Those Distant Sisters CH31

Ch31:

Shhhhh… click.

A light blue mare turned off the radio, unleashing silence into the camp of ‘rebellious fire worshipers’, as the news liked to call them. It had been a little over a week since Resonance ran away from Sonority that fateful night, and five days since the country fell into chaos. Nopony in Hearth’s Core had really liked the idea of Falling Comet coming in as some godsend and preaching the way of the night, but none of them were willing to admit it out loud. If it hadn’t been for what they now knew was an accident, the transition probably would have happened seamlessly.

“It was an accident…” the mare at the radio echoed what everypony was thinking. Five days prior, Falling Comet met with the president behind closed doors to discuss ‘something big.’ there was speculation that the president would hand complete control over to him, but none of the now fire loyalists believed it. About ten minutes later, there was a loud explosion and a fire. Both parties, the fire and the night, believed the other had tried to assassinate their leader. The reality, which had just come in over the radio, was that an electrical malfunction sparked near a tank of gasoline, and the room was so tightly sealed to protect the conversation inside that nopony was able to get out alive. The two crowds, now without leaders, quickly turned to mobs.

“So what?” A colt in the back of the room spoke up, gathering everypony’s attention. “So what if it was an accident, since then those damn Night Hawks have been launching constant raids against anyone who so much as strikes a match in public! Even if the trigger isn’t real, the crimes since then are!” His point was punctuated with the roar of a low flying fighter jet. The Night Hawks, Resonance thought to herself, they gathered up every talented pilot loyal to the government and made them our enemies. Sonority is probably up there right now. A low echo rumbled through their basement hideout, signaling a bomb dropped in the distance. Trying to kill us.

“Are you alright, hon?” Resonance looked up and saw the outline of a white-coated unicorn mare through the film gathering on her eyes. “I know it’s bad, but there’s no need to cry.” The mare sat next to her, allowing the rest of the room to continue their discussion of what to do next. “Or maybe there is. You still haven’t told us why you’re here, with nothing but the clothes on your back… So to speak.” Resonance hadn’t told anypony what Sonority had done to her, or where he probably was now and she wasn’t going to start any time soon. She knew she could save him somehow, they he still loved her and she certainly still loved him.

“I have a plan.” Resonance’s voice was surprisingly sharp considering how little she used it in the past week. Still, nopony in the crowd turned to look at her. She stood up on her hind legs and repeated herself. “I have a plan!” This time she got the attention she was looking for. She did her best to remember how Sonority talked in front of his troops, and began slowly walking to the center of the crowd while she spoke. “There is somepony out there who will help us. No, not another pocket of resistance, I mean somepony with real, tangible, power.” A murmur broke across the crowd. “My family was privy to certain secrets our government kept. We knew about the split to the moon before it even started” and it tore us apart… “There is a pony whose help the government tried to get, as a symbol of the night. She turned them down.” Another murmur crossed the room, accompanied by shouts of ‘why?’ and ‘who cares?’ Resonance continued, “Luna, co-ruler of a nation far far across the sea. I’ve been there.” Her voice softened slightly, having recaptured the crowd’s attention. “I left my sister there. Luna did not like what our government was doing. What’s more she, even though she is the very symbol of the night in her country, is sympathetic to our cause.” Resonance finally settled to all fours, approaching the radio set in the corner. “And now, thanks to us, she has a radio. If we can call her, and tell her what happened, she can help us.”

“Even if you’re telling the truth –“, the same colt who spoke up before shouted out, “How can we contact someone so far away? There isn’t a booster in all of Hearth designed to hit distances offshore.”

“I am telling the truth!” Resonance shouted back, surprising the colt to a small degree. “There is a fire outpost in the old aviation district, isn’t there? We came back through that airport, our C.O. filed a report when he got back. It should still be on file there. Call them and ask.” She turned again to the radio, poking it pitifully with her hoof. “As for the signal, something like this would be terrible to use. We called home once before though, and they talked back. All we need to do…” she turned to the crowd’s informal leader, the light blue mare who had been working the radio previously “… is take the central broadcast tower in Hearth’s Core.”

The crowd was silent for a moment, then a mix of humor and disbelief billowed out. Laughter mixed with satirical impressions of ‘oh let’s go fight the military head on!’ and ‘Yeah, we can totally do this’ until the mare in charge stomped her forehooves together.

“Hey!” She got everypony’s attention, then turned back to Resonance. “If you’re story checks out, I say we do it. Sitting in this hole isn’t helping anypony.” She turned back to the crowd and started barking orders to various ponies. Resonance turned to walk away when she heard her name called out. “Hey Resonance.” The lead mare had turned to talk to her – “thanks for speaking up. Hang around for a few minutes, once we get those records I’ll want to hear all there is to hear about this Luna character.”

For the first time in a week, Resonance felt hopeful.