Awakening

by solocitizen

17th of Harvest Season, 10,051 AC

Red and yellow leaves trickled down from the sky and littered the streets. Each step Lumina and her friends took forced the leaves under hoof to crackle and crunch. School got out no more than an hour ago, and the sun already started its descent beneath the horizon.

After exchanging good-byes with her friends Candy Mane and Field Dancer, Lumina and Mist Nova trotted off down the side road to their neighborhood.

She had known Mist Nova since they started general school at Green Acres two years ago. He was a brown pegasus that acted far more awkward than he really was, but every once in a blue moon he let his guard down, and shined. They met during ninth grade orientation, and stuck to each other ever since. Over the past year, Lumina cultivated a hope that he thought of her as more than just a friend, but it was just a hope, he probably didn’t think of her in that way. The fast glances at each other during class, the frequent private messages, the way he always found excuse to do little favors for her, it was enough for her to hold out hope.

“Say, uh, Lumina.” That was the first he said to her all day, she was starting to think she’d done something to offend him. “You know the autumn gala is coming up, and, well, my family got invited to go this year, and I was wondering if you wanted to go, with me, cause I get to bring along one guest, unless you already got plans for that day, then that’s understandable. Even if you don’t have plans and just don’t want to go that’s fine too.”

Yes! Lumina blushed and restrained herself from exploding with glee. Instead she just took a deep breath, picked her words carefully, and played it cool. She flicked her tail.

“Mist Nova, are you asking me out on a date?” No, Lumina! That was probably too cool, just look at the horror on his face.

He stopped in his tracks, and for a moment Lumina feared he might run away or back out of the situation. Instead he swallowed and showed that side of him so rarely seen.

“Yes, I am,” said Mist Nova. “The Autumn Gala is supposed to be one of the most boring events year after year, but I don’t imagine it could be anything but fantastic if you were going with me.”

“I’d be delighted,” said Lumina. “Of course I’ll go with you to the gala.”

“Alright, um, I got to get home.” Mist Nova fought back a full grin. “But, I’ll pick you up at eight, this Saturday?”

“Sounds great, and I’ll wear my best dress. I’ll see you then.”

The two parted ways, but a little further down the street, Lumina thought she heard Mist Nova exclaim: “Woo!”

Lumina trotted back to her home, and as soon as she stepped inside she barged into her father’s office. He was currently fiddling with a holographic schematic of his latest FTL ship. A projector at the far side of his table playing a news broadcast.

“Guess what? I have a date to the autumn gala!” Lumina’s good news only provoked a glance from her father. “I’m going to go get my mane done, and I’ll get my dress cleaned. It’s going to be the best night ever!”

“Let me guess, you’re going with the pegasus from up the street.” Lumina’s father spat out the words.

“Yeah, I am, and what’s wrong with Mist Nova?” Lumina paced about the room. “I’ve known him for years, he’s a great colt, I’d think you’d like him if you gave him a chance. Besides, it’s just a date.”

“Pegasi are the most militant of the three tribes,” said Lumina’s father. “Did you know that military service is mandatory on Empire controlled worlds? Simply put, they’re violent. Why could you find a nice unicorn or earth pony to go out with?”

“They’re not like that.” She flicked her tail and gestured with a hoof as she spoke. “At least none of the ones I’ve met, they’re as nice as everypony else.”

Lumina’s father put his hooves down on the table. With a gesture of his horn, the plating along the hull of the holographic ship lit up yellow, while red lines outlined rail guns in the belly of the ship.

“See this?” Lumina’s father pointed at the weapons. “Those pegasi are demanding control of our homeworld, Equus, by spear point and it looks like the earth pony and unicorn worlds are committing ships to keep it neutral. See what I’m doing here? This isn’t the usual retrofit on a FTL class ship. The Arion Parliament is retrofitting commercial class jump ships for war so we can ferry more attack ships into battle. War is coming and those barbarians are to blame.”

“Yeah, well, I’m going and that’s that!” Lumina gave her father her back.

She expected a retort, or even some form of punishment, at least a raised voice, but none of that came.

Rolling her eyes, Lumina spun around fully prepared to unleash a barrage of harsh words, but when she did the anger in her face melted into fear. Her father's jaw was slack, his body quivering, and his eyes locked onto the news program projected at the far end of the table.

Images of winged gunships and attack ships as slick as a razor’s edge hung in the air. The headline on the hologram read: “Emergency Broadcast. Pegasi Fleet Spotted Less Than Six Hundred Million Kilometers From Planet Arion. Planetary Emergency Declared.”

“What? What’s going on, father?”

“We need to leave.” Lumina’s father shook his head and slumped down in his chair. “Lumina, go pack a suitcase with only what you need to survive. I’m going to get us on the next FTL ship out of here.”

“But what about mom?” she asked. “We can’t just leave her behind.”

“Lumina, I need to protect you. I need to protect us. She is more than welcome to come if she has the means to, but my top priority is our safety. Now go pack your things. We’re leaving this world the first chance we get. Our defense fleet isn’t going to last long but maybe they’ll buy enough time for a few ships to get out of here.”

She walked up to her room in a daze, and when she got there, she sat against her door for a long time. After a while she pulled a suitcase from beneath her bed. The only items she packed were: a toothbrush, the fancy dress she wanted to wear to the gala, a picture of her mother, and a story book her mother used to read to her when she was just a foal. She found her old Twilight Sparkle doll underneath her bed, right behind some unused camping equipment from an aborted family adventure. She held its lumpy body in her hooves for a moment, brushed some of the dust and cobwebs accumulating over its velvet skin, and then tucked it back under her bed.

Lumina got out a datapad and scrolled through her contact list until she found Mist Nova. She tapped the phone app with her hoof and waited until the ringing on the other end stopped.

“Hey Mist, it’s me, Lumina,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to go to the gala with you.”