Chapter Six
“Princess Celestia,” asked Twilight Sparkle, “do you believe in God?”
Celestia looked up from a scroll on the table and stared at Twilight above crystalline spectacles. "Yes," she said.
Twilight's lip began to quiver. "Oohhhh... I was worried you'd say that!"
Celestia's magic set the glasses on the table beside the scroll. She raised her head and eyed her former pupil with a mix of suspicion and concern. "I'm afraid I don't follow, Princess Twilight."
"Oh, forget it." Twilight turned around and started shuffling out of the Canterlot library.
"Twilight, you've been standing there for five minutes after arriving to the castle entirely unannounced," Celestia said. Her tone was firm, but not angry. "I expect an explanation."
When Twilight turned around, her eyes were already brimming with tears. "I just don't know what to believe."
"Oh, Twilight..." Celestia trotted around the large library desk. "Tell me everything. Start from the beginning."
Twilight bit her lip, but the tension in her shoulders melted when Celestia stood at her side and wrapped one majestic wing around her entire frame. With a deep breath, Twilight nodded and began to speak.
"I was with Spike in the Ponyville Castle," she said. "We were admiring the new chandelier, the one I wrote to you about, and reminiscing on old times we've had with our friends. And then Spike said something about... wishing it could last forever. A perpetual moment, I think he said. And suddenly it dawned on me that... that Spike and I will outlive all of our friends." She choked. "And their children. And their children's children. And then one day I'll... I'll outlive Spike and... and..."
"Surely you've contemplated this before, Twilight," Celestia said. "You've spent much of your life among immortality."
"Well, yes, but it never hit me. Not that hard." She sniffed and continued. "I started to cry and told Spike how I was feeling, and he started trying to comfort me with dragon stories of an afterlife and that our friends will live on and watch us forever and mourn with us when we fail and rejoice with us when we succeed. It all seemed so silly. I asked him what he was talking about, and he told me about the gods and religions of dragon culture he'd learned in some of the new books.
"So I went through the library--I'd already been organizing a new system--and found several volumes documenting ancient pony religions. There were churches and temples and rites of worship and prayer and sacrifice and--" She shook her head. "And it all just vanished. It all stopped--as soon as you and Luna arrived."
Celestia made no response.
"But there's all this... leftover notion that I didn't even know about. Family traditions and famous philosophy have pulled ponykind's faith in every direction. And I guess I realized that... well, I didn't have any faith at all! I don't believe in anything, one way or the other. I just don't know."
"Some ponies choose exactly that as their belief," Celestia hummed.
"No, I'm not talking about agnosticism. I'm talking about downright confusion, Princess. I was so confused."
Celestia chuckled. "You think too much, Twilight Sparkle."
"I know... and on that very note, I started to wonder what each of my friends believed. I thought surely they could help me resolve whatever crisis I had stumbled into."
"And did you ask them?"
"Yes."
"And?"
Twilight began to tremble. "Applejack believes in a fatherly God who watches over everypony and answers prayer and brings them to heaven when they die, Fluttershy believes we're all eternal souls cycling through lives to fulfill purpose and gain experience and peace, Pinkie Pie believes in God for no reason but to be happy--"
Celestia giggled.
"--Rainbow Dash believes that the universe came from nothing and will go back to nothing and we have to live according to our own morals and desires while we can, and Rarity..." Twilight clenched her jaw and held in tears. "Rarity thinks you and I are gods!"
Celestia let her cry.
"I'm not a gaaawwwd!" Twilight wailed, crumpling in the larger Alicorn's grasp. "I'm not a god! I'm just... I'm just me..."
After a few heavy sobs, Twilight composed herself and hung her head, gasping and sniffling under Celestia's wing.
"Did you inquire of anypony else?" Celestia asked.
"Uh... no," Twilight said softly.
"Oh, that's too bad," Celestia said. "I would have liked to hear what the owners of that lovely bakery believe."
Twilight looked up. "Mister and Missus Cake?"
"Or that musician who spends all her time with the candy maker."
"Lyra Heartstrings?"
"Or the mayor. I bet her views are fascinating."
Twilight blinked hard. "Celestia, what are you getting at?"
The Princess of the Sun gave a small but brilliant smile. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, you have experienced firsthoof that no two ponies believe exactly the same things."
"Of course they do!" Twilight argued. "I'm sure the whole Apple Family agrees that Applejack's parents went to heaven."
"Perhaps," Celestia said. "Perhaps not. But none of them believe exactly the same things. Even among the most organized of religions, its members must meet and converse frequently to discuss details of doctrine. There is just so much to understand, Twilight, that it is virtually impossible for two intelligent creatures to share exactly the same beliefs. Our experiences and perspectives are too hugely varied. There will always be differences, large or small."
Twilight's brow had creased. "Well, what's true, then? You said you believe in God. Is there a God or isn't there?"
"That entirely depends on what you mean by God, Twilight," Celestia said. "Yes, of course there is a God. But that's not the important question, is it? In each of your friends' beliefs, there is a God: a creator, a designer, an organizer, a great force of direction and intelligence, whether that god lives in heaven, takes part in the cycles, or clears the skies of Ponyville."
Twilight let out a choked laugh.
"What's true, then? That is an important question, Princess Twilight. Perhaps it is the most important question. Another way to phrase it is, What matters?"
"That's not necessarily correct," Twilight immediately said. "Something can be true and not matter at all."
"Really?" Celestia smiled again, wider this time. "That's a very interesting belief, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight was speechless, running her own words over in her head.
"As you've recently realized, you have a long, long time to consider these things. Much longer than most rational creatures. The only thing I can promise you is that you will find answers. The seeker always finds. That is a belief shared across many lines."
"I'm not sure I believe it," Twilight said. "It feels like I'll never decide. There are just too many options, too many ideas that ponies I care about hold to so firmly."
"It is difficult, Twilight. I am not denying that." Celestia's wing pulled tighter. "I am simply telling you not to worry so much. Continue to think, continue to study, continue to ask questions and learn new things and measure how you feel. But don't worry about what you believe anymore. All you need to succeed here is to keep trying. Don't give up, and you'll get an answer."
"From where?" Twilight asked. Her face broke into a pained smile and she pointed upward. "From God?"
"Maybe," Celestia said, grinning with her. "Or from here." She placed a hoof on Twilight's chest. "Or here." Her hoof moved to the top of Twilight's head. "Or out there." She pointed to the library window where the rolling hills of Equestria bathed in a burning sunset. "Just pay attention. I know you, Twilight. You'll resolve this."
"You sound a bit like Fluttershy," Twilight said.
"Really? I was thinking of Applejack." She smiled and tucked her wing back at her side. "Although personally I like Pinkie Pie's answer the best."
"Ha! Yeah, you know what? Me, too."
Celestia walked back to her scrolls and lifted her spectacles in a golden cloud of magic.
"Just..." Twilight stepped closer. "Just tell me one thing, Celestia. Are you a god?"
Celestia raised an eyebrow at her.
"I mean... are we... do you consider yourself a god?"
Princess Celestia pursed her lips and looked at the ceiling. Twilight began to regret the questions when suddenly the Princess answered, "I consider all ponies to be wise, creative, emotional, and powerful. The only attribute we must add on ourselves is immortal."
A twitch pulled at Twilight's eye as she nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Princess."
"And you, Princess," Celestia said.
Just before her tail left the library, Twilight heard Celestia's voice call out.
"So, Twilight Sparkle," asked Princess Celestia, "do you believe in God?"
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HOOOO DAMN! Celestia's got SNARK!
Twilight, "Celestia, is there a God?"
Celestia sighs, "Unfortunately, yes."
Twilight blinks, "Un...fortunately??"
Celestia nods, "You've met..."
Discord pops in, "Somepony mention me?"
I was kind of hoping this would be about Xenophanes' quote on horses and gods, and it is, in a way. It's not bad, I was just expecting something else.
Ha ha Ha, I really liked when Celestial went through the different views. Celestial, to quote another poster, has got " the snark"! Poor RD ha ha!!
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5910690
Oh man, I'd missed that! I don't... think that's what Rainbow Dash meant, but it's a pretty good line nonetheless.
Thanks, Ponky, for a great little story! I'm a recently-apostate Christian, so I've been struggling with something like what Twilight did. I ended up pretty similar to Rainbow Dash (without the egotism, of course
), but I totally get how all of the different characters can come to a different conclusion. I hope that whatever conclusion you come to, Ponky, it makes you happy. 
Read this. Now.
To be honest, in a group that generally frowned upon discussing Religion at all, I hope this becomes a classic. I will certainly be pointing to this as an example of how religion and fandom's can interactin a positive non-blasphemous or rude way. I must commend the author! You sir now have another follow!
5910881 Hmm... sounds about right.
That had me laughing more than it should have.
Anyway, I guess I am your converse. I think there is no God or supreme being but hey, what do I know?
I'm Roman-Catholic. I believe in God as someone who watches us, tries to protect us, tries to guide us, loves us, and so, so, soo much more.
So, Ponky, do you believe in God? And how do you?
I...
I...
A pony fan fiction just made me rethink my entire life.
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5910960
Snarky and deep. According to Rainbow's point of view, everypony is literally a god unto themselves.
Thanks for a thought provoking read, Ponky. That last line wraps it up nicely. You've earned a cookie.
A very interesting story. I've spent the better part of my life fascinated by religion and philosophy, and I've asked myself many of these same questions. These days, and for some years now, I've dangled somewhere between Rainbow's and Fluttershy's viewpoints. But in the end, I think Pinkie has the right idea. Each of us, religious or not, wants to be happy, and believe the things we feel or hope will direct us toward that end. And if it serves that purpose, maybe that's the important thing.
As far as a higher power goes, this is as good an answer as I've ever found:
Wow no debate about religion in the comments? There's hope for humanity after all.
5911100
He actually put up a blog post the other day about the subject. To summarize, he just got back from a two-year Mormon missionary service in Italy, and he's actually a bit in the lurch, just like Twilight. I think, in a way, that's what makes this story work so well: it's clear it's entirely in earnest. There's no agenda here other than honest exploration.
5911234 He most certainly did. While I'm Agnostic I can't deny the overall message the story sends and it's a damn good story for it.
5911100 You read the story. That should be answer enough.
I think this is sorta your "When I Was Thirty," only way less depressing.
I'm of the firm belief that--if able--writers should be encouraged to live out their emotional and philosophical ponderings through works of fiction. Others might find it two dimensional or goofy or pretentious, but... hey... it helps us get to know a person more. And what are we on this site if not to make connections. F'naaa?
A story about multiple perspectives can only be... a story about multiple perspectives. While writing this, I couldn't help but pause and think about how I would rewrite each character and their individual theological outlook. I'm sure every other marsupial reading this felt the same.
I like how you did Fluttershy the most. That's not to say that I agree with her perspective. But, rather, I liked how you wrote her dialogue and demeanor. I too have always seen her as a tree-loving hippy (literally), and if I was to do a fic with this same premise I believe I'd give her the same perspective. Something tells me that--in writing--you probably felt biased to add substance to her stance as well. But f'naaa.
Rarity's reaction (and Pinkie's as well, to some extent) kinda feel like chapters that belong in a comedy fic. Oh well.
I don't like Rainbow's character/stance/chapter/whatever. And I don't think I'm the only one. In your stories, I feel as though--to get a point across--you inevitably have to make ONE character act two dimensional or hyperbolic. I feel as though that's what you did with RD... just to get something that contrasted dramatically with AJ. Emphasis on the adverb "dramatically." I think I've told you before in conversation, but I think RD would make a humanist. *Not* a nihilist. Granted, the commonly hysterical theme I find with nihilism is that most people who use that term to describe themselves don't properly know what it means, myself included. F'naaa. Watch Big Lebowski, you.
I think there's reason to believe that RD could take the side of Nietzsche and dig the whole Carpe Diem thing... but when it all boils down to it, it's a bit cringe-worthy reading her dialogue (or anypony's) cuz these cartoon characters are so friggin' far-removed from discussing anything legitimately philosophical in any medium ever. In reading this, we--the audience--have to willfully drag our suspension of disbelief across the paragraphs, and that is why--understandably so--some people wouldn't want to even touch a fic like this to begin with. It's obvious that this is about the author and not the characters, which makes it all the more telling when the story doesn't end with much of a message aside from "Don't worry; keep searching."
Still, I like to think it's good therapy for you. I noticed that the last chapter was uploaded on the 26th, which leads me to think that it may or may not have been after a certain conversation. That being said, this lemur--who pretends to think he has a slightly sharper perspective on the writer in question--took notice to a rather conclusive series of text:
I presume that's where the money shot liesif not on a robot chick's tits. What's true? What isn't true? What matters? What doesn't matter? Do those two questions necessarily converge? And--in either scenario--can one still live on one's life, aspiring, dreaming, improving, achieving?
I do hope your journey is as fruitful as Twilight's, and that--time and mirth permitting--you continue to share what you've learned as well as what you've dreamed the whole way through.
-SS&E
I, during my teenage years, decided to settle with Christianity for mostly cultural and geopolitical reasons.
That being said, my reason for believing in God, nevermind religion, is
I wonder whats Discord opinion?
I really like your choice of ending.
Very clever.
5911296 I really like your name.
I liked that line where all five of those questioned has some concept of God (or god).
Applejack: Traditional belief of a benevolent all-seeing father figure; her father taught it to her, much like his parents taught it to him
Rainbow: No one central God or god; we are all masters of our own destiny, lives, and choices.
Rarity: Polytheism and apotheosis; even ponies can transcend mortality, in a way (literally, in the alicorn's case,). Rarity herself intends to do so as well; her body and mind will fade with time, but her works of art, her fashion design, will live on forever
Fluttershy: Buddhism-like "we are all one, we are all in this together".
Pinkie: Believe what and who you like, as long as it makes you happy!
5910699 This is relevant: (Skip to 0:43)
Go and stand the pile of corpses and wade the rivers of blood of those she failed Twilight Sparkle... their silence will be your answer
Edit: Forgive my morbidness, but... no, she's not God, nor could she be if she wanted to be. But her little ponies, as shown here by Rarity, do believe it so, and I wonder how many nights she laid awake, wondering again if she could have saved her little ponies from themselves
5911313
Thank you!
Honestly, I think it did a decent job of portraying all the viewpoints (though it seemed a bit unfair to
AtheismRainbow Dash's belief that totally doesn't represent Atheism according to the author). But what was the point? That they all have differing viewpoints? Hardly seems like a moral at all, just a statement of fact. The point wasn't to entertain either, as the story was pretty bland and straightforward. Rarity's scene was slightly funny, but not worth reading for entertainment value.Not to mention the story ignored one of the major portions of real life monotheistic religions: conversions. Christians and Muslims alike believe conversions are important because people who aren't converted could possibly suffer in Hell. Since Applejack seemed to follow a monotheistic religion and Rainbow Dash mentioned Hell, I would think it would at least come up that Twilight needed to "Repent for the End is near!" or something.
I didn't like it that much, but there wasn't anything really wrong with it.
5911321
Your Xanth reference made this thread 20% Cooler.
5911450 Then it wasn't written for you. But thank you for reading.
5911474
You're Welcome. It's nice to see you at least brought 145 people enjoyment without writing clop.
5911234
Far too often, people become 100% certain that they have discovered THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE TRUTH about God or the nature of reality or what have you, and then they get into discussions with other people who have also discovered THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE TRUTH and find that they disagree about what that truth is.
Are you sure your case is any different? If so, how?
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5911234
Careful, you two. That's exactly what this story is about.
Oh how I love this story. So short, and yet it may be one of my favorites of all time.
Ah. Here we are with someone who's been around a long time and had the time to get her ducks in a row doing what should have been done from the get-go....asking the questioner what SHE believes. Hmmm. I wonder what her answer will be.
Saw the title, came here to watch the comment war. May as well read the fix too
Dude do a sequel with big mac as a zen practioner. Or somepony as a taoist.
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/054/a/4/zen_and_the_art_of_apple_bucking_by_topgull-d5w0q51.png
Story reminded me of that artwork
5911517 Hah, you're right. I'll let it go.
Just to clarify, Atheism is not nihilism. Sure, there can be nihilist atheists, and I know a conservative republican atheist or two (tho admittedly, those are rare).
Atheism is just the lack of belief on all gods. Compare; Christianity is the lack of belief in all, but one. Out of hundreds of thousands, that man has believed throughout our time, we just go one further.
Nonstampcollector named his channel on how atheism is just a singular fact about that person, not a belief system: that if atheism is a 'religion', then not collecting stamps is a hobby, and 'bald' is a hair color.
Here, a more thorough primer on the Big Bang: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmc55o_curiosity-s01e01-did-god-create-the-universe_tech
5911646
Oh, hey, it's you again. Care to discuss whether or not God made Aliens?
And what are you talking about? That's totally an achievement.
5911689
What comment war? People here have been pretty mild.
5911271
... You're kidding, right? In the story you claimed we all view it differently! Don't tell me you believe each description the Mane 6 gave!
5911733 No offence but uhm... don't get so preachy. The link to the Big Bang theory was a bit much.
I liked the story and I enjoy hearing about religion in any form so this definitely my cup-o-tea, liked and favorited.
Going off just chapter two, it seems there's an... uncomfortably biased misunderstanding of what Atheism is. I don't mind fielding a few questions if anyone's curious.
'ere, I'll gloss over a few things to get started;
"Then where does morality/do-goodness come from?"
Altruism isn't a new trick to animals (humans being a kind of animal as well). Symbiosis, depending on how you define it, is ancient. The oldest example I can think of: Mitochondria. Bacteria are prokaryotes, and plant and animal cells are Eukaryotic. It seems that mitochondria were once prokaryotes, that either 'intentionally' or accidentally were absorbed into certain other prokaryotes--- those that would be our ancestors--- and in return for shelter, gave off food--- ahn, go play Parasite Eve if heavy science isn't your thing, but you'd like some edutainment with a twist~ Richard Dawkins gets namedropped in it, and the Two Best Friends group finished a playthrough recently if you can't get a copy.
Point being, altruism is an evolved trait that life-forms do to help them survive and pass on their genes. We give food to others because we want them to be strong when we need them as allies, or to make them allies in the first place instead of a threat.
"Then the purpose of Good is just for fucking?"
Nah. Not anymore anyways.
4minutewriter.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/mgm-logo.jpg
"Art for Art's sake."
To paraphrase the Metal Gear series: 'We are not ruled by our genes.'
Art began as another method we evolved to 'pass on our information', but instead of genes, it was our history, our suffering and victories, our lessons and stories: another method of permanence in an impermanent, unstable, unguided world (ie, a world without gods... like the one we live in, ahem~) .
But since we've 'mastered' the world, that became less and less necessary-- biologically... though "quiver full of arrows" to weaponize our genes and children, into a fighting force for warlords and politicians that are just going by other names and titles, for the sake of their power.... ahem-- so then art (and Goodness), as our concepts, could then themselves evolve: as things for their own sake.
Case in point/aside: I think a consequence of sapience and security is the capacity (and agony) of boredom. Since it can be an actual health problem for animals in captivity as well as people, this demonstrates that humans are still following the same biological rules, be it us now needing Pony (ie; art, be it fic, show, music, or pics) to get through the day, or the antelope and the lion being a few hundred feet from one another--- in the zoo, being provided medical care, possibly mates, food, and any other possible biological need, by insane babbling super thunder-monkeys (humans and our technology).
And for that 'mastery of the world' bit: when was the last time you saw a wild animal, in the wild, that's larger than a dog? Especially a carnivore, in great numbers... And here we are, over 6 billion of us humans, om-nom-nom-nivore-ing whatever the fuck we want.
So there, the origin of morality, and how morality evolved as a thing for it's own sake.
"No souls, then what's free will?"
Genetics doesn't control every atom in a body, but provides the blueprint for neurology. Best analogy is a single water molecule in a river: repeated actions (the river's flow in the past) carves out a riverbed which will be the major guide for, in general, which way that molecule will go. But the exact path it will take, what branch it may go downstream if the river splits, can only be given probabilities by chaos theory.
Repeated moral choices will build a person's neurology to more easily take that nature of moral decision, by experience (same mechanic as that repetition helps you to remember) or by instruction (a good person is more likely to raise good kids, a racist person is more likely to teach their kids to be racist, a christian person is more likely to teach their children to be christian, each one to the exclusion of other possibilities), but the exact path the chemicals and the bio-electrical impulses that're the brain's mechanisms may take can also fall into chaos theory's systems:
Free will's secret is hidden in quantum mechanics.
And that was a few things I wanted to
pontificategloss over.5911790 A nationally-broadcasted tv show with Steven Hawking
>"too much"
>"preachy"
Really?
And given that it's a 42 minute episode, and the timestamps between our posts gives you a 20 minute window to watch, review, and critique in an unbiased manner, since you enjoy hearing about these things....
Hmm... I'm not all that sure about Celestia's position. Granted I like what she says about finding your own truth.. but the 'of course there is a god' thing...
She talks about a creator, an intelligent designer and such, but the whole 'intelligent design' theory isn't a very good argument for God. In philosophical circles the argument's been mostly abandoned in favour of other routes of argument and most people tend to completely miss the point of intelligent design - that one can find God through reason and examining the natural world. But it really is a very bad argument, in itself, for God's existence. It can lead far too easily to a 'God of the Gaps' mentality which, frankly, is insulting to both the deity in question and those that believe in that deity.
The other major point Celestia makes is the classic 'Unmoved Mover' or Uncaused Cause argument. This does solve the problem of infinite regression that comes with a creator for the universe, in that there is nothing in the world that does not have a cause, and thus the universe must have a cause. The problem then becomes What created the creator? What created the creator's creator? What created the creator's creator's creator? Ad infinitum. The Unmoved Mover basically becomes the eternal, uncreated bedrock upon which causality itself rests... except as an argument it entirely removes the need for a theist god. At best the argument only advocates a deist god to get the ball rolling, so-to-speak, with no more need to interact with Creation since it would become a self-perpetuating chain of causality.
But one final note before I stop with my philosophy rant today
Fluttershy seems to believe in some form of Buddhism, albeit one that doesn't seem to have a Buddha-figure or an emphasis on gaining Enlightenment to reach Nibbana/Nirvana. Celestia says that a God would take part in her cycles of life and rebirth, what Buddhists call samsara. This isn't entirely true. Buddha himself didn't talk about gods or how creation began, he didn't see it as relevant to his teachings as exemplified in the Arrow Sutra, in which the Buddha basically explains that he's a doctor healing the suffering of the world with his teachings, a person dying of a wound caused by a poisoned arrow would not ask what the arrow was made of, who the bowman who shot him was, what kind of bow he used, etc but simply would want to get the arrow out and live.
However though the Buddha didn't talk much of gods and such things, his followers did. Buddhism itself does not particularly need a deity to function, there doesn't need to be a being that controls samsara or initiated the cycle of rebirth and for the oldest branch of Buddhism, Theravada, that is enough. The largest branch of Buddhism does have gods, though, but even in Mahayana Buddhism the gods are subject to samsara, they live for thousands and thousands of years in pleasure, but even so eventually they die and re-enter the cycle to be reborn as a lower being.
The point I'm trying to make is that Celestia saying the Fluttershy's beliefs in cycles of death and rebirth also require a god are entirely incorrect. Taking examples from Buddhism, there is absolutely no need for a deity or deities and the question itself of whether there is a god or not is irrelevant to them. But even if there is a god... even the gods need enlightenment to be free of samsara.
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If you haven't yet i would suggest reading... oh who was it.... i believe it was Thomas Aquinas (I may have him mistaken for another philosopher.. its been a while sense i read much philosophy...I may be getting him mixed up with the fellow who came up with the 'stop watch on the beech' argument.... cant remember...), who said that its basically up to the individual, that he believed in god, and you should believe or not believe based on what you think is right, and what makes you happiest.
5911790 :rolleyes: The answer is a tentative no.
Applejack "believes" for no better reason than "papa said so", and she thinks he was making things up on the spot. Not all the things, but some unknown amount of them.
Pinkie Pie doesn't "believe" whatever she believes because she thinks it's true, she's just thinking happy thoughts to cheer herself up.
Fluttershy, when summing up her beliefs, says "if it's true". She doesn't actually think they're true, just that they might be. She likes to think that they are because if they were, they'd justify her personal moral code. Thinking this way makes her feel better.
Rarity's stance is actually justified. Not wholly justified, but reasonable, and the only one based on what she knows about the world rather than just her feelings. However, the things that make it reasonable don't apply to us. She believes in the universe being created by beings like her, but immortal and extremely powerful, but she lives in a world that has beings like her, but immortal and merely very powerful. Celestia's existence is in no one's doubt, Rarity just has some additional interpretation of her.
Finally, Celestia's spiel can be summed up as "gods are like assholes, everyone has one". It's all subjective opinions and musings and not facts of reality. Wrapped more nicely, of course, such that that people like Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy could nod in agreement and walk away, still feeling good about themselves and their beliefs.
5911785
Look, I don't mean to speak for the author (especially when he did such a good job doing it for himself) but I believe the point of the story is that he doesn't know what to believe, except that we all need to discover our beliefs for ourselves.
But that's just my take on it. If you really want the answer to your question, read the story again.
Turned my downvote to an upvote. Not bad, not bad. Celestia was the clincher. I can't think of a better thing she could have said, but she didn't say it with big imposing philosophical words/ideas. That's how you write Celestia.
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Gods fail their worshippers all the time. The Abrahamic god is no exception. Except he has the best spin: "I work in mysterious ways."
You may want to ask why I just jump on the Abrahamic god. Because the idea of a forgiving and tender god who takes care of every little thing you care about, came with contemporary religion. Old gods used to be much more capricious and demanding, and ppl accepted that as fact of life.
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I've been trying to let these go, but it's killing me.
Applejack's chapter is not about Christianity. It's about what Applejack believes.
Rainbow Dash's chapter is not about Atheism, Agnosticism, Nihilism, Humanism, or anything you're trying to define/clarify/zero in on. It's about what Rainbow Dash believes.
Fluttershy's chapter is not about Buddhism. It's about what Fluttershy believes.
Celestia's chapter is not the unfiltered truth. It's what Celestia believes.
Pinkie's chapter is awesome.
Rarity's chapter is fanfictionally obligatory.
The point of this story was not to tell readers what atheism is or is not. I'm very aware that nihilism and atheism are not synonymous terms, and it's silly to assume that I do. Your fear that I, or other readers, would take a blue pony's opinion as a textbook definition tells more about your anxiety of belief than it does mine.
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Well, it's an anxiety that stemmed from being a stereotyped minority for a good 2000 years.