Twilight came with me to the market today to buy some groceries. As promised, that silly mare wore that silly gala dress. She got all sorts of compliments and two ponies even asked her for a date. I could not roll my eyes hard enough. I'm an absolute wretch of fashion, but I know better than to take such old, out-dated styles and turn them into the talk of the town. Still, she wore that dress, and her two invitations for dinner, like they were fabric proof that my new life choice was wrong. Maybe she's being inconsiderate of me, and maybe she's not, but it irks me nonetheless. Her smugness about how "right she was" definitely rubbed me the wrong way though.

I assured her she was wrong and she rolled her eyes back at me. At least she made sure to turn down those two hopefuls. She wouldn't dare turn her back on me. I did expect all of this though. Part of me liked seeing how right I was about how misled all these ponies were. If I was this mistaken about fashion, I dread to think about what they might wear to a wedding.

Aside from the expected, a town crier was in the square today. Well, more of a preacher, you know, one of those conservative types. He said that, "Faith is dead!" and to "Repent, for your sins are upon you!" He's the sort of invasive pony that certainly knows how to ruin a peaceful Saturday afternoon. He walked right up to me and asked me, "Where do you put your faith?"

I'm usually the sort of pony who humours them and lies about placing faith in the universe or the eternal, and that usually satisfies them. Twilight, on the other hoof, likes to make a conversation of it. She asked him what he meant by "putting it somewhere.” She asked if faith is something that goes on a bookshelf or in a box. After that, he wore a sad face and looked straight at me and asked me, "Do you believe?"

I must admit, his sad eyes made me want to consider the question for more than what it was. I asked him what I should believe in and he replied, "That which will make you passionate. Anything and everything that gives you hope. Believe in the thing that will give you meaning."

I must have looked thoughtful because his eyes sparkled a bit. Twilight continued to argue with him over why any pony should believe in something they can't prove. It was amusing. Twilight certainly seemed passionate in proving him wrong, so much so that he laughed and said she had so much faith that she didn't have faith that she might as well have faith. She told him that such a tired argument doesn't stand up in the academic world because she knew she had a lack of faith, not a different kind of faith.

I agree with her. I don't make such grand things for myself and believe they exist without reason. I'll have my passion when I find it again, I'll have my hope if the odds are good that the thing I want will come into fruition, and I don't have an absolute meaning in life. Meaning is a fickle thing that comes and goes with the wind. One moment's enlightenment to the meaning of life is a mix of emotion and raw feeling. Nothing rational. If life had an absolute meaning I'm sure a very smart pony, who lived a long time ago, would have figured it out. Next Chapter: The First Concern Estimated time remaining: 4 Minutes