(SiC) Part 5 - Pinkie Pie the Evangelist

Chapters

The Inspiration
I Can Do All Things
Being Applejack Honest
Pinkie Pie Preaches Heresy
If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them
Pinkie Pie's Last Resort
An Unexpected Grey Guest Shows Up

The Inspiration

"And He said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation," Twilight Sparkle said as she closed her book and looked joyfully at her friends.

Each pony was sitting in a circle on a large pillow and they all had a Bible in front of them. The E.S.V. version of course because Twilight Sparkle loved that version so much.

"It looks like we need to start getting out there more often and telling other's about His love," Twilight said. "We haven't been too active in this regard. If we don't tell ponies about our faith, then that can mean a few things. One. We really don't believe in our faith. Two. We really don't care enough about other ponies knowing about the truth, or three. Our entire faith is just a lie."

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened as she grinned from ear to ear. "I think I can be the best at telling every pony in town just how awesome Jesus is! Why, I have my party horns and my party cannon and my..."

Applejack shoved an apple into Pinkie Pie's mouth. "I reckon ya would turn ponies away from Jesus with yer incessant ramblin's and such. I ain't tryin' to discourage ya from preachin' the truth, but ya'll remember what happened to Cranky Doodle Donkey and Pinkie Pie, even though she was able to reach into his troubled heart eventually. Not every pony is goin' to want to hear 'bout Jesus, especially comin' from a loud mouth like you! Ya got to be careful and gentle with these ponies, Pinkie Pie. If we're gonna win hearts fer the Lord, then we got to be calm and humble and..." Applejack was cut off by Pinkie Pie.

"Calm, and humble!" she said. "Got it! I'm going to win the most hearts for Jesus faster than any of you can. I'll be back in a giffy!"

"Pinkie Pie! Wait! Let us go with you! Stop!" Rarity cried out, but it was too late. The manic pink pony had already grabbed her Bible and ran outside.

"I guess we should go out and get her before she does anything too crazy," Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie was already rampaging through the town and blowing loudly into party horns. She had her party cannon with her and was blasting random ponies that happened to walk by. She would yell out a Bible verse to the passing ponies. Pinkie Pie came up to a pony and shoved a cupcake in his mouth. "Taste and see that the Lord is good!" she said.

The pony spit out the cupcake and said, "What the heck is wrong with you shoving food into my mouth like that!? I'm diabetic for crying out loud and I can't eat cupcakes! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Would you still like to give your heart away to Jesus?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No!" the pony yelled at her.

Pinkie Pie's ears lowered with sadness. She had failed to interest a pony in the love of Jesus Christ. Pinkie Pie paused for a moment and thought to herself. Maybe she was being a bit too pushy. Maybe she should calm down and tell them about Christ. Pinkie Pie continued to think and she said to herself, "I think I'm just not trying hard enough!"

Pinkie Pie perked up when she saw two stallions holding hooves. "Hey!" she cried out. "How come you both are holding each other's hooves? Are you both scared or something? I can cheer you up! I learned to giggle at the ghostly!"

"We're not scared, we're actually gay," one of the stallions said. "That's why we hold each other's hooves."

Pinkie Pie gasped and said, "You know homosexuality is an abomination to God and practicing homosexuals do not make it into the kingdom of Heaven! Stop holding hooves and repent of your sins now!"

The other stallion spoke up and said, "We told you that we weren't scared before, but now I think it's safe to say that we are both terrified of this religious nut. Let's get the hay out of here." And with that being said, the two stallions raced away from her.

Pinkie Pie shook her front hoof angrily at the two speeding away because they had called her a religious nut. "Why, you no good meanies! I hope there is still time for you to both repent!" Pinkie Pie turned around and bumped into Twilight Sparkle. The rest of her friends were standing by as well. She looked up and saw the angry expression on her face. "What's the matter, Twi? You look like you're mad or something.

"Pinkie, how could you say that quote to that couple. That's so wrong of you," Twilight said.

"Huh?" Pinkie Pie said with confusion. "But it's one hundred percent true!" Pinkie Pie opened up her Bible and flipped through her pages. "Ah, I found it!" Before Pinkie Pie could read the verse, Twilight Sparkle used her magic to snatch the book away from her. "Hey! What did you do that for? How am I supposed to preach the truth if you're saying that the verse is wrong?"

"The verse is not wrong, but what you did was wrong," Twilight said.

"Huh? That doesn't make any sense, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said.

"The problem is that you're not gently piercing ponies with the sword of truth and letting the Holy Spirit do the rest of the work. You're actually stabbing them with the sword of truth and that's hurting the ponies. You'll never interest ponies in God if you yell at them and say things like that. You need to be more like Fluttershy. She is kind, caring, and compassionate. You're practically forcing your faith down other pony's throats. If you see that couple again, you should apologize to them."

"But, I just want to win hearts for Jesus," Pinkie Pie said with her ears lowered. "I want to win the most hearts for Him out of our entire group. I want to change pony's hearts."

Rarity spoke up and said, "Winning hearts for Jesus isn't a game or a competition, Pinkie Pie. Only God Himself can change the heart of a pony. If He decides to use you to go about that task, it's still all His doing."

"But I haven't even seen one pony come to Him besides Applejack. I want to see more. Have any of you girls actually had God work through you and a pony came to know Christ?"

All the other girls nodded their heads yes.

"Shoot!" Pinkie Pie said as she stomped her front hoof hard against the ground. "I'm going to get at least one pony to know the love of Jesus if it's the last thing I do! I'll be taking notes from all of you!"

"Just don't go screaming out their sins and please don't...." Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Pinkie Pie was already gone. "Well, I guess we can keep tabs on her later. I know we all have to get back to our work right now."

The rest of the ponies agreed and were on their way.

I Can Do All Things

After trying some more tactics, Pinkie Pie decided to see how her friends behave when it came to planting seeds inside pony's hearts. Pinkie Pie popped her head out of the bushes. She was wearing binoculars around her neck and put them against her eyes. "Rainbow Dash," she said. "The coolest of all ponies. I bet she knows a thing or two on how to convert ponies to Christianity."

Rainbow Dash was busy clearing the skies away one by one. She came across a large group of clouds and decided to kick things into over drive. She began to fly around in circles rapidly and unleashed a colorful rainbow tornado that cleared away the clouds. Rainbow Dash wiped the sweat off her brow. She suddenly heard some hooves stomping against the ground with approval. She turned around and saw that there was a group of ponies watching her.

"Hey! That was incredible! You're Rainbow Dash, aren't you?" A stallion in the group asked.

"Hey, yeah! Clearing the skies is one of my specialties. This mare can do lots of other tricks as well," she said with the utmost confidence.

"What inspires you to do these incredible tasks? Is there like a motto or saying that you go by?" the stallion asked.

"Actually," Rainbow Dash said. "Yeah! There is. Want to hear it?"

"Sure!" the stallion said.

"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me," she said.

"Wow, so you're a Christian I take it."

"Yup! The love of Christ and the message of the Gospel gives me the confidence that I need to pull through the storms!"

"Hey, do you have a moment to tell me more about your God? I have heard much about Him, but there was somepony in town who was just a loud mouth and sounded like she didn't even know what she was talking about. She said terrible things about my sins."

"Uh oh," Rainbow Dash said. "Was she a pink pony who had balloons as a cutie mark?"

"Yeah! That's the one!" he said. "That pony is a nut case!"

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that. She can be a bit too outgoing sometimes," Rainbow admitted.

"That's ok," the stallion said. "I'd never listen to her anyway. Would you mind telling me more about God?" The stallion looked back at his friends and asked, "Do you all want to hear more about Rainbow Dash's faith?"

The rest of his friends murmured with approval.

Rainbow Dash sat down on a rock nearby and began telling them stories of the Bible.

Pinkie Pie took the binoculars away from her face and said, "So, awesome tricks and being totally cool gets ponies to come to Christ. Idea time!"

Pinkie Pie stood by the lake with her new contraption. "If I'm going to win hearts for Jesus, then I need to impress ponies." Pinkie Pie felt a hoof tap on her shoulder and turned around. She was met with Rainbow Dash.

"Hey Pinks," Rainbow said. "I heard some more ponies were complaining about you. I thought we told you to calm down about this conversion thing. It's almost like you're this crazy Evangelist who wants to preach to the masses non-stop. What the heck is this enormous contraption anyway?"

"I'm renting it for a little while to prove a point. It's a wave maker!" Pinkie Pie said.

"A wave what?" Rainbow asked.

Pinkie Pie switched the machine on and said, "Just wait and see!" Pinkie Pie took a surf board that was leaning against the machine. "Surfs up, Dashie!"

The machine began to make waves in the lake.

There were many ponies who were sunning themselves by this lake.

Pinkie Pie shouted out to them all, "Hey! Guess what everypony? I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me!"

The ponies all watched as Pinkie Pie went into the lake and tried to balance herself on the surf board.

"This isn't going to end well," Rainbow Dash said.

A wave came by and Pinkie Pie did her best to ride it. Surprisingly, she did quite well for a moment, and then lost her balance. She fell hard against the surf board and fell off. Pinkie Pie rose back up to the surface of the water and said, "Oops! Don't worry! That wasn't God's fault. I made a mistake. Let me try this again." Pinkie Pie got back on her surf board and tried several times. Each time was a disaster.

One of the ponies in the crowd yelled out, "It's nice to see that Christ can't even keep an idiot pony on top of a surf board for more than two seconds. Why don't you try walking on water like Jesus did if you can do all things through Christ? Oh wait, I guess fairy tales aren't real!" The pony then began to laugh.

"I'll get it! Just give me a chance!" Pinkie Pie said. Pinkie Pie looked over at Rainbow Dash who was dragging her front hoof across her neck as if to tell her to cut the act now. Pinkie Pie sighed and said to herself, "Or maybe not." Pinkie Pie swam back over and turned the giant wave machine off.

Rainbow Dash face hoofed and said, "Pinkie Pie. It is not wise to go boasting about talents you don't have and then trying to bring God into all of this! You're making the faith look terrible!"

"But I'm trying so hard!" Pinkie Pie said with tears in her eyes. "I just want to see one pony come to know Jesus.

"Well you're going to have to come up with a new tactic because this is clearly not working. Leave the sports and games to me please. That's my specialty."

Pinkie Pie sighed and walked away with her head hanging low and her ears drooping.

Rainbow Dash looked over to the crowd who were still laughing and mocking at what they had just seen. Rainbow Dash wanted to go over and say something, but she figured that right now might not be the best time to do so. She would say a prayer for them all later today. More importantly, she would also say a prayer for Pinkie Pie to stop this new obsession that she acquired. Right now, she had to take off and see her boyfriend, Soarin' because they had both planned a special date today.

Being Applejack Honest

Pinkie Pie was hanging upside down from an apple tree. She had her binoculars with her once more which was silly, because she was close enough to hear everything being said anyway.

Applejack rang up the purchase for the two stallions. "That'll be one hundred bits for the cases of Apple cider!" she said.

Flim took out a bag of bits and handed her the money. "Hey, Applejack," Flim said. "Sometimes we like to cheat our customers a little bit to gain more profits. Do you ever cheat your customers by any chance?"

Applejack stomped her front hoof hard against the ground and said, "Absolutley not! That would be a disgrace!"

"But why?" Flam asked. "Sometimes you have to step on a few hooves to make that extra cash."

"Because lying lips are an abomination to God!"

"You're religious?" Flim asked.

"Yes, I am. I believe that Christ died four us and that He loves us all with a love that we may never be able to fully comprehend."

"Wow," Flam said. "That's inspiring. Maybe what we have been doing has been wrong all along. How can we learn more about your faith?"

Applejack bent low and picked up a Bible and pushed it over across the counter. "Here's everythin' ya need to know. If ya have any questions or are confused 'bout a certain passage, Twilight Sparkle likes to help clear up any misunderstandin's. She studies this book a lot."

"We may take advantage of that offer, thanks!" Flim said. "How much do we owe you for the Bible?"

"It's free," she said. "I always keep a few extra copies in case somepony may want one."

"Thanks! Flam said. "We'll see you around in the future." Flam and his brother, Flim, waved good bye and began to walk away with their cases of Applejack's special home made apple cider and their new Bible.

"Yer welcome and may God bless ya'll!" Applejack said as she waved good bye with her front hoof.

"That's it!" Pinkie Pie said in sudden excitement. She was so excited that she accidently fell out of the tree. She picked herself up and said, "So I just have to be honest with what I say and ponies will come to know Jesus. How could I be so blind!"

"What in tar-nations are ya doin' on my farm? And why are ya wearin' some kind of black skin tight spy suit? Ya weren't spyin' on me and tryin' to keep tabs on how I try to represent Christ to other ponies, are ya?"

"I was just uh," Pinkie Pie stumbled with her words for a moment. "I was just bird watching and I needed to wear this suit so that I don't distract them or scare them away!"

Applejack stared at her with a rather angry glare for a moment. She then perked up and said, "Oh! That makes sense I guess. Carry on!" Applejack trotted away and began to whistle a bluegrass tune.

Pinkie Pie wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her front leg. "Whew!" she said. "That was a close one."

Pinkie Pie was back at Sugar Cube Corner dealing with a customer.

"So are you are absolutely positive that you can bake five hundred cupcakes for me in just one day, all by yourself?" a stallion wearing a top hat asked.

"Yup! Yup! Yup!" the cheerful pony said as she bounced up and down in place. "I promise because God loves honesty and God loves Applejack too! She's the most honest and hard working pony in all of Equestria! I can do this task all by myself!"

"You're bringing God into this? I don't even believe in God, but I swear, if you can bake five hundred cupcakes for my business party, I will convert to your faith on the spot! I think you're biting off way more than you can chew here."

"That's funny," Pinkie Pie said. "My friend Fluttershy says that line a lot too."

"Well, let's see if you can pull this off. It would take a miracle for you to make this all happen."

"My word is my word and I need not say anymore!" she said.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," the stallion said as he tipped his hat to her.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie Pie said as she watched him walk out the door. "I'm going to win my first heart for Jesus today!" Pinkie Pie took out some bowls and pans and began to hum a little tune. "Cupcakes, so sweet and tasty. Cupcakes don't be too hasty..."

The next day the stallion came back in. He looked around, but saw nopony around. He rang the little bell on the counter several times with his front hoof impaitnetly.

Pinkie Pie, who was curled up in a ball on the floor jolted up from her nap. She poked her head above the counter and said, "I'll be right with you!" Pinkie Pie zipped over to the oven and opened it up. She put on some oven mitts and took her batch of cupcakes out. They were burnt to a crisp and many more cupcakes had to be decorated with icing.

"So where are my five hundred cupcakes that I ordered?" the stallion asked.

"I'm....I'm.....I'm...just having some technical difficulty here. Be right there." Pinkie Pie took some icing and put it sloppily over her freshly burnt batch of cupcakes. She brought over the many cupcakes that she spent all night and day baking.

The customer looked at the newest batch of cupcakes and said, "Did you even bother to put any kind of work into decorating these? These cupcakes are burnt to a crisp as well!"

"Sorry about that!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Is this all you have? This doesn't look like five hundred cupcakes to me."

Pinkie Pie nervously dragged her front hoof across the floor and looked down. "I was only able to make about three hundred, but it still counts because I tried right? Did I win your heart for Jesus?"

"Hah! What a crock! I knew you couldn't do it. Where's your manager?" he asked.

The second he asked that question, Mister Cake came through the door and asked, "Did you call for me? I am the manager here. What may I help you with sir?"

"I placed an order for five hundred cupcakes and your lazy, lying, no good employee promised that she would have them baked all in one day. Look at these cupcakes! Many of them are not properly decorated or are burnt. She wasn't even able to meet the quantity that I had ordered. Do you seriously call this a quality bakery?"

Mister Cake gasped and said, "I'm so terribly sorry sir! Please, whatever cupcakes came out well are yours to take free of charge. Please do come back again. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"I don't know if I'll be coming back, but I'll gladly take the cupcakes for free. Thanks." The stallion turned to Pinkie Pie and said, "Way to represent your God, dummy. I think it would be best to actually live up to your word next time."

Mister Cake watched the pony walk out the door with his treats. He picked up a rolling pin and batted it against his other hoof as he looked down at Pinkie Pie. He looked as if he were full of judgment and wrath. "Pinkie Pie, did you seriously accept an order for five hundred cupcakes to be made in one day, all by yourself?"

"Yes," Pinkie Pie said glumly.

"Why would you make such an absurd promise? Why did that customer say something about God?" he asked.

"Because I'm on a mission to change pony's hearts for the Lord," she admitted.

Mister Cake face hoofed and said, "That's really wonderful, Pinkie, but going around and making ridiculous promises and then failing to keep them is a sure way to keep ponies from wanting to know about the Bible. Just keep that in mind. If anything like this happens again, then there are going to be some major consequences, Pinkie Pie." Mister Cake shook his head several times in disbelief and then walked away. He had other important matters to take care of.

Pinkie Pie stared down at the counter and then began to bang her head against it a few times. Every time she picked he head back up she would say a few words. "Why Can't..." *BANG* "I just...* *BANG* "Do something right for once!" *BANG* "Ouch! That really hurt!" Pinkie Pie rubbed her forehead with her front hoof after that last head bang. Pinkie Pie sighed once more and began cleaning up the mess that she had made in her desperate attempt to bake so many cupcakes. Something inside her spirit was telling her to stop this crazy crusade of trying to win hearts, but Pinkie Pie blocked it all out.

Pinkie Pie Preaches Heresy

"Good morning, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said cheerfully as she could sound.

Twilight Sparkle picked her head up from a book that she was reading to a group of ponies nearby. "Huh? Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be working today."

"I took the day off today to do a little experiment, and I know how much you enjoy it when ponies experiment with things," Pinkie Pie said.

"It depends on the pony who is is doing the experiments," Twilight nervously added.

Pinkie Pie walked over and took out a Bible from the shelf. She sat down at the table and waited for ponies to come into the library.

Within a few moments, a pony walked in and rushed over to Twilight's little group. "Oh, Twilight!" the mare exclaimed. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier. Can you please spare me some time? I have some questions about the Bible that I need to ask you."

Twilight looked at her group and then back to the mare. "I'm really sorry, but I can't help you at the moment. I have a group here and we are going over some of the parables that Jesus taught."

The mare sighed and said, "I guess I'll just come back tomorrow and see if you're available. I don't know another pony who knows more about the Bible than you."

Pinkie Pie took out a cane and hooked it around the mare's neck. She dragged her over to the table that she was sitting at. "I know just as much as Twilight knows and I can help you with any questions that you may have! I'm one of her best friends and I'm an expert in Theology just like she is!"

"Oh, that's wonderful. Thanks for spending time with me," the mare said as she pulled out a pen and a notepad.

Twilight's ears perked up when she heard that Pinkie Pie was going to be teaching the Bible. She said a silent prayer that Pinkie Pie wouldn't land herself into some kind of heresy or blasphemy. Twilight Sparkle went back to teaching the other ponies that had come to her.

"So, as you can see, there are really two different Gods in the Bible. One of them was very angry and wrathful and the other one was very forgiving and loving, but Jesus didn't even exist back then because He didn't come to earth until later on Christmas day so that we could all have presents," Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight's ears perked up again and she began grinding her teeth together at the words that came out of Pinkie Pie's mouth.

"What about this Holy Spirit that I keep hearing about? Is He God too?" the mare asked.

Pinkie Pie had a dumb founded look on her face. She picked up her Bible and turned it upside down. She began to view it from all different angles including while hanging upside down. Pinkie Pie fell down to the floor and picked herself back up. "I actually think that He's really just the spirit of Jesus or something. So yeah, there are two different Gods in the Bible."

Twilight's face was turning bright red with anger because she kept hearing Pinkie Pie say heretical things. She took a deep breath and went back to explaining the parables that Jesus had taught in the Bible to her group of ponies.

The mare jotted everything down that Pinkie Pie had said on a notepad. "Fascinating! Although I'm not quite sure how Jesus can be God if He didn't always exist with the Father at the time of the creation of the world. I assume I'm just ignorant. You must know what you're talking about because you said that you're Twilight's best friend. I'll be sharing your knowledge with others. Thanks so much for taking the time to help me!" The mare got up from her seat and looked at her notes briefly.

"You're more than welcome!" Pinkie Pie said. "Let me know if you win any hearts for Jesus so that I can credit myself for helping you in the process!"

The mare smiled and then walked out the door.

Pinkie Pie put the Bible away and said, "Yes! This is how I'm going to win hearts for Jesus. Maybe my knowledge will be responsible for other ponies teaching others about the Gospel. I'm going to go out to teach more ponies just like how Twilight does it, right now."

Twilight Sparkle's ears perked up once more in alarm when she heard Pinkie Pie mutter those words. She noticed that Pinkie Pie was getting ready to leave and she said to her group, "Please excuse me for one moment. I have something to settle really quickly. I'll be right back."

Just before Pinkie Pie was able to walk out of the door, she felt a tug at her tail. She turned around and was met with a very angry looking Twilight Sparkle. "Hey Twi. What's up with the frown? Need me to turn it upside down?"

"Pinkie Pie, stop! This is a very serious matter here. Did I just hear you say that the Holy Spirit is really Jesus and that Jesus didn't exist before He came down to Earth?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged and said, "Yeah, so what? It's true, right?"

Twilight Sparkle hid her face in her hoof and said, "No! That is outrageous! The Holy Spirit is a part of the Triune God. They all existed before the creation of earth and they all make up one single God."

"But how can we have three different characters and yet they are all one God? That's illogical!' Pinkie Pie said.

"Want to know the truth about that, Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie Pie nodded her head yes with excitement.

"No pony knows how it all works when it comes to understanding the Trinity. Some ponies make up analogies like using the different parts of an egg, or the different forms of water, but the truth is that there is no real possible explanation as to how this all works."

"But you understand and know everything!" Pinkie Pie said. "Aren't you terribly upset that there's something about God that you don't understand?"

"No," Twilight said. "This is good in a way because if we were to understand every single thing about God, then what would that mean?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged and had no idea

"He would be on our same level. God goes beyond our understanding because He is so great and infinite. We will always be learning about Him, even when we do get to Heaven."

Pinkie Pie looked down at the ground in sadness.

Twilight Sparkle felt bad because she knew that Pinkie Pie wasn't purposely trying to be heretical or blasphemous, but she was still causing damage to the faith. She put her front leg around Pinkie's neck and said, "Look, Pinkie Pie. I know you're trying very hard to win hearts for Jesus, which is just fine and dandy, but you're going about this the wrong way. Just please leave the teaching to me if you don't know what you're really talking about. I can't say that I know everything about God, but whatever I do say, I always make sure to back up my words with studies and scriptures to make sure that I don't fall into heresy. Lots of ponies have written and said heretical things by accident, or come up with possible contradictory verses because they didn't read and understand the Bible in its entirety."

Pinkie Pie didn't say anything, She just turned her back and walked out of the door. She closed it slowly behind her.

Twilight Sparkle apologized to the ponies that she was teaching and resumed her lesson.

It was time for Pinkie Pie to move on. She still felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit again, but she tried to convince herself that it was just Satan trying to keep her away from what she believed she was called to do.

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

Fluttershy was in her cottage talking to a stallion. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small bear walk into her house that she hadn't seen before.

"I can't believe you nursed him back to health. My wife and I thought he would be a goner for sure!" the stallion said.

The dog that Fluttershy nursed back to full health jumped on her and began licking her face.

Fluttershy giggled and pet the dog. "I just have a thing with animals," she said.

"How did you get into this whole taking care of animal business anyway? You're the best care giver I have ever seen."

"Well, it all started when I fell from the sky. I was a very weak flier and I didn't have the strength to stay in the air very long. Before I hit the ground, a bunch of butterflies caught me. I saw the wonders of God's creations. They were fascinating to me and I realized that I had a very special gift. I could communicate with them. I also became very inspired when I picked up the Bible and found one of my most favorite verses of all time. The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. I learned kindness from Christ."

"That's fascinating," the stallion said. "I was never really big on learning about God, but you saved my dog's life and I owe thanks to you. It's hard to find religious ponies that actually represent their God well. There was this crazy pink pony bouncing around town and standing on roof tops demanding that everypony repent of their sins now or face eternal damnation in Hell. It was insanity! No pony is going to want to even think about following their God if they are going to behave like that!"

Fluttershy put her hoof to her mouth in shock. "Oh no! Not Pinkie Pie again."

"Do you know this pony?" the stallion asked.

"Yes! I mean no, I mean yes! I'm very sorry, but she can be a few apples short of a bushel sometimes. She doesn't mean any harm, but she is doing more damage than good from what I have heard."

"Well if you see this pony again, I'd stuff an apple in her mouth or at least tell her to be quiet. She can't shut her trap for more than a few seconds out there. It's a disgrace! Thank you for your kindness. Isn't there a well known Bible verse that I've heard before? It reminds me so much of you. Something about the meek and the Earth?"

Fluttershy perked up and said, "Oh! Do you mean the verse that says, "But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace?"

"Yeah! That's the one! You're a total sweetheart and you make Christians actually look good!" The stallion dropped a large bag of bits in front of her on her table. "Here's some money for healing my little doggie and there's a bit of extra change in there. I'd like for you to spend it on yourself and do something nice for yourself.

Fluttershy opened the bag and looked inside, "Oh my," she said. "That's an awful lot of money. You didn't have to give me all that. Thank you so much."

"What do you think you'll do with it?" he asked.

"I'm going to spend all the extra bits on buying special healing herbs from a special friend of mine named Zecora, so that I can help nurse more of the woodland critters back to health. I would spend all of the money on them, but I need to buy food for myself sometimes too," she shyly admitted.

"Truly, I say to you. The world needs more like your kind. Bless your heart."

"I have a little something for you," Fluttershy said. She looked at her book shelf and realized that her stash of Bibles that Twilight had given her in order to give out to other ponies was empty. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I guess I ran out of Bibles to give away. I will have to get some more. There's a library nearby and the owner gives out free copies of Bibles."

"That's incredibly sweet of you to think of me like that. I think I'll stop by and pick one up. Thanks again for showing me kindness! Take care!"

Fluttershy smiled and waved good bye to him. She heard a thud and looked over to where that strange bear that she had never seen before was. "Um, Hi there. I don't think we have met before. Are you hungry?"'

Pinkie Pie popped out of the mouth of the bear. It was only a costume of an animal.

"Um, Pinkie Pie. Why are you dressed up as a bear? You're not spying on me, are you?"

"Maybe," Pinkie Pie answered. "You seem to know how to win hearts for Jesus with your kindness, so I want to learn from the best! I'm going to be helping you nurse animals back to health, so that the next time a customer comes back to you, we can say that we are a team and minister to that pony and I can officially win my first heart for Jesus with you. As they say, if you can't beat them, join them!"

"Oh, Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy said. "I really don't think that's a good idea and..."

Pinkie Pie cut Fluttershy's sentence off when she put her front hoof to her mouth and silenced her. "Don't worry! I'll be careful! I just want to help you out!"

Fluttershy nodded her head ok innocently and backed away from Pinkie's front hoof so that she could speak. "Well, I guess you could help me since I'm so busy taking care of so many of my critters as well as other ponies who bring their pets to me. You could help me by feeding a very sick dog that I have. He is in the kitchen laying in the dog bed and his food and water bowls are right next to him. He will get up on his own to eat. In the basement are special bags of food and his bag of food that I made up is colored blue. DO NOT feed him any of the other bags of food down there. All he needs is one cup of dog food. The other bags are for my different animals. I have to go to the store now, but I'll be back later."

Pinkie Pie saluted Fluttershy and then happily bounced into the back of her kitchen and then went down into the basement. Her eyes widened at all of the bags that she had down there. She began to think for a moment and talked to herself. "Fluttershy said there was a certain colored bag of dog food that I was supposed use. I can't seem to remember what color she said it was." Her face was right in front of the blue bag of dog food that she was supposed to use. She stared at it for a moment and then a pink bag of food caught her eye that was nearby. "Ah-hah! Why wouldn't she feed her sick doggies from a pink bag of dog food? Pink is such a fun color!" Pinkie Pie dragged the dog food up the stairs and began singing. "You're more fun than the color pink, or balloons flying over your favorite drink! The love I feel is swim not sink as we party across this land!" She saw the sick dog and said, "Oh boy, do we have a treat for you!" Pinkie Pie opened up the bag and paused for a moment. "How much food am I supposed to give him again?" she asked herself. "Did she say one bowl of dog food or one cup?" Pinkie Pie shrugged and figured that the dog could always stop eating when he became full. She poured the entire bag of food into the bowl. The bowl couldn't even be seen anymore and there was just a massive mound of little brown nuggets that were piled up.

The dog came over and began to devour the food.

"Hello, I'm home! Pinkie Pie? How is our patient doing?" Fluttershy called out. She was holding some grocery bags.

"He's fine! Just taking a little nap," Pinkie Pie called back. "Actually, he's been taking a very long nap. I keep poking him with this stick, so I can throw it and play fetch with him, but he wont' wake up!"

Fluttershy dropped her groceries and rushed into the kitchen. She saw the empty pink bag of food that was not intended for dogs to eat. She saw the mound of nuggets piled high above the bowl. She saw the dog lying still on the floor as Pinkie Pie poked it hard several times in its side with the stick. Fluttershy rushed over and took his pulse. He was gone and tears welled up in her eyes. "He's dead, Pinkie Pie. You fed him the wrong bag of food and now he's dead. I left you one simple task to do and you ruined it. I'm probably going to be sued now and the owners are going to be heart broken."

"Wait a second," Pinkie Pie said. "If this food wasn't good for him, then wouldn't he sense that? Dogs aren't that dumb, right? Applejack's dog Winona is a genius."

Fluttershy wiped the tears away from her eyes and said, "Some dogs are like that, but dogs are scavengers and will eat many things that they shouldn't. I can't believe he's gone now. I spent weeks trying to nurse him back to health and he was doing so well too."

"I'm so sorry, Fluttershy. Is there anything else I can do or help you with?" Pinkie Pie asked

"No!' Fluttershy said. "Please leave. I'm going to be in enough trouble as it is. I need to mourn for the loss of life." Fluttershy put her two front hooves together and began to pray over the dog.

Pinkie Pie slowly backed away and then left her house. She kicked a stone with her front hoof in frustration and watched it scuttle across the land. "There's got to be something I can do right around here! Oh! I know what I can do! If this doesn't work, then nothing will!" Pinkie Pie zipped off and headed on her way to Carousel Boutique.

Pinkie Pie's Last Resort

Pinkie Pie peeked through the window and saw Rarity talking with a customer. She took out a stethoscope and put it on her head. She placed it against the wall and began to listen to their conversation.

Rarity was standing there with her red glasses on and a measuring tape hanging around her neck. "Well, if the dress wasn't one hundred percent satisfactory the first time, and since you are a new customer, then I would like to give this dress back to you fixed and for free."

"Are you serious?" the mare asked. "I don't mind paying full price, even if it was inconvenient for me to bring this dress back to you."

"Don't worry about it. I don't represent the element of generosity for nothing you know," Rarity said.

"But why? I would imagine that you spent many hours of hard labor to make this dress and then spent many more hours redoing it. Don't you want to be compensated for your work? Any other business I have been to would gladly takes my bits, even if they make mistakes. What prompts you to be so generous?'

Rarity smiled and said, "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

"Where on Earth did you hear that from? the mare asked.

"Oh, it's only one of my most favorite verses from the Bible."

"The Bible?" the mare asked. "Is that why you are so generous? You want to be generous for God?"

"That's correct," Rarity said. "I want to be generous to others because God has been generous to me."

"That's so inspiring," the mare said. "I think I want to follow this God of the Bible."

Rarity bent over and picked up a Bible. She pushed it across the counter and said, "Here, this is a gift for you. Following God is not easy all of the time. It can be painful, hard, and even illogical sometimes, but I can promise you, that it's very much worth it!"

"Thanks so much for the Bible. I'm not very good when it comes to reading and understanding things though, especially when it comes to religion. Would you be willing to explain to me any questions that I may have? I don't live very far from here."

"I would be honored to do my best when it comes to helping you understanding scriptures. I don't have the knowledge that my one friend does, but if I can't answer every single question that you may have for me, there's a pony named Twilight Sparkle who pours so much time into reading and understanding this book. She willingly gives up much of her time and will take her own personal time to sit down and teach ponies scriptures that come to her with questions."

"Twilight Sparkle?" the mare asked. "I know who she is! I'll keep that in mind, thanks and I'll see you around!"

Rarity smiled and wished her well in her new journey with God.

Pinkie Pie took off the stethoscope and perked up as she watched the mare walk away with a dress and a shiny new Bible. Pinkie Pie put her front hoof under her chin and was deep in thought. Suddenly, something whacked her very hard against the back of her head. "Ouch!" she yelled out. "What the hay was that?"

Rarity looked out the window and said, "Oh, my goodness, Pinkie Pie. I didn't even see you when I used my magic to open the shutters. Are you ok?"

Pinkie Pie rubbed the back of her head with her front hoof and said, "Yeah, I'm fine, but that really hurt."

"What were you doing standing by this window anyway?" Rarity looked and noticed that there was a stethoscope around her neck. "Pinkie Pie! You weren't listening to my conversation through the walls with that thing, were you?"

"Uh," Pinkie Pie stammered. "Maybe?"

"Pinkie Pie! I am surprised at you! Snooping is not lady-like and that was wrong of you to do such a thing," Rarity said.

"But I just wanted to learn your secret. I need to win hearts for Jesus!"

Rarity face hoofed and said, "Pinkie Pie! I know that you can be a few apples short of a bushel sometimes, but this is just insanity! Stop trying to copy others and just be yourself! I can't promise that even if you act like yourself, that God will use you to lead other ponies to Christ. Just act like you normally do and see what happens. I really don't want to talk about this anymore. It is upsetting to me that I have been hearing from others, that you have been leading ponies away from God with your ranting and your tactics."

Rarity slammed the shutters shut and went back to her business. She also had to check on her new born son, Strong Faith.

Pinkie Pie began to walk away and talk to herself. "Be myself? Be myself? I haven't gotten anypony interested in the love of Christ and all of my other friends are doing it so well. I'm going to win one pony's heart before I leave this Earth, if it's the last thing I do!"

Pinkie Pie stood by a stallion who was dressed in a fancy tuxedo. She had a very large sack that she carried on her back. "So you like money, huh?" Pinkie Pie asked.

The stallion looked at his cutie mark that was a picture of a mound of bits. He turned back to her and said, "Yup! I love money!"

"And you don't believe in God, right?" Pinkie Pie asked

"That's correct," he said. "If there really is such a thing as Heaven, then I'm sure God will overlook all of my offesnes and see that my good works have out weighed the bad. I even give donations to charities as well, but I only do that for the tax benefits and to gain praise and adoration from other ponies so that I can have a better reputation. I'm sure that if God is real, that He will take me in when He sees how much money I have accumulated, since it will prove that I'm worth more."

"What if I told you, that if I gave my entire life savings to you right now, then you would confess your belief in God? I'm trying to be more generous like my friend, Rarity," she said

The stallion's eyes lit up with pictures of coins in them when he looked at the large sack of money that she carried on her back. "Deal!" he said.

"Do you believe in God?" she asked.

"I most certainly do!" the stallion said.

Pinkie Pie took the bag off of her back and dragged it over to him. "Here you go!" she said. "Be careful, it's very heavy."

The stallion stomped his front hoof on the ground and whistled. Within an instant, a golden chariot pulled up for him. "Put this bag of money into the chariot and take me away," he commanded to the pony pulling the chariot.

"So, this is it? I won my first heart for Jesus? Do you really believe in God now?" she asked

The stallion got inside the chariot and laughed. "Not a chance in Hell," he said. "I can't believe how gullible and desperate you are when it comes to your religion. I just did it for the money." The stallion whipped the pony pulling the chariot and said, "Away!"

"But....but....but I want a refund," Pinkie Pie said, but it was too late. The pony was well off in the distance with what was once her entire life savings. Pinkie Pie turned around and bumped into Twilight Sparkle.

"Pinkie Pie, what was that all about? What did you give that stallion?" Twilight asked.

"I-I-I gave him my entire life savings in hopes that he would be my first pony that I get to lead to Jesus," she admitted.

"You gave your entire life savings away to a pony who is already filthy rich? Did you see that golden chariot that he rode in? Do you seriously think that he needed that money? The Bible says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. I hate to break it to you, Pinkie Pie, but you are being incredibly foolish."

"But Jesus said that we have to give up all of our possessions and money if we want to enter the kingdom of Heaven!" Pinkie Pie shot back.

"I reckon that commandment was fer that one particular pony alone in the Bible and not fer everypony else out there," Applejack said.

"Applejack's right, Pinkie Pie. If you're going to give everything away like that, then at least you could have given it to somepony like that over there," Twilight said as she pointed her front hoof over to where there was a poor homeless pony eating a rotten apple under a nearby tree.

Tears welled up in Pinkie Pie's eyes and her mane and tail lost its puffiness and became flat. She ran away crying.

Twilight shook her head with disappointment and said, "Come on girls, we need to help a fallen sister in the faith."

Suddenly, a loud bang of thunder rang out from the skies and rain drops began to fall to the earth.

"I almost forgot, it was supposed to down pour today!" Rainbow Dash said. "We'd better find her fast."

The girls took off, and thankfully, the rain softened the ground and they had a trail of hoof prints to follow. Even though Pinkie Pie wasn't very fast, she was a master at evading. Her mind was not planning on any trickery, but she just had to find an isolated place to get away to.

An Unexpected Grey Guest Shows Up

Rainbow Dash kept an eye out from above. She shielded her face with one front leg to keep the rain out of her eyes. After a while, she spotted Pinkie Pie. It was a little bit harder to find her because the shade of her coat had become much darker because of her depression.

Pinkie Pie was sitting at the edge of the pond watching the rain drops make ripples through the water. Tears were streaming down her face, but they were well hidden in the rain. There was a storm several feet in the air and it was pouring rain down on top of her.

Rainbow Dash swooped down and sat next to Pinkie Pie.

Twilight and her friends followed closely behind her.

"Go away, Dashie," Pinkie Pie said. "I'm an abomination to God and I should no longer call my self a sister in Christ. I have done more damage than good. In fact, I don't think I have done any good at all. I have led ponies into confusion with heresy. I have killed somepony's beloved pet. I have turned off non-believers from wanting to know more about our God. I am a screw up and can't do anything right. You're all right. I should just leave you all to reap in the harvest without me."

"I'm not going to say that what you did wasn't wrong, but there's just as much hope and redemption for you as for the ponies who you were trying to preach to. You did a right thing wrong," Rainbow Dash said. "We can't understand how God works and sometimes ponies who I thought were surely going to come to Christ, ended up choosing not to and ponies who gave much hate and opposition to the faith, suddenly had their minds and hearts changed and converted. I can't figure out how it happens and neither can you. Our job as Christians is to live a Godly life and help spread the good news of the Gospel. We are all called to be missionaries, but we have to do it the right way. Remember Applejack's most favorite parable about the story Jesus told about the spreading of the seeds? We need to remember that and go over it again and again because it's so true. We need to tell others about the love of Christ, but even I need to remind myself to be gentle and kind about it, especially when I'm trying to show other ponies what sin is. We can't just shove religion down other ponies throats and your little crusade that you went on did just that. I know that I can be pushy and antsy about things sometimes too. I'm not very well known for patience either. Let it be known that God is never going to give up on you and He loves you the same always."

A little bit of hope had shined through Pinkie Pie's heart and she had a little smirk on her face from the comforting words of her Pegasus friend. She turned and wrapped her front legs around Rainbow's body and said, "I'm so thankful I have a sister in Christ like you."

Rainbow Dash embraced her hurting friend.

"And ya got plenty of other sisters in Christ as well to help ya with yer misunderstandin's and struggles, Missy," Applejack butted in.

Pinkie Pie let go of Rainbow Dash and then sunk low to the ground when she saw Fluttershy. "I'm so sorry I killed the pet that you were taking care of. I don't have any more money to help out and buy a new dog. I hope you don't get sued."

Fluttershy smiled and said, "What happened was terrible and tragic, but there is good news. A miracle had happened and God brought him back to life after I prayed over him. He's also healed and is back in good hooves with his owner. Try not to worry too much about what happened with your money. We'll try to help you as best we can with any money if you need it, right girls?"

The rest of Fluttershy's friends agreed that they would help Pinkie Pie out if she had any money troubles.

"Wow! That's amazing," Pinkie Pie said. "I'm so glad that happened, and thanks for offering me financial support."

"Come on, Pinkie Pie," Rarity said. "Pick yourself up and walk with God through this storm in your life."

Pinkie Pie got up and started to walk over to Rarity. Her hoof struck a rock and she tripped and fell into a mud puddle.

Giggling could be heard from behind the ponies and each pony turned to see that a certain grey Pegasus was trying to contain her laughter with a scrunch face.

"Derpy Hooves? What are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Derpy walked over and helped pick Pinkie Pie back up. She then flew over to the cloud that Pinkie Pie was sitting under and pushed it over Pinkie Pie and stood on top of it.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Derpy?" Rainbow asked.

"Of course it is!" Derpy replied. "I learned this trick from you and this will get all that mud off of her."

Derpy bounced up and down on it and the rain came out harder. She continued to bounce on it until a bolt of lightning came out from the storm cloud and struck Pinkie Pie's cutie mark.

Pinkie Pie jolted upwards.

Derpy stopped bouncing up and down on the cloud and said, "Oops. I just don't know what went wrong!"

"Why are you here, Derpy?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Because I was helping bring in the storm clouds today and I noticed you from above. It seemed like you were sad and you were the only pony who could cheer me up and make me laugh. Do you remember that song you sung to me after those bullies were being mean to me because of my disabilities?" Derpy cleared her throat and began to sing. "Come on everypony. Smile. Smile. Smile. Fill my heart up with sunshine! Sunshine!" Derpy smiled and said, "You taught me that laughter is the best medicine and that I shouldn't be ashamed of my disabilities."

Pinkie Pie's mane and tail became puffy again and her coat became a lighter and brighter shade of pink. "Hey! That's right! It reminds me of one of my most favorite verses. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Applejack laughed and said, "Here's another one for ya, Pinkie. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting."

"Where did you get those sayings from?" Derpy asked.

"From the Bible!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"Is that the book about Jesus or something?" Derpy asked.

"Yes!" Pinkie Pie yelled out. "Do you know Him?"

Derpy shook her head no in sorrow and said, "I tried to read that book, but my disabilities prevent me from understanding much of anything. I don't know if God loves me because I have so many disabilities and I get into a lot of trouble because of them. Do you think He loves me too?"

"Of course He does you silly filly! He died for us and just because you can't understand the Bible, doesn't mean He doesn't see your heart," Pinkie answered.

"Oh," Derpy said. She was rather unsure what it meant to see somepony's heart since she thought that Pinkie Pie was referring to the organ inside of a pony's chest.

Twilight stepped forward and asked, "How about a letter to the Princess?" Twilight used her magic and brought out a scroll and a quill.

"But won't the scroll get ruined in the rain?" Pinkie Pie asked?

"This mare knows lots of tricks! I learned a special water proof spell because I'll write to the Princess at some of the most craziest times, and I have written letters while I was taking a shower in the past."

The ponies looked at Twilight with great concern.

"Ya have written letters to the Princess while in the shower, Twi? I don't know if I should be prayin' about that or not," the farm pony said.

Twilight giggled and said, "That's kind of weird, I know, but sometimes I do math problem solving while I take a bath too. I guess when I feel the need to write something down, I feel like I have to do it right away or else I'll forget. You all know that I have a bit of obsessive compulsive disorder."

Pinkie Pie began her letter. "Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned that you need to be gentle and kind when it comes to telling others about the love of Jesus. I realized that I was in the wrong and my crummy works that can be crumbier than even the crumbiest of cupcakes, can't change hearts, but only He can. I was trying way too hard and I ended up hurting ponies instead of helping them. I think God was trying to tell me, through my friends, to just be myself and use the talents that I have instead of trying to copy others. I was so crazy that I didn't listen until I saw the consequences of my actions. I learned my lesson and I'll be myself from now on. If God wants to show ponies His love through me, then that's up to Him. I have to work with Him as a team and not try to be so forceful on other ponies. Oh yeah. Twilight Sparkle also writes letters to you as she takes showers. You might want to pray for her. Yours truly, Pinkie Pie."

Twilight Sparkle was so focused on writing the letter, that it took her a moment to realize that she wrote down that very personal information about herself. Twilight Sparkle looked up at Pinkie Pie with a look of anger and then muttered some words of disapproval as she scratched out that personal piece of information on the scroll. Twilight used her magic and sent the letter away.

Pinkie Pie was smiling again and bounced over to her friends. She stuck her front hoof out and asked, "Sisters in Christ?"

Each one of Pinkie's friends put their front hoof on top. They looked over and noticed Derpy staring at them with a bit of confusion.

"Would you like to join our little Sisters in Christ team, Derpy?" Twilight asked.

"You would accept a pony like me, with so many disabilities? I don't feel like I'd fit in very well," Derpy said.

"Of course!" Twilight said. "The love of Christ extends to all and He cares for you just as much," Twilight said.

Derpy looked at the front hooves piled on top of each other for a moment and then lit up with a smile. "I want what you girls have and I want to feel loved and accepted for once!" Derpy rushed over and put her front hoof on top of all the other ponies. "Sisters in Christ!" she cried out!

Just then, the rain stopped and the clouds rolled away. The sun came out and there was a beautiful rainbow that stretched across the sky.

Everypony cheered and ran in for a group hug around Derpy.

"Welcome as our seventh member in our little group, Derpy. We'll be here for you to support you in your new journey of faith," Twilight said.

Derpy beamed with a smile and said, "If it wasn't for Pinkie Pie, I would have never cared about trying this faith that you all follow. She was the only one who could cheer me up. She's like a hero to me."

Applejack nudged Pinkie Pie in the side and said, "I reckon God just used ya to win a new heart fer Jesus. He has a great sense of humor now, doesn't He?"

Pinkie Pie got low to the ground and her whole body was quivering with excitement. She had a rather crazed smile on her face. She then sprung high into the air like a firework. She came back down and began talking as fast as she could. "Oh my gosh! It happened! We need to have a special celebration party for Derpy and over the fact that I..." Pinkie Pie paused for a moment as her friends stared at her with great concern. "I mean that God changed the heart of a pony through me."

The rest of her friends smiled at her.

Everypony looked at Derpy who looked rather sad.

"Derpy?" Rarity asked. "Why do you look so sad?"

"Will Christ ever cure me of my problems? I have so many," Derpy said.

Twilight came closer to her and said, "Derpy, we can't be sure. He has the power to do so, but not everything goes our way all the time, and as much as we want the answer to our prayers to be yes, sometimes the answer is no, or wait a little longer. When our prayers match up exactly in line with the will of the Father, then the answer will always be yes. Be of good cheer, Derpy, Jesus has overcome the world. God can still use us even though we are so beaten down with problems in life. He can turn it all around and use it for His glory. We're going to be here for you and we are here to build one another up and encourage each other just like the scriptures command us to do."

Derpy smiled once more and said, "You girls are really the best. No pony has ever accepted me like this before. I'm so happy to be appreciated and loved like this."

Everypony smiled and was so happy for Derpy.

Derpy looked around a bit and then pulled out a muffin. She now had a very serious expression on her face. "I have one really important question to ask about God."

"Please ask us," Twilight said.

"Do you think Jesus likes muffins too?"

Twilight Sparkle giggled and said, "I'm sure He does, Derpy. I'm sure He does."

The end.

Author's Note

This is part 5 in the series that I'm doing.

Part 6 can be read here...

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/132288/sic-part-6-how-much-do-you-really-love-me