Eric Sparkle and the Storm King

Deep in the Crystal Mountains ice fortress, Glacio was plotting a sinister plan.

“With Queen Chrysalis deposed and the changeling betrayal, we must seek new allies,” Glacio said.

“Who do you suggest, my lord?” Frostbite asked.

“There is a legendary conqueror known as the Storm King, I’ve heard he and his forces drove the hippogriffs underwater and conquered Abyssinia and Ornithia, along with heavy influence in Klugetown,” Glacio replied, “We must meet with them at once.”

“Very good, my lord. I’ll gather some of our soldiers,” Frostbite said.

It wasn’t long before Frostbite gathered Hot Shot, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Wind Rider, and Descent. Glacio then teleported himself, Frostbite, and his other minions to the outskirts of Silver Shoals. There, they tried to keep out of sight as not to alert the townsponies.

“From here, we must head south to Storm Island. To do that, we need a ship,” Glacio said.

“Right,” Frostbite replied.

They snuck into the town, hoping to find a ship in the port. Once they found the port, Glacio and his minions noticed a ship with it's crew ready to depart. They went over to try and commandeer it.

"Surrender your ship now!" Glacio said as he and his minions boarded the ship.

"Never!" the captain retorted.

"That's it! Your sailing days are over!" Frostbite said.

They attacked the crew, then tied sinkers to them and threw them overboard.

Glacio and his minions then began sailing south. They sailed smoothly for many miles until they reached Storm Island. Once they landed, the ice prince and his envoy were quicky approached by four storm troll guards.

“We wish to speak with your leader,” Glacio said.

“This way,” one of the guards replied in a gruff voice.

Once inside the palace, Glacio and his envoy met up with the Storm King and his second-in-command, Tempest Shadow. He was a satyr/troll hybrid with azure gray fur, a bluish gray face, hands, and feet, and brilliant opal eyes. He also wore black armor, a big pointy crown made of black marble and dark gray chrome steel, and also wielded the Staff of Sacanas. Tempest was a supermodel sized unicorn mare with a dark orchid coat, a dark rose mohawk mane and tail with lighter edges, and moderate opal eyes. She also had a broken horn sparkling blue electricity and a scar on her right eye, and she was wearing a black short sleeve top with black armor all over and had two on her hip showing the Storm King symbol, and black armored shoes on all four hooves.

“State your names and business, outsiders,” the Storm King spoke up.

“I am Prince Glacio, the rightful ruler of Equestria. This is my second-in-command, General Frostbite, and some of my best soldiers, Hot Shot, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Wind Rider, and Descent,” the ice prince said, “You must be the Storm King we’ve heard about.”

“You are correct. I’d like you to meet my second-in-command, Tempest Shadow,” the Storm King replied.

“Good to finally meet you, Prince Glacio. I’ve heard so much about you,” Tempest said while bowing in respect.

“We’ve come for your help in taking over Equestria,” Frostbite replied.

“What’s in it for us?” the Storm King asked.

“You get to have alicorn magic for your staff and a free…uh hand to take over any other lands you want in return for allowing my master access to his sisters’ magic,” Frostbite said.

“Alright. You got yourself a bargain,” the Storm King replied.

Meanwhile, in the Equestrian capital city of Canterlot, everypony was preparing for a festival and there were pegasus ponies flying everywhere.

“’Scuse me! Dragon on the move! Important prince and princess documents comin’ through!” Spike said, until he kept running to the castle.

“Spike!” a voice called out. He turned and saw Eric riding his broomstick.

“Get on! We’ll get you there fast enough!” Eric said.

Spike nodded, and then climbed on and then Eric flew to the entrance of the castle.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Storm were meditating with their magic, until she began freaking out.

“Ommmmm... Ohhhhhhh mmmmy goodness, I can’t handle this! Ooh! Nothing is working! I just have to get it together! Just go in there! And ask! This is your Friendship Festival! Everypony’s happiness rests in your hooves.” Twilight said then face-hoofed herself, “Ohhhh!”

“Think positively, honey. Relax,” Storm replied.

Just then, Spike and Eric opened the door. “Okay, Twilight and Storm. Got all your charts and graphs,” Spike said, panting heavily.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Spike! You too, Eric! I’m just so nervous about this meeting!” Twilight replied.

“What meeting?” Eric asked.

“Whachoo talkin’ ‘bout?” Spike added.

Twilight sighed, “We’re about to ask the three most royal princesses and greatest noble of Equestria for a huge favor!

“What if they reject us?” Storm asked.

“It’ll be fine. Just remember the most important thing, you’re a prince and princess too,” Spike said.

“Right!” Twilight replied. She then exhaled as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Lord Emerald appeared.

“Good morning, Princesses and Lord Emerald. Thank you all for seeing us. We have an idea that I think will make our Friendship Festival the most wonderful celebration Equestria has ever seen!” Twilight said.

“Especially since this is my first royal duty to help out,” Eric added.

“Morning, Twilight and Storm. You too, Eric,” Lord Emerald replied.

“Hi, Aunt Cadance,” Eric greeted.

“Yes, Twilight and Storm! We are very excited!” Princess Celestia replied.

“Hi, Eric! Ponies have been arriving from all over all morning,” Princess Cadance said.

“I’d like to think it’s to see us, but Songbird Serenade might be the bigger attraction,” Princess Luna added.

“Yes, she is the... ‘mane’ event!” Twilight giggled.

“As if the presence of every member of royalty, including me isn’t eventful enough,” Eric replied.

“Good one, Twily, and to make it extra special, we could use your help. Spike?” Storm said.

Spike brought in a whiteboard and placed a graph on it.

Twilight then began her presentation, “Songbird Serenade’s performance is not scheduled to start until after you begin the sunset. And based on my precise calculation, to get the very best lighting for the stage, Princess Celestia, I was hoping you could make sure the sun stays about 28.1º to the south, and, Princess Luna, if you could raise the moon 62º to the north at the same time, it would reflect the sunlight on the other side and really frame the entire stage perfectly!”

“I’d..,” Princess Luna tried to say.

“But wait! There’s more! Cadance, if you could use your crystal magic to create an aurora above the stage, the sun and the moon will shine through it and create a truly amazing light show!” Twilight replied.

“Presenting Songbird Serenade!” Spike said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah! Whoa-ho! Whoa!” He then crashed onto the floor, “Ta-da.”

“So, what do you think?” Twilight asked.

“So you’re saying you want us to move the sun and the moon for the party,” Princess Luna said.

“Well, we’d do it ourselves, except we don’t have your magic,” Twilight replied, with a snort.

“Twilight, Storm, each of us uses our powers to serve Equestria in our own way. You are the Prince and Princess of Friendship. You already have all the magic you need,” Princess Celestia replied.

“So... that’d be a no?” Twilight asked.

“We didn’t say that,” Lord Emerald answered, “It’s just hard for us to discuss something you came up with on your own. You both worked really hard.”

“It’s a shame Flurry and Uncle Shining couldn’t be here for this, Aunt Cadance,” Eric said, “They would’ve loved it and loved to see me.”

“They had to stay back in the Crystal Empire with other things to attend to. But nevertheless, I’m always happy to see you, my sweet little nephew,” Princess Cadance replied, hugging him.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew through the clouds, clearing them out quickly as possible. “Sky’s cleared and ready for the festival!”

Pinkie Pie then blew up a few balloons, tied them up while they made squeaking noises, and set them up nicely for the festival, but one accidentally deflated out of control. “Whoa!”

Fluttershy conducted the birds as they whistled in harmony until the balloon came by, scaring them away.

“Whoa! Heads up, Fluttershy! Out of control balloooooon!!” Pinkie said chasing the balloon.

“I don’t think it’s the balloon that’s out of control, Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy replied, nuzzling a bird on her hoof.

“Hey, y’all!” Applejack said, “Anypony up for some free samples of my family’s apple cider?”

Rainbow Dash saw the mug, and flew over and took a sip, “Thank you!” She then gave it back to Applejack. “Loved it!”

Rarity hummed as she set up the stage with blue diamonds on each reddish pink ribbon. “Wow, Rarity. It’s a fine job you’re doin’ there. ‘Course it might not get done ‘til after the concert,” Applejack remarked.

“Applejack, darling, anypony can do ‘fine’. Twilight and Storm asked me, so clearly, she’s going for fabulous, and fabulous takes time,” Rarity said.

“Fabulous takes forever! But “awesome”...” Rainbow flew over the stage setting up the ribbons, but not like Rarity hoped, “...can get done in four seconds flat! Faster if I do my sonic rainboom!”

“Aah! Nono, oh no! Don’t you dare, Rainbow Dash! It looks wretched enough already,” Rarity said, then fixed the ribbons and diamonds on them.

“Oh come on, it’s fine!” Rainbow replied.

“If you were raised in a barn! Ahem, no offense, Applejack,” Rarity said.

“None taken. Especially since I wasn’t raised in a barn. My family just happens to have a barn. Where I was born. And... spent most of my formative years...” Applejack replied.

“Raised in a barn!” Rainbow said, quickly cutting her off.

“Is she always that thirsty for apple cider?” Nightshade asked.

“Most of the time,” Applejack replied, “Want some?”

“Sure,” Holly said, then Zuni, Marina, and Slapstick took some as well.

“This is amazing,” Marina said.

“Yum, good!” Zuni added.

“It’s my family’s traditional secret for freshly squeezed apple cider,” Applejack replied.

“Okay, just two hundred and eighteen things left to do and we’re ready,” Twilight said, checking off her to-do list. Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie saw her, Storm, and Spike coming, “Hey, Twilight!”

Nightshade, Zuni, Marina, Holly, and Slapstick saw Eric coming, “Hey, Eric!” They each greeted.

“Hello, Spike,” Rarity greeted sweetly.

“Uh, hi, Rarity. Heh heh,” Spike said nervously, while blushing.

“How’d it go with the other Princesses and Lord Emerald? They like your idea?” Applejack asked.

“I bet they loved it!” Pinkie said as she bounced while following a flying balloon.

“Not exactly. They think we can make the festival perfect without their magic,” Twilight replied with a sigh.

“They specifically said that it’s hard for them to go over something we came up with on our own,” Storm pointed out.

“And they are absolutely right, darlings,” Rarity said, “This festival is your brilliant idea and we know you’re up to the task!”

“But what if we’re not?! What if Songbird Serenade hates the stage?! Or nopony makes a new friend?! And if I fail at the festival, then who am I?!” Twilight asked frustratingly.

“Twilight, look at me! This will be the biggest celebration Equestria has ever seen! As the Princess of Friendship, you cannot fail! This day will define who you are! The pressure is intense! It’s almost too much for any single pony to handle!” Pinkie shouted. The other ponies gasped. “But you have us! So stop worrying.”

Twilight made a nervous smile on her face, until Applejack helped her up.

Twilight and Storm gasped and yelled as Pinkie accidentally launched a huge cake on top of them, until it tumbled into a huge spill. The ponies gasped at the accident as Twilight and Storm popped their heads out. “Pinkie!” A candle landed on each of their horns.

“Oopsie! Guess my easy bake confetti cake cannon needs a little bit more fine tuning!” Pinkie said. Twilight and Storm groaned and blew out the candles on their horns.

Just then, Songbird Serenade suddenly appeared. She was lime greenish white with a blackish blue and yellow mane and tail in two shades of each color, which covered her dark sapphire eyes, and a cloud with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and Purple Hearts for a cutie mark. She also wore a large pink bow and a black shirt with a collar.

“Hiya. I’m lookin’ for the ponies in charge?” Songbird said, then posed for the camera three times, “I need to set up for my sound check.”

“Ms. Songbird Serenade? Um, we were just going to check on you. I’m Princess Twilight,” Twilight said.

“I’m Prince Storm, and sorry about the mess,” Storm added, “We’re usually not so...”

“Caked in cake?” Songbird finished.

“Good to meet you, Songbird. You probably know who I am,” Eric said.

“You’re Prince Eric Sparkle, good to meet you too,” Songbird replied.