*(~)*

Psalm 69:4~

More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

*(~)*

Hatters gonna hate

So far, it was a pretty lazy day at the police station. Mako and Flash were just filling the remaining paperwork, having gotten there earlier than the other police officers to do so. The two were always very punctual, which was why they were known as the city's finest police cops. Not to mention the finest looking cops in the eyes of their respected lady friends. But, sadly, Mako couldn't entirely focus on his work.

"Where is she?" he voiced out, after looking at the clock for what appeared to be the tenth time in the last five minutes.

"Relax, she'll get here." Flash stated, not taking his eyes off of his work. Just then, in bursted Rainbow Dash, screeching to a halt on her axis and panted in exhaustion.

"Sorry I'm late! Tank accidentally knocked down my alarm clock and I overslept, then I accidentally knocked down a delivery pony and had to help him up, and get him to where he had to give the mail, then I flew here as fast as I could but I got sidetrack by-you know what, never mind!"

"Sidetracked by what?" Mako asked.

"Nothing! What's with all the questions. Well, gotta get to work!" the anthro pegasus girl hurried to her desk, which was only two desks away from the boys. Rainbow Dash inconspicuously took something from her back pocket and placed it into her drawer before closing it. Once she looked back up, she saw the boys eyeing her suspiciously.

"Gah! Oh, hey guys." Rainbow smiled, waving innocently in hopes they would leave her alone.

"Rainbow, what are you hiding?"

"Nothing, why would I be hiding anything?" her ears perked up when she heard the sound of her drawer being opened, curtesy of Flash Sentry.

The anthro stallion arched an eyebrow. "What's this? "Republic Rolling Stone."? Since when do you read this garbage?"

"Okay, you caught me, I like to read it in my spare time." she said with a nervous chuckle.

"You're lying." Mako stated, his eyes dead on the pony, who suddenly freaked out when Flash opened the book and started flipping the pages.

"NO!" thinking fast, Rainbow Dash lunged onto Flash Sentry, landing on his back and attempted to get the magazine away from him. "Flash, you give that back right now!"

"What is your deal?! It's just a stupid magazine!"

"Just don't read what's inside!"

"What's inside?!"

"Just don't look!"

The two fought over the magazine like a couple of children, with the girl piggybacking on Flash's back before tackling him to the ground and snatching the magazine from his hand, shooting in victory.

"Ha!-Hey!" just as quickly as she had it, the magazine was snatched up once again by Mako himself. He crossed his arms in front of the two. This was very unprofessional of them.

"What's going on here?" Lin asked, finally entering the office and saw Rainbow Dash on top of Flash. "Rainbow, no wrestling in the office."

Rainbow stood back up and Flash grunted as he straightened himself. That girl sure was strong and heavier than she looked.

"Sorry, Chief." Mako apologized to his boss…who's eyes darted down to the magazine in his hand. Her eyes widened in worry.

"Where did you get that?"

"Oh, Rainbow brought it and-" before he could explain further, Lin snatched the thing form his hand.

"Well, I'm confiscating it. New policy; no magazines. Okay, back to work you three." the chief hurried to her office and closed the shore behind her. She quickly spotted her trashcan and prepared to toss the thing into it but was stopped when Mako and the others bursted in.

"Chief, you too?" Mako asked, amazed to see his boss in this kind of state. Why was she in such a hurry to get the magazine? What was in it that was so big that he could't even see what it was?

"What's going on?"

Lin felt she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Out of all her offices, she had a soft spot for Mako, Flash and Rainbow in particular. Even if she would never admit it out loud. Sighing in defeat, she handed the firebender the magazine.

"Just…don't read the comments." she said.

"Comments? What are you talking about?" Mako asked as he skimmed through the pages until she spotted one page in particular that had his picture on it. "Wait? Is that me?"

"Well, it certainly isn't Daring Do." Lin said.

Curiously, Mako read what the page was. It appeared to be some kind of section with written letters by people with alias names like, FireFly2.0, or GearHead96, or simply Nemo, each one with a comment down bellow their names, regarding the topic of himself.

Mako's eyes scanned the words and he could not believe what he was reading. "What?…Ugh!…Okay, wow!" were his main reactions each time he read what came next. Each reaction angrier than the last.

"Told you not to read the comments." Lin said, crossing her arms and visibly showing sympathy for her employee.

"What is all this? "Officer Mako and Princess Korra make such a beautiful couple…that it makes me want to vomit for two hours straight" says, BitterWriter12."

Rainbow lowered her hears and shrunk down in fear, "Yeah, BitterWriter12. He or she can get nasty."

"Why would people write this stuff?"

"It's this new section these guys came up with. You send them a letter, regarding your comments to anything going on in the city, fashion, the movers, politics, celebrities, blah, blah, blah. And if they like it, they post it on the new issue."

"So, they post whatever they want to talk about for everyone to read?" Flash asked.

"Yep. And nobody puts their full name. They make up some alias made up one and if they have anything to say to that person, they mail in a response to another's comment. It's a free for all for anybody to feel like their being heard."

"Yeah, well some voices are best kept silent!" Mako exclaimed in anger, "Listen to this; "Mako the Fire Ferret Team Captain is the most talented bender I've ever seen…"

"See? They're not all bad." Lin said, hoping it would make him feel better…but he wasn't done reading it.

" "...Too bad he has no talent in hairstyles. The guy's spikier than a porcupine." !"

"I stand corrected."

Flash placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Okay, so a few people don't like you, that doesn't mean you're the most hatted person in the city-What the?!" Flash flipped the page on the magazine, only to be stunned himself by what he saw.

In a fit of furry, Flash took the magazine from Mako's hand, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. "There's a hate page of me too?!"

"Join the club, buddy."

"What? How? Why? What did I do?!"

"Nothing!" Rainbow said, getting in the between the two, "Neither of you did anything wrong. These are just a bunch of jerks with nothing better to do than write mean comments. Besides, I think half of them are just jealous." the rainbow haired pony girl smiled as she wrapped her arms around their shoulders. "You're two of the coolest guys I know, and the best partners. And if Twilight and Korra weren't off on some map adventure right now, they'd be telling you the exact same thing."

For a brief moment, the sincerity in her words were enough to calm the boys down. Nopony knew them as well as she and their friends did.

"But then why did you still get the magazine if you didn't want us to see it?" Flash asked.

"Because it has the mailing address on the back. I was planing on writing a firm, but rational, letter to the people in charge."

"Oh…"

"Don't say I never do anything for you guys."

Lin let out a small chuckle, "Don't worry, boys. If this keeps up they'll take down that ridiculous comments section faster than Dash can catch a capper."

"Thanks, Chief!"

"And if they don't?" Flash asked with concern, "Last time I checked, being mean wasn't exactly illegal."

"Relax. I know these magazine business chumps, if something stops their sales they'll dump it."

Mako sighed while tracing fingers through his spiky hair. "Yeah, you're right. We've got nothing to worry about."

(~)

But the boys didn't let it go so easily. In fact, they kept on reading what those jerks mailed and had now visibly for all to see. Did they even monitor these comments or did they just post whatever the heck would reel in more readers?

The door of the apartment opened and Bolin walked in, happy as could be with a bag in hand. "Oh, hey guys." the earthbender greeted happily, "Listen, Asami's got this business meeting dinner tonight with the president about renovations to the park and I wanted your opinion on which tux to wear." he pulled out the two tuxes, one green and one brown, and awaited for their reply. But the two were still preoccupied with the magazine. Their brows furrowed in anger as they did.

"I see you found the comments section." Bolin said sadly, lowering the two tuxes.

"Did you know people hate me and Korra as a couple?!" Mako said to his brother.

"And me and Twilight?!" Flash added.

"Oh yeah. They say Twilight's too smart and pretty for somebody as boring as Flash and folks think Korra deserves better than Mako because of his breakup with Asami."

"It was mutual!" Mako exclaimed while standing up in anger before her face palmed himself and paced around the room, sighing in exasperation. "I can't believe there are actual people out there who hate me and Korra."

"Actually, most people juts hate you."

"What?!"

A knock on the door was heard and Rarity entered the room and handed the young man a box. "Boly, you forgot the shoes for the dinner. Oh, hey Mako. Hello, Flash."

"Did you know people hate me and Korra?" Mako asked, not wasting a second in asking the question.

"Oh…you found it." Rarity said with a cringe, her ears lowering.

"Yeah, we did!" Flash exclaimed in anger, "All the comments that say I'm a boring sack of meet!"

"Actually, you call you so boring that they said Twilight would have a better relationship with a rock than with you." Bolin stated, only to have Rarity elbow him in the gut. "Oh, not a good time?"

The anthro male pony stood up in anger, "What?! Why didn't you tell us about this?!"

"Because they're just hatters, and we knew you would get upset about it."

"We are not upset!" the two boys screamed, only to reel back once they realized they had crossed a line.

"Sorry." Mako said, being the first to apologize. "I just…"

"I know, darling. It's not easy dealing with people who don't like you."

"Wait, how do you know what it's like?"

"Well, as a business pony, I deal with criticism all the time. In fact, beforehand, every time I received a negative comment I would burst into tears and lock myself in my room."

"How'd you get over it?" Flash asked curiously.

"Easy. I remember all of you." she said with a kind smile, now having the two upset boys's undivided attention. "You think you boys are the only ones who receive hateful comments from people you don't even know? Me and the others get the same treatment. I hear people say that Korra is just a spoiled brat who just got lucky, some call Pinkie Pie a party animal with no self control whatsoever. Some call Applejack a country airhead, Asami is a trap and don't even get me started on what folks have said about Rainbow Dash."

"Or when they say I'm the worst actor ever." said Bolin, "Some even say that I'm just a rebound guy for Asami."

"But that's not true." Mako said, "She loves you."

"I know. And that's enough for me."

Mako blinked, "Wait, it doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it does, but it won't help if I get mad back."

"Hatting a hatter makes you a hatter." said Rarity.

"Exactly. Mako, people can and will say whatever the heck they want, and it'll always be painful."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it won't hurt." Flash said. "I mean, they don't even know us and yet they have the nerve to say that stuff?"

"Well, that's their problem. I've been insulted by those comments before, but then I remember the fiends who know the real me. So, I figured, how bad can I really be if I still have folks who care about me despite all my flaws?"

"And you boys are very flawed, especially you Mako." Rarity said, making the firebender pout, "But I know you've come a long way since the broody firebender boy I first met. And yes, I may tease you every now and again but…that's how I show you my affection. You're like the older brother I never had, and I can always count on you to look out for all of us. And you Flash Sentry, you're the most chivalrous pony I've ever met. And how can I hate somepony who makes one of my best friends so happy?"

Mako and Flash shared a look, taking in their friends' words. Just like Rainbow Dash with her sincerity, these were people who knew them. The real them. Maybe they had just taken the words too close to heart and felt that they weren't good enough because of how hateful the comments were. They didn't know any of those people, and none of them knew them personally unlike their friends and family. So, no matter how terrible those words were, it shouldn't bother them because it didn't matter what the hatters said. What truly mattered was what they and their friends and family thought.

Rarity picked up a picture from the table and showed it to the boys. It was a photograph of the entire group together at Twilight's castle. "Tell me, does the opinion of a bunch of random strangers change who you truly are?"

Mako and Flash smiled in gratitude. "I guess we got kind carried of away, hu?" said Flash, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah." Mako agreed, embracing his friends in a tight hug. "Thanks, you guys."

"Anytime." Bolin said happily. "Besides, I don't think you'll be worrying about those comments for very long."

"Why?"

The next day….

"Due to recent reports of brutal comments from the anonymous public, Republic Rolling Stone will no longer be featuring comments sections until further notice." Rainbow Dash read the words out loud from the latest issue of the RRS magazine to Mako, Bolin, Rarity, Twilight and Flash at the coffee shop.

"Wow, my letter actually worked?"

"Actually, you have to thank Korra and Asami for that." Twilight said, "One comment really got their fuse lit."

"What did they write?"

"Don't ask!" both females exclaimed once they arrived and sat beside their respected boyfriends.

"Hopefully now people will be more careful about what they post. Words can have some serious consequences." Korra said as Mako wrapped his arm around her. "So, did anything else happen while we were away?"

Mako and Flash exchanged smiles before simply replying, "Not really."

*(~)*

Psalm 69:4~

More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

*(~)*

Yeah, I know this is just a cute little short with nothing much going on, but this was just an idea I had and wanted to give it a try. This was inspired both from a Big Time Rush episode and by the hate both Flash Sentry and Mako receive, as well as anybody who had ever received a hateful comment from somebody they didn't know. I've been there, and it's no picnic.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this, I know it's not much but it was an idea I wanted to put into play.