Calm, Calm... hmm...haaaa...Oh by the gods why does my magic still feel like this? Has it ever hurt so much before? Did tear something up inside when I fought the WCS? .....OK...OK hold it together Twilight. You can manage for now, You did it, you made it back to the ship, the crews safe. Just hold it together for a bit longer then see Ember and Doc about this when their awake. Just hold it together...
Keep it together Nocturne, She's back! You knew Twilight would come back for us! Everything is going to be OK now. Twilight can sort out everything, I'm sure she can sort out the visions. Twilight's always kept the nightmares at bay before. Just hold it together...
Friendship is strange. When did I decide I was so attached to these creatures? The small one doesn't even like me, yet I am glad that she lives. Not that this new, you have had many friends, some even as 'logic crisis' inducing as these ones. Despite everything... I want be here... Hold it together...
̩̺͖̟̞̑ ̸̺͙̝̬̺ͥ̿̑ ̨̡̡̳͉̦̙̜ͦ̏ͯg̨̭͍̥̪̤̱̞ͪ̓̿ͮ͗h̨̪̲̹̥̞̥̋̒ͅͅd̤͈͍̺̘͇̞̳ͤ̎ͤ́̊͐̓͟͡ș̨͙͚͍̳̆̀͋͛̊́͢á̧̧͕͍̼͍͍̗̟̅̅ų͍̈́ͭ̀̂̍ͪ̏gͦͥ҉̰̝̕͞ḅ̷̖͇̯̫̮̐̉̊a̺̝͙̬̾̉̃̈̀̉̊͐͢l͖̝̤̖͒ͮ͂̄͌͞k̻͎̰̮̠͎̮̹͑͂͜͠͞ͅs͎̤̩͚̠̹͑̐̈ͤ̋̆̓͟g̢̒̊̓͗͒ͯ̈́ͫ҉̮͕͔̫̯ḷ̶̭͑̐̏̄ͥ͜ĩ̼͇̌̂͐́ͯ̕ạ̫̰̥̩ͤ̋̄ͧͬͧš̷̠͔͓̰̜͖͕͙̋u͕̪̗̝͓͆ͨ̅͒̎̋̐͆g̡̠̗̘͍͓͙ͭͮͪͩ̽̎̂̏h̢͖̰̭̪̹̍̌̽ͮ̍͘͡l̶̜͖̱̰̘̇i̝̰ͯ̍ͣ̒̒s̛̼̼ͫͦ͌̏͜͟ȃ̵̲̞͛̐ͦ̓͆̔̚̕ ̴̭͚̩̰̞͙̬̻̭̌ͩͯ͋͝H̰̪̫̯͕͍ͪ͗̀ͫ́̀̚̚E̸̖ͦ̑́̀͜ͅL̤̳͕͙̬̣̋͋̂͛̃͗̈̽͘ͅP̧̱̙̝̬̆̈́ͥ̔̃̎̕ͅ ̶̝̯͎̠̤̥͎ͭ͂̄́͝i͔͍̱̱̅ͥ͟ḍ̱̳͎̣ͬͬͩ̔͠a̵̯̺̼̮ͩͯͣ̾b̅̄̊̅ͭͮ͏̮͇͎͇̪͉v̩̀͊ͩ̆o̖̯͎͍̖͈͕͗̀̐̽͟͞ḧ̭̗̤͇̫ͪͧͩ̈́͢ͅv̸̨̩͉͚̬ͩͮͥ̃̾ͯͤ̊͟ͅḇ̴͈̳̟̓͂ͬ͞s̛̩͎̿̔ͣ̎̅ͦa̪̙̙͋̏̓͢v̧̥͍͚͕̰͉̼̳̾ͨͨ͐̿ ̴̡̗͈͍̮̪̭̥̽́ͤ̚ͅs̸̗̜̲ͬͯ̓̈́ͫ̇̍́̀͘d̴̢̩̮̑̈́͋̃ͩ̀̚̚j̶̱̹̖̦̮̎ͧͯv̢͕̪͖ͮ̕͝b͉̝͚̟̭̱̪̲͗̅̐́̒ͦ́͟a̢̢̖̹͂ͤ͊ͨ͟s̭̙̗ͩ̾̂̌͊̃̓̆kͬ̄̓͟҉͏̼̠̟̥̘̖j͎̯̖͇̼̭ͤ͝͠v̴̛̞̙̥̭̠̦̏ͤ̐ͤ͊͒ͬ̓͝b̪̰͕̦̄͂͠ͅk̡ͫͣ̄̔̂̄̽҉͎͔̩̫̤̟s̛̻̣͙͖̭̝͉̓ͪ̄̀͠a̷̻̣͗ͣ̾ͯͮ̀͒̀͜d̨͓͚̱̰̻̱͇̱̓̎̊ͧ͌́ͅḇ̲̱̬͖̊̆̏v̧̢̻͋̅ͨ ̪͉̼̙̤̺̩̈́̐͜j̵͔̠͌̓͠s̘̤̤̹̒ͧ͘dͧ͂ͤͫ͏̭̬͍̙v̘͉̜ͩ͑͊̔̄̋̂͐̀̚ķ̳̩̗͓͚͍͙̤̄ͪ̅͂̌ͥ͌ͧ͝d̠̫͚̖̖͋́͒͂̆ͣ̐ͣ̕͜ͅṣ̶̻͖̮ͧ̓͜b̼̣̖͉͓͊̆ͯ̀ͧ̔v̵̸̙̤̜̙̳̯̼́̀̒̈́͊ͭ́̓
̺̮ͮ̂̈́̋̽͛͠âͫͥͯ̏̃͏̖̭̼͕̫̗̫͘ḙ̡̢̘̻̂͒ͤ̂ͧͨ͒̕ͅs̷̾͑̀҉̖̟̣u̜̦̭͓̰̭̭͍̘͋̊ͭ͜͞h͍̪͍͓͎̦̥ͫ͛ͯ̿̀͟a̧̩̾̈́͘s̵̰̤̘ͫ͂̓ͮͩ͜i̜̥̤̬̞ͫ̈́ͦͥ̓̌͊ͥ̚g̋̔́̊͏͖̠̥̫̘͘i̘̜ͩͬ̐͒͘͘ͅaͭ̐̐͛ͩͮ̎̑̍҉̮̩͔̹̣̠ͅl̶̨̙̙͔͇̂ͨͥ͂͗̓͆͂͝u̴̩̹̪̺̱̗͐̓̈̄̒́̈̚͘͢s̗̼͓͍͚ͬ͑͟ͅv̸̶̪̘̿̋̾ͨ͌̄ͮ͒I̛̮̜̹̖̙̼̜ͣ̀ͬ͡ ̴̳̯̝̏ͦ̅̆ͣ̓͗̕C̛̦͍͙̩̝̯̱͛̔̇ͣ͡Ả̟͕͖̠͈̋͌̆̿͂͌͛N̢̘̲̩͎̙̼̪̯͉ͧ̉͒ͧ ̣̖̰͑̑̀̉̇͠S̭͛̅͗ͅE̲̘͗͑̀͘͜E̫͎̯̹̰̣̒͒͐͑ͥ͠ ̱̟ͤ́̀T̊̓̿̊̇̽҉͔͍̣̫̝͚H̶̛̝̮̖̺̮̱̠̹͊̋͐͂̃͋̾̎E̷̷̟͎͔ͮ͠ ͉͙̭̫͉̝͉̪͕̈́̇̊ͪ̄̽ͩͧ̓͝N̨̖̺͔̿̕I̸̠͕̼̳̼̘̺̱̓͛͋͐̔̇̀͘G̢̪̺̘̭̫̖̀̓̊ͫͯ͜H̵̡͓̝̩̾ͨ̉̀ͯͪͨ͢Ṫ̖̭̘̫̠͌͜M̵̴̡͉̺ͬ̍͒ͤ͊̋̚A̬̹̪̜̮̥ͮ̌̋͆̀̑͞R̮ͨ͐̓̏̈́̋̅̿̉̀͟ͅEͩ̎͜͏̩͇̲̥̗S̴̩̬̗͓̖̗̀͌́ͫͯͩ̀͜ ̵̵̦͙̱̰̝̖̮̾̊̈͌͟a̶̪͕̣̫̬͋͘f͇̜̰͓͙̖̥̲̃̓́̃̊͑̾͘b̧̧̤̠̣̗̗̦̜́̆̔ͩ̀l̻̭͔̼̼͌̂ͬ̂ͩ͢f͉̪̰͉͓̱̱̤ͪ̍̊̋̐̿b̏͗̆ͣͩ̑̚͏̞̝͎̮͍̰̭ͅa̛̩̼̓͛̈́͗ͥͦ̓́l̫͔͐́̓͌ͨ̇̊ͥ̕͜b̜̝̩̥̰̫̾́ͣ͆̔͟l̷̰͔̟̪͑̔̎̄ͮ̃̅f͍̗̽̿ͯͬͩ̊̽́͟͝b̧̲̙̙͙̥̳̂̔̾͂͐̔̿̊ͅb͇̠̻̼͈̬̺̞ͨ͂ͮ͌̉ͧ̑̋͟͞l̳̖͖̫̄̂̽̕s̶̠̈̊͐͂̅̀a̢̞̥͎̫̎̀j̷̘̪͓̾̏ͩ̅ṉ̡̥̺̟̗̬̬̬ͮ͐͋̂̒͒̈́̑g̻͈͖̾ͬ́͞v̝̘̻͈̓ͨ̐̽̾͆͝a̧̠̫͍̭͉̦̺̳̺ͣͧ̓ͨ̐͛̐͡ḽ̷̠͓͈̪̫̲͚̤ͮͫ̈́ͦ̔s͈̥̮͎̰̮̰͕̓̊̀ͩͯ̃f̴̯̻̥͆̈́̏b͎͚̽͡ļ̭̱̫̫̞̥̟̆͂ͣ̎̊ͥ̚͘͘š̶̡͕͎̣̣̲̜͔̞̲̈́͞d̟̮͖̾̀b͚̘̹͈̹̌̇ͤv͓̝͖̺̰͔͔ͪ̌̚̚
̴͖̣͉ͪ͒͞ ̧͇̻̄ͦ͘ ̐̾ͤ̂͌̐ͫ́҉̣͕̜̻ ̧̰̪͓̻͖͎̖͎ͫͭ̄̍̊ͅ ̩͍̦̤̳̖̆̔̋̎̽̾͢ ̷̧̮̬̩͕̅ͫ̏̍ ͍̖̫̹́ͣ̽ͣ̿̂̌̽̚̕ ̡̛̙̦̒̈͛͊͂͜ ̻̞̩͇̋͐͆͌ͪͭ̂̎̎ ̴̵̟̖̘̟̲̾̍͝ ̷̼̳̖̪̻̓͂̐͛̆̏ͬͬ̎͞ͅf̴̴̡̹̘̼̳̠͈ͭ̀̔̇́̚ͅb̛̦͖͙͉̖͇͇̫̆ͨ̀̒͘͜v̑̋͋͑̎͛̇̒͡҉̼̯d̢̮̲̳̭̜̬̖̓ͮ͋͊͑̄̇͞fͧ͐̐͛҉̥͡ẕ̷̿̀͡ ̣̳̤͈̩̹̩̘̲̈́̾̌̉ͬ͛̀ ̟͙̟̦̲͔̥͍̉ͫͪ͊̄̂̉̌̚ ̢̰̥͍ͩͦ͋̒͒ͥ̽̂ ̴̰̦̭͎̰̯̜̙̩ͯ̚ ̛̹̣̋͡ͅ ̧̬̜̲ͫ͊ͪͭ̈ͪ̚̚ ͪͨ͏͓̻͓̠͇͡ ͚̥̗́̅ͣͫͯͭ ̧̣͍̅̀ͣ̋ͯ̌͘ ̧̟̹͖̰̜͍̟̞ͫ̈ ͖͚ͫ̈́͂̋̔͐̅̾ ̡̹̤͉̺͔̬̰͋͛ͧ̓ͧ̂̄̓f̖̱̱͖̼͂ͮ͝j̵̬̗͔͈̜ͧ̒ͥ͢h͇͈̭̻̰̟͍̝ͮ̐̎ͭͦͧ̽͑͛̕͠s̡̩̜̱̗͔͛ͬͭ͌̽̐̽ͥ͗͡a̸͈̗̼̙̟̎̒̂ͦ̃̃̎̕͞ ̤̩̻͍͙̄̉̂͞ ̣̦ͫ̽́ͭ́ͯ̍̂͘͝ ̛͍̙ͤ̈͛̐g̷͇̝͕̝̰̳͕̀͊̀i̲̝͎̠̖̻̭̒̾̄ͦ̑r̩̯̜͆ͬ̒ͪ͠͞s͍̫͊ͧ̍ͤ̈́̇̇u͂͏̴҉̱͕͎̭̟̬a̶ͩ̍̍҉̙͇͖v͍͍͇̿̍̐̊̋̓̌͒̒h̴̹̘̤͈̞̟͙ͮ̒̾ͣͩ̍͟s̸̳̰͓̖͔̙̽̑̀̕u͎͕̿ͧͥͧ͑̈͋̌̌v̱̩̞͉̘ͬ̊ͯ̈́́́̔̐̅ḇ̵̷͎͚͈̣̿ͬ̇ͫ̆͘ ̷̱͇̮͎̭͐̿ͫ̋̆͆̓ͥ͞ ̶̗̖̗̩̬̩̹̠ͮ́͡T̵̛͈̞͔̰̪̭̎̇̉ͮ͌͂ͮ̔Hͭ̾͆ͭͩͭ͊҉̛̱ͅE̻̣̙͍̱͖͓̺ͨ̀͆ͪ͆ͥͤ̽ ̵͖̝̫͙̟͙̲̺̎̓͜͡N̲͕̦͙̭̗͑͆̋ͬͫͫ̍̕ͅͅḮ̪̮͎̠̠͔ͯ̃̽̐̃͊̒̇͞͞G͒ͫ͐ͬͣ̄̒̔̆͏̼̣̣̰͓Ĥ̴̶̝̫̭̟̞̬ͦ̋̐ͥ͜T͉̫͔̩͙͉͇̲ͧ̍̒̔͆͆ͩ͂́͘ͅ ̴̤̻͓̭̤̝͒̄ͮ̽Ȅ̸̼̻͔̞̼̈́̽ͣ̾Ț̭̪̯̬̫̗̔̏ͥͮ̏ͪ͊̓E̶̞̖̱͍̳͔̗̝ͧͬR̭͍͔̣̠̙̹͖ͯ̐̇͌Ń̷̠͉̤̼̬̞ͮͭͫ̍͢A̝͐L̶̝͍ͤͦ̿̀̚̚ͅ ̫̖̤͚̻͈̙̱͇̌͗̊ͭ͛̇̚Ĭ̴͇̠̰͉̜͔̊̿̔̓͆͠ͅS̒ͤ̋͒͗ͣ̃ͬ͊͏̹͖͚̲̮̜͔̀ ̤̤̫̜̙̥̼ͩ̊̄̽̔ͣ͊C̷̖̲͇ͭͨ́ͣ͝O͎̲̒̾́͛̇̉̂͢M̡̖͚̠̺͈̤̼̊͛̊̄̿ͮ̈́ͫ͠ͅI̛͚̰̫̬͌̊͘͠N̨̞̱͕̩̭͔͚͎̏̄͑̅̋ͨ͊̽́G̰͓͕̋̊̌̓̀ͧ̀ ̰͇̲̭̺̹̑̊ͮͬ̔ͪ̔ͥ̀̚
̸͍͙̖̖̼̱̤̆ͩͧ̂̓ͪͯ̆͗ż̸͓̜̝̯̰̘̝̽̽̈͑̕͞f̡̼̙̽̀͘l̡̝̦̦͉͙̫͈͖̍͒̽b̡̹͍͂ͤ̀a̟͍̿ͬ̍̃̑;̨ͫͨ̌̊҉͇̗̠g̢̹̝͕̜͖ͫ̂̃̐ͩ͒͗̕ń̨̫͔̰͈͓̉ͪ̈̇͑d̹̮͖̄̃ḽ̠̖̻̺̱̦̈̏ͯ̒́̋b̭͓͔͖̲̰̓ͣͩͣ̀̑͑ͨ̓̀͠n̷̼̗̭͈̮̬ͤ͑̉ͯ̕͠v̩̼̬̘̠͚̮̳̽̌̔͡͡ ͙̊ͭ̿̈́̒̒͗͛͝k̷̩̮̦̗̼̃̅a͇̙͈̗͓͈̩̿ͨ́͝s̎͑҉̨̫̗̰̝̀ġ̡̈́̌͋ͭͦͥͨ̚͏͇̣̦̫̳̗̠̙̀j͈̥̒ͮ͐̅ͪ͐͘̕b̩̙̼̊͒̀͑̄͂̚ą̪̭̔̏ͩ̈̑͡s̑ͩ͊̾͒͏̦͇̲̞̀͢l̹̏̎̅̽ͅŗ̧̩̼͈̺̪̩̦̦̮́̃̔͗̌ͮ̾̂̏͡g͍͓͚̦̬͚͚͌ͫ̇̑̂̚bͧ҉̰̫͇̠͔͕̦̕ͅͅ ̸̢͇̰̗̮͔͓̦̎̋̇ͭͥa͆̓̎̀͋̍̀҉̙̲̙̝̠͖ͅo̬̽̑̉̚ī̵̖̟̝̟̩̣̎ͨ̿ͫͫ͊ͤ̇̕t̘̭̣̣̖̠̊̀̈́ͬ͋̅ͬ͑̊̕r̳̟̳̜̿̔̍̈͢g̘͉̗̉̓̃̌ų̦͔̪̖̦͚͈̓̓͂̑ͭ̇́̕s͙̩͙̲͈̤̘̭͔ͭͧj̷̱̞̲̣̫̰͕͔͂͒̽̈͒͞gͤͯ̾̅҉͎͢ ̶̿̎͋͛͏̸͖͔̺̫̘͎ḩ̮͈̟͉̅̄̌͋͌͗ͩ͢͞g̒̚͏̧̯̪̺ă̵͉̙̝͐̓͝͝s̸̫̹̣͇̩̩͚̥̅͑̑ͮ̈́͠g̷̷͉̳̺̰̥̻̺̹̐͆̿̅̌ͅh̝̭̬̃ͤ̐̍̊l̏̎̑̇̏̓͏͈͡s̴̠͚ͣͤ͝͞a̢̦̠͖̱͇̘͐͝b͎͚͓ͧ̏͒͂̓̂̽́̅v̡̞̹̬ͨ̅ ̇ͪͅi͛͛̆̈́̇͐ͨ͛͏̻̗͔̜̤̟͉a̷̢͇̞̫͇͂̍͘ű̧̯̘͖̜̮͕̠͑ͫͩ͋̓ͫ̈́g̵̥͈̹̦͎̩̖̔͑̃b̎ͫ͝҉̲̹̥į̴͔̣͙̳̣̜̦̐̀̂ͨ́ả̵͔͔̮̘̼̔͑̽͌ͧ̎́͢b̬͍͒̈̄a̮̭͓̥͖̰̓͗̍d̴̡̩̠͛͆ͬ̍̔̆ͧͣ̂ś̡̝̭̣͙̤̥̂ͩ̐̂ͣͨͭ͢͝b̨̛̦̮̠̼͕͑̔͒̈́̅ͦͅ
̵̨͇͈̠̭̤͖͈ͤͬͣ͒ͧ̋͂̐͑
̛̳̝̙̖͌͛̅̚
̉͒̾͂͊͋ͪ͆҉̤̰͔͉̞̉͒̾͂͊͋ͪ͆҉̤̰͔͉̞H̢̭̪̪̼͍͖͉ͥ̽Ȏ̳̗̫͚̩̰͍̘ͬͥ̍̒ͮ͒͆̅͟͠L̷̩̻̠̦̼̬ͯͩ̏̚D̗̺̙̤͍͔͖̥̭̿̌́ ͉͎̗̮̞͍̀̔̂ͨ̒̌̂ͮ̓͠I͙̞̖̱͇ͩ̇̈Ṫ̢͓̠̘̠̹͋̆͛͊̅ͯ̄͌͘ ͈̩̋͋̐͟͠T͚̼̫͉̋̑̈́̎͂͌̿O̷͉͉̖̥̱͆̓̽́ͦͧͤ́͐G̻͎͂̂͐̔̇͜Ë͙̦̓ͮ͂͒͌ͅT͚̀ͮ͆̐͒͑̀H̛͎̼͛̇̔ͤ͟E̴͕̼̮͖̫̟ͥ͛ͩͬ̓ͦ͠R̡̩͖̝͉̬̰̬ͯ̉̀̒́ ̺̘̄ͮ̈́̉̕͢ ̥͍ͤͬ͌͐̅͒͊̃̀͘͘
I'll admit I haven't read the story yet, but...
...But that can't be possible, since entropy should affect her as well—as she is a part of the universe's total thermodynamic system, after all. The nucleons comprising Twilight Sparkle would have fallen apart due to proton decay in decillions of years (10^33) or so. And even if protons don't decay, cold fusion occurring via quantum tunneling should make the light nuclei in ordinary matter fuse into iron-56 nuclei in quingentillions of years (10^1503)—but even before then, this quantum tunneling would cause atomic matter to completely rearrange within the time frame of unvigintillions of years (10^66), ultimately turning the matter comprising "Twilight Sparkle" into something that cannot be considered "Twilight Sparkle" any more, nor considered living for that matter. However, the protons are still expected to decay even without "radioactive" proton decay, for example via processes involving virtual black holes, or other higher-order processes, with a half-life of under a sesexagintillion years (10^213).
—But even an immortal Twilight should have died long before any of that. Conditions suitable for creation of edible food and drinkable water would have ceased to exist. "She absorbs ambient energy as sustenance instead"? Nope, eventually the energy will be so spread out by the metric expansion of space that coming across even a single photon or electron would require long periods of searching. Even dark matter and energy would eventually be so thinly spread that a being of appreciable power would be unable to sustain itself for long. By the time entropy "destroys" the universe via heat death, even immortal Twilight would be long dead, if not due to the sheer lack of energy available with which to sustain herself, then due to the physical laws that allowed her existence in the first place being altered by the process to such a degree that the state of being "Twilight Sparkle, immortal pony" would no longer be physically possible—especially so if a "Big Rip" scenario is to occur at the end of this universe.
...Aaaaaand now to actually read the story.
ghdsaugbalksgliasughlisa HELP idabvohvbsav sdjvbaskjvbksadbv jsdvkdsbv
aesuhasigialusvI CAN SEE THE NIGHTMARES afblfbalblfbblsajngvalsfblsdbv
fbvdfz fjhsa girsuavhsuvb THE NIGHT ETERNAL IS COMING
zflba;gndlbnv kasgjbaslrgb aoitrgusjg hgasghlsabv iaugbiabadsb
HOLD IT TOGETHER
Night Time eternal? Oh, I think that's well past.
5174370 Well actually, as the universe expands there's more dark energy, so it's not absurd to think that Twilight can, with her magic, feed off that. And while proton decay would happen, there's no reason to think it's happened yet.
By this time, far out into the Degenerate Era, entropy has essentially destroyed the universe. The fire's out, and who cares if some of the embers are still cooling?
5174370
Is it wrong that I actually understood most of that?
In any case, reality wise, then yes, the insane amount of years that has run by would ultimately made her existence impossible.
But in her world, she has access to an untangible force we call magic. It might exist in our universe, but we don't know about it, or it's properties.
Taking this into account, it would still be possible for her to exist if she was, by essence, a pure magical being, which a "god" essentially is.
Since magic is an untangible force that we can't study, we can't rule it out as a pure energy form.
Energy, as you might know, never ceases to exist, it only changes form from one to another. Kinetic to thermal, and so on.
Since she's(most likely) a being of raw energy, she could have the ability to reabsorb the magic, or pure energy, that she already expels.
Logically, this would make her existence, and immortality, highly probable.
5174466
[Citation Needed]
That's not how energy works. Also, Twi is, very clearly, flesh.
5174466
However, logically, loss of energy would be inevitable with any interaction due to the laws of thermodynamics—and if "magic" is an energy, like electromagnetic or kinetic energy, it too should be spread very very thinly by this point due to the expansion of space (a very reasonable assumption), making the difficulty of transferring energy ("heat") exponentially increasing—this is the meaning of "heat death". Even if she were a being of "raw energy" (although, in essence we are also "raw energy"... all matter is just a state of energy to begin with), she would still be subject to this law.
5174429
No. Dark energy is, in the form of a cosmological constant, a constant energy density filling space homogeneously. The density of this energy is extremely low—in the solar system, it is estimated only 6 tons of dark energy would be found within the radius of Pluto's orbit, which varies between 30 to 49 AU (4.4–7.4 billion kilometers) from the Sun. This is a density of about 1.67 yoctograms per cubic meter (1.67×10^−24 g/m^3), which is an energy density of 15 nanojoules per cubic meter (1.5×10^−10 J/m^3). The current universe, with an estimated volume of about 7 billion cubic yottameters (7×10^81 m^3), would therefore contain about 11.69 decillion yottagrams (1.169×10^55 kg) of dark energy, which would be about 1.05 quinquadecillion yottajoules (1.05×10^72 J). The acceleration of the space is between 67.8—76.2 (average 72) kilometers per second per megaparsec. After about 8 trillion years (8,000,000,000,000 years)—too early for to be in the Degenerate Era (which is supposed to happen after 100 trillion years)—a galaxy that was one megaparsec away from Earth today expanding away at 72 kilometers per second will be expanding away from Earth at a rate of about 12.2777 unquinquagintacentillion yottameters per second (1.227772×10^478 km/s)—1.12 sesquadragintacentillion yottaparsecs per second (1.122888^459 Mpc/s). If dark energy had an extremely low energy density 8 trillion years before and follows the law of volumetric expansion, it would have decreased exponentially; if it does not follow the law of volumetric expansion and remained constant... it would still have an energy density far too low for Twilight to subsist off it.
5174429
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Smokey3.jpg
ROFLing very much at the intense scientific debate in the comments on how the laws of thermodynamics affect an Alicorn
5174918 Yes, the energy that Dark Energy has on 'normal' scales is small. You seem to have misunderstood what I was saying: as the universe expands there's more dark energy, because there's more space for it to fill up. It doesn't become denser, but there's more of it because there's more vacuum.
And as for it being too weak for Twilight to feed off? Ye of little faith. Have trust in the Purplesmart.
5176436
Don't want the science of your story to be discussed by readers?
Then don't base the premise of your story around the conclusion of a prominent scientific theory.
—AKA "You really should have predicted this outcome, because it was quite frankly as obvious as a charging herd of rampaging elephants."
5176727
Energy Densities of Various Sources, Sorted from Smallest to Largest
• Dark Energy: 150 femtojoules per liter (1.5×10^−13 J/L)
• Potential Energy of Water @ 100 Meters Elevation: 1 kilojoule per liter (1.0×10^3 J/L)
• Gaseous Hydrogen: 10.05 kilojoules per liter (1.005×10^4 J/L)
• Enthalpy of Fusion of Pure Ice: ~306 kilojoules per liter (3.06×10^5 J/L)
• Liquid Hydrogen: 8.491 megajoules per liter (8.491×10^6 J/L)
• Carbohydrates and Proteins: ~17 megajoules per liter (1.7×10^7 J/L)
• Hydrazine: 19.3 megajoules per liter (1.93×10^7 J/L)
• Coal, Bituminous: 20 megajoules per liter (2.0×10^7 J/L)
• Ethanol: 24 megajoules per liter (2.4×10^7 J/L)
• Sugar (Dextrose) Metabolism: 26.2 megajoules per liter (2.62×10^7 J/L)
• RP-1/Jet A/Kerosene: 33 megajoules per liter (3.3×10^7 J/L)
• Gasoline/Petrol: 34.2 megajoules per liter (3.42×10^7 J/L)
• Aluminium Metal 83.8 megajoules per liter (8.38×10^7 J/L)
• Uranium-238 in Breeder Reactor: ~1.54 petajoules per liter (1.54×10^15 J/L)
• Arbitrary Antimatter ~926 septemvigintillion yottajoules per liter (9.26×10^110 J/L)
As reference for general comparison...
Minimum Ignition Energy of Common Flammable Fluids, in Joules at Percent by Volume in Air
• Acetylene: 17 microjoules at 8.5% (1.7×10^-5 J)
• Butane: 250 microjoules at 4.7% (2.5×10^-4 J)
• Propane: 250 microjoules at 5.2% (2.5×10^-4 J)
• Propylene: 280 microjoules at 6.55% (2.8×10^-4 J)
• Acetone: 1.15 millijoules at 4.5% (1.15×10^-3 J)
• Ammonia: 680 millijoules at 21.5% (6.8×10^-1 J)
• The spatial volume of dark energy required to ignite even a tiny amount of butane in ideal conditions: 1.667 gigaliters (1.667×10^9 L) worth—a sphere of space almost 317 meters in diameter, equivalent to the volume of The Melbourne Cricket Ground.
• The spatial volume of dark energy required to melt a common ~20 milliliter ice cube: 40.8 petaliters (4.08×10^16 L) worth—a sphere of space almost 214 kilometers in diameter, equivalent to nearly ten times the volume of The Grand Canyon.
• The spatial volume of dark energy required to maintain a healthy human diet of ~9–11 megajoules per 24 hour day: 60–73.33 exaliters (6.0–7.333×10^19 L) worth—a sphere of space almost 4.9–5.2 megameters (4.9–5.2×10^6 m) in diameter, equivalent to over 24–30 times the volume of The Gulf of Mexico.
i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww118/AAKRON/tumblr_macuyhfxur1revv8uo1_400.gif
Face it, Twilight's basically a perpetual motion machine in this story, which raises the question: "how is heat death occurring if the first law of thermodynamics, the crux of entropy, can be denied by a small purple horse?"
5178500 Ahh sorry my previous comment was worded badly.
What i meant to imply is that i'm loving the fact there is such detailed discussion over my story., but you have to admit in perspective its kinda funny considering its an extremely absurd situation being discussed.
Also While i am basing this on scientific theory, this takes place in a universe very different from our own. one that supports magic, extra dimensions and other pseudo-science, so bare with me while i try and hammer out a semi-logical explanation for how things are working
Thirdly;
Twilight isn't exactly a perpetual motion device in this scenario you should defiantly have more faith in a Purplesmart who's been studying magic and the laws of reality for most of this universes lifespan and who's first teachers moved decent sized celestial objects around everyday of their lives like it was nothing and they were't even the most powerful creatures on their own planet
5180553
"Celestial objects" that are repeatedly observed in the canon show to not follow the laws of gravitation (nor the restrictions of the speed of light, given how we observe the sun and moon moving immediately after Celestia/Luna/whomever decides to move them, despite the real Sun being almost 8.5 light-minutes away from the Earth—pulling this off requires that some pretty ridiculous time-traveling properties) since, if they did, "raising" and "lowering" them would be meaningless and unnecessary (not to mention potentially catastrophic) in the first place due to the effects of gravitational orbiting behavior—all of which suggests that they have neither gravity nor mass of their own, which means they probably lack "matter" and are thus not even "physical objects" to begin with. Or, at the very least, we can say that they behave sufficiently different from the definition of a "celestial object" that they cannot be directly compared with the real Sun and Moon—much less any other real objects, whether massive or tiny—due to the former's apparent lack of the required properties needed to make them compatible phenomena.
Moving apparently nearby (less than one light-second away) massless "not-objects" is not exactly an [impressive] feat of force like moving a massive physical object would be—certainly, it cannot count as the act of moving stellar-sized objects, given we cannot actually define them as "objects", much less "stars"—rather, it is a feat of a completely different nature, one that is undefinable as of this moment, since the exact properties of the "sun" (and "moon") of Equestria are currently unknown. All we know is that they do not follow a number of critical astrophysical laws, regardless of whether or not a pony is using "magic" on them at that time.
5182298
If the sun and moon doesn't follow the laws of gravitation and laws of the speed of light, then why should the universe follow the same set of laws as well?
In our universe, we have these laws. But in the universe equestria resides, these laws are definitely not present.
Although, I do agree on her being a creature of pure energy would be absurd, the fact(Or more like the theory) that the sun and moon do not follow these laws of physics, must also mean that there are other anomalies in the universe. This could, theoretically, mean that Twilight could expel her energy only to consume it again to fuel herself endlessly.
As the author said, she's had most of the entire universe's lifetime to study the activities of the varying celestial objects that exist, who says she couldn't have thought of a way to make my theory a possibility?
Of course, everything's just up for speculation, and the universe equestria resides in might well less restricted than our own.
5186410
Because you have to provide consistent evidence to support the claim that their universe follows different laws.
A "gravity-like phenomenon" (if not exactly gravity) is clearly observed to exist in the show. Also, "gravity" was even specifically mentioned by name within the show, by no less than Twilight Sparkle herself.
1. Yes, it is technically a theory (so is gravity, electromagnetism, and all physics in general); however, it is a theory that is directly and clearly supported by observations of the show. You must admit, it would be hard to argue for the claim that the Equestrian Sun and Moon are just like our own, when they are clearly shown to behave in ways that are completely different from how the real Sun and Moon behave.
2. No. Your logic is a hasty generalization fallacy. Just because one or two exceptions exist does not mean that there must be more—there could be exactly that many and no more, or there could be less since we could have misunderstood the phenomena as being exceptions when they were in actuality not. Evidence of additional exceptions must be provided to make valid claims of their existence.
This is—by definition—perpetual motion, which defies the first and/or second laws of thermodynamics—laws upon which this story depends for its very premise to even be a valid concept ("heat death", specifically: wherein the universe has diminished to a state of no thermodynamic free energy due to entropy). If Twilight is doing what you suggested, it proves my earlier claim that she is a perpetual motion machine in this story.
...Because your theory is a case of perpetual motion, which potentially invalidates the entire premise of "heat death" by denying entropy.
5188414
But the laws of thermodynamics could, theoretically, still apply even with twilight being a perpitual motion machine.
Although she can still die, according to this and many other stories, she would, due to the extent of her assumed magical power, be considered a goddess.
If the general laws of physics applies in this universe, then as you said, the sun and moon could be pursuaded by magic, instead of moving on their own. If this is the case, then magic could possibly override physics, and thus granting her the ability. It might just be the sun and the moon, and nothing else. But it might just as well be anything else, too.
As I've stated, magic isn't an element that exists in our own universe, as far as I know. We only have speculations and our fantasy to think about how magic could work.
Without the ability to study this unknown element, we can't rule out the possibility of magic > physics in terms of force, or "laws".
Magic might be a part of their laws of physics, with certain limitations, but it might as well be on a higher priority in regards to what affect everything.
[ignore this]
5189599
Perpetual motion is motion (work) that continues indefinitely without any external source of energy. This is impossible in practice because of sources of energy loss such as thermal radiation and friction. Perpetual motion is epistemically impossible, as all proposed perpetual motion machines violate either (or both) the first or second law of thermodynamics.
• 1st Law: The total energy of an isolated system cannot change—it is said to be conserved over time. Energy can be neither created nor destroyed, but can change form. No system lacking an unlimited external energy supply can deliver an unlimited amount of energy to its surroundings—it will eventually run out of thermodynamic free energy.
• 2nd Law: In a natural thermodynamic process, there is an increase in the sum of the entropy of the participating systems—whenever energy is transformed from one form to another form, entropy increases and energy decreases. Energy tends towards a state of equilibrium, observed in the tendency for mass to always roll downhill and for energy and matter of differing temperature, pressure, and/or density to even out.
You claim "Perpetual Motion Twilight" could theoretically exist in accordance to the laws of thermodynamics, infinitely sustaining herself by absorbing the energy she expends. Assuming that she both did absolutely nothing (this includes and is not limited to: moving, thinking, using magic, all biological processes, existing as a chemically-complex entity...) and had 100% efficiency (another epistemical impossibility, given that atoms release photons and undergo radioactive decay over time), she could hypothetically sustain herself indefinitely. But the moment she does anything at all, she loses energy that cannot be simply be regained. Using an earlier example to illustrate my point: the minimum ignition energy of acetylene gas is 17 microjoules at 8.5% concentration in air. No, it doesn't matter if you cry "Twilight is hyper-energy efficient"—she still needs 17 microjoules of energy to ignite even a single molecule of acetylene. End of story. Efficiency does not change that requirement—it only relates to the loss of energy to factors besides the desired effect, like waste heat produced by friction. So, let's say she expends that energy to ignite some acetylene gas using magic, with hypothetical 100% efficiency so no additional energy is expended. She can't just take that 17 microjoules of energy back—it's been expended already, so taking it back would require completely reversing its effect, reverting to the starting point and un-igniting the gas (which is a waste of time and effort). She could absorb 17 microjoules from the ignited acetylene, but this is not her energy, it is the chemical energy stored in the acetylene that is being released as heat and light. And while Twilight might be 100% efficient, everything else is still realistic, so energy is lost every time she acts, even if she absorbs energy from the outside—which, by the way, would make her NOT a perpetual motion machine, since she was absorbing external energy instead of sustaining herself indefinitely without any external source.
"Physics" is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves. It relates to matter and energy, and how both behave. It is impossible to "break" a physical law—not necessarily because those laws are unyielding and unchanging truths, but instead precisely because they are capable of changing and evolving: thus, any phenomenon that would "break" a physical law would instead merely redefine that law, as we learned more about the mysterious phenomenon and how it worked. Therefore, all observable phenomena in the universe are covered under the term "physics".
...So rationally, if "magic" were possible, it would also be covered under the term "physics". It is functionally impossible for the conclusion "magic > physics" to be true, even in such a universe where magic existed, since "magic" would merely be a part of a greater "physics", much like "electromagnetism" or "thermodynamics".
In short: if "magic" actually existed, it would automatically fall under the purview of "science", since "science" relates to all things that can be known and explained. How's that for a mind-bender?
5198552
Magic wouldn't necessarily fall under the scientific category, however.
From what we've seen from video games, movies and comcis, magic is an untangible force that could possibly reverse the laws of physics as an occult means to, quite literally, "do whatever you want".
If magic existed, I highly doubt it could actually be studied, like the forces of nature can. Magic, according to practically everyone, can create storms, create spontanious combustion without a source other than the magic itself, destroy energy as well as create it(not just change it's type from thermo to kinetic, but literally destroy and create), and is possibly limitless.
If magic existed, it would be a thing closer to "God's Powers" than actual science. Sure, there are the ones that try to understand the occult as well as religion, but it has never been truly successful. Because how would we be able you study a creature, or something untangible, that could potentially throw this world into chaos, because it can change, reverse or destroy the laws of physics in one moment, and revert it at another point?
Void magic(literally creating black holes/portals), anti gravitation, pulling the celestial bodies across the skies, making yourself immortal(lich), countless other phenomenon that can't be explained any other way than just "it's magic".
You could study magic for it's properties, how to use it and what specific people could use it for, but you couldn't understand how it works.
Conclusion: Magic > laws of physics
Well, that's my theory, of course.
Anything I say could be dead wrong
5200078
Magic is allegedly supernatural charms, spells or other methods to dominate natural forces, is practiced in many cultures, and utilizes ways of understanding, experiencing and influencing the world in a manner akin to that of religion. Boiled down, it is effectively synonymous with the word 'miracle' in meaning. So if we are talking about the strictly "traditional" definition of "magic" (and I most certainly am!), observed by real life "magical orders" like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Theosophical Society—rather than the contemporary "loose" definition given to a broad range of "superpowers" in fictional settings in order to collect them all under a single familiar title—"magic" typically has four major defining attributes:
• Supernatural: paranormal, preternatural, superordinary— “magic” is not an example of normally occurring phenomena in the world and is by definition a “special occurrence”.
• Conceptual: imaginary, notional, fantastical, supposititious— magic is something that is only "apparent" within the minds of the observers, and is thus dependent on the faith of those completely to exist.
• Esoteric: mysterious, secretive, cryptic, abstract— magic is understood only by a chosen few or an enlightened inner circle, and thus it is not widely available to the public; special innate talent and/or ability is absolutely required.
• Mystical: spiritual, otherworldly, transcendental, incorporeal— magic has spiritual significance that transcends conventional human comprehension, making it similar to (and often a component of) religion.
Coincidentally (or perhaps not so coincidentally), "science" is often defined as being essentially the direct opposite of "magic" in regards to these four attributes:
• Natural: science allows us to comprehend and reproduce phenomena through methodical observation of and experimentation with the natural universe using the scientific method.
• Material: science is readily apparent to all observers, supported by physical evidence that is consistent and replicable, thus not relying on the belief of observers to exist as a phenomenon.
• Exoteric: science is highly accessible, capable of being readily and fully learned and applied by anyone with the proper knowledge and materials; special innate talent and/or ability is not required.
• Rational: science strives above all else to be logically sound in its assumptions, not contradictory, irrational, or unreasonable; according to the scientific method, any theory is required to be falsifiable in order to be considered "scientific".
Now, let's switch over to the context of the Ponies' perspective and take a look at exactly where Pony "MAGIC" seems to fall on this continuum.
• Supernatural/Natural: "MAGIC" is something that seems to occur naturally in the world of MLP:FiM.
• Conceptual/Material: "MAGIC" is seemingly physically-manifest and easily apparent in the world, and is replicated using consistent (albeit unexplained) methods.
• Esoteric/Exoteric: "MAGIC" phenomena are readily known and effectively available to the populace of the entire world, albeit some are inherently more suited to learning and utilizing it than others.
• Mystical/Rational: "MAGIC" (especially given how Twilight and several others regard it) is at the very least not overtly connected to any spiritual or religious concepts.
So, "MAGIC" in MLP:FiM seems to be considerably closer to being a type of "science" than traditional "magic" (AKA "miracles").
I doubt the rationality of your doubt. If it exists, we can find a way to study it. And we're not talking about things that are seemingly nigh-impossible to interact with as of currently, such as "dark matter" and "parallel universes"—MAGIC is shown interacting with the physical world in MLP:FiM, so studying it should not be too great of an issue. Besides, Twilight studies it (SCIENTIFICALLY, I MIGHT ADD) in the show itself, so that already discredits your assumption.
• create storms: Replicating a natural phenomenon? You mean kinda like the weather modification we've been researching for decades, which has yielded tangible results such as cloud seeding?
• create spontanious combustion without a source other than the magic itself: First of all, what do you mean "without a source"? Did you mean "burning without fuel/oxidizer"? Well, I have yet to see evidence of that in MLP:FiM— even if that were the case, discounting the fact that "burning without fuel or oxidizer" literally cannot be defined as "combustion" in the first place, one could potentially consider the magic itself to be the fuel and/or oxidizer. If not that, did you mean "staring a fire without a source of fire"? Because that's nothing special—a match ignites from the heat of friction, an ordinary lighter ignites butane with pyrophoric or piezoelectric sparks, a spark plug ignites gasoline with electricity, a bullet's primer is set off by physical shock of the hammer striking the firing pin, and hypergolic propellants ignite simply by being mixed together at room temperature.
• destroy energy as well as create it(not just change it's type from thermo to kinetic, but literally destroy and create): This claim lacks evidence to support it. You're assuming that they're creating and destroying matter, when it could easily be transformation of energy. Even if it is not energy transformation, that does not mean it is literally creation/destruction of matter and energy, since spontaneous generation of matter from energy and energy from matter is totally possible in physics. And if they are outright creating and destroying matter, that directly violates the laws of thermodynamics, which only comes around full circle to the conflicting logic between "Perpetual Motion Twilight" and "heat death" all over again.
• possibly limitless: That's the onset of the "no-limits" type proof-by-example fallacy. Just because something or someone has exhibited little or no limitations thus far does not excuse the assumption that it has no limitations whatsoever. You are not allowed to logically extrapolate the capabilities of something to infinity without logically-valid reasoning for assuming so. "It hasn't shown limitations" is NOT valid inductive reasoning.
See above where I explained how the actual, original "true" definition of "magic" is just that, and also how MLP:FiM's "MAGIC" is really not similar to it at all.
Go back and watch the show, and notice how "MAGIC" clearly has definite limitations (otherwise Twilight would magic her way out of ANY problem immediately), and therefore must have laws that it is bound to—making it a science.
• When did they create black holes in MLP:FiM? Never. Also, it's actually not too far off from becoming a possibility.
• You mean just like the magnetic levitation used in high-speed maglev trains?
• Do you mean "biological immortality", which may not be too far off from becoming a reality, or the distinctly self-contradicting "absolute immortality" that would be falsified at the end of the universe anyways?
...I just gave plausible explanations to all of your "only magic" examples. That wasn't too difficult.
—Prove it.
Conclusion: your conclusion is very flawed and fallacious.
—At least you admitted to that.
5202503
You're interesting to debate with.
Anyway, the type of magic I was refering to would be the type that often occur in video games(warcraft, league of legends etc). Although this might not be the same type of magic, it's still magic.
I do admit that there are certain limitations to the magic of equestria, but that limitation could be part of the caster, and not the magic itself.
Their cutie marks are magical, vaguely depicting their special talents. But there is no clear answer to the destiny of their cutie marks, as they have to find their own destiny, however vague it might seem to them and others.
Celestia, for example, can drag the sun across the sky.
Discord can alter the reality into doing absolutely everything he wants(or so the legends of him say) or at the very least bend reality.
Luna became nightmare incarnate.
Twilight, however, is just pure magic. She's not been shown to have the same affinity for magic as the 3 I've mentioned, although she shows great skill in controlling it. But her, either not being able to due to lack of affinity or skill, or that she simply doesn't think she can, is never really clarified.
Then there are also the elements of harmony.
Their entire existence is a greater magical capability than both of the royal sisters, discord and twilight.
So magic really doesn't have a limit, or so it seems to me.
But the limits may vary from caster to caster, that's the most obvious theory in my head.
Also; you're rapidly broadening my perspective of things. I love the knowledge you give me, as well as your own conclusions. Keep it up!
5202589
It's not "magic" under the same definition that basically means "miracle-working". It's more like "unexplained phenomena".
...By the way, a "miracle" is a self-negating contradiction in of itself. A miracle is an event "not explicable by natural or scientific laws"—yet, as I explained before, anything that "breaks" physical laws merely redefine our understanding of those laws. Therefore, the instant a "miracle" happens, it is no longer a "miracle" by very definition—therefore, "miracles" are logical impossibilities!
Limitations are limitations in the end. Clearly, it is not rational to extrapolate the capacity of "MAGIC" to infinity.
I've already mentioned the reasons why we cannot consider their sun to be the same phenomenon as our sun. They exhibit many properties that are too different to reconcile.
I would have to contest the first claim. If he could alter reality (existence itself) into doing "absolutely everything he wants", he would effectively possess "omnipotence" (the state of literally doing, creating, and causing anything just by willing it to be whether it is possible or impossible). With "omnipotence" logically comes the properties of "omniscience" (the state of knowing literally everything whether it is possible or impossible) and "omnipresence" (the state of consciously existing literally everywhere simultaneously in all time periods, past present and future, whether possible or impossible)—since with "omnipotence" you could merely will yourself to have those traits. Ergo, if Discord was omnipotent, he would literally be unstoppable, since he would know everything, be everywhere, and do anything. The Elements of Harmony and whatever other magic the Equestrians possessed would be absolutely worthless against such an opponent, since he could simply erase their existence or even redesign their purpose before they could be used against him (since he would exist everywhere in the past present and future all at once).
Yes, Discord is powerful (although the Q from Star Trek are still considerably more powerful than him, actually, by orders of magnitude), but he's nowhere even close to being that powerful. He's clearly very flawed, and makes a plenty of mistakes that cost him greatly.
It's similar to the questions I ask the people who like to throw the title "god/goddess/deity" around (such as insisting that Celestia and Luna are "goddesses"): what exactly is a "deity"? Where does "abnormally powerful individual" end and "deity" begin?
The only definite difference between the two that I can find is that one of them is worshiped, while the other is not. But doesn't that mean that mythological heroes, who are worshiped through the tales of their legends, could be considered "human deities"? It's a problem most people don't even consider, but in reality "deity" is not a well-defined term—in fact, it's a very poorly defined incredibly vague concept.
So how does this relate to Luna becoming Nightmare Moon, exactly? Did she really become "nightmare incarnate", or is she merely an abnormally powerful individual?
—That's up for you to decide for yourself.
But the Elements of Harmony could not be used by just anypony—even Twilight was unable to use them until she realized the requisites for their activation (TWICE, given the conclusion of the Tree of Harmony arc). There's a word for this...
—Limitations. That's literally a limitation—the Elements of Harmony cannot be used by just anypony at any time. Additionally, the Tree of Harmony could not contain the corruption of Discord's chaos seeds without the Elements of Harmony. That's another clear limitation. Twilight was unable to alter the events of "It's About Time" despite traveling back in time to warn herself, and actually ended up being the cause of the very events she sought to avoid—heavily suggesting that magical time travel is limited by causality (AKA, the notion that you cannot travel back in time to alter events that have happened, since they have already happened to you despite traveling back in time).
—MAGIC clearly has limitations. As a matter of fact, one could say that if it had no limitations, it could not exist even in fiction, since it would have no framework, no rules to dictate how it functioned, even if those rules would otherwise seem illogical or nonsensical in reality. Systems need "rules" to exist, and "magic" is no exception.
I'm glad to see that you're being a level-headed good sport about it. That's always a welcome sight to me, given how so many tend to take things personally, getting offended over nothing, becoming defensive in arguments and lobbing insults to harm their opponents, rather than actually arguing their point logically and accepting when they've been beaten with grace.
5202799
Although I'm rather frustrated with your logical assumptions, it still pleases me to expand my own knowledge and perspective. Kudos to thee, dear mr. Paradox name. You have beaten my own theory with a less flawed one. Although, I do still hold dear the notion of magic being limitless as a whole, and that the limitations only exist in the caster.
5198552
You know that the second law of thermodynamics is only statistical, right? It's not a real statement of what is impossible, merely highly improbable. If one could control probability, then it would be a cinch to circumvent the second law of thermodynamics whenever you wanted. If it was possible for something as magically powerful as the hundreds of billions or more year old Alicorn in this story to counteract what we consider a physical law, that does not mean that said law does not approximately hold true for the rest of the cosmos, especially if said Alicorn is only powerful enough to counteract it for themselves.
Even if Twilight could transform herself into a perpetual motion machine via unmatchable magic, that doesn't mean that heat death of the universe isn't a thing (as long as you count the floating Twilight as the exception). All it requires is that she be unable to counteract the entropy increase of much more than herself. With enough liberties taken in magical abilities (and you know, liberties can be taken pretty damn far if a character is perpetual motion machine, gets magically stronger over time, and has 10^1053+ years), she could stop her proton decay, or block quantum effects in her area, or everything that would kill her due to time passing alone.
TDLR: This story seems to take the stance that unbreakable laws are only unbreakable laws because no one has tried to circumvent them with a 100 billion year old Alicorn, and since said Alicorn is 1/10^bajillion of the universe (and there's basically no one else to update the textbooks), they can roughly still be called true.
On another note, even in real life, the heat death of the universe isn't truly its death. Assuming that there are no mechanisms that automatically restart the universe after a while (such as the bouncing brane theory), quantum fluctuations would eventually cause the universe to "pop" back into a completely normal and stable state for life. It might take graham's number^graham's number years, but it will eventually happen.
5211931
I never said they were unbreakable, in fact I said the entirely opposite thing. If something "breaks" a physical law, it just means we were wrong about it, and need to correct our understanding of the related phenomena.
——I did, however, state that one can't disobey physical laws without redefining them entirely in the process, a feat that cannot be considered insignificant by any rational stretch of the imagination. It's entirely possible that Twilight would have redefined the laws of physics as we understand them by this point in the age of the universe; however, this still doesn't make the impossible possible—it just changes the definition of what is "possible". And if perpetual motion is something Twilight has realized is possible by this point, that possibility throws the theory of "heat death" into jeopardy, since it assumes that perpetual motion is not possible and that entropy is inevitable.
One exception is all that is needed to overturn entropy, since a Perpetual Motion Twilight would be capable of producing theoretically infinite energy at no loss. That means the process of entropy doesn't apply uniformly to everything as we had assumed, and thus the laws of thermodynamics are completely wrong as they currently are. Thermodynamics apply to everything, not "all but this one thing". You can't cherry pick, it's all or none here.
Yes, well, probability manipulation would only take her so far as long as it was limited to "what is possible within the current scope of reality". With that logical restriction, overcoming entropy would still not be possible, since no matter what probability is modified, "entropy must increase", as per the observed "laws" of the current reality—the very laws that cause "heat death" to occur in the first place.
...Now, that all goes completely out the window if coupled with the power of high-level "causality manipulation", since one could just rewrite the "laws of reality" so that the cause "endergonic reaction" (net loss of energy) illogically (at least from our perspective) resulted in the mathematically-equivalent effect "exothermic process" (net gain of energy), meaning that no energy is ever lost in any reaction.
...Of course, this would have far-reaching and devastating effects, mostly in the form of never-ending processes—make sure you don't set off any explosions, no matter how small—because they would never stop, as they'd always have more energy to expend. In my opinion, that scenario is far worse than our case of entropy and heat death, since everything in that hypothetical reality is fucked the moment anything happens.
——Of course, if she had that power, she could just negate heat death entirely, which makes even less sense of the scenario in the story.
5212202
Perhaps I should have put unbreakable in quotations. I meant that when exceptions are found to a law, the old laws are not always replaced in practice if the exceptions are small enough. Newton's laws of motion are still a widely used thing despite not being completely correct, and I am arguing that the laws of thermodynamics would be the same way in a world where a single individual (or less than a half dozen if the other Alicorns can too) can circumvent it.
Ah, but I can cherry pick, as I'm not talking about the technical veracity of the law in question. I'm talking about laws that are effectively universal, and thus would govern an event such as the heat death of the universe. It doesn't matter that they are technically wrong with one exception, because that one exception is not enough to outpace the energy decay of the universe. Twilight can keep herself going forever, but she doesn't have enough excess output to keep the universe going as well.
No, that's not how the second law of thermodynamics works. The second law of thermodynamics is only true because the probabilities of the opposite happening (entropy decreasing) are vanishingly small for any system greater than a few atoms. If you poured a drop of red coloring dye into a bathtub of water, it is entirely possible for the coloring dye to re-coalesce back into the original drop, where you poured it in. Odds say that it would take longer than the age of the universe to do so, but it is still possible. The second law of thermodynamics is a statement of probability, not a statement of mechanics. If you restrict your view to small enough systems in real life (say, two hydrogen atoms within a sealed box), then you'd witness entropy going both up and down as time passes.
A being with unlimited range probability manipulation could indeed counter the heat death of the universe. However, given that Twilight is helpless to do so, and yet survives on her own indefinitely, it's extremely likely that any entropy countering magic she has is limited to herself, and thus, even if she can produce infinite energy, she can do so far too slowly to outpace the universe's energy decay as a whole. As soon as any energy she's created from nothing leaves her body in any way, it starts decaying normally.
5212585
Well said. I can find no theoretical fault in your hard sci fi.👍
ghdsaugbalksgliasughlisa HELP idabvohvbsav sdjvbaskjvbksadbv jsdvkdsbv
aesuhasigialusvI CAN SEE THE NIGHTMARES afblfbalblfbblsajngvalsfblsdbv
fbvdfz fjhsa girsuavhsuvb THE NIGHT ETERNAL IS COMING
zflba;gndlbnv kasgjbaslrgb aoitrgusjg hgasghlsabv iaugbiabadsb
HOLD IT TOGETHER