"Mom, do we really have to dress up like this?" A little lime green chick whined, fidgeting against his bowtie.
"Come on, Gallus, you know where the party is taking place." Hoppy sighed as she readjusted her youngest child's lapels.
"But we already hang out with them all the time." Gallus griped.
"I don't know about you, little bro, but I look sick as heck." A yellow bunny said as he struck a pose in a nearby mirror, admiring his own suit.
Kickin chuckled as he ruffled his son's hair.
"Henry's right, you know." He agreed, slicking back his head feathers and adjusted his green tunic, customary of royal guards.
"UUGH! Fine!" Gallus relented.
Hoppy nodded in approval as she helped him brush his own head feathers. While adjusting his cuffs, a forest green chick with yellow patches named Silkie, took notice of Gallus' pouty expression. He smirked as he felt a snark coming on.
"Look on the bright side, little bro; at least you'll be able to see your girlfriend." He snickered.
Gallus blushed as all of his five other brothers laughed at his expense.
"Stoooop!" The youngest cried. "Shimmer's not my girlfriend!"
"When's the wedding?" Brahma, a yellow chick with green head and tail feathers, teased.
"MOM! DAD!" Gallus blubbered dramatically. "They're bullying me!"
However, much to his chagrin, his parents didn't seem all to keen to take his side, considering they were struggling to hold in their own laughter.
After getting all the boys dressed, Hoppy, Kickin and their sons finally made it to the palace. Another car, a red sedan rather than a green minivan, pulled up. Out from it, Bubba, Bobby, and their daughter, a fuzzy little red elephant named Ellie, stepped out also dressed for the occasion. Bobby was especially excited to see them as she ran over while waving.
"Oh my gosh, you actually made it!" She squealed in excitement.
"Considering we had we had to get seven rowdy boys ready, I'd say it's a miracle." Kickin sighed.
"Hey, guys." Ellie greeted.
They responded by either giving high-fiving or fist-bumping. Gallus, meanwhile, hugged Ellie.
"They're mean." He pouted, his voice muffled by Ellie's chest.
"Oh come on, that just mean they love you." She chuckled
Kickin could only shake his head and smile. Walking up to the grand doors, he was greeted by fellow royal guards Huggy and Yarnaby. As per procedure, she unsheathed and raised his sword.
"We are here on the orders of the Royal Family." He announced.
With just a silent nod, they opened the doors, allowing the party inside.
After making their way down the long hallway and going through another set of door, they finally found themselves in the grand ballroom. Like them, the other guests were dressed in their finest clothing as they talked, mingled, danced to the orchestra's music or munched on hors d'oeuvres. Before anyone could say anything, Gallus was tackled and nearly knocked over by a certain white and orange unicorn.
"Gallus! You made it!" She squealed joyfully as she snuggled against his cheek.
"Hey, Shimmer." He greeted as a blush slowly spread across his face. "You look really pretty."
His brothers struggled to contain their laughter.
"Alright, Shimmer. Give him some space." A feminine voice said.
Out from the crowd came the ruling couple themselves. King DogDay was wearing a white, high-collared tunic coat with gold accents, a burnt orange sash, red pants, polished shoes and the whole ensemble topped off with a purple, fur-lined cape. Queen Crafty, meanwhile, wore a simple yet elegant turquoise dress with white and green accents, a dark blue sash, tiara, and while she lacked a cape, her wings gave the same effect.
"Guys!" DogDay cheered. "Glad you could make it."
"I gotta say, You Majesty, you've really outdone yourself." Bubba commented.
"Bubba, I told you; you don't need to call me and Crafty 'Your majesty'." DogDay reminded with a role of his eyes.
Before their conversation could go any further, a blue and white pup with with wings and a horn ran in.
"Art? What's gotten you so riled up?" Crafty asked her eldest child.
"It's Uncle CatNap!" He said, showing him his phone.
And sure enough, it was showing that CatNap wanted to video chat with them. Everyone was in shock. They hadn't seen him or Picky ever since they oved away with their daughters and haven't heard from them in months.
"What could he be calling us for?" Hoppy wondered with narrowed eyes.
"Calm down, Hoppy." Bubba said. "For all we know he and Picky were just to busy to talk; don't they have 8 girls to look after?"
"Well, let's stop yammering already." Kickin said.
With that, they all found a quiet spot where they could chat with their old friends. Once they found a spot, Art answered the call, and, lo and behold, a certain purple cat stared back at them. Sitting with him were his three youngest girls.
"Hi, guys." He greeted. "Long time no see."
"CatNap!" They all greeted in joy.
"You jerk! Why'd you go cold on us these past months?" Hoppy snapped playfully.
"Well, we actually have a surprise for you." Pumpkin, a purple kitten with pink patches on her eyes and stomach, said.
"Surprise?" Ellie wondered.
"Yeah! Guess where we are!" Tammy a fuzzy, purple piglet, told them.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that CatNap and his the girls were in the hallway of a hospital.
"What are you doing at the hospital?." Bobby gasped with sparkling eyes, clearly knowing where this was going.
Without a word, CatNap smirked as he walked into the the nearby hospital room. There, he showed the rest of his girls surrounding their mother cradling a small bundle.
"No fricking way..." Kickin remarked.
"Baby #9." Bubba added.
"Good God. Do you not know how to keep it in your pants?" Henry said, only to be met with a punch to the shoulder by Brahma.
"I can't believe this." Ellie said. "You had another girl?"
"Actually." Picky whispered as she revealed the fuzzy pink kitten with a purple patch over the left eye. "It's a he. Meet Berkley."
"A boy?" Art and Gallus said in unison.
They then looked at the latter's older brothers with smirks on their faces before holding out their hands. The boys groaned as they rummaged through their pockets and handed them all the cash they had on them right now.
"Pleasure doing business." Art and Gallus chuckled before they fist-bumped.
"And that's not all." CatNap said. "In a few months, we're moving back where we belong."
Needless to say, they were over the moon (pun definitely intended) when they heard the news. Before they could celebrate their friend's return much more, they were interrupted by Catfeine.
"Your Majesties, I hate to interrupt, but you have a speech coming up."
"Be right there." DogDay said before turning back to the video call. "We gotta go. Happy New Year, you guys. And congrats on the new boy."
"And Happy New Year to you." CatNap replied, wiping a few happy tears from his eyes.
DogDay and Crafty's Kids (1 boy, 1 girl):
Art
Shimmer
Kickin and Hoppy's kids (7 boys):
Brahma
Henry
Rex
Silkie
Loppy
Marten
Gallus
Bubba and Bobby's daughter:
Ellie
CatNap and Picky's kids (8 girls, 1 boy)
Kune
Tabitha
Ginny
Winnie
Darla-May
Tammy
Pumpkin
Mangalica
Berkley
