//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19 
// Story: Emerald Chronicles 
// by Dandereshy 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 19

Emerald followed the two troublemakers out into the Everfree Forest, going deep into it, so far it was nearly pitch black, and one could only see a few feet in front of their face. He had no idea where they were going, and Twilight couldn't tell him if she did since she was so much in pain. Emerald considered flying her to a safe spot, but decided against it when they seemed to near their destination.
It was a small stone cottage in a clearing near a cliffside. The stone was dark gray, worn but maintained, and it appeared to be quite old. The area surrounding it was sickly and dead. The gloominess was overpowering.
"How can they live here?" Emerald whispered the question to himself.
"Come on, Emerald. This isn't a tour. Just come in and get your friends so I can have your power." Black Flame rushed him. He and Trixie already had the front door open and were going in.
Emerald sighed and went in.
The interior was well designed, furnished, and organized. They'd definitely been living here longer than Emerald knew. He set Twilight down in the living room and stood there. Twilight actually stood up by herself, shaky, but she managed to stay upright. Emerald gave her a hoof to hold on to to stay steady. She gave him a thankful smile.
"Your friends are down there," Black pointed down the stairs that lead to a basement.
Emerald walked up to it with Twilight and glanced uneasily down into the darkness. "How do I know this isn't a trap?"
Black face palmed. "You idiot, I can't kill you, so what would locking you, who is just as powerful as I, in my basement solve? I'll go first. Then Trixie, then you." He went down and Trixie followed. Emerald cautiously came down with Twilight behind him. Black Flame was telling the truth. The bubble of magic that Trixie had encased them in earlier was floating in the middle of the room, his friends talking quietly within. As soon as they saw Emerald and Twilight, they all stood up and began talking rapidly.
"Quiet! The Great and Powerful Trixie needs absolute silence to remove the spell." Trixie said and started with her removal spell. A few seconds later, the group was reunited. The first pony to get to Emerald and Twilight was Fluttershy, who leapt on Emerald happily, kissing him and crying at the same time.
"Why are you here? What's going on? Are we safe? Are they done? Is this the end?" She fired the questions without a breath.
Emerald put a hoof over her mouth and shushed her. "Just get behind me and don't say anything."
She nodded and went back toward the stairs with the others. Emerald returned his attention to Black and Trixie, who were already waiting for him. "Okay, Black. A deal's a deal."
"A deal?" Applejack asked.
Emerald sighed. "I…I told him I'd give him my power for you guys back. I couldn't just let him kill you. Look at Twilight, and you can see he was serious."
"But, this happened before, and it was a pretty bad time for a while until we used the Elements of Harmony on him. It was Tirek. We won that fight, but I'm not sure about this one." Rainbow Dash said, sounding unhappy.
"Well, I have a plan. Just bear with me, okay?" They nodded. Emerald turned back to Black and Trixie. "Okay, go for it."
Black motioned for Trixie to start. She began using magic to transfer Emeralds energy to Black. Black struggled to stand up against the waves of power flowing into him, and Emerald fell to his knees as the power drained from him. He yelled in pain as he felt the energy leave in torrents. It seemed like it would never end, but it did finally, and Emerald wasn't sure he was even still alive. He closed his eyes to clear away the stars he was seeing dance around the room.
"Emerald!" He felt someponies warm body on his, holding him in a tight hug.
Black Flame walked up to Emerald. "Now that I have what I want, you can stay down here." He leapt over the ponies and Trixie joined. They went up the stairs before they could be stopped and they shut the door behind them. Rainbow Dash and Applejack tried to get the door open, but it was a big stone door and it didn't budge.
Emerald opened his eyes to see Fluttershy staring down at him, already about to cry. He hugged her again briefly and stood up, shaky, but Fluttershy helped him. He looked up at the door and seen Rainbow Dash and Applejack trying in vain to get the door open.
"Stop, don't waste your energy. I thought he'd pull some bullshit like this." Emerald told them. They seemed startled by his sudden brashness. They slowly walked back down the stairs. "We need to figure out a strategy for getting out of here without them knowing." Emerald said, glancing around the room.
"Like where? This is underground, in a house built of stone. How could we possibly find a way out of this room without them knowing?" Rainbow Dash asked, frowning and folding her arms across her chest.
Emerald sighed irritatedly. "I don't know, I'm just trying to think of something. The goal is to get out of here without anypony dying, but I just don't see any way that would be possible."
Twilight coughed. "Well we won't get any results just standing around arguing, so everypony look around the room for a way out."
"Good idea." Pinkie Pie said and started rummaging through boxes and shelves. The others followed suit. Emerald and Fluttershy went off to the corner of the room, where it was messy and hard to move in. Boxes littered the floor along with garden tools, various lawn ornaments, and a wood burning fireplace. Random other junk filled the spaces in between.
"You think we'll find a way out?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
Emerald sighed. "I'm sure we'll find something."
She didn't look too hopeful. "Well, I'm certain we can get out of this. We'll get out of here and use the Elements on them."
Emerald noticed a black square underneath some boxes, slightly visible on one corner where it wasn't covered. He knelt down and moved the boxes out of the way.
It was a door.
"We found – "
Emerald quickly covered Fluttershys mouth before she could finish.
"We found a door." Emerald said quietly.
They all gathered around it.
"Where does it go?" Rarity asked curiously.
"I don't know, but we're about to find out," Emerald said and opened the door.