“Quack.”
“There it is, Juniper! I TOLD you it was still nearby!” Ducked behind a bush, Arca watched his arch nemesis with a pair of cheap binoculars. “Look at it, waddling around…”
“Is this really necessary, Boss? It is just a bird, regardless of how many times it's gotten away…”
Arca put down his binoculars, and turned to his assistant. “It is not just a bird, Juniper! Now shush, and stop being so obvious. If it sees you, we might end up ruining my trap this time!” He picked up the binoculars again, finishing his little tirade. “Wow, these new binoculars are great! It's like he's right in front of me, I can see so well. Heck, it's almost like The Duck is looking through the other end of the binoculars!”
“Uh, Boss, he is.”
“Quack.”
Arca calmly handed the binoculars to Juniper. “Hold these. They cost quite a bit. Now, you arrogant little twit, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“Quack.”
“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY BOSS?! THAT'S IT, YOU'RE DEAD!” Arca sprang forward to try and tackle his foe, but The Duck… ducked to peck at the grass beneath it. This resulted in one orange unicorn face planting into the mud. “Damn bird…”
“So, how are you doing?” Juniper asked. “Meet any pretty she-ducks lately?”
“Quack.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right. Kinda wish I could understand you. I bet you have lots of stories about my Boss and his former apprentices.”
“Quack.”
Arca popped his head out of the bush they were hiding behind, The Duck rising with him as it had settled in on his head. “GOTCHA! Wait, where did it go? I'm gonna get him this time…”
Juniper gestured with a wing, pointing deeper into the woods. “He went that way, boss.”
“Thanks, Juniper! I won't let him escape this time!” And so he dashed off into the wilderness, the waterfowl he so hated still sitting on his head unawares.
Mage Meadowbrook had decided to stay in Rainbow Falls for a few days to try and gather rare ingredients from the nearby mountains. Not many ponies ventured as far up the falls as she was, but up here where the air was thinner, skypetal lilies grew better here than near the swamp. She stopped a moment to take a nice, long inhale of the mountain air.
“Boss! I thought you left for your home already!” Meadow turned around, slightly surprised.
“Arca? Are you after ingredients too? And what's with the duck?”
Arca trotted over and patted his old mentor on the withers. “Oh, my dear boss, you silly mare. It's not ‘the duck’, it's ‘The Duck’. Use capitals. And have you seen it anywhere, as long as I'm on the subject?”
“Uh…” Meadowbrook looked up at the bird half-asleep on Arca's head. “No, I haven't. Perhaps if you used your head, you might find it?”
“Ooh, good idea! I bet I could use a spell to locate it! The Duck's magical signature is super easy to track if you know its magical frequency.” he lit his horn, and it shone its normal light blue color with a radar spell. “Huh. That's odd. I sense it nearly on top of me. But I don't see it anywhere…” Arca looked left, right, up, down, and even spun in a circle, but failed to find The Duck still sitting on his head.
“Quack.”
“I HEARD THAT! WHERE ARE YOU?”
Meadow smiled at her former pupil's predicament, shaking her head in defeat. “Arca, dear, it's on your head.”
“It's WHAT?!” he ruffled his mane with a hoof, sending The Duck flying off into the sky and towards another part of the mountain. “HEY, GET THE BUCK BACK HERE, YOU- oof!” he flinched from a solid hoof to the flank.
“Arcane Catalyst! Language!”
Arca's ears drooped and he hung his head in shame. “Sorry, boss…”
“And why are you after that poor bird? What did it ever do to you?”
Arca sighed. “...technically, it's a national secret, but you deserve to know… and I think Celestia would agree. Come on, I'll show you. The Duck can wait for another day… it's not like it's going to die of old age anytime soon, if the past 500 years I’ve spent chasing it are any sort of indication.” He started walking higher up the mountain, gesturing for Meadowbrook to follow. “This way. Don't worry, if the air gets too thin for you I have some potions that should help you at high altitudes. Cold resistance, a breatheasy tonic, better balance…”
“Arca, where are we going where I'm going to need those? The top of the mountain, or something?”
“Exactly. More specifically, the point from where the Rainbow liquid flows from, a small little lake where the air is so thin you'd need to be a pegasus, have a mountaineering cutiemark, or be a living philosopher’s stone like me to survive without help. Come on Boss, it's time for a history lesson.”
Sweet, I love history lessons!
The duck is part of the Philosopher's Stone.
Or an old experiment using it.
Calling it now.
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Homunculus
At long last, we shall see the noodle behind the incident.
All hail The Duck - the Immortal Mallard
Hah, fun! Another adventurer alchemist! Also very very familiar. Just from the premise alone I have to check to see if they're the same pony!
9413850
Who? Arca isn't directly based on anyone, with the exception of my story idea of 'What if Doc Brown worked retail?'
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Nah, I was just being facetious and silly.
Though sometimes crazy coincidences happen. Anyway the pony I mentioned was ... well, my own pony's OC that I've been farting around with since S1.
Adventurous, insanely talented, gets a commission from the royal guard here and there... though she's an enchantress that dabbles in potion making... and definitely rough around the edges. So yeah probably wouldn't be a fun individual to talk about 'at work.' If that makes sense.
Anyway, just finished chapter 1. This is a pretty fun story so far. :3
Apparently i have decided that Mage Meadowbrook is voiced by Maggie Smith.
Wonder if our theories on the duck where right. Can't wait to see
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For some reason I gave her professor McGonagall voice from Harry potter.
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Maggie Smith is the actress who played McGonagall.
9414623
I guess great minds think alike?
I like to imagine that duck is speaking the same way that Microsoft voice thing does.
I wonder if Arca ever tried using duck tape to catch the duck?