//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21 
// Story: Emerald Chronicles 
// by Dandereshy 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 21

The bedroom door was shut, but they could easily hear the noises from the other side.
"I…don't think we should open the door." Rainbow Dash said, reading Fluttershy and Emeralds minds. They went back down the stairs, careful not to make any noise, but trying hard to ignore the ones they heard so clearly.
The split up at the bottom of the stairs. "Stay safe, fellas." Emerald said quietly and went off to the kitchen. The only thing he liked about this was that based on how much Black has grown attached to Trixie, the plan should work safely and flawlessly. But there was that small percentage that Black could be simply using her…
He didn't want to think that. That would completely void all their plans. And possibly put them in even more danger. He let it go and tried to focus on the task at hoof. He went to the back of the kitchen near the refrigerator. On the side facing away from the entrance to the kitchen, a space big enough for him to occupy was between the fridge and the wall, so Emerald squeezed into the spot and waited.
About an hour passed of the nauseating sounds before it went quiet. Emerald thanked Celestia and sat down against the wall. Fluttershy uncovered her hooves as she stood off in the corner of the bathroom right across the hall from the kitchen. She too, was relieved. Rainbow Dash was asleep.
Emerald sighed angrily, but remembered it'd been a long night for all of them, including himself, and everypony must be tired. He waved it off but hoped that she wouldn't get caught. About half an hour later, they heard the door upstairs squeak open. A quick peek by Rainbow, who woke up, revealed it to be Trixie, messy-headed and acting disoriented as she stumbled down the stairs. They all got ready for whichever direction she went. She went left, which meant the bathroom. Fluttershy slid into the darker part of the bathroom and hid behind a curtain.
Trixie walked in and turned on the light. She yawned noisily and looked in the mirror. She turned the faucet on and started straightening her hair. Fluttershy was about to pounce on her, but she heard a noise outside the door. Black walked into the bathroom. Fluttershy freaked and clung to the wall, shivering.
Emerald left the kitchen in a hurry when he didn't hear Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash call out for help, which meant something was wrong. He went to the bathroom door and peeked around the corner and saw Black and Trixie making out on the sink. He nearly puked. "Bleh…" They stopped. Emerald hid back around the corner.
"Did you hear something?" Trixie asked.
"No." He heard Black reply. "But let's go back to the bedroom, gorgeous. I wasn't done with you."
Emerald fled to the kitchen.
"But I think I want a little something to drink first, so you go back upstairs. I'll be there in a minute." Trixie said.
Emerald quickly hid behind the fridge.
"No, I want a drink too." Black said, and they went into the kitchen, flipping the light on. Emerald covered his eyes while they adjusted to the sudden bright light.
He pushed up against the fridge as much as he could to prevent being seen. He heard the door to the fridge open and a bottle being pulled out.
"This should make it more interesting, "Trixie said, and the sound of a glass being filled with liquid followed. The fridge opened up a second time and he heard the bottle get put away. The door shut.
"Well, my darling, let's go finish what we started…" Trixie said provocatively.
"Will do, my beautiful." The kitchen light shut off. A few moments passed after he heard the bedroom door close before he left the kitchen to discuss a plan change with Fluttershy and Rainbow. But when he got out into the hallway, Trixie and Black had Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash unconscious – or worse – in the middle of the floor.
Emerald stopped in his tracks. "Wha…"
Black gave a quick chortle. "Did you really think you could play spy on me and my girl? You made a lethal mistake, my friend. Now you and your friends are going to suffer for it."
Emerald looked down at them on the floor and snarled, "What did you do to them?"
Black pointed at Trixie. "They're out cold due to her magic, and soon to be dead. Now I have to kill you. You broke into the King and Queens home. That's immediate death."
Trixie lifted their bodies with her magic and Black led her to the front door. He opened it and Trixie tossed them outside in the middle of the courtyard.
"What the…?" Pinkie Pie and Applejack exclaimed. They ran up to them and checked to see if they were okay. Trixie turned and used the same magic to roughly remove Emerald from the house.
Twilight and Rarity came rushing up from around the side of the house to see what was going on. The squealed to a stop when they saw Trixie and Black Flame.
Emerald got up from the ground and shook the dirt off of him. He glared hatefully at Black. "What do you mean, 'lethal'?"
Black moved closer to Emerald, while the friends pulled the unconscious two back to tend to them. "I mean exactly what it says. I'm going to kill all of you. Tonight. No more games, I'm getting annoyed."
Emerald wasn't shocked. "I think you're mistaken. It's time for you to stop this madness, or I'm going to end it for you."
Black snorted. "Big talk for somepony who gave up their only chance of beating me."
Emerald didn't say anything, but the rest of his friends, even Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who Twilight woke up with a spell, joined Emerald, all with determined looks on their faces.
"He doesn't need superpowers." Pinkie Pie said matter-of-factly.
"All he needs is a few good friends, and he can beat you. That's what we're here for." Rainbow seconded.
Black nearly burst into laughter, but he suppressed it. "Is this what you think will stop me? That's the funniest thing I've heard this week! Oh, the irony." He turned and glanced up at the moon. Mockingly, he whispered, "Luna, forgive me for what I'm about to do." He lit up a huge ball of fire suddenly, but Trixie also added her own malicious magic to it, making it multiple shades of purple and black. He swung the ball at them so fast they could barely dodge it in time. It whizzed past them, only inches to spare. But that wasn't all Black was going to do. He flew up and engaged the nearest pony, which happened to be Emerald.
Emerald tried to block the kick Black delivered, but instead he ended up dazed, in a tree nearby. He shook his head and watched the scene unfold.
The ponies engaged Black and Trixie. Trixie, Rarity, and Twilight battled it out with magic, and the rest fought off Black. But the results were clear. They stood no chance against Trixie and Black. They were just too strong. Ponies ended up thrown from the battle, some taking longer and longer to get back into the battle. It seemed that the battle was lost. Emerald kept being the first target for Black, which didn't surprise him at all. Then it happened.
"Ahhh!" He heard the high pitched voice cry. He panicked as he realized who's it was.
Fluttershy was laying on the ground near a tree. Not moving.
Emeralds blood ran cold. "No!" He flew down to her. She was brutally beaten and burned. Emerald started crying. He put his ear down to her heart, and that's where the real waterworks began.
She had no heartbeat.
She was dead.