Bronze had to admit, from atop his palanquin on Baby’s back, that Familiars were awesome~! Baby actually got the weird notion she liked being ridden, when before she was like any other cat. The changes were obvious, but she was still his kitty so he would spoil her, however odd her requests.

Like the palanquin, she got tired of ponies holding onto her and wanted something like a saddle, which, quite hilariously, was considered both a fashion statement in Equestria, as well as a naughty toy for the bedroom. So Bronze did her one better and got a small gazebo harness for her he made himself, she loved it when she wasn’t relaxing and enjoyed giving ponies rides.

However he did not like all the appreciation she was apparently receiving from the manticores in the Everfree, at least according to Fluttershy, since Baby refused to clarify and snootily stuck her nose up whenever he demanded to know what she was doing in the Everfree anyway. He kinda understood where Twilight was coming from involving Spike having a relationship now….

Regardless, Bronze was riding Baby both to amuse himself, her, and to appear silly for when his mom and aunt Tia arrived for their casual visit.

He’d wrote to them that he had a Familiar and was back in the universe from his dimension-hopping, and they decided to make an informal but still somewhat formal visit to get together with him and all his friends for the day.

But for a fact, his aunt had the horrible term Familiar Friend Fundate coined for the visit, making him cringe, and he loved horrible puns too.

“Does everything please Your Highness?” Oh yes, and there was also the constant nervous reminders that he’s royalty.

“For the last time, yes! You don’t have to worry. Everything’s fantastic.” Bronze insisted to Carrot Cake and Cup Cake, the two bakers nervous as all Tartarus about his mom and aunt coming to Sugarcube Corner for the visit, to a point of having needled him constantly over every little thing, this last one was of the state of the exterior. Then again him being perched in Baby’s palanquin didn’t lend him an approachable presence, even if everypony already knew Baby was a big softy, you don’t just take out the intimidation factor of a 10 foot tall giant black panther.

“But our chairs can hardly accommodate you even with alterations.” Cup Cake reminded him, making Bronze grumble about his huge muscled plot making most any chairs far too small for him.

“Just put down a couple cushions, I’ll be fine you two. I’m not some pampered noble, or even royal. I’m glad just to have a cushion or two to rest my rear on.” Bronze insisted.

“Yeah! Bronzie is a big, buff, bad stallion~!” Pinkie gushed, as she pronked around, Pinka content to just stand next to her nervous aunt and uncle. “He’d probably sit in the dirt if it was soft.”

“Pinkie, being raised on a rock farm, I think our definition of soft is probably skewed.” Pinka commented. “After all, we consider Bronze’s rock-hard body soft.” Pinka casually said, making Bronze’s face glow a little red and ruffle his wings, his precious Baby chuffing and purring in amusement at her master’s embarrassment.

“Oh hush you!” Bronze hissed at his precious Baby.

“Where’s Fluttershy and Twilight? Everyone else is already inside.” Asked Rainbow Dash as she poked her head out the door. Indeed, everyone was already inside, enjoying some of the refreshments that were off to the side for everypony that weren’t the Princesses and Prince.

“They should be along Dashie, just have fun.” Pinka blandly said with a soft smile, and Dash shrugged before going back inside. “Relax aunt, uncle. The Princesses are very casual and nice ponies. They’ll love what we’ve done with the place.”

“Indeed we shall!” Declared Bronze’s mom from right next to him on the palanquin, getting him to yelp at her somehow sneaking up on him despite his Spacial Awareness, and instantly was pulled into a hug. “Son! Tis such a joy to see thee outside official matters or a crisis!” Luna gushed as she nuzzled her child, making Bronze puff up in joy and hug and nuzzle her back, getting a few aws out of the mares and a calm smile out of Mr. Cake.

“Now Luna, you could’ve waited a minute before drowning Bronze in affection.” Celestia teased her little sister with a beaming smile on her snout as the golden chariot that was ferrying the sisters touched down next to Baby, Tia levitating a seemingly empty gilded cage out of the chariot as a gray and black anteater waddled out of the chariot to follow her.

“Nonsense sister! Our only son deserves every ounce of our love whenever possible.” Luna stated before smooching him on the brow. “How have thou been son? Has the ponce been troubling thee? Thou has not come to us for sanity serum in near a week’s time.” Luna asked as she looked him in his pupiless swirl eyes with concern.

“He’s been eerily quiet lately. I’m a bit worried to be fair, but then again I have so much to be concerned about.” Bronze informed before he jumped to the ground, his mom joining him. “Mom, auntie, this is my precious daughter and familiar; Baby.” Bronze cooed her name, and instantly lurched into a hug around her neck, getting a rumbling purr to start up as she nuzzled his side. “I’ve had her since she was a kitten so small, she could sleep in the frog of my hoof.”

“She is so beautiful, and she loves you so dearly nephew.” Celestia commented as she approached the enormous panther. “May I?” She asked the gigantic feline, and she laughed as Baby answered by turning her head to her and licking Tia’s face. “Oh you are a loving one!” Tia gushed as she kissed Baby’s nose, and Baby nuzzled her back in response.

“Indeed she is. I have no fear of leaving her and Noodle to socialize.” Luna stated as she gestured for the anteater to approach, and he did so eagerly to snuffle up at Baby, who sniffed back, and proceeded to start grooming him. “They are friends already! Delightful!”

“U-um. Your Majesties, as enjoyable as this is, should we not move inside?” Mr. Cake asked nervously with a bow, and the royals all shrugged and nodded. “Right this way. We’ve spared no expense.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have. We would appreciate anything somepony hosting us would put forth.” Celestia gently chastised with humor as she led the group inside. “Hello everyone! We’re here.” Celestia announced, getting everyone to greet them happily, aside from Gilda who looked nervous to have the mother and aunt of the stallion she tried to snog in the same room, but Rainbow’s possessive wing over her back helped her keep calm.

“This way dears.” Cup Cake kindly implored of the royals, taking Celestia’s open demeanor as a cue to relax around them, even if it felt odd, leading them towards a long table with plush velvet cushions just for them. “Would you like something specific?” Cup asked as Celestia, Luna, and Bronze sat down in their seats, the fact Bronze easily dwarfed both his mom and aunt felt a bit surreal since to everypony Celestia was the biggest pony since, forever.

“Would you have any nuts or seeds? Philomena could use a treat.” Celestia gestured to the empty cage as she summoned a stand for it, hanging it over the table to everyone save Luna’s confusion.

“Um...certainly Princess.” Cup trotted to the back to search for seeds and nuts.

“Tea Your Majesties?” Carrot Cake asked worriedly, and the three alicorns all nodded.

“Oh, wait, what kind is it?” Bronze asked, being a picky tea drinker.

“Earl Grey.” Carrot answered nervously, and Bronze shrugged.

“I prefer fruity or sweet teas, but I could go for a Grey. Fill me up.” Bronze urged, and Carrot filled their teacups before there was a bit of a commotion at the door. “Let them in colts, they’re friends.” Bronze casually called out with a roll of his swirly eyes, and shortly the pegasus guards who had taken post outside the door let Twilight and Fluttershy in.

“Oh my! Tis one thing to see her in magazines, but Fluttershy has truly become quite the beauty!” Luna proclaimed, and the buggy buttery mare blushed and hid behind her mane as Bubbles nickered in amusement next to her.

“Th-thank you princess. You look very pretty too. Have you done something with your mane?” Fluttershy managed to ask softly, looking at the swirling galaxies in the night princess’s mane with wonder. The varied shapes and colors of twisting, moving celestial bodies through her mane was mesmerizing.

“Not at all. It would seem the more settled into our power we become, the more beautiful we become.” Luna declared boastfully, getting Bronze to groan at hearing his mom talk about how attractive she was, but Tia instead snickered. “Oh? Tell us this is not true sister. Thou has become quite elegant and desirable in the time since Bronze’s arrival as well.”

“Sister, this is hardly acceptable conversation for a public venue with friends and children present.” Tia chastised weakly, since her face was still split with a beaming smile and barely contained laughter. “If you’re going to be so crude, need I mention the rumors spreading around the castle about you and captain-.”

“Silence!” Luna proclaimed defensively, her black cheeks tinted pink. “Th-there is no truth to those allegations!”

“Oh? Mom, am I going to have a new daddy soon?” Bronze teased, and Luna looked embarrassed, so he and Tia laughed and decided to drop it. “Now then, so Noodle looks adorable mom, but where’s Philomena auntie?” Bronze asked of the solar diarch, who flipped her pink sparkly mane out of her face and gestured towards the cage.

“She’s right here.” Celestia informed, and everyone paying attention, since most of the others had gone back to mingling, looked at the seemingly empty cage, and promptly cringed when a featherless sack of flesh with a beak climbed out of the tray of the cage and pathetically wobbled on the perch of the cage. “Philomena, say hello.”

The wretched coughing, hacking, wheezing and choking that came from the mutant naked chicken thing made everyone in the immediate area lean back aside from Celestia, who just behaved as if such a sickly thing was normal. “Oh...my….” Fluttershy gasped near inaudibly. “Is she okay?”

“Oh yes, Philomena’s just going through a bit of a cold. Here you go Philomena.” Celestia levitated the seeds and nuts Cup got for her up to the cage and dumped them directly into the monstrous bird’s beak. Said crime against nature swallowed everything whole, and then released a disturbing belch once the whole cup was gone.

“That thing makes Claydoll look normal.” The disturbed comment drew attention to the young griffon hen who had wandered away from the rest of the party. “Hey dad, thought I’d come see granny and grauntie.” Vivian casually stated, before yelping at being snatched up by Luna’s magic and being snuggled and smooched relentlessly. “Ah! Dad help! She’s gobbling me up~!” Vivian giggled and squealed as her adopted grandmother lavished her with affection.

“Little Robin! Thou hast been bested by Nightmare Moon! We declare thou shalt be made the royal snuggler!” Luna cheesed as she hugged and nuzzled her adorable griffon grandaughter, the two lapsing into a silent contention with everyone looking on smiling at the display.

“So nephew, I understand you’ve been dimension hopping?” Celestia asked around her sister and adopted grand niece.

“Oh yes. I was pulled from the shadow realm by Grauntie Rin, she helped me out by whacking Discord in the jewels a few times. Then, while waiting for mom, I got dumped out of the shadow realm in Nuada’s personal pocket dimension tree thing that I couldn’t leave from and had my powers suppressed. Spent about...I don’t know, six weeks training in martial arts and self discipline. Got pulled from that for a few moments by Rin and FINALLY found my best friend!” Bronze summarized, getting all kinds of happy at mentioning Konrad.

“Oh, you found your friend Konrad at last?” Celestia beamed at hearing her nephew reuniting with his friend, only to blink at seeing Blonze brush and tap his hooves together.

“Well, not really. He’s...changed.” Bronze hedged, hesitant to continue with his adopted daughter now chatting with Luna. “Let’s just say...SHE, is quite the...attention grabber.”

“Oh! Well...that’s...nice?” Celestia nervously commented as she too eyed Vivian. Gender changing wasn’t unheard of, but it was a mature topic. “Well at least you found her.”

“More like the multiverse decided to randomly dump us into a situation. But that aside...where’s Fluttershy?” Bronze asked, noticing the buggy mare had vanished, and Celestia gasped in shock.

“Philomena! Has anypony seen Philomena?!” Celestia called out with concern as she held up the open and empty cage.

“Oh no….” Twilight quietly connected the dots, and sent a gaze to Bronze, who caught it, and she flicked her eyes to the door as she used the slight panic of the room to leave as the guards had come in at their diarch’s distress.

“Everypony calm down!” Bronze called out calmly, getting everyone to stop frantically looking around for the mutant chicken. “I’m afraid we’ve had a misunderstanding. Auntie, is Philomena in that direction?” Bronze asked, pointing towards the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Yes. Now that I’ve calmed down, I feel her in that general area.” Celestia said as she closed her eyes, and snorted. “And she’s feeling quite amused. She’s not in danger then.”

“It would seem Fluttershy has had a lapse in judgement, believed Philomena was ill or something, and absconded with her to try and nurse her to health.” Bronze assumed, it was in the gentle mare’s character. “Let us return to our revelry friends.”

“Son, thine diction is slipping again.” Luna reminded him, and he blushed as she tittered. “Thou must speak so eloquently more often. Tis becoming.”

“Mom~....” Bronze whined, before rejoining everyone in the party. “So myself aside, what’s happening with you two?” Bronze asked once Vivian got bored and went back to her friends, still a cub even if she thinks otherwise.

“Well we have been quite busy son. The nobles have realized that We are not to be trifled with, and that their most precious secrets are not safe as they sleep.” Luna declared with a vicious grin. “Weeding out the corruption has been very therapeutic.

“But it has also left us with almost half the noble caste in prison and the rest too scared to voice their opinions.” Celestia groaned, rubbing her temples. “We’re currently replacing the former cabinet of advisors and the options are quite small.”

“Just put Fancy Pants and Compass Rose up and we’ll find other advisors later.” Luna rolled her eyes.

“Wow, I had no idea how corrupt your immediate support was.” Bronze stated with concern, and Luna leered at the bashful Celestia.

“SOMEpony was too content to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the peasants!” Luna growled as Celestia leered back.

“I already apologized. I can’t be everywhere at once like you sister.” Celestia reminded in what seemed to have become an old argument.

“Now, now. There’s no need for conflict in this time of joy.” Bronze interrupted, blushing as his mom tittered at his slip again. “I mean, we’re here for fun, right? Don’t get hung up on the bad things.”

“He’s right. Aside from the corruption, we’ve also been working on getting your cousin, Mi Amore Cadenza, up to speed on the politics of the nation so we could give her office over a region.” Celestia stated with visible pride and Luna nodded with a cheerful grin.

“Indeed, she is becoming quite capable of resolving conflict peacefully as well as finding unexpected solutions to problems. But We are still concerned that she believes getting them ‘hooked up’ with somepony else is the quickest way to turn them to her side of the argument.” Luna commented, and Bronze snorted in amusement at the idea of his cousin dragging a mayor’s secretary into the room and ordering them to go on a date.

“What about my other cousin?” Bronze was of course referring to Blueblood, the stallion directly descended from his aunt Tia.

“I’m afraid that he’s displayed a complete lack of desire for political power.” Celestia grumbled while Luna beamed.

“He has, upon my questioning of his dreams, decided to renounce all his noble status, and pursue his dream of sailing the skies across the world! Such an unexpected free spirit. We believe he’s currently off the coast of Canida, experiencing the sights of their gem mountains from the air and making bits helping ferry gems between towns.” Luna was obviously ecstatic about somepony following their dreams, but before Bronze could comment, an extremely loud screeching grated on their ears.

“What is that?!” Bronze asked as the building frantically emptied, and they all screamed at the sight of a bloated fleshy monstrosity towering over the Everfree, jiggling and bouncing as it made it’s shambling way towards Ponyville.

“It’s Philomena! Oh no, Fluttershy must have tried to bathe her and she decided to use it to her advantage!” Celestia declared with embarrassment that her Familiar had decided to go to such lengths for a prank.

Thankfully, before Philomena the godzilla-chicken could make it to town, she exploded quite anticlimactically into ash, making everyone gawk but Celestia who pouted at the giant cloud of ash spreading over town. “Uh...Auntie? I’m sorry about your Familiar….” Bronze said earnestly, only for Celestia to sigh.

“Philomena Harmonica Sol! You cease being such a cruel prankster and come here!” Celestia demanded furiously, and the massive ash cloud quickly shrank and coalesced into a beautiful sunfire phoenix, who looked rather ashamed and apologetic as Fluttershy and Twilight ran up to them in bafflement. “You apologize right now missy!” Celestia demanded of her Familiar, who then crooned towards Fluttershy and even landed on her back to nuzzle her head. “I am so sorry for any distress she may have caused you Kind Fluttershy.”

“What? Oh, no, she didn’t cause me much trouble at all. I was just surprised her plan for the creek was that big.” Everypony then gawked at hearing Fluttershy say she was willingly parcel to the prank, and the buggy mare squeaked with a grin at the phoenix, who then winged her raised hoof. “Gotcha.”

“...Well now...that was unexpected.” Bronze commented, before smiling at the success of the ‘fundate’.

Author's Notes:

Le GASP! I'm back? Hopefully? Life has settled down enough for me to get back to pones?
We'll see next time on Pony Ball Super~!