Changing Lanes 10

>Anon really left you no choice when he began to charge another blast of energy.
>You are Twilight, and you have kidnapped the princess.
>Well, maybe kidnapped is a harsh word, since you have good intentions.
>But it took quick thinking and a heavy book to stop Anon from destroying the whole room.
>Hopefully you didn’t give him a concussion.
>Quickly, before anyp0ny came to see what the commotion was about, you teleported yourself and the unconscious body of your friend back to Anon’s house.
>You appear in the living room in a flash of light, startling Rainbow Dash and Luna.
“Luna, Rainbow, help me, please!”
>They both snap out of their daze and grab a hold of Anon’s limp frame, and help carry him to the bed.
>After a brief silence, Rainbow pipes up with the first question.
>“What happened to him? Or, her….. Or whatever.”
“Let’s just go with ‘him’ s a pronoun, even if he is in Luna’s body.”
>Luna lightly blushes at the awkwardness of the situation.
“And this old tome happened to him. I had to hit him with it to knock him out.”
>Rainbow and Luna share nervous glances.
“He was flipping out! Just kept yelling and discharging energy blasts all over the place!”
>“Twilight, we do not understand why you would show Anon offensive magic, especially with somep0ny so new to the concept.”
“I didn’t. We were in the Archives reading through some books, and he said he had a headache and needed to get some rest. He was acting odd all night when I was with him, staring and very quiet.”
>Luna begins to look very troubled.
“What, what is it Luna?”
>“Tonight……has not been a very good night for either of us. We sort of lost our temper at him earlier when he came to visit.”
“Usually you are so cool and collected Luna, what in Equestria could set you off?”
>Luna sighs, and takes a seat on the bed.
>“We just finished telling Rainbow Dash what has been bothering us, we may as well tell you, too.”

* * *

>A dull throbbing pain greets you as you slowly gain consciousness.
“God damn, what the hell was that?”
>Instinctively, you bring a hoof to your face to brush away your ethereal mane.
>Looking around, you can see you’re in the forest again.
“Twilight? What the hell are we doing out here?”
>A familiar voice answers your call.
>“No Twilight here, just little old me.”
>Nightmare Moon steps out of the shadows, reminiscent of a cliché movie.
“Oh good. For a second, I thought I may have gotten rid of you. How the hell did we get here?”
>The black alicorn glances up towards the sky.
>“Here? Why, we aren’t anywhere. We’re both in your head.”
>This makes perfect sense.
>“You’re unconscious, you dimwit.”
>The last thing you remember is trying to vaporize the dark hallucination before….
>Nightmare face hoofs.
>“Twilight cracked you in the back of the head. Are you this dense all the time, or is it some sort of weird hobby for you?”
>You feel your pulse begin to speed up again.
>This nigger is really testing your patience.
>“Nigger? That’s a new one. What’s it mean?”
“It means I’ve had enough of your fucking shit. If you don’t shut the hell up within the next thirty seconds, I am going to rearrange your whole body.”
>“Oooohoohooo, someone is getting nasty! I like it when you talk dirty to me!”
>Just as you begin to charge up another blast of magic, you stop.
>This is what your hallucination wants.
>For you to lose control.
>Slowly, you turn around and walk the other way.
>“Ugh, really? You’re such a tease.”
“That’s nice. I’m not letting you win that easy.”
>“Hmm, playing hard to get now. This will be fun.”
>You continue to ignore her as she babbles on, before the path you are walking on slowly darkens.

* * *

“So you used to be an avid racer like Rainbow? Why would you hide something like that?
>Luna drops her gaze to the floor.
>“That’s exactly what I said, Twilight! It’s awesome!”
>“For us it is a painful memory. To know we had such potential, only to be forced to throw it away.”
>Royalty isn’t as fun as everyp0ny makes it out to be.
>You hug Luna as best you can to console her.
“So, what do you think we should do about Anon? Any idea why he’s been acting so odd? I understand he feels bad, but…”
>Anon suddenly begins mumbling in his deep sleep.
>Then starts thrashing, as if in a violent nightmare.
>The two turn to you as you stop in mid-sentence.
“We need to wake him up. Now!”

* * *

>A violent shaking motion slowly awakens you.
>As you open your eyes, you find Luna, - still in your body - Twilight, and Rainbow Dash huddled around you.
>You’re back in your house, in your room.
>“Thank goodness you’re awake. I was afraid I may have hit you too hard.”
“Urgh, yeah, thanks for that, Twilight. My head feels really good right now.
>“You really didn’t give me a choice, Anon. How do you feel besides that?”
>Looking around, there’s no sign of Nightmare Moon. Maybe she finally got tired and needed a rest?
“Fine I guess, Confused as to why we are in my house and not at the castle, but fine nonetheless.”
>Twilight nods, and sighs in apparent relief.
>“You seem a lot better. What was going on?”
>May as well tell the truth, since it seems the coast is clear.
“I……was hallucinating. Nightmare Moon to be exact.”
>Everyone’s eyes in the room go wide.
>Everyone but Twilight, that is.
>“It occurred to me when we arrived here that might have been it. I told you raw emotions may bring something like that back, be it anger or sorrow. Luna told us about what happened earlier.”
>You look over at Luna, who quickly averts your gaze.
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t see her anymore though. I dreamt she tried to push me over the edge to take control, but I guess I outfoxed her.”
>“Alright, Anon! I can’t believe you kicked her flank without my help!”
>Typical Rainbow.
“Luna, I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of a bad situation like that.”
>“Your apology means little to us, to be quite blunt, Anon.”
>Twilight and Rainbow Dash turns to Luna in disbelief.
>“Luna, I thought you made amends with wh-”
>“No. We have made amends with our past, but not with the dishonesty and treachery he has shown he is made of this evening. We are ashamed to have even considered you a friend.”
>Pain lances through your chest as she continues.
>“In fact, since Anon seems to believe our past and crushed dreams are such an interesting footnote, we have taken the liberty to do some crushing of our own. ‘Tis quite good therapy, to be truthful.”
>The blood in your veins run cold as you bolt up off the bed and through the house, yanking the door open with your magic.
>What greets you as your eyes adjust to the dim outdoors puts you on the verge of tears.
>Crumpled purple steel and shattered glass are strewn across the yard.
>Cut wires, slashed tires, and a shredded interior, everything that was once part of your pride and joy is a mess.
>“The sledgehammers and crowbars in your garage worked quite well, did they not? Now you know how it feels, Anon. Interesting, is it not?”
>Slowly, you feel the strength in your legs fade, as you black out once again.


>“Get back, you two, I think he’s coming to.”
>The voice of Twilight pierces the darkness as you slowly open your eyes again.
>Once again, you are in your house, in your room.
>And downright furious.
“You’re fucking right you better get back!”
>The two p0nies and the p0ny in your human body jump back in surprise as you leap off the bed.
>“Anon, calm down, you’re not thinking str-”
>Anger coursing through your veins, you push past Twilight’s attempt to hold you back as you approach Luna.
“I don’t know why I ever gave a fuck about you. Excuse me for hurting your damn feelings, you little bitch. How interesting will it be to watch your own body tear you apart limb from limb? WELL?!”
>Tears stream from Luna as she tries to flatten herself to the wall.
“And I find it hard to believe you alone could have done all of that. Let me guess, you helped her Rainbow?!”
>Rainbow jumps again as you turn toward her.
>“Anon, what are you talking about?! It’s me, Rainbow, your fri-”
>A glow from your horn quickly zips the pegasus’s mouth shut.
>Just as you turn back to Luna, you suddenly can’t move.
“What the hell?”
>Twilight enters your field of vision, her horn aglow.
>“Anon, chill out! No one has any idea what you are talking about.”
>Maniacal laughter erupts from your gut.
“Really?! Did you not see what those two did outside?!”
>Twilight’s face contorts into a confused expression.
>“What? You just woke up. I had to knock you out at the castle and I brought you here.”
“…so I was dreaming?”
>“Yes, apparently.”
>Laughter breaks the sudden quiet that has fallen over of the room as Nightmare Moon appears across from you.
>“I believe that round goes to me!”
>“ANON LOOK AT ME!”
>You are startled back to Twilight.
>“You need to tell us what is going on RIGHT NOW. There is something you have not been telling me all night.”
>As you look around to everyone in the room, all three of them look at you pleadingly.
>Most notably Luna, who looks on the verge of tears.
“I’ve been…… hallucinating. And apparently it’s not getting any better.”
>“Hallucinating what?”
>You spot Nightmare Moon out of the corner of your eye, sporting a toothy grin again.
>Apparently she’s enjoying this.
“Nightmare Moon.”
>Everyone’s eyes go wide.
>Aside from Luna’s, that is.
>“It was a matter of time, we are afraid.”
>The room’s attention is directed onto Luna.
>Twilight again breaks the awkward silence.
>“What do you mean Luna? You knew Nightmare moon was coming back?”
“No, because she never really left. You all think of Nightmare Moon as a separate entity because of the incident with Rarity. But it didn’t start out that way.”
>Luna closes her eyes and seems to read your mind as she speak.
>“Nightmare Moon is not so much a separate being as she is an extension of us. Our jealousy, our anger, it created a rift in us that split our personality. What Anon is experiencing is that other personality awakening, using our own mind against us.”
“So how did you manage to put the old horse to sleep?”
>“Having to spend a millennia with her, you pick up certain nuances in her trickery.”
>You roll your eyes in frustration.
“I don’t really think I have a whole millennia to learn. She’s already driving me up the wall, and now apparently is influencing my dreams.”
>You turn to Twilight as slowly, she releases you from her magic grasp.
“I think we need to figure out the solution to our body swap predicament even faster.”
>Twilight stands straight and proud.
>“You got it! Why don’t you stay here with Rainbow and Luna while I go back to the Archives to keep digging? Maybe being around other p0nies constantly will help you focus on reality.”
>Reflexively, you cringe at the last part of her sentence.
>Yep, it’s official.
>You’re going nuts.