Where no mare has gone before.

by Tobbzn

Chapter 8

Rainbow Dash didn't really like beans. Perhaps she had been spoiled by Applejack and Pinkie Pie, but her favorite foods were still apples and pastry. Not only could you make any number of delicious dishes with them, but they didn't make you fart all the time, like beans did. She had hoped the creatures taking care of her either wouldn't notice or wouldn't care, but she was embarrassed when they seemed to react to the first fart and promptly left.

I guess I should consider myself lucky I get any food at all. Had they been dragons, they would probably have left me to die.

She thought of how weak she had felt when she first awoke, and gleefully realized she had grown a lot stronger since then. It was doubtful she could fly until at least some feathers had grown to regular size, but with some effort, she could probably walk short distances if she had to. Taking a look at her flank, she sadly had to conclude that her cutie-mark was gone together with her tail-hairs. Oh well. It would grow back, eventually.

As she decided to inspect her surroundings more carefully, her gaze briefly landed on a bookshelf on the wall. The letters adorning the books seemed somehow familiar, but she couldn't understand any of the titles, so she decided to not bother trying to fetch any reading material. She wished she had access to Twilight's bookshelves instead. She might only be able to understand half of their contents, but at least she could have read some novels about Daring Do or have looked up these creatures in a bestiary.

No chance of that, though. Boredom ensued.

They could at least have opened a window before leaving...

---

Another negative result... What on Earth is going on?

No matter what tests Christina ran, the non-Newtonian gas sample acquired from the pegasus was so far chemically indistinguishable from air.

I guess I should go gather some more, in case the gas is simply too diluted to react,

After quickly making sure with the nurse that she wasn't needed for anything, she trotted off to the pegasus' residence with some of her equipment. It wasn't a long walk, so she soon arrived to find Tarry in heated debate with Flora.

"It's not a pony, it's a pegasus!" Flora insisted.

"Come now," Tarry said, still keeping that charming, nonchalant cool he never seemed to lose. "It's a fitting nickname for a small equine - just look at how cuddly it is!"

"You can't just conclude just from that! A primary characteristic of a pony is a heavy bone structure, and for this specimen, it's completely opposite! It doesn't even look like a pony, so please, call it a pegasus, as that's its proper name."

Christina's entrance saved Tarry from his imminent resignation, and he immediately caught on to the opportunity to change the subject.

"Ah, Christina! What brings you to my humble abode, my dear?"

"Please, don't mind me." Christina thought it would be interesting to see him joke his way out of this situation. "Do continue your discussion while I take some more samples of the dilatant gas."

"Oh, that's right." Flora didn't react quite as hoped. "Tarry, your recording spoke of 'a layer of non-Newtonian gas'... What does that mean? I didn't notice any gas. I mean, apart from the..."

Quick glances were exchanged between the two as she let out a sigh.

"I can show you if you want," Christina interjected without bothering with further inquiry. Tarry wore his 'fart joke'-expression, explaining more than she needed to know. "It should be fairly easy to observe."

She led the expedition into the bedroom, where the antibiotic's smell had been overwhelmed by the expected one. Before taking a second breath, she had opened a window, providing some much-needed relief for everyone in the room. She then started unpacking and talking to Flora.

"I think a demonstration is the best way to explain what we mean, so try petting her. First slowly, then gradually more vigorously."

Though obviously sceptical, Flora did as asked. The pegasus looked more than a little uncomfortable, but kept calm as she focused on the hand moving up and down her flank. Surprise streaked over both faces as they saw the hand slow down when it should have sped up.

"What the hell!?" Flora yelped in confusion, as she discovered she was unable to pull loose her hand from what was, or at least appeared to be, nothing but air. Applying more and more force, she even got up on the bed to pull.

She knew she would have to explain, but Christina couldn't resist laughing a bit. To someone not familiar with the phenomenon, it could easily look like witchcraft. Idly, she noticed Tarry going silent.

"Relax, Flora, just hold your hand still for a second, then move slowly afterward."

Taking a moment to calm down and gather her wits, Flora complied, which promptly released her hand.

"A dilatant is a non-Newtonian fluid that seems to solidify when applied pressure, you see, so once you're inside, it's almost like a Chinese finger-trap," Christina told her. "And this one's special, because it's a gas. You see, almost all non-Newtonian fluids we've encountered before have been liquids."

Flora still breathed heavily, inspecting her red hand closely, as Tarry sat down to repeat the experiment.

"Tha... that was a little scary," Flora stammered. "I've never seen anything like that before."

Tarry had gotten his hand stuck in the gas, and was straining to pull it towards him.

"Don't worry, we'll find out exactly what it is and how it works, even if we have to get the physicists involved."

Christina finished unpacking her equipment, and prepared to take another gas sample. There was something strange, though. Despite being a guy who would normally have childish fun with a non-Newtonian fluid, Tarry bore a serious expression, as if he was deep in thought.

"What's wrong, Tarry?" she asked. "You've been silent, despite a pretty funny prank being pulled."

He turned toward her, still pulling his arm straight up from the pegasus' bare flank.

"It weighs only about four kilograms," he said. "So why am I not able to lift it?"

Comments

[Tobbzn]

Some relevant references for people who enjoy learning about things with interesting properties:

Custard (Non-Newtonian Liquid)
You can actually act out the above scene with this method, as long as you have cornstarch and an RD plushie you don't like.

Liquid Helium II (Superfluid)
A liquid with inherently no entropy and no viscosity. I find this liquid to be the most confusing part of reality.

[KingOfTheMuffins]

I would click those links, due to my passion for Science, but I'm afraid I'd fall asleep at this late hour T_T. I will copy and paste it into a notepad.

[Taffy]

His argument is silly. Pegasus is the name of a winged horse from classical mythology, it's no more a proper term than pony.

[Low-quality memes]

Youshall burn in hell for not having chapter 9 up (or ch. 10, counting the proluge as a chapter) RRRAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRR

[Smatexas]

750447 "an RD plushie you don't like."
IMPOSSIBRU!!!11

[Northwest Brony]

that is my new favorite playlist.

btw, I can't wait for your explanation on non-Newtonian gasses

[Tobbzn]

750678
That would be Tarry's version of it, yes, but since Flora is the only biologist around, she assumes a role of authority when deciding the trivial name. (As she did when defining the Latin name to be Pegasus pegasus).
She also doesn't like her sense of magical wonder being ruined by calling it something as everyday as a pony.

750727
It was originally slated to go at the end of chapter 7 actually, since it would make an excellent cliffhanger for my "Oh god, he's back!" chapter, while I go die in a car accident or something.
No, but seriously, one of the reasons I end with cliffhangers so often is because I love seeing people come up with their own theories and speculations in the comments. They serve not only as motivation and inspiration, but it also reveals what sort of people actually read my story.

750789
To be honest, I'm a little worried that the explanation I have in mind will be waaaaay too technical. It might be difficult to put it into words that aren't like reading an instruction manual. I look forward to reading your reactions when I finally get there, though!

Edit:
In this chapter, I tried a more exposition-based explanation of what a non-Newtonian fluid actually is. If anyone can think of improvements to make my explanations less textbooky, I'd love hearing them.

[Northwest Brony]

752319

No matter what you come up with for explaining Twilight's spell, I can't wait to hear it. (or is it the Pegasus magic that allows them to fly?)

Nonetheless, I am itching to hear an explanation for the relationship of science and magic in the universe.

[FireFlash13231]

*squees in the prescence of awesomeness*

[alexrocks285]

I hate to bother you again, but my curiosity is getting the better of me.Could you tell me more about the liquid helium II and the non-newtonian liquid that you speak of? Thanks

[Tobbzn]

753262
Well, have you watched the videos I linked? I think they explain the concepts far better than I can, as they can actually show how it works :)
Custard (Non-Newtonian Liquid)
Liquid Helium II (Superfluid)
In words, the first video shows how non-Newtonian liquids solidify when pressure is applied. While it normally acts like water, you can actually walk on it. Or get your hand stuck in it, like Flora and Tarry.
Liquid Helium II, the superfluid, is not as easily described. It's a state that liquid helium goes into when it goes below 2 degrees above absolute zero, and it displays a number of very odd properties. For instance, it can climb walls, press through incredibly small holes that normal fluids can't, and it doesn't bubble when it boils.

For the record, as far as I know, CERN only uses Liquid Helium I, not II. They still manage to make the vacuum in the collision tubes be one the coldest places in the solar system, though.

[VelvetHeart]

Fun fact: A fluid that hardens when force is applied is actually called a 'shear-thickening fluid' or 'dilitant'. It's one of several non-Newtonian materials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilatant
A coating of shear-thickening gas with the same properties as in this story would make -excellent- bullet-proof armor.

[Tobbzn]

850692

You're right, of course. I suppose I should go back and specify that it's that kind of non-Newtonian fluid. Thanks for pointing it out!

[Clockwise Gear]

I guess I should have commented on this back in the chapter where it was touched upon, but why would helium be expensive? I thought it was supposed to be relatively common.

[iloveportalz0r]

>It only weighs about four kilograms
[link]

[Rakdar]

i love this story but its laying on a little thick with the scientific mumbo jumbo

[katarjin]

750447 nevermind needed to read more comments loving this fic

[Jack Kellar]

1088091 Just be glad you haven't read The End, then. It wrang so many knots in my neurons I had to unfave it, no joke