Rays of afternoon light shine in through narrow cottage windows. The warm glow glitters in floating specks of dust and various animal hairs. Everything is silent, save for a lone thump of glass against wood.

Applejack leans back into the deep-seated sofa after putting his bottle down on the table. The bottle takes the sheen of a stray ray of afternoon light, just like a good five or six of its equals already on the table.

Applejack breathes in deep. Butterscotch looks up from his half-empty bottle and shifts in his chair. Aria stretches lazily in her already comfortable position so close to Applejack.

The blonde cowboy opts out of speaking for another cider. Bottle within his reach and cap no obstruction, he soon cements his silence in long gulps of frothing golden liquid. This further silence is finally broken by the unlikeliest voice.

"Oh, for goodness sake, I'm going insane. Someone say something, anything!"

Butterscotch looks surprisingly brave as he speaks. After falling silent, he shifts again and drinks his cider while eyeballing the two across from him in the sofa. Aria perks up and looks to Applejack who is still healthily working down his drink. When the cowboy has put away his sixth or seventh bottle, he clears his throat. Everyone in the room expects a much more booming voice, even himself. What comes out is a hissing croak.

"I jus' can't wrap mah head 'round any'a this."

Butterscotch lets out a frustrated noise.

"What is there to get, Applejack?! She... He... Raped me!"

Aria shoots Butterscotch a warm, venomous glance. She is taking great delight in Applejack's confusion and the fact that she seems to be winning against impossible odds.

"Oh, no, cutie. You can't rape the willing."

Applejack looks to Aria just as she manages to actually tick Butterscotch off enough to warrant a furious response.

"Willing?! You forced me!"

Aria gives him a long look, accompanied by a sly smirk.

"Did I, really? That's not what I recall. I just remember getting up close and personal, having a little smooch..."

Whatever rage bubbling inside of Butterscotch is subdued by other feelings as images flash round his skull. A bright blush rides his face. Applejack desperately reaches for another bottle. Butterscotch has had enough. With a deep sigh, he stands up.

"Applejack, you're acting..."

Butterscotch interrupts himself with another deep sigh. Aria is now at full attention. There seems to be almost nothing that will make her the loser of this situation, that does not make it less intriguing. Applejack pours another half bottle down his throat, then answers before Butterscotch speaks more.

"Look, Scotch... I ain't got anythin' clever to say 'bout this entire... Thing. I mean, Hells bells, a day ago I apparently didn't even know what I wanted..."

He gives Butterscotch a certain look, the pink-haired boy understands and is not at all amused or relieved.

"So you mean what happened is a good thing?"

Aria huffs loudly and puts on a huge smile when both boys turn their attention to her.

"You are conflicted... Unsure about something you ultimately liked... Just ask Applejack, he's been there."

It is Applejack's time to blush and Butterscotch's turn to misunderstand. Did Applejack do the same he did? The mental image of the enormous cowboy going down on Aria does not form more than a foggy idea. Something he can imagine but something that is impossible to picture in his mind's eye.

Butterscotch stares at Applejack in silence for a short while, attempting to sort through his thoughts. The fact that Applejack looks more than mildly embarrassed bolsters the shy boy's confidence. Applejack does not notice, his head is somewhere else and he has managed to drink himself quite the bit blurred. Butterscotch breathes in deep and time seems to slow as he begins to speak.

"So... Did you?"

Applejack shakes awake and blinks at Butterscotch. What did he just say? What is he implying? No, wait. He blew Aria. He thinks Applejack did such as well. Grasping for a bottle but only finding empty ones, Applejack sighs before rumbling out an answer.

"I... Well, honestly, it ain't what y'all think, Butterscotch. I mean, I did fuck her..."

He trails off to the sound of Aria's evil snicker. She lets one hand travel down Applejack's chest while taking in the annoyed, confused look on Butterscotch's face. Applejack's obvious mental conflict about who did what and why it matters brings her endless joy. Basically, this entire conundrum is made up by so many layers of unexplored issues that it hurts the cowboy's brain to attempt to rationalise it.

It is Butterscotch's turn to empty his bottle with some haste. When doing the same move as Applejack did for another, he soon finds their stores dry. Without any real warning or explanation, he takes off in search for more.

Aria cuddles up close to Applejack again as she watches Butterscotch go.

"Am I still the most interesting thing in months?"

She practically purrs out the words and catches Applejack off-guard. He throws her a hazy, drunk stare. She blows a kiss and gives him a blazing-hot sultry expression. Aria can see every little twinkle in his mildly dimmed eyes just invite a big, fat load of "fuck it".

"I ain't lied so far an' I ain't gonna start now."

He does not elaborate more, he simply sits up straighter, discards his held empty bottle and turns his full attention to Aria. Even sitting, she is tiny next to him. A smile spreads on his face, as sure and smouldering as always. Aria feels something bubble up inside of her. Is this one of those small victories she has been dreaming of? By all rights, she messed up. The only thing to come from that so far is excellent, thrilling entertainment. Not at all bad.

Aria hums softly and reacts to Applejack's hand the way a cat would as he caresses the side of her face. He then lets his massive digits run down her neck. She closes her eyes for a second and he makes his move.

His touch leaves her, as does he the sofa, just to sit back down, face-to-face with her. He hovers above her for a moment. She peers at him through her sculpted eyelashes, expectant. He wastes no more time and leans in to kiss her. She accepts with ravenous lust. He tastes sweet of the cider and it is clear he means business. She kisses back, just as greedy as he gets. It does not take long for him to cover her in him and lets their tongues take to battle. She slings her arms around his neck and giggles softly as he takes a very short break to breathe. He soon silences her again by diving back in. Lips on lips, tongue meets tongue, they kiss as if they have been waiting days for it.

Applejack's hands absent-mindedly wander, searching for something. His mind is somewhere else and he clearly shows it. Through all the blabber about gender and sexuality, he still considers her female. Enough to thoughtlessly expect to find breasts to fondle, in either case. Aria cannot stop herself from giggling again. There are multiple reasons for her to boil over, the main one definitely being the sense of victory. Actual victory. Even after the massive cluster-fuck that just happened, Applejack is all over her.

She hangs onto him and pulls herself closer, about to whisper in his ear when she is suddenly interrupted. The light flick of metal, a rude thump of glass-on-wood. Aria and Applejack both look up to find Butterscotch standing surprisingly close. Bottle of cider in his hand and a brand new batch on the table.

"Don't let me interrupt..."

Butterscotch mutters the words through generous helpings of cider. Applejack looks back to Aria with the devil in his eyes. She freezes for a second, then watches him move. What is he up to now?

The large cowboy moves surprisingly lithe and swift. Both Aria and Butterscotch observes him as he untangles himself from the sofa and stands up.

"We obviously have a few things ta talk 'bout, or, sort through as it were. No need ta be all uptight 'bout any o' this..."

He grasps a non-empty bottle from the table and uses it to point to Butterscotch. Aria can't believe her eyes or ears. Applejack is doing half her work for her. He has yet to disappoint her in any way.

"Come join us."

Applejack motions to the sofa with one arm. He then takes a long step closer to the pink-haired boy to lay a hand on his shoulder. Butterscotch looks up at Applejack with a certain annoyance mixed in with his usual apprehensiveness. Aria makes sure to move in the sofa, opening up a comfortable amount of space. Butterscotch hesitates, his eyes flit from person to person in disbelief.

With one last pleading look to Applejack, Butterscotch finds no other way to go. He is ushered into the sat-down sofa. Aria perks up and gives him a half-subtle, half-vicious smile but keeps her hands to herself. Butterscotch hardly notices as he is too busy making himself as small as possible. Bottle between two hands and head hanging low, he more or less holds his breath until Applejack sits down.

The old sofa creaks and Butterscotch looks up as Applejack slings an arm up on the backrest behind him. The shy boy is sandwiched between the couple. Applejack clinks his bottle against Butterscotch's and puts it to his lips as the silence between them is deafening. Aria is just as breathless as Butterscotch but with a different expression on her face. Wide eyes sparkling and a sublime little smile as she observes and enjoys every second of Butterscotch's torment.

Applejack seems to be punishing Butterscotch in his own way. A brotherly punch. Is it a natural reaction or simply a way for Applejack to deal with the situation? He's already drank too many ciders to be able to drive out of here. Perhaps he trapped himself on purpose?

Aria sits silent, pondering and watching Applejack harass Butterscotch. Soon enough the boys are drinking together, the pink-haired one warming up a bit to being the center of attention for the moment. Aria is absolutely taken by Applejack's quirky little solution. Yet again, he proves himself to be hard to read. She has no idea if he is just being silly or if he had a perfectly calculated plan. She does not even care if it tosses a wrench in the machinery of her plot. Although so far, all it has done is boost her conquest.

She reaches out and touches Applejack's outstretched arm and gets a glowingly warm glance from the cowboy.

"Why don't y'all have a drink, sugar? Finest cider in town, this."

He raises his bottle and takes a swig as if to cement the point. Aria nods slowly, a bit to herself as she shifts to be able to reach the table. She purposefully steadies herself with a firm grip of Butterscotch's leg. A tremor goes through the shy boy's entire body. He looks at her. She offers a sultry look while leaning back and raising her bottle. Butterscotch immediately looks back to Applejack.

The massive man just smiles for him. He is disturbingly relaxed. Very mischievously up to something, too. Butterscotch breathes in slow and deep, then settles his mind with another drink. He does not want to admit it to himself but this feels nice. After all that happened and with Applejack's calm disposition to it all, what is there to be bothered by? If anything, knowing what he knows now, he feels closer to his friend than ever before. If Applejack, traditionally raised as he is, can be open to new things, why couldn't he?

He shakes his head. What was that? Oh, Applejack and Aria are talking about something. He was just reminded of the feel of his... Her cock in his mouth. He attempts to drown the thought in more cider. It does not take. Images flash by in his mind, mixed with feelings and many more things of a less-than-tangible nature. He recalls the raw lust he felt. He remembers so clearly her reaction to him servicing her. The more intense he got, the less grip she had. The more he felt good about it. The less he understands.

Swirl, spin. His head is floating off to somewhere he did not know existed. From sort of a muffled fuzz, his hearing turns back to normal, letting the sounds of the room rush back into his consciousness.

Applejack falls silent in his planning the evening with Aria and looks to Butterscotch who is suddenly glaring at him. A wide-eyed mad stare and a vacantly hanging lower lip.

"Butterscotch, y'all right there?"

The pink-haired boy's vacant stare shakes off into something like a man possessed. He springs up out of the sofa and grasps Applejack by the collar with both hands. His bottle clatters away and spills on the carpet. Before another blink of an eye, he presses his face against Applejack's, locking lips with him.

Aria instantly perks up, what looked like an assault turned out to be something quite different. Applejack is stunned, he just sits leaned back and lets it happen. For quite some time. Butterscotch is a surprisingly good kisser, if not a bit careful and clean. The cowboy softly answers the prolonged smooch and finally, Butterscotch is done.

He simply falls back, flopping down into his previous position. Straight back into deep thought. He grabs a new bottle from the table and ignores Applejack's few, deep chuckles.

Butterscotch tries to make sense of his action. How did that make him feel? Nothing? No, that is too obscure. More specifically, not an explanation. He wanted to see if he could recreate the emotion on the tip of his tongue, as it were. He did not want to touch Aria, now sitting rather stunned herself but with a sharp, satisfied grin on her face. No, he had to try Applejack, it was the only way to make sense of things. Kiss his friend and see if something stirs.

Did it? Undeniably, the answer is yes. Perhaps not the same tingle as with a cute girl... What is he thinking? Why would he even consider something like that with his friend? His mind races, only to stop when a large, heavy hand comes to rest on his shoulder.

"Y'all look more flustered than a wet hen. Can't say I was expectin'... Well, any of this. Jus' gonna be one of them days, I suppose."

Butterscotch nods slowly. Not the answer or answers he had hoped for earlier. Earlier is gone, that entire issue has bloomed into a beautiful garden of madness. He just sits still in a fuzzy sea of warmth for a moment, until suddenly, his vision is obscured. First, a cascade of purple in the form of hair. Then, two giant, ravenously appraising purple eyes. He swallows hard and just stares at Aria as she has parked her cute little behind in his lap.

"I was thinking... Since me and Applejack had such a... Wonderful time watching a horror flick last night, we could repeat that little evening but with the three of us."

Butterscotch looks to Applejack, he looks back to Aria. A long stare soon accompanied by a slow shaking of his head. Aria instantly puts on a vicious frown. Butterscotch stumbles over his words.

"I... I mean, I'd love to watch a movie... Just... Not... Horror."

Aria huffs but lets her frown dissipate into a more neutral look. She reaches out and touches the side of his face with her soft fingertips. A bright blush completely dominates his face.

Aria takes in the sight for a while, then gets up, slinks over to Applejack, kisses him on the mouth and stands up. She draws the glances of both boys by stretching.

"Let's take a look at whatever little library of films you have then, shy boy."

Applejack barks out a little laugh. Part for 'shy boy', part for the looming disappointment she is about to face with Butterscotch's video collection. He swiftly rises from the sofa himself.

"Well, gotta go see a man 'bout a mule. Pick a good one, y'hear!"

Then, with a few long, heavy steps, the cowboy has disappeared from the room. Butterscotch looks from where Applejack disappeared to where Aria stands. He nods once for himself before getting up. They are just going to watch a movie together, he even gets to assist with the pick for once, what's the worst the evening could hold?

Author's Note

Okay, okay, so no fucking in this one either.
You just wait...

Also, if there are grievous continuity errors and whatever, don't mind them, please?