see “Celestia Hates Tea”

Twi complains about backwoods hick town that is full of blasphemous Celestia worshippers. She tells Twi princess can’t make public stmts against them, w/out consequences, because they’re not ready to accept that she’s not always there to guide them. Could be a lot worse, i.e. sex cultists. She wants Twi to stay in Pville, and covertly convince Ponyvilleans that Celestialism is bunk and they need to believe in each other. If Celly just commands them to do it, it just goes horribly wrong, b/c it strengthens their belief in her power, and the ones who can show others different like Scoots will rebel, so they have to do it themselves.

“Ponies will have their strange notions and fads, and some will have unfortunate consequences. You’re right, Twilight. I cannot simply stay my horn when foals are being denied abortions, but what would you have me do? So many ponies depend on me, and look up to me. If I were to advocate something forbidden to them, they will turn to darker and darker things, out of respect for me. How do you think the Happy Happy cult started? It began with a casual conversation among who I thought were sensible ponies about the relationships we have had in the past. I am a very old pony, Twilight Sparkle, and a very powerful one. I managed to blow Stray Shield’s mind so wholly, that he fell into debauchery, and ended up constructing that blasted bull out of semen and paper mach—well, it certainly was an unwelcome incursion of the demon realm. I try to be honest and true to my little ponies, but sometimes what they need to know, they have to find out for themselves, and sometimes what I think is right, turns out to be very wrong indeed. Do you think I should decide at what point your foal is alive, Twilight Sparkle? Or is that a decision you must make for yourself?”

“O-of course. But those ponies have no right to tell me any more than you do princess.”

“And what would you have me do? You are my greatest hope, Twilight Sparkle. You can show them reason, and you have my full support in doing so. You my little pony, can do what would only result in disaster if their ruler were directly involved. You are but an ordinary pony to them, Twilight Sparkle, and in its own way, that makes you far more powerful than I could ever hope to become.”

“So, you can’t just disguise yourself as a normal pony?”

“Believe it or not Twilight, illusions are not something I have much talent with. It lasts until a moment I get distracted, and due to my role with the sun, my magics have an unfortunate tendancy to brightly glow. But even if I could, should I then deceive my little ponies?”

“I suppose not, but you could do so much good if you could just not be a princess for a while.”

“Even if I did, Twilight, consider that it would be very subtle, and you would not know it was me, so we would just be having the same conversation as now.”

...

I would like to punish you, Rainbow Dash. For the foolishness of your actions, and for all the destruction and mayheb your actions have wrought on Ponyville. Ponies will be paying for this day for a long time, Rainbow Dash. But you are no more accountable than any desperate mare caught in a situation she did not anticipate, surrounded by ponies who hate her for what she wants to do, who turns to the first open offer that comes her way. That you had the incredible luck to happen upon the one offer that would result in the untimely resurrection of a fertility god does not change the fact that you had a thing, and you wanted it not to be a thing, and that’s the only thing anypony can accuse you of. 

But how many ponies here have had the same thing happen to them? Forced to perform it in secrecy for the stigma, unable to trust even your friends to keep you safe. Even I have had to make many hard decisions before, and while I didn’t solve my problem by way of cursed idol, I certainly cannot hold Rainbow Dash any more accountable for these affairs as I can myself, who wilfully perpetuated this culture of fear that drove her to such incredible lengths of stupidity.

“Alright! Hey wait, did you just call me stupid?”

“Just let it go, Rainbow Dash.”