Dannymay Day 1: Insect

source

sorry what

Moon Phases, two versions because I couldn’t decide which way to go.

Ohio Total Solar Eclipse

We take comfort in the familiar

yep, seems so

@princeofmanyrealms @princeofmanyrealms @princeofmanyrealms @princeofmanyrealms

Is the Sun proud, or perhaps even envious, of the way her student can connect to mortal ponies? (Thinking specifically of the Alicorn Twilight summary post, and her being able to have in-depth conversations with multiple ponies that "can last hours")

Celestia is proud of Twilight, yes. She is not envious, as having a relationship with tiny mortals is beyond what the sun cares about. They are so small, like motes of dust. She barely even misses them. She knows she is disconnected from mortal affairs and the chasm is far too deep for her light to reach.

Which is precisely why the sun took notice of Twilight Sparkle: she saw hope for a generation of magic where it's very definition is connection with mortals. Twilight created a friend for herself out of a rock, that's how important friendship was to her. If the gods could nurture this ache, could craft her life's path around connection with her fellow ponies, then she could become a bridge between gods and mortals for eternity.

It came with some unexpected consequences though. A goddess who cares first and foremost for mortal affairs is going to disagree with the way the other goddesses ran things for millennia. Celestia and Luna installed their own budding ruler as monarch of the crystal empire. But Twilight came in, listened to the subject's wishes, and convinced Cadance and the others to step down and allow a crystal pony to lead the crystal ponies instead of a colonist.

So rather than envy, there is a certain level of irritation. Twilight is here to promote the will of the people rather than the will of the gods. It's a direct consequence of her divine essence. She is the goddess of friendship, not of the sun or moon or romance. So of course she would have different priorities than the others. She is doing exactly what she was chosen to do and so much more.

As Twilight grows, Celestia and Luna realize more and more they are disconnected from mortals, and their will in picking rulers and making laws is out of touch, confusing, and damaging. They begin work to leave the kingdom in her hooves, trusting her to handle mortal affairs for the benefit of all. They shouldn't be surprised, then, when she dismantles the monarchy and steps down herself.

It's still shocking! But by now they've learned to listen to Twilight when she tells them of her conversations with tiny, insignificant ponies. They trust her to always prioritize harmony even at the expense of her own power.

This is why she was chosen, after all. To be what the sun could not be, forevermore.

Can I get a ✨ fact please

So, space is expanding.

But not all space.

Only intergalactic space.

This is because, within galaxies, gravity overpowers the expansion of space, effectively stabilizing it -- but between galaxies, there isn't enough gravity to do that, which means dark energy is allowed to expand space.

The effect of this is that, outside of small galactic clusters (the milky way, Andromeda, and a handful of dwarf galaxies in our neighborhood would be a galactic cluster, which isn't subject to expanding space due to immense gravity), every other galaxy in the observable universe is moving away from us, and accelerating in that process.