//------------------------------//
// Anger 
// Story: The Stranger Among Friends 
// by PhycoKrusk 
//------------------------------//

	“Everything will be fine,” Rarity had said before she vanished into the conference room with Twilight, and despite the reassurance, Driftwood nonetheless felt singularly vulnerable. With no more guidance in an unfamiliar situation, he sat down on the floor and thought. He started to glance towards Rarity’s friends, but did not make it more than halfway before he felt the glare he was receiving and quickly averted his eyes to the floor in front of him. That avenue would yield him no help at all, and he allowed his mind to wander.

His thoughts drifted to the oranges that were still in his saddle bags, and the sudden discomfort in his stomach reminded him how long it had been since he last ate. A quick glance around the room revealed that the Guards were still largely uninterested in him as long as he wasn’t causing trouble, and that Rarity’s friends were still watching him with varying levels of discomfort and dislike. Enough of both that he remained where he was for several seconds, until finally his hunger won out and his stood up and walked towards the luggage.

Quite suddenly — suddenly enough that he was started backwards several steps — there was a mare standing in-between him and his target, and he was not able to comprehend how she’d gotten there so quickly. “What’re you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked accusingly, head lowered and wings spread wide.

Driftwood swallowed hard. “I have some oranges in my bags,” he said as placatingly as he could manage. “I’m hungry.” Hoof steps echoed at the edge of his perception, and he began to feel surrounded.

“Oh, not gonna snack on some love, huh?” Dash asked again. She raised her head up, but for some reason, this did nothing to make her seem less threatening. “What’s wrong? Our love not good enough for you?”

The other hoofsteps had stopped, but Driftwood felt no less surrounded. “But we don’t eat love,” he protested weakly, shrinking back even further.

Rainbow Dash just huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. “Well, that’s not what your queen said,” she fired back.

Driftwood’s vision suddenly became hazy. “Let’s get one thing straight right now!” he shouted suddenly, his expression hardening and eyes flashing with anger. The shift in his demeanor was enough to make all three mares recoil back from him, and the attention of every Guard focused on him in an instant. Rainbow Dash herself was too surprised to react in any other way even when he stomped over and was right in her face. “Changelings don’t have a queen, don’t need a queen, and don’t want a queen, and don’t you forget that!”

With a snort to conclude his statement, Driftwood turned and stalked away, ignoring the sounds of an argument starting behind him, as well as the food in his luggage.