Twilight smiled, looking around the table at all of her dearest friends. It'd been quite a while since they'd all sat around at one table, especially in a place like Canterlot. Now that she thought about it, the last time they'd done this was right before the Changeling invasion at her brother's wedding...
"I'll take a daisy sandwich!" Pinkie chirped as the waiter took their orders. "With extra daisy on top!"
"Alright, and you Miss?"
"Oh, um, I'll have what she's having."
"Me too!"
"Darling, I'd love the taste of a daisy sandwich right now."
"I'll have a solid romane and caeser salad with a side of fried zucchini. Be sure to add lots of butter to the latter; I really enjoy the taste of deep fried vegetables sometimes." Twilight smiled winningly at her waiter. "Before you ask, I'd like a topping of thick, creamy honeymustard. That stuff tastes great on a romane salad."
It took the lavender alicorn a few moments to notice her friends' silence after placing her order. Everypony had a different facial expression, ranging from apathy to utter shock. Rainbow Dash looked about as interested in her friend's dietary habbits as most sane people would be of watching a patch of paint dry while Applejack just sat there dumbfounded, trying to rationalize how anypony could want something other than apples and daisy sandwiches. Rarity was the worst offender, leaving her mouth hanging open as a fly tried to form a new home in its expanse.
"What?"
"D-darling, did you just order something other than, well..."
"Yes?"
"A daisy sandwhich?"
"Well yeah, why wouldn't I? It's not like we have to eat those every day. As much as I enjoy the simplicity and enjoyable texture, eating the same food day after day gets old even for me." Twilight chuckled, trying not to slurp in any of the punch as she waited for their waiter to return with their orders. "If you girls hadn't already noticed, I chose a different drink than that chamomile tea you all seem to enjoy so much."
"Hold on a gosh darn moment there, Sugarcube," Applejack commanded, scrutinizing her friend with a critical eye. "Are you telling us that you don't like chamomile tea?"
"Yeah, my mom and pa told me that it was formed from the tears of joy that the gods shed when a new foal is born!"
"Um, what Pinkie said."
"O-oh my, she's s-stepped away from the faith..."
"Guys, it's not that big a deal!" Twilight said, trying to placate them. "I like chamomile tea as much as the next pony, but just as I've already stated, repetition gets boring. I don't know how many times we've gone on picnics with a basket full of those two."
"But Darling, chamomile tea is so very good for your coat!"
"Yes, I know that Rarity, but-"
"And the leaves taste great!" Rainbow interjected.
"I already know that; why do you think I bothered a second taste? All I'm saying is that-"
"Oh silly, you should know that the best teas are the only teas!"
"Will you guys stop interrupting me for a moment and listen? I can't tell you why I'm having something other than daisy sandwichs and chamomile tea if you guys won't even give me the time to answer!" Twilight huffed.
"Sorry about that, Twi," Applejack said. "Ain't that right, everypony?"
"Mhm!" they all chorused.
"It's quite alright. Now to the point; I don't like to drink chamomile tea or eat daisy sandwiches because I'm quite tired of them," Twilight stated. "The taste is alright, but there are better teas out there than merely chamomile."
"Do you mean to say that you no longer like tea?"
"No, I'm still rather fond of tea. It's just that chamomile is only one of hundreds of distinct flavors, and yet we always seem to drift back to that as if that was the only kind in the world." Twilight folded her wings behind her, sitting back. "I don't know, girls, but it feels like we're living a fairy tale and the gods above couldn't come up with a better variety in their storytelling. It's almost as if they had no experience of tea outside what observed playing out in our lives of the last few years." Twilight sighed. "Sometimes...sometimes I feel like life is one repetitive joke, and that the gods have told us that we can't try anything original."
"Don't be absurd!" Rarity said, laying a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sure that there are many things we'd be willing to try. I'm guessing that the main reason we've been sticking to the same meals over and over has to do with it being the only thing all of us seem to enjoy and surely not some higher being making that call for you. This is reality, not some work of fiction!"
"How do you know that, though?" Twilight stated, gently removing her friend's hoof from her back. "We don't have the slightest clue where we come from, and Celestia herself has told me that she wasn't here at the world's genesis. So you tell me, Rarity, how do you know for the utmost certainty that we aren't simply fictitious characters in a poorly scripted play?"
"Well, when you put that way, I, uh, kinda..."
"Go on."
"Well, Darling, the thought's kind of frightening," Rarity said with a shudder. "Imagine all of our lives being based off of the whims of some bored deity? All of the accomplishments I'll ever make would seem hollow. How would I know they didn't just say that I'd become a success and that none of it was of my doing?" Rarity paused, sipping her tea. "I don't think I could accept a world like that."
Twilight looked around, taking note of everyponys' reactions. Of all five of her friends present, only Applejack seemed nonplussed about the whole topic. Perhaps she already knew the answer and that explained the smug expression on her face?
"Hey Applejack, why're you so calm about all of this?"
"Well, Sugarcube, you've got to realize that you're having one of those extastenshul whatchmawhosits doesn't mean that I'm going to have the same crisis." The cowpony laughed at that. "Besides, I've already figured out the answer to this question."
"Oh, and what's the answer? What are we?" Twilight asked. "Where are we? What are we doing? Where are we going?"
"That's easy, Twi!" the blonde pony stated, taking Twilight into a tight embrace before plopping her ratty hat on her friend's head with a cheerful grin. "The answer's simple: Celestia!"
"What?"
"Well she created the sun and earth, didn't she? It shouldn't be too hard to figure out the rest after that's been said."
"But I just said that-"
"Nu-uh-uh!! I won't hear any of your secular hogwash right now! You and I both know that she did it, and until you prove otherwise I'm going to stick with it." Applejack smiled warmly. "Maybe it's just a little thing called 'faith', sugarcube. None of us have the answer, but at the same time it seems the most likely. Celestia's a well-meaning pony that likes to be relatable to her subjects. Of course she'd try to keep everypony from bowing and scraping in front of her like she's some kinda goddess, even if she is. Until I get proven otherwise, that just makes the most sense to me."
"Alright, I can respect that. Still, that doesn't answer my question since I don't believe in the same things as you."
"Well then why'd you ask?"
"That was a group question, you know."
"Touche."
Everypony remained quiet for a moment before Fluttershy spoke up.
"Well, if you don't mind that is, why don't you tell us what's really bothering you? I doubt that you're just now starting to figure out that beliefs can't be taught."
"You're right, Fluttershy," Twilight said with a sigh. "You're right. I've been spinning circles in my head on this for a while now, so I suppose I'll just lay it out straight."
Everypony watched intently as they waited for their friend to speak up. They watched the young and inquisitive princess as she took another sip of her punch before speaking up.
"Well, I think that this was by design."
"I thought you just said you didn't believe in what I believe, sugarcube. Now you're saying otherwise?"
"Oh, no no no no! I didn't mean that I thought it was by Celestia's design!"
"Well then, what is it?" Pinkie asked.
"Okay guys, brace yourselves." Twilight took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to blow the minds of every single friend present. She sucked in all the air she could before saying one word.
"Aliens."
Everypony sat still for a moment before busting up laughing. Twilight stared in shock as everypony around the table started go into the biggest gigglefit they'd had since last Thursday. Rainbow Dash fell out of her chair, rolling on the floor as Fluttershy bent over with tears in her eyes.
"Ahahaha! Twilight, hehe, you're a laugh!"
"What, no! I'm serious guys!"
"For a moment there, we all thought you were being serious, Darling."
"B-but I am! It's not like-"
"Twilight, that prank was superific! I'll remember that one for my next party!"
"Guys, I'm being-"
"Sugarcube, that's the craziest hogwash I've ever heard!"
"But it's true! Humans came through that portal and put us all here! They even watch us on giant screens that use lasers and subatomic particles to create moving pictures!"
"BWAHAHAHA!!" Rainbow Dash gigglesnorted. "Lyra, maybe. You though? Ahahaha!"
The purple alicorn stood there for a moment, watching before bursting up into laughter too. Maybe it was just to save face or maybe she geniunely found it funny, but finally Twilight submitted.
"Alright, I know it's a little far-fetched."
"Just a little, Darling?"
"Well, maybe a lot."
"Mhm."
"Anyways," Twilight said, finally getting over the boute of laughter. "Applejack said it right; having faith in something helps to answer the unanswerable. Maybe, just maybe, I like thinking that we're not alone out here. It'd be nice if we were some hidden gem in a larger galactic community, and I'll stand by that until proven otherwise."
"You know what, Twi?"
"Yes, Applejack?"
"I can respect that."
