Author's Note

Contains slightly lewd Rainbow Blitz at the beginning...
Prepare for the last chapter coming out! The big ol lewd, and yes I said lewd, finale!

Day 7

It was the last day of working and making sure loose ends were completely taken care of. And with Butterscotch and Rainbow Blitz on each side of him sleeping soundly, Zecora felt a small warmth in his chest expand and intensity into a burning flame. With the both of them in the bed, he felt the darkness providing a level of comfort instead of loneliness like it used to for so many years before they had both showed up on his doorstep. With most couples normally not even entertaining the thought of having a third, Zecora knew with each passing day just how lucky he was to have them let him in as personally as they did. And for so long, he assumed it to be the other way around.

He heard the rooster crowing loudly, and Rainbow Blitz groaning as he wiped his eyes awake. Butterscotch squirmed on Zecora’s other side as he gave a big yawn, stretching his cute little tongue that the zebra stallion had seen in far lewder purposes. And tomorrow, when they were no longer worn from the strenuous physical efforts of Sweet Apple Acres, Zecora would make sure that he properly had sex with the both of them until he had fucked the cum out of his pegasi. Just when they felt like they could catch another five minutes of sleep, the three of them all heard banging and clattering of pots and pans.

"Shh! You're going to wake them up!"

Ironically Applejack’s attempts at shushing were louder than the other sounds, and Rainbow Blitz jumped out of bed and trotted to the door. Flickering his Rainbow tail back and forth, inadvertently revealing his dark blue ponut and balls to the ogling Zecora, the blue pegasus grinned as he looked at Zecora and Butterscotch over his shoulder.

"I bet he's trying to surprise us, let's freak them out a little!" Rainbow Blitz cackled before he turned around and bumped his ass against the door. Sure enough, there was more clattering as whoever else was out there cursed loudly. "See? Now they can't tell if we're all awake or not."

"That’s not very nice," Butterscotch rolled his eyes as he climbed out of bed and stood beside his best friend, who smirked down at the yellow pegasus.

“You love when I’m a little bratty, plus, that’s nothing in comparison to how bratty you’ve been in the past~” Rainbow Blitz leaned forward, sticking his tongue out a little as he closed his eyes. With a sudden flash of irritation rising to the surface, his dominating thoughts kicking in, Butterscotch lunged forward and smashed his lips against the blue pegasus’ lips. Rainbow Blitz moaned into the kiss loudly, almost like a part of him expected Butterscotch to take control of the situation. They made out in front of Zecora for a few more seconds before Butterscotch pulled away, his ears flickering as he saw Rainbow Blitz panting with a heavy blush as he spoke again. “Fuck, yes, it’s been too long since you’ve taken the reins…”

“It’s only been two weeks since I last did that,” Butterscotch deadpanned.

“Fuck! Two weeks is practically a death sentence for my needy ass,” Rainbow Blitz panted. “Dammit, I almost don’t want to go out there now. Perhaps we s-should…fuck…give them more time and let one of you jerk m-me off and the other-”

“We don’t want to wait, it seems like an important group date,” Zecora jumped out of the bed and rushed to the door before his two femcolts could grow suspicious. If they fucked now, the throuple wouldn’t be half as worked up for what he had planned the next day. So Zecora shimmied past them and opened the door, walking down the short hallway from the bedroom they were in to the kitchen. He expected at least Big Mae to be with Applejack, but Zecora’s eyes widened as he saw Apple Buck, Grandpa Smith, Sugar Beau, and even Artemis and Eris moving around in the kitchen and outside the front door. Walking towards the front door and opening it, Zecora saw a long table full of different plates stacked high with various foods, some of which not even apple-based, likely thanks to the Moon Prince and Chaos Goddess in the kitchen. Turning back into the kitchen where Applejack rushed over to him, the zebra stallion smiled at the orange farmpony. “Well isn’t this quite the surprise, to have such a potluck almost done by sunrise!”

“We were hoping to have it completely done before ya woke up,” Applejack sighed as everyone else in the room continued their respective tasks around them. “And no, despite Eris’ insistence, ah wasn’t going to have her snap her fingers and have everythin’ done just like that. Ah may like getting everythin’ done faster with your potions, but finger-snapping? That’s just plain cheating.”

“Nice to know where you draw the line, and it looks like today you’re feeling more than fine,” Zecora nodded as he placed a forehoof on Applejack’s shoulder. Applejack shook the zebra’s hoof off his shoulder, and before Zecora could even feel hurt from the sudden movement, the orange stallion rushed forward and embraced the bigger stallion with his forelegs tightly around his striped shoulders in a surprise hug. Zecora’s eyes widened as he stood still for a few moments before returning the hug to Applejack.

“Ah think we all really got some important help because of you, thank you,” Applejack said into Zecora’s ear. “Now, ya got some of my family to meet and some to get reacquainted with. Please don’t be afraid to pile up your plate now! And…”

Applejack pulled out of the hug as he looked over his shoulder at Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch still standing there in the hallway. Rainbow Blitz, for whatever reason that Applejack wasn’t aware of, was heavily blushing and looking at the ground while Butterscotch was staring at the orange farmpony like a deer in headlights. Applejack smiled as he used a beckoning gesture with his forehoof right at Butterscotch.

“Don’t be shy now, Butters,” Applejack insisted. “You and ah got a lot of catching up to do outside, it’s almost as if we’re Elements of Harmony…”

Butterscotch’s shoulders relaxed as he stifled a laugh, galloping over to Applejack as Zecora nodded at them before walking outside to pile up his plate with whatever was already done. Applejack and Butterscotch walked outside moments after, with the yellow pegasus at a loss for words as he stared at the hills around him.

“Ah owe it to you to speak first,” Applejack admitted as they walked past the table, walking towards the abundance of new apple trees as he sighed. “Ah feel so fucking embarrassed that ah was ignoring you like a teenage colt, we’re grown up and better than that. Of course ah hated that ya ate all mah apples, but as far as ah knew, ah was somehow the cause for you turning into Butterbat again? And ya know what? Even though that turned out to not be true, ah’m still the reason that Butterbat exists at all. If ah hadn’t forced you to use The Stare all those years ago, we wouldn’t be havin’ this problem now. Ah’m the one that made you share your DNA with bats, and Rainbow Blitz told me that even now you’ve got fangs!”

Butterscotch winced as Applejack pointed towards his muzzle, knowing what was there even without having to see the yellow pegasus’ teeth. And with that extra point, Butterscotch realized where it made sense that Applejack would see it as his fault regardless. Thinking it over, Butterscotch leaned forward and rested his wing on the orange stallion’s shoulders.

“Applejack, that’s the problem though. You didn’t make me do anything, I can make my own decisions!” Butterscotch insisted. “And if I already had a tough time of asserting boundaries, how were you supposed to know what was best for me? Also, Eris did say she thinks my fangs look pretty cool…”

“Ya mean ya aren’t upset about them?”

“Not since this morning,” Butterscotch shrugged. “Sure, I could probably get some fancy uppity unicorn dentist in Canterlot to have them turned back into pony teeth, but they’re reminders of experiences I need to keep with me. The fangs mean I shouldn’t hold back my bite when it comes to asserting myself.”

“And the stripes?” Applejack giggled.

“The stripes are the marks of my love for Zecora,” Butterscotch blushed as his smile naturally widened close to his ears, then, his smile faltered before he frowned. “I guess I just wish I heard it from him…”

“Whatcha mean?” Applejack asked.

“Well, me and Rainbow Blitz tell Zecora we love him all the time but he doesn’t say it back,” Butterscotch admitted. “We get the hesitancy, he spent so many years being a bachelor and just playing around with couples and singles of both sexes. I’m amazed that he’s even in a relationship with just us now, but I just want to know if this is his ‘for now’ or ‘for our lifetimes’ when it comes to how serious he is…”

“Do you really think a zebra stud messing around would stay after the whole Butterbat situation?” Applejack pointed out before wincing at his own words. “Sorry sugarcube, but this is all in the name of more honesty…”

“That’s a good point, and it's why I haven’t been panicked about it or anything,” Butterscotch nodded. “Me and Rainbow Blitz tell each other that we love the other all the time, and if Zecora started saying those words, our relationship would feel more like all three of us connected wholly instead of in bits and pieces like we’ve been the past week.”

“Well, perhaps he will with everythin’ resolved,” Applejack stated vaguely, the gears turning in his head as he laid out a plan. “Say, why don’t we head back and eat? We can go pick out a date in the calendar later, so all six of us can hang out together. Solaris knows it's been too long since that has happened.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Butterscotch’s heart fluttered with the deep excitement at the thought of seeing all his friends again at once, restraining from suggesting Ponera Bread right away as they galloped down the hill. Not only was he relieved to not have to do a lot of heavy-lifting and more work in the Sweet Apple Acres, but the yellow pegasus had barrels worth of food to splurge from. Seeing the table complete with all the dishes done, and Artemis and Eris piling their plates, Butterscotch flew up to them and wrapped his wings around them both.

Meanwhile, Applejack trotted inside the kitchen to see that Zecora was the only one at the table with his untouched food. Knowing that his family could reenter the kitchen at any moment, Applejack cleared his throat as he walked up right next to Zecora.

“So ah heard from one of your femcolts that ya haven’t told them you love them yet, and for their sake, ah won’t be saying who,” Applejack clarified, even though Zecora likely could figure it out. To the zebra stallion, it mattered little which of them said it, since he was confident that both of them were aware of the unspoken words in different ways. The fact that they already told each other they loved each other with ease made the situation all the worse, and Zecora took a deep breath as he felt his heart thrashing in its cage.

“Those feelings are there you know, I don’t do everything I do for them only for show,” Zecora explained, his eyes wide and a blush creeping up on his cheeks. Applejack paused, seeing Zecora’s face in a way he never saw before. In which Zecora’s expression was normally blank, Applejack saw…

“Yer afraid to tell them, ya don’t want to hurt them,” Applejack realized. “And just like ya realized that ah wasn’t malicious in mah actions, ah’m not gonna assure that of you either. But if ya can’t say it, why even bother datin’ them? They’d essentially not be that different from your earlier conquests…”

“They are so much more than that, I would never throw them away at the drop of a hat,” Zecora scowled briefly before shaking his head. “But I’m surprised to find myself agreeing with you, because I should be telling them what is true.”

“You’ll find that it goes a long way,” Applejack nodded. “Also, ya don’t need to wait up on everypony else to start eatin-”

“Thank Solaris,” Zecora interrupted before he started stuffing his mouth with hooffuls of food from his plate. Applejack chuckled, walking out of the barn just as everyone started filing in with their plates. Looking at the sky, trying to sense any movement in the clouds, he jolted as he noticed a particular cloud trembling in the sky.

“Rainbow Blitz, ah know its you,” Applejack called out. “Ya gotta come eat with everypony else, y’know. No waitin’ till everypony is done to sneak off with your own plate…”

“Oh fine,” Rainbow Blitz flew towards the table in a flash from the cloud he was hiding in, gathering everything on his plate before zooming inside and sitting next to Zecora. “I actually didn’t mind sitting with everypony else, I just wanted to get on his nerves a little.”

“Been a while since you did that,” Zecora chuckled, watching as Butterscotch slowly trotted in with his own plate. Candy apples, apple pie, some hay sliders with lots of dressings…Zecora smiled as Butterscotch took a chair to sit on the zebra stallion’s other side. “Hello my sweet little former bat~”

If it were days before, Butterscotch would’ve full-on recoiled from such a term, even if it was merely for the sake of a rhyme. Instead, Butterscotch leaned forward and pressed his lips against Zecora’s lips for a few seconds as everypony else got seated. Sitting on Butterscotch’s other side was the towering Eris with a plate half as tall as she was, and next to her was Artemis. Around them was Applejack, Big Mae, Sugar Beau, and Grandpa Smith…

“Where’s Apple Buck?” Zecora asked.

“Oh, ah tried to wrangle him in mahself, but he’s spending time with his friends,” Applejack explained with a wave of his hoof. “They're out playing in the fields, so long as they don’t run off too far…”

“Feeling better today?” Eris leaned in and whispered to Butterscotch.

“Your dreams seem to be fine,” Artemis chimed in, and Butterscotch nodded at the both of them before the blue stallion continued. “Good, Solaris was asking about you too and I wanted to keep him updated.”

Butterscotch smiled, knowing that while Solaris had Dusk Shine as a close friend and former student, somehow he had become close friends with Artemis of all ponies. Of course with Eris being pawned off on him by Solaris, their close friendship was hardly a surprise. But Artemis and him hung out at least once a week since the whole Butterbat incident, and it wasn’t until that moment that Butterscotch realized the usefulness of having the Prince of the Moon as a friend. Blinking rapidly with realization, Butterscotch leaned forward a little more as he caught the blue alicorn’s attention.

“Hey Artemis?” Butterscotch spoke up. “Didn’t you mention that you had bat ponies as night guards?”

“Yes, I did, why do you ask?” Artemis tilted his head.

“Well, I was thinking if I could spend time with them in case something like this happens again?” Butterscotch suggested. “Maybe if I familiarize myself with the life of bat ponies, it’ll make me feel…less paranoid about this transformation happening again…”

“That sounds like quite the lovely idea,” Artemis grinned from ear to ear. “After all, you’re already dating a zebra. Why not get familiar with another culture of ponies?”

Butterscotch’s tail flickered from side to side, the excitement of possibilities laid out before him. While he didn’t expect to get acquainted with more species besides that of Zecora, the yellow pegasus also remembered his friendship mission coincidentally with the stallion he just made up with. And the Kirin that they met on that mission, perhaps he could see them again and check on how they were doing? Smelling the familiar zebra stud musk of Zecora, while looking at Rainbow Blitz’ glimmering rainbow mane…sent his heart on fire. Having the long pink mane flowing from his head as well as the stripes on his fur made him feel like a young zebra mare in love. And undoubtedly did Rainbow Blitz feel the same. Butterscotch could see Big Mae and Sugar Beau next to Rainbow Blitz as they nuzzled one another, the towering and big red mare leaning over and pressing her muzzle against her much smaller pink coltfriend. Grandpa Smith stared at Zecora and his pegasi for a few seconds longer than Butterscotch expected, before the skinny old green stallion grumbled and started eating his food.

Is he bothered by the fact that we’re all gay, a throuple, or that we’re dating a zebra?

Butterscotch knew that the kind of relationship they shared was far from the norm, and yet that was exactly why he loved the throuple he was in so deeply. The old stallion could be grumbling into his food for all he cared, especially when he took a bite of the hay slider and leaned against Zecora’s strong shoulder. Rainbow Blitz grinned before leaning against Zecora’s other shoulder, and with a dizzyingly sweet race of their hearts, the three stallions caved into the love they shared…

“And so I got my cutie mark in helping others!” Apple Buck grinned as he showed off his mark to the zebra stallion, who smiled as he gave the young colt a rub on his red mane. Meanwhile, his friends were also showing off their cutie marks before rushing up and greeting Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch. All the loose ends were tied up, and the throuple was on their way to leaving and heading back to their hut with Sweet Apple Acres being surrounded by Artemis’ night after such a long day of socializing, catching up, and getting the last bits of work done.

“That is quite great news, even if potion-making didn’t end up being your muse,” Zecora grinned. “To figure out your purpose in life is no easy task, so if you three need any help going forward just ask.”

“Thanks Zecora!” Apple Buck nodded before running towards Big Mae and Sugar Beau, white Applejack approached the zebra stallion and gave a pointed glance at him.

“Remember those pegasi of yours are just as much of mah best friends as they are yours, probably even moreso,” Applejack told Zecora. “So ah better not hear that you broke their hearts by not saying anything…”

“I’m aware of that, I owe them a very honest and long chat,” Zecora agreed. “Means so much to me that you’re my friend, and I really hope to see you again.”

“Well, we do have a lot of new apple trees to try out,” Applejack bumped the zebra stallion’s shoulder playfully as he pointed his head towards the apple trees. “Say, why don’t you come over again next week and show me some new potions? Ah’ll make sure we got the bits for the potions of course.”

“Sounds like a plan to me, since I know then I’ll be free,” Zecora wrapped his foreleg around Applejack’s shoulders in a half-hug, pulling him close for a brief moment before pulling away. Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch took the zebra’s place, smothering Applejack in a big-winged group hug before they began talking to each other about making plans to spend time with the other half of the Mane 6. Zecora stood at the side of the pathway for a few minutes before Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch looked at him at the same time, their eyes bright as they galloped towards him. Sending his heart aflutter, Zecora allowed the feeling to show on his face as they crashed into him and sent the normally strong stallion tumbling onto the ground laughing.

With Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch rubbing Zecora’s neck with their sweet muzzles and light kisses, the zebra stallion felt silly for not saying the words any sooner. But tomorrow, Zecora would change that injustice. He had a bunch of stops to make, this day needed to be everything they needed and more…