MLP: The Portal 2

Chapter 26: Big Night

Alex took a breath to relax his nerves as everyone arrived at Canterlot Castle for the big night: the Grand Galloping Gala. Finally, the night had come, and they all were here now. They stepped in together with Twilight leading the way for Alex and Evan.

"Holy shoot dude, this castle is huge!" Evan exclaimed in awe, looking around.

"I'm telling you." Alex said in agreement, smiling a little bit, noticing the decorations that had been placed around the halls since his first visit there.

"No offense to your castle, Twilight, it's awesome, but this is legit! Like, jeez." Evan commented, unable to find any other words to express his thoughts. Twilight giggled a bit.

"This castle's been standing for a very long time, so I'd have to agree with you there." She said.

The 9 of them all stepped into the main ballroom now, and Alex and Evan both took in the sights for the first time. There were lots of ponies around, some of which they recognized from Ponyville. Alex caught sight of Vinyl doing the music for the event, while Evan caught sight of the punch table.

"Oh man, we've got a lot to get through." Evan said to Fluttershy.

"I'm going to make my way to the gardens for a little bit. Remember, we're meeting back here 20 minutes before the show." Rarity reminded the two of them.

"Got it. I'll head over to the stage area at that time." Alex said.

"Yes, ma'am." Evan nodded, saluting humorously. Rarity scoffed a bit before heading off. The others broke off as well, leaving Alex with Rainbow Dash.

"So, what do you wanna do, babe?" Alex asked, turning towards her. She smiled a bit.

"Actually, I'm pretty hungry. I think I'm gonna go get some food." She said.

"Haha, alright. I'll meet you a little later then. I'm eyeing the dance floor over there." He said with a chuckle, pointing over to the square in front of DJ-PON3's booth where ponies were dancing.

"You go ahead then. I think Pinkie's already up there… Yup, there she is right there. I'll be over at the table." Rainbow Dash gestured.

"I'll meet you there later then." He said, hugging her briefly with one arm before making his way over to the dance area.

He spotted Pinkie Pie towards the center already dancing away to the music and decided to make his way over to her. As he stepped onto the floor, his normal trot became more rhythmic, following the music as he made his way over to her.

"Hey hey there! What's your name, girl?" He asked jokingly as he reached her. She giggled a bit, dancing with him.

"Hey! I had a feeling you'd come here. It's hard to resist the music!" She teased him with a nudge. Alex chuckled a bit and rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Evan and Fluttershy had come to sit with Rainbow Dash and Tree Hugger, eating food and chatting. Suddenly, Discord appeared over by Evan dressed in an orange suit and top hat.

"Oh my goodness, this is so exciting! My best friend and her special somepony performing together at the biggest social event of the year! I'm just bursting with excitement!" Discord exclaimed, pulling out a balloon which he twisted into a mold of himself before popping it with a needle.

"You know it's not just us performing, right, Discord?" Fluttershy pointed out with a giggle.

"Well, yes of course, I mean there's other members, but I'm just mostly excited for you two!"

"Haha, thanks for the support man. We're gonna need it for sure." Evan said, bro-hoofing Discord.

"You guys practiced, right? You got this!" Rainbow Dash said confidently.

"I think we're going to do well. You're not worried, are you?" Fluttershy asked him, scooting a little closer to him. He smiled a bit and shook his head.

"I mean, it's just a little performance anxiety. It's just the normal jitters is all. Alex gets it too." Evan explained.

"I like that you have new members in your Pony Tones gang. It really adds a new vibe to it." Tree Hugger complimented.

"I totally agree." Rainbow Dash said with a proud little smile.

"Where is Alex, by the way? I assumed he'd be here with you." Discord asked. Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit, gesturing over to the dance floor.

"Take a look."

As Alex and Pinkie danced in the center of the dance floor, they now began to trade off moves. Pinkie tossed it over to Alex, who did the wave to take it, going into a spin and leaning sideways before passing it back to Pinkie; they did this back and forth as those around them watched and cheered them on.

Alex chuckled a bit, finishing one last move before waving his hoof to her and making his way off of the floor, fixing his jacket and catching his breath. As he made his way to meet up with Rainbow Dash and the others, he noticed something interesting.

Behind him, some in the dance floor crowd had actually followed him out, taking some pictures and bearing wide grins. Alex, turning towards them for a moment, realized that they were fans of his from his tour; some of them he had even met before.

Then, behind the crowd, he caught sight of the princesses: Celestia and Luna. They were sitting at a table off on their own with guards situated some distance from them all the way around their table against the wall. Luna was glancing his way and waved a bit, which caused Celestia to look over.

Alex quickly turned back around, ducking towards the food tables and joining the table where his friends were at, taking a seat next to Rainbow Dash. He took another breath and smiled.

"Hey!" He said to her with a smile, taking a sip of her drink.

"Dude!" She groaned with a giggle, smacking him on the arm after he had set her drink down.

"I saw you up there, my boy, tearing it up there for these ponies, showing 'em how we do it." Evan said with a chuckle, half complimenting him and half teasing him. Alex laughed a bit.

"Haha, well you know man I can't just be up here eating food like you." He responded.

"Oh, it's like that. I see how it is. It's like that. I'mma get up there then…after I finish eating and I've spent 30 minutes digesting." Evan said, which made Alex chuckle some more while shaking his head.

"You're an idiot."

"Looks like you drew a crowd too." Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle, having noticed the group of fans that had followed him when he exited the floor.

"Haha, yeah. Fans, I guess was all it was… Wow." Alex said slowly, coming to a sudden realization.

"What's up?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yo yo, I just realized something. Evan, you do realize that we're legit like famous here now, right?" Alex said to him. He nodded a bit.

"Yeah man, I kinda got that sense from all the signings." Evan said.

"Yeah yeah, I got it then too. But, like, we're like famous famous, like 'walking down the street and getting recognized' famous." Alex explained it more specifically. Seeing what Alex meant, Evan let out a long exhale followed by a grin.

"Let's frickin go, bro, you're right!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"It sounds pretty cool when you put it like that." Rainbow Dash said with a giggle, nudging him.

"Who would've thought that we'd reach this point, huh?" Alex said, starting to reflect back some on the whirlwind of events that had led them up to this point.

"It's a lot to process when you think about it." Fluttershy said with a smile, glancing at Evan again.

"I don't think I'd have it any other way though." Rainbow Dash said, patting Alex's hoof fondly. Alex smiled at her a bit.

"I'd say the same." He agreed.

"Oh, this is all so touching, but the night isn't over yet. You still have a show to do, and it looks like Rarity is making her way back to the stage now." Discord pointed out, looking over at the stage area with a telescope before holding it for Fluttershy to look through.

"He's right. She's heading back now, and it looks like she has our matching outfits back there too." Fluttershy relayed to the others.

"Well, let's head over there then!" Alex said, getting up from his seat.