Potion Panic
By: Ubershy
It was well into the afternoon when Tempest reached Bella Blu’s house. It was a rather secluded area close to the forest. He wondered how early she had to get up in order to walk all the way to the hospital she worked at. Then again, she could probably just teleport there, being a unicorn and all. He alighted on the ground and in front of the door. He was tired from flying all the way from his wildfire management outpost. He knocked twice with a hoof. And Bella Blu opened the door. “Oh hi there Tempest. What took you so long?” She asked.
“Nice to see you too,” Tempest responded.
She let him in and they shared a brief hug. “You’re just in time for my latest chemistry experiment,” she said quite excitedly.
“Oh really?” Tempest asked, “I hope this one includes less fire. I don’t think my mane can take another singing.”
“Oh haha wise guy. I’ll have you know that if you had stood back a little like I told you, your mane would be singe free.”
She led him to her lab in the back room. There were many beakers and test tubes that held various substances. Only one was held in an elaborate apparatus in the middle of the room. “This,” she explained pointing to the clear vial, “is a remedy I am creating at the request of a patient of mine. He seems to have a rather stubborn case of patch coat.”
“Uh huh” Tempest said, inspecting the various colored substances. “So what’s this stuff going to do?”
“Hopefully this mixture of adaptive dyes will turn my client’s skin the same color as the coat surrounding it.” Bella proclaimed proudly.
“Wouldn’t it just be better to just find a way to make the patches regrow their hair?” asked Tempest.
“Maybe,” Bella admitted. She continued, “My client’s particular case of patch coat seems resistant to all traditional treatments. Besides ponies’ coats are so short you couldn’t tell the difference between dyed skin and hair at a glance anyway. If it doesn’t work we can always look for a hair growing solution later. It’s a win-win situation in my book.”
“I see. When are you going to try it out?”
“Right now if you’ll let me.”
Tempest’s stopped looking at the array of colorful objects and looked at Bella. “What do you mean ‘If you’ll let me’?” He asked skeptically.
“Well I figured I’ve run enough tests on the remedy that it is ready for subject trials.” Bella responded enthusiastically. Tempests gave a short laugh.
“Hah,” He said, “you can’t be serious. What do I look like a lab rat? Besides, I don’t even have a patchy coat.”
“Well, if we could just take a small bit of fur off of one of your legs….”
“WHAT?” Tempest yelled so loud the liquids in the vials shook. “so you just invited me over just so you can rip out patches of my coat and pour weird chemicals on them? You must have me confused with a Pegasus with no common sense.”
“I know it sounds weird,” she responded, “but I know you’re such a good friend that you will understand. I assure you it’s safe.”
“NO way in hay. Preform this stuff on yourself.”
“Oh come on Tempest. Don’t be such a baby.”
“No!”
“Not even just once?” Bella magically brought coat trimmers and a vial of her potion over.
“No!” Tempest simply repeated. He took flight hoping to stay out of Bella’s reach.
“Tempest! Come down here and help me out just this once. Don’t you trust me just a little bit?”
“No,” Tempest crossed his front legs and looked defiantly at her.
“Will you PLEASE just help me out” Bella pleaded.
“No.”
“Please.”
“I said no.”
Bella decided to change tactics. “OK then, but remember you forced me to do this,” she said. She sat down where she was and put on a dramatic sad face, making sure to add a pouting lower lip. Her pupils grew large as she stared pleadingly at Tempest. Tempest gritted his teeth in an attempt to resist the cuteness. “No! No... Hay no, NO, no no no no. NO.” He turned away from her for a few seconds. When he glanced with one eye back in her direction she was still giving him that face. He knew what was coming next.
“Pweeese,” Bella asked in the most childish voice she could muster. Tempest let out a long and drawn out sigh. His other half wouldn't allow him to ignore a plead like that. It was a bit like refusing a play date with a bunch of puppies. He just couldn't. He then landed in front of Bella.
“Fine! Just… stop that,” he said and offered her his front right leg.
“Thank you,” Bella said as she took his hoof in hers. Her demeanor immediately changed to smug. The coat trimmers, which had been suspended in the air the whole time, swooped down and cut out a chunk of Tempest’s coat just below the knee. Tempest didn’t even flinch as the tiny pieces of fur floated to the floor.
“This isn’t going to make me grow a fifth leg or anything is it?” Tempest asked jokingly, “Because five legs isn’t really my style.”
“Don’t worry,” Bella responded, “If it does it will probably only last a day or two.” She dropped the contents of the vial onto the exposed skin before Tempest could have any second thoughts. “And what do you mean ‘style’?” she asked, “I still can’t get over the fact that you decided to put red highlights in your mane and tail. I liked it better when it was all black.”
“Oh really?” Tempest asked, “Well I wouldn’t have had to dye it in the first place if SOMEPONY hadn’t singed it. My mane and coat are even magically fireproofed. How did you even manage to do that?”
“Well I guess you should talk to the unicorn who preformed the spell about adding chemical fires to the protection list. Now hush the potion is taking effect.”
They both stared at the patch of bare skin on Tempests foreleg as the skin began to change color. First it changed red, then purple, then lastly it changed to match Tempest’s reddish chestnut colored coat. They both looked at the foreleg with enthusiasm, but before either of them could say anything, the skin turned back to its natural color.
“Darn” Bella began, “maybe it needs more changeling ashes.”
“How did…”
“Don’t ask,” Bella trotted over to the center table and poured some ashes into a measuring cup. “I should probably add… Dragon Lilly! Yes the perfect catalyst.” She added a few pedals to the beaker.
“Soooo, are we going to do something fun or are we doing to play ‘Let’s Play With Tempest’s Skin Pigment’ all day?”
“Yes of course. Just one more try. I’m so close I can feel it.” Bella mixed a few more ingredients and the potion began to bubble. "Yes now hold still so…” She was cut off as the potion overflowed onto the floor. The bubbles rapidly expanded out to encompass the entire floor. Tempest barely had enough time to make a break for the ceiling before the room was filled with green bubbles and smoke. They were so high they had completely swallowed up Bella.
“I’m guessing that wasn’t supposed to happen,” remarked Tempest.
“No… no it wasn’t,” Bella responded from somewhere inside the bubbles. “Great, now the potion is ruined. I wonder what happened.” Bella opened a trap door and began to use her magic to move the bubbles inside.
“Well I’d tell you but ‘I just don’t know what-”
“Shut up Tempest it’s not funny anymore.” Bella interrupted. Tempest laughed anyway. The joke wasn’t funny, but Bella’s reaction was always priceless to him.
“Well sorry there Ms. Comedy Connoisseur. I must have not… woa.” Tempest was taken aback by what he saw. The bubbles had cleared and there stood Bella. Except instead of being her usual dark blue self, she had turned a dark charcoal grayish black kind of color… sorta. Tempest couldn’t really classify the color, but it definitely wasn’t her natural one.
“What? What is it? “ She asked.
Tempest merely pointed down so she would look at her hooves. She looked down and gasped when she saw them. She shook her foreleg in the air as if to shake the pigment off. Maybe it was just wishful thinking that it was just something covering her. No it was definitely part of her whatever it was.
“Oh no... This isn’t good” Bella managed to say.
“You got that right. Now who’s going to be my blue unicorn friend?” Tempest remarked lightheartedly. He tried his best to keep the depressing mood from getting worse, but he could already see the panic and tears on Bella’s face. He took a quick second to think of what to say. Whatever he did, he couldn’t draw attention to her flank.