//------------------------------//
// Dash's Dashing Dinner Décor 
// Story: Friends have benefits 
// by Killbles 
//------------------------------//

Friends have benefits
Chapter 4: Dash’s Dashing Dinner Décor
 
Soarin woke up with a start as something hit him on the snout.
“Merghpyphpg” he moaned, swatting the air with his hooves. “Go away.”
He was about to settle back into his slumber when another object bopped him on the snout.
“Whaaaat?” He said to the room in general. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking for the intruder.
Nothing. His room was empty.
Looking down, he saw a pair of small pebbles in front of his face.
“Huh...?” He muttered.
Another pebble sailed through the window and hit him on the leg causing him to yelp in surprise,
“WHAT?!” He yelled at the empty room.
“Come outside you lazy git.” A voice called through his window.
“Why?”
“Because you’re late.” The voice shot back.
“Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming.”
“Hurry it up!”
Soarin poked his head out the window and saw Doc sitting on the cloud beneath him.
“Mmmmm, What’s up Doc?” Soarin asked.
“You’re late.” Doc snapped
“For?” Soarin said dumbly.
“Work you stupid wanker.”
Soarin blinked dumbly a few times. “Oh yeah. Wait why are you here?”
“Because you didn’t show up to breakfast and you’re with me today.”
“Oh.” Soarin said disappointedly. “No breakfast then?”
“No, but we don’t have much to do this morning so you can go grab something to eat if you are hungry when we’re done.”
Soarin’s stomach growled loudly. It didn’t like missing meals.
“Later.” He whispered to it. “Promise.”
His stomach let out a strangled gurgle before settling down again.
“You can live without food for a little bit.” Soarin assured it.
It groaned back loudly in protest. 
“Are you talking to your stomach?!” Doc yelled from below his window.
“Maybe?” Soarin said, unsure if he was actually in possession of a sentient organ.
“Look, stop dicking around and get down here. I want to get this stuff done quickly.”
“Alright, alright!” Soarin muttered, gliding out the window. Doc flapped his wings and joined Soarin in the sky. He glared at Soarin before setting off towards the north.
“So…” Soarin said, trying to break the ice. “Bit of a funny name Doc.”
“Don’t start.” Doc said gruffly.
“Is Doc your name? I mean, just Doc.”
“Yes.”
“Cool.” Soarin said. His eyes wandered around aimlessly as the conversation abruptly ended.
“What about your cutie mark? It’s a bit of an odd one I must say.” Soarin said, pointing at the hourglass on his flank.
“It’s complicated.”
“How so?”
“I can’t really explain it too well. You’d have to ask my brother.”
“I see.” Soarin said, his curiosity aroused.  “Your brother sounds like an interesting pony, what does he do?”
“He runs the watchmakers shop, does a lot of fooling around with clockwork. He travels a lot, well not as much as he used to. He’s got quite a few interesting stories to tell if you’re keen. I warn you, you might want to keep an open mind if he starts telling about his adventures though...”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“In fact, when we’re done with the weather, we could go meet him if you want. He should be in today.”
“Sounds great.” Soarin said.
 
As Doc had predicted, the two of them had very quickly gotten through their assigned duties, leaving them jobless for several hours. Within two hours of being woken by Doc, Soarin had placated his angry stomach with a large meal and had followed Doc through Ponyville to his brother’s shop. The shop itself was nestled just off the main street through the town and was a small but friendly looking establishment. A small sign hung from the roof proudly bearing the name of the shop and an hourglass not unlike Doc's cutie mark. The front window was packed full of gizmos and other complicated pieces of machinery.
“Looks nice.” Soarin murmured.
“It gets better.” Doc said smugly.
Doc opened the front door, a small bell ringing out as the door swung open. Soarin’s eyes widened as he entered the shop.
The walls were covered with an amazing array of clocks and clockwork devices. The centre of the shop was dominated by a large, glass circular desk which had hundreds of intricate clockwork pieces on display. A quiet ticking noise permeated the shop as the devices clicked over; fulfilling whatever purpose they were designed for.
“It’s beautiful.” Soarin breathed.
“It gets quite a reaction out first time customers I hear.” Doc replied smugly. “Clockwork is an amazing thing, so beautiful and delicate, yet so useful. Every one of these devices you see has some use.”
“Amazing.”
“I’ll be just a minute!” A voice called from the back of the shop. It sounded identical to Doc’s.
“That’s odd, he sounds just like you.” Soarin said to Doc who was carefully examining a fragile device hanging from the wall.
“Wait for it…” Doc mumbled.
A brown earth pony trotted out from the back, a complicated array of magnifiers sitting on top of his head. Soarin’s jaw dropped in surprise. Bar the wings, the two ponies were identical.
“Sorry about that, just doing some urgent repair work for a customer out back.” He said as he trotted out. His eyes swivelled and focused first on Doc then Soarin.
“Hey, Doc. Good to see you.” He said to his doppelganger. “Who’s this?”
“Come on now Doctor, you should know him. He is famous after all.” Doc said with a smirk.
“Um, Hi. I’m Soarin.” Soarin said, looking between the two ponies.
“As in Soarin the Wonderbolt Soarin?”
“Indeed.”
“A pleasure meeting you, I’m The Doctor.”
“Okay that’s just even stranger.” Soarin said, his head spinning.
“What is?” They said in unison.
“Where do I start? You look the same, you talk the same, and you even have the same cutie mark. That’s pretty... odd. To say the least..” Soarin said uneasily.
The twins laughed in unison.
“It’s complicated.”
“Tell me about it.” Soarin muttered, rubbing his head.
“So, what brings you two to my humble shop?” The Doctor asked.
“We have a break from the Weather control, nothing is happening for another few hours so I thought I’d bring Soarin down here to meet you. He did seem ever so interested in hearing about us.”
“Fantastic, come with me. I just need to finish up out with this job out back. Maybe we can have a spot of tea as well, nothing like a good tea to get the synapses working!”
 Soarin shook his head and followed the jovial pony into the back of the shop.  A large workbench with a disassembled clock on top filled most of the space and a few chairs lay scattered around. A small kitchenette branched off the back wall. Much to Soarin’s surprise there was another pony there.
“Sorry about that Ms Sparkle, just some visitors.” The Doctor said, sitting down at the work bench again.
“That’s okay Doctor.” She said, turning to face the two stallions. Her eyes brightened.
“Doc! How nice to see you again. I haven’t seen you for awhile.” She said giving Doc a warm smile. “And Soarin is it? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Yes ma’am. And you are?”
“I’m Twilight Sparkle, but please, call me Twilight.”
Soarin nodded, squeezing into the crowded area with some difficulty.
“I feel like I know you from somewhere. Have we met?” Soarin said, looking at Twilight.
“Not personally, no. I believe you know Rainbow Dash though, she's one of my good friends.”
“Well I hope you’re nothing like Rainbow Dash then.” Soarin remarked. “She’s a pain in the arse.”
Twilight scowled. “Rainbow can be a little hard to get used to, but she is a valued and loyal friend so please watch what you say bud."
Soarin bit back a retort at a wary look from the Doctor. Something told Soarin he wouldn’t tolerate the two ponies fighting in his shop.
“Sorry.” Soarin muttered.
“That’s alright.” Twilight said back, giving him a small smile. “Doctor, how long until you are done?”
“I’ll be just a moment Ms Sparkle.”
“For the seven-hundred and thirty-second time, please call me Twilight.” She said with a playful look.
“Whatever you say, Ms Sparkle.” The Doctor replied, not looking up from his work.
He tinkered with a few pieces, carefully slotting them together before replacing the housing over the top. “There we go, all finished.”
“Thank you, now if you Gentlecolts don’t mind, I have business to attend to.”
“Gentlecolts?” Soarin said quietly. “Certainly can’t be any of us she’s talking about.”
“I use the term loosely.” Twilight said snarkily, levitating the clock off the counter and walking towards the front of the shop. A quiet ringing announced that the unicorn had left the building.
“I swear I know her from somewhere.” Soarin muttered.
“You know her from that time in Can-.” Doc was cut off by a look from The Doctor.
“Not yet Doc.” He refocused his gaze on Soarin “So, Soarin. What else brings you here? Surely you’re interested in more than our just us.” The Doctor asked, replacing his bizarre headgear with a more normal set of reading glasses. For a reason Soarin couldn't describe, the glasses made him look indefinitely smarter.
“I was interested by your job. It sounds very cool.”
“Yes, I suppose you could say it is cool.” He responded with a smirk. He reached a shelf above him and pulled down a strange spider-like looking contraption. He wound a small lever on the side making the small machine bounce across the table top in rapid, small hops.
“A favourite seller of mine.” He remarked proudly as Soarin watched the machine bounce around erratically.
“What about this one?” Soarin asked reaching for a small ball.
“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” The Doctor said flatly.
“Why, what’ll ha- ARHGGH!” Soarin yelled as the ball expanded and clamped itself on his hoof.
“Told you.” The Doctor said with a hint of amusement.
“He doesn’t listen does he?” Doc said as he watched Soarin try to remove the ball.
“Little help maybe?” Soarin asked. Doc sighed and pressed a small button on the back of the ball, making it retract back into its original form.
“Thanks.” Soarin muttered, rubbing his hoof.
The two brown ponies shook their heads and smiled.
“So, what’s up with you two. Why are you…?”
“The same?” The Doctor finished.
“Yes.”
“Do you want to know something Soarin?”
“What.”
“You’re the second pony to ever ask that. Maybe no pony notices it, or maybe they just don’t care.”
“Your point?” Soarin asked.
“Just letting you know.” The Doctor replied.
“Anyway, We're not actually brothers. We use that as a cover story of sorts.” Doc said.
"Then when did you met each other?"
“It was awhile ago, after the best young fliers competition a few years back. You know the one where Rainbow Dash did a sonic rainboom.”
“She can do a sonic rainboom?” Soarin asked, mouth agape.
“Soarin, you were there.”
“I was?”
Doc raised an eyebrow at him. “You were one of the guest judges.”
“I… I… Don’t remember.”
“Hold on just a moment, I’ve got something here that might help.” The Doctor muttered. He leapt off his chair and walked over to a small door set in the back wall. Carefully, he unlocked the door and slipped inside. A few loud crashes and a few words best left unspoken came from the room as The Doctor rummaged around. Soarin’s eyes shot open with surprise as he heard a few splashes
“Got it!” He yelled out after a particularly loud splash.
“Let me guess, it was under the ancient archives section on the third floor of the library right next to the pool?” Doc yelled out.
“Yep!”
“What did I tell you about leaving stuff there?”
“It’s too close to the lip of the rock climbing wall, I know!”
"Maybe you could learn a thing or two from that librarian about organising your shit!"
"Too busy!" The Doctor yelled back
"To busy doing what ? Snogging her?"
"Hey that was one time and she slipped!"
"I know what I saw!" Doc called back.
"Shut up!"
Soarin looked at Doc incredulously, ignoring their somewhat friendly banter. “Rock climbing wall?”
“Don’t ask.” Doc said back with a grin.
The Doctor reappeared in the doorway. “Got it.” he said breathlessly.
“What?” Soarin asked, deciding it would be best for his brain to not try to figure out why The Doctor was soaking wet.
“Recording of the competition. I don’t have a projector here though, well, not one I easily bring out here at least.”  He said, throwing the casing at Soarin. “Hang on to it. Watch it when you get the chance.”
“Right, thanks.” Soarin said, deftly catching the metal cylinder. He looked at it closely, wondering what memories it would hold.
The Doctor shook himself dry, his spiky mane flying chaotically in all directions.
“Right, where was I?”
“Something about a competition.” Soarin mumbled, staring at the film canister.
“Oh yes, well what happened was-.” The Doctor started
“-some artist chose-.” Doc continued, taking over.
“-to use an exact clone-.”
“-of him except he was me and I had wings-.” Doc continued.
“-so he competed in the competition and much to his surprise after the competition had ended-.”
“-I found him. I mean, found The Doctor as I was him so I did what he would have done. The fact that two of me existed-.”
“-should be impossible but we’re not complaining.” The Doctor finished.
“Pretty cool right?” They said in unison, both wearing stupid grins.
Soarin narrowed his eyes and put a hoof on his head.
“What the heck? Do you two-.”
“Always finish-.”
“-each other’s sentences?”
“Yes.” Soarin groaned. “Please for the sake of my sanity, don’t do that again.”
“Okay.” The two said in unison.
“ So… Let me get this right. You’re,” Soarin said, pointing at Doc.” A clone of him.” He said, moving to point at The Doctor.
“Exactly.”
“But how?” Soarin said confusedly.
“As I said, an artist used an exact copy of me but with wings. Simple see? I still don’t know whether they were being lazy or if it was merely an oversight though.”
“No! Not simple!” Soarin cried. "What artist, who made you? I don't understand!"
“I don’t think he understands.” The Doctor whispered to his doppelganger, oblivious to Soarin's discomfort.
“The pink one understood fine though.” Doc shot back.
“She’s special. She knew of the conditions for the existence of our reality and of the great Studio-B overlords before we told her. Maybe this isn’t common knowledge like we thought.”
“WHAT THE HELL ARE TWO ON ABOUT?!” Soarin yelled.
The two brown ponies looked at each other.
“How about we forget this conversation ever happened? It will be much easier that way.”
Soarin frowned, he felt like whatever the twins had tried to explain was being hastily covered up.
“What the hell, deal.” He said. “Just don’t ever talk about what you were talking about.”
“It’s settled then. We won’t talk about that wall over there and anything to do with it as long as you don’t ask us why or how we’re clones.”
Soarin spun around. “What wall?”
“Exactly.” Doc said. “Now shhh.”
“What?” Soarin said, thoroughly confused.
“There is no need to be upset.” Doc said, patting him gently on the back.
“I’m not upset…” Soarin said slowly.
“Excellent! I’ll make some tea then.” The Doctor cried out, disappearing into the small kitchenette.
 
 Thankfully for Soarin, the twins didn’t bring up any more mind shattering topics and after tea was served, The Doctor deigned to tell Soarin about some ridiculous adventure he had gone on years ago.
“Now I’m not saying it was aliens. But aliens.” The Doctor said, holding his forehooves out in front of him.
“Bullshit.” Soarin said. “Aliens don’t exist.”
“Think what you want, but I say aliens.” The Doctor said, waving dismissively.
“Hate to break this lovely argument of yours, but we are supposed to be getting back to… Yikes! An hour ago! So, maybe we could wrap this up quickly? Rainbow Dash doesn’t appreciate tardiness. Bloody hypocrite she is.” Doc muttered under his breath.
Soarin shot up off his chair. He didn’t particularly want to face an angry Rainbow Dash either.
“Nice meeting you Doctor, maybe you can finish that story of yours sometime.”
“You can count on it.” The Doctor replied, lifting his mug of tea up. “Doc, make sure you drop in sometime when you have the chance, there’s something I need to chat to you about.”
“It’s not about... that is it?” he said motioning to the back door with his head.
“Indeed.” The Doctor said with a nod. “Now shoo, don’t want your boss to rip your wings off now do you?”
“Nope!” Doc said, making his way back through the shop, Soarin on his heels.
“He was joking about the wing ripping right?” Soarin asked as they rushed outside.
“He’s kidding. Rainbow Dash would never rip our wings off.”
Soarin face turned to one of relief.
“She’d obviously kick us in the balls.” Doc finished, watching with amusement as Soarin suddenly cringed.
 
 “And where do you think you’ve been?” Rainbow Dash asked angrily. “I had to come over here and do your work for you.”
“Umm…Sorry?” Soarin said, discretely covering his gentlecolts area.
“Don’t let it happen again.” She said gruffly, her wings snapping open in irritation.
“Yes ma’am.” Soarin said.
“Drop the ma’am shit.” Dash snapped. “Now you two get back at it. No more screw ups okay?” She flared her wings again and flew back towards the south.
“We’re lucky right?” Soarin asked Doc.
“You have no idea.” Doc said. “She would normally go ape-shit if one of us slacked off on duty.”
“Doesn’t she do that all the time though? Slack of I mean.” Soarin asked, remembering the supervisor’s words from a few days ago.
“She’s got double standards.” Doc muttered rolling his eyes. “Just deal with it.”
Soarin grumbled loudly but complained no further.
“I’m going to catch a whole lot of shit for that tonight.” Soarin mumbled.
"What's happening tonight?"
"Dash invited me over for dinner and a movie." Soarin grumbled.
"How romantic."
"It's not a date." 
"That's bollocks. It's a date."
"It's not a date okay!"
"Whatever you say lover-boy." Doc said winking at him. 
"Thank you!" Soarin said exasperated.
"Just try to keep it down this time will ya?" Doc laughed, flying away before Soarin could catch him.
 
Luckily for the two stallions, the rest of the afternoon passed without incident and before long, Soarin found himself unwillingly in front of Rainbow Dash’s cloud home. While the house was beautiful, Soarin personally thought the building was a brash and arrogant overstatement. He knocked on the door, hoping for some reason that Rainbow would have called off their dinner date-that-somehow-wasn’t-a-date. Lady Luck was elsewhere however and much to his disappointment, Rainbow opened the door, a smug expression on her face.
“Good to see you Soarin, thought you mightn’t show up after what happened this afternoon. Good for you though, I’d have to beat your arse tomorrow if you haven't have shown up.”
“Oh my arse has had enough pounding from you already thanks.” Soarin remarked wryly. He passed a casual look over the inside of Rainbow’s house, getting his first good look  at the house’s interior.
“Welcome. Make yourself at home.” Dash said, inviting him inside.
“Roomy.” Soarin remarked, looking up at the high ceilings.
“Your observation skills serve you well once again Captain Obvious.” Rainbow Dash remarked snarkily. 
“That’s Commander Obvious to you.”
“Whatever, I’ll be right back; I just have to go get the projector from Twilight. I’ll be back in a few minutes okay? Just make yourself comfortable.” She zoomed out the door in a blur of rainbow.
“Thanks.” Soarin mumbled. He walked around the room, noting the numerous pieces of Wonderbolt’s merchandise around. A signed poster of the team hung proudly next to a framed pair of flight goggles. A small photo at the front of a table caught his attention. Picking it up gingerly, Soarin noticed it was a picture of him and Rainbow Dash, dancing by the looks of it. She was wearing an elegant flowing rainbow dress while Soarin was in the standard Wonderbolt dress uniform.
 
‘Looking good Dash!’

Soarin smiled as a flash of memory came back to him. He admired the picture for another moment before placing it down again and moving to the next piece of memorabilia.. A small thought rose up in the back of his mind as he admired Dash's décor. ‘Could they have been friends?’ he wondered silently. ’More maybe?’. He shuddered. It felt strange thinking of himself from a third-person perspective, He looked again at the suavely dressed stallion in the picture. He felt like a completely different pony. He certainly wasn’t that dancing stallion who was enjoying time with Rainbow.  His grin turned into a scowl, regardless of what he had once thought of Rainbow Dash, his thoughts of her now were different.
“I see you found my collection.”
Soarin looked around, surprised he had been caught off-guard so easily. Rainbow Dash was in the door, a large projector grasped in her legs. She plopped it on the floor softly before bouncing happily next to Soarin.
“It’s quite a stash.” Soarin remarked. “You seem like quite the fan of the squadron.”
Rainbow Dash oulet t a tiny squee, quickly regaining her composure before she slipped into fangirl mode. She took in a deep breath to steady herself. “I admire you guys a lot. You’re my inspiration and my ambition.”
“You want to join the Wonderbolts?”
“You have no idea.” Rainbow said, bouncing up and down a little on the cloud.
Soarin nodded. “Good luck.”
Rainbow nodded and smiled. “Thanks.”
The two stood there for a few moments, lost in thought. Soarin felt a strange comradely connection with her that he hadn't felt a few minutes before.
“Enough of this, I declare dinner.” Rainbow Dash announced cheerfully. ”And a movie.”
“If it’s one of those mareflicks I’m not going to go kill myself.” Soarin said with a pout.
Rainbow smirked at him. “Do I really look like one to get a mareflick?”
“Maybe?”
 
“A rom-com? Seriously?” Soarin asked as he sat down with a plate of food. “I thought someone like you would be more into ‘Celestial Wars’ or a ‘Daring Doo’ film”
Dash shrugged. “It’s a good film and I haven’t seen it for a while. Besides, Georgian Lucas really messed up the last Daring Doo film adaptation. I mean Daring sheltering in a fridge? That’s just ridiculous. And no matter what he says, Han shot first.”
“Han did shoot first.” Soarin agreed, chomping down on a large potato.
“Exactly, now shut up.” Dash said as the projector whirred into life.
Soarin muttered under his breath but obediently shut up and watched the movie. It was a typical rom-com; two likeable characters apparently made for each other and kept apart by some complicating circumstance. Soarin lost track of the plot early on, not really caring what was happening or why. He grinned slightly as he boredly watched the two leads argue over something or other.
“So this is what I don’t get” Rainbow Dash piped up. “She’s angry with him for cheating on her with another mare, but he still likes her so why does it matter?”
“I’m going to hazard a guess here, but could it be because cheating on your partner is wrong?” Soarin said obviously.
“Well, yeah, but he still likes her so what’s the big deal? I don’t understand why ponies get so worked up with the apparent emotional attachments that go with having a fling.”
“Huh?”
“Sex comes with too many emotional attachments. I mean, sure he still shouldn’t have done it but I see nothing wrong with having a good roll in the hay every now and then.
“Says the one who I’ve woken up next to twice in the past three days.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” Rainbow shot back. “It wasn’t bad for me.”
Soarin raised an eyebrow. “I thought you would have rather have forgotten about it.”
Rainbow shrugged. “It was a little weird at first cause you know, you’re well… you. But really in honesty, I don’t see the big fuss that ponies make about it. It was fun and I don’t feel any different about it.”
“Are you calling yourself easy?” Soarin joked. He immediately regretted it as Rainbow punched him hard in the chest.
“I didn’t say that!” Dash scowled, punching him a few more times for good measure. “I just don’t see the need for emotional attachments; it’s just a natural thing that ponies do.”
“So you’re all for casual sex?”
“If you want to put it that way, yes.” Rainbow Dash said, leaning over backwards to look at him. “Haven’t you ever felt the need for a more physical connection without emotional attachments?”
“I’ve had a few one night stands in my time.” Soarin admitted grudgingly.
“Horny bastard.” Dash said with a smirk.
“Hey!”
“I’m kidding; the point is they feel good right? It just feels… natural, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t think natural is quite the right word there, but I see where you’re coming from.”
“I mean, I’m sure it could be nice to be in a more ‘normal’ relationship, but I’ve never had any success in that department.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Soarin remarked, surprised that he actually meant it.
“Yeah…” Dash mumbled. “What about you? Anypony special in your life?”
“Not that I can remember.” Soarin said sadly. It occurred to him that if he had been in a relationship, he wouldn’t remember it.
“That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
The conversation petered out, the movie still running although neither was really paying attention at this point.
“Soarin.” Rainbow Dash asked, pulling herself a little closer.
“Yes?”
“You don’t really like me do you?”
“Soarin hesitated for a moment. “You could say I’m warming. But that might be overstating it a bit I think.”
“I want to propose something.” Dash said, disregarding his response.
“What?”
She looked around awkwardly. “I’m sure how to really say this…”
“Just spit it out.” Soarin said, unsure if he liked where this was going.
“This conversation we just had… got me thinking…
“Uh oh she’s thinking, this is bad.”
Rainbow scowled but continued “I want to try something... a casual relationship… one without emotional attachments.”
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
“I don’t know, am I suggesting what you think I'm suggesting?”
Soarin rolled his eyes. “Are you suggesting that we be friends with benefits?”
“Yes.” She said, her eyes betraying her eagerness.
“You serious? Soarin asked, his ears perking up slightly.
“Why not? It’ll be fun.”
“I don’t really like you."
“Then it works out perfectly.”
“We’re not even friends.” Soarin countered.
“Then we can be co-workers with benefits.”
Soarin stared at her for a moment.
“You’re seriously suggesting I start a de-facto, casual relationship with a mare that I’ve only known for three days and would describe my feelings for as ‘frosty’ at best.”
“Yes.” Dash said.
Soarin was silent for a moment.
“And you expect me to say yes to this crazy idea?”
“Yes. Okay, maybe not expecting, hoping.”
Soarin was silent again.
“Why me?” He finally asked.
Dash bit her lip. “I don’t know. Because you’re here, because you’re hot and because you have no idea how many fantasies I’ve had about you banging my brains out.”
“What?” Soarin.said, slightly taken aback.
“Forget that last one actually.”
Soarin stared at her for what felt like minutes, his brain ticking over slowly.
“So…?” Dash asked.
Soarin stared blankly at her. This night had gotten a lot more interesting.
“So I guess we should just start.” He said awkwardly, unsure of how they should go about this.
Dash grinned. “You, Bedroom. Now.”
“What’s wrong with the couch?” Soarin objected, patting the fluffy lounge underneath him.
“My room has better lighting and since we’re not even friends, I don’t have to worry about whether I look bad or not.”
“But you’re good looking, you’ve go-“Soarin started to say but he was cut off.
“Ah nannaanana. Shhh. That sounds like it could be emotionally supportive. Lock that down.” Dash said, trotting up to her bedroom.
“Your arse is too tight and your mane smells.” Soarin said, changing his angle of thought.
“Much better!” Dash yelled offhandedly.
‘This will be... interesting.’ Soarin thought, a small grin appearing on his face.
 
 
“And then I banged her brains out.” Soarin said simply, moving a cloud a few meters to the left.
“Boy, that escalated quickly.” Thunderlane said, wide eyed. “I mean, that got out of hoof real fast.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.” Soarin said, thinking about how rapidly last night had escalated.
“But friends with benefits? Really? That never works out.”
Soarin shrugged. “Whatever happens, I don’t care. I’m only getting good things out of it.”
“Horny bastard.” Thunderlane muttered.
“Hey!” Soarin objected.
“Look, I’m telling you now it won’t work out.”
“You sound so sure.”
“I am.” Thunderlane asserted smugly. “I know Rainbow Dash. It’ll never work out.”
“She’s different to most other mares.”
“I know she is.” Thunderlane said boredly.
“Then what’ll happen? She doesn’t like me and I sure as hell don’t like her.”
“Give it time...” Thunderlane said, trimming a large cloud down to size with a few quick movements.
“And nothing will ever happen.” Soarin said confidently.
Thunderlane was silent, a large grin plastered on his face.
"What?" Soarin asked, "No counter, no comeback?"
Thunderlane shook his head.
"Then why are you grinning?"
"Because you're afraid."
"Of?"
"You're afraid that you might end up liking Dash!"
"Bullshit, I'd never like her, definitely not my type."
Thunderlane chuckled knowingly.
"We'll see."