eauty Lies Within
Chapter 19
Preparing for the Big Night
The following morning, the girls woke up after such an amazing time in their sleep. They all had a feeling that soon, it will be one of the best nights ever.
When they came down for breakfast, Discord was waiting for them. "Morning, ladies." He greeted.
"Morning." They all returned the greeting cheerfully as they all sat down at the table. Just then, the table and the seats all began to float gently up into the air. Discord then floated up to them.
"What's with everything all floaty?" Pinkie asked him, although she and the other girls had a hunch as to why.
Discord cleared his throat. "I've been giving it some thought last night, and I have come to the decision to allow you girls to attend the Gala tonight."
The girls all gasped with joy. But then, Discord held up a finger. "But only for an hour." He said. "Are we clear?"
The Mane 6 were too happy to complain about the one restriction. "Sure thing." Rainbow Dash said with a bright smile.
Rarity then gasped. "Girls, we best hurry so that we could get ready." She said.
The girls quickly ate as they could without making a mess; though Pinkie had her face splattered with whipped cream and chocolate chips from her pile of pancakes that Discord had whipped up. Once they were done, they either jumped down or flew down from the floating table and began heading back up to their room when Discord appeared in front of them.
"Hold it, ladies!" He exclaimed. "We still have a few hours before we head over to the ball." He said. "In which case, I might as well make sure you girls make an entrance."
The girls all raised curious eyebrows as to what he meant. Discord then snapped his fingers, and he was dressed in an army uniform and helmet, with a chart placed behind him. There were a few drawings on the chart.
"When the time comes," he began, "I will need these these items: An apple, four mice, and a tree branch."
The Mane 6 were confused to why Discord would need these items. But just then, Twilight recognized some of them from a long time ago. She smirked.
"Got it, Discord." She said, giving the Lord of Chaos a playful wink, which Discord returned. He knew that at least Twilight would get this sense of deja vu.
The next few hours went back agonizingly slow. The girls all hung out in their room to try and pass by the time, though it proved to be ineffective. By now, all the girls were bored out of their minds, each doing their own thing. Twilight and Rainbow were each reading a Daring Do book, Rarity was sketching something in her sketchpad, Pinkie was coloring something in a coloring book, Applejack was carving a staff from a large branch she had got from the gardens, and Fluttershy was out on the balcony, making some small talk with some of the birds.
Suddenly, Discord appeared in the room, playing a loud bugle, scaring the girls to death.
"What the hay, Discord?!" Applejack exclaimed, holding her staff up to where she could swing it at any time. "Ya scared us outta our skins!"
"Deepest apologies, dear Applejack." Discord said, putting his bugle away. "But now, I believe six fair ladies have a Gala to get ready for. First, transportation." He snapped his fingers, and everyone in the room vanished in flashes of light.
In the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves out in the gardens. Discord clapped his hands together. "Now, may I have the items I have asked for earlier?" He asked.
Applejack went over to an apple tree and picked the biggest and ripest one she could find. Fluttershy gathered up four of the mice that Discord had brought for her the first day they had settled in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Rainbow Dash flew up to an oak tree and broke off a large branch that had a few leaves on it. They all laid them out in front of Discord.
The Lord of Chaos waved his hands above his head, and then fired a blast of yellow magic down at the two items and the four rodents. At first, after the light had faded, nothing happened. Then, the apple began to slowly expand into a bigger size, and so did the branch. The mice got scared and tried to scamper away, but four big leaves stretched out and wrapped around each one, preventing their escape.
"Was this what you meant to do?" Rarity asked Discord.
Discord grinned lightly. "Of course, dear." He said, his smirk turning wicked with mischief. He then popped open a giant pink umbrella. "Take cover!" He shouted, shielding himself and the girls with the umbrella.
Suddenly, the apple exploded in a burst of golden sparkles, along with the branch. However, the golden sparkles were raining down on the apple remains and the broken pieces of the tree branch. Leaves and small pieces of branch turned metallic and the same shade of gold. The mice had golden light surround them and envelop them each in a blanket of the same light.
Eventually, the group slowly emerged from the protection of the umbrella. The girls gasped in amazement at the sight. The apple had turned into a large and spectacular golden carriage that had the same shape as the apple, with golden leaves circling the top. The pieces of branch turned into reins and a cushioned coachman seat. The four mice turned into magnificent winged ponies, already bridled to the carriage.
"Voila!" Discord exclaimed proudly. "One carriage and four white flying chargers."
"I'll admit, that was pretty cool." Rainbow said.
Rarity was eyeing the sun, and her eyes widened when she saw that Celestia was lowering it towards the horizon. "Come on, girls." She said, grabbing AJ and Fluttershy's hands. "We must now get ready for the Gala."
"Allow me, Miss Rarity." Discord said. With another snap of his fingers, the girls found themselves back in their room, with the Lord of Chaos looking like a fashion designer.
"You all are about the same size, right?" He asked.
The girls all nodded. Discord then had an entire wardrobe appear in front of each girl. With a snap of his fingers, a dress would appear on them. For some reason, he thought it was a good idea that they would all match.
"Too frilly."
"Too sparkly."
"Not sparkly enough."
"Too colorful."
"Discord." Fluttershy tried to get his attention, but he kept on going.
"Too plain."
"Discord." Twilight tried again.
"Yeesh! Too wild."
"Discord." Rarity gave her attempt.
"Too green."
"Discord." Pinkie gave her shot.
"Too purple."
"Too dull."
"Discord." Applejack tried to cut in, but he still wasn't listening.
"Too bright."
"DISCORD!" Rainbow shouted, finally making him stop in his makeover.
"Discord, we already have dresses for the Gala." Rarity said, trying her best to not panic in the brightly colored dress she was currently wearing, which in her opinion, was not fashionable.
"You couldn't have said anything earlier?" The Lord of Chaos asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"We tried to tell ya!" AJ proclaimed with a glare.
Rarity walked over to the trunk she had brought with her and opened it, revealing the dresses she had made just before the trip to Manehattan. She then handed each dress to the respective girl she made it for.
Discord was impressed. "Lovely work." He said. "Allow me." With a snap of his fingers, the girls were behind dressing rooms down the hall. The Lord of Chaos tapped his chin in thought as he waited.
"The dresses are wonderful," He called out to the girls, "but I feel like there is something missing with each of them."
"I agree." Rarity called from behind her dressing room. "I couldn't quite put my finger on it while I was making them."
"May I see them?" Discord asked.
"You may." Rarity said.
With a snap of his fingers, all six dresses were floating in front of him. Discord carefully inspected each one.
At last, he exclaimed, "I've got it!" He sent the dresses back to the girls inside their dressing rooms. With another finger snap, he had six jewelry boxes appear in front of them, each having a girl's signature image on a tag.
He slid them each to the respective girl under the door. "What do you think?" He asked.
There was a short silence before Rarity gasped in delight. "This is perfect!" She squealed.
"I agree." Twilight said from inside her room.
Discord smiled. "I'll be by the carriage, ladies." He said.
In a few minutes, Discord was waiting by the carriage, as promised. He was wearing a nice black tuxedo with a silver cummerbund and trim. He even wore white gloves on his hands. He took out a gold pocket watch and looked at the time. He then snapped it closed.
"Surely, they must be finished by now." He grumbled. "I mean, how long does it take for women to put on a…." He trailed off when he saw six figures approach him.
The girls all looked absolutely beautiful. Twilight was wearing her star-themed gown with the white feathered bodice, but on her arms were white gauntlets with light blue gems, and there was a matching choker around her neck. Her indigo hair with purple and pink highlights was even curled slightly as it trailed down into her ponytail, and her bangs were neater. On her feet were light blue heels.
Applejack was wearing her olive green gown, and her straw blonde hair was in a fancier braid down to her ankles. Pinned on the left side of her head was a fancy silver hairpin with a ruby carved into the shape of an apple. Her bangs were pulled off toward the side of her forehead, slightly curled. On her hands were fancy fingerless gold gloves that went around a couple of her fingers and ended at her wrists. On her feet were gold slippers that were comfortable enough to walk in.
Rainbow wasn't much for jewelry, but even she could tell that she looked amazing. Her aurora themed gown matched the accessories that Discord had given her. She was wearing a silver necklace with a light blue gem and there was a silver hairpin shaped like a lightning bolt pinned into her hair that was curled slightly and trailed down into her usual ponytail, which was brushed until it had a particular sheen. Her bangs were also brushed and neater. On her feet were silver slippers that she could move around in.
Pinkie looked wonderful in her two-toned turquoise gown. She was also wearing small gloves with the same shade of turquoise, a teal bow tie hairpin in her hair and a silver necklace with an aquamarine gem. She still had her curly bang in front of her face, but it was slightly pulled up to where it was still there, but it looked much neater. On her feet were light teal heels with silver buckles.
Rarity was wearing her midnight blue gown, along with a large silver collar necklace, matching bracelets around her blue gloved wrists, and her hair was in fancy curls all the way down into her usual ponytail down at her ankles. Her bangs were also in the same styled curls and were pulled up to the right side of her face. On her feet were silver heels that were shined to a pristine state that they almost looked like glass.
But the sight of Fluttershy was what had Discord truly tongue-tied. She was looking absolutely gorgeous in that pink gown, and the accessories he had given her only enhanced her beauty. She had a silver laurel wreath headband in her hair, which was brushed to absolute softness and tied into a fancier ponytail, and she had a thin silver necklace with a pink butterfly-shaped gem, along with pink opera gloves. Her long bang that was over the side of her face now was pulled up to the side of her face, but it still framed her face. On her feet were fancy white low heels.
"You girls are surely to be the belles of the ball tonight." Discord said. He then opened the carriage door. "Step in, ladies, for a night you are sure to remember."
The girls all nodded at him, and one by one, went inside the carriage. Once all of them were in, Discord closed the door and jumped onto the coachman seat.
"Giddy-up, you guys." He said to the transformed winged ponies, snapping the reins. The four white chargers then opened their wings and took off into the air.
Inside, the girls all braced themselves as the barrier came closer. Part of them were thinking that Discord was to play a trick on them, and the carriage would bounce off it like a ping-pong ball. But when they left the barrier, the carriage just smoothly went through it and headed over the Everfree Forest towards Canterlot. The girls looked back at the Castle of the Two Sisters, and saw that the barrier was visible now and that they could see the transformed castle in the distance. But then, the barrier became invisible again, and the mirage of the ruined castle took its place once again.