Nothing's More Important

Justin watched a moment, smiling. Seeing the local ponies chatting with his mares was a good sign for sure. Things would work out. He gazed up at the bright sky. "Don't worry, I'll be coming soon." He licked his lips then called out into the shop, "Going to check for what we need, I'll be back." And off he went to see what he could get for making more of that mysterious drink.

The tea leaves for the caffeination were easy to find and purchase. Apparently she needed yeast for some reason, which was easy enough to get as a baking supply. Prunes were a bit short on supply, but she had mentioned wanting to try other flavors, so some carrots and apples rounded out the shopping trip.

When he checked out, Alice was sniffing her way toward him. Amelia got her attention by calling out his name and waving as they approached, with a fairly impressive bag of seed packets in her arms. “Hey Justin, Alice has a bit of an errand she promised to run later. Looks like you found most of what we need for my thing… anything else you want to do while we’re out?”

Justin swayed a little, making his saddlebags jiggle. "I got just about everything. Is everypony treating you well?" His tone of voice implied he had little doubt things were going the way they should. "Why don't we get everything tucked away and spend the day out?"

“So far so good,” Amelia assured. “I think that High Note is planning to turn our arrival into some kind of bard song… I have a feeling it’ll be off in hilarious ways, but I guess there’s no harm in it.”

“I need to visit Sunny Petal’s garden today to help out. Some of her plants aren’t doing as well as the others, and that’s half of what I owe her for the seeds,” Alice pointed out. “I bartered that, along with repaying her seed for seed from the plants once they bloom.”

He perked an ear at Alice. "Are you sure you can do anything for them? Sunny's pretty good at taking care of her flowers. If she can't figure it out." He rubbed at his cheek lightly. "I hope it turns out well." He turned for the house and got to trotting. Once all the shopping goods were tucked away in the pantry, he emerged with a smile. "An idea! Let's prepare a batch and offer it during lunch, see how ponies besides me like it."

“Sounds good to me,” Amelia said. “Hey, Alice, you want to take care of your errand, and meet us back at the house? We should have plenty of CO2 ready for the next batch already, and the syrup doesn’t take that long to make.”

“If you don’t mind, Justin?” Alice agreed. “I’m sure it will go quite smoothly. Nothing could possibly go wrong.”

“Do you say that just to antagonize me?” Amelia asked with a groan. “You know how I feel about lines like that…”

“You’re just being superstitious again,” Alice said, rolling her eyes.

Justin waved a hoof placatingly. "No no. I can handle making some fizzy for her drink, no problem! It's not a tricky alchemical process." Though his mention of alchemy at all may be cause for alarm. "Let's get to it. We'll meet you back at the house, actually, no." He turned and pointed to a grassy hill. "Let's meet there in an hour or two. We'll enjoy a nibble and share."

“Justin, dearest, I love you, but leave the carbonation to me, okay?” Amelia requested with the slightest hint of fear. “I’ll let you make the new flavoring syrups, okay?”

Alice waved a paw farewell, before stalking off down another street, tracking Sunny Petal’s scent back to her garden, easily. She had to stop several times to exchange greetings with neighbors along her path to diffuse their nervousness at a wolf sniffing her way through town, but by now at least everypony had heard of her.

Sunny Petal was easy to find, sitting in her garden and looking a bit petulant. Many of her various flowers were sagging a little. "Here they are, just as I mentioned. They grow just fine, but they look so… unhappy. Look at them!" She thrust a hoof out at her garden.

“Unhappy flowers?” Alice asked as she approached them, nodding. She got down on her belly, close the flowers and started whispering to them, her ears twitching a bit as she paused after each inquiry, listening to the silent plants. She moved from one plant to another, occasionally doubling back, as she interrogated the vegetation.

Sunny's eyes were locked on Alice, following her around the yard and her precious flowers. "What are they saying?" It seemed the idea that someone, or pony, or wolf, could talk to her flowers wasn't immediately alien to her. "Do you know what's wrong with them?" Her tone was anxious and desperate.

“Are you doing okay, Sunny?” Alice asked back. “Stallion troubles? Or lack-of-stallion troubles maybe? They say you don’t sing as often anymore, and when you do it’s not as joyful as they remember.”

Sunny colored brightly in her cheeks. "W-what?! That's none of your business!" She turned away, shamefaced and flustered as she hoofed at her cheeks, trying to fight down the burning blush.

Alice waved a paw. “I can’t say I’m the best to give advice on that sort of thing, but.. if you want happy flowers, it’s best to show them your cheerful side. I can do something to help, while I’m here, but in the long run... is there anything I can do to help you?”

Sunny looked over her shoulder. "You're serious, aren't you?" She slowly turned back around. "I don't need a stallion of all things, sheesh!" She crossed her forelegs, sitting up on her hindlegs. "But… I haven't seen my parents for a while… They live so far away." She pouted a little. "I miss them." The blush came back. "Oh there I go, gushing to somepony I barely know!"

“Are you on good terms with them?” Alice prodded. “Perhaps you could spare the time for a trip to see them? That sounds easier than stallion troubles to me. As long as you’re not… “ the wolf trailed off, slipping a bit into introspection before shaking her head. “You should see them,” she reiterated.

One of her brows raised high. "Not what? We're on perfectly good terms, we're just so busy all the time." She spread her hooves before falling to all four and rising. "Maybe I should make the time though…" She looked over her flowers and cracked a little smile. "Who wants to be mom's and dad's flowers?"

Alice’s ears flicked about, back and forth, before she pointed out a few. “Those ones look good to me. Now, if you’ll give me a moment…” The wolf warmed up her throat a bit before launching into a song of her own. It was a wordless song, pure acapella music that seemed to echo back in harmony with itself. There was magic to it, as well, a bit on the flashy side, as the whole area seemed to dim a bit, the light fading in general, as ripples of green light spread from the wolf and began to resonate amongst the flora. The flowers perked up immediately, winds rising to make them seem to dance, or perhaps it was their dancing kicking up a wind? It seemed to take forever, mesmerizing the world within a single endless moment before it finally faded, becoming unclear in the memory like a dream as Sunny had the sensation like she was awakening from an unplanned nap.

Sunny jumped a little as the magic took hold of the area, but her perking flowers brought a brighter smile to her snout as she moved to claim them. "Oh you're just simply the best." She paused a moment. "When you get your mind out of the gutter." She set the flowers down and reached back to produce a bag of bits from nowhere at all and fished out a few to offer to Alice. "Here."

Alice gratefully accepted the bits, though she wasn’t quite sure how to carry them so she held them awkwardly in one paw for the time being. She was panting a bit from the effort, the song seemingly having taken a bit out of her. “I think Amy’s being a bad influence on me,” the wolf mused. “I hope you have a great time with your parents though!”

Sunny offered a cheerful wave. "It's been far too long. I'll send them a letter and get on my way." She turned and trotted towards her house, whistling a merry tune along the way. Unseen to her, her flowers perked up just a tiny bit.

Alice quirked her own ears, listening in to the song and feeling the pony’s inherent magic at work. “Huh,” she commented before shrugging and heading off. She secured the few bits in the safest spot she could manage, her mouth, being careful not to accidentally swallow them as she made her way to the hill where she would meet her mates.