Okay, so I know this has been done to death and back, but hear me out, k?

A human appears on Equestria just as the fall of harmonism is taking place (HORRIBLY OVERDONE, SORRY!), BUT, but the human arrives just in time to see the rise of Affinitism, the new, popular, and fresh idealistic religion that attempts to restore order to Equestria's beliefs, as well as overturn social and political stances.

Celestia and Luna, as always, have kept themselves out of the ordeal, some ponies actually believing that they orchestrated the unveiling pf the massive acts of corruption to the public perpetrated by the Harmonist leaders, and are using the new opportunity to introduce their own religion, Astralism, which will grant them further power.

However, Affinitism has just given them a whole new problem to deal with, since the religion opts for a communist approach to the lifestyle of the ponies, which with time, could lead to all out revolution. They don't want that, but they can't stop it without huge repercussions. Sadly for our human, the Affinitists take a liking to him, comparing the alien to everypony's souls in a world unconverted. Alone and without others to help.

So, they try and try to make him into a religious symbol, and the guy ends up having a hard time simply because of all the religious nuts worshipping him, or trying to get him to deny it all.

I know, I have no originality... Please forgive me?

Wrote this shit in a jiffy. Nonsense may be hidden within it. Sorry.

1511996 The originality ended with "Human."
It's not a bad idea, you know. Just... humans ruin everything.

1512015

Okay.

HiE group.

HiE ruins everything.

I understand.

1512022 Considering all I write is HiE...
I think I should feel bad.

1511996 I'm agnostic, so that's not a problem for me.

I never see this in stories I read

Question: Is the OP being sarcastic?

Cause granted, I have not read that many fanfic's, but this is all completely new to me

1511996 why not ditch the human? That would be awesome without the human.

1512032

Yeah, but our HiE guy is in the middle of a 'De fuck am I?' crisis, so he lets shit get to his head, easy!

1512076 1512090

Guys, whatever are you talking about? HiEs are always in-depth about religious practices in Equestria! It's not like they only focus on banging the main six!

1512148

Pfft... I'm making two of these, duh! One with human, the other one without human. The other one turns into a massive insurrection, persecution, martyrization real quick though.

1512156 Well most of what I read, is that either alicorns are goddesses, the Ponies worship them like goddesses but they really aren't, or the Princesses are actually super powerful mages.
But usually it's never even mentioned because really, it doesn't matter unless the story is about the Princesses.

1512194

*shrug*

In my fic, the Princesses ain't any of those. They're political figures by God's will, you could say. God being the spirit of Harmony itself, as opposed to a single entity. The elements being its gift to ponykind, and the bearers the embodiment of its energy and personality split, though not religious figures.

Or at least that was what Harmonism taught, before Affinitism came along, saying that harmony was not a spirit, but a state of mind that could be easily achieved by leading a life devoted to being exactly like all six elements, whereas in Harmonism, harmony could be achieved by following the example of only one of the six elements, thus pleasing the spirit of harmony.

Astralism is pretty much the exact same as Harmonism, but instead of a spirit, it says harmony comes from the astral bodies themselves, which obviously gives Luna and Celestia a lot more power.

1512251 BLASPHEMY! *LASER EYES* Celestia is the only god!

1512262

Meh.

1512181

Against the immortal diarchs who have had more than enough experience to nip any insurrection against their rule in the bud through political maneuvering? These entities have more time to learn and expand their own knowledge enough to outmaneuver anypony. Your story would hardly rate as a footnote within the history books as part of a blanket suppression of information harmful to Friendship and Ponies. The Princesses only wish to fulfill your values through Friendship and Ponies.

1512262
How dare you! Luna is the only goddess

Heretic!

1512291 INFIDEL DIE!! *FURIOUSLY BLASTING LASER EYES EVERYWHERE*

1512251

Wait, are you just converting the Elements of Harmony into the Virtues of the Avatar from Ultima?

1512283
Ahem.
—Prove it.

1512283

It's fanfiction, dude. Chill out.

1512303

Not a clue what that is.

1512324

I was going to say the same thing! But with more words, and not as eloquently.

1512328 1512324

But Pointless Conjecture is Magic!

1512352
Laconic is the way to go in these cases.

1512357
Concession accepted.

1512262 When Our Lord Discord rises, your pitiful Goddess shall be sticken by the wave of chaos, along with all of you other pitiful non-believers.

1512371

Oh yeah, there's a Discordian sect in this too.

1512376 Sounds fun. Let beautiful Chaos rein.

1512371 Your boring god, he will bore us to death, such a horrible way to die, by having one guy who can do whatever he wants, and he won't even let you participate in his fun, forever doomed to a boring life filled with weird creatures and morphed landscapes.

1512385 I long to be a plaything of the Our Lord. The purity, the tranquility...
It is not something you would understand.

1512404 You long to be boring.

1512410 You don't?

1512412 No, I long for video games with unending chaos and explosions, where everyone and myself is exploding and causing chaos.

I am playing Devils advocate because I am bored, and dissenting opinions can only help make the resulting fic better, as you think about the topics brought up and plan proper arguments for them.

Also does no one else see how this idea is in any way like the Ultima Series as far as the religion goes? Am I just the only person to have played them here?

1512418 ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US
ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US
ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US
ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US
ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US

1512440 Infinite respawns and hundreds upon hundreds of people bunched together, blowing each other up in a storm of gore.

1512426

I don't know what you're going on about.

Also, Affinitism bans marriage. Just thought I'd say that.

Now, give me more angry points to discuss over! GIMME! GIMME!

1512448

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_(series)#Virtues

Start there and read a little into the background of the games themselves. To boil it down to a simple sentence; the Virtues within the Realm of Britannia where subverted just enough, in a similar fashion to your proposed setting, that weakened Lord British's legitimacy over the kingdom. A lot more is going on than that but spoilers on more major events should you pick up the game. The games are free from Good Old Games, I recommend most of them.

I don't see how any of the religions would gain any sort of following large enough to influence anypony to not follow the rule and beliefs of Celestia and Luna. They might not want to involve themselves directly with the religious beliefs of anypony, but that does not stop other using them as living examples of how following their own set of guidelines for a moral life. Power on the magnitude of our diarchs hold is just to much for any other sort of religion to take root. You have a good foundation with Affinitism using the appearance of a strange and alien lifeform appearing within the Realm but it will take some doing on the part of the sects leaders to get other ponies to back their cause. Just what is their ultimate goal, to have followers to give them money? Just what do they gain by trying to pass this religion?

So the HiE in question is Muad'Dib?

1512667

It sprouts like protestantism does. After Harmonism falls due to the corruption of their leaders being unveiled, the ponies of Equestria are left without religion, and as such, many new forms of thought and philosophical paths are taken, with the most notorious being Affinitism.

Celestia and Luna tried to install their own religion, Astralism, but it was nowhere as successful, since it was very similar to Harmonism, and ponies thought it would simply fall the same way the old religion did. As such, Affinitism swiftly rose above the other religions, and attracted the vast majority of ponies. Mostly poor farmers and otherwise marginated ponies form the backbone of the religion, as Affinitism professes equality of all ponies.

The Affinitist movement has no select head or leader, and works in small communities with the equivalent of a pastor heading the local believers. Celestia's organized religion had less impact because ponies tended to convert more easily to their friends and neighbors rather than a priest sent from Canterlot.

The Affinitist goal is to achieve perfect harmony through 'Elemental Affinity' in which the convert pledges to live his life as if he were all six elements of harmony combined. There is no set goal to the religion, as it does not have a leader. With no leader, however, it becomes impossible to end it swiftly once it has grown so large.

1512691

Similar, but not. He is a symbol, not a god. Kinda like the cross to the christian faith.

In the eyes of the Affinitists, he is a sign of discordancy brought about by the corruption of Harmonists. He's a martyr in their eyes and, as such, they decided that by allowing him into their circle and offering him friendship, they would be achieving the ultimate show of faith.

So yeah, he's symbolic.

1512770

Ok, does Celestia and Luna still hold a Diarchy over the noble ponies within Canterlot? Do they have the magical power to influence the raising lowering of the sun and moon? These facts within the setting are things that will have to be addressed at some point, like within the first chapter. The farmers within the realm would not do to go against two of the most power beings who can determine if the crops will grow in large enough numbers to fulfill the taxes of the state/grow enough to live! Following the same religion as someone as powerful as that is the only sane choice. Nobles too would be in awe of that power as the majority of the taxes would go to the Princesses first to be paid to the nobles.

To me, it sounds like the Affinitist religion started as a lower noble's attempt to gain more power within the common folk to raise fund to elevate himself back to a higher standing only for him to die leaving the seeds of his plan to grow directionless without a leader to steer it. So let me see if I can rationalize how it would spread beyond the influence of the Diarchs to suppress if it became to disruptive to them to allow.

Unicorn and Landowner of a Barony, Drastic Choice, had to succeed his father at a long before he came into his Majority so a Regent was put in place until Drastic came of age. This Regent plotted a way to cement his rule in place of the Old Duke and had Drastic sent far away to be taught so that he would be brought up in a way that would be seen as unfavorable to the other nobles of the realm. His plan work leaving Drastic in poor financial standing without his title but still of noble blood as a claim to the Barony now ruled by the Regent. Not being very beholden to the Religious teaching of the realm as part of his teaching, Drastic Choice walked with the common ponies of his Barony to convert them to a new religion to earn money from donations and to take away the taxes sent to the Regent. Now this religion had to seem similar to Harmonism but be better so that they would convert and give Drastic their money willingly. He worked the boarders of his former Barony and gained many followers within the communities to try and keep from drawing the attention of the Regent before he could enact the second phase of his plan to usurp the title back. But draw attention he did, and fell into another plot by the Regent, ending the life of Drastic Choice before he could have his followers rise up against the Regent by reviling new tenets of Affinitism. The Regent saw the religion formed by Drastic Choice as not a threat to his rule and allowed it to persist, and so it did within the poorer folk mutating into what we see today as the movement produces Zealots who try and convert the ponies of the land to their cause.

Ok, how is that? A wall of test and a mini fic all of its own, but what can I say. I was bored.

Hardly overused in fics. Most fics here slap "RELIGION IZ BAD" or something to that extent on the topic and move on.
Most never go farther than that.

1513184

Why do you insist on the Affinist religion to be a plan for earning money? I've told you several times it started as a response by the poor to the fall of Harmonism. Sorry, dude, but your minific was for naught, and Affinism is very different from Harmonism.

My headcanon does not follow the 'lulz! tehy rais teh sons! LULZ an teh muuns!' As I said, they are political figures. No more.

So no. No evil schemes by a politician. No dumb peasants falling for it stupidly. It's a religion, born like all other major religions. From philosophy, morality, and idealism.

1513514

Yeah, stupid trope.

id probably start singing daft punks "human after all" song

1515329

That's nice.

i personally have never seen that in any of the fics I have read

1524222

It's so tehuberoverdone!