Crusade Anon 3

>"Anon? Anon! We need to talk to you."
>You keep your eyes closed, your hands pressed together in humble prayer
>All around you sat this world's first generation of Christians
>They were the town's children, the ones who would spread god's word to the ponies of Equestria and beyond
>A task which, to your delight, they seemed to look forward to
>Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle in particular seemed filled with love for their new faith
>They had been the first ones to seek baptism, and it was they who now led your evening prayers, standing at one of your workbenches with the good book sitting between them
>These children were your flock
>A flock, you were sure, would continue to grow and grow until all knew of God’s love
>And just like you, every single colt and filly in your smithy ignored whoever had just barged in
>It was the Lord's time, and as such earthly matters were not of importance
>Unfortunately for all of you, the ones that had walked in the middle of your worship were determined to get your attention
>"Anon! ANON! Open your eyes! I KNOW you can hear me! Me and the fellas need to talk to you about something important!"
>The stallion speaking was Dr. Hooves
>You knew him as a very nice pony
>A little emotional at times, but so were most males here
>You could hear the stallion making his way toward your side with half a dozen or two ponies behind him
>You perked up slightly
>Perhaps something serious had happened...?
>You opened your eyes and looked at the unicorn, who stared back at you anxiously
"Good afternoon, my friends," you said as quietly as you could so as not to disturb Applebloom and her friends as they sung God's praise.
>Dr. Hooves took a step closer to you
>"Anon, we need to--"
>You raised a hand, silencing the stallion
"Please, I beg you to lower your voice," you asked. "The children and I are in the middle of our prayers."


>Dr.Hooves's muzzle scrunched up, as did the muzzles of a number of stallions standing behind him
>"That's why we're here, Anon," he said, his voice--thankfully-- lowered. "The fellas and I came together and we decided that we need to talk about all of the praying and stuff you do."
>You raised an eyebrow
>From what you've been told, Equestrian's knew no god, so you hadn't expected any problems when you began to preach of the Lord and his son Jesus Christ
>Had you mistaken what the princesses had said?
>Was there actually a false, heathen god in these lands?
>Was Dr. Hooves a follower of this false god, trying to stamp out the fledgling flower that was Christendom?
>Your body tensed at the thought
>You sincerely hoped not
>It was true that you had become very fond of your neighbors, but that did not mean you wouldn’t hesitate to defend your beliefs
"And what, might I ask, do you wish to speak to me about specifically?" you asked, a little more harshly than you intended
>Dr.Hooves looked over at the stallions, then back at you
>He sighed, taking a step forward and placing a hoof on your shoulder
>"Me and the guys are worried about you, Anon," he said. "Every single time we ask you to go out and do something you tell us no every time."
>"Yeah!" another stallion--quietly-- said with a frown. "You say that you have to pray or you can't because you're "not allowed"."
>You inclined your head
"My friends, it brings me joy each time that you think of me enough to ask to accompany you out for an evening, but I am being honest when I tell you that I'm far too busy for such things."
>"That's a load of horse apples!" Dr. Hooves said with a stomp of his hoof. "Can't you skip one of your dumb prayers to come go out and do something with us?"
>All around you the children gasped
>Many of their eyes snapped open, and their heads turned toward the group of stallions with looks of incredulity
>You could feel a bit of indignation welling up inside of you from them calling your prayers stupid, but you ignored it


>They did not deserve your anger
>To a man, they did not know of Christ and his love for them
>If anything, you should pity these poor souls and do your best to bring them into God's light
"My friends, it is my calling, my duty, and my purpose in life to praise the word of God as the Holy See wishes," you said. "I understand that you may see my practices as different or strange, but I tell you that they are as essential as breathing."
>"But all you do is pray and work!" Dr. Hooves said, his voice rising a bit. "We understand that you love this God guy, but all of this work and no play is bad for a stallion!"
>Thunderlane, looking at you in concern, stepped out of the crowd
>"You need to have a little fun, "Non," he said. "Go out dancing, have a couple of cute mares buy you drinks. For Celestia’s sake, you won’t even go out shopping with us when we ask!"
"I cannot," you said, bowing your head a little more
>"You can," Dr.Hooves insisted. "You can, and we're going to take you out even if it kills us!"
>Caramel, looking like he was about to cry--an expression which he almost constantly wore-- also stepped out of the crowd
>"If you keep working like this you're going to end up old and alone and with nopony to look after you," he said, sniffling. “Even though some of us think you’re a weirdo, we still want you to find somepony, Anon.”
>You found yourself smiling
>Ignorant or not, they meant well...
"I thank you for your concern friends," you said. "But that's where you're wrong. I will never be alone. The Lord and his son, who died for our sins--"
>"Praise be his name," the children said, making the sign of the cross
"Are with me forever and always."
>The stallions didn't seem to take your words positively, their noses scrunching up even more and their cheeks puffing out
>"We know that Rarity made you a nice outfit that you have sitting in your closet," Caramel said. "I don't care what you say, or what your dumb god says, we're going to--"
>"BLASPHEMY!" Sweetie Belle roared, slamming one of her tiny hooves against your workbench. "God is the lord of all! The creator of all that is seen and unseen! He is not STUPID!"


>The stallions jumped at the outburst, their eyes widening as they looked at the filly, who looked none too happy
"Sweetie, be at peace," you gently said.
>"It is right to praise him, to spread his love and light to everypony and everything," Sweetie Belle continued
>"She's right," Scootaloo said, raising a hoof in the air. "God wills it!"
>"God wills it!" the children yelled, causing the stallions to jump again
>Applebloom frowned
>"Ya can't keep sayin’ that every time that Applebloom says somethin’, Scootaloo," she said
>Scootaloo's nose scrunched up
>"I DON'T say it every time Applebloom says something!"
>"Ya do too!"
>"Do not!"
>"Then why did ya say it twenty times while we was prayin’?"
>"I didn't say it twenty times!"
>Ya did too! I even counted!"
>"WE SHALL SPREAD GOD'S LOVE TO ALL!" Sweetie boomed, throwing her hooves up into the air. "AND IF THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT HIS LOVE WE SHALL FALL UPON THE HEATHEN AND THE NONBELIEVER WITH FIRE AND SWORD!"
>You and the group of stallions looked at each other in concern
>...
>Perhaps Sweetie Belle had taken to the faith a little too fervently...
"Sweetie, be at peace child," you said
>"THE KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM SHALL OPEN UP THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN!" the unicorn continued, her eyes wide and wild as she slammed a hoof against the table once more. "SIN, GREED, ENVY, SLOTH, THESE SHALL SLIP AWAY AND THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH!"
>"God will it!" Scootaloo chirped, ignoring the look that Applebloom gave her
>"GOD WILLS IT!" the children replied
>...
>Alright...


>Maybe that was enough prayer for today...
>You found yourself standing up
"Sweetie Belle, child, come here."
>"THE SARACEN WILL BE DRIVEN BACK! THE HOLY ROADS WILL BE SECURED! GOD'S GLORY WILL BE KNOWN TO ALL!"
>Scootaloo opened her mouth, but Applebloom booped her nose
>"Hey!" the pegasus said, covering her nose with her hooves as she glared at her friend. "What was that for?!"
>"Ya know what that was fer," Applebloom said, as Sweetie foamed at the mouth and shook
>"You're a butthead ‘Bloom."
>"No, yer a butthead!"
>"No you!"
>"Naha! Yer the butthead!"
>"You are!"
>"No, ya’ll are!"
>"GOD IS GREAT! PRAISE BE WITH HIM AND HIS SON!"
>All around you, the children began yelling and screaming and hollering
>Applebloom and Scootaloo began to shove each other
>Sweetie fell to the ground, screaming in latin
>Where the child had learned latin you hadn't the foggiest idea--the bibles that you had given the children had been translated into their language and you made it a point to pray with them in English-- but that still didn't stop her from screaming it at the top of her lungs
>...
>Lord preserve you...
>Not again...
>Sighing, you placed a hand on Dr. Hooves's head
"As you can see my friends, my work is in far more than simple prayer. I must also see to my flock."
>"DOMINE DEUS, AMO TE SUPER OMINA ET PROXIUM MEUM PROPTER TE, QUIA TU ES SUMMUM, INFINITUM, ET PREFECTISSIUM BONUM, OMNI DILECTIONE DIGUM. IN HAC CARITATE VIVERE ET MORI STATUO!"
"It is, as you can see, a full time job..."