Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat uncomfortably on the floor in a row while Applejack paced back and forth nervously in front of them, apparently trying to make sense of what she had just been told. She opened her mouth to speak and put a hoof up, then closed it to reformulate her response.

"Now..." said Applejack, "say one more time exactly what you did? Why is Fluttershy in the hospital, and why did she tell me to go talk to you three fillies about it?"

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to speak. "Well, we kinda set Fluttershy on fire...but it was a freak accident, I swear!"

Applejack was speechless with her mouth wide open in shock. Scootaloo piped in her response. "Well, everything was going alright before we set her on fire..."

Applejack's eyes widened in terror. "You mean t' tell me that you set her ON FIRE?"

"Well," Sweetie Belle softly interjected, "just a little bit..."

"Yeah AJ, it was just an accident!" Apple Bloom added defensively. "We never thought it would come to that, but you know how these things go..."

"These things? I don't know about any of yer' other filly friends or their big sisters, but it aint normal for ponies t' be goin' around settin' other ponyfolk ON FIRE."

"...I guess, maybe things went a little too far when we decided to get the gasoline..."

"Yeah that's probably true," said Scootaloo, "but I think the box of spiders was okay. I mean, it isn't like they were poisonous or anything."

Sweetie Belle shifted uncomfortably. "Uhhhh, actually...I'm not sure of this, but they might have been poisonous..."

"What in Celestia's name are you three goin' on about?" Applejack exclaimed. "Gasoline? Poison spiders? What were you doin', torturing the poor mare?"

"No no no," replied Apple Bloom, "well...technically yes but it was for a totally okay reason."

Applejack gave her a look of pure disgust and confusion. "And h-what reason is that?"

"Well, she did ask us to scare her," said Apple Bloom.

"She what?"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom continued, "she told us that she needed help gettin' over being all scared all the time..."

Applejack gave her an unconvinced look. "...and Fluttershy asked you three fillies to help her..."

"That's right."

Applejack paused for a moment in contemplation. "And you thought the best way to help her...was to scare her silly and set her on fire."

"No," interjected Apple Bloom, "Applejack, the fire was an accident, okay? We didn't mean to light the gasoline right when she was walking over it..."

"Yeah," added Scootaloo, "it was supposed to go off after she entered the room."

Applejack's glaring gaze became a mixture of concern and anger. "Okay, okay. That's it, right? You didn't do anything else to the poor mare, did ya'?"

"Not much," replied Apple Bloom, "just a couple of other typical scary stuff like trapping her in a box of knives, locking her in a pitch black room for a few hours, and...hmm...was there anything else?"

"Just the torture device," Sweetie Belle added gleefully.

"The w-w-what...a t-torture device?"

"Well, not a real torture device," said Apple Bloom, "that would have been taking things way too far. We just had her hooves tied up and pretended to torture Fluttershy."

"We were pretty convincing!" Sweetie Belle excitefully squeaked.

Applejack's widened in fear. "Oh, sweet Celestia...that poor girl is probably goin' t' be scarred for the rest of her life...why were you doin' such terrible things?"

"We were just helpin' a pony in need," said Apple Bloom, "surely you can see our hearts were in the right place, AJ. We were just trying to help a friend! 'Sides, Fluttershy asked us to scare her so she'd be better at not bein' all jumpy all the time. You know, a sort of I got through something far worse kinda thing. We were just doin' our best to do what she wanted..."

"Yeah, but yer brains must've been lost somewhere along the way..."

"You make a fair point."

"You bet your mane I do," Applejack replied, then sighed. "I just don't understand why she'd actually ask to be scared...but that don't mean yer gettin' off the hook fer this!

"Well, you can go ask her," said Apple Bloom.

Applejack shot her an angry glare. "Fine, I will."

Applejack trotted out the door and made her way to the Ponyville hospital. She waited by the front desk until somepony came to greet her. "Howdy, which room is Fluttershy in?"

The young mare behind the counter checked a clipboard. "Room 17, to your right," she replied.

Applejack walked into the hallway and found Fluttershy's room. The door was already slightly ajar, so she just walked in. Inside, Fluttershy could be seen