//------------------------------// // Entry 21: Wherein somepony tells me I look nice. // Story: Bound Elemental // by Kendallonian //------------------------------// Twilight came back to check on me the next morning. I was still sitting in the corner. I didn’t look at her when she came in. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Yeah.” I lied. “Do you want to come out now?” she asked. “No.” I said. “Can I come in?” Twilight asked again. I took a deep breath and let it out again. I didn’t answer. Instead, I said something that might change her mind. “I really enjoyed destroying your kitchen, Twilight.” Twilight looked down and pawed at the floor with a hoof. I took that as a signal to continue. “Yesterday I felt happy. I was happy that I was destroying your house, Twilight. Maybe if you’d come back earlier, I’d have been happy to burn you, too.” “I don’t believe that.” Twilight said. “You’re better than that.” “Better from whose point of view?” I said. “I doubt there’s an elemental back home who would like that I stopped. Maybe I should be a true elemental, or none at all. None of this… lukewarm business.” “It’s not black and white…” Twilight began to say. “It is, actually.” I said, raising my voice a bit as I looked to her. “Either I’m who you want me to be, or who I was born to be. There can be no middle ground; any way you slice it, someone is angry.” A long pause followed. “Then… who do you want to be?” Twilight asked. I didn’t have an answer to that. After a few minutes of silence, I heard Twilight take down the forcefield. I gave her a hard look. “What are you doing?” “I’m letting you out.” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “We both know that’s not a good idea.” I said. “I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that front.” Twilight responded. “I could burn your library next.” I said. “Well if you’re so concerned about it, maybe you should imprison yourself.” Twilight said. “I can’t say what your fellow elementals would think, and I can’t say whether you should abandon their values or keep them close. What I know is that you’re a better pony than you’re willing to give yourself credit for, and no single mistake can change that.” I shut my eyes tight, but a single flaming tear escaped anyway. More silence for a few moments, and then… “Well, Emerald, you can stay here if you want, but I think I have a way to prove to both of us that you have what it takes to be a good friend.” I looked at Twilight, trying to convey my utter disbelief with my expression. Her own expression remained mostly impassive, so I said; “What?” “Emerald, I want you to come outside with me to meet another one of my good friends.” My jaw opened wide. “Are you insane?” I asked. When there was no response I continued; “I just burned down your kitchen!” “The furniture is replaceable, Emerald. Friendships aren’t.” Twilight replied. “If this will help you to finally trust yourself I’d say any risk involved is worth it.” “But-” I began to protest, but Twilight interrupted. “Hey!” she said, then she looked deep into my eyes, as if searching out my spark somewhere in there and grabbing it with her gaze. It was eerily similar to what I’d experienced with Fluttershy, just with less fear and more… solidness. Twilight’s gaze seemed as immovable as a mountain in that instant. “Do you want to try and be a better friend?” Twilight asked. I opened my mouth to say it didn’t matter; that this is who I am and nopony could change it, least of all me, but all those arguments died in my throat. “...Yes.” I eventually said. “Then come on.” Twilight said, and the immovable mountain that was her gaze shifted as she turned to walk out, disorienting me for a moment. When I regained my grasp on reality, Twilight was standing just outside the door, looking back at me. “Are you coming?” She asked. “Uh- yeah.” I replied hastily. And so I did. Twilight led me down to the ground floor of her castle and out the front door. I hesitated a bit at the threshold, but eventually I stepped out and felt the crunch of road gravel under my hooves for the first time since I’d been staring Fluttershy in the face in the middle of the street. I stood there for a moment, feeling the gentle breeze ruffle my flaming mane and tail. I half expected somepony to shout, or try to grab me, or shoot spells or something, but none of that happened at all. “Uh- where did you say we’d be meeting this friend of yours, Twilight?” I asked. “She lives pretty much on the other side of Ponyville.” Twilight said. I recoiled. “Twilight, Are you crazy? I’m meeting them in their house? On the other side of ponyville?” “Yes.” Twilight said. “Yes you’re crazy, or…” “We are meeting my good friend in her house on the other side of ponyville.” Twilight said, seemingly undeterred. I looked up warily at the tinderboxes that passed for housing around here, stooping my neck in fear. “How do you know I won’t… y’know… burn everything to the ground?” I said. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to trust you,” Twilight said. “Like friends do.” “Twilight, not even I trust me.” I said. “Well, do you trust me?” Twilight asked. “...Yeeeeeess…” I said hesitantly. “And I trust you.” Twilight said. “So, according to the transitive property of trust, You do trust you.” “I… Don’t even know what those words mean.” I said. “Just walk with me; take it a single step at a time. You’ll be fine.” Twilight trotted back beside me as she said it, extending a wing over me like she had on my second night here, protecting me from the rain. I stood there frozen for a moment. After a few seconds of indecision, Twilight brought a hoof to her chest, simultaneously inhaling. Then as she exhaled she pushed her hoof outward. Then she said; “Try it. It’ll help you feel better.” I closed my eyes, then repeated the exercise. Breathe in, breathe out. It occurred to me that I may have been forgetting to breathe for a while, because the air that rushed in and out was a huge relief. How did Twilight know that, I wonder? With a small amount of newfound strength, I took a few steps forward. Twilight walked with me all the way, her wing putting a breeze to my back that quietly urged me forward. Nothing was burning yet, so I started moving a bit faster, going from stilted half-movement to a steady trot. My head slowly began to come back upward, but I was still looking warily at the nearby houses. “Keep your eyes forward, Emerald. Concentrate on where you want to go.” Twilight’s voice came to me just as I was beginning to clench my jaw. I nodded warily and locked my gaze forward. Soon afterward I was mildly surprised to see several ponies out in the streets, going about their day. I had half-expected Twilight to have evacuated the populace from the major streets to keep anypony from bumping into me accidentally. As it was, However, some ponies were just beginning to notice their princess walking protectively with a strange, fiery creature down the middle of the street. At first I thought that there might me some objections from concerned citizens about a walking bonfire coming through their town, or some parent who would shoo their children back inside as we passed, but nopony shouted, or said much at all, really. I did receive a few smiles and waves from random ponies; I even found the strength to timidly wave back to a few of them. For the first time, it occurred to me just how much Twilight’s word must have counted for in this community; Here I was, flames pouring out of my mane and tail, and nopony was batting an eye because I was with her. We walked for what seemed like ages. Occasionally Twilight would stop to talk to somepony she knew, but we never left each other's sides. I also had to occasionally remind myself to breathe, but we made steady, if slow, progress until Twilight announced that her friend’s house was in sight. I got a little nervous as we got closer; the house wasn’t like any of the others in ponyville; this one had a round base and delicate columns holding up a cone-like structure. It was painted in whites and purples, but I had no doubt the material underneath would burn as well as any other wood. At least the roof wasn’t thatched. It was only when Twilight opened the front door that I realized the full extent of her madness. The interior of the building was carpeted. Twilight had thought it was a good idea to invite a fire elemental into a carpeted building. Granted, she had thought to lay down some metallic plates in a path through the room, but all it took was a single step, and the whole thing was going up in a puff of smoke. As I hesitated, Twilight trotted on in to greet her friend; a white-coated unicorn with an indigo mane in what I can only assume was an expertly styled curl. They gave each other a short embrace before turning back in my direction. The white unicorn spoke first. “Is that the magnificent Emerald I’ve heard so much about?” She asked. I almost laughed at her use of the word ‘magnificent’, but I was a bit preoccupied with poking the metal plate in the doorway just to be sure it was safe. “Uh- yeah.” I said stupidly. “Well come on in! Don’t be shy!” The white unicorn said. “It’s all perfectly safe, don’t you worry about a thing.” I tentatively trusted my weight, and more importantly, my heat, to the first few plates before finally relaxing enough to take a look at my new host. “Emerald, this is my good friend Rarity.” Twilight said. “H-hello.” I said as I forced a small smile. “Absolute pleasure, darling.” Rarity responded. The smile she returned was surprisingly genuine. “I’m very much looking forward to working with you.” I blinked. “Working with- what are you talking about?” I asked. I looked to Twilight for an explanation. “Well, While I was talking with Rarity about you, she suggested that you might like her to make you a dress.” Twilight said with a smile. I wasn’t quite sure what a dress even was at the time, but a quick look around Rarity’s shop revealed a collection of pony-shaped forms wearing what seemed like intricate works of art studded with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds and held together with cloth and lace. “Sparks, you’re both crazy.” I murmured. Rarity frowned a bit before speaking. “I mean it’s alright if you don’t want a dress; our friend Rainbow Dash was quite against the idea at first…” “Oh, no! No no no! I think all of these look great, it’s just…” -I sat down on the metal plate, downcast- “I’ll probably just destroy whatever you put on me.” “Oh! Well if that’s your only issue, don’t worry about a thing. Twilight’s already figured it all out! She’s prepared some special materials we can use as a base, and I can just build around it.” I shot Twilight a look somewhere between amazement and confusion. “How long have you been working on this?” I asked her. “Yesterday morning,” Twilight said sheepishly. “Today’s when I finally got the formula right.” “Wha- you did research and experiments for two days just so I could wear a dress?”  Rather than Twilight, it was Rarity who answered. “Friends are allowed to do crazy things for friends, dear.” she said with a smile. “So… what do you say?” I looked, dumbfounded, between the two of them before speaking. “Uh- yes! Yeah!” I said eagerly. Rarity quickly led me down a path of metal and glass plates that led up to a small pedestal surrounded by mirrors on three sides. As Rarity got me up onto the pedestal and started taking measurements, she started making small-talk. “I must say I might be a little bit jealous of your mane; I’ve never been able to pull green off, myself, but I think it looks simply divine on you.” I gave a sheepish smile of my own as I crossed one of my hooves over the other. “Uh- thank you. I… I’ve never really liked it.” Rarity looked me in the eyes, aghast. “What? What’s not to love about that?” “Green isn’t really a proper color for a fire elemental. At least, that’s what I’ve always felt about it. Green is more of a color for… growing things, y’know?” Rarity seemed to give that some thought as she used her magic to take more measurements around my middle. It was a good thing she was quick; I think her tape measure was smoking by the time she got it off. “Well, nevertheless, I think it looks beautiful, and I won’t rest until I can get you to see it, too.” Rarity said. She took a long look at my mane for a few seconds. “It’s just a shame I haven’t figured out a way to style it…” While Twilight seemed to get distracted by all the potential scientific solutions, I took a look at my mane in the mirrors, noting how it wobbled and shifted constantly. Was it messy? Maybe, but I found myself liking that; it was untamable, like a wildfire; like me. “Well I think I like my style.” I said with a grin. “You’ll just have to work around it.” Rarity gave another smile as she took my last measurements. “Well if you can be happy with that, at least, then I believe I’ll live.” Mention of living brought my attention back to the fact that I was, at this moment, a fire elemental among very flammable things, not least of all the floor. If I so much as shed a tear in the wrong place, things could get messy. My one comfort was that Twilight was here; as magical as she was, she’d probably be able to keep everything under control, or at least be able to evacuate Rarity if things got out of hoof. As long as Twilight remained, everything was going to be just fine. “Oh, Twilight, do you think you could fetch the cloth you’ve made?” “Sure, Rarity!” Twilight did a quick teleport, and I was alone with Rarity. My legs went stiff, then wobbly. I sat on my haunches to avoid toppling off of my tiny platform. My head was suddenly swimming like Pinkie had just come in and spun me around for a game of pin the tail on the pony. “Darling, you look… unwell. Is something wrong?” Rarity’s voice cut through my nausea enough for me to look at her face. “Uh… yeah- no- I mean- Twilight won’t be gone for long, will she?” Rarity seemed to comprehend at least some of my concern then. “Ah. No, darling, I think she’ll hurry. In the meantime, maybe you could help me pick out some accessories?” “Accessor- what, now?” Rarity was already pulling out a small, diamond-patterned box and pulling out various implements of fashion; Necklaces, Earrings, Brooches, Mane ribbons, and jewelry chains. Rarity, of course, set aside anything flammable for now, and then spread the dazzling array of options in front of me in the air. “Whoa… what’s all… this?” “Just a few basic pieces of jewelry we could try out; I’ll be able to obtain something more specific if you want, dear, but right now why don’t we just try a few of these things while we’re waiting for Twilight to get back? I think this piece in particular would look stunning with that mane…” So Rarity and I tried a few dozen pieces on. I liked a lot of the gold and ruby stuff; it reminded me of the proper colors a fire elemental ought to be, but Rarity seemed to want to try and steer me more towards silver and emeralds. I tried to humor her, but I never really entertained the  thought that I’d ever enjoy anything colored so… y’know… water-like. Of course, after a few minutes all of the pieces just started to blur together and I got a bit antsy. As great as it was that Twilight was willing to set up all these metal plates for me to stand and sit on, There wasn’t a whole lot of room on them to do much other than sit. I tried spinning in place, but that didn’t help much, and if I know how to read Rarity’s expressions right, it made her a bit nervous too. “Emerald, I swear you might fidget worse than Rainbow…” she said as she was trying to get me to clip on a set of silver earrings for the millionth time. An instant later Twilight came back with a few yards of silver-colored cloth. “Oh thank goodness!” Rarity said. Twilight gave her a concerned look. “Is everything alright? Emerald didn’t-” “No, no, Emerald has been a perfectly behaved mare, but she’s just been a little…” “I’M BOOOOORED.” I interrupted dramatically, prostrating myself over the metallic sheet I was standing on. “It seems she doesn’t quite share my passion for beautiful things.” Rarity said with a smirk. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely excited to see the finished product, but do I have to be here for the whole process?” I asked pitifully. Rarity giggled.  “No, darling, I think you can go; I believe I have everything I need for now. I should have a finished product for you in a few days if I’m not too busy.” “I’d kiss your hoof if it wasn’t a spectacularly terrible idea.” I said, getting up. I was about to walk back out of the building when Twilight blocked my path. She gave a quick *ahem* before not-so-subtly pointing her horn back towards Rarity. I squinted in confusion for a solid ten seconds before Twilight murmured; “What do you say…?” It sounded like a rhetorical question, but I wasn’t sure what Twilight was indicating. Should I be saying something to Rarity before we left? “Uh… Thank you very much for the dress, Rarity.” I guessed aloud. “You’re very welcome, darling. I’m sure I’ll enjoy every second of designing it.” Rarity said back. She was already distracted making sketches in her notebook. Twilight seemed satisfied and led me back out of the building with a smile on her face. As soon as I stepped out, I asked; “What was that about?” “Just a good habit to get into.” Twilight said. “Sometimes little things like saying ‘thank you’ can go a long way.” I thought about that a second, then shook my head. “Everything was a lot simpler in the Plane of Fire. I never really had to say anything. It was just… known…” I trailed off because I thought that I had heard something. Somepony calling my name, maybe? I looked off in the direction I thought I heard something from, but nopony was there; just a gap between buildings, and beyond it, some sort of wild, wooded area. “Emerald? Is something wrong?” Twilight asked, somehow suddenly much closer than I thought she had been. I startled a bit at that, nearly touching her coat with a stray hoof as I stumbled backward. “Oh, no. Sorry.” I said quickly. “I just thought I heard something…” Twilight had a peculiar expression on her face, looking from me, to the direction I’d been looking, and back several times. “Well, do you feel like you’re ready to go back to the castle?” Twilight asked. “Uh- yeah. Let’s go.” I said. Twilight took me back under her wing, but this time around I felt more confident about my ability to walk through the streets of ponyville unaided. This time my neck was held higher, and, while I did look askance at the thatch roofs of the houses we passed, I found that I didn’t have to force myself to move so much as I did before. We got back to Twilight’s castle in half the time it had taken us to come from it. I initiated a conversation as we entered. “Umm, Twilight? You were talking about ‘thank yous’ before, and I was thinking… well, thank you, for getting me out of my room. Thanks for proving to me I could be a better friend if I tried.” “I proved nothing.” Twilight said. “I just gave you the opportunity to prove it to yourself.” I laughed a bit. “Y’know, I kinda feel bad having Rarity make me a dress. I mean… It’s not like I’m going to get much of a chance to use it.” Twilight took on a thoughtful expression. “Really? How do you figure that?” “Well, from what little I gathered, you’re only really supposed to wear them at fancy parties; I really doubt I’m getting any invitations any time soon.” “Well, I wouldn’t discount the possibility entirely.” Twilight said playfully. “The Grand Galloping Gala will always need something to make it more… interesting.” I stopped. “The What now?”