Astray Antagonism: Chapter 11

With the base camp now up and ready, water and food near, there was really nothing the ground needed to do. Of course they lasted about an hour before boredom struck the ponies. With nothing to do, Scootaloo and Rumble decided start up a shelter by laying down rocks in a rectangular pattern while Diamond Tiara watched and Featherweight grabbed wood for the shelter.

“Why are you guys building a shelter anyways?” Diamond Tiara asked. “We’re not going to be here for long, and if it’s supposed to rain, then pegasi need to come here to make it rain so they’ll see us.”

“Honestly, because it’s something to do,” Rumble said. “If we don’t do something I know Scootaloo’s going to go stir crazy.”

“And just sitting here and resting isn’t an option?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“You can go ahead,” Scootaloo said. “There’s nopony stopping you. But I’m not going to sit around and do nothing. And we’ve got nothing better to do then build some sort of shelter, even if it’s useless.”

“…I think I get why you were so against this idea,” Diamond Tiara mumbled softly so the two couldn’t hear her as she looked at Scootaloo. “Well…in any case the Crystal Fair is almost over so my daddy should send somepony to find us soon.”

“Our families are probably already searching for us as well,” Rumble said. “Yeah, I get that we aren’t going to be here for long. I get that we probably won’t even finish it by the time we’re rescued. But still…”

The two continued placing the flat stones on the ground until they finally finished with their rectangular pattern. After finishing the two stepped over towards the side of Diamond Tiara and the fire to inspect their handywork. Rumble couldn’t help but smile while Scootaloo looked with concentration.

“We didn’t do too bad of a job,” Rumble said.

“All we did was place down rocks,” Scootaloo mentioned so Rumble didn’t get too over his head. “It’s not like we did any actual building. Heck, I don’t know what the point of placing the rocks in the first place.”

“Hey, some of those rocks were heavy,” Rumble said, though his voice gave away that he was not offended at all. “Speaking of which, I’m glad you left those rocks to me. I know you like to pull your own weight but you don’t need to overexert yourself.”

“Even though I feel fine,” Scootaloo groaned.

“Hey, we just want to make sure nothing happens before you see a doctor,” Rumble said, though he did roll his eyes, unsurprised that Scootaloo said something like that. “But you are feeling alright? Your wings doing ok? You kinda were in a lot of pain yesterday so you can’t blame me for being concerned.”

Scootaloo sighed and groaned, knowing nothing she could say would stop Rumble’s concern for her. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said. She closed her eyes in pain, and slowly and painfully extended her wings from their sides. “They’re feeling better as I go along. They still feel kinda weird though.”

“Do they need to be preened?” Rumble inquired.

Diamond Tiara let out an “oh!” before realizing what she was about to say and not saying anything. Unfortunately for her, both Scootaloo and Rumble heard her and they both looked back at her with questioning eyes. Diamond Tiara backed away and blushed, though she still didn’t say anything.

“Well, if you have something to say, then spit it out,” Scootaloo said.

“I…it’s nothing,” Diamond Tiara said as she backed up a bit. Unfortunately she felt searing heat hit her flank and realized that she was just about to back into the fire, causing her to stop.

Scootaloo sighed. “Whatever,” she said while turning back around, though Rumble still had his eyes on the earth pony filly.

“You can ask us whatever you want,” Rumble said. “You don’t have to worry. But hey, it looks embarrassing so if you don’t want to you don’t have to.”

“Even though I told you an embarrassing secret,” Scootaloo mumbled, still facing away.

“I…you know what: screw it, I’ll tell you,” Diamond Tiara suddenly said. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and turned back over to look at her. “I just…don’t know how personal this is or even if I should be asking it.”

“It never hurts to try asking,” Rumble said. “If it’s too personal we’ll tell you it’s too personal.”

“Oh great, I can’t wait to hear this,” Scootaloo mumbled sarcastically, but she did it under her breath.

“Well you see…I still haven’t exactly made it up to Featherweight for the other night when Featherweight and you walked out on me and Scootaloo for arguing so much,” Diamond Tiara longwindedly started. “But since we’re in the middle of a forest there’s not really much I can buy for him so I have to think of something else.”

“Isn’t the fact that you both are trying to get along making enough up to him as it is?” Rumble asked.

“No, it isn’t,” Diamond Tiara answered without a moment’s hesitation. “I want to do something nice for him. Besides not fighting. But…there was only one thing I could think of and I’m not even sure about that. So…I need ask you guys something.”

Scootaloo and Rumble both looked like they were listening so Diamond Tiara continued. With her face turning bright red she asked, “Uhh…I want to know…about preening.”

Scootaloo and Rumble looked at each other for a couple of seconds before they both fell to the floor laughing. Diamond Tiara’s face fell to one of surprise…and slight annoyance. She tapped her hoof waiting for the two to eventually stop laughing. Eventually they both finally stopped laughing and seriously looked at Diamond Tiara.

“Phew, is that it?” Rumble asked. “I thought it would be something completely else.”

“W-what?!” Diamond Tiara asked, not expecting how relaxed they were with her question.

“That’s your big personal question you wanted to ask?” Scootaloo asked in disbelief. “That’s common knowledge among pegasi!”

“And I’m an earth pony!” Diamond Tiara responded. “I don’t know anything about preening, besides it involves wings!” Diamond Tiara closed her eyes and sighed. “That’s…that’s why I need your guys’ help. Like…how does it feel first off?”

“Well, if done right, it can be one of the most relaxing and comforting things a pegasus has ever felt,” Rumble answered with a nostalgic smile. “Mothers will usually preen their foal’s wings before they’re able to do it themselves, so you’ve got that kind of a comforting feeling.”

“When done wrong it hurts like heck,” Scootaloo said bluntly. “Like pulling hair out of your mane.”

Diamond Tiara winced. “Ouch…sounds painful,” she said. “So what is preening exactly?”

“It’s sifting through a pegasus’ wings and taking out all the old and damaged feathers so that new feathers can take their place,” Rumble explained. “It’s essential for a pegasus to either preen their wings or have their wings preen for them if they want to keep ‘em healthy.”

Scootaloo chuckled. “Well that…and they’d just molt off anyways. And nopony wants to see that. Plus the feathers get everywhere.”

Diamond Tiara looked down and had a look of disgust on her face. “”Uhh…ew,” Diamond Tiara said, trying and failing not to think about it. “Does that look as bad as I think it looks?”

“Yeah, it’s not a pretty sight from what I’ve heard,” Rumble nodded. “I’ve never seen it though, since I’m smart enough to take care of my wings. Most pegasi are, but some of my friends from Cloudsdale have told me that there’s always just one pegasi in their school that doesn’t take care of themselves each year. Poor kid.”

“So…how does it work?” Diamond Tiara asked, trying to get away from the previous subject. “I mean…I’ve heard…so does it…?”

“Try to think of what you’re going to say before you say it,” Scootaloo said while rolling her eyes. “I’m guessing you want to surprise Featherweight, so we don’t have all day before he comes back.”

“Alright,” Diamond Tiara said. She closed her eyes and thought about it before opening them and talking again getting softer and softer as she went along. “So…how do you do it? I mean…from what I’ve heard…it’s done with…the mouth?”

“It can be,” Rumble answered, still nonchalant about the entire thing. “Oral preening is a way of doing it. Technically oral preening is actually recommended, but it takes a while. And it’s looked down upon in public for some reason. And well…you’re an earth pony.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Diamond Tiara asked, slightly offended.

“Nothing against you,” Rumble quickly said, lifting his forehooves in front of him. “It’s just, pegasi usually preen wings on instinct. We can instinctively tell which feathers to pull and which feathers to leave alone. But you’re an earth pony so you’ll need to figure out a good system yourself. It’s not impossible, and if you want to have foals with Featherweight you might want to learn, but for now you would have no clue.”

“So, what should I do?” Diamond Tiara asked. “You said there was another method? What is it?”

“There’s a brush that most pegasi use,” Rumble explained. “It’s a special brush made specifically for preening, by having bristles specifically made to grab onto feathers. You need to still be careful, but it’ll be easier. Almost all pegasi own one since it’s really quick to use. Oral preening is technically better because it’s slower and you aren’t pulling on good feathers, but until you’re willing to learn your own system it’s not a bad idea.”

Unbeknownst to either of the two while they were talking Scootaloo walked off to her saddlebag. She grabbed something out of it and quickly covered it up in her wing, wincing in pain at the speed she moved her wing at. She put on a strong face though and moved back to the same position she was standing before, getting there before she was noticed by the two.

“So should I just play it by ear or something?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Yeah,” Rumble answered. “Don’t push too hard into the wing with it, trust me, and make sure you keep up communication with Featherweight. Uhh…however…you want to do that anyways.”

“Don’t worry, we have our ways,” Diamond Tiara said with a smirk. “We might not have dated for as long as you two, but we’ve figured things out. I’m not about to start dating somepony without giving them my all.”

“Then you’ll need this,” Scootaloo said as she shot the object in her wing at Diamond Tiara, wincing while doing so.

“What the…a brush?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“A preening brush,” Scootaloo corrected. “Go ahead and use it. If you want to you can keep it, but I’m pretty sure Featherweight has one of his own.”

“Uhh…thanks.” Diamond Tiara looked between Scootaloo and the brush with a look of disbelief on her face. “I…never thought you would be the one to give me something like this.”

Rumble continued to give Diamond Tiara the basic instructions for a few more minutes before Featherweight finally got back. “Hey guys, he’s back,” Scootaloo quickly whispered when she saw him exit the forest, carrying as many logs as he could carry, which wasn’t that much because of his scrawny physique.

Rumble flew over Diamond Tiara and the fire and landed right in front of Featherweight. Featherweight took a step back in surprise, causing him to drop a couple of pieces of wood. Rumble spontaneously picked up those pieces of wood Featherweight dropped.

“Thanks for the wood,” Rumble said. “With this we should be able to get a frame up.” After grabbing the wood Rumble quickly flew off, leaving Featherweight standing at the edge of the forest, dazed at what just happened.

“Well, now’s your chance,” Scootaloo whispered to Diamond Tiara. “You want to preen his wings, then go for it and ask him already!”

“Uhh…alright,” Diamond Tiara mumbled. She walked awkwardly to the other side of camp where Featherweight was while Rumble flew back to Scootaloo’s side.

“You know Scootaloo, I’m impressed,” Rumble whispered in Scootaloo’s left ear, while still keeping an eye on the couple as they talked. “Not only are you getting along with her, but you’re even helping her out. You’ve really come a long way from hating her, you know that?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t really like her,” Scootaloo said. “I’m just…well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Rumble gave Scootaloo a kiss directly under the same ear he was just talking in. “Thanks for trying Scootaloo. Hey, as soon as your wing feels better, be sure to tell me. I think I’ll give you a little treat.”

Rumble turned around and faced back at their project. “Well anyways, let’s get back to our project. Give those two their privacy.”

“Sure, let’s get at it,” Scootaloo said and they both went on to work while Featherweight and Diamond Tiara had their personal moment.