//------------------------------// // Preening - Pontiac56 // Story: SpikeDash Group Collab // by Vexy //------------------------------// “Um, what are you doing?” His voice made Rainbow freeze. Slowly she turned her head to find Spike staring awkwardly at her. He had caught her trying to reach at her extended left wing while kicking at it with her hind leg like a dog scratching itself. “I, uh…" She sighed. "Look, I’m trying to preen myself, okay?” she muttered, dropping her back leg, but keeping the wing extended. This response seemed to confuse the dragon even more. “Well, um, I’m far from an expert on pegasus wings, but I’m preeeeetty sure you’re doing it wrong.” He braced himself just in case he had said the wrong thing. Even if they were dating now, Spike was still learning about some of her likes and dislikes. Saying she was doing something wrong, and about her wings no less was certainly not a wise decision. It proved unnecessary though when Rainbow just sighed and sat down, “You’re definitely right, this is far from the correct way to preen wings. It’s just… well you know how I just got my caste removed yesterday?” the drake nodded, very thankful for its removal. She hadn’t stopped complaining about her lack of flight the entire time it was on. “Well, the trouble is, having your wing bound for so long makes it very stiff and prevents full movement of it for a day or two after. I can still fly on it, which I am so happy about, but I can’t move it about fully yet. This makes preening really hard because I need to bring the wing to my mouth to pluck the old feathers out, but the wing is just too stiff to reach and I’m just not built to turn my head far enough back without moving the wing.” Spike could tell this issue was frustrating her quite a bit, and with good reason. When pegasus wings weren’t preened correctly, the build-up of old feathers could cause flight issues or prevent a pegasus from even managing to get airborn. For Rainbow, who had been ground bound for over a week now; this was probably close to torture. An idea came to him, but he wasn’t sure how receptive Rainbow would be to the idea. “Um, if you like… maybe I could… preen your wing for you.” He mumbled nervously. Rainbow’s head shot up and a blush came across her face. “I-I-I don’t know Spike… preening is… kinda personal. Pegasus wings can be kinda… sensitive.” Her blush grew a little at this. She hadn’t let anypony touch her wings like that since she was a foal, and only to her parents so they could help her clean them. Spike could sense her hesitance, and normally he would see this as a sign to back off or try to bribe her. After seeing how annoyed she had been about her lack of flight though, he decided to get assertive. “Look, I know preening is kinda private, and I can see why you would be uncomfortable with me touching your wings like that. It’s just… I saw how upset you’ve been about being unable to fly on your own. I mean I can tell you liked it when I flew you around a bit, even if you won’t admit it.” Rainbow huffed and turned her head away, but the persistent blush in her cheeks showed he may have been correct. “But I know it isn’t the same as flying under your own power. Having an issue like this after just getting your wing back must be really hard to deal with, and I want to help. What kind of drakefriend would I be if I didn’t try to help my mare get back up in the air where she can be at her happiest?” he finished with a warm smile on his face. Rainbow still looked a little uncomfortable, and despite being within her own house, she took a look around to make sure nopony could see them. When she was satisfied that they were alone, she gave a soft sigh before nodding to him, “O-okay, Spike… you can help me… preen my wings. But it’s only because I still can’t do it on my own!” she finished with a huff, then turned her bright red face away and beckoned him forward. “Preening is pretty simple. You just need to gently feel along my wing for any loose feathers. If you find some, just yank them out nice and quick.” She explained as her drakefriend lowered his claws to the wing. She tensed as the claws slipped along the skin hidden beneath the feathers. The claws seemed to almost massage the limb as they moved gently back and fourth locating the pesky fallen feathers. Slowly the pegasus relaxed, and a small smile came to her face as she felt his gentle touch moving along her wing. She didn’t even notice the slight blush once again uncooly returning to her muzzle. Spike didn’t want to say it out loud in case he offended her, but he was actually quite enjoying the soft touch of her feathers. They seemed to caress his claws, almost pleading for him to keep up his efforts. The scene between the two felt relaxed, calm, almost blissful. “Awww, you two look so adorable together!” So when Twilight stuck her head in the window with a cheeky grin on her face, it was not very appreciated. Streaks of crimson shot across the faces both dragon and pegasus alike and they hastily separated from each other. Both of them turned to glare at Twilight who just lay across the cloudy windowsill laughing. “Oh Celestia, that was funny! I’m sorry, I’m sorry but… Oh my stars! The looks on your faces was just priceless and—” Her laughter was cut short as a hoof and claw grabbed a hold of her and dragged before their growling faces. She gave a slight gulp. “Well that was fun. What do you want to do now?” Spike asked as he dusted his hands off from a job well done. When he received no immediate response, he turned to see Rainbow crossing her front hooves and keeping her blushing face focused on the ground. “Well um… we never… um… well we never finished preening and I still haven’t done my right wing yet.” The timid little smile she gave, was far more akeen to something Fluttershy would do then to the brash daredevil, but it made Spike’s heart give a jump. His warm smile returning, he placed a gentle claw on her neck and gave her a nod. Her face was still flushed, but the pegasus beamed and together they retreated back to her cloud house to spend some quality time together. Leaving a gagged and struggling Twilight sparkle tied up and suspended upside down from a branch in front of the library wishing she hadn’t interrupted them.