//------------------------------//
// No Rest for the Weary 
// Story: Luminous Atonement 
// by Metool Bard 
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Luminous Atonement Chapter 7:
No Rest for the Weary


When Fluttershy opened her eyes, she found herself in her cottage, along with her traveling companions.  Everything was dark, the only sources of illumination being the moon and stars shinning from outside.

"Here, let me get that," said Discord, clapping his mismatched hands twice.  In an instant, all of the lights turned on.  Fluttershy smiled.

"Thank you, Discord," she said. "Now, you and Princess Luna just make yourselves at home while I tend to Philomena, okay?"

"Not a problem, dearie.  Take your time," said Discord, stretching himself out on the couch.

"I have some first aid in my saddlebag, in case you need it," Luna offered.

"Thank you, Your Highness, but I think I'll be fine," said Fluttershy. "Angel, would you be a dear and get my things?"

Angel nodded, and hopped up the stairs to Fluttershy's room.  While he was gone, Fluttershy lay Philomena down in a little bed.

"This sure brings back memories, doesn't it Philomena?" the yellow pegasus said with a chuckle.

Philomena chortled weakly.

"Now, you're going to behave yourself this time, right?"

Philomena gave Fluttershy a solemn nod.

"Good to hear," said Fluttershy with a warm smile. "Now, you just lay there for a bit while I fix you some nice hot soup."

She then trotted off to the kitchen just as Angel was hauling a medical bag down the stairs.  Discord couldn't help but notice.

"Um, Fluttershy?  Does that bunny have a medical license?" asked he.

Fluttershy turned back to Discord, tilting her head. "I'm, not sure what you're getting at.  Why would Angel need something like that?  He's just a bunny."

"Oh, never mind," said Discord, snapping his fingers. "It's all academic now.  I just gave him one."

Fluttershy looked over at her pet and raised an eyebrow.  Angel was now dressed in tiny medical scrubs and holding a tiny little framed diploma.  The bunny glowered at Discord, folding his arms and tapping his foot.

"Well, excuse me for trying to help," Discord said indignantly, snapping his fingers again.  Just like that, the medical scrubs and diploma disappeared.

"Oh, don't mind Angel," said Fluttershy, turning her attention back to the kitchen. "He's just being a bit cranky."

"Big surprise there," said Discord, popping his misshapen eyes out of his sockets and rolling them across the floor like a pair of dice.  The smaller eye ricocheted off of Angel's head and landed back in Discord's socket while the larger one rolled into a knothole in the wall.  There was a crash, and a small white mouse rolled the eye back out of the knothole, bickering angrily and rubbing a small bump on his head.

"I don't think this is what Fluttershy had in mind when she told us to make ourselves at home," said Luna, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, at least I'm not levitating the cottage off the ground and causing it to rotate," said Discord, scooping up his eye.  He then breathed on it and shined it against his chest before putting it back into his socket.

"I don't even want to know," said Luna with an exasperated sigh.  She then knelt on the floor and opened up another tome while Angel continued to lug the medical bag across the floor.  Discord stroked his goatee with his eagle talon for a time.

"Oh, Fluttershy?" he asked after a pause. "Does Philomena need bandages?"

"Hmm?  Oh, yes," said Fluttershy, still hard at work in the kitchen. "But just around her torso.  Her wings are just fine.  Why do you ask?"

"No reason," said Discord innocently.  He then donned a turban and pulled a flute out of nowhere.  As he began to play an alluring tune on the flute, the medical bag Angel was carrying opened on its own accord, and a coil of bandages floated up out of it.  The bandages swayed to the sound of the flute, and then floated over to Philomena and began coiling around the phoenix's body.

"That's a very pretty tune," said Fluttershy, oblivious to Discord's antics. "I didn't know you played any instruments, Discord."

Discord chuckled. "My dear Fluttershy, I am a draconequus of many talents.  I thought you would know that by now."

Angel, however, was less than impressed.  He gave the Master of Chaos a cold stare and tapped his foot.

"But of course, everyone's a critic," Discord added with a sigh.

Just then, Fluttershy emerged from the kitchen, carrying a piping hot bowl of delicious-smelling soup.

"Here you go, Philomena," she said sweetly, placing the bowl by her bed.  As Philomena began to daintily eat her fill, the pink-maned pony noticed the bandages were already applied. "Oh.  That's, odd."

"What is?" inquired Discord, casting his gaze out the window.

"I don't remember applying Philomena's bandages yet."

"Hmm.  That is odd."

Angel palmed his face, unable to believe what was going on.  He then hopped over to Fluttershy and began poking her leg.

"Huh?  What is it, Angel?" Fluttershy asked.

Angel pointed over to Discord, who was still staring out the window and whistling innocently.

"Discord?  What about him?"

Angel groaned, and pantomimed Discord's antics.  Fluttershy smirked.

"Discord~.  Were you playing a trick on me?" she said, placing her hooves on her hips.

"Who, me?" Discord asked slyly, a halo appearing above his head. "Why, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't give me that," said Fluttershy playfully. "You applied Philomena's bandages while my back was turned, didn't you?"

"Now where in the world did you get that idea?"

"Okay, that's enough, you two," said Luna, rolling her eyes and chuckling in amusement.

Angel, however, was not the least bit amused.  He continued to leer at Discord.

"That rabbit of yours is very difficult to please, you know that?" Discord told Fluttershy. "I don't know, I just find it ironic that you're so kind and understanding while he's so, well, him."

Fluttershy giggled. "I can see why you'd might think that," she said as she helped Philomena finish her soup. "Angel might be very grumpy and hard-headed, but he means well.  Whenever I need guidance, I can always count on him to push me in the right direction."

"If you say so," said Discord with a shrug. "I'm just not comfortable with him not trusting me."

"I understand that," said Fluttershy. "But he's just looking out for me.  Isn't that right, Angel?"

Angel gave a curt nod, and gave Discord an "I'm watching you" gesture.

"Well, that's nice to know," said Discord sardonically.

Suddenly, there was a light tap at Fluttershy's door.

"Oh, goodness!  Who could that be?" she pondered aloud.

"I'm certainly not expecting anyone," said Discord with a shrug.

"Why would you...?  Never mind, forget it," said Luna. "I'll look after Philomena, Fluttershy.  You go see who it is."

"O-okay," said Fluttershy.  She timidly made her way to the door and opened up the top portion.  It was Scootaloo.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Rumor Police!" said the orange filly. "Twilight said it's important that you get this message."

"Oh?  What message?"

"Bad news from the Crystal Empire," said Scootaloo, her expression drooping. "Now there are rumors saying that Princess Cadence has been corrupted by Discord, and that's why all of these other rumors are going around."

"Oh my!" Fluttershy gasped in horror.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad," said Scootaloo. "I'm gonna try to keep this rumor under wraps before it reaches Ponyville.  Gotta jet!"

With that, the purple-maned pegasus hopped onto her scooter and sped off.  Fluttershy turned to Luna, who looked deeply troubled.

"It's worse than we feared," she said darkly. "We cannot afford to dally any longer."

"But wait.  Philomena isn't better yet," said Fluttershy, her teal eyes reflecting concern.

Philomena cawed, propping herself up and spreading her wings.

"It seems that she disagrees," said Luna.

Fluttershy hemmed and hawed for a moment, wondering what the correct course of action was.  Angel tapped her leg with his foot and gestured out the door.

"Um, are you sure?" Fluttershy asked.

The rabbit nodded vigorously.

"Well, if you say so," said Fluttershy, turning to Philomena. "Just promise not to strain yourself, alright?"

The phoenix nodded and squawked.

"Personally, I think that rumor just sounds too ridiculous for anypony to take seriously," said Discord. "I know I'd be laughing if it wasn't targeted at me."

"We cannot afford to take that chance," said Luna, determination in her voice and her eyes. "Come, everyone!  Onward to Norneigh!"

She marched out the door as Fluttershy, Angel, and Philomena followed suit.  Discord shrugged and flew after them.  As he caught sight of Angel, he couldn't help but stroke his goatee in thought.

You think you know what's best for Fluttershy, do you? he pondered. Well, I just wonder what would happen if you were ever wrong...