Pinkie, on the other hand, was way more helpful, what with how she shrieked "VAMPIRE FRUIT BATS!" at the top of her lungs and attempted to swat anything near her with her tail.
The bats all swarmed off again into the opposite trees, where something let out a wail and a small burst of green flame.
"AAAAAAUUGHHH!" yelled Pinkie, and she attempted to hide behind the timberwolf, which was already trying to hide behind Derek.
//What the bleedin'...// Jono's brow furrowed deeply as the gout of flame sent Drac hitting the ground. Trees, not even Special Collections trees, so far as he was aware, didn't generally do that. His eyes narrowed, even glowed a little, as he made his way over to collect his friend from the ground, one finger snaking under the top of his bandages in case whatever was in the foliage wanted to try something funny again. //You alright, mate?//
Derek was awkwardly patting the wood pile shaped like a wolf behind him, still not catching onto the fear of Pinkie. "What's next? Lions and tigers and bears?"
"I used to think you guys were bears," Pinkie said. Because that was clearly important information to share at this juncture. "Sorry I inadvertently got you set on fire, Mr. Dracula."
The bushes rustled again, and a small purple dragon rolled out, sucking on its own tail. It looked up wide eyed at the group, then burped another bout of green flame.
Could this gust of flame hit Derek please? Drac was still smoldering where he was huddled in Jono's hand. "Fire bad," he shuddered Frank's mantra. "...No offense, Jonothon."
//Mm, none taken,// Jono replied, depositing Drac on his shoulder (because it was either that or in one of his pockets), before peering down at the little, purple...
He leaned over, clutching Jono's ear with one wing-and-thumb. "A dragon? If the books are all shape changers, how are we to find the one that has the pony clone spell?"
//Hell if I know,// Jono muttered, attempting to pick up his foot now that there was a tiny dragon attached to it. It didn't dislodge. Wonderful. //Perhaps that's all that's in the book? I don't know that they all change shapes, at that. The ones in my arms are still books, after all.//
He crouched down to set those books on the ground, shaking his head and trying to pry the tiny dragon free from his ankle.
A futile few seconds later he glanced back at where he'd set the books. They weren't there.
"Maybe it'll show us where to go now that we gave it some books." Oh, Derek. You were always so hopeful before life went and crushed your fragile little spirit.
"That makes sense. Doing something nice is always a great way to get somepony to do something nice for you, back."
Ah, the wisdom of ponies.
A spooky gray-and-green flash leaped through the bushes on the opposite side of the path from where the baby dragon had emerged, sending out another colony of bats and startling the timberwolf. "Ooo!" shouted Pinkie. "What was that?!"
//The Pinkies were more... pink,// Jono observed, managing to yank the little dragon free with an audible pop sound.
... Well. That was weird. And now it was just clinging to his arm, so he resigned himself to carrying the little guy around, at least until they could find its mother. Author? Lord only knew, at this point.
//It was definitely some manner of equine, though.//
Pinkie tipped her head thoughtfully, her tongue sticking out. Her tail wiggled like a cat's, and she closed her eyes. Her ears twitched and her stomach grumbled, and she pounced -- dragging a gray, green, and black pony with a book cutie mark from the bush by her tail.
"Aha!" Pinkie said. "Are you secretly a book?! Admit it! Admit it!"
//... Right, let's just crack her open and see what's written on the inside, then,// Jono snarked, giving the grey pony a somewhat baffled looking-over while he... tickled the baby dragon's tummy. Shut up. //I can't imagine how the answer could possibly be no.//
How did you read a book that was a horse? Jono had years of library experience behind him, but this one was a little out of his league.
"Ew," said the book-mare -- because, yes, that was what she was. "No! The last time I let this one read me she cloned her self a few dozen times and nearly trashed my home."
//Any one of the three of us is significantly less... enthusiastic than Pinkie, if that's what you're worried about,// Jono added, and now he was trying to get the dragon's tail out of his mouth. It couldn't possibly be good for tiny baby dragon teeth, after all. //We're sort of... Pinkie-sitting. We're up to our eyes in them in our homes as well.//
"Geez," said the book-mare. "If all you want is the reversal, I can tell you that. You just have to say the original spell backwards."
"Oh!" Pinkie brightened, then frowned. "I don't remember the original spell."
"Are you kidding? It's, like, one line. And it rhymes." The book-mare rolled her eyes and sighed. "Repeat after me: 'mared doubly being of prospect the at scared be to not swear solemnly I'."
It took three tries -- including some where she managed to make the reversal spell reference dirty otters -- but Pinkie finally managed to get the spell right. There was a rushing *WHOOSH* and a series of Pinkie-Pie-pink magic swirls went whirling by the group as all the clones were sucked back into the book-mare's horn.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 12:15 am (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 12:48 am (UTC)The bats all swarmed off again into the opposite trees, where something let out a wail and a small burst of green flame.
"AAAAAAUUGHHH!" yelled Pinkie, and she attempted to hide behind the timberwolf, which was already trying to hide behind Derek.
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 04:00 am (UTC)He was finally the only bat left, when *fwooomph*
Bat flambé.
"Ow."
And Drac dropped out of the air, still smoking.
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 04:50 am (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 04:41 pm (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 09:14 pm (UTC)The bushes rustled again, and a small purple dragon rolled out, sucking on its own tail. It looked up wide eyed at the group, then burped another bout of green flame.
"Mama?"
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 09:28 pm (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 09:30 pm (UTC)...
//It just called me its mother, didn't it?//
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 09:34 pm (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 09:43 pm (UTC)Sorry, Jono.
The dragon toddled up to Jono, its arms out as though to hug his ankle.
At least it was just cartoon flame. It tended to just make you a little crispy for a few frames.
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 09:51 pm (UTC)He leaned over, clutching Jono's ear with one wing-and-thumb. "A dragon? If the books are all shape changers, how are we to find the one that has the pony clone spell?"
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 09:55 pm (UTC)He crouched down to set those books on the ground, shaking his head and trying to pry the tiny dragon free from his ankle.
A futile few seconds later he glanced back at where he'd set the books. They weren't there.
//... Were still books. Bugger.//
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 10:17 pm (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 10:21 pm (UTC)Ah, the wisdom of ponies.
A spooky gray-and-green flash leaped through the bushes on the opposite side of the path from where the baby dragon had emerged, sending out another colony of bats and startling the timberwolf. "Ooo!" shouted Pinkie. "What was that?!"
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 10:32 pm (UTC)He finally fell completely off and as he fluttered midair, caught a glimpse of the same figure Pinkie had. "Was that one of your clones, perhaps?"
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 10:35 pm (UTC)... Well. That was weird. And now it was just clinging to his arm, so he resigned himself to carrying the little guy around, at least until they could find its mother. Author? Lord only knew, at this point.
//It was definitely some manner of equine, though.//
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 11:11 pm (UTC)Pinkie tipped her head thoughtfully, her tongue sticking out. Her tail wiggled like a cat's, and she closed her eyes. Her ears twitched and her stomach grumbled, and she pounced -- dragging a gray, green, and black pony with a book cutie mark from the bush by her tail.
"Aha!" Pinkie said. "Are you secretly a book?! Admit it! Admit it!"
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 11:19 pm (UTC)"YOU! Pony-book! May we read you?"
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 11:27 pm (UTC)How did you read a book that was a horse? Jono had years of library experience behind him, but this one was a little out of his league.
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 11:28 pm (UTC)"Ew," said the book-mare -- because, yes, that was what she was. "No! The last time I let this one read me she cloned her self a few dozen times and nearly trashed my home."
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 11:34 pm (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-04 11:36 pm (UTC)Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-05 12:16 am (UTC)Except the timber wolf. He was cool.
"May we please read you so we can fix it," he asked, going with politeness. Hopefully it would be super effective.
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-05 02:06 am (UTC)"Geez," said the book-mare. "If all you want is the reversal, I can tell you that. You just have to say the original spell backwards."
"Oh!" Pinkie brightened, then frowned. "I don't remember the original spell."
"Are you kidding? It's, like, one line. And it rhymes." The book-mare rolled her eyes and sighed. "Repeat after me: 'mared doubly being of prospect the at scared be to not swear solemnly I'."
It took three tries -- including some where she managed to make the reversal spell reference dirty otters -- but Pinkie finally managed to get the spell right. There was a rushing *WHOOSH* and a series of Pinkie-Pie-pink magic swirls went whirling by the group as all the clones were sucked back into the book-mare's horn.
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
Date: 2014-07-05 02:49 am (UTC)...
"That's it?"
Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
From:Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
From:Re: Into the Woods (or, you know, the library)
From: