Nothing's More Important

The trip home was uneventful, until the sudden setting of the sun and rising of the moon nearly bowled Alice over with surprise. Amelia giggled, jumping a bit at the unexpected timing, but she had at least known to expect it to happen.

“Does night always come on so suddenly here?” Alice said, shaking her head to clear the disorientation. “I’m used to a bit more… transition.”

“The Princesses raise and set the sun and moon here, right?” Amelia offered. “So it’s a bit more like… flicking a light switch, than the simple astrophysical processes we have back home.”

Justin nodded in easy agreement. "When the time is right, Luna rises the moon, and Celestia lowers the sun. Sometimes they are a bit slower, if the… I don't know what prompts them. Maybe it's a muse thing? They are artists of a sort." He waved a hoof up at the sky. "The whole canvas they have to work with is amazing."

“That sounds amazing. Do you think we could meet them?” Alice asked. “Especially Luna? We wolves have a special connection to the moon. I wonder how different it will be with your world’s moon. It feels… so much stronger, already. And we’re still far from the full moon.”

“Are you going to become a Princess Luna fangirl now?” Amelia teased “I always thought Princess Celestia was best pony, though maybe I’ll change my mind.”

Justin twitched an ear at Amelia. "You know of them already? As for meeting them, we could go to Canterlot, to ask, but unless we have something worth bothering them about, we really shouldn't. They're princesses! I'm just an alchemist."

“I only know them from the show,” Amelia replied. “I’m sure it’s much different meeting them in person. You don’t think a couple of immigrants from another world are reason enough to check in with them? Though I guess maybe we could start a little more locally? I guess you would have some kind of laws in place for non-ponies to become residents or even citizens here in Equestria… griffins and minotaurs and such, for example.”

“I’d much rather meet a princess than fill out immigration forms,” Alice said with a groan. “I hope the ponies aren’t as fond of paperwork as your people are.”

"Oh, uh…" He glanced left and right. "You actually have kind of a point there…" He rose his head up high. "Oh my. I don't know what I'll say to them. You know, 'hey, these are my two lovely mares. Oh, no, they're not ponies, or from this world… They come in peace though! Say hello, your highness." He gave a little hysterical laugh, walking stiffly.

"We come in peace. Take us to your leader,” Amelia said in a silly robot voice, before giggling. "Seriously, though, we should get the paperwork done soon, so we don't get in any trouble. Along with getting formally married...” The last bit she said a bit hesitantly, as she glanced around the town at the other ponies.

“Can you take care of all the paperwork, Amelia? Pleeeease?” Alice asked, doing her best ‘puppy dog eyes’.

Justin put a hoof over his face. "Introductions should definitely come first. How did I not even think of this?" He turned to face his new potential wives. "I don't have the money to go running off to Canterlot right away, so we'll do the second best thing." He rose a hoof high. "Write a letter! They'll understand if I at least do my best to keep them informed."

“That makes sense. If the princesses feel it’s urgent to meet with us, they can either come in person or foot the bill for the travel,” Amelia said, nodding to herself. “Or if they insist we come at our own expense, we’ll deal with it then. In the meantime… let’s just settle in for the night. I’ll make us some dinner,” she said, gesturing to the quickly approaching house.

“I wonder if I can earn us some bits negotiating with the local animals on behalf of the ponies… it sounds like we’re going to need a lot of them,” Alice mused as she headed for the door.

Justin followed with upright ears. "Can you talk to animals in general? I thought it was some kind of predator thing, maybe. I confess to not really understanding it…" He moved to brush past both on his way into the pantry, perhaps as an excuse to rub along the way. "At least we've made enough to pay off these groceries."

Alice took in a deep sniff of him as he passed, before answering. "It's part of my magic, I can converse with any animal, though getting prey to stick around long enough to chat can be difficult. I raised my squirrels for generations, so they trusted me, but strangers take some time to get to know. Just like anyone else.”

Amelia pet Justin as he passed her, scratching him lightly with her clever fingers, before following him into the pantry to help him put things away.

The scratching held things up for a moment, but it seemed Justin was just as busy pulling things out as storing them, preparing the supplies for what would become dinner. "So the bear was actually easier, since it wasn't scared of you right away? I'm glad I don't have to calm down my plants before I harvest them."

“Kind of,” Alice began. “Predators don’t run at first sight, especially big ones like a bear. And it’s really hard to calm someone down when you’re chasing them, or if you let them run out of hearing range. But predators instead tend to fight at first sight. So I have to convince them I’m tough enough to beat them, without injuring them too much. It can be quite painful, but I can take a beating if I have to to wear them down.”

Amelia helped with the groceries as best she could, a bit slower because she had to find where everything went, but she was still a big help. “Go, relax with Alice in the living room. I’ll get dinner started.”

He looked uncertain a moment. "Can you get to everything alright? I mean, everything in here is made for a pony. You shouldn't have to stoop for everything!" Despite his complaints, he was easily brushed away towards the living room and he huffed gently. His eyes found Alice and his smile returned. "Forgive me for asking, but did your profession have a name?"

“I’ll be fine, just have to bend my knees,” Amelia said as she squatted in the kitchen to reach some of the lower items. Soon she had the stove lit and was starting to assemble a meal for them all.

Alice lay down on the couch, wagging gently. “I’m a shaman. It means I study the spiritual arts of my people. And that includes communicating with the spirits of others, especially animals who have trouble communicating otherwise. It also means knowing how to understand and use my own spirit, such as using it to protect my territory from fire, or other threats. And you’re… an ‘alchemist’ right? I don’t really know what goes into that, other than mashing plants…”

"Shaman… Shaman… Oh!" He suddenly bolted off without answering the question. He seized a book from his bookshelf and tossed the book onto the ground, where it flopped open. Not to the right page, he wasn't quite that lucky, but he quickly nosed through the pages to the one he sought. "Here, like the zebras!"

“Zebras have shamans?” Alice said with a quirked brow, before looking over the page. She furrowed her brow in deep concentration as she glared at the page, almost angrily. “I’d like to meet one if I could and see how their arts differ from my own. Though it’s nothing urgent, of course.”

Justin rubbed the side of his face. "I never actually met one. They're pretty rare here in Equestria. If we see one, we can both ask questions, after we say hello, of course." He smiled. "If you think my alchemy is interesting, they blow pony discoveries in that field right out of the water." He rubbed his hooves excitedly. "To compare notes with one of their alchemists…"

“Let’s make a point of it, then,” Alice said, decisively. “Once we get things sorted out here a bit, we can find out if there are any nearby, or where we need to go to meet them. If you want something to happen, do it.”

A clopping knock came from the door, startling Justin to his hooves and getting him to move quickly for the front door. "Coming!" He swung it open to reveal an earth pony with a letter in his mouth. "Oh, thank you." Justin accepted the letter, taking it with a hoof. "Have a nice day."

Alice gave a friendly nod to the mail carrier before turning her attention and curiosity to Justin. “A letter? Who’s it from?”

Amelia paused long enough to glance out at them before getting back to work, the sound of something sizzling starting to fill the air. “Maybe it’s a love letter from his secret admirer?~” she called out in a joking tone.

Justin went pale. "I should hope not! Goodness, I just met more mares than I thought I'd ever have. I think I'm quite satisfied." He turned towards them, letter balanced on his hoof. "Besides, I have to keep up with you lovely ladies." He sat and carefully tore the top off the envelope before reading quickly, his eyes scanning over the paper.

Amelia graciously let the joke go, while Alice waiting in quiet tension, looking like a wound spring as she gave Justin a chance to read.

"I didn't think my letter would go so quickly…" He tapped at his chin. "Did I even send it yet?" At the incredulous looks of his new wives, he smiled. "It's from Canterlot. The princesses are saying to welcome you to Equestria properly." He offered the letter towards them. "Says she wants us to visit, when it's convenient, and wants you two to join society. I mean, a job and all that."

Alice sniffed the paper a few times, taking note of the scents of the mail carrier and some other pony, presumably the author, before carrying it into the kitchen for Amelia to read for herself. Amelia accepted it, unable to resist petting Alice’s head lightly in exchange, before looking it over. “I see. I hope I can get work here as a botanist, like I was back home… I’m sure you’ve got to have all kinds of interesting plants I haven’t even heard of. Even just some of the ones I know from the show… actually, here, I almost think some good botanical science could be a matter of life and death,” she said with a bit of a grimace.

“How long is the journey to see the princesses?” Alice asked Justin. “I don’t think you should be travelling during the full moon, especially not your first. So we should plan to be back before then, or not leave until after.”

Justin's ears pricked before he remembered with a nervous little shuffling. "Are we sure that's even a thing? I mean, maybe it doesn't work on ponies?" Sure he was rationalizing hopefully for himself. "Anyway, uh, far? We have to hike to the train station. That's a full afternoon's walk. We're not exactly a major town." He tapped at his chin. "It's not so bad as long as the wildlife leaves us alone, which they usually do."

“We can handle wildlife, no problem,” Alice said confidently. “But even though you might not change, we shouldn’t risk changing for the first time in the middle of the capital. Especially since night could come on any moment here!”

“That’s not quite how it works, Alice… anyways, how long is the train ride? We have a couple weeks until the full moon, right?” Amelia questioned.

He licked his lips nervously. "That's really up to Luna, I think. She likes big round moons. Before she came back it was more, uh, random? Is something terrible going to happen tonight?" He clopped his hooves together with increasing nervousness.

“No, no. Nothing terrible. But it can be hard to keep control of yourself the first time you turn into a wolf, so we should stay inside and stay close to me,” Alice said comfortingly, as she stroked Justin’s neck with a paw. “Actually, it’s a good thing we’re mates. It will make it easier to distract you when you do change,” she added with a suggestive tone.

“It shouldn’t happen before the full moon though, if it’s going to happen at all,” Amelia added, as she entered the room carrying several plates of steaming vegetables and potatoes, with some fish on two of three plates. “You said yourself, it might not even affect ponies.”

“On the other hand,” Alice pointed out, lifting a paw to gesture as she glanced up toward the spot on the ceiling keeping the moon from view. “The moon feels much stronger here than on Earth… it might be enough to trigger the transformation early. Not yet, but maybe soon.”

Amelia “hmm”’d at that thoughtfully, her brows furrowing a bit as she considered the implications.

Justin shook off his moment of shock. "W-wait! What?" He put a hoof to his head. "Please, if I, you know, go crazy, just keep me inside until I snap out of it. Will it get easier to handle with time? I don't want to be a monster, threatening my neighbors. I'd hate to do that…"

“You don’t think I’m a monster, do you?” Alice asked. “When the wolf instincts first kick in, they’ll be overwhelming, but I’ll help you through the transition, and help you learn to embrace your wolf side. You’re a good and nice pony, you’ll be a good and nice wolf.”

Amelia distributed plates and utensils, before sitting cross legged at the table. “We’ll get through it together, as a herd, or pack, or whatever. Family. Alice won’t let you hurt anypony, even by accident.”