A majestic indigo unicorn pegasus stepped forth onto one of her castle's higher outdoor balconies. A microphone was already prepared for her, allowing her voice to travel a great distance while carrying some of the most important words she was to say in quite some time:

"Thank you all for arriving today. Welcome, one and all ponies, to the all-day, all-night festival we affectionately call the Grand Galloping Gala! For those of you attending for the first time: this is the day where those who reside in our fair capital city of Canterlot, as well as a multitude of honored guests, are allowed to take a well-deserved break from the rigors of daily life--and as always, make new friends in the process! Originally created by my sister Celestia, the Grand Galloping Gala is a decades-old tradition... which means this shall be my first attendance as well."

Princess Luna of Equestria allowed herself a slight chuckle at her own joke, and at her own expense. It wasn't quite so long ago that she'd been the feared anti-deity known as Nightmare Moon--yet here she was now, hosting royal parties in front of an audience of hundreds with not a scared face in sight. Not bad for upward mobility, if she did say so herself.

It was time, then, to deliver the final flourish.

"Therefore, as I stand before you, I hereby issue one and only one royal decree this day in my sister's name: that everypony gathered here enjoy themselves to their heart's content--and know that I shall be amongst you, doing the very same. Thank you, and let the merriment commence!"

–––
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Pony Permutation Project!: Episode 6
"I Wish"
Part 1 of 2
by Bookish Delight, 2010–2011
All characters and referred properties belong to Hasbro.
–––

That was how Princess Luna had opened the ceremonies late that morning, and her subjects had followed her wishes to the letter--Rarity's best friends among them.

It was nighttime at the Gala now. The breeze blew warmly, and the moon was shining high--not that anypony could tell with so many lights about.

Along the expansive main fairgrounds of the castle courtyard, ponies were still socializing, playing, dining, and overall very much enjoying themselves, though now in a far more subdued manner than they had been during the day. Streamers, balloons, lights and other decorations of every size, shape, color, type and luminance were spread everywhere they could be spread--and speaking of spreads, the buffet was massive as well.

Rarity looked at the large clock on the fairgrounds, then at the castle in the distance. There was time enough; what harm would it do to check in on her comrades? She was, after all, the only one of them thus far--well, perhaps except for Twilight Sparkle, she'd have to one day inquire about that--to attend a social event of this magnitude.

It would be quite the lark to see how things turned out for them...

---

"Five hundred eighty four, five hundred eighty five, five hundred eighty six..."

As Rarity approached Applejack's cart and stand, she noticed two things. The first was that the orange earth pony was lost in concentration. The second was that since the festival lights were glinting off of the large pile of gold coins Applejack was counting, Rarity had to shield her eyes from the glare--no small achievement when dealing with a pony used to the shine of jewelry.

"My word, Applejack," she said with a gasp, "did you perhaps happen to win today's Gala Golden Raffle?"

Applejack didn't look up. "Hah! As if I'd trade places with whoever won that piddly pile o' chump change compared to what I've--wait a sec..." Finally recognizing the voice that had spoken to her, Applejack did look up--and once she saw Rarity, she burst into an ear-to-ear smile. "Rarity! Hiya! Good gravy, darlin', you have no idea just how happy I am right now!"

Rarity nodded. "It certainly looks like you accomplished your goal of turning a profit today."

Applejack gave a little squeal of happiness. "Mission complete, an' then some! I tell you, I've sold enough apple-stuffs today to give our farm a hundred spitshines! Went through the whole stock! And I've got you to thank for it."

Rarity blinked. "Me?"

"Darn tootin', you! Recognize somethin'?"

Applejack stepped out from behind the stand, revealing the outfit that Rarity had made for her shortly before the Gala--a beautiful green denim dress with matching boots, a brown saddle, and apple emblems plastered wherever they could fit. There was even a new apple-themed hat to go with it.

The outfit's maker gasped again. "Oh, Applejack! You wore your gown to business? I wish I'd known of your plans sooner, I would have used even sturdier material! Did you even get to have any fun while you were here?"

"You kiddin'? Just wearin' this thing was fun enough! This dress of yours turned more heads than Pinkie Pie's singing voice! 'Cept in a good way." Her voice dropped to a mischievous whisper. "Had a lot o' colts buying a lot more n' they originally planned, too, if y'all get my drift..."

"Oh, I most certainly do," Rarity said as the two shared a giggle.

"So yeah: I'm real sorry again about underestimatin' your design work. It's amazing. Whole buncha ponies even asked for autographed pictures of me in this!" She gestured towards the gold. "Hence this extra-big pile o' moolah. Some of this belongs to you, by the way. S'only fair. It's your design, and truth be told, I never felt so... so pretty till today." She pointed to Rarity's dress. "Like how you probably feel wearin' that number."

Rarity smiled. "Why, thank you, Applejack! I gather our emotions truly are similar on that front. As for the money, I absolutely couldn't," she said. "I may make the dresses, but it's up to the wearer to make them work. I insist you keep it."

"Y'mean it?" Applejack gasped. "Thanks a bunch, Rarity! Next time I get the urge to call you a beauty-obsessed stick-in-the-mud, I'll think better of it. Probably. Maybe." She winked.

Rarity chuckled. "All I can ask, I suppose. Well, then, I'm glad everything worked out. I'll be off now."

"Bye, Rarity," Applejack said, going back to counting gold coins. "Five-hundred eighty-nine, five hundred seve... wait, that ain't right--awww, dagnabbit, I lost count!"

She hesitated, knowing what she had to do... then smiled and sighed. "Well, could be worse, I guess," she said, dumping the bag she'd been putting her counted gold into. "One... two..."

---

Rarity continued to walk until she reached the middle of the fairgrounds. Soon after she did, a groan could clearly be heard in the distance.

"Hello?" she called out. "Is somepony in trouble? Whoever it is, answer me!"

The voice called back. "Rarity?"

"Pinkie Pie?" Rarity called back in recognition.

"Rarity! O... over here!"

Rarity followed the voice, and almost tripped over a pink earth pony, who had fallen on her back onto the grass. Her hooves fidgeted in midair.

"Oh my gosh, Pinkie Pie? What happened to you?"

"Rarity! You gotta help me. Can't ... fight this... alone..."

Rarity reached out with her hoof. "Let me help you up!"

"No! Don't move me! If I look at anything but you or the empty sky, it'll only make things worse!"

"Make what worse?" She looked down at Pinkie, whose smile was actually bigger than it was normally. Her eyes were open wider than usual, her tongue lolled to the side... never had happiness looked so scary.

"Party Coma," Pinkie Pie whispered. "It's coming."

"Party Coma?"

Pinkie Pie closed her eyes nodded, then opened her eyes again. "Party Coma is what happens if a party actually manages to be too awesome for Pinkie Pie to handle! I've only had it happen a few times before, so I totally forgot about it! Everything goes pink, and when it's all over, I wake up someplace different! Which would normally be fine, except..." She clutched Rarity's front legs, pulling her closer. "...we're not in Ponyville right now! Who knows where I'd end up?"

She put her head back on the grass, happily groaning again. Rarity sighed, now completely at a loss. "How did this even happen to you?"

"That's the thing," Pinkie said, still making sure to stare straight upwards. "I was actually being careful! When I got here, I almost pinked out from the decorations alone, and I instantly knew I was going to have to to pace myself! So I made sure to sample one and only one piece of food or dessert from the buffet. But the next thing I knew-"

Rarity interrupted. "Pinkie Pie, the Grand Galloping Gala has over one thousand types of confections imported from every region of Equestria."

"...I do remember losing count somewhere around the triple digits."

Rarity shook her head. "Okay, it's clear that this is something you've brought on yourself. I sympathize, I truly do, but if this isn't something potentially life-threatening, then I'm going to have to go."

"No! Don't! Don't leave!" Pinkie Pie clutched at Rarity's legs again. "Can barely... move... so many balloons... so many streamers! Pinkie Pie has... never been so happy... in her entire liiiiiiiife..."

Rarity struggled. It would simply not do for her night to be done in by something as base as delirium! "Pinkie, no! I have to... let go of me, I have to get you some help, I-"

"No you don't. It's okay now."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie was back on all four legs, smiling normally, breathing normally, and aside from her dress, looking good as new!

"Whew! I'm totally all better now! Thanks, Rarity!"

"What the..." Rarity could do naught but double-take. "Pinkie, I admit I'm used to being somewhat confused by your ways, but-"

"No worries," Pinkie said. "Allow me to explain! Party Coma was about to happen, and there wasn't much I could do to stop it unless I found something to take my mind off of things! Seeing you all confused helped me to do just that!" She giggled. "You're so funny when you're flustered!"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "What wonderful news."

"Yeah, really! But it's all part of my Pinkie Pie Perfect Party Powers! Any party that doesn't put me into the Coma makes me more festive!" She threw up her front hooves and spun around in triumph. "Now I can handle any party as intense as this one! Or, um, milder."

Rarity thought about this. "You know, that almost makes sense. In the weirdest way possible, mind."

"Of course it does! But wow, it's never taken this long for me to recover before! This Gala is amazing! And wearing this dress made it even better!"

"Did it truly?"

"Yeah! You making candy part of my dress theme meant I could mix and match from the buffet and always come out looking totally sweet--literally!" She looked behind herself, a the now grass-stained bottom of her gown. "'Course, that's kind of impossible now since I fell over half an hour ago. Does your shop have a drycleaning service?"

Rarity shook her head, sighed, and trotted off without a word.

"Hey, we should add candy to your dress too! Not that it isn't already awesome... Rarity?... Rarity? Where'd you go? Oh well. Time to go back to high-jumping the streamers! Ooh, and there's still like half the buffet I haven't touched! And (GASP) oh my gosh, the balloons! I need to play volleyball with the balloons! Oh! But first I need to talk to the colt in charge of the Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Pony Tournament to let me do a do-over since that was where I fell down in the first place-"

Rarity forced herself to not hear any of this. She was going to need her sanity to get through tonight, and she preferred for it to not be stolen early.

---

She was soon out of the fairgrounds, and halfway towards the castle. Upon reaching this area, she could hear boisterous laughing in the skies!

Rarity knew that laugh all too well. She looked up and saw exactly who she expected:

"Rainbow Dash? What are you so happy about, if I may ask?"

Seeing Rarity, Rainbow Dash floated down to a gentle landing. "You absolutely may ask! Guess who's a total shoo-in for the Wonderbolts?"

Rarity recoiled in elated shock--that had been one of the pegasus's biggest dreams! "Oh, Rainbow Dash! Do you really mean it? You've finally been inducted?"

Rainbow Dash looked at the ground. "Weeeelllll..."

Rarity knew that word, too. "Uh oh."

"No, hear me out! So I got to the stadium where they perform every year, right? And I went in there, and I wowed everyone with all the moves I'd been working on!" She floated back up, darted around and somersaulted in midair as re-enactment. "Strut, Flash, Blaze, the whole nine! It was incredible, Rarity! You should've seen it!"

"Sounds good so far. Then what happened?"

Dash hovered at eye level, and sighed. "Well, then I was hauled away by security because I'd technically crashed their show. I've been banned until next year. The nerve of some ponies!"

Up until now, Rarity had done a good job of holding in her laughter--but she was but one pony, and this was officially too much.

Rainbow Dash glared. "Oh! So glad to see my bad luck entertains you!"

"No, no, I don't mean to, it's just... banned on your first visit? I would expect your first impression here to be no less!" Rarity's laughter continued.

Rainbow Dash tossed her mane. "Heh. Well, it's true that most of Equestria just isn't ready for me yet."

"Yes, yes, of course." Eventually Rarity calmed down enough to ask, "Pray, continue."

"Finally. Anyway, as I was flying away, one of the 'Bolts actually came to me and said they liked what they saw! They seemed to be especially impressed that I could do it in a gown. So I guess that's a point in your favor.
She gave me their business card, and said we might be able to talk after they finished their Equestria World Tour."

"How long's that?"

"Good question. Let's see..."

From her pocket, Rainbow Dash removed the latest issue of Speedster's Digest (this month's cover story: "Remembering Firefly"), and flipped it open to the center. "Wonderbolts... Equestria World Tour... huh. About six months." She closed the magazine. "Okay, so, it'll be a wait. But I feel really good about my chances!"

"Well, you know what they say: every little step helps."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one. Well, I'm pleased to hear of your good fortune. And now, I must be off before I'm late."

"For your very important date?" Rainbow Dash giggled.

Rarity sighed melodramatically. "I walked straight into that one, didn't I?"

Rainbow Dash paused before answering with, "You know what, Princess? Knock 'em dead in there. You deserve to."

Rarity held back a mild blush. "Thank you. But I'm hardly the Princess--especially here."

"You're Ponyville's Princess. And really, who's going to challenge you for that title? Just be careful you don't show up Celestia with your fashion sense tonight. Even I can see it's off the scale."

Again, Rarity was just one pony, unable to fight being overwhelmed. Her cheeks flushed full crimson. "Thank you again, Dash."

"Yeah, sure. Now get out of here before I regret all this mushy stuff."

Rarity chuckled. "As you wish, then."

---

At last, the castle stood before her.

Inside, very soon, would be the Gala Evening Ball--an event where only true socialites and ponies of the utmost decorum would be allowed to mingle.

And the ultimate prize--those who impressed the present royalty the most would be able to dance with said royalty themselves.

There was one member of royalty in particular that Rarity was interested in--and when she got her hooves on him, the rest of her life would be grand and glorious.

It was only a matter of time, now.

Using light from her horn and a nearby window, she checked herself once more. She was wearing one of her most favorite gowns--brand new, one of her best works as a designer, and lovingly stitched together by her best friends.

It was a gorgeous, flowing red, yellow and pink ensemble which covered most of her body while still accentuating it. Much like Pinkie's gown, decorations were symmetrically placed everywhere empty space threatened; except with shiny jewels as opposed to candy pieces. One of those jewels was also used for her necklace.

However, what her other friends hadn't known until today was that she'd imported a quartet of diamond glass horseshoes from the other side of Equestria. They'd set her back quite a bit, but the effect was worth it. Her hooves were sparkling, and that effect traveled quite a bit up the length of the dress itself. She'd gotten the inspiration from designing Twilight's outfit. It was always good to follow the muse wherever it took you.

She was currently, for lack of a better phrase, dressed to impress--so much so that she impressed herself right now.

Tonight was going to be absolutely perfect.

She finished checking herself just in time; bells rang, signaling for those gathered out front to enter in an orderly fashion.

With a confident air, Rarity strutted inside the castle...