Once again it was the 21st of May and it was mid afternoon. At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight had finished bathing Eric, who now had his royal uniform on, and she was now brushing his hair in preparation for the Grand Galloping Gala. After Eric had his hair done, Twilight put on her dress from last year’s gala and Storm also put on his uniform from last year.
A few hours later, it was 6:00 in the evening and the Gala had begun. Eric walked between his parents as they entered the palace.
“Announcing Princess Twilight Sparkle, Prince Storm Blade, and their son, Prince Eric Sparkle,” the announcer said.
After greeting various random guests who had just arrived, Twilight, Storm, and Eric were soon joined by their friends who were also invited to the gala. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie wore their dresses from their first time at the gala a few years back. Starlight wore Twilight’s first gala dress, and Trixie wore the same dress she had when she was a bridesmaid. Forest and Flash wore the same suits they had during Twilight and Storm’s wedding, Jasper and Smokey wore their same dress robes, and even Spiracle wore a green suit for this year’s gala.
Eric’s friends, including his fellow CMCs were also present, along with Rumble, Featherweight, Pip, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo wore the same dresses they had last year, while the colts wore their attendance suits from Twilight and Storm’s wedding. Diamond Tiara wore a pearly pinkish white dress and Silver Spoon wore a black dress, and even Pincer wore a suit similar to his big brother had on.
“You look pretty, Sweetie Belle,” Eric said drawn to his girlfriend’s beauty.
“Thank you, Eric,” Sweetie Belle replied.
Eric, his parents, and all their friends went over to the buffet for dinner. Once at the table, they got themselves some salads, spaghetti, and some cheese. After they ate, Eric, his parents, and all their friends went onto the dance floor. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow were dancing with their boyfriends, Jasper, Smokey, and Forest. Even Flash and Trixie were dancing together. Twilight and Storm were also dancing together, Spiracle noticed this, then went up to Fluttershy and asked, “Fluttershy, do you want to dance with me?”
“I’d like that, Spiracle,” Fluttershy replied.
As they were dancing, Spiracle was drawn to Fluttershy’s natural beauty. Starlight and Sunburst also danced together, while Pinkie and her sisters were mingling.
Meanwhile, Eric was with Sweetie Belle, she took his hand and helped him get into position by putting her right foreleg on his shoulder, then Eric placed his right arm on her shoulder and his left arm around her foreleg, then they slowly danced together. Nightshade and Apple Bloom were also dancing together, along with Slapstick and Scootaloo, Marina and Rumble, Zuni and Pip, and even their new friend Pincer was dancing with Holly, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon, alternating between the two. Elsewhere on the dance floor, even Spitfire took a break from her Wonderbolt performance to have a dance with her new boyfriend, Zephyr Breeze. Pinkie and her sisters noticed Twilight’s cousin, Stardust was not really enjoying herself.
“Hi, Stardust. Is something wrong?” Pinkie asked.
“I ended up dating the wrong stallion. Timber Spruce has got a lot of nerve flirting with other mares behind my back, he’s overly flirtatious,” Stardust replied.
“I wouldn’t stand dating a stallion like that!” Limestone said, “I’d prefer one that’s tough, yet sensitive and responsible.”
“I’m sure you’ll find somepony better, Stardust. Maybe you’ll meet them here,” said Pinkie.
Back with Eric, Celestia and Luna came up to him, Twilight, and Storm.
“Hi, Princess Celestia. Hi, Princess Luna,” Eric said.
“Hi, Eric. There’s somepony who wants to meet you,” Luna replied.
Eric walked in between the two princesses with his parents in tow. They met up with a sage green kirin with a brown mane and gray eyes, wearing a bronze robe and with a silver shirt underneath. He was also roughly the same height as Princess Celestia.
“Prince Eric Sparkle, we’d like you to meet our husband, Lord Emerald Spirit,” Celestia said.
“Good evening, Eric Sparkle. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Lord Emerald greeted.
“Good to meet you too, Lord Emerald,” Eric replied.
Just then, another stallion came up to them. Eric immediately recognized him from his parents’ wedding, as Radiant Hope’s dance partner. He wore a black tux alongside his cloak.
“Princess Luna, who is that stallion over there? I saw him dancing with Dr. Radiant at my parents’ wedding,” Eric asked.
“His name is Shadow Lock, and he is an agent in the Equestrian Secret Service, the best to come out of Trottingham,” Luna replied.
“Good to finally meet you, Eric Sparkle,” Shadow Lock said.
“Same here, Agent Shadow Lock,” Eric replied.
Soon enough, everypony and other invited creatures were gathered in a crowd, as Trixie was making an announcement from the stage.
“Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
In a puff of smoke, there Trixie came. The crowd was standing in awe.
“Would anypony like to volunteer and be a part of my performance?” Trixie asked. Eric raised his hand, then Trixie selected him, and then he went up to the stage.
“Now, Eric,” Trixie said. She then used her magic to pull out a total of 13 cards. “Pick a card, any card.” Eric picked out a single card. “Look at the card, but don’t tell anypony what it is.”
Eric nodded, then took a look at his card, revealing it as the King of Hearts. He then put it back in.
“Alright,” Trixie said, as she took the cards with her magic. “Now, I’m going to shuffle these cards to try to puzzle your mind, in hopes to get the card you picked.” Eric nodded and then Trixie asked him to close his eyes, and used her magic to pick up the deck of cards, and decided to shuffle them with her magic. Eric recalled picking the King of Hearts. Trixie then pulled out a random card, and it was revealed to be the card he picked, which was the King of Hearts. Trixie then asked, “Is this your card?”
“Yes! That’s it!” Eric replied.
“Folks, a round of applause for my special volunteer please?” Trixie asked, with a hoof around Eric.
The crowd then started applauding at Trixie’s performance. Trixie then bowed and said, “No trick is impossible for... The Great and Powerful... Trrrixie!”
“Did you see me, Mommy?! Did you see me?!” Eric asked excitedly.
“Yes! I did!” Twilight said, hugging him.
As Trixie’s magic show went on, she pulled off many acts and everypony was amazed. Flash was enamored by his girlfriend’s performance. After the show was over, Jasper and Smokey went up on stage with an acoustic guitar, Smokey started strumming and Jasper began singing:
(All credit for this song goes to Switchfoot)
After Jasper and Smokey’s performance, Eric, Twilight, and Storm met up with Lord Emerald and Shadow Lock.
“Good to see you again, Lord Emerald,” Twilight said.
“Same here, Twilight and Storm. I haven’t seen you since your wedding, even though I was with the guards, checking the underground access tunnels most of the time,” Emerald explained.
“Lord Emerald, Agent Shadow Lock, these are my friendship students, Jasper and Smokey,” Storm said.
“Good to meet you, Lord Emerald,” Jasper greeted.
“You too, Shadow Lock,” Smokey added.
“Great to meet you both,” Shadow Lock replied, Emerald nodded in agreement.
Everyone was once again on the dance floor, Twilight and Storm were dancing together, same with Eric and Sweetie Belle, along with all the others and their special someponies, even Eric’s friends. Lord Emerald danced with Celestia and Luna.
As Fluttershy and Spiracle were dancing once more, he spoke up, “Fluttershy, there’s something I want to get off my chest.”
“What is it, Spiracle?” Fluttershy asked.
“You’re the nicest and most beautiful pony I met and you make me feel warm and content inside. Ever since last week, I’ve started to like for you more than a friend, and the point is, I’m in love with you, Fluttershy,” Spiracle explained.
“Spiracle, I don’t know what to say,” Fluttershy replied, as she came up to him. She then gave him a kiss on the lips, his eyes widened but then he returned it.
Pinkie tapped Rainbow’s shoulder and she said, “Looks like Fluttershy finally has a special somepony.”
“I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen. First Twilight, then Applejack and Rarity, then me and even Trixie, now Fluttershy. Now all that’s left is you, Pinkie,” Rainbow replied.
After an hour, Eric was sitting in between his parents, leaning on his mother’s left side, and she held him in her wing. he then felt something.
“What’s going on? I feel something,” Eric asked.
“That’s the baby kicking, sweetie,” Twilight replied.
“I’m looking forward to meeting my new sibling,” Eric said.
“Do you want to go get some cake?” Storm asked. Eric nodded and then Twilight placed him on her back carefully and then they went to go get some cake, which was a chocolate mousse cake with vanilla frosting and had floral and royal décor on each side and corner of the cake. After they had their cake slices, Twilight wiped his face with her napkin, and then she saw him softly yawning, asking “Are you getting tired?”
“Yes, can we go home now?” Eric asked.
“Sure, sweetie,” Twilight replied.
Eric got on his mother’s back as the three of them went back to the train station.