The Rejuvenationverse 48 members · 24 stories
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Purple Patch
Group Admin

One of the oldest religions in Equestria, the Hasbrethren as it is known, worships a holy trinity that still exists today mostly among the very old and very distinguished communities. Unlike the faith of the alicorns and other such entities, the Hasbrethren is a much more mundane faith originating around the birth of equine civilisation.

The Hasbrood is a three-headed god of fortune or misfortune, the heads named 'Herm, Hainn and Hiln' judging the value of others and their work on this earth and deciding whether they deserve their favour. If one has their favour, it is said, they will want for nothing and see all their needs provided. But they are fickle, unpredictable and work under rules that are forever a mystery to others.

They have no official origin story or much mythology but often incorporate those of others and have, at times, allowed their own likeness to be incorporated, as long as they have permission and supervision from the Hasbrethren leaders. Though whenever they have incorporated the mythology of other prominent religions, they have at least asked permission and had their scholars do the appropriate research. Their practices baffle many common ponies and some question if it can indeed be called a 'religion'. Vorpal Blade once summarised it as more akin to what he called 'communal strategy'.
The Hasbrethren emerged in the earth communities before the Age of Magic. While opposed to many of the radical reforms of Rememberly the Bonnycorn and Laurelore the Firsticorn, they nonetheless supported both the alicorns' leaderships, regarding them as appropriate agents of the Hasbrood's will, counselling them whenever they felt it necessary and despite rumours and sordid stories, never supported any of the coups against the monarchs. If anything in Equestria involves the Hasbrethren, a prominent member must be present or at least informed. The consequences of neglecting this rule are severe thanks to how many influential figures practice the religion. They allow research and debate on the matter of their faith and practices but tread heavily on aggression and slander.

Equestrian scholars have debated on the nature of the Hasbrood. They have never been able to deduce whether the deity can be considered good or evil. Indeed the Hasbrethren do not say for they don't refer to such a concept. They, of course, have a code that determine what is right and wrong to do but the code is more based on practicality and reason rather than the moral dimension. They have respect for the Magic of Friendship and Harmony and the good its done for Equestria and the two religions have worked close over the long history of Equestria but they are still quite far apart in terms of actual philosophical concurrence.
It is a common tenant of theirs that a pony must make their own luck before they receive more and that the Hasbrood will help those who help themselves. The Hasbrethren believe the goal behind this tenant is to make ponies independent, creative, perceptiveand resilient, traits highly prized among entrepreneurs and self-made money.
Many figureheads of the Hasbrethren head banks, corporations, trading companies and charities, the scions of a proud lineage of ponies as old as civilised Equestria.

Their moral laws are vague, many believing that they are deliberately so in order to push ponykind to a flexible, collaborative system of ethics without the need of divine intervention. Though they have a few key rules, mainly for those in positions of power; Never sentence a pony without hearing what they have to say; never harm a family member; never attack a guest under your roof; never attack a host under their roof, etr. It is believed these tenants shaped the first legal codes in civilised Equestria and that the Hasbrethren were chiefly responsible or banning the practice of 'honour killing' and introducing the concept of fines as punishment for minor crimes.
Corruption in both politics and business is highly frowned upon under Hasbrethren code, not just for the lack of ethics in general but the act of shaming one's own good name and demonstrating lack of integrity in resorting to dirty tricks. The higher you are in terms of position and power, the more upstanding of a citizen you are obligated to be in the eyes of the Hasbrood and one can't easily hide from six eyes at once.
Essentially it pays more attention to the actual physical repercussions of what is classed as a 'sin'.
For example an Alicorn would say 'Stealing from those who trust you is bad.'
While the Hasbrethren would say 'Stealing from those who trust you will make them hate you...and that's bad.'

The most agreed description of the Hasbrood and their creed is that they are 'Stern but fair'.

(Actual User's Quote: Do you think this'll get me into any trouble? Please let me know.)

Bronycommander
Group Contributor

6689321
Sounds interesting and I can't see why you should get into trouble for this.

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