The Uni Day Beauty Pageant

     The other Unis had such promise in the pageant. Hani fit her island color so well. She built the most incredible sandcastles, knew all the best spots on Mystery Island, and made incredible fruit smoothies. She could identify any fruit sold at the Tropical Foods shop without even reading their labels! Her fun island personality was sure to win over the judges.

     Princess was a royalgirl Uni all over. She was vain, owned every type of mirror in Neopia, and could play the harp. She was a frontrunner for the talent competition, that was for sure. Princess also had the most beautiful mane in all of Neopia, a glimmering waterfall of hair that almost reached the floor, and was topped with a tall, purple princess hat.

     Then there was Caramel, the spotted Uni. She was just as sweet as her name. Caramel was the most popular Uni in Neopia; everyone loved her. She was kind and generous, and baked the most delicious pastries, cookies, and cakes. Caramel was sure to bake an incredible layer cake for the talent competition that would win the judges over.

     Then there was Aethaevn. Being a green Uni, she didn't exactly have the most Unique look of the bunch. Everyone in Neopia knew that you could purchase a morphing potion to look just like her for about 11,000 neopoints... maybe 10,000 if you were lucky. Aethaevn longed to be painted a gorgeous, Unique color so that people would notice her. She made weekly visits to the Rainbow Fountain to see if the Fountain Faerie would oblige her desires, but she always denied her, telling Aethaevn that the magical properties of the fountain's water had all been used up.

     "Hey Aethaevn, come over and join us!" Caramel shouted, motioning her hoof for the green Uni to come over.

     Aethaevn felt so plain and boring when she was with the other Unis, so she pretended not to hear Caramel as she turned her back on them and began making her way into the forest.

     "Why are you running away from us?" Princess taunted. "Do we scare you?"

     A tear ran down Aethaevn's face as she trotted into the forest, wanting to hide in its shadows. It was her greatest desire to shine at the Uni Day Beauty Pageant, but she felt like she didn't belong. How could a green Uni win over all the other rarer and more exotic colors?

     Her tears became a stream as she ventured deeper and deeper into the forest. Aethaevn cried out, "Why can't I be special too?"

     She didn't notice the curious Earth faeries hiding behind bushes as they kept up with her. Finally, Aethaevn came across a small glade and curled up in the soft, pale green grass. After a minute of lying there in silence, she began to sing. The Earth faeries gasped and looked at each other excitedly from behind a bush. Aethaevn had a beautiful voice, but she didn't know how beautiful it was because she never would sing in front of anyone. The Earth faeries began muttering to each other, and two of them flew off. Aethaevn sang for a while, with every note making her feel a little bit better. Unfortunately though, the sad feelings resurfaced, and Aethaevn's tears found her once more.

     Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes. Aethaevn darted up from her comfortable spot in the glade. "Who's there?" she inquired, her voice shaky with nervousness.

     Aethaevn was scared that the other Unis had followed her.

     "Don't be alarmed," a voice replied from the shadows of the forest. "I only came here because the Earth faeries told me of your beautiful voice."

     "Who are you?" Aethaevn asked nervously.

     "My name is Illusen," the faerie stated, walking out from a group of trees, "I am an Earth faerie."

     "Oh... hello," Aethaevn managed.

     "Why were you crying, dear one?" Illusen asked, "What are you doing alone in the forest?"

     "Well... I prefer to be alone," Aethaevn replied.

     "And why is that? You have such a beautiful singing voice, a Uni like you must have a lot of friends."

     "I wish..." Aethaevn replied meekly. "I'm just so plain. All the other Unis are painted beautiful colors and have amazing personalities to go along with their looks. You see, my biggest dream is to win the Uni Day Beauty Pageant, and well... it's tomorrow. But look at me, I stand no chance."

     "I completely disagree with you," Illusen replied. "Your voice alone is incredible. If I were a judge I would definitely vote for you in a pageant! I see so much potential in you."

     "You really think my voice is good?" Aethaevn asked.

     "Absolutely," Illusen responded confidently. "The other Earth faeries interrupted my daily woodland walk to tell me about you! They told me I had to hear your voice for myself."

     "Oh wow, no one's ever told me what they thought of my voice before," Aethaevn replied meekly. "But what's a voice without a special look... I'll be nothing in the customization competition."

     "You say these other Unis have special looks that go along with their personalities. Well, what do you love, young Uni?"

     "Well, I don't really know... Caramel loves to bake, and she's spotted – her paint color is the white of flour and the brown of caramel! Princess is a pink that goes along with her girly, vain image. Hani has island flowers in her mane and island print in her fur. I don't know what I love. I just come into the forest a lot, really, to sing and be alone."

     "The forest you say..." Illusen looked like she had an idea.

     The Earth faerie walked over to the roots of the biggest tree bordering the glade. She raised her hands and began chanting a magical spell. Green and pink sparkles started to rise up from the roots of the tree. They swirled in the air, seeming to weave around each other and dance as Illusen cast her spell. Suddenly, all the sparkles flew into each other and with a small explosion of bright light the sparkles disappeared, and in her hand, Illusen held a magical paint brush.

     "That was incredible!" Aethaevn exclaimed.

     Illusen smiled as she handed the paint brush over to the stunned Uni.

     "What color is this?" Aethaevn asked.

     She saw that the handle of the brush was wooden, but there were also green leaves amongst the bristles.

     "This is a woodland paint brush," Illusen smiled, "You can now show the judges and the other Unis your love of the forest. I want you to participate in the pageant tomorrow. I want you to show everyone the talent you have shown me."

     The next day was a whirlwind of events. Illusen and Aethaevn flew over to the Rainbow Pool to dip Aethaevn into the magical water and become woodland. She was shocked to see that not only did her body become a beautiful wood-like texture, but pink flowers sprung out of her mane, tail, and wings. "I feel so beautiful!" Aethaevn cried. "Thank you so much, Illusen!"

     Then they hurried on over to the pageant site. The best thing about their arrival was that no one recognized Aethaevn. "Who's that new Uni?" a voice in the crowd whispered.

     "I've never seen that color before..."

     "I wonder what her talent is, bouquet making?"

     "Look over there, that Uni has wooden legs!"

     But this time Aethaevn knew that all the comments were out of jealousy. She finally stood a chance. With a unique look, the judges were sure to notice her and actually appreciate her talent.

      One by one, the Unis stepped up to the stage and showed off their customization, then performed their talent. Paisley, the disco Uni, showed off a bright neon outfit and then danced to a disco song. Caramel wore a candy print dress, baked a 10 layer cake, and stacked it in front of everyone's eyes. Princess played the harp and sang, but her voice was a little bit shrill. Hani hula-danced and shook up fruit smoothies as she danced, but some of the fruit flew out of the mixing cup and landed on one of the judges!

     Finally it was Aethaevn's turn. Illusen had performed her magic once more to create an incredible light pink dress embroidered with hundreds of small flowers. It was scented like a roses garden, so as Aethaevn took to the stage, everyone's noses perked up. "She smells divine," one of the judges said, leaning over to the judge next to them.

     "Looks gorgeous too!" the other judge replied.

     "What's your talent, darling?" one of the judges asked.

     "I'm going to be singing for you," Aethaevn replied.

     And so she began to sing. The audience was absolutely captivated from the very first note. Her voice was soft like the morning mist, but strong like the current of the greatest river. Happiness swelled up in the audience's hearts, in the way that only music could create. "I've never heard anything like this," one of the judges sobbed as he dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief.

     Suffice to say, it was Aethaevn's time. Illusen and the other Earth faeries clapped wildly as Aethaevn was crowned Miss Neopia. Princess's jaw dropped. "That was Aethaevn? The boring green Uni!?" she exclaimed.

     "She's not so boring now," Hani responded. "Look at her, she's incredible!"

     "Her singing voice melted my heart," Caramel added, "like a super soft square of fudge..."

     Aethaevn would never forget the day Illusen granted her the greatest gift of all – the confidence to show everyone what she loved. Although the beautiful woodland paint color allowed her to shine in the Uni Day Beauty Pageant – it was her irresistible aura and magical singing voice that allowed Aethaevn to achieve her wildest dreams.

The End