Equestria RPG

I stir as something moves, pulling me into a warm embrace. Blinking my eyes open, I groan as the siren call of sleep is quickly chased away by the rising sun. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” I hear someone whisper above me before kissing the back of my head.

“Moooom!” I groan as the limb holding me tightens. I try to move my wings in front of my eyes to block out the sun and its evil sleep destroying rays, only to find they are pinned to my back. “It’s too early to get up,” I whisper.

“Come on Storm, if you don’t wake up then you won’t get breakfast!” Mother explains in a sing-song voice. Her arms shift until they are right below my ribs, “You know what happens to little fillies who don’t get up, don’t you?”

My eyes shoot open as I feel her press her fingers against my sides, I struggle with all my might, but the she-demon’s grip is like steel. “They get tickled!” the monster exclaims, digging her torture devices into my sides. I am completely defenseless against the onslaught, unable to fight back, I am reduced to howling my anguish with a grin on my face as I thrash against my attacker.

“Mo-M-Moooom! S-s-s-s-Stooop!” I choke out through my peals of laughter. The demon releases her hold on me, and I quickly roll out of her reach. It’s a little uncomfortable rolling on my wings, but being out of the monster’s reach is well worth it.

Clutching my sides, I roll on the ground, trying to get my laughter under control. I can hear hoofsteps coming up to me, and once my giggling is down to a tolerable level I open my eyes to look my attacker in the face. She is tall, almost as tall as the trees that we spent the night around, with a blue coat so deep it reminds me of the sapphire she brought back after one of her “runs”. Her wings are enormous, with every blue feather sleek and shiny somehow. Her mane blends in with the top of the trees and their green leaves. She’s wearing a green shirt and a worn out pair of jeans. She reaches down and picks me up off the forest floor, patting down my back and dislodging the few leaves stuck in my fur and clothes.

“You’re so mean,” I tell her in a high pitched voice, hitting her arm.

“Well I wouldn’t have to be mean if you listened the first time. Now go get ready, Iron Hoof wants to get out of this forest by tonight and I’m inclined to agree with him.”

“Alright,” I mumble, racing off towards the wagon.

I can see the other members of our little family as I get closer to the wagon. Iron Hoof is immediately recognizable, the grey Minotaur towers over the rest of the family, and the black metal armor he is always wearing makes him stick out like a sore thumb in even the largest crowds. He told me that he wears it to protect himself, but I have a feeling that he likes to wear it because he wants to be the hero in shining armor just like in the stories he tells around the campfire at night. I slow down, however, once I realize that he is arguing with Snow.

My sister once challenged me to summarize everyone in the family in three words. The three words that summarize Snow the best are: white, angry, and cooking. She is completely white from her horn down to her hooves, and whenever Mom and Gale come back from one of their “runs” covered in scratches she always yells at them for being reckless or something before healing them with her magic. She is also the best cook in the world.

“–You are going to be the one hunting for berries when she starts getting hungry,” I hear Snow saying to Iron while waving a large wooden spoon in his face.

“Snow, you know I am usually all for having breakfast around the fire, but there is something different about the forest today. Save a bowl of soup for the little whirlwind but we need to get going.”

“I have to agree with Iron on this one Snow,” I hear Gale say, stepping out from behind Iron Hoof. “There’s something in the air, it almost feels like a dungeon, and if this forest is turning into one I don’t want to stick around.”

“Oh so now you’re afraid of dungeons? That’s rich coming from you, Gale. You race off with Wind Reader every time you feel a dungeon nearby, and now when a forest that has been here for years starts smelling a little weird you get scared?”

“No,” Gale starts, clicking his beak in irritation. “I am worried about what Storm and Octavia would do if this place does turn into a dungeon.”

“...You know what, fine. Start putting everything in the wagon, just don’t ask me to make anything until we are out of this place.”

Snow marches off into the trees, leaving me with Gale and Iron. Mom told me that Gale Mist is a griffin, but I’m not entirely sure she’s right. Sure he has a chipped beak and jagged talons, and he likes to eat meat from time to time, but every griffin I have seen has these huge wings, all Gale has are these little stumps on his upper back that are usually covered by bulky red metal armor. All in all he looks more like a large brown earth pony with a beak… Although Mom told me to never say that in front of him.

Gale sighs and grabs a bowl on the edge of the wagon with an armored talon. “Come on Storm, here’s your breakfast,” he says, dipping a ladle into a pot in the wagon. I pull myself up into the wagon and take the bowl with a silver spoon in it. Putting a black lid on the cauldron, Iron Hoof pushes it back until it hits the strapped down boxes in the front, right in between the rolled up sleeping bags.

“Are we just about ready?” a melodic voice asks behind me. Turning around, I find a grey earth pony with a white mane walking up to Iron Hoof, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. Treble is my sister’s mom, and whenever Mom and Gale go off to explore a dungeon she always sings me and Octavia to sleep. She also knows exactly what to say to make someone feel better.

“Just about,” Iron rumbles as I carefully step off the wagon cradling my breakfast. “Just need to get everyone together and we’ll be on our way.”

“Octavia should be back in a little bit, she’s washing herself off in the stream from yesterday… Storm, do you think you could go find Bob and tell him it’s almost time to go?”

I look up at Treble and carefully nod my head, making sure to not spill any of my soup. Walking around the wagon, I start eating as I search for my quarry. A shiver runs down my spine as the soup works its magic, and in an instant I feel like I could run around the world and then wrestle Iron to the ground without breaking a sweat. My wings flutter for a moment and for a brief second I feel my hooves leave the ground. I glance over my right shoulder at my blue wings. New feathers are growing in, but the wings themselves still aren’t strong enough to allow me to fly. Mom says that when they’re ready she’ll teach me how to fly and I can’t wait.

I realize that I am daydreaming a moment later and quickly get back to my mission. Scanning the small clearing I see Bob leaning against a large tree at the very edge of camp. Bob is an earth pony with a black coat and a green mane. He has always been a little… strange. He doesn’t like the cornbread that Snow makes, and he sometimes just completely disappears. He doesn’t laugh when Iron Hoof tells a funny story, and some of the things he says doesn’t make sense. I mean, why would a mare beg him for a sausage when she could go to a market and get some from a merchant like Iron? I asked Mom about it, but she said I wouldn’t understand…

“Hey Bob!” I call out to get his attention. “Treble says it’s almost time to go!” I tell him as he starts walking over to me.

“Very well, I will be ready to leave when needed.”

“Okay,” I tell him before gulping down the soup and racing back to the wagon.

I turn around the front of the wagon and abruptly stop as I slam into someone. I blink and shake my head from my place on the ground before looking at who I bumped into.

She’s an earth pony with grey fur and a long black mane. She’s wearing a white shirt with a black coat over it along with a pair of black pants. Well, a wet shirt and coat, the remains of my breakfast dripping down the formal attire.

“Really?!? I just got done washing my coat!” Octavia said in a slightly whiny tone.

“Sorry Octavia,” I mumble, looking anywhere except at the earth pony.

She lets out an explosive sigh before waving it off, “It’s fine, I’ll just wash it again tonight, your mother is looking for you, by the way.” My ears perk up at this and I tilt my head to the side as Octavia points over her shoulder.

I can see Mom stuffing things into a bag that she promptly slings over her shoulder. I quickly pick myself up and rush over to her after muttering another apology to my sister. With the morning starting so quickly I had completely forgotten to pack my things. Racing over to where Mom is, I grab my discarded blue bag and hurriedly start stuffing my belongings in it. The blue and green blanket Treble made me is the first item stuffed in, shortly followed by my locked dream journal, my quill and inkwell, and the dagger Mom gave me for my sixth birthday.

“Come on Storm, we’re leaving!” I hear Mom yell.

“Coming!” Doing one last sweep of the campground, once I am satisfied that I didn’t leave anything behind, I start running after the moving wagon.

I’m sitting in the back of the wagon with Treble and Octavia trying to look at the entire forest. Something’s wrong, Mom is wearing her armor and is fingering her daggers. She keeps looking over her shoulder as she walks beside the wagon, and Gale is doing exactly the same. I mean, he’s usually wearing his armor, but after several hours weaving between the trees he climbed in the wagon and got his great axe out of one of the strapped boxes.

I’ve seen them fight before, and Mom has been training me to use the dagger she gave me for my last birthday, but I’ve never seen them so… agitated.

The entire family is silent as we trek through the forest, and as much as I want to ask Snow to teach me more of her recipes I can’t bring myself to break the spell cast over our little band. Setting a determined frown on my face I reach into my bag, and grab my dream journal along with my quill and inkwell.

I straighten out my legs and set the inkwell between them and the floorboards, I wasn’t going to repeat washing the ink out of my fur like the last time I set it on unsteady ground. I put in the combination for the lock on the worn brown book and open it to the first blank page available. Dipping my slightly bent quill in the inkwell, I push the point to paper and start writing.

I had another nightmare last night, the one where I can’t move as the shadow creatures attack me. I still don’t understand what they are saying, I mean… “Draco has entered your world?” What does that mean?

...I’m scared. Mom and Gale are acting like they are expecting a battle, and even Snow has her staff out. Snow never brings her staff out unless someone is really hurt. There’s something wrong with the forest itself, it’s completely silent other than the noise we are making, and I can’t help but think that it is trying to hide from something.

Iron Hoof is right, I don’t want to spend another day in this place.

Storm

I close the book slowly, making sure to not make a sound, and quietly stuff my belongings back in my bag. Clutching the bag to my chest, I lie down on on the hard floorboards and close my eyes, hoping that we’ll be out of here soon. No matter how hard I try though, I can’t go to sleep. I toss and turn, but I can’t seem to get comfortable.

On my next turn, I feel someone grab me around the ribs from behind. Blinking my eyes open I look up to see a grey muzzle above me. “Go to sleep, Storm,” Octavia mumbles, pulling me into an embrace.

Listening to her steady heartbeat, I close my eyes and do exactly that.