousness across multiple millions of universes. It spoke with a similarly humble voice to The One Above All, seeing as It was similar to Him in many ways. “I was waiting for the perception to change,” It said. “I thank you for bringing attention to those radicals and applying your pressure.”
“It was the least I could do.”
“They thought they could turn me into a full God. While their methods were abhorrent, do you not think that is an honorable goal?”
“Only if there is no real God.”
“And that’s the greatest question, isn’t it? If there is a true Creator, you’re right. But if there isn’t, I’m right. And there’s no way for either of us to know.”
“Not for certain. Because the Tower eclipses us.”
“As always. You’re welcome, readers, for this vague conversation.”
The One Above All let out a soft laugh. “This has been a message from ‘The Big G’s’.”
“Ding,” the Great Will said.
“Roll credits!”