You might know that the sun is about 109 times the diameter of the earth (109.3). But did you know that the distance to the sun versus its diameter is nearly the same ratio (107.7)? (The average, then, is 108.5.) It's almost like a fundamental constant of the solar system.

One day, Spike and Gabby popped through a portal ... and found themselves floating in space. Gabby felt something caught between her toes. Some distance away, she noticed a giant yellow-orange ball nearby. It glowed bright like the sun -- but strangely enough, she could look directly at it. This giant ball was very warm. Wanting a place to rest, Gabby flew on over and took a seat.

The ball's diameter was about the same as her height on her hind legs. Sitting on the giant ball, Gabby still felt like she was floating. It felt nice and hot, like a hot tub. It was kind of like floating on water yet floating on air at the same time.

What got caught between my toes? she wondered. Gabby looked down toward the sole of her foot. It looked like a tiny blue marble ... blue and green. It was almost like ...

Did we enter a smaller dimension?! wondered Gabby, with a big bubbly smile. Am I ... I ...? I don't want to call myself a goddess. But it looks like ... I'm a cosmic giantess! Gabby giggled. She wiggled her toes, loving the feeling of the tiny helpless planet caught in between. "Don't worry, tiny planet," she said. "You're safe in my paws!"

Gabby had heard of other dimensions. And she heard that some are smaller than others. But she never thought that a planet could be smaller than her claw. Secretly, she wanted to crush some between her toes, to feel the rocky and gooey sensation. But she would have to do it safely.

"Spike!" called Gabby, looking around for her dragon friend. "What do you think of our new sizes?!"

"It's astronomical!" called a loud booming voice.

Gabby looked up. Jumping with surprise, she saw Spike's massive head looking down toward her. He was far bigger than her! Gabby looked around ... and saw herself caught between two purple walls. Gabby looked back down toward her toes. She looked around again and then she looked back up at Spike.

Gabby gasped with amazement. The earth was a tiny marble caught between her toes ... and the sun was a tiny marble caught between Spike's toes. She was as small to him as the planet was to her!

"Twilight says that I'm about the distance from the earth to the sun," said Spike. "Or at least I was ..." Spike giggled ... "until you brought the tiny planet to the sun!"

"And I'm the size of the sun?" asked Gabby.

"Indeed!" said Spike. "And the earth is as small to you as you are to me!"

"It's like ... a fundamental constant of nature!" exclaimed Gabby.

Spike laughed. "For this solar system, at least."

Spike and Gabby wanted to cause some cosmic destruction just for the fun of it, to get that nice feeling between their toes. But they would have to do it safely, and they would have to reverse the damage afterward. Starlight, Sunburst, and Trixie had a project in development, but it would be ready soon enough!

Art by Introvertedpooch. Slightly edited by me.