//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 
// Story: Emerald Chronicles 
// by Dandereshy 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 16

"So, he said it's called the what now?" Twilight asked, looking through her book of amulets and power stones. Emerald and Fluttershy stood nearby, watching her as she flipped through the pages.
"He called it the Stone of Magic Chaos. I guess it supposed to be a secret. He claimed it gave him the power of a thousand Alicorns, which is kind of disturbing if it's true. I personally hope it isn't."
"It can't be. Such a stone must've been known by plenty of ponies." Fluttershy suggested.
"I'm not seeing it. And if he's telling the truth and he is more powerful than a thousand Alicorns, we'd be in grave danger. Princess Celestia must be informed. This could end up being a potentially dangerous situation." Twilight slammed the book shut and put it back on the shelf with her magic. "Where is he – I mean where are they right now?"
Emerald shrugged. "I last seen them down at the park. They could've followed me and Flutters here, but I'm sure they didn't. I took off pretty fast."
Twilight shook her head. "This can't get any worse. I thought you said he was leaving?"
Emerald threw his hooves up. "I thought he said he was going to leave. I guess not."
"Okay, you said he had Trixie with him?" Twilight asked, leading them downstairs to leave.
"Yes, if that's who that blue pony was." Emerald answered. They all went out the front door and followed her as she went down the street toward Sweet Apple Acres. The streets were still eerily calm and empty.
"Yes, it was." Fluttershy confirmed.
"That's not good at all. It means double trouble for us now. How'd he meet her anyway? I'm curious about this whole thing now. We need answers." Twilight got in a stance to fly. "We'll get to Applejack's faster if we fly." Then she flew off, with Emerald and Fluttershy right behind her.
"Guys, guys!" Rainbow Dash glided up to them, her voice urgent.
"What's the matter, Rainbow?" Twilight asked her, returning the urgency.
Rainbow Dash was panting and answering between breaths. "There's two ponies…one's Trixie…they're at the park…destroying everything…they just shot…like ten ponies…and killed them…in a big blast…"
"WHAT?!" They all yelled. It startled Rainbow Dash.
"It's Black Flame, for sure. He's probably looking for me. Killing everypony until he finds me." Emerald said. They all began flying toward Applejack's farm. They heard screams of terror from the direction of the park.
"This is horrible! We have to stop him! He'll kill everypony in Ponyville looking for you!" Twilight said in anger.
"Well what do you want me to do, turn myself in? Twilight, he wants to fight me, to kill me. I'm going to avoid him as best I can. I don't have any ideas as to what we can do yet, but I'm trying to think, so just have patience." Emerald replied.
"I wasn't implying that you should just give yourself up to him, but maybe a confrontation between the two of you wouldn't be so bad. Maybe you can convince him to calm down."
Emerald snorted. "That would be a waste of time. Once he's made up his mind, there's no going back. Not for anypony or anything. Plus now he's got a partner."
"Oh, he's that aggressive, huh? Darn. I guess we just wait until Princess Celestia responds to my letter. She doesn't know about this Stone of Magic Chaos. I'll have to tell her what you told me Black Flame said about it being so powerful." Twilight turned a little to correct her course, and the rest of them followed.
Fluttershy flew closer to Emerald to whisper something in his ear. He leaned in to hear better. "I don't hear the screaming anymore." She took note of.
Emerald nodded, realizing that she was right. He flew up closer to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. "Hey, it got quiet. I wonder if – "
A blast of purple fire sent him sailing toward the ground.
"Emerald!" Fluttershy shouted in worry.
They all stopped and flew down toward him, where he lay on the ground. They landed and Fluttershy ran over to him, lifting him up to see if he was okay.
His eyes were going around in circles but he moaned an, "I'm okay." She let him stand on his own and rub his head. "What was that?" He asked, looking around.
"It was some sort of ball of fire." Rainbow Dash said, giving the area a scan as well.
Emerald froze. "A…ball of…fire?" He stammered. "That means…" He looked over in the direction in which the assault came from. There was Black Flame and Trixie coming up over the rooftops. Black had Trixie in his arms as he flew up and landed near the group of friends as they watched in horror. Black Flame just grinned back at them, smug and entertained.
"So, you thought you could just fly off and I wouldn't find you? Ha! You could only hope for such luck." He glanced around at Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight. "And it seems you brought me an audience – or my form of bribery."
Emerald walked up to Black and glared at him. "No, they have nothing to do with this. Just leave them out of it."
"I want you, so yes, you're right on one thing. But as to your request to leave them out of it – sorry, I'll have to decline you're generous offer." He paused. "Unless of course you're willing to just let me destroy you right now."
Emeralds stare grew harder. "What is the point of all this, Black? What are you trying to gain?"
Black took a step forward, making Emerald draw back his head. "I want you out of the way, so I can take care of all your little friends, then the princesses, and me and my lovely lady Trixie can rule over all of Equestria as we rightfully deserve."
"You know, I don't believe you want to just kill me. Because you would have already done it." Emerald pointed out. That made Black give a nasty frown. His eye twitched.
After a lengthy hesitation complete with the earlier frown, he replied, "Yes, this is true. And the reason is because I've recently discovered that I cannot attack you quite yet." Black admitted unhappily.
Emerald looked back at his friends, who simply shrugged back at him. He looked back at Black. "What do you mean?"
Black shook his head. "You still don't know." He turned and walked over to Trixie, going around her to look back at the distant Everfree Forest. "It seems that I cannot just attack you because it wouldn't kill you, but your ability would surface, giving you your cutie mark, most likely. I can't allow that. Your ability is the only ability that even has the chance to stop me."
Emerald didn't understand. "What the hell are you talking about? What 'ability'?"
Black spun around. "Your power, you idiot! The power all the colts in your family acquired from your Great-Great-Great-Great-Great grandfather, Stone Shield. He was the King of what is now Manehattan back in the early days of Equestria. He somehow laced his genes with the power from the Stone, making all the colts in your family have the same power as anypony who wears the Stone. If I attack you, the power will activate, keeping you from death. But as science says, these genes may be a little different due to mutation, thus weaker, than your earlier descendants, making it very likely that I could just end you right now."
Emerald leaned forward and held his ground. "Noponys getting hurt. You just need to let this silly dream of yours go. You and your girlfriend. This is unrealistic and nopony's just going to let you take over Equestria without a fight."
Black turned around and trotted up into his face. "Does that include you?" He asked coldly.
Emerald looked back at his friends. At Fluttershy. He saw the fear in their eyes, the worry…
He turned back to Black. "Yes, me."
Black didn't move, but the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile, then he lashed out and struck Emerald under the chin with a punch lit with his now far more powerful black fire.
The three behind Emerald gasped as he flew up in the air a few feet and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. Fluttershy went to go help him but Rainbow Dash and Twilight held her back.
"No, Fluttershy, it's too dangerous! Let Emerald handle it!"
"He's gonna kill him!" She cried, her tears flowing down her face in streams.
Emerald got back up, rubbing his chin. "That's it? You're just going to hit me?"
Black stepped forward and hit him again, this time in the face with a ball of powerful fire. Emerald sailed back into the side of a house. He stuck to it for a second, then fell to the ground, groaning with pain. Black Flame flew up and smashed him from above with his front hooves, both of them on fire. The blast left Emerald at the bottom of a several foot wide and deep hole.
Black landed on the edge and looked down at Emerald, who barely moved and looked about dead. "Come on, activate, you piece of crap!" He lit a ball of fire, and kept adding to it, nursing it to the size of a small carriage. Then he slammed it on Emerald, blowing the nearby house to bits and pushing Emerald deeper into the pit, making it twice as big.
"Nooooo!" Fluttershy sobbed as Twilight and Rainbow Dash held her back.
"This is getting out of hand. We need to stop him." Rainbow said, watching Black prepare an even bigger ball of energy.
Twilight nodded in agreement. "He's going to get killed by that. We need to distract Black. Get his attention. I'll get his attention, then you go get Emerald."
"No! I want to get him!" Fluttershy wiped her tears away, a determined look on her face.
"Okay, you get him. Get ready." Twilight shot a spear of magic at Black, hitting him and causing the powerful bomb of flames to explode in his hooves, throwing him back onto the ground.
"Oh, no you don't!" Trixie shouted and ran up behind them. She enveloped them in a ball of energy to keep them from running off.
"Stop!" Twilight yelled angrily. "This is wrong! You're just going to make us watch him kill our friend? How could you? I thought you were sorry for your behavior last time!"
Trixie laughed mockingly. "I'm surprised, you're not a stupid as you look. You used past tense – were. You're right. The Great and Powerful Trixie was sorry – until she met this handsome young stallion named Black. He showed the Great and Powerful Trixie that she could better you any day. And everypony else for that matter."
Black Flame roared from his place over on the ground. He jumped up and flew over to Trixie and the three friends. "You fools! Attacking me was the biggest mistake you ever made!" He looked at Trixie. "Release them, my dear."
Trixie nodded and let the bubble go. The friends fell on the ground in a heap. They looked up at Black as he stepped up to them. "It seems you think you can just attack me, without punishment. But I can assure you that there will be consequences. And as the new rightful King of Equestria, I think that is punishable by death."
They stood up, backing away from him slowly.
Emerald heard what was going on, but was far too weak to get up. He grew teary-eyed as he wished he could just get up and comfort his friends.
"I believe the first to receive justice should be…you." He pointed at Fluttershy. She drew back, hiding her face behind her mane. Twilight and Rainbow Dash got in front of her.
Black laughed uncontrollably. "Is this supposed to stop me?"
They said nothing, but didn't move.
Black Flame frowned. "Very well." He swept the two out of the way with his hoof, knocking them off to the side. He walked up to a trembling Fluttershy and ignited a ball of fire. "And so it begins." He socked her in the face with it, knocking her back onto the ground with a cry of pain.
Emerald heard it and clenched his teeth, yelling, "No! Leave her alone!" As loud as he could muster.
But Black ignored him. He made another fireball and hit Fluttershy again.
Emerald struggled to get out of the hole. He climbed all the way up to the edge and looked over at Black and Fluttershy. "Stop, or I'll make you!" He shouted weakly.
Black continued ignoring him. He lit yet another globe of energy and struck Fluttershy a third time. She flew a few feet away, but now her eyes were closed and she didn't move.
Emeralds heart sank. "No…" His anger skyrocketed and he leapt out of the hole. He charged at a startled Black, who didn't react in time to stop Emerald from smacking into him and knocking him into a nearby home, straight through the wall.
Emerald felt a tingling sensation, one that sent a shiver up his spine. He felt – stronger. Faster. Better. He peered back at his rump and gasped.
He was glowing.