Rainbow Dash was rather excited as she soared through the air with her marefriend Winter; she seemed to be relatively calm flying beside the pony she loves. However, Rainbow Dash thought about how after stopping Ahuizotl from causing the valley to be covered in sweltering heat for eight hundred years. They were given a letter from Daring Do, who has been tasked to help the great adventurer on another quest, and she could not help but feel so excited. It took all her mental energy to keep calm. This time, she was invited to go on an adventure with her idol and focus on flying. Winter wasn't there when the daredevil mare helped Daring Do with her last adventure and despite Rainbow was unsure if it was a good idea to bring her marefriend. However, she insisted on coming this time, seeing she's also been reading her Daring Do books and has gotten interested in the adventurer. They headed straight to the explorer’s house, and Rainbow was the first to knock on the door. There they were greeted by the explorer, who looked rather disgruntled as she eyed the two and grumbled, "I thought I told you to come alone."
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she was planning on coming along. However, Winter kept nagging at the daredevil to let her come along as she explained, "well, she goes wherever I go, besides having a goddess of winter might be helpful."
Winter's cheeks flushed a shade of pink as she squeaked out. "I hope so!"
Daring Do blinked and looked somewhat confused and curious upon hearing this as she asked, "wait are you serious? This mare is the goddess of Winter?"
The pegasus in question scratched the back of her mane as she responded with a sheepish smile. "Well, sort of… it'll be a rather long story if I tried to explain my entire past."
The golden-brown coated mare walked around the strange mare that claimed to be a goddess. "Well, I wouldn't mind having you sit down with me, and we can talk about your past together. Nevertheless, for now, let me explain why I brought you two here."
She led the two to her living room which was somewhat tidier than the last time Rainbow was here; they all sat around with teacups in their hooves as Daring Do sat down as she sipped her tea and continued. "Ok, well, first let me explain what we're looking for. Deep in the jungles, there is a mythical waterfall that is said to hold an ancient civilization and is ruled by a goddess of some sort. I was hoping to discover it and give my findings to Celestia and Luna. However, I'm not sure how primal they may be as their civilization has been lost for at least a thousand years."
"So, you got a key or something to get inside this mythical waterfall?" Rainbow asked with a suspicious look on her face wondering if this whole expedition would be a waste of time.
Daring Do took a sip from her teacup, and then she took out a statue of a phoenix and an old-looking map and explained. "I found these in an old collector's shop. I got a good deal for them. I realized that through my studies, these objects are connected to an old legend of a city that was built a thousand years ago; it was quite advanced for its time from the legends. However, they built their city next to a volcano, and it did erupt. Everypony would've been killed, but their goddess the legends used her magic to envelop the city in a protective shield and disappeared from existence."
The daredevil mare was somewhat stunned by this tale; she heard of it before as a filly a long time ago. Back when she attended school in Cloudsdale, she vaguely remembered one lesson her teacher told them. "The lost city of Phoenixoplois! That was just a legend, right. It doesn't exist!"
Daring Do gave her new friend a smirk as she explained. "From all my books you've read, haven't you learned by now that some legends are true?"
The daredevil mare scratched her mane with a hoof, feeling rather sheepish for not thinking her question through, and asked, "yeah, sorry about that."
Winter tapped a hoof to her chin as she muttered to herself. "I know there are other goddesses out there…but I did not know another one lived here…"
Daring Do sipped her tea as she responded, "The reason I'm having you two come with me is mostly for protection. I can mostly handle myself. But if the locals are hostile, I would rather have some ponies I can trust to have my back."
The blue-coated pegasus rose up; she was determined to protect Daring Do no matter what. The daredevil gave the mare a salute. "Don't worry! you count on us to protect you!"
Winter seemed to be a little jealous as she shrugged, "sure, no problem."
"Alright then, let's get going, no time like the present!" The adventurer proclaimed as she pointed a hoof towards the door.
Winter groaned as she stretched her back. "Seriously!? We just flew a dozen miles to get here."
Rainbow threw a hoof out at her marefriend. "hey, come on!? You wanted to be a part of this adventure, right?"
"Aright, but you're going to owe me when we get back to Ponyville," Winter grumbled, and the three soared into the sky and headed south to the jungles.
The three pegasi flew through the skies towards the thick jungle canopy until they came upon a giant waterfall; it was quite a spectacle, with the waterfall being as massive as pouring thousands of gallons of water poured down over the cliff's edge. Like Rainbow Falls back in Ponyville, Instead of a rainbow reflected in the water, there was a fiery red streak across the surface like a scar crossing through the crystal blue waters.
Rainbow Dash was rather excited as she started to flap her wings and bounce up and down; she couldn't help but squeal. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! This is going to be so awesome!"
Winter herself stepped forward to the waterfall and looked at it with awe. "I can feel the power behind this waterfall…"
The adventurer removed the statue of a phoenix and held it up with a confused look, and responded, "but what do we do with this? Do we offer it?"
Rainbow looked at the waterfall and pondered for a few seconds thinking over other Daring Do books. Then the pegasus standing there had an idea popped into her head. "Why don't we fly through the waterfall with the statue? I'm sure it's like a pass or something."
The explorer got excited as she exclaimed, "That actually sounds like a great idea! It's not the first ancient temple or city I found behind a waterfall!"
She took the other pegasi by the hooves, and they all nodded in unison; they then flew through the waterfall. On the other side, they came through a fountain and popped into a Townsquare; they didn't find an ancient tribe; instead, through the waterfall, was a town similar to that of Ponyville? It looked almost disturbingly too identical and the Ponies walking around doing their own business. The three pegasi saw that the city was quite vacant and looked way too modern. They all stood, all somewhat confused with Daring Do scratching her head as she mumbled. "Huh? So, they aren't as tribal as I thought they were going to be?"
Rainbow Dash was somewhat disappointed and rolled her eyes as she replied sarcastically, "wow!? A whole town of ponies that are completely normal! I should've just stayed at home."
Winter waved a hoof at the crowds walking by as some waved back at them as she commented, "I think this is all rather sweet. It seems like everypony is nice here."
The blue-coated pegasus just scoffed as she looked upwards; the sun seemed normal, and a weather factory in the sky of their own. Rainbow Dash flew upwards into the sky to get a bird's eye view. She looked around and saw that the town was in a bubbly substance, with the city stretching to the bubble's outer perimeter. She then spotted what had to be a massive parade leading from a palace in the center of town. Crowds of ponies all gathered down a giant street from the castle with floats, giant balloons, tents, and booths. It was a lot to take in, but Rainbow Dash needed to report back to her friends, so she flew back down towards the fountain and exclaimed, "Hey! I see a crowd of ponies in the middle of town! Looks like they're having a parade!"
The golden-brown coated pegasus rolled her eyes as she commented, "ok, look, I think we should leave and come back later. I didn't come here just so we can feast on junk food and watch giant floats go on by."
Winter meekly walked forward with her cheeks flushed pink as she whispered, "I…I mean we're already here? Why don't we have some fun and see why these ponies are celebrating?"
Rainbow wasn't sure of that idea at first. Still, she also wanted to join in on the fun, seeing that this was getting rather exciting as she flew over next to her marefriend and replied, "yeah, you have a point; I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"
Rainbow Dash saw that Daring Do seemed a bit peeved at the two's decision but shrugged and relented. "Fine, we'll stay for a little bit." The other two pegasi cheered, and the three flew towards the parade.
The three pegasi found a spot among the crowds; they stood by as they watched the floats come on by down the road. There were tons of ponies there, all cheering and seeming to be having a good time with confetti slowly raining down on them. The three stood by and watched as the floats came down, with some being volcanoes, others of flames spewing out of a phoenix's mouth, others were massive columns of fire exploding from the unicorns' horns. The ponies on the floats were throwing candy and other treats at the crowds. Rainbow picked up the candy seeing labels, like, Hot bomb gum, cinnamon flakes, scorching taffy. The daredevil decided to try the scorching taffy unwrapping it, then plopped it in her mouth. Rainbow started to chew on the taffy, then her face began to glow a bright red. It tasted like an explosion of cinnamon in her mouth! She then immediately spat it out, coughing and wheezing, "Oh my gosh, that's hot!"
"I think that was rather obvious." Daring Do snickered as she pocketed all kinds of candy while Winter herself seemed to be sweltering, breathing heavily. Rainbow Dash was somewhat concerned for the health of her marefriend; she slowly came over and asked, "Hey, you ok? You're not looking too good?"
The goddess smiled at her marefriend. "No…I… I'm fine…I think I'll just head back to the fountain and cool off; you and Daring can stay and watch the parade."
But before she could go, all the pegasi saw the biggest float of them all; it was a massive effigy of what had to be their goddess. She looked rather remarkable with fiery wings and a waving mane of orange and gold, bright orange eyes. Then following the float, there was a casket held up by six stalky stallions, all looking rather stoic as they came out at the end. The cheering and noise died down as the casket came by everypony bowed before it passed except for the three pegasi shouted in unison. "Did somepony die!?"
A crowd of angry ponies "shhh!" and some pointed to the ground. The three dd as the rest of the public and bowed before the coffin. As it came to the end of the line, the parade stopped, and the casket was placed in the middle of the effigy. Then an orange coated mare with a fiery yellow and red mane flowing behind her. She was sporting golden armor; the mare came before the crowd on a podium as she addressed the assembly. "Hello, my dear subjects of Phoenixoplois! Today is a special day! Sadly our goddess has died for the hundredth time in the past ten thousand years; however, she is not gone and will be reborn again through a vessel. Before she passed, I Comet was chosen to be that vessel. Now, let's perform the duty of reincarnating the body to ash so her spirit may be free."
The guards that carried the coffin now had torches as they set the effigy ablaze. It was engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds, and as the fires soared through the sky, every pony rose and shouted, "Yes, reborn from the ashes death is not eternal!"
Winter was getting more woozy by the second all this heat was clearly making her dizzy while Rainbow held onto her. Daring Do, however, was now officially freaked out. "Ok…um…well, I don't know about you two, but I think we should get going."
"Yeah, we should go; I think we've seen enough," Rainbow growled; this whole thing was starting to put her on edge…the ponies here were basically having a party for the death of their leader? How does that even make any sense!
As the three made their way through the crowds, Rainbow suddenly felt odd as her entire body started to shiver as she thought magic went through her. Everypony around was now staring as a fiery glow was now enveloping over her, then it poured itself into Rainbow Dash's body; the crowds of ponies around the daredevil then all bowed once more and proclaimed. "The goddess has chosen a new mother; all hail the vessel!"
Rainbow started to shake all over, with sweat now pouring down her face. She was already feeling strange as if her belly felt something fiery was growing in her. The blue-coated pegasus was now beyond scared or concerned and cried out. "What the buck are all of you talking about!?"
The royal advisor slowly walked forth to Rainbow Dash. "Please don't be alarmed that the goddess has chosen you to carry her to term! You will give birth to our beloved goddess once more!"
Upon hearing this, the blue-coated mare couldn't believe what she heard; hand stammered, "wait…no! No! no! this can't be happening…I um, can one of you take her? It doesn't have to be me, right!?"
The other ponies around her all started to whisper amongst themselves. Some even agreed with her that some random pony shouldn't give birth to their leader. However, Comet threw a hoof in the air to keep the ponies quiet, then turned her attention to Rainbow Dash as she continued explaining, "sadly no, I was the one chosen before she passed, but our goddess chose you for some reason."
Rainbow Dash stepped back, and her heart was pounding in her chest. Why was this happening to her!? This can't be happening! She had to cry out loud. "This can't be happening! This is all just some crazy dream!"
Daring Do was now starting to feel guilty as she stammered. "Rainbow Dash… I'm so sorry! I didn't know any of this would happen."
Comet held up a hoof as she explained, "It's alright, I can tell you three are outsiders; why don't you come with me to the castle? You can rest, and I'll explain everything, and we can explore options." The three were then led to the castle to be told about the situation.
Winter was given an ice bath at the castle in one of the palace chambers while Daring Do and Rainbow were now sitting at a large dining table. The room itself was painted gold and red with tapestries depicting the goddess or a phoenix. The food, as Rainbow guessed, was spicy, with hot bowls of chili, sandwiches filled with spicy peppers. Rainbow Dash tried some of the food only to cough it right back up. Daring Do, however, was having the time of her life gorging away. The blue-coated mare slowly took her goblet filled with a strange red liquid; the daredevil mare gave it a cautious sip and gave a sigh of relief, "thank Celestia, it's just a fruit punch."
The advisor was patient, letting them relax a little before she smiled and asked, "so…um…you two ready for me to explain what's going on here? I rather not spoil your meal."
Rainbow just pushed the food aside with a disgusted look. "Sorry, but I'm not a fan of spicy foods; yeah, go ahead, explain why I'm the one that has to give birth to some fiery goddess."
The advisor gave a deep sigh as she started the story. "Let me explain, over ten thousand years ago, our tribe was known as the Tribe of Fire. We lived near an ancient mountain due to its lush land around it; our tribe was foolish, however. We didn't know the land was bountiful because of the rich soil and that we lived next to a dormant volcano. There we found a baby pegasus; she was different from the others; she developed quicker than the other foals and even started seeking alliances with other tribes. The history isn't well documented, so we don't know how big our tribal lands expanded to. But this strange pegasus was soon declared our leader, and some say she helped keep our land from never having to endure the harsh Winter. However, then…it happened…the volcano erupted and destroyed everything in its path. Our leader, who we named Phoenix, decided to have our unicorns create a sphere of magic to shield our city. We have been living in these pocket dimensions since. To sustain this dimension, our goddess dies and is resurrected through natural birth every hundred years. So before she dies, the goddess will choose a mare to host her spirit and have her be reborn through natural birth."
Rainbow tried to pay attention to the lesson, but she's never been good at paying attention to long lectures as she got sidetracked by looking at the dozens of Phoenixes flying around the dining room. The daredevil mare shook her head as the advisor stopped talking as she replied, "yeah…um…I got most of it, so…um one question if this goddess already chose you, why did she pick me!?"
Comet took a sip of her own drink as she continued her lecture. "Not sure this never happened before; I was chosen due to my status as a warrior. It may look peaceful now, but every now and again, weird creatures try to enter our lands. I was proven to slay the most, and that was why I was chosen."
Daring Do gave a frown and replied, "I'm a pretty capable fighter myself; I mean, Rainbow Dash is a stunt flyer, not a warrior? So if anything, I should've been chosen."
The blue-coated mare got a little peeved at Daring Do's comment and snapped, "ok, hold up! I fought off Nightmare Moon, Discord, did jousting at the Crystal Empire, and helped save the princesses from those weird vines! I think I'm more than capable of handling myself."
The advisor snickered, but she replied, "sorry, I should've explained better, it's not just about being a great warrior…she also looks for what she always quotes a pony with a fiery unyielding spirit. She wants a mother who never gives up and has a strong spirit. In a sense, she chose you, Rainbow Dash, because out of everypony here, she sensed you had the most."
The daredevil was a bit stunned at hearing this. It actually made her feel better about herself, but it was also a lot to take in all at once. "Wow…when you put it that way… that's actually really cool." The mare then stared down at her belly, seeing that maybe she should tell this goddess herself, and pointed a hoof at it. "But still, I can't have a foal right now! Hey, goddess, listen up! I'm trying to get into the Wonderbolts! And on top of that, the Equestria games are coming! So I can't have you in me right now! I appreciate the compliment, but please go back to your advisor!"
Daring Do and the other mare snickered, "I'm sorry, but right now, she's just a clump of cells dividing in your body."
The daredevil mare felt it was a rather stupid idea and grumbled, "well, it was worth a shot…ok, even if I give birth, I don't have to raise her, right?"
Comet, as she explained, "right, after the birth I can be her mother from there…. you can stay here if you wish? We would give you all the comforts we can provide…and even fewer spicy foods."
Rainbow groaned as she rubbed her belly and thought it over as much as she would love to be pampered and treated like some goddess. The daredevil mare had many responsibilities at home, and she definitely didn't want to miss the Equestria games. The blue-coated mare rose up as she shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm just going to go home."
Daring Do also got up from her seat. "Thank you, Comet, for explaining everything…If it's alright, one of the reasons I came here was to see if you wished to have relations with those on the outside?"
Comet rose up as she gave the to mares a smile and replied, "You can relay to your rulers about our city; we would gladly talk about trade; we grow tons of spicy foods here as you all have tasted."
"Sure thing," The great adventurer responded curtly as the mares then slowly walked off as they headed to get Winter and start to go home.
The three pegasi were all now back at Daring Do's house; the three didn't speak much after leaving the strange town. As the adventurer opened the door to her home, she looked behind her, looking somewhat concerned, "look, if you two need anything, let me know."
Winter ruffled Rainbow's mane. "We'll be fine; I'll take care of her."
Rainbow grumbled something under her breath; she was still rather peeved about the whole situation. The two then flew off together; when they were in the air Rainbow Dash finally snapped, "all alright! Guess I have to deal with a pregnancy during the Equestria games!" She looked down at her belly, and she could feel the heat from within; finally, she just couldn't hold back her anger anymore and shouted, "seriously, you had to pick me out of all ponies!"
Winter's cheeks flushed red and suggested, "Why don't we confirm it? I mean, we don't even know if you're pregnant?"
Rainbow Dash just shrugged; Winter had a point but wasn't going to get her hopes up and sighed under her breath. "Sure, I guess it's worth a shot," they went to some small pharmacy outside of Ponyville. The daredevil mare gulped, realizing she didn't want to be seen buying a pregnancy test. She was still only in the Wonderbolt reserves. Still, she really didn't want ponies to start gossiping and spreading rumors about her. The mare gave Winter some bits and asked, "can…you um…buy it for me? If somepony sees me…"
"Sure, no problem," Winter whispered as she went inside the store. Rainbow Dash waited, stomping about with sweat dripping down her face. She looked around the dirt road; luckily, there are no ponies around. When her marefriend returned, Rainbow gave a sigh of relief without even saying anything. The blue-coated mare took the box and slowly went behind some bushes; after a few seconds, the usually stoic mare slowly walked over with the bit of plastic in her hooves. She was quivering all over as she gave the strip to Winter and squeaked, "I think it's positive. Can you double-check for me?"
Winter looked it over and saw the two lines and sighed, 'I'm so sorry…I really am…"
Rainbow groaned as she plopped down in the grass as the weight of what happened to her was starting to set it. She was pregnant, and there was nothing she could know. Heck, she didn't even know what to expect or how she was going to handle this. Rainbow just sat there and grumbled to herself. "Great…so it's official then?"
Winter came close to Rainbow, took her wings, wrapped them around her, and hugged her friend close to her chest. Rainbow Dash could feel the soft cold touch of Winter's wings and hooves around her body as she whispered, "Hey, we'll get through this together."
Rainbow Dash looked into her mare friend's eyes, and they deadlocked as they came close together as she whispered, "how could I find a mare as special as you?"
Winter brushed her marefriend's mane as she whispered, "you have it all wrong; I can't believe I found a mare a special as you."
The two mares then embraced each other, and they held the kiss for as long as they possibly can. After they kissed, the two flew back through the air as fast as they possibly could straight to Rainbow Dash's house. The two burst through the front door as they started to nuzzle and kiss each other more. The daredevil herself was consumed by just wanting to be with her marefirend and to forget all about her crazy day as she slammed her tongue down Winter's throat. Rainbow Dash threw the goddess of Winter onto her bed and got on top of her peering down on the sexy body of her lover. She was going to have sex tonight and forget about all of this! Maybe just maybe this was just all a crazy dream, and everything will be expected tomorrow morning.