//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash Gets Fat (And Then A Bunch of Other Stuff Happens) // Story: Soarin Gives Rainbow Dash a Belly Rub // by Brony_Fife //------------------------------// This couldn’t have happened, Rainbow Dash thought. Not to her. I mean, come on—the chances of this kind of thing happening to Rainbow Dash, of all ponies, lay somewhere between impossible and incredibly stupid. But it happened anyway. She got fat. Rainbow Dash had been given some leave from her Wonderbolts training for three months, more than enough time to spend rockin’ Ponyville with her friends. But for one reason or another, none of her friends had any time to spare. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were tied up with work, Fluttershy was busy caring for a flock of endangered birds, Rarity would be in Canterlot for much of the foreseeable future attending fashion show after fashion show, and Twilight and Spike were both much too busy going back and forth between Canterlot and the Library. Twi never said why—just that it was important, top-secret stuff. They all had their excuses, but all that meant was that in the meantime, Rainbow Dash was left without a lot to do. She tried her moves at least once a day—but she got sick of them. She tried some of her other favorite activities—but she got sick of them, too. Nothing felt right to her anymore. Something was missing, something was just... off. It was complicated and perplexing, leaving Rainbow Dash irritable and unsatisfied. So she just stayed in her house. Her diet consisted of some considerably heavy meals—since she burned so much energy with her stuntwork—and now that she’d grown bored, lazy, and restless, that diet turned on her. Before she realized it, only a month passed before Rainbow Dash walked by a mirror and saw some light-blue whale waddling alongside her. Something had to be done, that much Rainbow Dash knew. But on the other hoof, curling into a ball underneath her bed felt like the proper thing to do. She shivered, biting her bottom lip. This can’t be happening, she thought. No way. No way, no way, no way. Should she try meeting any of her friends? Goodness, what would they think of her? Would they point and laugh? Rainbow Dash dreaded even going out into public at this size. Slowly, she crawled out from underneath her bed and trotted over to the mirror again. On her way there, Rainbow Dash noticed how the swell of her thighs wobbled, as if her butt had become a pair of giant water balloons clumsily bumping into each other. She noticed also how low her expanded belly seemed to hang below her, how it jiggled with every step she took. She became more and more self-conscious every step of her way to the mirror. Rainbow Dash stopped in front of it, looking at herself more closely. She frowned. Sighed. Jeez, she looked huge. Her flanks had ballooned wide enough to measure a doorway. Her belly wasn’t much better. Even her neck and face seemed to have packed some on. Her largely-proportioned body made her wings—once her most treasured possessions—seem comically tiny in comparison. Her hoof found its way to her face, and she groaned at herself in disappointment. “How the heck did this happen?” she asked nopony in particular. But all this revelation did was put Rainbow Dash right back where she began. What to do, what to do, what to do. Her stuntwork was the sole reason her diet didn’t fatten her up in the first place… With a clumsy crash to the ground, Rainbow Dash decided this idea was terrible. She picked herself off the ground, hoping nopony saw that. Or that nopony could see her now. Just as she feared, her wings couldn’t lift her as well or as high or taker her as fast as she was used to. Her body was just too heavy now, unable to perform the stuntwork that got her inducted into the Wonderbolts Academy to begin with. That was the thought that scared her the most. Too fat to fly meant too fat to be a Wonderbolt. Too fat to achieve the dream she wanted, too fat to reach the biggest goal of her life. All because she became careless with her meals and her choice in pastimes. Hot tears threatened to break. She wiped away at her eyes before she cast them back up from the ground. Before her was the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. She pursed her lips in thought. Could AJ help? “Well,” Applejack said as Rainbow Dash finished her story. “I see you got yourself in quite a fix, RD. Honestly, I never thought you ate as much as me.” She gave another kick to the apple tree behind her. The apples rained down and into the baskets around the tree’s base. Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. “How much do you eat?” she asked. AJ smirked. “A lot,” she answered as she stacked the baskets atop one another. She carried them effortlessly on her back as she made her way back to the barn. “I’d have to, considerin’ how much energy I put into workin’ the farm.” Rainbow Dash followed, her body bouncing with every step. “Do you think you could let me work on your farm?” she asked. AJ turned to look at her. “I mean, I could totally use the exercise…” Applejack set down the baskets in the barn and turned around, scrutinizing Rainbow Dash. “Well, goodness knows Mac’n me could certainly use the help, with our upcomin’ catering ’n all.” She smiled. “Sure.” The days rolled by, Rainbow Dash keeping herself grounded for the time being until she was slender enough to maintain flight. The work was actually pretty strenuous—especially considering Rainbow Dash was a pegasus and not an earth pony. Pegasi were built for flight, earth ponies for power. While she didn’t have as much “apple output” as either of her employers, Rainbow Dash put forth nothing less than her best (which hopefully was still a lot). But by the end of the week, Rainbow Dash had trimmed down only a little. Maybe a wee tiny bit. Not enough to be all that noticeable. As polite as her friends were when they saw her, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel totally uncomfortable around them. Inadequate. She would speak to Fluttershy, ask her about the usual stuff—and suddenly, boom, Rainbow Dash envied her svelte, petite figure. Pinkie Pie? Well Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie—which meant she unintentionally drew attention to Rainbow Dash’s gargantuan gain. Twilight Sparkle? Lecture on proper dieting and exercise. From the mouth a world-renowned shut-in. Rarity? Rather not go there. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was more self-conscious than ever before. And to make matters even worse… that catering job Applejack mentioned? It was for the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash wanted to die. Like it wasn’t hard enough to keep away from Applejack’s delicious apple treats, not hard enough she had to subconsciously keep comparing her size to her friends’. Now that she was here, helping AJ deliver the treats to a rented room in Sugarcube Corner, all her superior officers gathered around for an afternoon of hanging out and eating confectionary, Rainbow Dash wanted more than ever to once again curl into a ball and hide. None of the Wonderbolts seemed to say anything about her body. Trying to be polite, Rainbow Dash supposed. Spitfire talked to her about how she was spending her leave, and never mentioned her noticeable fatness. But there were wandering eyes from the others. Disapproving looks. Shaking of heads. And then HE showed up. The moment Soarin cantered through that door apologizing for his tardiness, Rainbow Dash fought the urge to break down and cry. Ever since she was a teen, she’d held a crush on this Wonderbolt who’d risen in rank almost as fast as her hero Spitfire, eventually becoming Vice-Captain of the team. She’d kept that crush largely to herself, despite being unable to prevent herself from squealing in his presence like so many other fan-mares. His handsome facial features were complimented by his sky-blue color scheme, his pegasus wings bold and strong. They were powerful wings—beautiful wings. His dark blue mane conveyed a sense of electricity and fire, as if whatever force powering him could barely be contained in his body. With every movement, every step he took, a fleet of muscles whispered just beneath his fetching pelt. Rainbow Dash gulped as he walked closer to her. He greeted Spitfire first. “Sorry I’m late,” he apologized. Spitfire laughed as she raised a slice of apple pie to her mouth. “You always are,” she said. “Ironic, considering you were the one who recommended the apple treats.” Soarin shrugged as he walked around a blushing Rainbow Dash to get to the delicious pie. “Well hey, Sweet Apple Acres makes some sweet apple pie.” He helped himself to a slice. “I got kinda caught up in trying to figure out where Sugarcube Corner was, though.” Spitfire raised an eyebrow, coupling it with a disbelieving smirk. “You mean you didn’t think to just fly up in the air and look down?” Soarin chuckled a little as he swallowed. “You know me, Spitfire. I’m afraid of heights.” Spitfire responded with a slight chuckle and a shake of her head. Rainbow Dash remained silent, half-hoping Soarin would notice her, half-hoping he wouldn’t notice this winged blue hippopotamus that wandered into the bakery. Fortunately—or unfortunately—he looked aside to her as he bit into his pie. “Who’s this?” he asked. “R-Rainbow Dash,” she said quietly. Good grief! She sounded as meek as Fluttershy. Where’d that confident flyer Rainbow Dash disappear to? Did she get buried beneath all that flab and insecurity? Soarin chewed quietly for a few seconds before swallowing. “Really?” he asked. “I… kinda remember you skinnier.” Spitfire cringed at Soarin’s thoughtless statement as Rainbow Dash's blush intensified. An awkward silence descended on the three as the party around them continued unabated. “I, uh…” Rainbow Dash’s eyes darted about. “I-I have to go now.” She turned and left. Soarin watched her leave, chewing on his pie. “Huh,” he mused. “Wonder why she had to go so soon.” “Maybe it was that she was so embarrassed because the idiot stuffing pie in his face inadvertently called her ‘fat’,” Spitfire growled. She glared at Soarin intensely until he realized hismistake. He groaned and facehoofed, wishing he knew better than to just talk without thinking. He excused himself and darted out the bakery. He found a dismayed Rainbow Dash slowly trotting through Ponyville, simply wanting to go home—wanting this whole embarrassing day behind her. “Hey!” he called out. She paused as he flew nearer, gliding across the ground like a specter. “What?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as depressed and frustrated as she felt. He frowned and sighed. “I am so, so sorry for what I said back there. That was really thoughtless of me.” He bowed his head. “Forgive me?” A pause. A sigh blew through Rainbow Dash’s nostrils. “Yeah… Yeah, I forgive you.” She looked down. Still not able to see her hooves. Soarin clicked his tongue. “You, uh… well…” He ran his hoof through his mane shyly, the dark blue electric fire bending and waving under his touch. “Your… You might be facing a hu—a big—er, a problem.” Rainbow Dash connected the dots. “I’m not gonna be allowed back into the Wonderbolts unless I drop the weight I’ve gained. Right?” A sigh. A nod. “I mean, it’s not that we have anything against you,” Soarin continued, “but it might be a problem for a mare your size to—” He cut himself off with a facehoof and a groan. “Hey,” Rainbow Dash said evenly. “I get it. It’s not that you guys have anything against fatties, it’s that you can’t be sure I’ll be fit enough to perform my tricks.” She shrugged. “I get it.” With that, she turned and continued her waddling journey back home. Soarin watched her slowly walk away, the gears in his head spinning faster than usual. An idea struck him suddenly—a solution to Rainbow Dash’s mess, as well as a proper form of apology. “Wait,” he called out. “What if I help you?” “…What?” Soarin came closer, his eyes twinkling with ambition. “What if I help you lose the weight?” Rainbow Dash smirked. “By the end of my vacation? That might be asking for the impossible.” Soarin’s face fled from thoughtful to stern. “The Rainbow Dash I remember laughed in the face of impossible,” he said firmly. “That Rainbow Dash is somewhere inside you, and she wants to get back out there and fly.” His focused stare and intense words caused Rainbow Dash to blush slightly. He looked as sexy as he did in those posters she kept under her bed had on her wall. Soarin nodded with an aura of finality and authority. “I’m gonna help you find that Rainbow Dash again—the Rainbow Dash the Wonderbolts need like nothing else.” The moment this situation registered in Rainbow Dash’s mind—SOARIN WANTS TO TRAIN ME PERSONALLY OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH. "Where do I sign?" The next week was hectic. Hellish. Difficult. Scary. Puked a lot. But Rainbow Dash somehow survived Soarin’s insane training regimen. And she’d lost a few pounds to boot! Already she was in better spirits, having found a new direction. But that direction kept leading her back to Soarin. Her schoolgirl crush. Well, she was no teen filly anymore. A grown mare like her—with her talents and her motivation—should be able to impress a guy like Soarin, right? But at this size? It took a lot of personal strength to stay positive. It might take a while, but she’d be skinny again, and back in the Wonderbolts, and zipping around and just being generally awesome. But until then, she’d be carrying around all this spare mare. In fact, if she was going to be a plus-sized pegasus for the next couple months… When that particular thought crossed her mind on that particular afternoon on that particular day, Rainbow Dash wondered why she hadn’t thought to ask before. Her training for the day finished, she and Soarin decided to relax a bit in the clouds over Ponyville, merely shooting the breeze like they had after nearly every training session. Rainbow Dash had learned a lot about Soarin these past few days—and hopefully, Soarin had learned a lot about her. She never noticed her tendency to ramble (nor his) until these conversations. And then that thought crossed her mind. Rainbow Dash reclined in her cloud—now at least light enough to stand on clouds again—as Soarin finished another one of his awesome stories. This one had been about the time the Wonderbolts had to step in to stop a brownie invasion over in Fillydelphia. “…I’ll never forget that day,” Soarin finished. “We were lucky to get out alive. Brownies aren’t anything like they are in storybooks.” He laughed. “Just because they’re tiny doesn’t mean they can’t be scary. Every time I feel an itch, I get terrified I missed one and he hitched a ride.” Rainbow Dash shared a laugh with him. “The only brownies I’ve ever met were chocolate,” she giggled. Soarin’s smile broadened as he nodded. “Those are the best brownies.” A laugh. Then some quiet. Rainbow Dash looked over to Soarin as his attention wandered. She’d noticed before how his eyes seemed to travel—in the few times where she interacted with him before all this, even. His attention seemed rather short sometimes, while intensely focused other times. Soarin could go from a foal with ADD to a testosterone-fueled stallion and back again with only a little push. She’d have to make her suggestion now, before he excused himself and wandered away for the day. Rainbow Dash clicked her tongue. “Hey, Soarin?” “Yeah?” “Can you… Can you gimme a belly rub?”