You turn around, holding a hand on the doorknob.

You could run. You could take off right here and right now. You could hide and never have to deal with her again.

"Anon," you hear her voice call from the kitchen.

Your foot moves forward as you dance like a rat toward the pied piper. Your muscles tremble. Your stomach turns. The air feels cold against the back of your neck, but a drip of sweat runs down your finger.

Upon entering the kitchen, your eyes immediately move to the yellow pony sitting at the table in front of you.

"What was that?" she asks.

"Oh! Nothing," you answer happily. "Just Twilight, asking about that-"

"I thought we talked about this," she interrupts, rising to her hooves.

"It was just a passing thing and then she left, it wasn't that big of a-"

Then her eyes move to you, and you feel as if the blazing sear of a hot branding iron press against the square of your back. You feel yourself tense as her eyes burrow into you. The stare. Your breath comes out in shallow bursts.

"You knew what you did. And I know what you did."

She moves to the stove, where tonight's dinner simmers. She takes an oven mitt and covers a hoof as she grabs the pan.

Twilight gallops through town, looking from building to building. She knows that something isn't right. Something is very, very wrong.

"Where are they? I need one of the girls to help me if I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

Fluttershy takes the pan off of the stove and takes a deep whiff of the sizzling contents. She unfolds her wings, then lifts into the air with a single flap.

Twilight barges into Carousel Boutique and immediately sets her sights on Rarity.

"Twilight, whatever is wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," her fashionista friend asks, turning away from her work.

You try to move, you try to lift a finger in defense, but your body is held still by her gaze. You grit your teeth as you feel the heat of the pan near your right temple.

"I think something's wrong with Fluttershy and Anon, Rarity," Twilight says. "Anon doesn't seem like himself lately."

Rarity scoffs and shakes her mane.

"Darling, is this still about that crush you had on him?" Rarity asks, turning back to her work. "I know it hurts to be turned down, love. But, it's been long enough. He chose Fluttershy, not you. Can't you just be happy for him?"

"I don't think so. I think... something terrible is going on."

"Like, what?"

"I... I'm not sure," Twilight mutters. "But it isn't good."

"Twilight, Fluttershy wouldn't even hurt a fly. And if she did, she would probably cry and apologize for it. Do you remember the last time we had a fly funeral when Rainbow accidentally swallowed a fly?"

"That's not what-"

"Darling," Rarity says, moving towards Twilight. "I'm sure it's just a figment of your imagination. It's fine. Everypony gets jealous sometimes. It's normal. But you can't go around making claims about things that could never happen."

The metal strikes your temple, and you can feel your skin sizzle at the touch. Your whole face turns as food, and oil fly towards your eyes and across your clothes. You're knocked off balance as you feel time moving in slow motion. A trickle of blood dribbles down the side of your face as you connect with the floor, lying still. You try not to make a sound, fearing what would happen for resisting your punishment.

"Now," Fluttershy says, tossing the pan on the stove. "What have we learned?"