Rainbow Dash lead Fluttershy all the way over to Sweet Apple Acres where Applejack was trying to convince Tank the tortoise to go into hibernation, but she wasn't having any luck.
"Come on, Tank. Y'all love hibernatin'. Just snuggle on down in that there burrow and go to sleep for a few months; easy!" said AJ as she sat down next to the stubborn reptile.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew over to the orchard where Applejack was now lying on the ground in desperation; she'd had enough of Tank's willpower.
"Oh mah, thank Celestia y'all are here! Ah can't get this darn reptile to do anythin' ah say!" said Applejack as she jumped up to greet the two pegasi.
"See, Fluttershy? I don't know what the heck is wrong with him! He's never refused to hibernate before now!" said Rainbow Dash in despair.
Fluttershy gingerly trotted over to where Tank was sitting, and she gracefully parked herself next to him.
"Oh, you poor poor thing. I wonder what the matter is" said Fluttershy in a gentle voice.
She lovingly stroked Tank's tiny head with her hoof, and he smiled up at her with his toothless grin.
"You two go on with whatever you were doing; I'll take it from here," she said to Applejack and Rainbow.
"Y'all sure you can handle it? He's been mighty stubborn" replied Applejack.
"I'm certain. He'll be absolutely fine once I've had a good talk with him" said Fluttershy with confidence.
And with that, Applejack and Rainbow trotted off towards the barn and left Tank in Fluttershy's capable hoofs.
Just as the two mares reached the barn, Pinkie Pie bounded in behind them with a cartoonish boing.
"Well howdy, Pinkie. What brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?" asked Applejack in her usual southern twang.
"Wait a second, did you follow us all the way from Fluttershy's?" added Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie Pie glanced at the floor in confusion, much to Applejack and Rainbow's dismay.
Pinkie was always so joyous and full of life, but she looked genuinely lost and bewildered as she stood in the damp and chilly barn.
"Everythin' alright, sugarcube? Y'all seem a might flustered just now" asked Applejack attentively.
Pinkie Pie knew what she wanted to ask her two friends, but her mouth, for once, wouldn't let her words escape.
Rainbow and Applejack glanced at each other for a moment as Pinkie anxiously drew into the ground with her right hoof.
She gave a large sigh as if to indicate that she was about to speak.
"So I've been over at Fluttershy's all afternoon helping her decorate the cottage for Hearth's Warming and there was this party canon, a weird mistle-plant, I think I might be in love with her, and then Rainbow showed up and I bounced all the way here to tell you this story!" Pinkie declared without taking a breath.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash's mouths we're wide open upon hearing Pinkie's statement. They blinked their eyes in unison before bringing themselves back to reality with a quick shake.
"Ah'm sorry, ah didn't quite catch that middle part" mumbled Applejack.
"Yeah, something about Fluttershy and you BEING IN LOVE WITH HER!" Rainbow exclaimed.
Applejack nudged Rainbow with her hoof, to which she responded with a resounding "OW!"
"Now, tell us slowly. What in Equestria happened over at Fluttershy's?" said Applejack in a calming voice.
Pinkie gave out another despairing sigh in order to calm herself down.
"I-I've never felt this way before, you guys. Urgh, I'm so confused!" Pinkie confessed as she held her head in her hoofs.
"Hey, Pinkie. It's okay. You know you can tell us anything" Rainbow declared as she put her hoof around Pinkie.
"Okay. I just don't want you to think any less of me" admitted Pinkie.
"Now why in the name of Celestia would we ever think less of you, sugarcube?" asked Applejack as she trotted closer to the pink pony.
"I mean, you heard what I said, right? I think I'm in love with Fluttershy! I like mares, I think... Isn't that weird? Shouldn't I be settling down with a nice stallion instead of falling for my bestest best friend?" Pinkie said as her voice began to crack.
Rainbow tilted her head at Pinkie as she gave out a small grin.
"As if we'd think less of you for being a filly-fooler! Pinkie Pie, you are so random!" said Rainbow Dash as she gave Pinkie a one-armed hug.
Pinkie looked up at her two friends with teardrops in her eyes; she thought they'd be ashamed of her.
"Y-you mean it? You don't think I'm weird?" said Pinkie in a shaky voice.
"Pinkie, y'all are weird for just being yourself. And that's what we love 'bout you" explained Applejack.
"Yeah! So what if you like mares? Heck, I like mares too!" Rainbow admitted a little too enthusiastically.
Applejack's ears suddenly pricked up upon hearing Rainbow's casual confession.
"You? Ya like mares too?" asked Applejack with a strong sense of longing.
"Um, duh! I thought it was pretty obvious... I mean, have you seen my mane?" replied Rainbow with a cheeky side-grin.
Applejack blushed slightly as she ran her hoof across the top of her stetson.
"Rainbow. How did you figure out that you liked mares?" asked Pinkie with intrigue.
Rainbow suddenly halted in her complacent tracks and gave out a slight whinny whilst trying to avoid Applejack's gaze.
"Uh... Well... That's not all that important right now, Pinkie" replied Rainbow as she rubbed her neck boyishly.
"Rainbow's right, Pinkie. What matters is how you're feelin' right now" Applejack interjected.
Pinkie nodded at her two friends as she gave out a slight smile before breathing in and out deeply.
"When did y'all figure out your feelings for Fluttershy?" asked Applejack.
"Well, now that I think about it, I guess I've been feeling this way a lot longer than I realised" Pinkie began.
"I mean, I designed my Hearth's Warming canon for her without even knowing. She's just so sweet, like candy, but a hundred times sweeter! And I'm always happy, but Fluttershy seems to make my happiness feel less like a chore and more of a natural feeling. And I'm always the one to make everypony else smile, which I love love love to do, but she makes me smile without even trying."
Applejack and Rainbow stared at Pinkie, completely in awe of what she was saying about their friend.
"Oh my gosh, and she's so beautiful! Her mane is so lovely and soft, and don't even get me started on her eyes! They're wonderful! They're dazzling! They're terrific! Hmm, she's terrific. And she's suuuper kind; the kindest pony I've ever met! I'm just amazed at everything she does and what she's accomplished, and I feel like I don't want to spend any time without her. And did I mention that she's also insanely beautiful?" Pinkie said as she gazed off into the distance with her chin on her hoofs.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash found themselves getting rather emotional at Pinkie's declaration, so much so that Applejack had to bring her hat to her face to avoid any public displays of emotion.
"Mah mah, Pinkie. That was just about the sweetest and most real thing you've ever said" said Applejack as she discreetly wiped away a tear.
"Too right it was! I've never seen you talk so seriously about somepony before" added Rainbow.
Pinkie Pie blushed a little, not that anypony would see under her bright pink fur.
Her feelings were coming to her all at once, and she didn't quite know how to handle them.
"Oh, what do I do, you guys? I mean, Fluttershy's so sensitive and timid. I don't wanna scare her by blabbering about all my feelings. Hmm, how can everything feel so amazing but so awful all at the same time?" said Pinkie in anguish.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at their Pink friend lovingly before pulling her into a double-hug.
"Now y'all listen here. You cannot let Fluttershy's shyness get in the way of you telling her how you feel" Applejack advised.
"Yeah! Don't let an awesome speech like that one go to waste, Pinkie!" Rainbow added passionately.
Pinkie looked at the earthy ground as she pondered her friend's statements.
"I-I just don't know if I have the confidence to tell her" Pinkie Pie admitted in a small voice.
Rainbow and Applejack had never seen Pinkie Pie so deflated, so vulnerable, so un-confident.
They knew that Pinkie should admit her feelings to Fluttershy no matter what the outcome, but they also knew that nopony deserved to be pressured into something by their friends.
The orange earth pony looked over at the pegasus standing next to her, and it was as if their minds had conjured up the same thing at the exact same moment.
"It's okay, sugarcube. There's no pressure whatsoever. Why don't y'all sit down together somewhere where y'all feel comfortable, and maybe you'll end up telling Fluttershy how you feel nice and natural-like" said Applejack calmly.
"Yeah, I'm with AJ! Maybe head back over to Fluttershy's to finish decorating, get into a nice, natural setting, and maybe it'll all just come out on its own" Rainbow expanded.
Pinkie Pie nodded apprehensively, stood up on her hoofs, and gave her two friends a huge and sincere hug.
"I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Thank you so so soooo much for understanding" said Pinkie with a slight sniffle.
"Aw, hey now. That's what friends are for, silly filly" replied Applejack.
"But on a serious note, Pinkie. Fluttershy's basically my sister; hurt her, I hurt you" said Rainbow Dash somewhat sternly.
"Rainbow Dash!" exclaimed Applejack as she raised her eyebrow and performed her best glare.
Rainbow giggled nervously as she looked over at her angered Earth Pony friend.
"Just kidding".
Pinkie Pie took a small breath before heading out of the barn towards Fluttershy and Tank. Rainbow and Applejack followed closely behind incase Fluttershy had managed to convince Tank to snuggle into his burrow, which she had done.
Rainbow Dash saw her little buddy shimmy into the hole beneath one of Sweet Apple Acres' trees, and she flew over immediately.
"Hey, you finally got him into his den! What was wrong with him? Is he okay?" asked Rainbow with slight concern.
"Oh, he's just fine. The poor little dear's burrow was much too cold for him to sleep in, but I've lined it with some woollen blankets to keep it nice and cosy for him" replied Fluttershy sweetly.
Pinkie stood watching the yellow pegasus from afar in amazement; Pinkie loved how nurturing Fluttershy was with animals, and ponies for that matter.
"Gee, thanks Fluttershy. I was getting really worried back there. You're the best!" said Rainbow as she let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, it's my pleasure. He'll be absolutely fine now that he's nice and warm" Fluttershy responded.
"I-I hate to be rude, but Pinkie and I still have lots of decorating to do back at my cottage. W-would you mind if we get going?" asked Fluttershy quietly.
"Aw shucks, we've taken up enough of y'all's time already with this hibernatin' business. Y'all run along now and finish your decoratin'" said Applejack.
Fluttershy began to gracefully hover away from the farm when she turned to see where Pinkie Pie was. "A-are you coming, Pinkie?" she asked gently. Pinkie had been caught up in another Flutter-daze, so she had to jerk herself back into the room once again.
"Huh. Who? Me? What? Uh, yeah! On my way, Fluttershy" Pinkie finally responded.
Pinkie walked away from the barn, not bounced, walked. She took a final glance at her two friends who were still standing by Tank's den. They waved at her encouragingly until she vanished over the hillside. They were both so proud of Pinkie.
"Now, Ah gotta get back to buckin' the rest of these here apples. The snow'll make em go bad pretty soon" said Applejack as she kicked a nearby tree with full force.
"Uh, hey! Maybe I could lend a hoof. Given that you've already helped me today with Tank and everything" added Rainbow Dash.
Applejack looked over at the cyan pegasus for a moment before throwing her a wooden apple bucket.
"They're all yours, partner" Applejack responded with a wink.