The doctors confirmation didn't make dieting any easier. If anything it made it worse. Knowing that it was all your doing and yet you just couldn't stop. It was obvious to everyone that Floppy had some sort of obsession. Whether it be for fear of starvation or just for the sake of comfort eating, Floppy just couldn't shake her eating habits. In the end, Twilight decided to try focusing on something else and Floppy's eating habits were allowed to continue to some extent, anything to keep her calm. Especially, considering the Grand Galloping Gala was coming up.

Floppy was not one for fancy dress and definitely not comfortable going somewhere with such large and judgemental crowds but Twilight insisted that she went. She said it would be good for her. Floppy couldn't possibly even begin to understand why and she found herself increasingly anxious about it. Twilight and the others decided it would be good for her confidence if they helped her to learn proper etiquette or at least enough to attend the event.

'It doesn't matter what they think! We know you are a good pony and as long as you try your best everything will be fine' in various ways Floppy kept hearing over and over. It was nice to hear them say something along those lines but it was only a minor comfort in the scheme of things. Of course it matters! This was the most extravagant event in all of Equestria! There were bound to be ponies judging her every move from every angle, even the most unflattering ones. Nevertheless, it felt more awkward to reject something her friends wanted so much, especially when they were making such an effort to help her so how could she refuse?

Twilight and friends gave her an etiquette training session every day, mainly Rarity of course since she knew the most about this sort of thing. Rarity and Twilight had both been to Canterlot on numerous occasions so they both knew a thing or two. Rainbow Dash didn't know anything so she just focused on encouraging words. Well I say encouraging but it was really more like shouting like Floppy was in some sort of army regiment. And Applejack's only purpose seemed to be to shout back at Rainbow to calm down and stop shouting. Fluttershy was very gentle so she was a great example when it came to slow and polite movements. She loved to have tea parties and picnics with her animals all the time so even she was more experienced with this sort of thing than Floppy.

But there was one part Floppy was clearly dreading the most, the dress! Not only because she hated wearing anything, let alone a drooping dress which she could easily trip over and embarrass herself but also because she dreaded what they would consider the right dress for her. She had no doubt Rarity was good with her fashion and colour matching but Rarity also wasn't the best at listening to what a pony actually wanted to wear. Floppy would feel even worse if she had to wear something which made her feel like a beacon of ugliness.

There were certain things which were fashionable that Floppy had hoped never to wear, EVER, and those were drooping fabric (it never looks good on a fat pony), detailed frills (this is not the Victorian times), pink and brown combo (WHY?!) and a short skirt (no just no). Pretty much anything else Floppy had brought herself to at least try and accept. She had to be grateful for anything she was given but even Floppy had her limits in some cases. Floppy had found herself rather liking some of the simpler clothes she saw ponies wearing like casual blue jeans and t-shirts with cute pictures on but she could never be thin enough to get away with that look.

After a long couple of weeks of training in manners, moving painfully slowly and carefully and countless falling over when trying to walk without waddling, Floppy finally was told her dress was ready. Floppy couldn't help but quiver in her hooves. Rarity and the others insisted on blindfolding her for the great reveal. They must be very proud of it. Oh no. This can't be good. Floppy was like glass when she tried to pretend to like something when she didn't. She was NOT a good actor AT ALL! This was going to end in tears, she just knew it!

Her friends uncovered her eyes but Floppy tried to keep them closed before Rainbow nudged her and she opened them. Floppy looked the dress over. It was a beautiful shade of deep red with shining golden frills which just stopped before it hit the floor. She had been prepared to inspect it carefully to see something to comment on as to avoid the typical social awkwardness but in the end she inspected it for another reason. She actually liked it. Floppy couldn't believe her eyes that this dress had actually been designed rather simply, focusing on colour and pattern rather than lots of add on parts. The colours also matched perfectly and although the frills were there, they were actually very nice despite being detailed as the rest of the dress was so simple it worked well together.

"Lost for words are you, darling?" Rarity said with pride.

"Well don't just stand there! Try it on!" Rainbow insisted while pushing Floppy into the changing room with Rarity following close after to help. Before Floppy knew it, she was wearing the designer dress and staring at herself in the mirror.

"Look! We even made the dress a little shorter so you wouldn't trip over it. I think I pulled off the look rather well, even if I do say so myself" Rarity chuckled with delight.

"Well? What do you think, Floppy?" Twilight asked. Floppy found herself blown away like never before. Her heart felt warm as if hugged by many hooves and she felt tingly all over. What was this feeling and oh how beautiful this dress was. The colours suited her perfectly. For once, she looked presentable. Not even that, she looked pretty. She felt the corners of her mouth forcing itself upwards and tears welling in her eyes in a way she just couldn't control. She quickly put her hoof up to catch the tears but then stopped as not to ruin the dress's sleeves. It must have taken so much time and thought and she couldn't believe her friends would even think so carefully for her.

"Floppy? Are you alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked with concern before being quickly being interrupted by Rainbow crying

"I see a smiiiiiiile!" out loud for everyone to hear.

"It's beautiful" Floppy finally managed to say amongst the tears before sobbing her heart out like a month old baby.

"Then why are you crying you silly pony!" Applejack exclaimed above the crying

"I think she's in shock" Twilight chuckled

"It's been a long day. Let's get that dress off her and take her home for some rest" Twilight suggested to the others as Floppy was clearly unable to respond. The others agreed and started to slowly pull Floppy away and back into the changing room. Floppy was too busy crying to have any idea what was going on but she just did as she was told.

The day for the Grand Galloping Gala seemed to come very quickly after that day and, although Floppy was apprehensive, she was also rather excited. They travelled by train over the Canterlot and that was interesting enough as Floppy had never been on a train all her life. At first she was rather scared when she saw how thin the tracks were that supported the huge beast of a machine but once she was on it she was having the time of her life. Peanuts delivered to your seat, the sounds of the train hooting and clunking along the track, it was an amazing experience.

Everyone was happy to see Floppy grinning so much since you don't get to see that very often. They had never seen her so happy before and her mood left everyone else in a good mood as well. Everything just seemed to be perfect. Perhaps this Grand Galloping Gala thing won't be such a bad thing. As long as her friends were there to support her, she felt like she could do anything!

After only an hour on the train, they were there. Floppy got even more surprises as she wandered around Canterlot for the first time. The shops had such amazing things for sale and in the shop windows she had never seen the like before. It all looked so expensive and flamboyant. Floppy's eyes latched onto the sight of a beautifully large wedding cake but Applejack pulled her by the ear to move on quickly. Floppy could see ponies eating, what looked like, some very delicious ice-cream nearby a very welcoming cafe but still Floppy wasn't allowed to stop. All these sights of food was making her rather hungry but it must have just been temptation as Applejack insisted she ate a little before leaving Ponyville.

It wasn't hard to spot the palace of which the event took place. It was huge! Bigger than any building Floppy had ever seen! She could see so many piers, tips and fancy fenced linings it almost made her dizzy just looking up at it. Floppy couldn't help but ponder how amazing it would be to climb that building like a mountain. It had so many fancy curls and grooves it would be very easy to climb it like a posh climbing wall.

"Look! I bet I could climb that!" Floppy yelled with excitement before being shushed by Applejack.

"I know you are excited but this is a fancy establishment ya hear? You gotta be quiet and polite, remember?" Applejack reminded her. Floppy frowned. Oh yeah. That.

Suddenly, Floppy wasn't feeling so happy about the whole idea anymore. How was she going to enjoy herself if she had to watch her back every 5 seconds. If she even relaxed one tiny bit, her normal behaviour would show through like a red pony on an empty street. As they approached, it became increasingly clear everyone was very excited about their own means for being at the Gala. Everyone started to chat amongst themselves. All that is, except Floppy.

Floppy didn't really have a reason to be attending other than that the others were going so she had nothing to really talk about. She walked slowly to make sure not to trip with her new fancy walk so she ended up at the back of the group quickly. As she watched and listened to the lively chatting in front of her in one big bunch a little away from her, she soon realised she was alone. Left out, already. Floppy brushed off the thought. Surely they wouldn't do that. They were my friends and they worked hard to get me here after all. Surely they wouldn't just leave me when they know how shy I am in large crowds.

Unfortunately, large crowds have a way of losing ponies and Floppy soon found herself completely alone in the middle of what must have been hundreds of strangers. 'No!' She found herself saying to herself. How could this happen?! Her worst nightmare come true. Despite being in probably the most public place she had ever been, she had never felt more alone. She watched as she saw Twilight and others rushing off into the distance to their destinations, leaving her standing there with a thousand eyes staring as she looked around completely clueless.

Then she realised. 'I must look dumb just standing here! I need to hide!" So Floppy just galloped to the farthest corner of the palace she could find. A shadowed corner in a groove of the palace she stood, trying to hide herself from shame. She could feel the tears coming so she tried to turn into the corner so others couldn't see her tears but then as she turned she twisted her dress and tripped herself over. She crashed to the ground with a big thump, not only hurting her shoulders with the impact but getting everyone's attention.

Floppy looked around and saw all those faces peering at her. She knew what they must be thinking. What a stupid fat ugly pony. What is SHE doing here? She doesn't belong in THIS establishment! Floppy started to burst out in tears. Look at her crying like a baby! How pathetic! They must think. She heard a pony sigh in frustration and saw through her cloudy eyes some turning away in disgust. Disgusting, that was what she was.

Floppy could think of nothing other than finding anywhere to hide from these cold stares and she desperately decided to hide under the outdoor dining table. She sat there, crying and crying until she couldn't cry anymore. It wasn't the first time she had to cry alone but somehow she felt more alone than ever before. Abandoned like a piece of fat trash. She couldn't bring herself to ask any of her so called 'friends' to help as they were all happy doing their own thing and if they even cared they would have stayed with her. Besides, it was just too much for her to bare, asking them to babysit her like a little filly. It wasn't fair on them. It was all her fault for being so STUPIDLY insecure!

Eventually she cried so much and had stayed so quiet under the table she became bored and a little hungry. It was strangely peaceful in her little tent under the table and it made all the noise sound like galaxies away. She even felt confident enough after a while to try snatching a treat or two from the top of the table and bring it to herself underneath.

She was always willing to try something at least once. The caviar was absolutely fowl but the tiramisu wasn't too bad, despite being a bit too bitter for her tastes. The portions were very small but rich in flavour and she found it interesting to try them all. 'Well, at least I got one good thing out of this' she thought to herself. Then she remembered the amazing palace shape she was admiring before. She peeked out of the table cloth drooping around her and stared up at the magnificent structure.

'Maybe if I can just find a part of the palace where no-one is looking...' she thought to herself. She started to plan her route from the table and had just figured it out before a waiter stared down at her. Floppy smiled awkwardly and quickly got out and went towards where she had planned to go. She had almost changed her mind but now she had no choice as she was routed from her hiding place.

Now she was outside and in the midst of the party once more, she actually felt a little more confident than last time. The feelings of the situation before had subsided at least a little. She decided that the best thing to do would be to at least try to talk to one of her friends and perhaps see if there was anything she could do with them.

It was very difficult moving between the large amount of ponies at the party without stumbling and pushing through but Floppy found Twilight rather easily in the crowd waiting to see Celestia. She was looking at the ground, supposedly being rather impatient. Twilight could be like that sometimes if she considered something important and something was stopping her from doing it, especially when Celestia was involved. However, Floppy was not a recognised high standing guest so she was dismissed before she could even get into the same room by the guards blocking the doorway.

Then Floppy tried going to see Applejack. Surely she would have time for her. So she went to see her and quickly noticed her looking rather down and desperately trying to get ponies attention at the Sweet Apple Acres stall. She seemed rather busy so it was awkward trying to get her attention. Floppy had a habit of standing around when she needed to talk to someone and didn't really know how to start the conversation or to interrupt. She didn't do it on purpose but it had got her attention in the past and so it was useful at times although in a strange and roundabout way.

She tried standing there but Applejack didn't pay her any mind. Floppy tried to butt in a few times but didn't have the courage to speak up above her voice. Eventually she spoke loud enough but then all she got was

"Not now Floppy. Can't ya see I'm tryin' to hustle new customers? An' I ain't havin' much luck" Applejack explained as a quick dismissal. Floppy got the hint and left quickly.

There was nothing more important than Applejack's family so it was common for her to get caught up in her business like this to drum up money. It was especially difficult to get her attention when she was having trouble getting sales. Even if she did manage to get her attention she would only be mad with her as it wasn't something really important and she didn't want to be dragged into working on the stall. To be honest, now thinking about it, she didn't even know why she bothered trying to talk to her.

Next one was Fluttershy. Floppy was slowly losing confidence as she found more and more ponies looking at her as she wandered about as clueless as ever. Fluttershy was gentle so surely she wouldn't be too hard to speak to. Floppy wandered over to the gardens and soon saw Fluttershy. Floppy smiled and was about to come closer when she soon realised she was setting some kind of trap and she had a creepy grin she had never seen on her before. NOPE! Floppy said to herself as she trotted away at a rather fast pace.

Floppy felt hopeless and it was useless to try interrupting Rarity and Rainbow Dash when they were busy with anything they considered important. Besides, Floppy just wasn't up to it anymore. So what would she do now? There was only one option left that she could think of.

She managed to find a part of the palace in shadow where only a few choice ponies were crossing from time to time. She found her moment and started to climb. She aimed for the furthest balcony in a centre tower. Not by choice but because she didn't feel confident enough to climb anywhere else for fear ponies would see her.

Luckily, there seemed to be a crash inside the palace main hall so this was a great distraction for Floppy. Because the ponies were distracted, she could actually spend a long time climbing the tower slowly and steadily, getting used to the curves and grooves in the buildings masterful design. She actually rather enjoyed the climb and stopped at the balcony to stare at the beautiful night sky. She must have stayed there a while as she soon heard someone calling her name nearby. When Floppy came down, Applejack and Twilight were already there ready and waiting.

"There ya are! I was worried sick! Ya don't climb the palace, Floppy! What in tarnation were you thinkin'?" Applejack cried in half frustration and half panic. Floppy just blushed in embarrassment as she came down and chuckled as Applejack twitched with every step she took.

"We are going for a drink at the bar. Do you want to join us?" Twilight asked, ignoring Applejacks struggles

"alright" Floppy said. She felt much better now than before and felt ready to face her friends again. She still wasn't happy with them but that was only a back thought now.

They, of course, asked her how her day was and she told them she just pottered around the food table all day before climbing the palace. It was sort of true so she didn't feel any guilt with not telling them everything. It would only cause unnecessary fuss. But she still couldn't shake the bad feeling inside. Knowing that it was that easy for everyone to just leave her behind without even a second thought. Did they even like her at all or was this just an opportunity to be without her? But then why would they insist she came? She didn't understand and to be honest she didn't even care. She was just too tired. It had been a very VERY long day.