As Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Spike finished their food, they were all astonished by this story.
Twilight blushed. “Wow, Trixie. We had no idea you went through so much!”
“And she’s been thriving since!” I grinned as I described the next steps. “The following evening, my family hosted her whole family for a large roast squash dinner, where Trixie also reconciled with her folks. She then joined our church and was eventually baptized here. After her family and our congregation had forgiven her for her past actions, the rest of Ponyville gradually accepted her as well. She now works for a friend of mine who runs Ponyville’s General Store, where she lives in the apartment above and stocks shelves for him to make some extra Bits.”
“Trixie also volunteers at this soup kitchen on Saturdays! Trixie is a changed mare now!”
“Right, I didn’t forget that. Trixie’s also happy because she found out that her former cell mate is due to be released soon. According to the last letter she sent Trixie, that stallion who burned down her old wagon and mugged her at knifepoint is now in prison himself and will likely be there for quite a while, let’s just say.”
“That’s great news, Trixie!” Rainbow Dash gave Trixie a hug, followed by Twilight and Spike. Trixie then heard her watch beeping.
“Well look at that, Trixie needs to return to the General Store for work. Thanks for listening to my testimony!” As Trixie trotted off, the other three turned towards me.
“Whoa, so I guess even the worst among us can be redeemed.”
“That’s right, Spike. As I said before, the Lord wants all to be saved from their sins. Why do you think so many of every pony race, as well as a few non-ponies, come here?”
Twilight smiled. “Well, we just wanted to thank you for lunch. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we learned a lot today from you as well as Trixie.”
“It was my pleasure. Don’t forget our Bible study tonight; you’re all invited!” The three of them left as I returned to my office, but it wasn’t the end of these conversations.
“Wow, that really sounds like a lot, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy was astonished by just how much Rainbow Dash had changed.
“Yep, I’m just happy to know that it doesn’t matter whether or not I’m seen as the greatest in all of Equestria. Now I know that there’s so much better that is to come from the Lord. By the way, we have a Bible study tonight. Would you like to come?”
“Well, I don’t think I have any major chores with my animals tonight, so yes, I’ll come.”
“Awesome! I’ll see you there, Fluttershy!”
Likewise for Spike, he shared his recent experience with Rarity when he was helping her put some boxes away in storage.
“That’s a very interesting series of events, Spike! I especially find it peculiar that Rainbow Dash was the one who saw that angel in her dream.”
“Yes, and it’s clear now that God has been with us this whole time! Say, we’re having a Bible study at the church tonight. Did you want to come?”
“Hmmm, well, I got all my orders done for the day, and we just finished putting those boxes away. Of course, Spike! Why not?”
Pinkie Pie also agreed to come along after hearing about these plans when Rarity came by Sugarcube Corner to pick up a loaf of bread.
“Oh boy, sure sounds like it’ll be a real party!”
That evening, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike all came to a portable behind our church. They all came in and greeted me. Several other young mares and stallions greeted them as well, including Trixie.
“Welcome everypony! Glad you all came. It looks like we have some new faces here; they are Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Rarity. In the true Barnabas spirit, let’s give them a warm welcome!” Everypony tapped their hooves on the floor in approval.
“Now, there doesn’t seem to be any announcements tonight, so let’s pray. Bow your heads, everypony.” They all obliged as I began to pray. “Dear Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you for tonight, for giving us the opportunity to get together to fellowship with each other and to praise and worship you alone. We pray that we would be able to make use of what we learn here tonight and would be able to apply those lessons in our daily lives. Lord, we thank you for all this and pray this in your name. Amen.”
As I was about to start my lesson, Fluttershy raised her hoof. “Um, excuse me, Pastor. I don’t have a Bible with me. Nor do my friends.”
I smiled. “No worries, guys. There are extras on the bookshelf over there.”
The rest of the night went as planned, with everypony breaking off into smaller groups to discuss tonight’s material. After they finished their activity sheets, most of them had gone home or to the nearby Chick-fil-Hay. Most of them except for the six newcomers. They came into my office to tell me how they felt about tonight.
“So, I’m glad to hear that everyone of you had a nice evening!”
The bunch of them smiled in unison. “We sure did!”
“I never really thought all that much about God, but He sounds like a wonderful being to look up to.” I was surprised, but I was glad to see Fluttershy open up more to others.
“Indeed, darling. I really got to see everypony here for who they are, and they not what I thought they were.” This evening, Rarity got to see our church in a new light, and she was pleased by it.
“I liked the part how we got together and played all those games in the beginning!” Pinkie Pie blushed. “Our Bible reading lessons were fun as well.”
I smiled. “I’m glad everyone had such a good time here.”
Twilight began to blush. “We did, though we’re sorry that Applejack couldn’t come by. It’s just that…”
“Twilight, I know exactly why she didn’t come with the rest of you tonight.” The rest of them looked shocked as I made this statement.
“Girls, and Spike, have any of you ever noticed that Applejack’s parents are never around?”
The mares all nodded. “Yes, we have noticed.”
“Right. You know, she and Big Mac used to come out to Sunday School as well as the youth group for our middle schoolers. That was, until the accident.”
I then continued to tell the girls that five years ago, Applejack’s parents both met their untimely demise in an accident when an apple cart they were riding back to their farm in heavy rain rode over a weak edge on a cliff that gave way, causing them and the cart to violently tumble into the rocky ravine. Not only has my family long been good friends with the Apples, but the worst part was that I was the one who had to bear the bad news to Applejack and Big McIntosh. Both of them fell into a deep depression, eventually losing their faith in God because they felt it wasn’t fair that God would “take” their parents from them this soon. I still see Granny Smith and Apple Bloom at church on Sundays, and receive updates about the three Grandchildren, but I haven’t spoken with either Applejack or Big Mac since then.
The girls look at me with sad faces. “Wow, we had no idea about this. Applejack doesn’t like to talk about it, so we don’t usually go there.”
“Well, it’s really unfortunate. I’ll have you all know that I know I will see both of them again one day in Heaven because both were God-fearing ponies who tried their best to instill Biblical values in their daily lives and in their children.”
“That’s really a shame that she and Big Mac had to go through all that.” Twilight then looked up at me. “Pastor, do you think that we could pray for the Apple family? This must still be hard on them.”
“I agree, so let’s all pray.” I start off as everyone bows their heads.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for all things and are grateful that we can look to you and rejoice in you no matter what we may face here in Equestria. We just want to pray for the Apple family as they have faced many difficulties due to the deaths of Applejack’s parents those years ago. Please forgive them for turning their backs on you and allow the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts. We pray that you may comfort them during this time, so then they can look to you for their rest and their salvation. We pray that they will recover from this loss and that all three can come to rejoice in your presence. We pray all of this in your holy name. Amen.”
“Amen!”
The girls were all relieved to hear that I cared about the plight that the Apple family has been going through over the past few years, a plight that stubbornly refused to go away. I then smiled with the girls.
“Tell you what, I’ll pay the Apple family a visit tomorrow and try to help them. I’m confident that I can get through to them.”
“Sounds great!” As we rejoiced, the girls noticed it was getting late and decided to head over to Chick-fil-Hay to hang out with their new friends. As they leave my office, my smile turns into a worried look as I think about how things may go tomorrow.
“Lord, give me strength.”