//------------------------------// // Chapter: Nine // Story: BookHoppers: Exiled from Home // by Ace of Blackjack //------------------------------// Elizabeth flew rather fast, ducking and dodging, the full H.U.D of the glasses had grown on her. Showing her heartbeat, to a motion sensor, even wind speed and direction for some reason. She tilted to her left, diving through the bookshelves following her books' last known ping. The idea of being able to visit the world of a book excites her endlessly because it makes the idea of books being their own dimensions present in her mind. She flares her won't to kill speed as she lands with a slight stumble, shaking her hurting back leg as she walks. And turning the corner, that makes little sense. The book pinged a different location behind as she turned around, behind her this time. Flying there is a waste of her time. She fluttered her wings and walked, the lantern Grima loaned her burned a rather weird orange as she walked, not fire orange. She walked before hearing the crunch of something underneath her hoofsteps. She peered down at the egg shells underneath her steps, she brought her hoof down on one and watched it crack as she rolled her eyes. Looking around at the rather seemingly cheesy spooky fog. “Oh no, trying to make my greatest fear effect me, what are you gonna do, misgender me?” Elizabeth said walking as she kept her wings spread ready to move away at an instant. But the fog around her hesitated, her light more than enough to pierce it before she realised something. She peered underneath herself and yipped. “What are you playing at!” Her tail closed tightly over her anatomical correct parts as she smacked into the side of a bookshelf in an attempt to stand up straight. She sat down for a second giggling and walking forward. A laugh echoed out from her. “Thanks! Thank you demon of the-” A hoof smacked her hard in the side of the head sending her into the side of a bookshelf. She stumbled to recover, an armoured hoof hit her back into the bookshelf. She felt a head wound on her head, sticky and pounding as she tried to stand up, she can't quit, they depend on her. She stood and pulled back quickly. The white armoured hoof slammed into the bookshelf, the helmeted head turned around to face her. Her library card holographic light shined a faint orange colour as she spread her wings, adapting a dumbass stance, Grima’s plastic Keycard sat on the necklace.  She ducked the first swipe from the armoured pony, Their white armour dancing circles around her. But she had an advantage that this foe didn’t. She flapped her wings and took off, letting herself take off.  She flapped hard, the armoured pony below her ran after her. They flicked their leg and in a flash of light, a drone appeared. The drone zoomed off and clipped Elizabeth. The drone disappeared in a cloud of mist as Elizabeth’s slow horror turned into upset fear.  “Remember their the manifestation of fear, they will adapt to hunt you, like your bull Echoin.”  “And for me?” “What do you fear?”  “That something happened to Ms Frazzle.” Elizabeth dropped to the ground in a stumble as she turned to face the mist Ms Frazzle. For a bunch of mist, it was horrifying, flickering Blue lights as she looked at it. Her mind hesitated on her question as it approached her, it looked nearly like mist but not quite like it. “Ms Frazzle is that you!” Elizabeth shouted standing her ground, for all it was worth. She closed her eyes anticipating a hit, but she opened her eyes and looked at the not creature standing inches from her. Standing their, most fading off the armour. “You.” The mist evaporated, the haze around her lifting as the lantern and her library's keyboard projector glowed the warm orange. It illuminated the near-empty space. Enough to see the pony in front of her.  Sparks of yellow flickered off them, the sound of failing electronics happened, leaving her standing there. The white armour they were wearing failed away system by system as she looked at them. Black Ichor dripped from under every armour segment. “Oh fuck” “Oh fuck.”  “FUCK!”  She flew up, look for something someone, anything. Please let their be somepony nearby. Please, then she spotted it. Grima Sprinted, so wearing her trench cost is normal. It's comfy. However wearing a trench coat with glow sticks taped to it, however, isn't normal. Neither is being chased by a mist monster taking the form of her brothers twisted creations. But with the twist of them being friend shaped, how fun. She knows they're fake, but it's still horrifying. She turned the corner, her agility par to none. Yet she didn't feel like that, she felt sluggish. The trench coat took physical attacks, the Ichor reacting on her trench coat with purples and the protective spells purple lightning.  She ducked under a study table, ending up in a circle of them surrounding her. Why? She looked back at the mindless drones that ran at her. Mindless drones, that feel, can remember. Think and hate. She jumped back over the table, irrational fear, stupid idiot. Their false, monsters that were created by the mist, Not by her brother. She stopped in the middle of a row of bookshelves. And breathed in as she turned around to face them, face her fears.  She lowered her head and turned towards them. They ran at her. Her breath was ragged as the first one ran into her. The breath got knocked out of her as she ended up on her back. They swarmed her, one hoof stamped down on her head. She screamed as it hurt like a mother fucker. She struggled as her trench coat was pulled off. She's not falling to them, not now! Not again! Oh god, Oh God! Then she heard a loud piercing static noise. Followed by the announcement jingle. She started up whimpering, fearing for her life, hoping for death before what came next. Then she heard god herself descend from heaven.