//------------------------------// // Rainbow for a Day // Story: Oh no, they're Goddesses now! // by James Pwyll //------------------------------// "Hail Rainbow Dash! Patron of athletes and competitions across the land!" The priest, decked out in the usual multi-colored gown of Rainbow's cult, stood at the head of the group, prostrating himself before the towering statue of their beloved deity, which was naturally striking a pose of victory. Several hundred had gathered here, and they too were chanting and praying her name. Nearby were racers, all competing against one another in tests of speed, all in an effort to win their Lady's favor. All physical feats were being performed here, be it in strength or speed, and even those who failed to rise to the heights of the best of the best were displaying great sportsmanship, congratulating their fellows in a job well done. But at the furthest edge of the group, tucked away where none could see him, was an imposing young man, with muscles unrivalled by any here. He sighed as he sat alone one the steps of a ruin, looking more than a little dejected. "Oh Rainbow. I pray and pray, yet never do I hear you." He looked up to the skies. "Have I not lifted enough? Have I not become strong enough?" "Hey there." The new voice caught Bulk off-guard, and he looked down to see that he was now no longer alone. A young girl with purple hair now sat beside him, smiling up to him. Though at first surprised at having his solitude ended, the man eventually put on a smile. "Oh, hey kid. The really great athletes are that way," he said, pointing to the rest of the cultists. But the girl was uninterested in them. "I just wanted to know why you're all alone here. Not having fun with the Rainbow festival?" Bulk sighed, leaning back into the steps. "I do, usually. But lately I've just been feeling like nothing I do is good enough for our Goddess." The girl blinked to that, looking the guy over. His muscles were, without question, the most massive she'd ever seen on a person, so it was understandable that she'd start to look more than a little incredulous about his claim. "Er, don't know how to say this to you, buddy, but I'd say you're more than good enough to catch her notice." Bulk rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? Then why doesn't she answer my prayers?" The girl folded her arms. "Well, she could be really busy? Goddesses probably get a lot of prayers, ya know." Bulk nodded, acknowledging that point, if only a little. "Sure, but after all the work I've put into getting myself strong, you'd think a little bit of attention would be coming my way." Curiosity came to the girl after having heard that. "Say...what do you want her to do for you anyway?" Standing up, Bulk smiled to her, raising both arms and starting to flex. "I wanna ask her to make me the strongest guy in the world!" Stifling a giggle, the girl raised an eyebrow. "Er, hate to break it to ya, but aren't you already the strongest? It's probably why she's not answering." He shook his head. "I know I'm strong, but I wanna be strong!" The girl blinked. "...Okay, I'm going to need some more." Grunting, Bulk began to explain. "I wanna be so strong that nobody else in all the world is going to even come close! So strong that they'll be talking about it for centuries! The kind of strong..." He looked around, then smiled as he looked to the ruin they were standing next to. "The kind of strong that could lift up all of that!" The girl turned, looking to the ruin herself before glancing back to him, just in time to see him sit back next to her and sigh. "That would be so awesome...if Rainbow did that for me I'd be so grateful!" Here, the girl paused, looking to him curiously. "So...you'd give a lot of praise to a Goddess who did that for you?" Bulk nodded. "Sure! Lady Rainbow, Lady Pinkie, whoever! I'd speak their names and call them, like, the greatest Goddess ever if they did that for me!" Hearing that, the girl's face lit up, and she leapt to her feet, slapping a hand down on Bulk's shoulder. "Then fear no more, good buddy! Your answer is here!" Bulk looked to her, confused. "Huh?" The girl chortled, then pointed to herself. "You're not dealing with some run-of-the-mill little girl here. I'm Scootaloo!" At first, Bulk looked like he had no idea what she was talking about, and so started mumbling to himself. "Scootlaoo...Scootaloo...Scootaloo..." Then his eyes widened, and realisation came to him. "Oh! You're one of those mini-Goddesses!" Scootaloo frowned at him, warranting more than a little fear on his part. "Er...sorry?" But after regaining her smile, Scootaloo jumped up a few steps, giving her a literal high ground with which to look down at her human associate. "Dude, I can totally give you that kind of strength!" Bulk's face lit up. "Wait...really?" Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah! I mean I've got powers too you know! All I gotta do is, you know, the same thing any other Goddess would do!" Here, Bulk faltered a bit in his excitement. "Er...are you allowed to do this?" But Scootaloo waved him off. "Pfft! Like I'm the only one from up high that breaks the rules!" Bulk seemed less than thrilled. "That's...not making me feel any better." Scootaloo, having apparently ignored him, looked to him with a smirk before aiming her hand at him, palm flat towards his face, and concentrating. "Get a load of this!" There was a bright flash of light from her hand that completely engulfed him, surrounding him in a heavenly aura. The light lasted only a few moments, and when it died down, Bulk looked himself over. Nothing appeared to be different from how he was before, and he was sure to tell her. "Er...I don't actually feel different." Hopping off the steps, Scootaloo confidently looked over to the ruin, gesturing to it. "Well...try it out then." While Bulk briefly displayed confusion over this, he soon gained a look of understanding, and so looked to the ruin himself. Nervously, he approached it, and after receiving a look of encouragement from Scootaloo, he inhaled deeply. Spitting on his two palms, which caused a grimace on Scootaloo's part, he knelt down, getting his hands underneath a substantial crack at the base of the ruin. He counted to three in his mind, then lifted. Sure enough, Scootaloo's promise was fulfilled, and up went the building. Bulk was lifting it with the same ease with which he'd lift up a weight, and as he came to truly understand his newfound strength, his face was one of utter glee. "Yes...YES!!!" He laughed merrily, his every jump for joy causing tremors in the immediate area, much to Scootaloo's amusement. The man then looked down to her, speaking to her with pure deference. "All hail Scootaloo! All hail Scootaloo!" Scootaloo herself puffed out her chest with pride. "Oh yeah! That's the stuff I'm talking about! Let's keep that name coming!" "SCOOTALOO!!!" To her horror, that voice had not been from Bulk, but from someone all too familiar to her. Nervously, she craned her neck upwards, seeing, high in the sky, the silhouette of an older-looking girl, and one who did not appear all that happy right now. With a sudden impact, Rainbow landed close by, and both Scootaloo and Bulk gave simultaneous gulps as they realised that they probably weren't going to be in anything but trouble right now. "Scoots," Rainbow warned. "Hehe...hey, Rainbow! What are you doing here?" Scootaloo replied. The older Goddess sighed. "Scoots...what have you been told about doing Goddess work before being assigned a role?" Scootaloo's shoulders slumped. "...Don't?" Rainbow, folding her arms, gave a firm nod. "There we go. And as for you..." She narrowed her eyes at Bulk, who started to sweat a fair bit. "You wanna get stronger? Work for it!" Bulk blinked. "But...but...why?!" Rainbow glanced to the side. "Let's just say I know the consequences of having humans get this kind of ability the wrong way." She looked back to him. "And I'm not having that happen again!" She snapped her fingers, and immediately, Bulk could feel the effects. Before the ruin had a chance to crush him, the now-normal human let go and leapt backwards, missing the falling building by a millimetre at best. He laid there, panting heavily from the terror at nearly being squashed, and as he did so, Rainbow frowned to Scootaloo again. "Now then, young lady. It's a whole year of helping Fluttershy walk her tortoises for this!" Scootaloo groaned. "Awwwwwwwww! But they take forever!" Rainbow's response was to point straight upwards, and Scootaloo, after giving Bulk a quick wave, disappeared in a flash of light. Sighing, Rainbow looked to her former follower, raising an eyebrow. "So...decided to trade me in for a more agreeable Goddess, eh?" Bulk, getting to his feet, coughed fearfully. "Um, in my defence..." He paused, leaving nothing but a silence in his wake, to which Rainbow squinted at him. "...You've got nothing, do you?" "No, Ma'am."