//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight: Rainbow Dash's catwalk // Story: The Goddesses of Ice and Fire // by Foal Star //------------------------------// The following morning Rainbow Dash woke up rather suddenly as she suddenly had the urge to puke. She sprinted across her hotel room to her toilet and puked her guts out; this time, it was a mix of snow and bits of flaming coals that poured from her mouth. For some reason, her mouth and throat felt fine; however, the rest of her body felt like it was in excruciating pain. She groaned, lay on the bathroom floor for a few moments, and wondered if she should cancel doing the fashion show with Rarity. Slowly the daredevil mare stood up on all fours, then looked over at the bathroom mirror and stared right at her face, which looked somewhat bloated and grumbled, "there's no way I'm ever getting used to being pregnant." The mare got up off the floor as she slowly trotted out of the bathroom and back to her room where Winter was now up and flashing her marefriend smile. She couldn't help but trot over and nuzzle the pegasus and asked, "Hey, how ya doing?" "I'm fine," Rainbow Dash growled angrily, seeming to be somewhat irritated by being patronized by her marefriend. The daredevil then looked at a much larger mirror and looked over the rest of her body, seeing how round she was. She looked back to her round hips and thicc rump. Rainbow Dash usually could give less of a horseshit what others thought of her. Still, at this moment, she couldn't help but feel self-conscious about her large, bloated body. Rainbow Dash then looked towards her marefriend, and with a whisper, she asked. "Do I really look beautiful?" "Yes, you are," Winter chimed, rubbing a hoof over Rainbow's face. "Thanks," Rainbow Dash mumbled as she turned away with a half-hearted look; she didn't know if Winter was just being lovely; regardless, whatever Winter said in response, she really was starting to feel ugly and fat. The daredevil then nuzzled Winter for comfort as she strolled out of the hotel room followed behind as she headed downstairs to the hotel lobby where Rarity was standing by, waiting patiently for them. The fashionista looked up and flashed Rainbow Dash a smile as she commented, "darling, you look amazing," "Stop lying seriously; I know I'm just fat and ugly," Rainbow grumbled irritably, not wanting to be patronized by her friend. Rarity simply scoffed at the notion with a wave of her hoof. "I have no idea what you're talking about; you look absolutely stunning." The daredevil mare just bent a wing over her face feeling too embarrassed to even respond to the compliment as she was then escorted out of the hotel. The two mares were trotting down the streets of Manehattan, and Rainbow Dash was trying to keep a low profile as she didn't want to draw attention to herself. They eventually made it to the hotel where they were hosting Fashion week. As they trotted inside, they were greeted by a rather bored-looking receptionist. "Good morning, darling!" Rarity chimed as she trotted over to her. "We're here for the finale for fashion week and to show off my new designs!" "Right…" the bored mare grumbled as she looked up at the clock overhead. "Well, you're early, so just go on ahead." "Thanks, darling," Rarity replied as she trotted off with Rainbow to a grand auditorium, and that was where they met a bunch of other designers and models running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They were all scrambling about trying to get models prepped for their catwalks or finishing up last-minute designs. Among the chaos, there stood Photo Finish shouting out orders to her own assistants getting cameras set up, lights adjusted, and getting out backstage equipment or serving sandwiches and coffee. She then turned to face Rainbow Dash. "So, Rarity, this is the model for the new maternity line you're presenting?" "Yes, she is; as you know, I ran into some issues with my old fashion line," The fashionista responded somewhat begrudgingly as she stared right at a light pink coated earth pony with a death glare. Rainbow Dash has seen Rarity angry a few times, but her icy cold glare with the intent to kill made her shiver. Photo Finish then began to circle around the daredevil mare. She was starting to feel uneasy as the light blue earth pony continued to trot around her gauging her from every angle. Photo Finish then took a hoof and gently brushed it over Rainbow's face, and asked, "how long have you been pregnant?" Rainbow Dash cringed at the questions being rather uncomfortable about it, and admitted, "Around four months." "She's also having twins!" Winter added with a chirp. "Seriously! Like she needs to know that!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Oh my, that'z why you're so big early on!" Photo Finish added, then threw her hooves in the air and proclaimed, "well, I have to zay! Rainbow Dash, you're absolutely ztunning! I would go az far to say you're a goddezz of fertility!" Both Winter and Rarity started to snicker at the adorable compliment Rainbow Dash; however, was not taking any more of this teasing. Her face turned into a beat red as she snapped back, "I'm just here to help my friend! So don't get any ideas! I'm doing this once, and that's it!" Photo Finish then threw her hooves in the air and exclaimed, "Of course! But if you ever want to do zome modeling gigs, please don't be afraid to call." Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and had Rarity escort her to the back of the stage, where the pegasus was placed down on a stool. She started to look around frantically as she started to freak out a little. "Hey, what's going on here!?" Rainbow was having makeup and blush applied to her face. The daredevil hated getting all dolled up, but she endured it as two other mares went about applying makeup and fixing her mane. No matter how much of her face was caked in makeup or how smooth her mane looked, Rainbow Dash still just couldn't help but stare at her reflection with a feeling of disgust welling up inside her. Winter stood by looking like she wanted to say something, but she stayed silent, knowing words wouldn't help make Rainbow Dash feel better. Rarity eventually trotted into the room, shooed the makeup artists away, and then trotted over to her friend. "Darling? Are you doing ok?" Rainbow continued looking at her reflection in disgust with her rage coming to a boiling point; she then suddenly cried out, "look! I'm not one to complain about my looks, but come on, stop lying! I'm disgusting! aren't I!?" Rarity turned to face her friend's reflection and said, "darling, you're a bit bloated, is all, that's all." "Didn't you hear me!? I don't feel a bit bloated," Rainbow snapped back. Winter then trotted over and wrapped her hooves around her marefriend and pulled her into a tight hug as she enveloped the mare in her wings. They held each other in a tight embrace, and Rainbow Dash nuzzled into Winter with tears flooding her eyes. They settled into each other, and the daredevil seemed to finally calm down. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath then turned to her friend. "Fine, what do we do from here?" "Just come along darling, I need to get you dressed into your first outfit!" She then took out a maternity dress with a design of a dark blue with yellow lightning bolts printed over the fabric. The outfit looked similar to a Wonderbolt flight suit, and it was designed to fit over her pregnant body. She looked back at the mirror and stared at her reflection for some time. Then it came to her for once she saw what everypony else was seeing: her soft, supple fur, pregnant frame shaped by the dress that now covered her body. For a moment, she thought about what Photo Finish called her an hour ago; she might indeed resemble a goddess of fertility. A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash was now standing behind a curtain, feeling irritated as she was fidgeting about still feeling rather queasy about her situation. She looked around and saw that other models all started to whisper and snicker amongst each other. The daredevil tried to ignore them, but she could feel her anger boiling, seeing they were mocking her because of how she looked! Rainbow Dash then turned around and then shouted, "what the buck are you all laughing at!?" The other models all stopped, some being somewhat frightened by her anger. Rainbow Dash then flared her wings and roared, "If you want to know, I'm pregnant! Not fat!" The other mares all looked down, and some even apologized as Rainbow Dash just slammed a hoof down. "Look, I don't care about being a model, so I'm not here to upstage you; you all can go first." As the other models settled down it wasn't long until they heard Photo Finish shout. "Ladies and gentle ponies, welcome to fashion week!" Everypony in the crowd clapped and cheered, then the curtains were raised, and the models were all revealed to the crowd. Rainbow Dash was squeamish as she stood there with the rest of the much skinner mares. She did her best taking in deep breaths and remaining calm using all her mental power to not run. It wasn't long until the rest of the mares began to strut out onto the stage one by one, showing off the outfits others made. She noticed Rarity was glaring at that smug-looking pink-coated earth pony who had this cocky grin and had an air of snobbishness around her. Rainbow didn't know precisely why Rarity had a grudge against her. Still, she knew that her friend sounded rather desperate last night making her wonder if this other mare sabotaged her previous fashion line? This realization made Rainbow Dash feel more determined as she thought to herself. That no matter what, she'll help Rarity show off her new outfits and help her win Fashion week! After the final model came back from her catwalk. Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath; this was without a doubt going to be the most embarrassing thing she's ever done, and she was somewhat nervous about being strutting out in a dress! She was so focused on feeling nervous being on the catwalk, but Winter trotted over, nudged her, and reassured her. "Hey, it's alright, you got this." Rainbow Dash gulped as she did her best to shake off this fear. She's done some crazy stunts, from performing a Rainboom twice, crashing into the ground from thousands of feet, or even the feeling of having gone through the young flyers competition. The daredevil mare then strutted out onto the catwalk, shaking her rump back and forth. Rainbow Dash was caught up in the fog that covered the walkway, and the dubstep playing in the background with flashing lights surrounding her. All of the lights and sounds were blinding and deafening, clouding her senses. Still, as she continued her strut, Rainbow Dash noticed ponies all around her began to whisper amongst themselves. She wasn't sure if they were praising or mocking her, but the mare's brain kept telling her it was the latter of the two options. The daredevil mare did her best to ignore them, but as she trotted to the edge of the catwalk. There were dozens of cameras snapped photos of Rainbow Dash, who was now staring over the crowd of ponies all whispering and talking amongst themselves. She was doing her best to ignore everything, trying to look stoic and trying not to show off too much emotion on her face. Rainbow Dash did her best to show off the dress around her body some poses. The low mutterings turn to those of approval with a round of applause. The daredevil mare quickly strutted back down the catwalk and went behind the curtain. She was then swarmed by assistants once more, who promptly changed out of the dress into what could be described as a light white toga decorated with lightning bolts and with a gold leaf clipped over her right shoulder and a gold circlet made of gilded leaves placed over her head. Rainbow Dash then looked over into a mirror, gazed at her reflection, and saw that she was indeed looking rather stunning in her outfit. The Toga draped over her body showing some of her pregnant belly and her curves under the outfit leaving little to the imagination. Winter then trotted over looking wide-eyed as she commented, "Wow, you really are looking like a goddess! Are you sure you're not a descendant of one?" "I wish!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she nuzzled into her marefriend. Rarity then trotted over then asked, "so are you ready for round two?" The daredevil mare gave a loud sigh, "Yeah, sure, let's do this!" The fashionista nodded as she removed the curtain, and Rainbow Dash strutted back out onto the catwalk. Rainbow Dash then strutted out onto the stage, and to her surprise, instead of the hush whispers like before, the crowd was much more lively. The daredevil began to strut across the stage with her cheeks flushing red as she got even more applause and admiration from the crowd. She couldn't help but get into the groove a bit more than before. The daredevil began to strut her and shake her rump as well, all the while cameras snapping photos and applauding as she continued to trot across the catwalk. After getting to the edge of the catwalk, she struck a few poses and shook her rump without a care in the world. Photo Finish placed a hoof over her chest and exclaimed, "Don't you see! This iz Rainbow Dash, the goddezz of fertility!" The daredevil mare was somewhat taken aback by the new nickname, and she couldn't help but start feeling rather embarrassed as many started chanting, "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash started to feel embarrassed, and she briskly trotted back behind the curtains. There she took a second to take a breath as she began to recover from the second round of her catwalk. "Bravo! Bravo! You are simply marvelous, darling!" Rainbow Dash looked up to see Rarity trotting towards her, flashing a lovely smile. The daredevil eyed her, "ya sure? Because I distinctly remember when you made Fluttershy a model, and you got really jealous when she was outshining your outfits." "Oh, that was a long time, darling, and besides, you swore this was a one-time thing," Rarity chimed in response. Rarity and a few other assistants swarmed her once again, and was dressed into another outfit. This time, she was dressed in an adorable apron with Wonderbolt designs colored in a dark blue with yellow stripes and a wonderbolt sigil printed on the front of it. The daredevil couldn't believe what she was dressed in...an apron!? And on top of that, there was even a thick dark blue and yellow striped diaper bag strapped around her chest. Even the toga and the dress before weren't as embarrassing as this! She then glared right at Rarity and shouted, "seriously!? What is this!" Rarity simply threw a hoof once more in response. "Oh, come now, when your two little munchkins come out, you'll need something to protect your delicate coat from all sorts of messes." The white-coated unicorn then trotted around her and tied the bow behind the daredevil, and commented, "Now this is the last run, just go out there and do your stuff!" "No way! The dress and toga were bad enough. I'm not gonna go out there dressed up like a mom!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Rarity paused, seeming to be a bit hurt by this, but Winter was the one who trotted over and poked a hoof at Rainbow Dash's pregnant belly. "Like it or not, you're going to be a mom, But I think that you should finally realize being pregnant doesn't change you as a pony." The daredevil mare stopped with her heart pounding in her chest as she stared right into her lovely magenta-colored eyes. “No...y...your right! I...I didn't mean to be so mean...ya...ya know…." Rainbow Dash then trotted over and gave her marefriend a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you." The daredevil mare then turned her attention to Rarity and asked, "I'm sorry for earlier." "It's quite an alright, darling; I know this is way out of your comfort zone; if you wish, you don't have to go on stage. I'm sure my last two outfits should suffice." Rainbow Dash sighed as much as she would instead jump into an ice-cold pool in the middle of Winter; she might as well go through with this and finish the fashion show. As Applejack said, she made a promise, and she was bent on keeping it. "Nope, I'm going through with it!" The daredevil gave a deep breath before trotting through the curtain one last time. Rainbow Dash threw her mane and trotted across the catwalk, with the crowd now going wild as they continued to shout and chant not just her name but her new nickname. "Goddess of fertility!" The pegasus was somewhat stunned at the new nickname and felt a bit embarrassed. Still, she continued to trot across the catwalk with her head bopping to the music, unlike the dress or the toga before; this was much tighter. She could feel her crotch teats to her body, making her feel rather squeamish being so exposed to many strangers staring at her. Many mares, some who looked much older than her, commented how well she looked in the apron. She did her best to ignore them as she continued to strut all the way to the end of the catwalk for the third time to another round of cameras flashing and ponies cheering her on. "Come on, Rainbow Dash! Show off!" It didn't take long for the daredevil to get caught up in the atmosphere as she stood up on her back legs and showed off the apron in its full glory to everypony. The crowd went into a roar clapping and cheering her on. Rainbow Dash threw her forelegs over her head and struck a few poses. Then as Rainbow Dash went back on all fours she threw them a kiss and slowly strutted off towards the curtain once more. As she went backstage, Rainbow Dash turned to see Rarity and Winter, and the daredevil turned to the white-coated pegasus. The mare in question looked over and asked, "Hey, so how did I-" Winter flew towards her and landed a kiss on her cheek. Not long after the fashion show, Rainbow Dash was sitting down on the train alongside her marefriend Winter, waiting to be taken home. Many ponies around them were looking in her direction and whispering amongst themselves. Rainbow Dash looked over and was surprised to see her figure sporting a toga on the cover of dozens of fashion magazines. "So, what do you think of your new nickname? The goddess of fertility," Winter chimed. "Oh, shut it!" Rainbow snapped back; she then laid back in her seat, trying to avoid eye contact with anypony, as she was still extremely embarrassed by the nickname. But as she snuggled into her marefriend feeling her frosty coat and taking in the aroma that smelt of a cold winter breeze. She then felt Winter rub a hoof over her belly as she whispered, "It won't be long until they're out." "I know; I hope you're ready because you'll be changing their diapers," Rainbow whispered. The two burst into laughter as they snuggled into each other some more. As the train started to roll and chug off Rarity trotted over and sat across from the two pegasi, the fashionista flashed her friend a smile and said, "darling, I just want to say thank you for helping me; you went above, and beyond anything, I asked for." Rainbow wasn't sure how to respond as she gulped and replied, "Sure, it's no problem; it was actually kind of fun being a model for a day." "Oh, thank you, and what do you honestly think of my outfits?" the fashionista asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice. The daredevil mare was about to say something, but Rarity held up a hoof, "don't just give me lip service or lie; if you hated them or thought I was just embarrassing you, let me know." Rainbow Dash bowed her head, being slightly embarrassed as she enjoyed her time at the fashion show. But she didn't want to straight-up admit it and at the same time, the outfits were a tad embarrassing including that apron and diaper bag combo. Rainbow Dash paused a minute before she said, "I thought your outfits were great, really...in fact...I just want to say thank you." Rarity’s eyes filled with tears as she responded, “thank you!” “Yeah, yeah, just let me sleep alright,” Rainbow Dash yawned as she snuggled back into Winter; she was starting to feel pretty tired, so she instinctively laid her head into her Marefriend’s mane using it as a pillow. The last thought that crossed her mind was thinking about her nickname. The goddess of fertility on second thought it was starting to have a nice ring to it.