//------------------------------// // Entry 10: Hate // Story: Bound Elemental // by Kendallonian //------------------------------// Today Twilight came in early in the morning and gingerly placed ten sheets of parchment next to each other on the floor. I think she tried to strategically place them so that burning one wouldn’t accidentally catch the others. As soon as it happened, though, I knew none of those papers would be making it to the end of the day. I experimented with the first one, trying to see just how much it took for the thing to burst into ashes. Prodding it with a hoof didn’t do any damage, so I tried sustained contact next. Smoke began to rise from under my hoof after a few seconds, and when I retracted, I’d left a charred hoofprint on its surface. A second later, my hoofprint burst into flames as the heat I’d imparted to the parchment found oxygen and fuel. I just laid down in front of the small fire and watched as the paper curled up and transformed into the truest state of matter. It was just a tiny flame, but I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy, seeing it. I moved on to the next one, this time I crumpled it up into a ball and threw it into my mouth, where it crackled and popped pleasantly as it broke apart and filtered through my neck into my stomach. I was leaning against the wall, pondering what sort of unique doom sheets three and four would be sentenced to when a certain unicorn intruded upon my solitude. “Are you even trying at this point?” Starlight said. I opened an annoyed eye at the one most responsible for imprisoning me here. “Trying what, exactly?” I asked. “Refraining from burning everything within your reach so Twilight can trust you? She was here with ten papers just a minute ago, and two are already gone.” I closed my eye again. “As a matter of fact, no, I am not trying. I find the burny path much more gratifying at the moment.” I heard Starlight give a heavy sigh, and I smiled, keeping my eyes closed. “Do you even want to be free?” Starlight asked. “Extremely. Maybe you and the princess ought to be researching a way to send me back home so we can both get what we want.” Starlight was incredibly silent after that. My smile widened, as I had thought that I had given her an irrefutable argument. When I looked to see her crooked face, however, she was looking at me most peculiarly. Almost with… pity? My smile disappeared. “What’s that look for?” I asked. Starlight couldn’t look me in the eyes. Her gaze was lowered to the floor. I started getting angry. “What aren’t you telling me?” I asked, barely keeping myself from yelling it. After a few moments of silence, Starlight said; “I just came from the library; I… couldn’t find anything to help you. I went through Twilight’s entire collection…” “How long is this going to take?” I asked evenly. “I don’t know. The thing is… nopony has ever done any magic like this before; we might be able to find something in the canterlot archives, but if not…” I clenched my jaw tighter. I could feel a growl forming in my throat. “If not, then what?” Starlight cautiously looked me in the eyes. “If not, the condition might be permanent.” I slammed a hoof against the forcefield that separated us. If it hadn’t been there, I would’ve smacked her halfway across the room, and possibly also set her on fire. “NO! You do not get to say that. You did this; you’re going to keep working on it until you find some sort of solution!” “I don’t think you understand-” she began, but I was having none of it. “I WON’T BE TRAPPED HERE FOREVER! I WON’T! I…” I couldn’t think of any more words to say, so I started swinging at the forcefield; maybe if I could break it I could strangle the answers out of her. Soon, though, my focus shifted to trying to find any way out of this room at all; I clawed at the walls at an ever-increasing rate, sometimes hitting with enough force to leave a mark on the crystalline structure. I shot flames from my mouth in every direction, even as I felt the heat draining from my body I kept it coming; this prison cell had to have some sort of weakness; just like there had to be some way out of this infernal, mortal shell. I just had to fight to find it. By the time I was done, every surface in my cell had been scarred and scored black. Everything was trailing little wisps of smoke. The remaining parchments, suffice it to say, were gone. Utterly and completely. I stood in the center of it all, breathing heavily. The flames in my chest were sputtering erratically; I had used too much heat, and I was suffering the consequences. Spike, take a note; I hate you all. I hope you burn. Good day. Have a nice life. I never want to speak to any of you ever again.