//------------------------------// // The Legend of the Miracle Flower // Story: The Potion Shop // by Ashfur //------------------------------// The air was thin and the sun was setting as a pair of ponies trekked their way up the mountain behind the town.  One thing that most ponies visiting the out-of-the-way hamlet will tell you about how beautiful the rainbow waterfalls look at night, the soft multicolored glow cascading down from the clouds and cliffs above bathing the town in a magical, soothing light that somehow failed to cause any problems sleeping.  But something only a small portion of those ponies know is how absolutely breathtaking the town looks from above, seeing all the buildings silhouetted among the wondrous colors. For the most part, it was due to the altitudes required to get above most of the clouds that dropped the rainbow liquid the town was known for.  And Mage Meadowbrook had just become one of those ponies. “Incredible,” she breathed, gazing at one of the best views in Equestria and beyond.  “I don't think I've seen anything like this.” “Yeah, I knew this bard once some 300 years ago who legitimately cried because he didn't have the words to do this view justice.  Poor guy, all he had to do was say it's a nice view.” “You always were one for the more direct approach, Arca.  So how much further until we get to where we are going?” Arca paused and held his ground as a gust of wind whipped his lab coat around his sides.  “Not that much further now. It should only be past this little cave, Boss. Do you want to rest for a moment?” Finally clearing the incline on the forgotten trail they were climbing, Meadow gasped in shock.  They had reached a small little alcove of fertile ground cutting into the mountain, about the size of the map room in Twilight’s castle of friendship.  And covering every available inch of the ground were mysterious white flowers, seeming to glow in the soft light of the moon. The natural beauty of the secret garden this high up the mountain where nothing else grew, coupled with the pristine night sky and the aforementioned view of the town below, was enough to bring Meadowbrook to her knees in awe of the sheer beauty of this hidden wonder. Arca, on the other hoof, tripped, face planted into the ground, and proceeded to eat the mystery flower right in front of his muzzle. “Arca, what… what is this place?” Getting back to his hooves, the unicorn smiled and gestured to the flowers.  He began to explain, with more clarity than he was known for, actually seeming to be as wise as he was old for once.  “This, right here, is one of the secret gems of Equestria. Celestia and I, and now you, are the only ponies in existence who know about it.  I come up here some nights to relax, get away from it all when I feel the sting of the years catching up to me, when I lose an apprentice or somepony important.  Welcome, Boss, to the garden of the Miracle Flowers. Just a bit further up the mountain is our destination, but I think we've earned a rest. Come, rest here for a minute.”  Arca carefully shuffled over to a area overlooking the cliffs, and laid down to rest his legs. Meadow followed suit, making sure not to damage any of the strange and beautiful blossoms she walked through. “These flowers are beautiful, Arca.  What exactly are they?” Arca gingerly plucked one of the flowers with his magic and placed it in his mentor's mane, just above her ear.  “These are Miracle Flowers, the most sought after alchemical ingredient in the world. Legend has it they can make any potion far, far more effective than it would normally.  I've seen a petal of one go for a thousand bits they are so rare. This little place is the only location on the planet that they grow in, and thanks to some wards to keep this place hidden, only Celestia and I can gather them.” “If that's the case, Arcane, I'm disappointed in you.” The stallion whipped his head away from the view to look his boss in the eyes.  “Why?” “You're keeping these all to yourself.  If they are as expensive as you claim, you should have been trying to find a way to grow them in other places!” Arcane closed his eyes and chuckled.  He tried to hold it in, but he couldn't help but laugh hysterically at his mentor.  It took a good minute for him to calm down. “He he… you are just like everypony else who hears about these things.  Yeah, they have an alchemical effect that no other ingredient in history has. But, you wanna know a secret?” “I'm listening.” “That one-of-a-kind effect…” “What do they do, Arca?”  Meadowbrook’s eyes widened as a great mystery of her craft that she didn't even know of was about to be revealed in front of her. “They don't do anything.” “...come again?” Arca uprooted a few in his hoof, and tossed them in the air like confetti.  “They do nothing! They're USELESS! Even adding water to a potion has the effect of diluting it, but no matter what recipes I've tried, no matter what tests the best and brightest have run in secret over the past 400 years, they do bupkiss!  Zilch! Nil! Nothing! They are the only thing in the whole world that is 100% magically inactive.” Meadow recoiled in shock.  “So it's a lie?” “Not exactly.  In truth, they are one of the best ingredients ever discovered.  I only ever bring down ten from this place every year. The first one I keep for myself, the second goes to my apprentice, and the third goes to somepony I care about.  In this case, you.” “Aw, that's sweet, Arca.” “The fourth goes to the top alchemist of my guild, the fifth to the best student there, and the sixth gets raffled off within the guild.  The seventh, eighth, and ninth, are the same, but at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. And the tenth I use as a bargaining chip at the annual trade exchange.” Meadowbrook tilted her head to the side.  “I still don't see what makes them special if they don't do anything.” Arca smiled warmly.  “The beauty of it lies in the legend surrounding them.  Such a rare and expensive ingredient… every single time, without fail, whoever tries making a potion with this flower uses only the best of the best ingredients and the utmost care.  The Miracle Flower is the ultimate placebo: I have more often than not seen my students and fellow alchemists create potions the world could only dream of having, thinking it was the flower that did it.  And when I tell them the truth, and swear them to secrecy, they go off into the world knowing that they had that genius, that ability to make masterpieces of alchemy, all on their own. THAT is the truth of the Miracle Flower.” “You know what, Arca?”  Meadow asked as she leaned against her adoptive son.  “I take back what I said. I am proud of you, and this really is the best ingredient I've seen.” “Thanks, Boss.  And who knows? Maybe it does do something and I just haven't found it yet.  I look forward to seeing what you make with it, Boss. Although if you're stuck for ideas, they make a decent tea, if nothing else.” “I wouldn't call myself an alchemist if I didn't give it my all.  Now, about this duck…” “I don’t wanna think about it now.  Let me lay here a few more minutes.” And so, Equestria's strangest family snuggled up together, in a secret place lost to time, for just a little longer before moving on to the summit of the mountain.