My Little Adept

by Dolphy Blue Drake

Chapter 7: When All You Can Do Is Run

We galloped through the streets, headed straight for the castle, intent on one thing: the Princesses needed to be alerted immediately that Alex had arrived.

Ponies gasped as we barreled right through them, no time to stop to apologize. I could sense Alex’s immense power from the vicinity of Ponyville, and I could feel it steadily growing closer.

“He’s chasing us!” Karen shrieked as she felt the power approaching, too. “Felix! We have to go faster!” However, she stopped, getting Yegelos and I to stop as well out of confusion.

“I thought we needed to go faster!” Yegelos snapped. “Why’d you stop?”

“I have a djinni who can help us!” the Proxian explained quickly. “Nitro, come forth!”

A Mars djinni appeared and said, “One supercharge coming right up!” His energy-bestowing waves of heat washed over us, and I suddenly felt as energetic as if I’d eaten an entire pound of sugar.

“Thanks, Nitro!” Karen said before the djinni nodded and vanished. “Let’s get to it, guys! Move it!”

Yegelos and I nodded, then resumed running, moving far faster than we had been moving before.

We passed right by the guards at the entrance in the blink of an eye, then ran along the path to the throne room Twilight had shown us before, bursting into the throne room, interrupting some kind of meeting between Celestia and a stallion who had been droning about something that apparently made the Princess very glad to see us and gain an excuse to get the stallion to shut up.

“Sorry, Chancellor, but I feel these three have something important to say,” Celestia said before turning to us with a smile.

Unfortunately, we were going to have to shatter her good mood. “Alex is here!” I shouted frantically. “You need to do whatever you can to keep him away from any populated areas! He’s gained so much power that anypony who even looks at him funny runs the risk of him turning them into red paste in the blink of an eye!”

“Oh dear,” Celestia said aloud, not even trying to hide her concern. “What are you going to do, Felix?”

“We’re going to try to draw him to any location without civilization,” I replied. “He’s after me, so the most important thing is for us to make sure he knows where we’re headed, but not let him get close enough to engage us until we’ve located the fourth Adept and are in a place where he can’t harm any non-Adepts.”

“Then you’d best get moving,” Celestia urged. “Find the fourth quickly, please. Our fates all lie with you, it seems.”

“We will,” I assured her. “Just make sure nopony confronts him. He is far too powerful for any living thing to stand a chance against him alone, and even before he gained more power the first time, he was still powerful enough to decimate an entire battalion of the best soldiers in Weyard. Even the best of the best of your Royal Guards would stand no chance against him.”

“Understood,” Celestia replied nervously. “I’ll get the word out. Now, please, lead him away from here!”

“Yes, Your Highness,” I replied before doing an about-face and leading my two companions out of the castle, still as fast as before. However, upon arriving outside, Alex was waiting for us, hovering twenty feet in the air.

“Trying to run away, Felix?” Alex chuckled wickedly. “I thought you were braver than that. Well, I have you now, so let’s see you three accomplish what fifteen Adepts could not!”

“Felix! Yegelos! Run!” Karen ordered. “I’ll hold him off! Dragonform!”

To our great surprise, Karen became enveloped in flames, hiding her from view. A second later, the flames died out, and a Flame Dragon like the creatures Agatio and Karst had been turned into in Mars Lighthouse over thirty years ago was in her place.

“What are you doing?” the Flame Dragon snapped in Karen’s voice. “I told you to flee! I’ll follow later! Hurry! Move!”

Yegelos and I needed no further encouragement, and we ran straight for the entrance to the city as the sounds of Karen’s battle with Alex could be heard behind us.

“What do we do now?” Yegelos asked worriedly. “She’s going to get herself killed!”

“I believe in her,” I replied. “She’ll get away. But first, we need to get out of here!”

At that moment, a stray blast of Psynergy struck the ground near us, revealing a tunnel below the street level.

“We’re in luck for once!” I exclaimed, utterly shocked that fate was actually being nice to me for a change. “Quick! Let’s get down there! That system has to have an exit somewhere!”

“But we could get lost in there!” Yegelos shot back, shaking his head. “And it’s dark!”

“Would you rather stay up here and get killed by Alex?” I deadpanned.

“I’ll take the dark tunnels over dying!” Yegelos replied, quickly changing his mind. "Let's go!" he cried with surprising enthusiasm, jumping into the hole before I did the same.

“Okay, we’ve gotta get moving,” I urged as I started to run. “Follow me!”

“How in the name of the elements are you going to find a way out of here?” Yegelos huffed as he reluctantly followed me. We ran into what seemed to be an underground hub of tunnels, a half-dozen openings branching off in all directions. “This place looks like a maze!”

“I’ve been traveling mostly alone for thirty years,” I replied as I paused at a corner. “Just feel the flow of air and follow it to its source. That’ll generally get you to the other side of a cave.”

“What do you mean, ‘generally’?” Yegelos demanded as I figured out that the air was coming from the right and ran in that direction.

“Well, sometimes, there’s something else producing the airflow, like a heat vent or some large creature’s breath,” I replied casually, ignoring the look of horror on Yegelos’ face. “But don’t worry, I highly doubt the ponies would build a city on top of a cave system where some giant hostile creature lives.”

Yegelos’ look of terror faded, and we continued to follow the air currents backward. It was hard to see, but I had an idea.

“Yegelos?” I said, getting his attention as we took a left turn at an intersection. “Do you know Reveal?”

“Yeah,” He said with a confused nod. “Why?”

“Touch me with a part of your body, preferably a wing or something like that, then cast Reveal,” I explained. “When we get out of the Revealed area, recast it. Repeat this until we get outside.”

“Okay…” Yegelos replied with a shrug before getting closer to me, touching a wing to my back and saying, “Reveal.”

In an instant, the spell was cast, and a large area around us became perfectly visible, even though the area of the spell was only visible to us in shades of gray. Anything Psynergy could be used on to manipulate the environment would’ve remained in color, but there wasn’t anything of the sort. All living things that were at least capable of thought would also remain in color, but that happened to just be the two of us.

“Oh, I didn’t know it could do that,” Yegelos whispered as we continued forward, now perfectly capable of seeing, though almost everything was now monochromatic. “I thought the power to see the unseeable would be useless here.”

“Its normal applications most likely won’t prove needed,” I admitted. “But while I was with the Warriors of Vale, we found other uses to make it much less mundane and more useful. This being the main one.”

As we reached a corner leading to the right, we left the affected area, and the spell winked out. Yegelos cast it again, once again granting us sight.

“The flow of air’s getting stronger,” I announced after we ran down an inclined tunnel. “We should be close to getting out of here.”

“Good,” Yegelos sighed with relief. “I want to see colors again.”

I was about to remind him that I was still in color but just shook my head instead.

The air continued to grow stronger as we progressed until we could actually hear it, not just feel it.

“Just a little farther,” I urged.

Yegelos nodded, appearing to be a bit tired, but determined to get outside all the same.

“We’ve got to get a pegasus to teach you how to properly fly,” I remarked as the tunnels started to get brighter and we no longer required Reveal to see. “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t tire out as fast.”

“Maybe after we find the fourth Adept,” Yegelos said with a tired nod. “Finding them takes first priority. I definitely want to be able to fly without Hover for when we take on Alex, but we have no time right now.”

“Fair enough,” I replied, also nodding. “Now, let’s get out of these caves once and for all!”

With one final burst of speed, we made it to the exit, at the base of the mountain. The closest thing to us was what appeared to be a set of minecart tracks, but they were mostly outside, extending farther than we could see.

“Why would anyone have a minecart travel so far from a mineable location?” I asked, hoping Yegelos would have an answer since he’d been here for about five years.

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “I spent a lot of time in the cloud cities of this place, so your guess is as good as mine.”

Giving up for the time being on learning the purpose of the tracks, we simply crossed them and found ourselves at the bank of a river. With both of us being armored, swimming it was out of the question. I didn’t know how to swim as a quadruped, anyway, so I started to look around, hoping for a bridge or some other way to cross.

“There,” Yegelos said, pointing at a line of rocks sticking out of the river. “We can cross there.”

Nodding, I trotted towards the rocks, gauged the distance I’d have to jump to the first one, and hopped onto it.

Had I still been human, keeping my balance would’ve been easy. However, since I now had to try to plant four legs on the small platform instead of two, things were more difficult. After a bit of wobbling, I repeated the process and made it to the next rock, Yegelos now on the rock behind me, using his wings to keep balance.

After five rocks, I made it to the other side, and Yegelos joined me. There was a town close by, with a sign that read “Fillydelphia” near the road that actually led into it. But instead of heading for the town, we waited.

“Are you sure Karen’s alright?” Yegelos asked nervously. “I mean, this is Alex we’re talking about! He’s practically a god now! How is she supposed to even escape—”

“Hey, guys!” Karen’s voice called out to us from the road. We turned to see her in unicorn form again, waving a hoof at us. “I managed to get away by wrapping him in delusion long enough for him to lose track of me! C’mon! We’re safe for the time being, so let’s check out this town! It’ll be a while before he finds us!”

Yegelos just stared at her in disbelief, unable to think of anything to say, but I smiled as we trotted up to her and said, “Great job, Karen! You shook him off our trail! By the time he locates us again, I’m sure we’ll have finished checking this place out.”

I looked up to see the sun moving towards the horizon and added, “We’re burning daylight! Let’s find someplace to rest, then check out the town tomorrow.”

The others nodded to let me know that they agreed, and we stepped into the town of Fillydelphia to find a place to stay the night.

Upon entering the city, we were met with a city filled with buildings that towered over us. The city itself was like a maze to the three of us, long rows of buildings acting like walls to obscure our view of any street other than the one we were on.

“Well, this is different,” I said nervously. “I think we’re going to need a map for this.”

“We’ll deal with that later,” Karen said with a shake of her head. “We need a place to stay, and I think that building will do nicely.” She pointed a hoof at a building with a sign with a word I’d never seen before written on it: “hotel”.

“Aren’t we looking for an inn?” I reminded her. “That’s no inn.”

“A hotel is a more advanced inn,” Yegelos said with a roll of his eyes. “Well, in a way, at least. Remember, the two of us have been here for five years, so we’ve learned some things about this world. Come on, let’s go.”

“How was I supposed to know what a ‘hotel’ was?” I snapped as we entered the building. “You didn’t tell me that it was a type of inn!”

“I said it would do nicely,” Karen said patiently. “Really, Felix? You’re supposed to be really clever. How didn’t you figure it out from what I said?”

I sighed and shook my head, disappointed with myself. “I guess getting here and away from Alex took its toll on me,” I groaned.

“Well, that’s what a night of sleeping here should fix,” Karen said with a slight yawn. “I’ll rent us a room for the night, and we’ll be set.”

“Sounds good to me,” Yegelos said with a yawn of his own. “I could really use some sleep. Running from Alex took a lot out of me.”

Karen returned after a few seconds with a key in her magic grip. “Okay guys, I’ve got our room key,” she announced. “Follow me. Our room’s number nineteen.”

Nodding tiredly, Yegelos and I followed her through the hallways. I was too tired to express amazement at these “hotels” being able to fit so many rooms, unlike Weyard’s inns, which generally have two or three rooms, but occasionally have up to six in very large cities, or only one in really small backwater towns.

We reached a door with the number 19 depicted in metal numerals attached to it, and Karen put the key in the lock before turning it and pushing the door open.

I immediately gasped when I saw the interior. It was almost as nice as the guest room I’d had back at Twilight’s castle! There were four beds, an attached washroom, a small kitchen, a table to eat at, a sofa, and a pull cord with a sign attached to it that read “ring for room service”.

“Uh, guys?” I asked. “What’s ‘room service’?”

Karen’s hoof met her face, and Yegelos reacted the same way.

“Right, keep forgetting you’ve only been here for a few days,” Karen muttered before speaking up. “Room service is like calling servants, but they’re more accurately hotel staff,” she explained. “The most common thing room service is used for is bringing a meal to a hotel room, but it has a few other uses.”

I nodded tiredly, then yawned before climbing into a bed and bidding the others goodnight since I couldn’t stay awake a moment longer.

---

After a night of troubled sleep, I awoke to the smell of eggs and pancakes, bolting out of bed and quickly making my way over to the table, where Karen and Yegelos were already eating.

“Morning, Felix!” Karen chirped. Yegelos simply grunted, seeing as he was currently chewing.

“Good morning, you two,” I replied before taking a seat and piling an empty plate with eggs and pancakes. “So, where are we going today? We gotta leave town, but which direction?”

“I felt something to the northeast,” Yegelos announced after swallowing. "Felt like very high-grade Mercury Psynergy. It was only a short burst, but I’m certain I felt it.”

“So, after we finish eating, we’re checking out and leaving, right?” I asked my companions.

They both nodded.

“There’s no time to waste,” Karen admitted with a sigh. “I wish we could take in the sights of Fillydelphia, but we can’t. Alex might locate us at any time.”

"Very well,” I replied. “Let’s hurry.”

---

After cleaning up, Karen returned our room key as we checked out, immediately leaving for the street outside. Yegelos grabbed a folded up map of the city so we could make our way to the northeast as quickly as possible. After charting a route that passed right through the city’s dragon district, we set out.

“I really wish we could take in the sights,” I sighed. “But we have to get as much distance between us and Alex as possible. I can feel his immense power moving again. He’s moving to the south of Canterlot, I think. What’s he scheming this time?”

“I just hope we don’t have to find out,” Yegelos grumbled as we entered the dragon district. Dragons of all kinds were milling about, and the architecture reminded me of Tonfon, the capital of Sana.

Some dragons stopped to glance at us, some even waved, but the majority of them went about their daily lives, not giving us much thought, if any. However, quite a few did a double-take when they noticed Karen’s scales.

“I don’t like being around most dragons,” Karen grumbled as a hatchling pointed at her and started talking excitedly to two dragons who appeared to be her parents. “At least the ones of this world. Spike was fine because he already knew what an Adept was, thanks to you, but most dragons in this world who notice me stare. I’ve even been asked if I’m a half-breed.” The irritation in her voice was quite noticeable when she gave that last statement. “I’d cast Dragonform to try and fit in, but then I’d become huge!”

Before I or Yegelos could respond, the skies suddenly darkened, black clouds forming and covering the whole area, blocking out the sun as strong winds began to howl.

“You can’t hide from me so easily, Felix!” Alex’s haughty voice suddenly boomed from above, sounding like thunder. “And now I’ve got a small army at my command! I’m growing tired of you running away, so just face me like a man already!”

We were nearing the northeast corner of the city, so we bolted, heading for the shoreline only a few miles ahead.

With a flash, Alex appeared before us, still as smug as ever, surrounded by humanoid canine creatures giving off the feel of Psynergy and sporting completely bloodthirsty expressions.

“Face me now, Felix,” Alex chuckled. “Or my new Diamond Dog friends will tear you apart! I dropped Psynergy stones on this entire pack, and now they’re little more than feral beasts! But I can still command them. Now, fight me or be destroyed by them!”

“No way, Alex,” I growled. “Guys! Let’s get out of here!”

“You asked for it!” Alex roared as we began to flee. “After them!”

Alex’s emanating levels of power grew as we could hear the unmistakeable sound of extremely powerful Psynergy. The blackened clouds moved to cover the entire open area, churning faster and faster as it began to rain heavily, the forming twister also pelting us with hail.

We were suddenly cut off by a group of four Diamond Dogs—one red, one orange, one purple, and one blue—who raised their pickaxes and charged for us, howling like mad.

I cast Grip and used the hand to wield the Sol Blade as my companions lifted their own weapons, and we rushed to fight back.

“Thunder Mine!” Yegelos roared before a large crackling sphere of purple electricity engulfed the orange Dog, resulting in it howling in pain, but not defeating it.

“Rising Dragon!” Karen screamed, causing a plume of fire in the shape of a serpentine dragon to erupt from the ground under the blue Diamond Dog, ensnaring the beast in its fiery jaws, lifting the combatant fifty feet in the air, then vanished, dropping them back to the ground. The combination of Psynergy and the fall dealt heavy damage, producing whimpers from our foe, but they weren’t defeated, either.

I charged for the purple Dog, Sol Blade raised in my Psynergetic grip. The weapon let out a furious howl, and I leaped into the air as the miniature star of Megiddo began to form. The Psynergetic hand swung the Blade into the star, launching it at my target, who howled in agony as it connected, leaving my foe panting heavily, barely able to remain standing.

The Dogs fought back, though, each one using an Elemental physical attack matching their color, leaving the three of us injured as well. However, the enemy was weakened, so we repeated our previous assault, bringing down all but the red Dog, who we hadn’t attacked yet.

The red Dog attacked by engulfing their pickaxe in flames and swinging it at me, knocking me clean off my hooves in spite of my attempt to block the attack.

But before my assailant could attempt to press the advantage, Yegelos attacked with his bow, the weapon letting out a howl of its own and launching a flurry of lightning bolts.

Karen kept up the pressure as my adversary fell back, swinging with her scythe, which let out a howl of its own before creating multiple images of a fiery cloaked figure with a scythe. All the images struck at once, with Karen following suit, throwing the red Dog back further, giving me an opening of my own.

I roared “Odyssey!”, summoning the large swords from back when I fought to retrieve the Sol Blade, four large blades piercing my target, then a fifth giant one crashed into them, shattering the other four swords and throwing them back even further.

The last Dog fell to the ground, out cold, and we continued to flee, spotting a hidden cave along the coast.

“Let’s hide in there!” I suggested. The other two nodded in agreement, so we quickly ducked behind a ridge and fled for the cave, ducking inside without being seen.

Author's Note:

It was taking far too long to get the editing on this one done, so I decided to post it in this state. The flow's not perfect, I know, but this chapter has gone unposted for far too long.

So, Felix and co. are on the run, with Alex in hot pursuit! How are they supposed to make it out of this alive? Not telling!

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What did I do right? What did I do wrong? How can I improve? What did you like in this chapter? What didn't you like? Feel free to let me know with some constructive comments!

Well, that's all I've got for now. Chapter 8 is being worked on, but it still has quite a ways to go. I'll try as hard as I can to make sure you guys don't have to wait this long again, though.

Later, Adepts!