Changing Lanes 21

>A sudden tug interrupts you from the page you were on as you slide across the floor.
>A blue wing wraps around you, greeting you once you come to a stop.
>"Anon, you must see this."
"You could have asked me to come over, rather than try to give me splinters in my ass."
>Luna giggles.
>"Apologies, we were so excited to find this particular book."
"It's not another joke book, is it? I'm starting to think that's the most useful thing you and your sister kept in here."
>"Nay, it is a book with some photographs of when we still partook in races."
>You find it surprising something that sentimental could be forgotten in this crumbling place.
>"Sister was not keen on organization until much later."
>As you flip through the pages, you're surprised to see how little Luna changed through the years, as all of the photos are labelled.
>Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Twilight fidgeting a few feet away.
>She still seems a bit off from her normal self.
>For one thing, she has only gone through two books in the roughly four hours you've all been here.
>Not even close to what the voracious reader can hammer though in that time span.
"Twilight."
>The purple alicorn pretends to be interrupted from the book she has in front of her.
>"Who, what?"
>You look at Luna, whose beaming smile has been replaced with a look of concern.
>She rises from the floor and strides over to Twilight.
>"Twilight, we do not wish to intrude, but you seem quite troubled this evening. Perhaps Anon and I may be of help?"
>She quickly shakes her head.
>"No, I'm fine, really. I just haven't been sleeping well."
>That excuse again.
"Twi, for someone that tells me I suck at lying, you aren't good at it either."
>Luna takes the time to wrap a wing around her in a sign of comfort.
>"You are amongst friends, Twilight Sparkle. Friends that are quite concerned about your recent change in behavior."
>Meeting her gaze even as she tries to avert it, you can almost see the inner conflict that bubbles within.
>"I.... I'll be fine. I just need some time to sort things out. But thank you for the concern."
>Goddammit Twilight.
>Luna backs off, and judging by the look she gives you, you are to do the same.
>"Perhaps it is time we all get some rest, and start anew in the morning."
>The night princess crosses the room, grabbing a huge and plush sleeping bag, a deep purple hue that matches part of her ethereal mane.
>It literally looks large enough to fit four or five people in it without being awkward.
"I never took you for one that would own camping equipment. But isn't it still a bit early to be going to sleep?"
>"Nonsense, Anon. We have been at work most of the day toiling through these books, a rest is well in order."
>She has a point.
>Getting up at the break of dawn is something you try to avoid, so being up that early has taken its toll.
>As Twilight also pulls out her sleeping bag, a turquoise glow overpowers her magic, gingerly taking the bag from her grasp.
>"What..."
>"Our sleeping arrangement is plenty large enough for the three of us to sleep in comfort."
>"Uh, okay."
>Okay, that's why it's so large.
>The three of you climb in, with you situated in the middle.
"Goodnight you two. And Twilight, get some sleep."
>No response.
>You roll over to face her.
>Her slack jaw and closed eyes tell you she's apparently already passed out.
>"Twilight did not jest when she complained of lack of sleep, it seems."
>You roll back to the other side to Luna.
"I'm worried about her Luna. When she has a lack of interest in books, clearly something is wrong."
>"Perhaps. Or it may be our bond is causing some discomfort."
>You pause to think.
>This all has started recently, and it can't be easy to adjust to a best friend dating another close friend without feeling awkward.
>But it still seems like something more than just that.
>"It will take time, Anonymous."
"Speaking of which, what are you up to?"
>"Pardon?"
"You know, us spending the night here, the sudden urge to get to bed a little early. You're planning something."
>Luna either has a very good poker face, or she is genuinely confused with your question.
>"You are much too suspicious, Anon. I assure you, we do not have any surprise plans about this night."
>You chuckle a bit, arousing suspicion from Luna.
>"And what are you up to?"
"Nothing, I just think it's kinda cute how your dialect keeps switching in and out between 'we' and 'I.'"
>"We... er.. I have not noticed until now. Apologies."
>You run your hands through her mane.
"No, it's fine, Luna. I just noticed that lately."
>She pulls you close to her with her forelegs, embracing you.
>"Goodnight, Anon."

>You find yourself jolted awake by the sensation of freefalling.
>You look around to see you're fine, still in the sleeping bag.
>But neither of your two friends are anywhere to be seen.
"Luna? Twilight?"
>The echo of your voice is the only response.
>You slowly climb out of the sleeping bag, keeping an eye on your surroundings.
"You guys better not be fucking with me. This isn't funny."
>Part of you figures this is some stupid prank, and you should just get back to sleep.
>On the other hand, if something is wrong....
>You put your sneakers on, and shuffle towards the entrance to the library.
>Looking out into the hallway, it's just as dark at night as it is in the daytime.
>Carefully, you feel your way through the inky black corridor, until you eventually reach the throne room.
"Hello? Luna? Twilight?"
>You hear no reply as you scan the cavernous room.
>A sensation of a light breeze on your skin causes you to look up.
>That's when you notice the night sky.
>You would have sworn this room's ceiling was still intact earlier today.
>Suddenly, the sky and stars seem to peel away, rushing towards you.
>Fear and confusion grips you as all you can do is close your eyes and brace yourself.
>"Are we truly that frightening, Anonymous?"
>You open your eyes at the sound of the soothing, familiar voice just as Luna plants an exaggerated kiss to your lips.
>"Mwah."
"L-Luna?"
>She giggles
>"Who else were you expecting?"
>Your mind races with endless questions, your voice trying to keep up.
"Where the hell have you been, and what was the point of that? And where's Twilight?"
>Something else suddenly strikes you about Luna.
"And why are you at eye level with me like your sister?"
>Luna really wasn't that much shorter than Celestia, maybe five or six inches at most. But it was a noticeable difference.
>Without a word, her whole body glows with a bright bluish-white light, scaling down to her normal size.
>"'Twas much easier to properly greet our special somepony with a taller stature. And Twilight is just fine."
"Um, okay. But where is she?"
>Luna cocks an eyebrow, as if you are speaking gibberish.
>"You... do not know where you are, do you?"
>Is this a trick question?
"Uh, the old castle. With you and Twilight."
>A thin smile forms across Luna's lips.
>"Well, let me first start off by formally introducing you to our domain. The dreamscape!"
>As she speaks, the whole castle is dimly lit by several chandeliers that appear from nowhere.
"So, I'm dreaming then?"
>She shakes her head, confusing you further.
>"No, Anonymous, you fully aware and conscious here as we are. You see, the theory we had has proven to be correct.
>What?
"Luna, you never told me you had a theory. Why did you leave me in the dark?"
>The castle goes dark again as you finish your sentence, the ceiling barren once again.
>Luna looks up, looking as surprised as you.
>"Well, we may have underestimated a bit, as well."
>You begin to feel rather impatient with the blue alicorn.
"Luna, the theory?"
>She seems a bit apprehensive as her attention focuses on you again.
>"We were not willing to put you through any sort of worry with our idea, but hear us out before you say anything."
"I'm all ears."
>"It seems when we made the swap between bodies and back again, not all remained where it should. Apparently, some of our power with with you. Or more specifically, Nightmare Moon's power."
>You feel as if someone has punched you in the gut.
"Nightmare Moon made the trip back with me and you said nothing?! What in the hell were you thinking, I could ha-"
>Suddenly, no sound comes from you as you continue your verbal barrage.
>Luna looks rather disappointed.
>"My point proven exactly. As we were saying, Nightmare Moon's POWER went with you, meaning her magic and abilities, not her. We noticed when we returned to our proper places Nightmare Moon seemed to be all bark and no bite, so to speak."
>Your voice suddenly returns to you as Luna nods her head.
>"So what does this mean? Am I suddenly going to be able to levitate shit and teleport like you?"
>"We doubt it Anon. The horn on unicorns and alicorns is the conduit for all our magic. It allows us to take that internal power and use it externally. Coming from a world without magic, we fail to see how you could possibly focus and use that magic. What we do know is you are like use now - a dreamweaver, as we like to call it."
"So I'm Gary Wright now?"
>"Pardon?"
http://youtu.be/loqqA5d5j2A?t=1m51s
>As the music blares from seemingly nowhere, Luna's face turns from curiosity to borderline horror.
>"This is music in your world?!"
"Only if you're high."
>The song abruptly cuts off, leaving the room silent.
>"Getting past this side note, we could sense a presence when both of us fell asleep in the library earlier, which brought to mind my theory and a way to test it. Sleeping here sat the castle made it much easier to find you in this endless world."
>You still feel very confused.
"But I don't get it, Luna. How can something like that just separate and migrate back with me?"
>Luna pauses and ponders your question for a bit.
>"At any point before we reversed the spell, did anything unusual that stands out to you happen?"
"Uh. Where do I begin?"
>Luna's face turns very serious, startling you a bit.
>"Think, Anonymous, and we too shall see. Your thoughts, your memories, can be seen by us too in the dreamscape."
>As you reflect back on everything from that week, it appears in front of you like a gigantic movie screen in fast forward.
"Holy shit, this place is trippy."
>Something catches your eye, and it stops, playing at a normal speed.
>'I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!'
"Wait, this is when things started getting really bad in the castle, just before Twilight brought me back to my place and we fixed this mess. Mostly."
>As you watch, well, you, the sound of glass shattering echoes loudly as the massive dark wave of energy erupts from your past self.
>It pauses there, as you look over to Luna.
"Could that have something to do with it.
>She doesn't say anything, but her wide eyes tell you she's a bit rattled.
"Luna?"
>Luna rears up on her hind legs, resting her forelegs on your shoulders.
>"I am afraid you will never fully understand how close you were to the edge."
"The edge? You mean-"
>"Anon?"
>Everything fades to black as you feel a tugging sensation.
>You open your eyes again to see yourself back in the sleeping bag.
>Luna is still sound asleep.
>"Anon, I need to talk to you."
>You roll over still groggy to see Twilight sitting up.
"Uh, yeah Twilight, what is it? Last I saw you passed out as soon as your head hit the pillow."
>She still seems unsure of what to say as she averts your gaze.
"Come on Twilight, we care about you, just spill it and you'll feel better."
>Twilight looks up at you, her eyes visibly wet.
>"Exactly. We. Meaning you and Luna. Not me."
"What? I don't follow."
>She finally unleashes, her voice filled with sorrow and anger.
>"This is just like when my brother Shining Armor married Cadence, he we would all see each other frequently, and now I never get to see him or her! I don't want the same thing to happen with you and Luna, but it's already happening!"
>You don't know a whole hell of a lot about Shining Armor and Cadence, just what little bit you've heard from Luna explaining this world to you.
>You sit up and hold out your arms, offering a hug, to which Twilight shies away.
"Dammit Twilight, what do I have to do to get you to realize neither I nor Luna are going to leave? You've been the one avoiding me as well as everyone else, this is all in your head."
>You do the first thing that comes to mind to silence her.
>Grabbing her, you press your lips to hers.
>Her eyes go wide in shock, but she doesn't struggle at all.
>You hold like that for what seems like a minute, until you finally release her.
"Does that prove that I care for you as much as I do Luna?"
>"We are certainly convinced, that is one way to drive such a point home."
>You whip around to see Luna watching with a lazy smile, as Twilight still seems to be in a daze.
"Luna! I can explain, it's not-"
>She chuckles quietly to herself, cutting you off.
>"Anon, we are not surprised in the slightest. But why do you think we are upset?"
>Wait, what?"
"Um, in my world, this kind of situation would probably end in a double homicide."
>"Well, I assure you that will not happen. As you just said Anon, you care for Twilight as much as you do us. That is no crime."
"Right. So we're good?"
>She stands and locks lips with you.
>"Does this answer you question without a doubt?"
"That'll work."
>You turn to Twilight, who still is in a trance.
>"Twilight. Hello, are you okay?"
>"She is fine, Anon. I think she is as surprised as you were. Twilight will snap out of it eventually."
>The two of you get back into the sleeping bag.
"I can't say I expected tonight to turn out like this."
>"Hm. Perhaps not. But it is the unexpected that makes the next day exciting even for someone as old as us."
"Maybe we can chill out on the exciting stuff for a bit? Between the body mixup and becoming more than friends with two alicorns, I don't know how much more my brain can take."
>Twilight seems to have finally snapped back to reality, as she crawls into the sleeping bag as well.
"Feel better Twilight?"
>"I think so."
>You pull the both of them close to you.
"Good. Now can we please get some sleep? We have a lot of stuff to talk about tomorrow. No more excitement tonight."
>"If you insist, Anon."
>Before long, aided by the warmth of your friends, you fall into a deep slumber.
>No visit to the dreamscape this time.

>"Wait, so Nightmare Moon is inside you?!"
>Morning brings a whole new set of challenges.
>Mainly, explaining Luna's theory that has proven correct.
"No, Twilight, not her as in what was tormenting me. Apparently I got to a point where I started using her magic, and some of that rubbed off on me."
>Twilight rubs her chin as she thinks.
>So you can do things like this?"
>She levitates a book, waving it in front of you.
"I don't think so. Luna, how did you explain it?
>Luna's ears perk up as she is busy picking up a few books to take back with her to Canterlot.
>"Since Anon does not have a horn like we do Twilight, I do not believe he has any way of harnessing and applying that power. But he now shares our ability to visit and manipulate the dreamscape."
>Twilight turns back to you with wide eyes.
>"Really? What's it like?"
>You shrug your shoulders.
"It really doesn't feel much different than a normal dream. Other than that I can apparently control what I see. And others' dreams as well, I guess."
>Twilight is quiet as she mulls over what she has heard, before jumping around in an outburst of excitement.
>"Imagine what new stuff we can learn about magic because of this! A being from a world without magic suddenly imbued with magic!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't want to be a science experiment. I'm still me."
>She stand on her hind legs, reaching up and hugging you at your waist.
>"Of course Anon, I didn't mean it that way. This is just such a unique experience, we must take advantage of it."
>"First thing is first, we must inform Celestia of this new development. I know she will be eager and relieved to know we finally have a reason for our mental link."
>Luna's words echo in your head.
>Eager and relieved?
>You just hope she doesn't have the same reaction Twilight did when you told her.
"Maybe we need to go over how it's going to be explained before we actually do it."