This Is Not A Drill

"Mommy! Look what I did up in school today!" I bounded in through my front door, looking around excitedly for my mom. The TV was off, maybe she was out in the garage working on a reactor for somepony, but the stove was still warm and... mmmm, sugar cookies! She had to be in the house somewhere. "Mommy? Moooommy! Come out, come out wherever you are!" I dropped my schoolbags to the floor, trotting upstairs to our bedrooms. Maybe she was just getting some clothes out or something. "Moooom?"

"Airstrike!" I felt myself suddenly jumped on and flipped around, familiar hooves tickling madly at my belly as I laughed, looking up at the giggling face of my mommy. I batted at her hooves in play, her long red mane flapping about and tickling my belly even more as she leaned forwards. She blew raspberries on my upturned belly, my cheeks reddened from laughing so much, before picking me up in a hug, laying on her bedroom's floor and cuddling. "Ah, welcome home Alpha~"

"Mommy, you're so silly!" I giggled happily, looking up onto her and daddy's bed, noticing she folded in the sheets. She only did that when daddy was supposed to be coming home. I stared at the extra pillow for a little while while mommy stood herself up, trotting to her dresser and pulling out some clothes. "Mommy? Do you really think he'll be coming home this time?"

"I... I don't know, honey. He is off helping fight in the war, but his nice commander sent a letter saying that he would be home for Hearth's Warming Day." She shut the drawer, the folded clothes floating in her magic beside me onto the bed. That was her nice dress, the one with the pretty blue laces and long flowing skirt. Aw, don't tell me we're going to church again... but, wait, she would want to look nice for daddy when he came home off of the bus, though! "Get on your fancy dress, sweetie, we're going over to church for mass. I hear they have a new Chaplain, Vicare I think her name is."

"Aw..." I fell back onto the bed, letting off a groan. Church was boooring!

"Well... even I have to admit, that ran a little longer than I had hoped it to. She must be really new..." Mommy trotted inside the house with myself trudging behind. Zebras are evil, zebras are evil, yeesh, that new preacher or whatever she was sounded like a broken record. At least it was almost time to go to sleep, so I could wake up tomorrow nice and early and meet daddy when he arrived home again! We'd be able to play with each other, he'd give me rides on his back and I'll show him all the pictures I've drawn, and he and mommy would both be smiling, and we'd all sit down to a happy dinner. It'd be just like it should be.

I trotted up to my bedroom, tossing my pretty dress onto the floor and hopping into bed, looking out the window. Mommy said that Daddy was over in that big city called Trotisk, part of an air-born unit or something. Why was an earth pony like daddy with an air-born unit, he couldn't fly! The military can be really silly sometimes. Private Ion Radiation of the, uh, Thirty-second air-born unit, Equestrian Royal Armed Forces. That's who my daddy was, everypony in the military was a hero. My daddy was a hero...

A bright, flickering star caught my eye, far, faaar off in the distance, over that big city called Quebuck. I lifted my head from the pillow, curious and watching as it... it was moving! A big, bright shooting star! Mommy told me that I could make wishes on shooting stars, long as I believed hard enough. They worked with a special kind of magic, one that only the best of unicorns could use, like Princess Luna. It was worth believing in...

"I wish that daddy came home tomorrow..." I whispered it to myself - that was fine, as long as nopony but myself or the princesses heard it - and layed back on the pillow, squeezing my eyes shut as it continued flying along. I kept them squeezed tight, trying to believe hard enough for it to come true. I wanted to see my daddy again. I just had to believe hard enough.

Thinking I had believed hardly for long enough, I let my eyes open again, watching as the shooting star kept on flying outside my window. I smiled, letting off a little sigh as there was suddenly a big, bright flash where the star was a minute ago. W-what was that!? It... it must have gotten my wish! Mommy never said what happened if a shooting star got the wish made to it, I guess it makes a big huge flash! I let off a little squee, cuddling in under the covers and snuggling into my pillow.

Daddy was going to come home.

"Alpha Ray, calm yourself down! You-you're going to mess up your dress, you silly filly!" I was jumping all up and down the length of the bus station, mommy trying to catch up to me. Come on mommy, let me be excited, daddy was finally coming home for Hearth's Warming Day! The shooting star last night said so! Or, at least, the big flash it made said so. But the important thing was that daddy was finally coming home again!

"When is the bus going to be here mommy? I wanna be right there when daddy gets off of it! Oooh, do you think he'll like my new dress?" I giggled, leaning over and looking down the road. A light, fluffy snow was falling, and ponies were starting to head home from the cold. Daddy was going to be on the last bus, he had to get all of his things together, and Trotisk was a really really long way away from what Miss Lightening said. I giggled, feeling as mommy wrapped a hoof around my neck, hugging me close as a pair of lights cut through the snow. Oooh, that was the bus!

"I'm sure he's going to love your dress, sweetie. Come on, we need to move back on the platform for safety, that's his bus coming in now!" Mommy let off a cheerful laugh, pulling me back from the edge of the station. The big bus that daddy was on landed down, headed by a pair of pegasusususes... pegasi? Pegasee? Two flying ponies, that's easier. I wrestled myself free, rushing to be in front of the door, watching as it opened up, grinning widely. Mommy trotted up behind me, a few big ponies climbing off with huge green bags on their backs that clinked and jingled as they walked. Daddy was a sky-blue earth pony with a pretty white mane, but he probably would be wearing a big green jacket with a fancy patch sewn in on the arms. I stared through the crowd, smiling as wide as I could, trying to find him. He was going to step off any minute!

"Daddy? Private Ion Ray? Daddy Private Ion Ray?" Searching through the last few ponies that were stepping off and grabbing their bags, mommy pulled me into a gentle hug, sniffling a little bit. He was supposed to be on this bus, that shooting star last night said so! The bus doors closed shut, a bell ringing as the two ponies with wings in front flapped, lifting the whole big bus up off of the ground and out of the station. No, no, daddy was still on there, you can't leave yet! I rushed up to the edge of the platform, mommy telling me to get away from it, watching as the big bus vanished off into the gentle snow. My haunches fell to the platform, mommy grabbing me and drawing me into a hug. Mommy was crying... oh, maybe the shooting star just thought I meant tomorrow night instead. I squeezed her neck gently, turning to her.

"A-Alpha Ray..."

"Don't cry, mommy. Daddy'll be on the next bus tomorrow. I wished on a shooting star last night, so it has to happen!" I smiled, and mommy sniffled in, wiping at her eyes. She looked at me for a few moments, before squeezing myself more tightly in the hug.

"O-of course he is, honey..." Mommy stood up, and I followed her, both of us turning to trot back home. She was still crying a little... stupid war. Because my daddy is off fighting it, mommy is crying.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Alpha?"

"I hate this war."

"I do too, sweetie. I do, too."