//------------------------------//
// Two For One 
// Story: Oh no, they're Goddesses now! 
// by James Pwyll 
//------------------------------//

She'd been there a long while now, but she was determined to not budge from this spot until her prayers were heard. The woman, kneeling within the great chamber of the temple of Lady Cadance, had her hands clasped together, her voice the quietest of whispers, hoping that her wish would be carried to the heavens, and that the beloved goddess would indeed grace her with her presence. But time passed and still no sign of Cadance, and eventually a long sigh escaped her as her hands unclasped, falling to her sides. After staring at the ground for a long time, she got herself up, dusting off the part of her dress that had been knelt into the floor for so long. And it was here, after so long, that something miraculous did indeed happen. A bright flash of light, causing the woman to shield her eyes, sparked in front of the great statue of Cadance. But in time, the light dimmed, and the woman lowered her hand, fully expecting to see the one she'd been praying to all day. Instead, she took on a look of confusion, seeing instead a figure that, while still divine, took her aback as she addressed her. "Fear not, mortal. Your prayer has been heard. And I, Lady Rarity, have come to answer it."

Though clearly taken aback, the woman was not so stunned as to simply stare at the goddess like a statue for the rest of this encounter. So, after composing herself and clearing her throat, she finally addressed the visitor. "Lady Rarity. It is an honour. I am Spoiled Rich. And I...well..." She sighed. "My Lady, I do hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you're, well, not who I was expecting today."

Rarity giggled. "Oh, I know. But Cadance is rather occupied right now. Little Flurry is coming into her power more and more these days and is getting to be a bit of a handful. So she asked I come in her place."

Spoiled nodded, accepting that explanation. "Very well. In that case, I come with an urgent matter of both marriage and motherhood."

Rarity nodded gently. "Please, continue."

Looking around, Spoiled then took a step closer. "As you may be aware, my former husband, Filthy, met a rather unfortunate end some time ago."

Nodding again, Rarity tapped her chin. "Yes, I do remember that. Sombra won't stop talking about how entertaining it is for him to watch his torment." She shook her head. "Most distasteful."

Spoiled, who seemed less than concerned with hearing of her late husband's fate, carried on. "Regardless, I recently remarried. A fine, upstanding citizen. Good family, impressive lineage, that sort of thing." She folded her arms. "Unfortunately, I've yet to...produce as part of our wedlock." Seeing the confused look Rarity was giving her, Spoiled sighed again. "I have yet to provide him an heir. And believe me, we've been trying at every opportunity. And I do mean every opportunity."

Rarity did her best to stifle the blush she was starting to feel from hearing that. "Yes, well, these things happen, Mrs Rich. There's no shame in it."

Spoiled rolled her eyes. "I'm not ashamed, my Lady. I need to seal the deal on this marriage, so I need a bun in the oven, stat!"

Looking to her, Rarity arched an eyebrow. "A bit blunt, but I suppose you are in a frustrated mood right now." She clasped her hands together. "You wish me to bless your marriage with fruit?" Seeing Spoiled nod to her, she smiled. "And I'm sure your daughter will be most pleased to have a younger brother or sister to play with afterwards."

Spoiled blinked a couple of times. "My daugh...? Oh! You mean Diamond? Yes, I suppose so."

Naturally, Rarity frowned to that response. "My, what a loving and devoted mother you clearly are." Turning around, Rarity took a deep breath while keeping her voice to a hushed whisper. "Keep calm Rarity. I know mortals can be difficult, but we must be understanding and compassionate." Forcing a smile, she turned again, stretching out had hand and opening it, revealing to Spoiled a single, silver flower. "Here, take this flower. Eat it tonight, and you will have the child you seek. One who will grow with all the grace, poise, diplomacy and refinement of a princess."

Spoiled looked to the gift with more genuine happiness than she'd likely felt all day. But, before she could reach out and take it, the two were shocked when a sudden bolt of lightning struck the ground close to where they were, getting their attention immediately. When the light again faded, they were equally surprised to find that it was none other than Rainbow Dash, who stood with hands on hips as she bore her usual grin. "Heh! Don't go making choices too quickly, lady! You're not the only goddess here who can make an offer!"

Rarity glared angrily at her divine cohort. "Rainbow! Surely you're aware that this is my responsibility today, yes?"

But Rainbow waved her off, stepping closer to Spoiled. "Yeah, I know. But I figured the mortal would want options. So how's this?" She too offered her hand, revealing to Spoiled another flower, though this one was bright red in colour. "Sure, you can go for Rarity's ideal kid. All prissy and sensible and all that jazz. Or..." She smirked. "You can take my flower and have a kid who's a total badass. And I'm taking full-on hero, going out, slaying monsters, being a total legend! How does that sound?"

Spoiled looked from one flower to the other. "Well...guess it's true what they say. Spend ages never seeing a divine offer, and then, out of nowhere two of them show up at once." She took the two flowers, one in each hand, and spent several minutes looking over the two of them. "Hmmm...regal and refined...or heroic and courageous?"

Rainbow chuckled. "Well, make sure you only have one though. Who knows what'll happen if you have both."

Rarity, taking hold of Rainbow's arm, dragged her off to the side. "What in the name of Celestia do you think you're doing? Since when do you want to get involved in matters of motherhood?"

Rainbow shrugged. "What? A girl can't just come down and offer an assist when it's needed?" After seeing the look of suspicion and incredulity Rarity was giving her, Rainbow let her shoulders slump. "Okay, fine! I was bored and I wanted something to do!"

Rarity facepalmed herself. "Rainbow, you cannot simply intrude on someone else's prayer-call like this! Don't you know how rude that is?"

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, only to be halted by the sudden sound of loud gulping. Both goddesses turned to see that Spoiled had indeed consumed what had been offered to her. Unfortunately, after a quick glance at her hands, the divines realised that she had eaten not one, but both of the magical flowers that had been offered to her. When Spoiled had finished licking her lips, she began to explain herself. "What? I took a bite, enjoyed the taste and figured it'd be perfectly fine to have both of them. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Rarity looked to her, aghast. "Did...did you just ignore Rainbow's instructions? Specific instructions from a goddess to not do something and you just went ahead with it?"

Folding her arms, Spoiled seemed more than a little dismissive of the remark. "Lady Rarity, please. I'm Spoiled Rich. I can't be going around just doing as I'm told, can I? I'm far too important for that."

After looking to her for a long time, Rainbow and Rarity turned to one another. "...Snake baby?" Rainbow asked.

"Snake baby," Rarity answered back with a firm nod.

Spoiled's smiled faded instantly. "Um, what now?"