Humbling and Healing

Waking up with the stripes of his Master adorning his body, Butterscotch smiled with his heart fluttering as he didn’t have to worry about the previously rigid connotations of his stripes or Blitz’ stripes. With Zecora’s foreleg behind his shoulders and the lovingly musky scent of the zebra stud luring him into steady relaxation, Butterscotch couldn’t have been happier with the relationship. Zecora remained true to his word, allowing the yellow pegasus to take the reins even if it wasn’t always with the zebra stud. Rainbow Blitz, a member of the throuple proven by the stripes all over his body as well, was consistently submissive and his monogamous coltfriend for the longest time. It only made sense for the blue pegasus to take up the role as the bottom and designated ponut for the both of them, and it strengthened the shaky bond that Butterscotch and Rainbow Blitz had going into their initial sessions with Zecora. Their relationship was no longer sidelined for Zecora’s desires, but a honest-to-goodness part of the throuple they had been in almost half a year now. Several weeks had passed since the Butterbat incident that transformed the lives of everypony from the throuple to the rest of the Mane 6, even the alicorns and Eris were deeply worried about him.

And Butterscotch was mind-blown at how deeply they all cared, and how he could be so oblivious to it. Then again, with how deep his head was into constant submission above all else, Butterscotch’s biggest mental hurdle was with forgiving himself for being so careless to his own well-being, as well as another stallion outside of the throuple. Applejack, who was more personally affected then everypony else outside of the relationship. Butterbat had devoured all of his apples once again and made a brutal dent in the farm’s finances and stability. If it weren’t for the fact that the orange stallion was an Element of Harmony, Sweet Apple Acres likely would go under without the throuple’s help. How badly he cut into the orange stallion and his family’s livelihood and hard work wasn’t something for Butterscotch to undermine. And now with his Master and fellow femcolt having to put their time off work, Zecora easily doing so for being self-employed and Rainbow Blitz putting time off Wonderbolt performances, Butterscotch felt even more guilty about them essentially picking up after him. At least at first, now the yellow pegasus was far more concerned about Applejack and how he felt. Zecora had planned a week for all three of them to be at Sweet Apple Acres and helping Applejack and his older sister around the barn. Although with his older sister going to be with her coltfriend a lot of the time, it would mostly be the four of them doing the work. Which was why Applejack had intentionally planned this week, needing their help the most.

It was the first day that they were to go to the barn, and since the day after the Butterbat incident, Prince Artemis and Eris had kept regular tabs on the yellow pegasus. They’ve kept conversations regularly, especially with the latter as he visited the cottage he once lived in far more often. At least if everything went to Tartarus in a basket, Prince Artemis would be there to cover for his nightmares. Shuddering against Zecora’s shoulder, the zebra stallion’s eyes fluttered open as he shook Butterscotch a little with the foreleg underneath the yellow pegasus.

“Good morning my little pony,” Zecora nuzzled Butterscotch’s pink mane with his muzzle, kissing him on the head before pulling back and looking down at the yellow femcolt. “What brings you to be the first to wake up of us three?”

“Well, I’m quite nervous about meeting up with Applejack,” Butterscotch gulped, knowing better now to avoid the serious questions from his Master. It was quite ironic how involved they would be with the farmpony over the course of the week, considering it was dishonesty that led Butterscotch’s incident to unfold the way it did. Now he would have to face the music, especially to somepony who didn’t even know the full reason as to why he had turned into Butterbat. Zecora smiled deeply as he pressed his lips against Butterscotch’s forehead before looking right into his femcolt lover’s cyan eyes. Before, Zecora would be mostly about the practicality of making sure his partners were fed and “bred.” It was after the Butterbat incident that the zebra stallion properly showed romantic affection in spades to both his pegasus coltfriends.

“Well think about it from this point of view, would he really cut ties after all that you’ve been through?” Zecora explained, tucking his forehoof underneath Butterscotch’s chin and holding his face gently. “The six of you have gone through thick and thin, surely that friendship wouldn’t break at the drop of a pin?”

“Drop of a pin is a huge understatement,” Butterscotch groaned, having not quite witnessed Applejack’s reaction since by the time the others had showed up to the hut, the yellow pegasus had already transformed back to his normal self and had passed out. The last time they met up face to face was a few days before he even ate all the apples! With it being the first time that he’s seen Applejack since the incident, Butterscotch’s heart only slowed down in its aggressive pounding because of Zecora’s warm gaze and forehoof underneath his chin. In that moment with his Master and his best friend snoring on the other side of the bed, Butterscotch feared nothing as he smiled at the zebra stallion.

“You’re right,” Butterscotch nodded, crawling out of bed. “Quick shower? Though it’d probably be kinda silly…we’re really going to break a sweat today.”

“Hmm, I’d bet you’d like that,” Zecora smirked as he also slipped out of the bed and walked up to Butterscotch, the yellow femcolt placing his wing over the striped stallion’s back as he continued. “You and Blitz would gawk at my sweaty muscles at the drop of a hat!”

“We would not!” Butterscotch blushed brightly as his flickering tail gave away the truth of how he felt, turning around and walking over to the other side of the bed as the yellow stallion prodded at Rainbow Blitz’ long rainbow mane. “Hey, hey Blitz? Time to get up, we’re going to shower.”

“Urgh,” Blitz shook his head as his eyes cracked up, slowly getting up and jumping off the bed as he and Butterscotch walked towards the shower with Zecora ahead of them. “Thank fuck I got to sleep in. It’s been a while.”

“Mmmhm,” Butterscotch giggled, ogling the blue pegasus’ body and his still fat blue and striped cheeks. It humored the yellow stallion to no end that the athletic and outwardly cocky stallion ended up being the main sub of the throuple, with Butterscotch joining him frequently, but he still clapped Rainbow Blitz’ rippling ass cheek with a sharp smack. Getting a moan from Blitz as he bit his lip, Butterscotch laughed at his best friend’s reaction. While Rainbow Blitz didn’t really have problems with the relationship like Butterscotch did, the rainbow-maned stallion’s smile was brighter ever since Butterscotch became a dom to him as well. Zecora further realized how wrong he was, assuming that Rainbow Blitz would become miserable from the lewd competition the zebra and Butterbat had. But with Rainbow Blitz being just as fulfilled as Butterscotch from the changes, Zecora knew he had a lot to learn about these two. They weren’t just sub slaves that fit perfectly in the boxes he pictured for them, they were romantic partners. Individuals with desires of their own, and Zecora knew that getting out and doing work as a team would do them a lot of good. A lot of understanding of each other and their compatibility as a throuple.

With it taking less than ten minutes, Zecora and his femcolts washed each other’s manes with shampoo and conditioner, thoroughly soaping themselves, and trotting out of the shower stall. They’d save the longer showers for the barn after they had helped Applejack each day, knowing that their cleanliness would be short-lived and that the shower was more for waking up than anything else. Walking into the living room with the cauldron, the three of them took three small vials of potion that the zebra stallion concocted himself for the occasion. They didn’t have time to stop by one of the many coffee stands, and the caffeine vials would last for several days at least. Zecora didn’t want either of his partners having heat stroke from their inexperience farming and bucking apples, and neither did he. The particular potions would give them accelerated strength, energy, and stamina reasonable for two pegasi. And the chemicals would wear off before Rainbow Blitz would have to return to his performances that explicitly prohibited such potions. Placing the empty vials on the bottom shelf, Zecora and his pegasi lovers exited the hut and trotted together towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“At least we don’t have to worry about competition between you and Applejack anymore,” Butterscotch smiled a little at Rainbow Blitz, who blushed as he swatted his own bigger ass with his rainbow tail.

“I can still do a lot of work you know, I’m p-part of the Wonderbolts still,” Rainbow Blitz stammered, yelping as he felt Zecora’s muscular and toned ass cheek nudge against his blue blubbery butt cheek.

“We’re not talking about that silly,” Zecora smiled down at Rainbow Blitz. “We’re talking about how you now have the aggression and competitiveness of a shy filly~”

Rainbow Blitz huffed and bit his lip as he looked away, starting to get harder from the stallions’ teasing. He had spent a lot of time trying to prove himself to be the bigger stallion through his attempts with Applejack, causing strife for their friends and Butterscotch before they properly met Zecora. Now with his more feminine body and stripes, Rainbow Blitz’ submissive nature couldn’t have been more clearly displayed. Applejack was left to his own devices, not to have to worry about competing anymore.

And self-admittedly, Rainbow Blitz always knew that Applejack was the stronger stallion of the two anyways.

The three of them walked throughout Ponyville, many of the ponies used to their status as a throuple by this point to really care beyond the winks of Zecora’s past conquests. Zecora didn’t really think twice about them, his heart swelling as he looked down at his two coltfriends. Each day since the Butterbat incident left him appreciating their unique qualities beyond sex more and more, and with their six month anniversary coming up in less than a week, Zecora had plans for the three of them after their work at the barn.

Eventually reaching the familiar hillsides of Sweet Apple Acres, all three of them admiring the view of the sun high up in the sky above the red barn, Zecora trotted ahead with his pegasi lovers following him. He was grateful for the vials that they all had taken, with their bodies feeling relatively cool in the harsh heat. In front of the barn that they were nearing, was Applejack. While being no Zecora, the orange earth pony was still as muscular and built as an earth pony could be. And while he smiled at Zecora and gave a short nod, Applejack’s smile faltered as he saw Butterscotch. With a cold jolt throughout his body, Butterscotch made eye contact with the farmpony. Butterscotch had no idea what the orange stallion was going to say, and felt another harsher cold jolt hitting him as Applejack tore his eyes off the yellow stallion and looked towards Zecora and Rainbow Blitz.

“Well, ah’m glad to have some helping hooves,” Applejack began. “Know that the ‘help’ part is in there. Obviously ah’m not going to just send you off and expect to know everything on yer own. Today will be a lot of showing of course, so y’all have an idea of what needs to get done. As you can see, ah managed to plant a lot of the apple trees again. Ah brought ya here because they’ve become fully grown, and ah’d like some help bucking them and planting new ones.”

Butterscotch winced at the remark, and calmed himself down despite Applejack’s refusal still to even look at him. As much as they were normally friends, Butterscotch knew he was ultimately there to work and make it up to the farmpony in a more practical way. Walking out of the barn was a lovely face, a mare that smiled warmly at Butterscotch right off the bat. The big red mare was none other than Applejack’s older sister Big Mae, and strangely enough, she trotted up to Butterscotch and used a beckoning gesture for him to trot towards her.

“Hey hun,” Big Mae nodded her head as she glanced at her brother before looking at Butterscotch again. “Ah’m going to need you with me to help take care of the pigs. You’ve got that touch with animals, it’ll go a long way with them.”

Feeling a twinge of suspicion at being the only one pulled aside, Butterscotch nodded as he followed the big yet muscular mare. He had no problem with her as a pony, but expected to be working alongside his partners the whole time. Sighing, Butterscotch saw the pigs in the muddy pig pen and got ready to help Big Mae.

Meanwhile, Zecora staring off at them with deep confusion that Applejack’s sister pulled aside Butterscotch specifically, he didn’t get to contemplate it for long as the orange farmpony got their attention. Rainbow Blitz leaned against Zecora as Applejack spoke up.

“Alright now, ah’m going to need you two for bucking apples and planting new trees,” Applejack explained. “Come along with me, Rainbow Blitz has somewhat of an idea but you are new to this. Hopefully you can put those strong muscles of yours to good use.”

“That won’t be a problem at all,” Zecora reassured Applejack as the three of them began to make their way towards the area of apple trees. “You can be certain that all of those apples will fall.”

“Well we’ll start here then,” Applejack told the zebra stallion, walking up to the closest and one of the biggest apple trees as he pressed his big forehoof against the tree trunk. “Ah’m going to ask you both to watch carefully and follow my technique as best ya can.”

Walking in front of the tree with his tail facing the big apple tree, Applejack lifted his hindlegs off the ground and delivered a powerful kick to the tree. Watching as the tree trembled and shook, dozens of apples fell to the ground with some of them landing in a nearby basket that Applejack must’ve had ready for them. Rainbow Blitz took the initiative of rushing forward and placing apples in the basket, and Zecora followed by doing the same thing until all the fallen apples were picked off the ground. Then, Applejack looked to Zecora as he gestured his head towards another tree nearby.

“Think you can give that one a test kick and see how you do?” Applejack asked.

“Sure,” Zecora gave Rainbow Blitz a kiss on the cheek before walking to the tree across the one they had just bucked. Making sure his tail was turned to face the tree, Zecora lifted his hindlegs and delivered a kick that made Applejack and Rainbow Blitz’ eyes become as wide as saucers. They were happy to be on Zecora’s good side, only imagining how brutal that kick would be towards an enemy. The tree had a sizable crack and with several more kicks from Zecora, Applejack was sure the whole tree would fall over. Almost all the apples had fallen from the tree, and Rainbow Blitz flew in the air to collect as many falling apples as possible before placing them in the basket. Applejack glanced at his friend and then Zecora before chuckling with a growing smile.

“You two make quite the team,” Applejack remarked. “Well, with that kind of strength, we’d probably be able to finish bucking the trees before the afternoon is over! C’mon y’all, there’s much to do.”

With the pigs all fed and checked to be sure they’re in good condition, Butterscotch joined Zecora and Rainbow Blitz once more. Being the physically weakest out of the three of them, Butterscotch was tasked with picking up the apples and making sure they were all presentable and not spoiled.

Glancing at the apple trees and not noticing Applejack anywhere, Butterscotch tilted his head.

“Say, where’s Applejack? I thought he was with you guys when I took care of the pigs,” Butterscotch frowned.

“Oh, well the afternoon is almost over and Applejack wanted to make sure we had a good dinner ready,” Rainbow Blitz smiled. “So nice of him, I’m looking forward to eating several apple pies~!”

“Well not too many,” Zecora chuckled as he walked behind Rainbow Blitz, groping the blue pegasus’ ass by the rainbow cutie mark. Jiggling Rainbow Blitz’ butt cheek up and down, Zecora smirked. “The only fat I want you to have is in your ass a plenty~”

“You act like I don’t workout with the Wonderbolts on most days,” Rainbow Blitz snickered as he twerked his butt against Zecora’s forehoof. And Butterscotch, likely from the time apart from his lovers, felt a twinge of jealousy from the zebra stud fondling his best friend’s ass. Snorting as he walked to stand next to Rainbow Blitz, Butterscotch had his even fatter ass facing Zecora as he parted his long pink tail to the side. Glancing over his shoulder at Zecora clearly ogling his butterfly-marked ass, Butterscotch began twerking his ass and clapping it louder than Rainbow Blitz ever could.

“What about me, Zecora?” Butterscotch whined, shaking his ass from side to side as he blushed. “Wouldn’t you say that I have the biggest ass?”

“That I cannot deny, no need to be so sly,” Zecora then took his forehoof off Rainbow Blitz’ ass cheek to place it on Butterscotch’s ass cheek instead. “You may be a lot more behaved since your phase, but no need to reach for my praise. You know how much I care, beyond that of just a lustful stare~”

“Oh,” Butterscotch’s heart skipped a beat from Zecora’s words, still feeling something missing from them. As touched as the yellow pegasus was from Zecora validating him, of making sure he got just as much attention, the zebra stallion still hadn’t told them I love you. It was something that with Rainbow Blitz, and then Zecora, came easy. Of course Butterscotch loved both of them deeply and felt it essential to tell them that everyday, with Rainbow Blitz saying it back. But then again, Butterscotch knew that Zecora had a very casual lifestyle before the two of them, and couldn’t entirely blame him. Turning around to properly face Zecora, the yellow pegasus walked towards his Master and pressed his face against the zebra’s firm chest. “Well, that’s very sweet of you to say Zecora.”

“It’s the least I can do, to be more expressive and welcoming to you,” Zecora explained to Butterscotch, placing his forehoof against the back of the yellow pegasus’ head to gently hold him there. Rainbow Blitz turned around, walking up to Zecora and being side by side with the yellow pegasus. Blitz then kissed Butterscotch’s cheek and pressed his head against Zecora’s chest as well. Zecora then saw Applejack in the distance, walking out of the barn as he looked in their direction. Waving and shouting at them, Zecora was able to figure out what the farmpony wanted when he looked down at his femcolts. “Hey you two, I’m pretty sure Applejack is saying that he’s finished a meal for us to chew. Let’s get these baskets inside, and get ourselves all showered and dried.”

The throuple dumped all the baskets of apples into a wheelbarrow that Zecora pulled back to the barn with Butterscotch and Rainbow Blitz on each side of him. They both blushed and stared at his glistening and sweaty striped fur, as Zecora expected. He in turn looked down at the sweat on their wings and their muzzles, admiring that they also put in the effort with him. Pulling the heavy wheelbarrow inside of the barn, Applejack glanced over the oven he was staring at as he nodded at Zecora.

“You could just leave it near the door, thanks,” Applejack glanced away before Butterscotch could try and make eye contact with him. The yellow pegasus felt a little better knowing that he’d be able to talk to Applejack at dinner, and followed Zecora and Rainbow Blitz into the bathroom. The shower stall, likely because of Big Mae, was more than enough to accommodate all three of them with ease.

With Rainbow Blitz opening the handle to the shower stall with one wing, the three of them stepped inside and turned on the hot water that rolled over all their bodies. Even though the shower stall was very spacious, the two pegasi pressed up against Zecora as he grabbed the shampoo bottle and began lathering up their manes with his forehooves. Placing his forehooves into Rainbow Blitz’ bright and wet rainbow mane, looking into the femcolt’s bright pink eyes, warmed his heart as he readied to do the same to Butterscotch. Turning over and moving his forehooves into Butterscotch’s long pink mane, he could see the yellow pegasus’ expression was a little scrunched up. No doubt Applejack was still on his mind, and Zecora leaned forward as he pressed his lips against Butterscotch’s lips. It started off as a gentle kiss, before his tongue slipped in and rolled against the yellow femcolt’s tongue. Zecora inevitably felt Rainbow Blitz kissing and worshiping his muscular body and the sweat that was currently being washed away by the shower water. And while he intended on rutting the both of them during their stay at Sweet Apple Acres, he didn’t want to waste too much of the shower water or to let Applejack’s generously offered food get cold. Pulling away from the kiss, Zecora looked at his pink-maned lover.

“How was it with the pigs?” Zecora asked Butterscotch as he gave the yellow pegasus the bar of soap. Butterscotch frowned a little as he took the soap bar with his wing and began to make quick work of scrubbing his entire body.

“It was very pleasant, especially with Big Mae to show me how to do the chores with them,” Butterscotch shrugged. “I’m just surprised that Applejack wouldn’t have shown me the apple bucking along with you two. You don’t think he’s…?”

“No, don’t even fret about that,” Zecora waved a hoof off as he rubbed the back of Butterscotch’s mane. “That’s nothing you can’t fix with a brief chat. The six of you ponies have been Elements for years, so don’t shed any tears.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Applejack is just waiting for us to sit down and eat,” Rainbow Blitz smiled brightly at Butterscotch, draping his long blue wing over Butterscotch’s back as he gave the soap bar to the blue pegasus with a small smile.

“That’s what I was assuming too,” Butterscotch whispered. “You two make great points, I’m sure seeing all the work done will help lift his spirits too.”

“There you go, just allow yourself to move with the flow,” Zecora smiled. “And of course, you will have both of us everyday. Now let’s go dine on some apples and hay.”

Zecora was the last to soap himself off before the three of them rinsed off and left the bathroom, the throuple walking into the kitchen where the wheelbarrow was gone. Likely Big Mae having unloaded everything and leaving to spend time with her coltfriend, leaving Applejack to present an array of sweets and treats with four chairs.

“Oh, Apple Buck and Grandpa Smith won’t be joining us today?” Butterscotch gave himself a mental high five for the seemingly casual way of initiating conversation with the muscular farmpony. Applejack looked up at his food at Butterscotch, as if he was staring at a ghost with the way his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. That only lasted for a fraction of a second before Applejack’s expression went completely blank.

“No, Apple Buck’s with his friends and Grandpa Smith went to bed,” Applejack explained, pulling out his own chair and having a seat, pulling his already prepared plate of various apple delicacies towards him and diving in. He looked so intently at his own food, that Butterscotch didn’t even feel comfortable sitting next to the orange stallion as he took the seat diagonally across from him. Zecora took the seat right next to Applejack and Rainbow Blitz took the seat right next to Butterscotch as the throuple set up their own plates of food. Butterscotch almost forgot about his previous woes, considering he hadn’t eaten all day and had the most sweet and savory smells hit his nostrils all at once. With apple pies, apple bread pudding, apple cider donuts, apple salads and cookies, and apple tarts…Butterscotch salivated from all the flavors that he restrained from eating since his thestral craze. Having eaten dozens upon dozens of apples that day, Butterscotch felt so bad about it. And if he had eaten recently, Butterscotch probably wouldn’t have touched much of it to try and respect Applejack. But he dove in as soon as he finished setting up his plate, using his wings to scoop food into his mouth and gobble it down. Savoring the sweet flavor without guilt, he would work tirelessly tomorrow just as he did today. Not noticing Applejack giving the yellow pegasus a pointed look, the farmpony sighed as he looked over to Zecora.

“Thanks again, for coming through,” Applejack explained. “You and Rainbow Blitz had no obligation to do so.”

“It’s no problem to us, not anything that would give us a big fuss,” Zecora shrugged. “Thank Big Mae again for letting us use her bed, and thank you for keeping us well-fed.”

“It’s the least ah can do for the help,” Applejack patted Zecora’s shoulder before tucking into his food.

“I will let you know on the fifth day we won’t be needing food here, the three of us we’ll be celebrating our half-year anniversary and having a good cheer,” Zecora winked at Applejack, keeping his plans for his femcolts a surprise. Applejack brightened up a little bit for the first time since they started working with him, his eyes lighting up as he wiped the crumbs off his lips.

“Well ain’t that something!” Applejack beamed. “Congratulations Zecora, ah know that you were used to the bachelor life for such a long time. Happy ya found love.”

“Heh,” Zecora coughed at the last word the fellow stud said, his ears flattening as he forced a big grin at Applejack. Turning and staring intently at his plate so that he didn’t have to look at either of his femcolts, Zecora devoured the rest of his food and savored the different variations of apple before getting up and looking at his partners. Rainbow Blitz was also finishing up his food and Butterscotch looked to have finished it a while ago, staring at Applejack intently even though the orange farmpony was getting up as well. Then Zecora picked up his plate and his partners’ plates as he nodded at them. “You two have worked excellently and tirelessly today, you both go and enjoy our bed for the first night of our stay. I’ll be helping Applejack with dishes before joining the both of you, so go relax and enjoy the view~”

“Yes Master,” Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch said almost in unison, profusely blushing as they realized that Applejack was still in the room, facing away from them and taking care of dishes. Applejack barely looked over his shoulder before washing the silverware in the sink. With Zecora clearly taking it upon himself to do the cleanup, and Applejack already starting on it, Butterscotch felt too awkward to say a single word to the farmpony. At least he wouldn’t be going to bed alone to overthink everything, with Rainbow Blitz sticking his tongue out at the yellow femcolt as they made their way to Big Mae’s bed. With her spending the nights with her coltfriend Sugar Beau, the bedroom was all theirs for the next week.

Walking into the bedroom, Butterscotch and Rainbow Blitz galloped towards and flew onto the ginormous bed. It was meant to accommodate the large and powerful red mare, so the bed would have ample room for all three of them. It was even bigger than Zecora’s bed, and Butterscotch slid under the covers before Rainbow Blitz did as well. Even with the fluffy pillows and generous amount of blankets, and the blue pegasus looking into Butterscotch’s eyes, the yellow pegasus still felt a twinge of disappointment that Applejack barely acknowledged him at all. Rainbow Blitz’ smile fell as he placed his forehoof against Butterscotch’s cheek.

“Hey, maybe Applejack is still processing everything,” Rainbow Blitz assured Butterscotch, moving his forehoof in circles as he continued. “Losing all your crops suddenly, well, we can’t even imagine what that must feel like. This isn’t something that just affected him either, it was his whole family that he had to worry about. And without food for his whole family-”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Butterscotch threw his forehooves up in the air with a clear wince, and Rainbow Blitz pulled him into a warm hug as he sighed.

“Sorry, definitely got carried away,” Blitz chuckled. “It was just a long way of saying to give it time, I’m sure Applejack would loosen up the more work gets done. That’s just how he is.”

“Yeah,” Butterscotch breathed in the soapy fresh smell of Rainbow Blitz’ fur, letting go of his worries for the night. After all, they all needed to stay energized for the next day…