//------------------------------// // Floof // Story: The Potion Shop // by Ashfur //------------------------------// In the small village of Rainbow Falls, there are rules, much like any other town. And much like any other town, there are some rules that are specific to that town alone. Sometimes rules only apply to a specific species, like pegasi only being affected by a rule about sky traffic or unicorns told to not use magic in certain buildings. Rainbow falls, however, is the only town in the whole world to have rules regarding a single pony, known as the Three Mane Rules. Rule Number One: There is a specific type of potion that should NEVER EVER be discussed in the presence of one Mr. Arcane Catalyst. It is not listed here in case he ever finds these rules, ask somepony else about it. Rule Number Two: By discussing THAT potion near Arcane Catalyst, or, Celestia forbid, asking him to make said potion, one immediately voids all responsibility of the town. It is your own bucking fault, and you will have to pay for any damage and also Ms. Juniper Berry's resulting therapy visit, should she require one. Rule Number Three: Under no circumstances whatsoever is Arcane to be made aware of these three laws. Should he ever learn of them, play them off as a joke. Please. As the newspony finished reading the pamphlet given to tourists, he noticed a few counters in the city hall. 19 days until Hearth's Warming. 196 days until the Summer Sun Celebration. No Arca incidents for 3 days. That last one, Calligraphy Quill noted, only had a single digit on itself, implying that more than 9 days between incidents was a rare event. Calligraphy decided that his best chance at a story in this town was this Arcane fellow, so he set off to the shop on the other side of town. The recently repaired shop door let out a jingle as he entered, the bored-looking stallion sleeping behind the counter while absentmindedly levitating some bouncy balls in an orbit around his head. As soon as he heard the door open, though, Arca perked up, but in his enthusiasm the small rubber balls bounced all over the shop and out of sight. "Hey there! Welcome to Alchemir- hey, wait no! My bouncy balls! Come baaaack!" Arca ducked under the counter to search for his toys, but reluctantly climbed back up to his stool behind the counter. "Sorry about that, sir! I don't even have my apprentice here to help me look for 'em, either. She's off visiting family. How can I help you?" "Ah, yes. My name is Calligraphy Quill. Call me Cali. I'm here looking to talk with an... Arca? I wanted to ask a few questions." "That's me!" Arca jubilantly exclaimed, hitting his chest with a hoof. "Go ahead, nopony's come in yet, so ask away!" What followed was a long, albeit mundane interview that Arca seemed to enjoy a lot. Talking about the shop and everything it had been through, discussing the finer points of alchemy, and more flew by faster than Cali could write them down. He even included free samples of some powerful potions to prove his skill, much to Cali's delight. Finally though, Arca brought his monologue to an end. "Oh, sorry, did I drone on too much? My bad! Well, tell you what, buddy. I can ramble all about this place and it won't mean a thing if I don't make good on my promises. I can make pretty much any potion you can think of! Give me an idea and I'll make you a fresh batch, on the house!" Calligraphy was taken aback by such a generous offer. "Really? Anything?" He ran a hoof through his short mane as Arca nodded. "Well, my wife always liked my long mane when I was young and spry. Do you happen to have any fur growth potions back there?" There was a palpable shift in the atmosphere of the shop as soon as the words left his mouth. It was as though the store itself was holding its breath, and all the normal cheer the shop emitted was absorbed into Arca as he smiled wider that should be natural. "A fur growth potion? I would most certainly, without a doubt be delighted to make that for you! Nopony ever asks for that these days. You wait there, I'll be right back!" The stallion snapped his goggles over his eyes and nearly snagged his labcoat on the countertop as he dashed into his lab. For a good twenty minutes various noises that certainly did not belong in a cooking area sounded through the door, until a wild-eyed Arca burst back through with a few glowing blue vials in his magic. "EUREKA! Here you are my good stallion, one fresh, brand-new fur growth potion. And thank you for taking up so much of my day, I was soooooo bored! Ah well, back to work!" Quickly passing the set of potions to Cali, he hopped up on the stool behind the counter, slammed his head down on the table, and fell back asleep. His horn lit up and the bouncy balls rolled out of their hiding places, orbiting his head once more. Pleased with the news article this was sure to produce, Cali downed one of the potions before heading off to the train station to catch the next train home. Along the way, he stopped in at a diner and had a meal, as well as meeting with the mayor for a different, scheduled interview. Finally reaching the platform, he collided with a light green mare, stumbling back a step. He must have crashed into her hard, because he knocked some loose fur out of his mane, he thought. "Oh, terribly sorry miss. Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine," Juniper replied. "Trust me, that little bump is nothing compared to some of the stuff I deal with at Alchemiracles." "Ah, that potion shop? I was there earlier, nice fellow. He whipped me up a few potions free of charge for my news column, including one that should surprise my wife! Celestia above, I missed having a long mane..." Juniper froze, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks. Most of the ponies within earshot did the same, every head turning and looking at Cali. "Did you... you didn't... oh sweet Celestia, you did! No! Get me out of this town before it starts!" Juniper flew as fast as she could to get back on the train, any train, but the conductors all shut the doors the moment they realized what was going on. Calligraphy felt something, and began glowing. The glow centered on his short mane, the light intensifying until... Poof! All his mane fell out at once. "M-my mane! What the buck happened to my mane?! That potion was supposed to for fur growth, not fur loss! What the bu-" FLOOF Without warning, all the fur on Cali exploded outwards in a burst of growth, turning him into a puffball of fuzz ten feet wide with no visible face. And then the pony next to him started to glow as well. "Oh, NO! It's gone bucking VIRAL!" Were the last words the older mare was able to say before another pile of floof covered the train station. Juniper looked down and noticed that she, too, was glowing now. "Shit." Arca woke up a few hours later, and groggily looked out the window to see what time of day it was. Unable to see the sky through the window, only a mass of fur, he concluded his vision must be getting fuzzy and made a mental note to get his eyes checked soon before falling back to sleep.