Topaz returned to Minty's house with a wagon full of all the assorted items he and Citrine had collected just for her. He was just about ready to step inside when Citrine spoke up.
"Hey," she said with a tender smile. "I just wanna say how proud I am of you, little bro."
"Really?" he responded.
"Of course. Going to all these great lengths just for one girl. She's very lucky to have a friend like you. And I think any girl would be lucky to date a colt as thoughtful and committed as you."
"Gee. Thanks, Citrine."
She reached over his shoulder and pulled him in for a hug. "I'm still gonna get you back for making me hug that naked pony, though."
"Hehe. I know," Topaz said with a nervous giggle. With that, they broke away from their hug and he stepped out of the car.
"Now go get her, you little lover boy."
"Thanks for everything, sis," he said to her as he pulled his wagon out of the back seat.
Topaz knocked on the front door and was greeted by Minty.
"Topaz!" she exclaimed, delighted to see him. He greeted her back and presented his special delivery to her. The fruits of his successful mission. As Minty examined each of the jars and their contents, she could hardly believe it. Every last ingredient she needed to complete her potion was present and accounted for. "Whoa! Is that...?" she said in amazement as she paused to examine one jar in particular. "How the heck did you get the..."
"Don't... Please don't make me talk about it," the blue colt interrupted with a combination of shame and disgust. Minty was a bit grossed out, too, as she set the jar back down.
"Okay. Well, it doesn't matter," she said, pushing the matter aside. "I just can't believe you got every single ingredient so fast! This is the most incredible thing anypony has ever done for me!" Without warning, she grabbed Topaz and gave him a great big thankful hug. He was completely petrified with joy and his heart beat faster than a bass drum. "Thanks, Topaz. You are by far the coolest pony ever!"
Just then, the green pegasus noticed Topaz's oddly canine tail wagging rapidly back and forth from his overwhelming happiness. "Uh, what happened to your tail?" she asked while suppressing a giggle.
"Huh? Oh yeah," Topaz said, popping out of his trance and blushing awkwardly. "Turns out this is what Poison Joke does to me."
Minty laughed. "Wow. That is classic! And it's the perfect chance to test out the potion. If you're up for it, that is."
Topaz thought about it for a second and then decided to go for it. He told Minty he'd love to be her test subject, even though he was still pretty nervous about it. They grabbed all the ingredients and headed upstairs to Minty's room.
Topaz watched as Minty Gold set up all her supplies to make the healing potion. He was feeling pretty uneasy about being the test subject since Minty said the potion had never been perfected for whatever reason, but he knew he had to have faith in her abilities. Besides, he had to get rid of that dog tail somehow. Following the recipe very carefully, Minty added just the right amount of each ingredient in exactly the order in which the book said to. Topaz admired her diligence and attention to detail.
At one point, he noticed that she started looking rather frazzled as she kept looking frantically back and forth between the book and a jar in her hand.
"Uh, let me see. Two tablespoons of... NO! That's not right! I need the charcoal! WHERE THE HECK IS THE CHARCOAL?!"
Topaz quickly grabbed the jar of volcanic charcoal and handed it to her. He spoke in a soothing voice, trying to calm her down. "It's okay! It's okay. It's right here. Just calm down, okay? Calm down. You're doing fine."
Minty breathed out, allowing herself to relax. "I'm sorry. It's just, this is a really delicate mixture and I don't know what's gonna happen if I don't make it right," she confessed. "I don't want you to get hurt because I made a mistake."
"Hey," Topaz said, looking her right in the eyes. "You can do this. I know you can. You're the greatest potion maker I've ever seen. I believe in you, Minty." He gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back at him. "Just stay calm and follow the recipe and you'll do just fine."
"Thanks, Topaz." The young pegasus was starting to feel confident again as she got back to work.
Once all the ingredients were added, Minty kept stirring and stirring the strange orange mixture until it was nice and bubbly. She examined it closely to make sure it looked exactly like it did on the page and as far as she could tell, it did.
"Okay. I think it's ready," she informed the blue colt.
"Great," he exclaimed with a hint of nervousness.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Positive," he said unconvincingly with a gulp. His fear was written all over his face, but he still took the beaker from her hands and prepared for whatever was about to happen once he tasted this potion. "Bottoms up," he declared. He closed his eyes and took a long, careful sip of the orange liquid. The two kids held their breath waiting for something to happen.
Just then, a soft *poof* came from behind Topaz, making both the kids jump. When they looked, they saw that Topaz's tail was back to its old purple, pony-like self. In fact, his whole body felt even better than ever. The potion was a success!
"It worked!" Topaz exclaimed with excitement. "You did it!"
"I did it?" Minty could hardly believe it was true. "I DID IT!" She repeated with a big smile. "I can't believe it!"
The kids jumped around and celebrated this incredible achievement, until the young filly embraced Topaz in her arms, causing him to freeze up once again. "Thank you so much, Topaz. I couldn't have done this without you."
An overjoyed smile krept across the young colt's face. At that moment, he felt like he was prepared to die right there on the spot. He wrapped his arms around Minty's back and returned her hug. They held each other for a few more seconds before Minty tried to break away.
"Uh, Topaz. I think we're done," she said awkwardly.
"Okay..." he replied absentmindedly. He was still too excited to really think straight. He loosened his grasp enough for her to slide out of his arms while he still touched her body. Minty was starting to feel uncomfortable as Topaz maintained his goofy smile and kept holding onto her.
Finally, without him realizing it, his hands came to rest on a very inappropriate spot, making the young pegasus filly blush really hard.
"TOPAZ!" she snapped loudly, bringing him out of his trance. "What are you doing?!" He finally noticed where his hands were and quickly let go.
"Oh My Gosh! I am so, SO sorry!" He pleaded. "I-I-I don't know what came over me! I swear!"
Minty crossed her arms. She was confused and uncertain of what to think at the moment. "I... I think it'd be best if you just leave. I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Minty, I'm sorry."
"Just go, Topaz! I need to be alone right now."
With a heavy heart, Topaz decided to honor her wishes. He called Citrine to come and pick him up, knowing full well that he had officially blown any chance he had with Minty. He knew that once her parents found out, they'd never let him see her again. He cursed himself for being so incredibly stupid.
Still, the young unicorn wasn't about to give up completely. He couldn't stand the idea of Minty staying mad at him, so he decided that he had to make it up to her. Somehow.