Chapter 14: Rage Spike, 3 Strikes Your Deaf

A/N This is your author here with an announcement. I am no longer in Dire need of OC's. I mean, I still need a few more, specifically a main character. But, I now have enough to make some significant progress in the story. I would also like to thank you all for sticking with me to chapter 14. And I hope you'll stay with me to the grand final. Also, I warn you now, the story will start being more plot oriented from this point on. Meaning less jokes and more interaction. If this doesn't sound good to you, then please stop reading this. I'd really hate to waste someones time. And yet another thing, I reached my goal of 50+ reviews. HOORAY! My new goal, 100. Only you can make this goal a reality, cause I can't review my own story. Also, if you submit an OC please make sure they are mentally stable. As I have one to many borderline insane characters. umm... anything else I have to say will be in the end authors note. Enjoy Chp.14.

All eyes were on me. From Najmi's to Pinkie's. They all just stared at me. Waiting for something to happen. No, they were waiting for me to speak. But, I wasn't going to say a word. I didn't need to. Instead, I just leaned against the bookshelf behind me and waited. After a couple minutes of stunned silence, Pinkie managed to jump to my defense.

"Umm Princess, I don't think it's him. I know Ryan. He's a super-duper-looper good friend. And he's sooooooo nice."

"I agree with Pinkie. Ryan is a good friend. He was willin' to lend me a hand with mah apple harvistin'. I refuse to believe that he's the cause for all this commotion." Agreed Applejack. How kind of them. The princess turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

"Is what they say true, Ryan?" She was asking me for confirmation. Odd. One minute, I'm called out for being the source of an evil disturbance, and now I'm being questioned as to my good deeds. Strange. Very, very, strange.

"Well, I think they exaggerated a bit as to how kind I am. But for the most part yes, what they say is true." I replied to the princess. I wonder how long it will take before we get back to the subject of my negative emotions being the cause for evil magic. Or whatever it was we were discussing. The princess regarded me in her eyes for a second. She may have been studying me, or trying to see if I was a liar. Couldn't honestly tell. Turning, she spoke to the rest of the girls. And Najmi. Najmi's not a girl.

"And what do the rest of you think of Ryan?"

The others glanced amongst themselves and each came up with a unique opinion.

Najmi was the first to speak.

"I think he's great. I mean, at times his attitude can be a bit…sour. But he's a really good friend."

Rainbow Dash spoke next, "I don't like him. He's rude and mean. I honestly wish you'd banish him, or something." Ouch, that's harsh. And, a little bit excessive.

"I...umm...I...think he's a...umm...bit intimidating." Mumbled Fluttershy. I agree with you.

"Well, I haven't taken the time to get to know him. So I can't really say." Stated Twilight bluntly. No comment.

"Well I think his sense of fashion is atrocious!" wailed Rarity. Well wailed isn't quite the right word. Doesn't matter.

Everyone turned and stared at Rarity. Some with disappointment and others with confusion.

"What? All he wears is the same black hoodie." Rarity said sheepishly.

During all of this I remained silent. Just leaning against the bookshelf, eyes closed. Taking the verbal abuse. It was fine. Not like I wasn't used to it anyways. If they wanted to talk about me as if I wasn't in the room, then whatever. Who gives a fuck about what they think anyways. As they began arguing amongst themselves about whether I was a good person, I snuck back up the stairs and into the room I was using. Approaching the open window I leaned out and grabbed onto a nearby branch. I pulled myself out of the room, and began scaling the tree until I finally found a nice spot to lay down. Easing myself down, I lay my head against the trunk of Twilight's tree. Pulling the Bloodrock out of my pocket, I began tossing it in the air. Trying to relieve the growing tension I felt. But, it was no use. I was stressed.

Suddenly my nerves started tingling. It could only mean one thing. I was being watched. Opening my eyes, I shoved the orb back into my pocket and waited for my spy to make the first move. Or to say something. Whichever came first.

"Umm...Mr. Ryan? What are you doing up here all by yourself? If you don't mind me asking, that is." A soft voice spoke. Fluttershy, of course.

"Do you really care, or are you just here to tell me I need to return to the library?"

As the sound of fluttering wings reached my ears, I found her sitting on a branch above and to the right of me.

"Oh, the others are too wrapped up in their argument. I was the only one who noticed you were missing. I thought you might have gotten mad and wanted to make sure you were safe."

Of course I was mad. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's when people talk about me when I'm right there with them. But, that wasn't the most important issue at the moment. What was important was that I was having a conversation with Fluttershy. Even after headbutting her, she still came to check on my safety. How sweet of her. Perhaps I misjudged these ponies.

"I'm fine. I just wasn't in the mood to stand there and let myself be verbally abused."

At this she gasped.

"What made you think we were saying anything bad about you?"

"Can you honestly tell me that they aren't down there, right now, insulting me?"

Fluttershy put her hoof to her chin in contemplation.

"Well, Rainbow Dash WAS saying some pretty hurtful things."

Sitting up, I motioned for her to join me on the branch I was using. Nervously, she let herself drop down and onto it. For a second or 2 the branch creaked and swayed like it was going to snap. But, it held.

Turning I stared at the butter colored pegasus. Well, butter's not quite the right term to describe her color. It was more like banana pudding. She shrank away from me and tried to hide behind her pink mane.

Sighing, I knew what had to come next. I had to apologize to her. And what's more, I felt it had to be sincere. Not some made up bullshit. It needed to come from the heart. God, how cheesy.

"Fluttershy, out of all the ponies, you have the most reason to fear and hate me. But, you don't. Instead you worry for my well being. Why?"

She thought for a second and turned away, so that she looked out upon all of Ponyville.

"Well, it's not in my nature to hate others. Sure, you frighten me a little bit. But, you remind me of a manticore I once helped. He had a thorn in his paw and was in pain. None of my friends understood that and tried to attack him. He became mad and fought back. Only when I showed him kindness and removed the thorn from his paw did he calm down. After that, he was very nice and sweet. Like a giant kitten. I think that deep down there is a thorn in your heart. That deep down you're hurting and need someone to care for you. You aren't as mean as the others think. You just need tender kindness."

H...H...how? How could she have possibly known that? My mind was reeling. She, she had...had. God, I wasn't even sure anymore. What she said was true. But, but how? I hadn't told anyone of my past. She couldn't have guessed. Then how? Perhaps I was wrong to manipulate these ponies so. If this one could understand me, maybe the others could as well.

"In my entire life I never thought I'd find a person, err pony, who understood my problems. Fluttershy, I'm sorry I headbutted you. I'm sorry for bringing you and your friends so much grief. If you could find it in your heart, could you forgive me?" I asked as a tear ran down my eye. It was a tear of regret. A tear of shame.

Immediately, she wrapped her hooves around me and gave me a hug. Dear Christ was she warm and soft. Nothing I'd ever felt before could have compared to how soft she was.

"Of course I forgive you. I was never mad at you to begin with."

After a couple seconds she let go of me.

"Oh...I...I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to umm..." she stuttered, as a blush crept over her face. If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn she was embarrassed about hugging me like that.

A genuine smile spread across my face. "Thanks Fluttershy, I needed that hug. If only the others were as accepting as you. Pinkie and Applejack were kind enough to give me a chance, but I just wish the others would as well. Then they'd see that I wasn't as awful as I've been made out to be." She smiled at me. And began reciting soothing things to me. Kinda like she did with her animals back at her cottage.

*click*

That's it! That's where this confidence, this perfect understanding, is coming from. This knowledge of what troubles me. In her eyes, she's not seeing me as she does the other Ponies. She looks at me like I'm just a smart animal. She doesn't really mean these things. This is just her natural instinct taking over. Her special skill. As soon as these realizations hit me, my anger spiked. I had never been so pissed in my entire life. All my regret and newfound joy melted away, turning into nothing but smoldering rage. In her eyes, I was just another fucking animal. My, no longer peaceful, mind boiling, I could feel the pain pouring through my veins. I could feel my anger seething. My hatred burning. Hell, I could almost smell the smoke.

Stopping my train of thoughts I began sniffing the air. I did smell smoke. Almost like someone had started a wood fire going. Looking down, I found the spot I was sitting in to be black and burned. As if someone had set fire to it. Now what was it Princess Celestia said? 'My emotions are the cause of this immense magical disturbance'. Looking around, I began to notice heat waves rising off of something. But I couldn't seem to determine the source. Finally, I realized it was me. My anger had become so intense that my body couldn't handle it. Instead, it needed to vent it. So that metaphor they used, 'burning hatred', was more literal than they intended. Reaching up, I plucked a leaf from the tree and it burst into flames. It was seriously cool. I could ignite shit now. So, I had lightning and fire. Bitchin'.

"Oh, my…" I heard somepony gasp. Looking back, I forgot that Fluttershy was still sitting next to me. She had watched the display of the leaf spontaneously combusting. And from the looks of it, was fairly concerned.

"R...R...Ryan, what's going on?...if you don't mind that is." She questioned, reverting back to her stuttering.

"Oh nothing. Just my burning hatred for all living things managed to manifest itself into a flammable and highly combustible magic form. Why? Is something wrong?" I replied, using a sophisticated array of confusing verbal weaponry.

She just stared at me and sighed. Yep, my super mumbo jumbo talk distracted her enough to make her drop the subject. One day, I'd have vengeance against her for building up my hope like she did. But, not just yet. First, I needed her friendship for the more pressing matter of dealing with Discord.

"Fluttershy, why don't we go back inside. By now everypony's probably wondering where we are. And, I don't want them to worry about us."

She smiled at my suggestion.

"Of course."

Dropping down, I landed on the ground with a loud thud.

As I made my way to library entrance doorway, my ears were greeted with the sounds of things being thrown and stuff crashing into other stuff. I was hesitant to open the door, as I had no idea what might be going on. Sighing, I hardened my resolve and twisted the doorknob. As the door swung outward, something bright purple flew out and smacked me in the face. It was a flowerpot. Someone had chucked a flowerpot. And they hit me. Strike one.

Wiping the dirt from my eyes, I was surprised at what I saw. It was, well. It was an all out brawl. From the looks of it, and this is just a rough guess, Pinkie Pie was assaulting Twilight with a barrage of delectable and delicious treats and Twilight was firing off spells at her in return. Then there was Najmi and Rainbow Dash. RD was chucking flowerpots, books, and vases at him, and in retaliation Najmi was shooting off bolts of lightning in return. God bless his soul. Finally, there was Rarity and Applejack. Rarity was trying to trip, her once good friend, with long sheets of clothing fabrics. AJ was trying to dodge and avoid these ,while trying to score a good buck on the fashionista. I was unable to find Celestia. She was probably hiding in a corner somewhere. God knows where Spike ran off to.

I smiled, it was beautifully violent and destructive. It completely took my mind of the recent incident I had with Fluttershy. Speaking of, she stood next to me. Mouth agape in horror at the display before her.

"Stay here, and don't attract their attention. I'm going to see if I can find Celestia." I whispered into her ear. She nodded in agreement.

How should I go about finding Celestia? Option 1, look for her by hand. Option 2, try calling her name and see if she responds. Option 3, teleport to her and save myself from going through this hellish battlefield.

I like option 3.

Focusing my energy, I found Celestia's signature warm pure magic coming from Twilight's bedroom. Focusing on it, I willed myself next to her. As I opened my eyes, I wasn't surprised to find myself next to her. Actually, I was never surprised. Not the point.

Celestia was leaning against Twilight's bed and sobbing. Well, she couldn't really lean, as she had 4 legs. So it was more like crouching. Again not the point.

Something about seeing her like this made me sad. I mean, I didn't like her, but I didn't want to upset her. And I sure as hell didn't intend to make her cry. I don't like making people cry. It just felt wrong. Kneeling next to her, I rested a hand on her back. She was soft just like Fluttershy. Well, all ponies are soft, but I mean she was a special kind of soft. Just, nevermind.

Celestia raised her head and sniffled. Her eyes were red from all the tears she had shed. The fur on her face was obviously damp and soaked.

"What do you want, human?" she asked.

"I want to know what's going on. Why are the girls, and Najmi, fighting? Why aren't you down there trying to stop them?"

She slowly rose to her feet, hooves. Whatever. Turning to me, she replied, "Because I can't. I tried and tried, but no matter what I did, they just wouldn't stop fighting."

"Start at the beginning, after I snuck off. What happened then?"

Her eyes glazed over for a moment as she started to remember.

"Well, at first it was just an argument over whether or not you were nice. But, then it suddenly escalated into something much more than that. They started insulting each other. Nothing to hurtful at the start, just snide remarks and a bit of bickering. Then it changed into harsh insults. Cruel, disrespectful, and hateful things. At one point one, of the girls shouted out that she wished she'd never made friends with them. Then they started yelling and screaming. Finally, they snapped and began clawing, biting, and attacking each other. I tried to stop them myself, but it was to no avail. I ordered them to stop. But, they wouldn't listen to me. It was as if they couldn't even hear what I was saying. When I'd finally had enough I tried to use magic to contain them. But, Twilight just destroyed whatever form of barrier I could conjure. She even threatened to rip off my wings if I tried again. I just, I couldn't do it. It's like they want bloodshed. So, I gave up and came up here."

As Celestia finished her story her eyes welled up with even more tears. She planted her face into her hooves and began sobbing again. Alright, that's it. I draw the line at making a mare cry, I thought to myself. Even if it's a God mare. Getting up, I turned to the door and made my way out and back down the stairs. The girls were still brawling like there was no tomorrow. And Fluttershy was standing in the doorway sobbing into her hooves. They made Fluttershy cry. Fluttershy. The nicest pony in the world, cry. That was Strike 2. I am of course, ignoring my recent incident with her.

As my mind began going over every possible solution, Rainbow Dash spotted me.

"Take this you freak!" she yelled at me as she chucked a flowerpot at me. Just like before, it hit me in the face. Unlike before, that was strike 3. They're out.

Inhaling, I began sucking in vast amounts of the magical air that surrounded me, until my lungs were 150% full. I signaled to Fluttershy to cover her ears, as this was going to be loud.

"KNOCK IT OFF YOU MISERABLE HALF-WITS!"

Everypony immediately covered their ears in pain. Except for Rainbow Dash, she got thrown back against a bookshelf. The force of my voice blew out the wall I was facing. The wall then proceeded to crash into a building, and smashed it to bits. I'd probably regret that later.

After 5 minutes, everyone got up off the ground and began rubbing their heads.

I didn't stay to watch what happened next. Instead, I proceeded back up the stairs and into Twilight's room.

As I entered Celestia lifted her head up and looked at me with confusion.

"What in Equestria did you do, Ryan?" She asked me.

"I solved the problem. Now quit crying, It's very unbecoming of a princess. Also, you may wish to get those poor souls to the hospital before they suffer permanent hearing loss."

A/N There you have it, Chp.14. If you have any comments or questions for me leave them in the reviews or PM me. Or just leave a review to tell me how I'm doing. I would really appreciate that.