Luminous Atonement

by Metool Bard

A Great and Powerful Pit Stop

Luminous Atonement Chapter 4:
A Great and Powerful Pit Stop

"Fear not, everypony! For while Nightmare Moon has indeed returned, she is no match for the Great and Powerful Trixie, the most humble and heroic unicorn in all of Equestria!"

No one cared that this was a contradiction. As long as somepony was standing up to the new eternal night, it didn't matter who it was. Everyone around the illusionist's wagon cheered and stomped their hooves.

"Thank you, thank you!" said Trixie, taking several bows. "And now, the Great and Powerful Trixie must retire to her study to prepare for the magnificent battle ahead. As long as Trixie has a say in it, the dawn shall..."

Her speech was interrupted by a sound backstage. The audience became curious.

"Um, that must be a letter from Princess Celestia herself, asking for Trixie's aid," Trixie said nervously, twiddling her hooves. "Uh, Trixie will be right back!"

Before the audience could react, she disappeared in a puff a smoke.

***

When Fluttershy opened her eyes, everything was pitch black.

"Um, Discord?" she said meekly. "Where exactly are we?"

Discord stroked his goatee in thought. "Hmm, let me get back to you on that," said he. "Philomena, if you would?"

The phoenix obliged, spreading her wings and generating a powerful illumination. By Philomena's light, Discord unfurled an upside-down map and began reading it carefully. As he did so, there was a puff of smoke, and a particularly angry unicorn dressed in a magician's outfit appeared.

"And just what is the meaning of this?!" she barked, making a beeline to the intruders. "Trixie demands an explanation for this—"

Before she could get any further, a zipper appeared on her mouth and Discord zipped it closed with his snake tail.

"Could you be a dear and hold that thought for just a moment?" he said sweetly. "We're trying to figure something out here."

Recognizing the Master of Chaos, Trixie's anger quickly dissolved into fear. She tried to scream, but was prevented from doing so thanks to the zipper on her mouth. She continued to shout muffled protests as Discord continued looking over the map.

"I am truly sorry about this," Fluttershy apologized to the frightened magician. "We won't be long. I hope..."

"Hmm. Tch, I knew I should've taken that left turn at Baltimare," Discord mused.

"Discord, we didn't take any turns," Luna growled, clearly annoyed by this turn of events. "Also, are you reading that map upside-down?"

Discord peered over the map at the cloaked alicorn. "In the immortal words of Chancellor Puddinghead: The Earth is round. There is no up or down," he said plainly, as if this were self-evident.

"Forget I asked," Luna groaned, rolling her eyes. She then walked over to Trixie, who was still trying to scream. "Listen, we're not going to hurt you. If you promise not to scream, we'll explain everything. Does that sound fair?"

Trixie paused for a moment, and then nodded.

"Good," said Luna with a smile. "Discord?"

"Hmm? Oh, right. Sure," said Discord, seemingly distracted as he snapped his fingers. Sure enough, the zipper disappeared from Trixie's lips. She tried to scream for help, but found that no sound came from her mouth.

"What?!" she exclaimed, her voice still barely above a whisper. "What have you done to Trixie's voice?!"

"Calm down. I just lowered your volume a bit," said Discord with a dismissive wave of his lion paw. "You were a bit too trusting back there, Lunatic. It's obvious she's just as paranoid as everypony else. She has no reason to trust us."

"Maybe because we appeared in the middle of her, room without any form of warning," said Luna, finally taking a look around. "Where are we, anyway?"

"We have absolutely no idea, and that is why you're so cross," Discord said nonchalantly.

"Trixie will have you know that you are currently in Trixie's wagon," said Trixie. "And also, you have just interrupted Trixie's speech to rally the people in the wake of Nightmare Moon's return!"

Luna raised an eyebrow at the boastful unicorn. "So, you were the one spreading rumors about Nightmare Moon, were you?"

Trixie squeaked, frightened by Luna's intimidating presence. "N-no. No, I wasn't," she whimpered. "I-I just heard it from some other ponies. Honest! Besides, it's true, isn't it?"

Luna sighed. "Look, just take a deep breath and calm down. We have a lot of explaining to do..."

***

"Do you really expect Trixie to believe all that?" Trixie asked as Luna concluded her story.

"Um, it would help a lot if you did," said Fluttershy, meekly twiddling her hooves. Angel poked his head out of his owner's mane and rolled his eyes.

"Well, Trixie still thinks your story is a bit too remarkable to be true," said Trixie. "For one, if you're really trying to find this Orthrus character, why didn't you have Discord teleport you right to him?"

"Because that would make too much sense, and it wouldn't be fun for him," said Luna.

"She knows me so well," Discord added whimsically.

"Also, what of Nightmare Moon?" Trixie inquired. "Is she back or isn't she?"

"She isn't," Luna insisted.

"Then why isn't she defending herself from these accusations?"

She is, Luna thought with a sigh. "Everypony is panicking right now. If Princess Luna came out to address them, it would just cause more problems."

Trixie stroked her chin in thought. "Well, Trixie still has a few reservations about your story, but being the generous and kind-hearted pony she is, she'll give you the benefit of the doubt. For now."

"That's all I ask," said Luna. "Now, if you'll just allow us to get our bearings, we'll get out of your mane."

"Fine," said Trixie with a huff. "But don't take too long. Trixie might need to address another crowd any minute now."

Luna nodded, and took out a tome from her saddlebag and cracked it open. She whistled for Philomena, who flew over to the lunar princess and provided her with better illumination.

"Um, what are you reading, Your High—? Oof!"

Fluttershy began to ask Luna a question, but was interrupted by a prod from Angel. Luna gave Fluttershy a look, and the timid pegasus simply shrugged and chuckled nervously.

"We need some clues as to where Orthrus decided to hide himself," said Luna, turning her attention back to the book. "If Discord refuses to take us directly to him, we just need to find him the old fashioned way."

"Out of curiosity, how is that book going to help?" Discord asked.

"Nightmare Moon's allies were few and far between, but she had them," said Luna. "And with Orthrus's actions spreading rumors about Nightmare Moon, there is no doubt in my mind that they will be involved as well. They may not be cooperative, but they may be the best leads we have for tracking Orthrus down, if not our only leads. Ah, here we are."

She pointed to a page with her hoof, and everyone crowded around.

"What is it?" asked Fluttershy. "Did you find something?"

"Indeed I did," said Luna. "The Furies."

"The Furies?"

"It's a story supposedly lost to the ages," said Luna, reading directly from the book. "According to this, the Furies were three pegasi who served in the royal court a thousand years ago. They were more loyal to Princess Luna than they were to Celestia, and were enraged when their favored leader was banished to the moon. In an act of protest, they traveled across Equestria, blotting out the sun in every town they visited with dark storm clouds."

"Ah, the fire of rebellion. It really takes me back," said Discord with a nostalgic sigh. "So, what did Ms. Picky Pants do about it?"

"Nothing."

Discord raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

"Princess Celestia knew that what they were doing was wrong," explained Luna. "But by the same token, she understood their grievance. After all, sending her sister to the moon was not an easy decision for her to make. She decreed that the pegasi had a right to protest as long as it remained peaceful. They didn't take it well."

"Why not?" asked Fluttershy. "She wasn't punishing them."

"They felt that Celestia was unjust in her actions, and that she must admit to her folly," said Luna. "So when she refused to give in to their demands, they began to get violent. Instead of just a grey sky, the three pegasi brought with them a campaign of harsh justice. All across Equestria, they descended upon town after town, forcing their will on the public. Every infraction of injustice, no matter how petty or arbitrary, they punished with a vengeance. This campaign earned them the title of the Furies."

"Well, surely Celestia didn't ignore that," said Discord.

"Indeed she did not," said Luna. "Within a matter of days, the Furies were captured and put on trial. They were sentenced to spend the rest of their days in the Canterlot Caves for their actions."

"Meaning, what exactly?" said Discord, not sure what the princess was getting at. "I thought you said they would help us. It's going to be pretty hard for them unless pegasi live to be a thousand years old."

"Well, that's just it," said Luna. "Nopony knows what became of the Furies. Some say their story ends with their conviction. Others say they escaped the caves and traveled to parts unknown. And there's only one way to find out for sure."

"And, what's that?" asked Fluttershy.

"We must ask the Kraken."

Discord's brow furrowed. "Isn't that just a myth?"

"All of Nightmare Moon's allies tend to gain that reputation," said Luna. "But trust me, he's real. If I remember correctly, he still lives in a cove just off the coast of Norneigh."

"Which is how far?" inquired Fluttershy.

Luna paused for a moment. "Good question," said she. "Trixie, where is your wagon set up right now?"

"Hmm? Oh, we're in Fillydelphia," said Trixie.

"Right," said Luna. "Discord, hand me the map. Right side up, if you please."

Discord cast his eyes upward, a sly grin on his face. "You don't want me to do that," he said.

"Why, is the whole world going to flip upside-down if you flip it over?"

Discord sulked. "Well, now you just ruined the surprise. I hope you're happy," he said with a pout.

Luna rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hoof. "Just give me the map, will you?"

Discord shrugged and handed the map over as instructed. Luna read it over carefully.

"Now, let's see," she mused. "We should start out heading south to the Everfree Forest. From there, we can rest up in Ponyville, then follow the river north to the Valley of Dragons. That should take us right to..."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but what did you say about dragons?" asked Fluttershy nervously.

"The Valley of Dragons," said Luna. "We need to go through there in order to reach Norneigh."

"Um, do we really have to?" said Fluttershy. "I-I mean, isn't there any other way? Couldn't Discord just...?"

"Nope. It would make too much sense," said Discord, cutting across Fluttershy. "Why? What's the matter?"

"I-I..." Fluttershy stammered, swallowing over and over again. Angel palmed his face and pantomimed what his owner was trying to say.

"Oh dear," said Discord. "That is a bit of a problem."

"Fluttershy, there are parts of this quest that we're all afraid of," said Luna, gingerly placing her foreleg around the shivering pony. "But we need to face them, or else Orthrus will win. Okay?"

Fluttershy still wasn't fully convinced, but she still managed to give a timid nod. "O-okay," she said meekly.

"Well, that's settled," said Discord. "Now, let's get a move on."

"Finally," said Trixie, rolling her eyes. "The Great and Powerful Trixie will consider your words in her next speech, although she still has a few reservations about your story."

"Thank you," said Luna. "We would be most delighted if you did so. Farewell."

She then lead the way as the entire entourage made their way out the back of Trixie's wagon, leaving a most perplexed unicorn behind.