• Published 1st Apr 2016
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Group Precipitation - FanOfMostEverything



Stories set in the Oversaturated World, some silly, some less so.

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Paler Living Through Chemistry, by Masterweaver

"...which is when Mac walked in. Ya'll can figure out what happened next."

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll have a talk with Sweetie Belle, I can guarantee that. Oh!" She reached out and pulled a jar from the shelves. "I didn't know the De Lis company was making skin creams!"

Applejack snorted. "Rares, Ah don't think ya need any skin creams."

"That's kind of you to say, but as a designer in training I simply must keep up with the trends." Rarity flipped the jar in her hand. "Ingredients: acai, hydroquinbione, alpha-lipoic acid--"

"Hold up." Applejack took the jar. "What was that?"

"Alpha-lipoic acid. It's a natural part of biology, which--"

"No, no, Ah'm talkin' bout the hydroquinbione!" The cowgirl groaned as she read the label. "In a skin cream? That's just askin' for trouble."

Rarity blinked. "I've... never really heard of hydroquinbione before. Why are you reacting so strongly?"

"When Ah was a girl, there was a time where our money was hit hard. Ma and Pa bought some soap for me on the cheap--had hydroquinbione in it." Applejack gestured at herself. "Washed the chromelanin right out of me. Now Ah only got ordinary melanin."

"Oh... that would explain why you're so pale," Rarity mused, examining her friend. "...But you're still quite lovely, nonetheless!" she rallied quickly.

Applejack half smirked. "No need ta hide it, Rares, Ah know Ah'm a freak. Course, now Ah'm worried bout this skin cream."

Rarity nodded, taking the jar and putting it delicately back on the shelf. "I'll set up an online petition, get the De Lis company to know about this. Right now, we should talk to the manager..."

Author's Note:

For those new to the term "chromelanin," you can read my dissertation on the subject here.

Also, hydroquinone is in fact a topical skin whitener.

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