Chapter I
On December fourteenth, at 3:15 AM, Adams woke me with a loud knock on my front door.
"Put your boots on," he said when I answered. "There's a biblical monster in my house."
I said nothing, but did as he asked. If any part of my mind comprehended the ramifications of what he had said, it assumed I had misheard. I knew better than to drag my feet when Adams gave an order, but took a few seconds to grab a raincoat before following him.
By the time I had closed the door behind me, Adams had already marched halfway back to his house. As I hurried after, bracing against the blowing rain, I peripherally glimpsed the blinking points of the seven-kilometer and ten-kilometer beacons in the distance. Besides them, and the lights from our station's buildings, the universe was solid black.
When I reached his house's foyer, Adams gestured toward the living room. "It's in there," he said. "Keep an eye on it. I'll be back when my weather report is done." He edged past me, and heedless of the storm, began marching toward the building that housed the generators and radio equipment.
I hung up my coat and shuffled to the large open space that was one-third kitchen and two-thirds living room. Still foggy-brained, I did not at first comprehend the pastel shape that lay sprawled on Adams's couch, unmoving except for rapid, shallow breaths. His use of the phrase "biblical monster" had been deliberate. If he had called our visitor a unicorn, he might not have reminded me of how wrong I was regarding certain touchy subjects we had sometimes debated. But he had kept his tone neutral.
Perhaps he had used that particular phrase to avoid giving me incorrect information. I considered myself well-read, but was not aware of any mythology involving unicorns with wings.
The creature's shape consisted almost entirely of smooth curves. With some imagination, the legs, neck, and torso might resemble those of a horse or deer, but this was only for lack of anything else to compare them with. None of the proportions matched those of either animal; it had a smaller torso and pelvis, supported by short, stocky legs, with an unobtrusive solid hoof at the end of each. A pattern of stars, one large and five small, had been dyed in the hair on its flank. I suspected the six stars, each with six points, must have clinched the religious connection in Adams's mind.
The head was something like a human's, albeit with an ungulate's ears, rather large eyes, and a slightly catlike snout. Its mane and tail, though now mussed and tangled, seemed to have once been cut and dyed. The creature was entirely covered in short hairs, which had been dyed a soft purple—quite expertly, I thought, since not a single strand had been missed.
A short, spiraled horn, which reminded me of a narwhal, protruded from the simian forehead, completing the bizarre image. Holding my breath to avoid disturbing the sleeping creature, I peered at the horn as close as I dared. The foremost strands of mane had fallen away from it, and its base disappeared into the hairs of the coat, seemingly attached by no outside means.
The birdlike wings, which connected to the body just behind the shoulders, were folded tight against the creature's sides. I thought they must be vestigial, as they were far too small to lift their owner.
I stepped back and leaned against Adams's kitchen table. For a second, I wondered why he had not seemed to share my sense of wonder at all this. Moreover, why had he left me to watch the creature, which I assumed he knew nothing more about than I did? What would it do if it woke up?
Would it be hostile?
Then I remembered who I was dealing with. To Adams, his behavior made sense. In his philosophy, there existed no shortage of creatures and spirits most people considered mythical. Besides, in his twenty-four years in this job, he had not missed giving a single weather report, and according to him, had never made an incorrect one. The arrival of an exotic animal, whose existence he had always known, was not reason enough to disrupt this. He was the best lighthouse keeper I had ever met, as well as the worst biblical literalist.
"There are stories of dragons in almost every major culture," he had once said grandly. "The idea for them had to have come from something—something from the earliest days of civilization, or perhaps just before."
"People found dinosaur bones," I said. "They didn't know about fossilization back then, so they assumed the bones belonged to a living creature."
At this, he had grown quiet, and I decided not to press the issue. Now, he no doubt considered the matter settled. If one mythical beast existed, there must be others.
"Anybody ready?"
That was the radiotelephone in the corner of the kitchen. The circuit operator was asking which station wanted to give its weather report first. I hurried to turn the volume down, but was already too late. The corner of my eye caught a flicker of movement, and I jerked my head around just in time to see the creature's eyes open. I must have been the first thing it saw, for it made a sound like "AAAH!" as it scrambled to its hooves and tried to back away, only to fall off the couch and sprawl on the carpet.
"Wh—what are you?" it said, as it awkwardly rose again.
I could not believe my ears: When the creature's mouth moved, a woman's voice issued forth. I started backward, too shocked to respond.
"Uh... who are you?" it said. Later, it occurred to me this rephrasing was probably for the sake of politeness.
For a long moment, the beast and I stared into one another's faces, each waiting for the other to make a move. It kept one hoof half-raised, as if ready to fight or flee. I tried to think of something appropriate to say, but given the situation's absurdity, I doubt I could have broken the ice at the best of times, let alone at 3:30 AM.
At last, it lowered its hoof, and squinted its large eyes a bit. "Uh, can you understand me?"
"Yes," I said reflexively.
"Oh!" The creature smiled and brushed a few strands of mane from its face. "Well, at least something's gone right." She gave a sort of four-legged bow. "I am Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Of course you are..." I'm not sure why I said this. I suppose the name rounded out the whole ridiculous picture.
"Huh?" Twilight said.
I did not have a chance to explain myself, as at that moment, the front door opened and Adams marched in. Twilight opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it and regarded him warily. He had always been more imposing than me, with his often grubby clothes, beard stubble, hard expression, and sometimes crusty demeanor. On more than one occasion, I had found myself in the role of the good cop.
Adams did not speak at first, but crossed the floor until he was a half-step closer to Twilight than me. An alarm sounded in my mind.
"Uh, hello," Twilight said.
Adams's only registration of surprise at this was an extra blink and a slight twitch of his upper body. But he must not have found it too strange, since he responded right away. "Are you a harbinger?"
"A what?"
"Harbinger. Of the End Times."
Twilight squinted one eye, raised the other's brow, tilted her head a bit, and said, "Uuuuuhh..."
"He's wondering if you're here to warn us about the end of the world," I said. There was no sense trying to soften it. Though I had never taken Adams's apocalyptic ideas seriously, I now wondered how much he had actually been right about.
Twilight's head-tilting and eyebrow-raising grew more acute, and she bit her lower lip a bit. I realized she was trying to think of a polite way to say "no." She must not have known anything about Adams's vaunted End Times, or she would have replied right away.
After a few seconds, Twilight's expression changed to that of someone desperately trying to make friends: a wide smile, betrayed by worried creases around the eyes and forehead. "Okay, um... I think you have me at a bit of a disadvantage..." She picked over the words as if she was afraid of setting us off. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I have no idea what you guys even are."
"We're lighthouse keepers," Adams said.
"You guys have lighthouses?" Twilight looked at the floor and tapped her head with a forehoof. "So... assuming we don't have the same word for two different things, you must have advanced moral or ethical standards."
She was thinking out loud. The strangeness of a mythical beast having such a human quirk was not lost on me.
"We know you're a unicorn..." Adams said.
"Alicorn," Twilight said, cutting him off.
"What?" The crease on Adams's brow meant he was in no mood to be corrected.
"Winged unicorn." Twilight flexed her somewhat ruffled wings.
If Adams cared about the distinction, he didn't show it. "I got up about forty minutes ago, and found you laying unconscious on my doorstep. You were protected from the rain by the house's overhanging roof, but were exposed to the cold. I carried you inside, and went to fetch my assistant." Adams was not always so impersonal—this manner was the same he used when writing in the station's log. I wondered if he would have the sense to forgo an entry on this incident when it was all over.
"That's a relief." Twilight's worried expression softened a bit. "I guess if you helped me, you... uh..." She paused, abandoning her thought, whatever it had been, mid-sentence. "Well, thank you very much!"
"It's our job," Adams said.
I wondered why God would create a man like Adams, who spoke to a purple unicorn-like creature in the same way he addressed any of the other people he had helped over the years.
"You're lucky you ended up here," I said. "This time of year, at this time of night, there isn't a soul for fifty miles." It was barely an exaggeration. "Welcome to Cook Point, by the way."
"You guys know about unicorns, even though I've never heard of..." Twilight looked back and forth between Adams and I. "How much do you know about unicorns, by the way?"
"You're the first either of us has met," Adams said. "And not everyone believes you exist."
While this was true, I wondered if Adams was deliberately withholding the true extent of the fact, or was simply being as brief as possible. I decided to interject before he could start talking biblically again.
"Before we go any further," I said, "maybe you should tell us how you got here—from the beginning."
"Me first?" our guest said. "I... well, alright."
From outside came the whoosh of a mighty gust, and the large double-pane window that looked out over Vargas Bay creaked around the edges. Nothing was now visible in that direction, except the orange light from the boathouse down the hill. Twilight looked out the window and shivered a little. I imagined the scene must have been unnerving to her, as she had no idea what our world looked like during the day.
She turned back to us, got up on the couch, and sat upright, catlike. With a calming breath, she began.
"I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, the most favoured student of Princess Celestia, one of the two diarchs of Equestria." She paused, regarded our faces, and frowned at what she saw there. "For just over three years, I've been specializing in friendship-based magic..." Twilight flinched as Adams crossed his arms, and his frown deepened. "... But that's not what brought me here.
"A long time ago, there lived a unicorn named Starswirl the Bearded. He was a genius—centuries ahead of his time. He invented or dramatically expanded disciplines like amniomorphics, weather control, and teleportation. In the big national archive in Canterlot—that's our capital city—there's an entire wing dedicated to his work.
"A few months ago, I was given instructions for a spell that Starswirl had left unfinished. Using modern magic, I was able to complete it. This week, I got some personal time, so I decided to spend it looking into Starswirl's more obscure works. I soon found there were other spells he left unfinished—several, in fact. And since I'd gained much more powerful magic by completing one, I decided to try to finish these as well.
"I guess I should have asked Princess Celestia for advice first. I thought this one spell was supposed to allow me to walk through walls, but..." She looked out the window again, probably hoping for any sign of dawn. "Now I realize the instructions referred to the walls of reality. Writings in Old Equus are sometimes weird that way.
"The first time I tried this, I messed the spell up, and it wasn't easy to set things right. This time, it worked too well, and when I realized what was going on, it was too dangerous to stop the casting.
"It was one of the most strenuous things I've ever done, and... hmm..." She raised a hoof to her muzzle. "Just a minute..."
She turned toward the nearby coffee table. It was bare, except for one of Adams's Bibles—a softcover King James printed on thin paper. Twilight fixed her gaze on it, licked her lips, and gritted her teeth.
For the second time that day, I could not believe my senses. There was a sound I had never heard before, which I can only describe as a shimmering in my ears. A wavering magenta glow surrounded both Twilight's horn and the book on the table, and as she concentrated, the book lifted off, pulled upward as if by a magician's string.
In less than a second, Adams crossed the floor and seized the book from the air. He glared at Twilight, his eyes sparks of hellfire.
"Sorry, sorry!" Twilight cringed and took a few steps backward, nearly falling off the couch's end. "I didn't mean any harm! I've always liked books. I just wanted to see if my magic was coming back."
For a moment, I wondered why a creature with such extraordinary powers would be afraid of a human. But then, if she had never met anyone like us before, she had no idea what we were capable of. Her shoulder only reached my waist, and difference in stature must have been intimidating.
Adams backed off, holding the Bible away from Twilight, as if she might attack it. I suppressed a sigh of relief.
"Just a misunderstanding," I said, risking more trouble. "You were casting the spell, and then what?"
"Well," said Twilight, still keeping one eye on Adams, "just as I broke through, I must have blacked out from the unexpected strain. You know the rest." She regained a bit of her composure, standing to her full diminutive height. "So here I am, in an alien world. Or... I'm in your world, so I guess I'm the alien."
There was a brief silence as we considered all this.
"Can you... get back the same way?" I said at last.
"Actually, it might be easier, since I'm familiar with where I'm going, and I've already had the nasty surprises. But..." For the third time, Twilight looked out the window in vain. "Not in this weather. It needs to be clear and calm. Something to do with the electromagnetic status of the atmosphere..."
"You might be in luck," I said. "Every year around this time, we get a period of clear, calm weather, and it's due any day now."
"Forecast calls for it," Adams said. He sounded less than pleased. I supposed he did not want the living proof to leave us so soon. I did not know whether we should ask our guest to stay, but doubted we could prevent her from leaving if she wanted to.
"Listen, I was wondering," Twilight said. "Earlier, you said not everyone believed in unicorns?"
"As far as most people know, they're mythical," I said. Now I was using weasel words too. I neglected to tell her that "most people" meant everyone except Adams... and now me.
"That's... really incredible." Twilight put a hoof to her temple. "It's kind of funny, really. I always thought alternate realities were just speculation, but here I am. And I guess there's no way of anticipating what you'll find in a completely different universe. I mean, there are books and lighthouses, but no unicorns or alicorns. And I guess there are no pegasi or earth ponies or, oh, dragons here either, huh?"
"What do you know about dragons?" Adams's interjection seemed to catch Twilight off-guard, and she winced a little at the edge in his voice.
"Well, I... might have known a few." She again picked her words carefully. "That's not a... problem, I hope?"
I got the feeling I was watching someone unknowingly commit suicide. There was no way Adams would look at the facts without certain prejudices. I couldn't remember what the scriptures said about about dragons, but I knew Adams's opinion: They were evil creatures.
"We have some duties to take care of," Adams said. "Make yourself comfortable. We'll be back." He motioned for me to follow him, and marched out the front door, a little more quickly than usual.
"Excuse us for a moment, please, uh, Twilight," I said, and hurried after him.
* * *
A moment later, Adams and I stood in one of the outbuildings, surrounded by various Coast Guard necessities: anemometer, radiotelephone, tool chest, the esoteric machines that made the microwave emitter work, and so forth. Adams peered out the window toward his house, then turned to me.
"I don't believe a word," he said. He still gripped the softcover Bible in one hand, white-knuckled, as though he was afraid of it being torn from him.
There was only one chair in the room, and I claimed it in preparation for whatever he said next.
Adams continued. "Her story doesn't add up. It doesn't explain why she speaks our language. And I don't believe God would make other Earths."
Though nowhere near as biblical as him, I was quite capable of approaching him as such. "Sure He would've," I said. "Didn't you ever read C.S. Lewis?"
"She uses magic."
"Well, what do you expect? I mean..."
"This isn't some harmless Harry Potter stuff," he said. "Real magic is a tool of Satan's followers."
Oh, Christ. I was afraid of this.
"Listen," I said, "maybe this is a test. Maybe she's like one of those angels who went to see if there were any good people in Sodom and Gomorrah."
"Angels have never taken that shape," Adams said.
"Well," I said, "angels' true forms are terrifying, so maybe this one needed a way to show us she was something higher than human, without scaring us. Either that, or her story is true."
My avid reading meant I had not come to this debate unarmed. But could I make him see reason?
"There is a third possibility," Adams said. He looked out the window again.
I decided to appeal to his professionalism. "Well, we sure as hell can't call the brass about this. They'd assume we had cabin fever or something."
Adams said nothing, but scrunched up his face in concentration. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head.
"Look," I said, "if she was here to do something unpleasant, she would have done it by now. Remember why we took this job. We're supposed to help every person who needs it..."
"It's not a person," Adams said.
"Well, she talks like one. And did you see how scared she was?"
Adams, hard-faced, stared at at the ground.
I pressed the advantage I hoped I had. "And if this is a test from the Almighty, imagine what will happen to us if we fail. Come to think of it, I know the Bible mentions unicorns, but do you remember exactly what it says? Because I don't."
Adams opened the book and began to leaf through it. "I have to check this out. Go make sure it doesn't try something."
Outside, the wind and rain had slackened a bit, and I mentally prayed the sky would clear by the time the sun rose.
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This.
this is interesting.
Ehh, you probably shouldn't look it up.
You know, I never knew there was any mention of unicorns in the bible.
Man, the King James Version had some weird translations.
If I might make a point on that, though, it doesn't mention unicorns as monsters. It just casually mentions them as if they were an everyday occurrence.
Like I said: weird
As long as this doesn't make fun of christianity, or turn christians into the badguy, I'm in.
My good sir, I salute you for an opening both grand and aready filtered with overt controversy.
2201187
There are some other references mind you
"God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn."—Numbers 23:22
"God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn."—Numbers 24:8
"His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth."—Deuteronomy 33:17
"Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?"—Job 39:9–12
"Save me from the lion's mouth; for thou hast heard me from the horns of unicorns."—Psalms 22:21
"He maketh them [the cedars of Lebanon] also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn."—Psalms 29:6
"But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of the unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil."—Psalms 92:10
However, this is the king james edition, not the standard american edition
Well, it's certainly well written, and it's more than an interesting premise. I'm glad you seem to be focusing on the human perspective here, it's probably the more interesting one, to me at least. Especially considering I never really understood religious perspectives, and you seem to be writing it well enough for me to, lol.
That [Dark] tag has me a bit worried, though... I hope this doesn't end up in Grimdark territory, religious influences always seem to make grimdark that much more grim.
I'm already scared of the religious nut; though, I have always been weary of people who believe strongly in a religion and follow its doctrine. Some of the stuff in those books (ok, maybe a lot) is pretty crazy and only works to limit the sight and tolerance of those who follow it.
2202254
The bible is a book of stories meant to be interpreted in any way that you see fit to provide satisfaction and happiness to your life. It cannot and does not directly limit anyone's view of the world. Those who choose to interpret the bible in such a way that prevents them from being open to other possible meanings or explanations is a shortcoming of their own design. There are people who disagree with me, such as you, and say that it is only for people who 'live that life', for better or worse. At his core, Adams has chosen to believe many of the literal explanations the bible offers, but will still listen to a friend's pleas (even if they were a bit tricky in their construction), while our yet-unnamed protagonist is more free-flowing in his beliefs--it's not even clear if he's a Christian at all, but he obviously has some knowledge of the religion.
I am not religious, by the way.
oh great. Adam is one of those people who lets the religion guide their morality and decision making next to completely.
The Bible refers to the unicorn in the context of familiar animals, such as peacocks, lambs, lions, bullocks, goats, donkeys, horses, dogs, eagles, and calves (Job 39:9–12.1) In Job 38–41, God reminded Job of the characteristics of a variety of impressive animals He had created, showing Job that God was far above man in power and strength.2
Job had to be familiar with the animals on God’s list for the illustration to be effective. God points out in Job 39:9–12 that the unicorn, “whose strength is great,” is useless for agricultural work, refusing to serve man or “harrow (plow) the valley.” This visual aid gave Job a glimpse of God’s greatness. An imaginary fantasy animal would have defeated the purpose of God’s illustration.
Modern readers have trouble with the Bible’s unicorns because we forget that a single-horned feature is not uncommon on God’s menu for animal design. (Consider the rhinoceros and narwhal.) The Bible describes unicorns skipping like calves (Psalm 29:6), traveling like bullocks, and bleeding when they die (Isaiah 34:7). The presence of a very strong horn on this powerful, independent-minded creature is intended to make readers think of strength.
I googled "bible unicorn" and found this
2203095
That's a somewhat simplistic idea of it, though. What it basically boils down to (and it is mentioned in the second chapter) is that the King James Version of the bible mistranslated that word, not that people can't accept the word. Most later versions translate it as "wild ox." And it's reason for being there is the idea of untamed strength.
2201491
To avoid spoilers, all I can say is, trust me.
2201618
Heh, thanks. I think I've figured out how to get featured (without writing clop).
2201627
That's an impressive amount of research, just for a story by little ol' me.
2201911
Thank you! I was worried some folks wouldn't give it a chance. But as they say, he who dares, wins.
2202254
2202892
All I can say is... trust me.
2203095
Well! That's the second time the comments for one of my stories have gotten educational. These Twis are for you:
And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder. One of the four beasts said "Come and see". And I saw, and behold, a purple pony! ... no, wait
I think this is the first time I've experienced religious involvement in one of these stories. It does add some... certain spice.
While it adds some opportunities, there may also arise complications. Whatever happens, I'm betting on an interesting show.
As you were, Author.
Wall of text immediately turns me off to this story.
2202550 Unfortunately Adams is one of those that aren't as open-minded as you, broccoli
Twilight stuck on a island with a religious nut and a regular guy. Wunderbar.
2203919 Every story is a wall of text.
Oh I can just tell already I'm gonna like this story to death
As someone who grew up in a very religious family but still let my own personal views define my actions, I am gonna enjoy reading this
+1
The religious stuff drove me nuts, because I'm atheist. But, no need for a dislike because of my thoughts on life, I actually like this. Mustache time!
Concise yet absolutely brilliant characterization. This here's some quality literature, I tell ya whot.
Numbers 23:22 (KJV)
God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
Job 39:9 (KJV)
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
Job 39:10 (KJV)
Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
Psalms 22:21 (KJV)
Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
Psalms 29:6 (KJV)
He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
Numbers 24:8 (KJV)
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
Yea...It mentions it a few more times but I won't list them all.
2203919 Then get off of this website!
2203919
You obviously haven't seen wall of text.
why do i have a feeling im not going to like Adam at all?
nice start all the same.
So Ray Bradbury is back from the dead to write Ponyfic? I approve of this heartily. But seriously i love Bradbury and the concise but memorable descriptions are very similar to his style. Plus " two guys in a super remote lighthouse have to deal with the visit of a mythical creature" is a plot device actually used by Bradbury in a story ( " The Fog Horn")
I for one am intrigued.
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
gah, all hell. another god- speculation debate wherever i go!
ok, so I hate Adams with every thing in my heart at this point.
... 
just just make this torture stop...
TWILIGHT SPARKLE DOES NOT WORSHIP OR DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!
TWILIGHT AND LUNA ARE BEST PONIES AND I WILL COME OVER INTO THIS STORY AND SLIT YOUR THROAT WITH SUCH VIGOR THAT THE HOUSE WITH SHAKE!
Very interesting. We get to see two sides of a coin. . . Let's see where this takes us, shall we?
Also, I happen to be a Christian as well. This should be interesting. . .
This is great. I love the way the two main characters play off of each other.
Oh, I wished there was more fics that talked about religion.
2207811
Your caps rage is duly noted. For for now : Chill yer nips
2201234 Unicorns, giants, dragons. Like a sucky version of Chronicles of Narnia (which itself was a more Christian attempt at Lord of the Rings).
no I am a christian, but this Adam guy seems a wee bit cracked, if you know what I mean (
)
2202254 I can definantly say that Christianity is very, very deadly. Especially when it interacts with the government.
Before I get hate (will get it either way) I want to point out the Crusades. Those lasted quite a long time and are the main reason why it is such a huge religion, Christianity has had too many hard core followers.
Religious Crackheads: Either you like them knowing how ridiculous they are, or you just flat out hate them. Adam here is more of the former since he hasn't tried to attack her out of panic and zealous.
Besides, those two seem very calm about meeting a mythological creature.
Other than that, very interesting story.
2215179
Believe what you like, but I request you refrain from picking ideological fights in my domain. Thank you.
2216038
With all due respect, friend. You wrote a story on the internet about a stubborn theologian and expected it...NOT to start a religious debate?
....kay. Lemme know how that works for you.
2215179 *Clears throat and puts on nerd glasses*
The reason Christianity has such a large following today has nothing to do with the Crusades and everything to do with blind luck in the Roman Empire's later days. The Emperor Constantine's mother was a Christian and taught him in the Christian ways at birth, though he himself had stayed true to the Roman Gods. Until, that is, a crucial on the Tiber River against Maxellius' forces, wherein (so the retelling goes) he saw a flaming cross emblazened in the sky, and commanded his forces to paint it on their shields. Upon winning the battle he attributed the victory to God's divine favor, and decreed the first government to support multiple religions simultaneously. Furthermore, the practice of Christianity was encouraged across his Empire (The Byzantine Empire) and thus spread across the world, seeing as Rome was far and away the world's greatest global power at that era. The crusades, on the other hoof, were started by medival Christians many decades later and had nothing to do with Christianity's spread. In fact the Crusades had less to do with winning back the Holy Land and more to do with increasing the royal treasuries. I appreciate that Christianity has had terrible things done in its name, but so has every other religion, ideal (including aetheism and agnosticism), political stance and opinion on this planet. The number of terrible things in generally equivalent to the size of the following and the scope of its philosophical ramifications. *Removes nerd glasses* 
Please, be considerate when talking about these sorts of things. Calling an idea (especially and idea founded on concepts of love) deadly because it had violent followers is almost never fair. To the author, it would be nice if we had less straw in this story, if you know what I mean. I do enjoy the workings of this Fundamentalist-Rationalist idea but it would be more balanced if you were to try to introduce a middle ground.
2216593
Oh, I knew it would cause trouble. That's why I'm watching these comments like a hawk, trying to put out fires before they start.
Heh, I just noticed you talk exactly like the guy from "ARTICLE 2".
2217439
Nice history lesson! As for your request, I can only say, trust me. I'm going somewhere with this. Expect the unexpected.
This is very good, and the first three lines are classic. (Though recording the precise time gives your POV character the same obsessive attention to detail as Adams.) I hope Adams isn't just another stereotypical evil close-minded fundamentalist plot device.
Dark doesn't interest me, Humans doesn't interest me, but dang, you description totally sucked me in.
2217777
Props from one of the best writers in this fandom? Again, my mind is blown. I'll do my best to stay worthy. (Hmm, if I'm this good, maybe I should start writing real fiction...)
2217809
My specialty: Dark and Human stories, for people who don't like Dark and Human stories.
I keep expecting pinkie to come to their world and the lighthouse keepers and Pinkie to know each other.
2205538
Glad I'm not the only one.
Good news is, the nut is played for a nut, and the story is soundly on the side of secular thinking by the nature of that we know Twilight's story is the factual one.
Gotta say though, I wish we'd been given better insight early-on that this was told in modern times. It wasn't till Harry Potter was mentioned that I had any idea this tale didn't occur in the 1800's, because that's the impression I got. Felt like it was straight out of Call of Cthulu or something.
Interesting, and I am hardly a fan of HiE stories. This gets my like and fav. Can't wait for more.
2218199
Because of the narrative voice, or the lighthouse? I assure you, manned lighthouses are still a thing, at least in Canada.