"Well, that was a successful run of the trade exchange! Except for that one angry mare. Celestia seemed upset with her." Arca guided Juniper back to their trading stand, situated far away from all the others up by the shop. "I've done my trading, now I can trade things too! I wonder how many customers we'll get today."
Juniper glanced at the 'trading stand', which was really just an old bookshelf with the word 'POSHUNSTIONS' scrawled on the side in paint. "How many traders come by here, usually, anyway? You offer some high quality stuff, despite appearances."
"Well…" Arca rubbed the back of his neck innocently with a hoof. "I think my record's nine? Yeah, that sounds right. So I can handle things myself if you wanna keep trading. But this year, I have a secret weapon! A surefire way to guarantee customers come to trade stuff before the trade exchange ends!"
"I don't wanna know."
"You sure? Because it's really smart! Tell you what, imma go get it." Arca dashed inside and quickly returned with a small, yellow ball that resembled a water balloon. "Behold! I have created a really nice smelling fragrance bomb! I heard that incense makes ponies wanna come to shops because the place smells nice, so I made this to make the whole yard smell good!" He waved it around in the air. "I forgot how many cups to put in the recipe, since it was old and I had to improvise, but it should be fine!"
Juniper groaned. "I'm getting out of here before you make this whole place smell too strongly." She sighed, spread her wings, and took off into the air to continue shopping.
Arca shrugged, ruffling his wings under his lab coat. "Oh well. Ugh, I hate how itchy these things get when I have to hide them. Maybe now I can get some lab coats with wing holes… as long as nopony freaks out again… oh well, let's get this show on the road! This should be just enough to make the whole yard smell like lemons!" Grinning, he tossed the orb and watched it shatter on the ground, taking a deep whiff as-
"I still can't believe that she did such a horrible thing, using dark magic to get her way…" Celestia shook her head grimly as she rode the train back towards Canterlot with Emerald under close guard. She glanced back at the town of Rainbow Falls, fond memories flying through her mind, and smiled.
Then the entire town was covered in a yellow mist.
"Oh dear."
Juniper was trotting around the trade exchange when without warning, her senses were overwhelmed with lemon. In fact, the world seemed tinged yellow as a mist enveloped the town, and everypony reeled back in surprise as the citrus aroma.
"BOSS!"
"You rang, Juniper?" Arca stepped out from a seemingly random alleyway, sporting a wine glass full of lemonade, with a bendy straw.
"Everything smells like lemons!" Juniper covered her snout in a desperate plea to block out the smell, but it was a fruitless attempt. "What did you do?!"
"Uh… I'm not sure. Let me check the recipe if found for this, it was pretty old and worn…" he produced a tattered piece of paper scrawled with a language that had been dead for 500 years, and scanned it once more. "Uhm… ah! I found the problem. For starters, it warns the user to not add more doses than their age. I guess they didn't intend for a thousand-plus-dose explosion."
"And the other thing?"
"I mistranslated. I should have been using teaspoons of lemon fragrance, not pints."
"I don't even know where to start with that one, Boss…" Juniper shook her head, resigning herself to her fate. "How long is it gonna last? The berry family reunion is this weekend, and if I show up smelling like lemons, I'll be laughed out!"
Arca put a hoof to his chin, thinking. "Well, it won't wear off by then, but I'll do anything for my apprentices!" He lit his horn, and a deep blue orb materialized in his outstretched hoof, and prepared to throw it. "Luckily I made this blueberry scented bomb that's just a little bit more potent-"
"Arca, no!"
"ARCA, YES!"
Oh Sweet Celestia this was amazing I love this story so much.
The town, Arca, and his potions in a nutshell:
I think there's an unneeded letter in POSHUNS?
Did you already had the lesson about where colts and fillies comes from?
Yes:Stories where the action is done
No:Ask one of the Princesses. Preferably the pink one of love. Then look back at Yes.
HA!!!!!
This chapter was a riot a and a half. I like it a lot.
9659161
I think it was already partially confirmed in the Memo regarding Health
Also, Poor Juniper... I think she needs a spa day in order to get the smell out
9659169
Pretty much 90% of the story so far. And it's a classic trope, just ask the Greeks about Zeus. :D
I seriously want to know how many therapists Arca's been through... in the last week.
Glad to see you back Ashfur.
*except the explosion is blue
9659263
Good to BE back! I needed a break, and my entire free time got swallowed whole by my latest discovery, Danganronpa. And the second one. And the third one.
9659215
Explain to me why all the chapters I look at and think "This is gonna fail so badly..." end up being the most well recieved. I DON'T GET IT!
9659230
"Do you want the mud bomb or the cucumber bomb?"
"GO HOME, BOSS!"
9659283
On an aside, this is one of the better recordings of an atom bomb with the sound included:
9659291
Hopefully, let’s hope that whatever else he’s cooking does not have the same force of whatever happened in Trottingham that one time
Oh man. Arcane is so dang crazy.
I think all mysteries of this series have been solved by now. The only question left is: Is it pronounced ARCAH or ARKEI?
Your use of imagery is priceless.
See the question I have is, what single pony is brave, stupid or crazy enough to try and give Arca Catalyst a single therapy session, let alone multiple?
>Arca: Does anything
>Literally every single resident of Rainbow Falls:
9659422
Arcah. Like Arc, with an AH at the end.
9659423
Lets just say that Celestia booked it for him after a certain 'incident'. Which can be found in his journal.
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/435727/journals-of-the-royal-alchemist
9659505
Free plugs, AND lore dumps! I like you.
9659289
Honestly, it’s probably because of Magnum Opus Dissonance.
9659532
Thanks. Just helping out
Arca, no.
ARCA MOST DEFINITELY YES.
By the way, anyone know why this word keeps popping into my head?
It's: ShenanaBANANAgins.
Like, seriously.
Help me out, please..?
Becoming a living sent air freshener, that is one of the more milder stuff he did in the past
9660099
Either Pinkie threw a party in your brain, or Arca threw a Banana Bomb.
Pick one, both are equal odds.
9660184
Honestly? Why not both..
Arca you magnificent bastard.
Ah darn, it didn't turn ponies into fruit.
Semi-Perfect Arca, "Vegeta... if you'd only let me absorb 18, I would have had enough doses to construct the Ultimate Cherry(Scented) Bomb. I would have destroyed your olfactory receptors."
Vegeta smiles, "Go on."
Emerald Trunks, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
After today's misadventure with ArcaScents™, I imagine there will be a new, secret addition to the Things Arca Must Never Find Out About list circulating amongst Rainbow Falls residents:
4,311: Classified MOST SECRET: By unanimous order of the Royal Equestrian Quadrivium, Arca must never find out about star-anise.
Tchaikovsky, cannons are not instruments.
Yes they are
Tchaikovsky, no
Tchaikovsky, yes
TCHAIKOVSKY ALWAYS YES!!!
I don't think I have ever experienced this amount of dread from 2 simple words. "ARCA, YES" you just know it's going to end poorly
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Arc-AH? I thought it was Arc-UH. Accent difference?
You know exactly what he did