Nothing's More Important

“We’ll help you. We should be able to find a way to earn our keep,” Alice said. “Do you have much land?” It was weird to her to pad around town, openly in her own fur. The fact that it was ponies surrounding her felt less dramatically strange. On the plus side, everything seemed proportioned well for her.

Amelia, on the other hand, towered over everypony, and was already dreading all the stooping she was going to have to do. “Maybe that expansion can be made a bit extra-tall?”

Justin bobbed his head. "Extra large for my extra pretty mare," he sang, seemingly getting relaxed about the whole thing, at least until he opened the front door to his little house with a lab attached to the side. Sitting there in the living room towards the front were a male unicorn and a female pegasus, both older than Justin. "M-mom? Dad? I, uh… Hi?"

Alice looked between the three of them, getting a little confused, until she padded closer to the older ponies, sniffing at them in turn. She seemed even more confused after that. “Are you going to introduce us, dear?”

Amelia took off the pack and slipped it in around the doorway before slipping in herself. She quickly found a spot to sit down, and waved to the ponies. “Well, that was fast.”

Justin nodded quickly as he kicked the door shut behind himself. "Meet Sweet Sunshine and Deep Intone, my parents, uh, who I didn't expect to be here today." He forced a wide smile. "Not that I ever mind my parents being here. They're both wonderful ponies, who I should introduce to my new--" He hesitated a moment, but it was a lost cause. "Mares. Alice and Amelia."

Amelia blushed, nodded and waved. “Hello Deep, Sweet. A pleasure to meet you both. I’m sure this must all be very strange and surprising to you both.”

Alice wagged openly, giving each of the ponies a quick lick on their snouts. “You’ve raised a very nice son. I’m glad we were able to come back here and meet you both.”

It was only then that they showed signs of life. Sweet slipped to the floor and approached Justin. She put her hooves on either of his chins and drew him close. "Are you alright?" Justin nodded quickly. "If you're in any trouble…"

Justin shook off her hooves and bumped noses with her. "Mom! They're not kidnapping me, promise."

Deep coughed into a hoof before speaking. His voice was just as low as his name implied. "Our son always was special and talented in many ways. I didn't think it would extend to his love life, but it's nice to meet you both." He tilted his head faintly. "You appear to be a wolf, but you're far more well-spoken than any I've ever seen."

“I get that a lot,” Alice exaggerated. She probably would get it a lot if she didn’t make a point of hiding from everyone. “You’re all a lot more well spoken than the ponies where I come from, or I wouldn’t have even considered taking your son as a mate.”

“We actually just made a point of leaving our world behind to bring Justin here home. So… kind of the opposite of kidnapping,” Amelia said. “Oh! I’m a human, by the way. I know we kind of don’t look like anything else.”

Sweet flew up to be face-to-face with Amelia. "I never heard of a human before." She circled around the one that would claim to take her son away. "Where'd all your fur go to?"

Justin put a fetlock over face with seeming embarrassment. "She has all the fur she's supposed to have, Mom."

“As he said, just a little up top and a… ahem, exactly as much as I should,” Amelia said, blushing a moment. “We tend to wear a lot more clothing than ponies to make up for it, particularly when it’s too cold or sunny.”

Deep gently adjusted his glasses. "We ponies aren't entirely unfamiliar with the idea of clothing."

Sweet, entirely nude and still flapping in front of Amelia, tilted her head. "That sounds dreadfully inconvenient." She turned away from Amelia, looking down at Justin. "You want a mate that can freeze in the winter and cook up in summer?"

“I know, I’ve seen enough ponies. A few of you wear a bit here or there, or on special occasions,” Amelia said. “I suppose I could just strip bare and let everypony see everything,” she said with a blush, “it’s not all that hot or cold around here. Though it’d certainly take some getting used to.”

“I agree with you, Sweet,” Alice offered. “I have to wear clothes whenever I visit their towns, and it’s such a hassle. And so much work to clean them all the time. I don’t know why they do it.”

Deep shook his head gently. "Now dear. Making fun of--" She glared at him quite meaningfully and he folded his ears back, but didn't shrink in place. "Don't give me that look. He's a grown stallion, and he's made a choice."

Justin glanced between the two parents, then nodded slowly. "I… Yes. Amelia, you should do what feels comfortable for you, not anypony else. There's nothing wrong with wearing clothes. Some ponies wear them all the time."

Sweet spread her forehooves wide. "Sure, snooty snobs in Canterlot! Is that what she is?" She was abruptly surrounded in a field of dark red and pulled towards Deep. "Hey!"

“Hey, I’m not a snob!” Amelia said before standing up to strip a bit angrily. “See? I’ve got nothing to hide.” Without the bra, gravity had a bit more pull on her chest than had been advertised, and oh, hey, there was that second patch of ‘fur’. But other than that, just a lot more bare skin. And blushing.

Alice rolled her eyes. “Amy, you’re being silly. Anyways, it’s not like she insists others wear clothes, even in her own house,” she defended.

Justin colored quickly at the display. "Mom! Sweet Celestia, you are not making mares strip for you."

Sweet sputtered in indignant fury. "W-what! I didn't ask her to, I mean…" She looked over at the nude human of her own creation and quickly looked away, confused. Before she could speak further in her defense, she was drawn in by the red field to Deep and smooched on the lips for a quiet moment.

Amelia sat down on her pile of clothes, giggling at the reactions she got. She placed a hand on Justin’s rear hips, stroking his fur lightly. “It’s okay, Justin. This is kind of nice.~”

Alice was a bit uncomfortable with it all, and tried to change the subject. “So… I know Justin’s an alchemist, but what do you two do?”

Justin quickly raised a hoof at Deep. "Father's a wizard, and a fine one too. He specializes in fire magic. You should seem him get going!" He spoke with obvious pride and fascination, with his tail wagging left and forth quickly.

Amelia looked between Alice and Deep. “I wonder if he’d be able to get anything past your wards,” she mused.

Alice shook her head. “Are you any good at stopping fires?”

Deep drew back from distracting his wife with a lifted ear. "One of the first lessons any colt or filly with fire talent is how to clean the messes they invariably make. I'm not ashamed to say I started one or two while I was getting the hang of it."

Alice nodded respectfully. “That’s an important skill to have. Fires can come from many sources, but when they’re blazing it doesn’t matter who started it.” She shook her head a bit. “Sorry, we’ve just had a rather bad fire in our area, so it’s on the top of our minds right now. I was able to protect my grove and her house, but so many others lost their homes.”

“And a few lives,” Amelia added solemnly, remembering poor Isabelle. “Oh! Uh, did anyone bring Isabelle’s little pony doll with them?” She tried to remember, but couldn’t recall anything about it past using it to summon the ghostly girl.

Justin looked around in a quick panic before starting to dip his snout into his pouches, searching each one. "Didn't you have it, Amelia? You called her with it, remember?"

“I did… I…” Amelia stuttered as she tried to think. “Oh no, I think I left it in the living room! Are we stuck?”

“Maybe… Justin found her here once before, or she found him. She is probably exhausted from bringing us here, but she may still be able to reappear later,” Alice advised, sounding a bit uncertain. “Anyways, Justin is here with us, so it doesn’t matter.” That sounded a lot more confident.

Sweet Sunshine gave a gentle smile. "I'm not sure what that's all about, but sorry, for the way I acted. It's just… he's my only colt. Please, take care of him, alright?" She suddenly darted out of the house, flying away on swift wings.

Alice gave a toothy grin toward her retreating form, and then turned it on Deep. “We’ll take good care of him, don’t worry. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt him, ever.”

Amelia hugged Justin from the side firmly, “and I’ll do what I can for him… which might be a lot less protecting, but I can certainly cook and help in other ways.”

Deep chuckled in that low way of his. "You found a chef. Don't let her out of your sight, son." He slapped Justin on the back. "So when's the wedding, or are you just betrothed so far?"

“I’m actually more of a botanist, by trade. Though I can certainly cook, too,” Amelia said. “We haven’t gotten a date set, yet, but I think it should be sooner rather than later. How quickly do you think it could be arranged? And do you know any good wedding planners?”

Alice glanced at the bite mark on Justin’s shoulder, scabbed over but still visible beneath the fur, and just grinned and wagged.

Deep tilted his head a little. "Well, there's my…" He coughed into his hoof. "My own ceremony was done by the mayor. A sweet mare by the name of Miss Appropriation. She's lost the bid a few times, but she's back at the moment. I fancy she'd quite look forward to officiating."

Amelia looked at him curiously, wondering what he had avoided saying. “It’d probably be a good idea to meet the mayor anyways, make sure everypony knows we’re not invading monsters or something. Do you think a lot of ponies would want to attend?”

Justin thrust up a hoof. "We should wait. I mean, not that I don't want to get married, but let's let the town get used to seeing you all, with me, and then we'll do that and everyone will be there and be happy."

“I’m not waiting,” Alice said, looking at Deep. “I mean, we can wait a bit for the ceremony, but… technically, according to my people’s traditions we’re already married, so. Mine.”

“Well, I can wait,” Amelia said, stroking Justin’s mane. “I’m sure it will take everypony a while to get used to us both.”

Deep looked between Justin and the smug-looking Alice before he leaned towards her. "Now, I don't mean to pry, but from the way my son's squirming like there's a heat under him, I'm going to guess you're the one in charge of this herd?"

Alice nodded confidently. “My people would call me the ‘alpha’,” she said, neglecting to mention that technically Justin would be considered an alpha as well. “What do you call that in your society?”

Deep put a hoof behind his head. "Truthfully, herds aren't so common these days. 'head mare' is the term that comes to mind." He held up a hoof. "Now, I won't get as teary as m'wife, but I do want you to take care of him."

"Dad!"

"No 'Dad!' from you. He's a good boy, a bright boy. Foster that mind of his." He smiled gently. "I'll be proud to call you both my daughters."

Alice nodded. “I’ll keep him safe so he can keep putting that strong mind of his to good use. ‘Head mare’, huh? I’ll have to get used to that. ‘Dad’,” she said with a grin.

“I’m glad we got to meet you both,” Amelia said. “We’ll be sure to let you know when we have a date for the wedding and everything. Oh… you said herds aren’t that common… do you think ponies will give us trouble about it?”

He chuckled softly. "I think it'll be down on the list of things they'll have to gossip about it. First, a wolf, second a hue mane, and third, the herd, and fourth, ponies they never met before, coupling with my boy here. Oh no, there's plenty to talk about." He rose to his hooves and shook out his pointed head. "Do tell me when the ceremony's to be had. I'll be there, with her, of course. Have fun settling in."

“I guess I’m no stranger to the rumor-mill… some ponies talking about me behind my back won’t bother me much… heck, it’ll just remind me of home,” Amelia said, though she didn’t sound as chipper as she was trying to pretend to be.

“Let them talk. We’ll be fine. We have each other, and besides, it’s not like the ponies will do anything besides talk,” Alice said.

He nodded on the way out. "That's the way. Just mind your p's and q's and they'll settle down after a while." He left the building, turning for a parting wave before he trotted off in the same basic direction that his wife fled in.

Justin let out a slow sigh of relief. "Dad always was so relaxed… So, uh, you met the folks. Not bad ponies, right?"

“You mom probably just needs to calm down, but I liked your dad at least,” Amelia said. “I was a little surprised neither of them was an earth pony, like you, but I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes.”

“Yeah, that confused me a lot,” Alice shrugged. “But they’re definitely your real parents. The nose doesn’t lie,” she said with a tap of her snout. “Except with your vanilla potion. That was kind of weird.”

Justin shook his head. "Oh she's fine. She's just, you know, like she said. I'm her only colt. She's being kinda cute about it. It's… It's nice to know she cares that much. I think I'll write her a card later…" He looked around slowly. "Oh! Yeah. I heard dad was hoping for a unicorn, and mom a pegasus. I'm kind of the boobie prize neither betted on, but they've always been great parents."

“Well, she’s not losing you completely, especially since we seem to have lost our ride home,” Amelia said. “And I think you’re great just the way you are. Though… I wonder if you’ll turn into some kind of… wolf-pony?”