February 20, 38 ANM
I wonder if I can convince Celestia to call this month Febrewary.
Anyway, I've got a problem. And… I'm not sure how to describe it. The castle's been quiet for the past couple days, since we're having some water issues I haven't been able to make any potions. And I feel… itchy, for lack of a better word. Really, really itchy, but not in a physical sense. I can't scratch it. It has no physical spot.
No, I'm not having an allergic reaction, believe me, I checked.
So, I went to see Celestia. Usually in these kinds of situations, she has experienced something similar, so she has some sage advice. Note to self: stock up on sage. Anyway, the meeting was very informative. I learned a lot of things.
The door to Celestia's room creaked open in the late evening. Celestia sat up, it wasn't like her guards to walk in unannounced, so she had to be prepared for anything.
In this case, 'anything' was Arcane Catalyst, who was shivering slightly and actively seemed sick. Some of his color had faded, he was sweating a bit, and there were bags starting to form under his eyes. "Princess-Boss? Do you have a moment?"
"Arca!?" Celestia was on her hooves in an instant. Here was one of her smartest and closest friends, despite his antics, and he looked like he was about ready to pass out. "What happened? Are you alright?"
Arca looked up, his movements slower and less erratic than normal. "I… I don't know. I can tell that something is wrong, but I don't know what. I haven't been sick in decades, and my spare dose of Grand Panacea didn't even work, so it's not an illness. I just feel so…"
"...itchy?" Celestia asked, finishing his sentence for him. Arcane's eyes went wide, blinking a few times.
"How- how in Tartarus did you know that?"
"Frankly, Arcane, I'm surprised it took you this long to start feeling it. Come here," she patted her bed with one hoof, quietly casting a soundproof spell on the room. "And take off your lab coat. I need to speak with Arca the alicorn, not the Arca my subjects know."
Arca looked around the room warily. It broke Celestia's heart to see him so scared about something he should have been proud of. Seemingly satisfied that there was no other creature in the room, Arcane Catalyst removed his lab coat and hung it on a nearby hook, revealing both his cutiemark, a shimmering red gemstone with a spiral pattern, and a pair of wings, which were horribly unkempt and in need of preening. Clambering up onto the bed, Arca let out a dejected sigh. "I hate this. I hate these," he remarked, flaring a wing out. "But, for you, I will reveal these… deformities."
"And you know I couldn't care less about what tribe or even species you are," she replied, nuzzling him. "Anyway, you said you were itchy, yes?" A nod. "Luna and I have the same problem. It's because we're not doing what we're supposed to do."
"I don't follow. Did I break a rule?"
Celestia wanted to jokingly point out that he'd broken at least a dozen by walking into her room unannounced, but this was a serious moment. "No. Why don't we test that brain of yours. I get itchy if the sun isn't in the sky by the time it should be, and it gets worse the longer I delay. Now, why do you think that is?"
Arca pondered for a minute before the answer fit him. "You're the alicorn of the sun."
"Indeed I am."
"So if you don't raise the sun…"
"It's like a warning system, Arca. It is my duty to raise the sun every morning and set it every evening. When I don't, my body lets me know, the same way my body lets me know when I'm hungry, or tired, or sore. For Luna, she got antsy when the moon is off-schedule. To this day I make sure it's on time, if only to make her time on the moon a tiny bit less painful. So tell me, then. What duty is Arcane Catalyst, the alicorn of innovation, ignoring?"
"Potions?"
"No."
"...bloodletting?"
"Bloodletting isn't the answer to everything amd you know that."
Arca placed a hoof to his chin in thought. If it wasn't either of those, it had to be something recent. Something directly correlated to when his 'itch' started. "...the rockslide. It redirected the river and caused the water shortage."
"And Canterlot will be in danger if somepony doesn't invent a solution." Celestia smiled. Already she could see the negative effects reversing as the gears turned in her alchemist's head. By the time he was done, he wouldn't even realize the 'itch' was gone.
"What if we built an aqueduct? No, that would take too long. Clearing the rockslide would cause too many problems logistically, so the best solution would be to try something with the river itself, but that wouldn't be good either because then we'd need to UNdo that once the rockslide is cleared." Arca was off the bed and pacing about. The solution was right there, his magic was nudging him in the right direction, he just needed to-
"THE MELTWATER!"
"Elaborate?" Celestia hadn't gotten off the bed, but she was smiling. This, this was the Arcane Catalyst she knew.
"The snow on the peak of the mountain drips down through the ground and into the caves under Canterlot like a natural filter. There's a lake down there! Remember? We used the island in the middle of it for the ritual to make the Philosopher's Stone and oh my stars I just realized how I can reuse that spot because the leylines are still twisted there. Be back later, Princess-Boss! I'M GONNA GO SOLVE A DROUGHT!" Without a further word, Arca was back in his lab coat and out the door.
Celestia got up from her bed and trotted over to the window to lower the sun. She didn't let it show, but her conversation with arca had taken her past when sunset was supposed to be, and she had been getting 'the itch' as well. Hers happened a lot faster, too. With that settled, she poured herself a glass of wine.
And then a knock came at the door. "Your Majesty?" A guard called from the other side. "A geyser just erupted in town square. The guards have already called a code Orange."
"Oh, buck me."
…So it turns out that if I'm not following my heart by making potions, especially NEW potions, my destiny is to innovate. To create. My cutiemark is pushing me to move the technology and magic of this world forward. Sounds like a fun hobby! And it gives me an excuse to cause explosions, since the biggest part of innovation is learning from your mistakes in experiments.
And I solved the water problem! See, the spot where I kinda-accidentally made and fused with the Philosopher's Stone has some REALLY potent magic as a side effect. Enough to let me mess with gravity. So I set up a permanent enchantment on the ritual site. There's a reverse waterfall, kinda like a geyser, shooting up to the roof of the cave, which is right under town square! A bit of digging and boom, fresh water for everypony. Celestia said she was proud of me, and we're gonna make a structure to help hold the water so the market isn't soggy all the time. She called it a 'fountain', and I bet it'll look great in town square.
On a side note, I'm itchy again. But this time it's because I accidentally invented itching powder.