• Published 4th Dec 2018
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The Potion Shop - Ashfur



There's a secluded potion shop in a small little town. Its owner is... eccentric.

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Juniper Day

“Juniper! What a coincidence running into you here!”

Juniper sighed, stepping up onto the front porch of Alchemiracles. “Boss. I work here. You LIVE here. We see each other every day I come in to work.”

“Still! I'm glad I caught you. I'm going to Canterlot to go speak with Princess Celestia about some new creature she wrote me a letter about. Friendly sort, apparently, I hope to get some samples for experimenting later, and catch up with my old apprentice, Potassium Mixture, while I'm there. He was doing what you do now, only… what was it, forty years ago? Now he works directly for the Princess in the Royal Alchemy Lab.”

“Really? Boss, I wasn't made aware of this.”

“Oh. Surprise, then! Alchemiracles is closed today, so take a day off! Do whatever Juniper wants to do today. I have a train to catch.”

Juniper shrugged with her wings, not bothering to argue. “I guess Celestia's giving you a place to stay, then? And why haven't you packed?”

“To answer your questions, I hid a sleeping alcove in the castle lab when it was built centuries ago, for when I had to stay by more… potentially explosive experiments that needed constant attention. And I'm ‘loaded’, as the foals these days say, Juniper! I've lived long enough to be worth millions of bits, I can buy supplies when I get there. Or more likely than not, Celestia will try to provide for my needs while I'm there. That being said, I do have a few spare lab coats in my saddlebags.”

“Of course you do.”

“See you when I get back, Juniper! Have fun, and try to keep Rainbow Falls in one piece while I'm gone!” with that said, Arca dashed off towards the train station before deciding to simply teleport there.

Left alone, the pegasus mumbled to herself. “That won't be too hard with you not here, boss. Now, what to do first...”


Fun fact: clouds are very comfortable. Juniper, being a pegasus, knows this, and put that knowledge to her advantage as she reclined back on the soft, fluffy puff of white that she had pulled down. Not many ponies were brave enough to take to the sky while inside the Arca Limit, much less nap there, but Juniper knew that with her boss gone and the shop closed for the day, she had the perfect place to catch up on sleep.

She had been sleeping there for a little while, as a matter of fact. After Arca had left for Canterlot, she had taken his advice and had a ‘me day’ for the first time in a while. She immediately flew over to the local candy store to indulge her sweet tooth, before practicing some flying high above the valley where the liquid rainbows cascaded down to. After that, she touched down and decided to go in for a much needed massage to ease off some sore shoulder joints from last week's explosions. The massage made her drowsy, so she grabbed a cloud, took it inside the Arca Limit, and took an afternoon nap.

“Hi, dearie!”

She had only been asleep for about two hours when the voice shook her out of her nap, and like most creatures upon waking up it took a few moments for her brain to process who was speaking.

“Oh, sorry dear. Did I wake you? Go back to sleep sweetheart, I'm pretty sure I can find my way around Arca's shop, unless he built in another three dozen hidden compartments. It certainly has its charm…”

Mage Meadowbrook was admiring the odd but strangely beautiful mixings of different architectural styles that made up Alchemiracles when it finally clicked for Juniper who was there.

“MAGE MEADOWBROOK?!” she swooped down landing awkwardly in front of her idol. “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! I can't believe I'm meeting you in pony… for the second time! W-welcome to Rainbow Falls! C-can I have your autograph? Wait, I mean, uh, what brings you this far out on the train line?” A sudden hoof on her withers calmed her down a bit, as Meadow worked to soothe her frantic grand-apprentice.

“Shush… deep breaths, dear. In, and out. In, and out.” Meadow put her hoof back down, as Juniper began to calm down and even made a few calm sounding noises. “Better? Good. Now, to answer your questions, Arca called me in to watch his shop while he's in Canterlot. It's the least I can do after all he did to help memorialize my shop and our history. I probably owe him more than I can repay without being ageless myself. And yes, I'll give you an autograph, and before I forget, Arca asked me to take care of you too for the few days he is away. He asked me to keep my role as substitute alchemist mentor under wraps until now, especially to you. He wanted to surprise you. So, to make up for hiding that little secret from you, what do you say we go make some potions together, just me and you? Do you want to do that?”

“Oh BOY, would I!”

Author's Note:

Well, somepony had to run the shop while Arca's away...

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