Chapter 8: The Chase

There was no hesitation in the human in front of me as he dove of the cliff side, sailing down using his powers to glide.

"Twilight, get Dash and A.J. and catch up as quick as you can," I ordered her.

"Catch up? What do you-ack!" she gasped as I dove off the city down the mountain side after the man who had been following me.

I instantly regretted the decision as I plummeted towards the ground but I clumsily blasted energy under me using it to propel down.

"Krife I could really use my repulser board right now," I thought to myself as I landed on the ground, albeit it was more of a crash landing.

I looked up to see the masked man land away from me, much more gracefully and he turned to me, giving me a long stare. I could sense something about him, but I hardly thought about it as I got up and charged after him.

"Hey, STOP. Why were you following me?" I yelled at the man, his response was to send back a few blasts of ice at me, harmless enough but it enraged me.

"So THAT'S how you want to play?" I said to myself and lit my hands ablaze.

I sent a large fireball after him only to see it freeze and shatter from the inside out.

"He didn't even turn to look...." I thought to myself; I was dealing with someone powerful.

A few feet behind me there was a burst of light and Twilight appeared with Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

"Evan! We saw your fireball so I tele-" she started.

"Get after him girls!" was the only thing I said as I took off running again.

They quickly followed suit, Rainbow Dash quickly gaining ground overhead with Applejack sprinting in front of me.

"Twi, try to teleport in front of him! Trip him up," I directed her.

She nodded and her horn came to life and she vanished, reappearing in front of the man, startling him but he somersaulted over Twilight. Applejack took this time to speed up, her powerful legs charging the masked human, he looked back and saw her gaining ground and let out a powerful burst of energy, propelling him across the field. I almost stopped dead in my tracks but I forced myself to keep running. I could see he was running to the Everfree, there was no way possible we'd be able to catch him in there.

"Girls, we have GOT to get him before he gets to the forest!" I yelled at my friends.

I let out a few more fireballs at him in rapid order, trying to tag his legs with one or two, as they neared him he spun around mid air and did the same with shots of ice, although his were much more accurate. Two ice balls hit me square in my freshly mended stab wound and it brought me to the ground panting.

"Equestria is going to be the death of me," I said to myself as I quickly got back up, cringing and out of breath, but determined to catch this person.

As I commenced the chase once again I saw the girls ahead of me hot on his tail, but still a healthy distance away from being caught. I boosted myself with energy and finally caught up to the group as we entered the forest, cursing myself for letting it get this far. As we zig zagged through the previously calm forest I gathered energy for another fireball and let it rip from my hands, the speed and intensity almost shocked me but I yelled out in anger as it was once again dissipated into nothing. I turned my head to the girls and told them to get ready to strike again, they nodded in agreement as we came upon a clearing.

As the runner entered the open area I shouted, "Girls NOW!"

Twilight vanished and reappeared far in front of him, her horn let out a bolt of magic meant to paralyze him, but he blocked it with a simple hand barrier and flipped over Twilight. Rainbow Dash then took her chance and dived right at the runner, only to meet thin air as he vanished, causing her to ram into the ground.

"Krifing goddess! He can teleport too?" I cursed out loud.

The man reappeared about twenty feet away and started to dash of as Applejack ran up unseen and prepared a devastating kick, only to have him teleport into the trees above and jump from tree to tree.

Angered by her previous failure, Dash jumped up and sped at the runner, I prayed that she'd make contact. To my disbelief she tackled the human and caused them to both tumble in the air sending them to the ground. At the last second the runner flipped Dash over causing her to absorb the impact as he bounced up and continued running. As I ran past Dash I could her her murmuring something as she was dazed and I knew I couldn't stop now. Twilight had taken the lead and was firing shots of magic bolts at him, he dodged left and right until Twilight got to close and she prepared to charge him. I saw him teleport to Twilight's side and turned to the side and sped off. As we changed direction I saw the embarrassment of letting him trick her like that on her face. As we closed in on him I realized this part of the forest was much more dense, he was trying to lose us in the confusing twists and turns.

"Girls! We CANNOT lose him in here. We have GOT to make this work!" I yelled over my heavy breathing.

They grunted in confidence this time, I know they couldn't do this on their own so I planned a little trick when they distracted him.

Applejack sprinted on ahead again, running through the trees next to the runner as Twilight and Rainbow Dash distracted him from behind and above. She pounced and and kicked with all her might, I could see she was hoping somehow she could contribute to the chase and she was rewarded, as her kick landed on his side, sending him into a tumble. Dash didn't hesitate a second before she slammed him into a tree, pinning him against it. Applejack came to help but both were sent flying away when a burst of energy erupted from the magic.

"What in TARNATi-" Applejack yelled as her and Dash landed in a glop of mud a few yards away.

The runner turned to escape but my plan was coming.

"TWILIGHT NOW!" I yelled and her horn flared up and the runner was caught in a barrier that formed on his body.

I took my chance and dashed into the shrubs and made my way in front of the group and waited. He soon broke out of the barrier and sprinted towards me, I let out a smile as I prepared the ambush.

"NAKATA COROTH!" I bellowed and my body was consumed by an inferno as I sprayed the pathway ahead of him in fire.

He stopped dead in his tracks and formed a shield as I walked to him, the girls surrounded him from the ground and above and we waited. I let myself extinguish and felt empowered by our victory. We had him, and now it was time for questions.

"Well" I started, "YOU have something to explain to us now."

He didn't move a muscle as I analyzed him over. He wore a dark grey hoodie and running pants. His face was covered with a black ski mask and dark tented wind goggles accustomed to the Klimith people of the Fifth Nation, a huge tundra covered area, and wore them as a necessity.

"Now, tell us why you've been following me. How long you've been following me," I demanded.

He looked at me and then at my friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were mud covered and very angry, ready to pounce. Twilight had her horn ablaze, meeting him in a stare. I knew he was sizing up the situation, but instead of making a move he lowered his barrier and turned to me again. He walked calmly towards me and I heard Twilight almost growl in protection, her horn was covered in her lavender aura. I felt my hands light as he stopped nearly a foot away from me, I was about to knock him back but I was cut off as he uttered his first words.

He took a breath and then said with a strained voice, "I'm here because of you. It is my job to keep you alive."