Castus was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself under his breath. He often did this when he was nervous, and while Rainbow found it adorable, she understood his fear. She herself sat on one of the Praetoriums couches, her son next to her and a small platter in front of them on a table, laden with cheese, thin-cut meat, and crackers.

"Oh, would you quit pacing. It's not that big a deal," she said.

"Well, excuse me, dear," he said, stopping his pacing and turning to her. "But my PARENTS, are coming over. I think I have a right to be nervous." Afterward, he resumed his pacing.

"Oh, come on. How bad can they be?"

Shooting her a look that resembled a cross between anger and shock, he said, "My stepmom is a Magus in the Imperial Rune-casters guild!"

"And you'll be the husband of an Imperial Praetor. What's your point?"

He looked at her with a look of irritation. "I hate it when you do that."

"Love you too," she said back, not wanting to use her nickname for him in front of her son.

As he resumed his pacing again, a loud knock emanated from the door. "Ah, fuck me to the Ninth Hell and back." He then trotted over to the door, throwing it open as he said, "Mom! Dad! Good to see you!"

"You too, son!," said a new voice. As her fiancé stepped aside, several figures entered the living room of the house from the entryway. One was a caragor male a bit bigger than Castus, wearing a small fedora, a pair of wire glasses, and a tight-fitting tunic. The next one to enter was a demigryph, wearing a simple lime green dress that matched with the color of some of the feathers on her head and neck, and a volcanic glass rock in a silver frame; one of the Imperial Runic Guilds marks. Finally, was another, slightly smaller hybrid of the two, with bits of small fur covering his still caragor-like body and tail, and with a beak instead of a muzzle. He was wearing a Pannonian cap, work cloak, and walked with a slight limp with a metal lock-brace around his left hind-leg.

"Rainbow, this is my father Cicero, my stepmom Drecia, and my younger brother Crassus." Turning to his family, he said, "This is my fiancé Rainbow Dash, and her son Depressi Tonituro."

She stood from the couch, intending to walk over to shake their paws. However, her son sprang up first, flying into Cicero so fast and hard, he fell to the ground with a loud *thud*. "Hi, grandpa!"

Rainbow's eyes widened in alarm, and she said, "Depressi! What did I tell you about doing that to guests?"

The young colt got up off of his future grandfather, head lowered in regret. "Sorry, mommy," he said.

"No, no. It's quite alright," her father-in-law said. "I was just caught off guard, is all. Anyway, like my son here said, my name is Cicero. It's a pleasure to meet you," he finished, holding out a paw.

Shaking it, she said, "Likewise, sir."

"Oh, that's not necessary. Just call us by our names. After all, we'll be family in a few months, so we might as well start out that way!"

"Awesome. Have a seat; I laid out some snacks!"

As they sat, Castus took the opportunity to strike back at her. "You? If I recall correctly, you were off flying over the Columns practicing your 'moves', while I was in here slaving away over the stove."

Rainbow straightened up with mock superiority, saying in an authoritative tone she said when addressing Pedes who needed discipline, "I did no such thing. A Pryhan officer is held to strict standards, and such actions are prohibited under those standards."

"Then I guess I'll have to contact the Legatus. Let him know that you yourself are disobeying protocol."

"They who would care for me!?," Depressi interjected.

Before either of them could reply, Drecia said, "As enjoyable as you two are to watch, perhaps we could have a pleasant evening without one of you two being court marshaled?"

"Got it, mom," Castus said. "I'll get you back later, birdie."

She shot him a grin, saying, "In your dreams, cocks-for-brains."

Crassus said, "Get a room, you two!"

"We already do," both of them said, before everyone, including Crassus, devolved into a fit of giggles.

Drecia said, "So, when is the wedding? Oh, I remember our wedding day like it was merely a few days ago. Don't you, Cicero?"

"Yep," the older caragor said. "I'd finally worked up the courage after going through the incident with my first wife." He got a bit of a sad look in his eye, and she remembered the story; Castus' birth mom died giving birth to him. "Anyway, we were all dressed up. It was in front of the old mine, with my foreman acting as minister. Lil Castie here was the ring bearer." He leaned back in her chair, sighing with nostalgia.

"Lil Castie?," she asked, which earned a mortified look from Castus.

"Say it again, to anyone, and I'll make sure that you never, ever, see a speck of my Fig pudding ever again."

Such was the course of the rest of the evening. They spent about an hour around the table, talking about various things and taking small bits of food from the tray.

The topics ranged greatly, to the point where they would often go off on a tangent after a side or sarcastic remark from one of them. These topics ranged from Equestria to Cicero' and Crassus' work in one of the empire's mines. From the politics of the Runic Guild to the politicians of the Empire. Some of Rainbows stores about her adventures before the Unification Wars, the story of how Crassus got the leg brace, Castus' new job as the Consuls secretary and how Drecia and Cicero met. Really, it went on seemingly forever.

The talk resumed over dinner. Like always, Castus was an amazing cook, and the food was excellent. After dinner, they went outside of the Castrum, and Rainbow gave them a private show. It felt good to do some straight stunt flying again, and evidently, they all loved it too. Especially young Depressi, who tried to emulate her moves. He only stopped when she told him she'd teach him when he got older. All in all, it was a simple, pleasant evening.

Next Chapter: 74~Hangover Hell Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 22 Minutes