The Tails of The Scribble Family

by Novi Zemog

Sweet as Honey and Cool as A Cucumber

The group looked up curiously at the sky saw nothing but a cloud. "Who's there?" Cerulean called out. A yellow pegasi popped out of the cloud and blinked at them. She had a bright red mane and blue eyes. Any other words Cerulean wanted to say died on his tongue. The mare flew down from her cloud and stood in front of them. Now that she was closer they noticed the freckles across her cheeks. Cerulean sat there with his mouth opened slightly and his eyes glazed. Uther noticed he wasn't talking and gave the pony a nudge.

"Papa." The dragon urged and the mare gave them a curious look. Cerulean shook his head and blushed.

"I'm Cerulean Scribble, nice to meet you." He said holding out his hoof to her. She stared at it.

"Forgive me if I don't shake hooves, but I don't want to come in contact with anything that's touched that plant." She said as she looked up from his hoof. Cerulean blushed again and lowered his hoof awkwardly. "My name's Honey Comb, Soft Trot's resident herbalist!" she said happily. Cerulean's blush grew and he averted his eyes and looked over to Azazel. The cub wiggled his brows in a perverted manner that didn't fit his current appearance. He sent a glare to the little gryphon who silently laughed at him.

"N-nice to meet you Honey Comb." Cerulean stuttered. 'Smooth Cerulean, smooth' he thought to himself as he continued to embarrass himself.

"Nice to meet you to Cerulean, can you tell me who your friends are?" she asked politely. Uther belched out another jet of flame making Azazel tremor. Honey Comb seemed unfazed by the fiery display and Cerulean turned back to his companions.

"This is Uther, he's a baby dragon, well he was a baby dragon, as you can see. He's actually a lot younger than he looks. Even though he's not related to me I consider him my son and he considers me his papa." He said gesturing to the large dragon who gave a wave. Cerulean then gestured to the gryphon cub.

"This is Azazel Blake, a monster slayer. He is actually older than he looks, and noisier." He said. Azazel glowered and snapped at Cerulean's outstretched hoof. Cerulean pulled away and avoided the gryphon. Honey Comb giggled at the pair and Cerulean's blush returned with a vengeance.

"Well you seem to have had a run in with a plant that happens to cause a lot of trouble with the ponies over in Soft Trot." She said. Cerulean nodded.

"Yup. Is there any way to fix it?" he asked hopefully. The other two shared similar looks of hope as well. Honey Comb's smile faded.

"Not really, ponies just wait until the effects wear off, that usually takes a week. But I've been trying to find a cure, I think I'm close to a break through." she said. The other's seemed to deflate at the news. "Uh…you can come with me to Soft Trot, until I create a cure. And even if I don't you can get out of this danger zone while your…(Uther gave another belch of flame) recovering" she said referring to their current ailments.

"Not that I don't appreciate the invitation, but why?" he asked confused by the hospitality the stranger showed him. "You do notice the large dragon don't you?" he asked gesturing to Uther who released another jet of flame.

"Yes, and I'm fine with that. I'll just have to make sure he doesn't burn down my house. For now though, let's work on getting out of the woods so we can avoid a forest fire." She said, picking up Azazel and flying to the cloud.

"Uther do you know how to fly?" asked Cerulean. The dragon blinked at him a couple times. "Never mind, dumb question." He said when he realized that Uther had never flown before. Honey Comb peeked down from the cloud above.

"Well, you guys comin' or what?" she asked. Cerulean stared back and seemed to forget his lines. Uther nudged him with his foot, bringing the earth pony back to reality.

"Uh…Uther doesn't know how to fly. So you guys are going to have to come down." He said, a pillar of flame blared from the drake next to him.

"Okay then." said the yellow mare as she flew back down with the little gryphon on her back. Azazel pouted feeling like a helpless cub, which he was, but he'd kiss Uther before he admitted that.

"Lead on." Cerulean said and the mare nodded turning around and heading in the direction of Soft Trot. Cerulean felt so happy his travels were over. He followed after the mare, only to trip over himself and land on the floor. Uther sighed, shook his head and picked up Cerulean. As they walked Cerulean stared straight ahead with the utmost attention. His eyes shifted upward to see Azazel giving him a sly look that set his cheeks ablaze. Cerulean looked away from the gryphon grumbling something about admiring her leaf cutie mark and not being a pervert. Uther just rolled his eyes.

"Soft Trot isn't the biggest village but we make do. Everypony pitches in overall. Some are smiths and make shoes for the village, some teach the foals their numbers and letters, others get up supper early to help raise the sun or manage the clouds." chattered Honey Comb from up ahead. Cerulean listened closely and found that he really like the sound of that. Back in his homeland it was everypony for themself, none cared if their neighbor starved or died of plague, as long as it wasn't them.

"What do you do? I know you're a herbalist. But was exactly does that mean?" Cerulean asked from his place in Uther's arms. He was very aware of the switch in roles, but at least he saw how Uther would look when he grew up. Well when he grows up again.

"As an herbalist I do a range of things, from selling teas to making medicines." She said as she glanced back at them with a smile. Cerulean's heart fluttered and he blushed for the umpteenth time. She turned back and continued to trot gracefully, as if she knew every nook and cranny of the forest around her.

"So that's why you've been looking for a cure." Cerulean stated, now that she wasn't watching him with those eyes he could use his words.

"Yup, you don't know how many ponies come to me with one silly ailment or another. This one pony came to me only speaking backwards! And another had the oddest blue spots in her horn. Poor thing couldn't use magic for two weeks; she nearly had a break down." She said as she trotted on. "It's like this plant plays pranks on anything it comes in contact with."

"What is it called?" Cerulean asked, hoping they were near the village already.

"Well we don't have a name for it yet, I'm more worried about a cure than a name." she said as she stopped. "Now which way was it…AH! Now I remember!" she said, then took a sharp left and continued to trot away. The rest followed without question, wondering what Soft Trot looked like and when they would finally get there. Finally there was a break in the trees and a mid-sized cottage with a large garden appeared. "Welcome to Green Leaf Cottage travelers!" she said as she gestured to the cottage in a grand pose. Everyone stared at her confused.

"What about Soft Trot?" Cerulean asked. Honey Comb smiled at him and he suddenly lost the ability to communicate.

"Soft Trot is just a few minutes away by walking. I live closer to the forest because the land is more fertile. For now you can stay with me, I have some empty rooms you can fill." She said kindly. Uther burped out flames again and she frowned. "First we have to do something about those flames." She said as she began toward her house. Cerulean stumble after them, asking Uther to stay put before he followed. He then looked to Azazel and found him asleep happily on the mare's back. Cerulean couldn't help but feel a little jealous. "Dad I'm home and I brought guests!" called Honey Comb, Cerulean froze.

'She still lived with her father? What if he didn't like me? What if she didn't like me because her father doesn't? Then I'll never get my chance to impress her!' Cerulean panicked internally.

"Coming!" answered a weathered voice. Cerulean's panic began to rise and he didn't really understand why he was freaking out so bad. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Azazel give a yawn and snuggle into Honey Comb's fur. Cerulean threw the gryphon a scowl only to have the little cub give him a smirk. Before Cerulean could do anything dumb the thud of hooves stole his attention.

Standing at the foot of the stairs was a large wall of a stallion. His mane was a forest green that was streaked with grey and his coat was a dark reddish brown. His cutie mark was of an acorn and leaf leaning on each other. To be honest, Cerulean was both impressed and intimidated by his presence. His bright blue eyes scanned the new faces in his kitchen and he gave a kind smile.

"It seems my little girl has picked up some strays from the forest. My name is Sequoia, pleasure to meet you stranger." He said with a nod. Cerulean felt relief flood his veins, he was so glad Honey Comb took after her father.

"Hello there, I'm Cerulean Scribble. This over here it Azazel Blake, and outside is my adoptive son Uther." He said pointing to each of his companions, or at least in the direction of them.

"Why isn't he inside?" Sequoia asked. Cerulean was about to answer but was cut off by Honey Comb.

"Uther's a dragon, and he's currently having some problems with his burps. I don't want to risk our home being set aflame." She said with a smile identical to her father's. Sequoia nodded at his daughter and retrieved a mug from a cupboard along with a bag of dried herbs.

"He should drink this tea here; it'll help with his gas problem. There are also some Windigo Roots that Honey could dig up for Uther. That'll help with fire." He said as he passed them the herbs and filled the mug with water. He gave the mug to Honey and Azazel held the bag of herbs curiously. Honey thanked her father and they left the cabin with Cerulean stumbling behind them. Sequoia watched Cerulean with mild amusement. He recognized those star struck eyes, he remembered himself wearing those eyes when he met Honey's mother. He hoped Cerulean treaded carefully around his daughter's heart, he'd hate to have to destroy the kind looking colt.

Once they made it outside Cerulean sat surrounded by charred grass. Honey walked over to the dragon with a kind smile and hoofed him the mug. With a burp the flames surrounded the mug, leaving the water bubbling. Azazel climbed Honey like a tree and dropped a few of the leaves into the drink. Uther understood what he was to do, and drank the steaming mug in one gulp.

"Feel any better?" Cerulean asked the dragon. Uther waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. Uther gave a toothy smile and nodded his head. Honey placed Azazel on the ground and walked over to her garden were she dug at the ground and pulled up a pale root. She balanced it on her nose and walked back to the others.

"Here Uther, this is a Windigo root. It's ten times stronger than mint. We usually use it to treat burns, just chew on one of these every day until the flames stop." She said as Uther took the root. The dragon stared at it and took a small bite. Uther's eyes widened and he blew out cool air, followed by snowflakes. Cerulean whistled.

"Effective." He said as he stared at the fallen snowflakes. Azazel had his thinking face on (yeah didn't know he had one either) and began to scratch at the ground.

"I think we should keep some with us at all times." The message read. Cerulean nodded in agreement. Honey took the mug and herbs back to the cabin and the three waited outside.

"Remember we're guests here. So please, be on your best behavior." Cerulean pleaded. Both Azazel and Uther carried serious looks, giving Cerulean mock salutes. The earth pony knew he should have felt reassured, but he didn't.

Comments

[Emo Rainbow]

ooooooooo Cerulian's In loveI can't wait to see how this turns out great chapter Novi.