Chapter 15
"No, put it in the pan, not the pot sweetheart." Emerald instructed Fluttershy. As he tried to teach her how to cook his favorite meal. They'd spent the last six hours teaching each other recipes to remember for later times.
"I thought you said to put it in the pot earlier." She protested, but did as he asked.
He smiled with understanding. "Yeah, but I messed up. Just put it in there instead."
The food was placed in the oven a few minutes later. Then they went and sat on Fluttershys couch. She lay her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "I'm tired. We've been cooking all day. Are we going to be done after this?"
Emerald laughed. "Yes, dear. We'll stop. I want to go on a walk with you anyway. I know you're tired so I'll finish the food myself and you can rest for a little bit if you want."
She nodded and didn't move.
"But I have to get up in a little bit to get the food out of the oven."
She still didn't move.
"Fluttershy, please don't fall asleep on me. I can't let the food burn."
Nothing.
"Hey you, come on now."
She sat up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm just messing with you." Then she moved over next him on the couch and curled up in a ball to sleep. Emerald smiled and embraced her gently.
He whispered in her ear, "I love you, you silly girl."
"I love you too, you silly guy." She replied, snuggling up to him. He stayed there until he dozed off, but awoke when the smell of smoke jolted him out of his slumber.
"Fire! Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire!" Emerald screamed and bolted into the kitchen. Fluttershy was awakened by his yelling and flew into the kitchen to see what was going on. The oven was up in flames and Angel and Emerald were running back and forth with a bowl of water from the sink using tap water to try to put it out.
"Ahh! I thought you were going to get it out in a little bit?" She cried, hiding around the corner and watching them.
They finally got it put out after a few dumps of water. Smoke filled the kitchen and they all choked and coughed loudly. They all left the kitchen, opening windows and doors to help air the house out.
They all returned to the living room as the smoke cleared out. Emerald gave a big innocent grin to Fluttershy, who was staring at him with an irritated pout. "I think we should go have our walk now."
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That afternoon was really mild, sunny, and quiet. Ponyville wasn't a super active town to begin with, but even less now than it normally was, as everypony was home enjoying the weekend. A scheduled storm was to occur the next day, so Emerald wanted to make sure that he and Fluttershy were out on a walk before then. They went down to The Park, not far from Emeralds house, and right down the road from Fluttershys.
They sat on a park bench enjoying the silence, as they were the only ponies there.
"It's such a wonderful day. I wonder where everypony is on such a nice day." Fluttershy said, looking around at the empty park. A bird whistled as it flew overhead and she smiled up at it.
Emerald shrugged, looking off into the distance. "I don't have the slightest idea, but I do agree. It's exceptionally nice today. Too bad tomorrow has to be a bit rainy."
"Well if the Pegasi don't make it rain at least one week, it'll be too dry and we'll run out of water for ourselves, plants and gardens, and most importantly, our animals."
Emerald cracked up. "Sorry, darling. But you make me laugh when you put animals before yourself. It's so cute. But I admire your enthusiasm. At least you have some, compared to others." He leaned back and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't you ever stop being you, you understand?"
She gave him a shy smile back. "Oh, I don't ever plan on it." Then she went rigid, staring off directly in front of them. She sat up quickly, her eyes wide with fear. Emeralds' heart sank when he followed her gaze to see Black Flame and Trixie. They both had smug, arrogant smirks on and calmly walked up to Emerald and Fluttershy.
Emerald stood up and confronted them. "What do you want, Black Flame? I thought you said you were going to leave?"
That earned him a mocking laugh from the both of them.
Black Flame stepped forward. "No, my naïve young friend. I said I'd leave for now. But I'm back, and I'm here for you once again."
Fluttershy hopped off the bench and instead of hiding, she joined Emerald by going to his side. Emerald looked over at her then back at Black Flame. "I want nothing to do with you, so leave. I won't bother you if you don't bother me."
Black never wavered. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice this time," He pulled out a necklace from the pack around Trixie's back. As soon as Emerald seen the necklace, he nearly fainted.
It was the necklace from his dream.
"What is this? What's going on?" Emerald demanded, growing worried.
Black didn't answer right away, but instead placed the necklace around his neck. It began glowing brightly, and Black levitated off the ground a few feet up, his eyes a fiery red.
Emerald and Fluttershy took a few steps back, their mouths wide open.
Black Flame was becoming powerful, with a magic Emerald wasn't familiar with. He continued to glow, mutating, his mane getting longer, his body bigger. He flashed momentarily with an incredibly bright orange light. He slowly descended back on the ground, appearing as a male Alicorn would. He glanced mildly at Emerald and Fluttershy as if they were just minor inconvenience. "Now you see, this is why I'm here. To end your pathetic life, to keep you from knowing what your abilities are. That's my goal, along with a few other minor details, and I don't plan on failing." He pointed with his hoof at the necklace. "This is called the Stone of Magic Chaos. It's unknown to everypony else, so I'm the only one who knows how to use it. Me and Trixie are going to rule Equestria with an iron hoof."
Emerald shook his head. "I'm lost – abilities? What are you talking about?"
Black Flame closed his eyes and shook his head in disappointment. "So blissfully unaware of your capabilities. Your father was unable to tell you what you can do, but that doesn't mean you can't figure it out on your own. Think about your father's abilities, and your grandfathers abilities, all the way back to the early days of Equestria. You know what you can do, you just don't believe it yet."
Emerald was confused at first, but he considered what he'd just been told. If it were true, than that would mean… "I'm more powerful than you." He said confidently.
Black laughed in amusement. "You're funny, but no. This Stone has the power output of a thousand Alicorns, you don't have any, remember? You have no cutie mark, thus, you have no power."
Emerald growled in defeat. He was right. He didn't have any power because he couldn't figure out how to get his cutie mark. But he wasn't about to just let Black take over, even with his power. "Well you'll never catch me!" He turned and grabbed Fluttershys hoof and took off at the fastest his wings would take him. The lessons from Rainbow Dash paid off. He was able to go fast enough to get out of Blacks visual range within a few seconds. He was flying towards Twilight's castle.
"What are we going to do?" Fluttershy cried.
Emerald was at a loss. "I don't know, but if we can't find an answer with Twilight, I'll be out of options."
And they flew on.