The arrival of Ford Mustang

Chapter 12 - Feather Flu

"Well still, thank you, Rainbow.  I don't know what would have happened if you haven't spotted me."  My sincere gratitude for her causes Rainbow to blush for a bit.

"Hey it's all good!" she says sheepishly as she gingerly rubs back of her head.  "You would have done that same thing for me as well."

We stare at each other with warm smiles for each other until...

"AH-CHOO!!"  The feathers start flying.

"Umm... gesundhoof." she smiles softly.

"Sniff!  Thanks." I congest slightly.  Suddenly, my forehead begins to feel hot again.

"Rainbow..." I ask her sickly while sweat starts to moist my coat.  "What's happening to me?"

"It's Feather Flu." she states while wringing out a wet cloth from a bowl of iced water.  She then gently pats the cooled cloth on top of my forehead.  "It's a type of sickness that only Pegasi can get.  It's just like a common flu except when you sneeze or cough, your feathers will--"

"AH-CHOO!!"

"Phew!...do that." she finishes her sentence after blowing one of my scattered feathers away from her nose.

"Sorry." I sniffle a bit.  Funny, I've heard about Feather Flu being mentioned from that episode, "Hurricane Fluttershy", but it's never been stated what it does to a Pegasus.  Now I finally get my answer the hard way.

"Hey, don't apologize for something you can't control, alright?" she says firmly.  "Oh, that reminds me!  We should do some preening right now!"

"Preening?" I puzzle softly.

"Yeah yeah!  Just lie down on your stomach!" she instructs eagerly.  I pause for a few seconds upon hearing that strange request.  But considering that I was too sick to even question her, I comply with her demands and adjust myself slowly on the bed with my stomach laying flat on the sheets.
"Okay... now what?" I ask her perplexingly.

"Now..." Rainbow smirks greatly.  "...I do this!"  As soon as she says that, I felt a great tug as something is yanked out of my wing.

"YOWCH!"  I turn my head sharply to glare at a grinning Rainbow as she holds one of my feathers in her mouth.

"Rainbow! Is this your idea of a joke?!" I snap alarmingly at her.  "I thought you were supposed to make feel better!"  She spits out the feather that was in her mouth.

"I am!" she retorts back.  "This is what preening is about it!"

"...What?" I response softly in confusion.

"Don't you know anything on how to groom your feathers properly?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Umm..." I stall with shame as I turn my gaze away from her piercing stare.

"Ughh...  nevermind!" she shrugs.  "Look, you know for a fact that Pegasi always grow new feathers over time, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, in order to make way for the new ones, the old feathers got to go first.  That's what preening is all about, where a Pegasus plucks the old feathers out of their wings so that new feathers can take their place.  It's a common practice that all Pegasi have learned since like the beginning of time.  ...Wow.  I'm starting to sound like Twilight already."

"Well... thanks for the lesson, Rainbow Dash, but can you please go easy on them?" I plead softly.

"Oh, suck it up, Ford!" she gives a cold response at me.  "Your wings are just sensitive, that's all!  You'll get used to it over time."  I give a pouting frown upon hearing that harsh answer, but I give in and allow her to continue her work.
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"So... Rainbow Dash... ouch!" I ask her as she continues to pluck my old feathers out.  "If Feather Flu is something... eek!  ...that only Pegasi can get... ow!  ...won't you get sick from me as well?"