Changing Lanes 16

>It’s been a couple days since finally getting back in the correct body.
>Not quiet as hard to adjust back as you thought it would be.
>But the more troubling item on your mind is Luna.
>Notably, her absence around your place.
>She hasn’t visited at all after returning to the castle that night.
>But right now, you’re trying to get the damn tachometer in the Superbird to work.
>For whatever reason, it likes to be temperamental at times.
>You know when to shift, you know the exact sound pitch of the RPMs when you need to.
>It’s just annoying to have something in the instrument panel not work.
>Sitting upside down in the driver’s seat, you trace the wire up to the gauge, trying to find any breaks in the wire or the clips.
>“Hey Anon!”
>BANG
“Ow, fuck!”
>Such are the joys of limited space when working on something.
>You rub your forehead you managed to hit on the underside of the dashboard as you get situated to see Rainbow giving you and odd look.
>“Uh…..why were you sitting like that?”
“This tach gauge isn’t working right again, I’m trying to fix it.”
>A blank stare is your response.
>Oh right, she probably has no idea what you are even talking about.
“Basically in a nutshell, this gauge in the dashboard tells me how fast the engine is going, but it is not functioning right.”
>Finally, she speaks up.
>“But I thought the speed-o-meter thingy told you how fast you were going?”
>You laugh and shake your head.
“I could explain it all to you, but I’m sure you don’t want to sit there and listen to me for twenty minutes.”
>The blue pegasus feigns a pained expression.
>“Nooo, my brain can’t handle listening to you for that long!”
“I forgot how funny you were. Hey, have you or Twilight heard anything from Luna lately?”
>Rainbow’s expression turns serious.
>“No, I haven’t heard a thing. I mean, I’m sure she’s fine, but I have no idea why Luna hasn’t popped up.”
“Hm. Alright then. While you’re here, you wanna help me with this? I need you to track this wire and make sure  this black coating isn’t broken.”
>“Well, I don’t WANNA help, but I guess I could stick around.”
“Wow, you’re just full of it today.”

>You never did figure out why that fucker isn’t working.
>An hour looking at every possible wire and connection, and still nothing.
>So you figure it’s the gauge itself.
>Oh well, nothing you can do about that.
>Rainbow went home not long afterwards.
>Evidently, she was tired, seeing as how she fell asleep tracing the wires in the engine bay.
>A quick beep of the signature horn of the car awoke her.
>Totally an accident.
>Now, with dusk settling in on Equestria, you decide to go for a leisurely cruise.
>A turn of the key, and the orange monster under the hood burbles to life.
>You push the clutch in and get moving in first gear.
>Second gear, then third, and you leave it there.
>Scenery passes by at a relatively slow speed compared to when you really jam the accelerator.
>Turning off the road you’re on, you head down the winding path that goes through the forest nearby.
>Sighing and relaxing back into the seat, your mind is settled by the low grumble, combined with the light hum of the tires.
>Who needs a radio when you have mechanical music like this?
>“Greetings, Anon.”
>The car jolts forward as your foot increase pressure on the throttle in surprise.
>Luna is peering in on the passenger’s side, gliding along beside you.
“Goddamn, someone needs to put a bell on you.”
>You pull over and get out.
“Where have you been the last few days? Everyone has been nervous and worried about you.”
>She blushes slightly before answering.
>“We apologize, it was not our intention to cause discomfort. Thy sister required help with the Royal Archives, which took a while.”
“What do you mean? I don’t mean to pry, I’m just really curious.”
>“Celestia was curious about the spell we attempted to use, as well as what else was contained in the Archives. The last few days hath been spent translating many older texts. How has thou fared aside from having fears for us?”
“I’m fine, it’s been quiet. I’m guessing all that translation is why you’re speaking with all the ‘thy’ and ‘thou’?”
>Luna blushes much more this time.
>“Yes, thy brain hath gone through much texts lately, we are afraid it is a bad habit for now.”
>You backtrack a bit.
“So Celestia wasn’t mad about what you did?
>She shakes her head, mane billowing and shaking with her in a mesmerizing display.
>“She was not upset, just rather relieved thou did not destroy Equestria in that short span of time.”
“I didn’t think it went too bad, really.”
>“Thy desk would disagree with thou. As well as the stained glass windows in the hall.”
>Oh right, that.
“I said I was sorry. Anyway, did you tell her about the other thing that was going on? About Nightmare Moon, I mean.”
>Luna scratches the back of her head, seemingly at unease.
>“No, we did not believe Celestia needed to be informed of that occurrence.”
>You cross your arms. Part of you doesn’t seem to feel right about this.
“I think it would be a good idea to let her know. I mean, you say you have everything under control and on mute up there in your head, but what if it starts again?”
>“Thou does not trust our judgment?”
>Crap, it sounds like you might have struck a nerve.
>Time to initiate damage control.
“No, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying, you didn’t like it when I was not completely honest with you, and then everything got worse. Maybe we’re better safe than sorry?”
>Luna closes her eyes while listening to you.
>A knot forms in your stomach again as you try to thing of something else to say.
>“Perhaps thou has a point. Thy sister shall be informed of the other occurrences before the start of her shift.”
“And could you at least check in tomorrow night even if you and Celly are doing something? Rather than just make everyone paranoid?”
>A smile crosses Luna’s face again as she rises from her sitting position.
>“But we find it adorable when thou is ill at ease. But I must go, thy shift is rapidly approaching. Tomorrow we may be able to stay longer.”
“Thanks for at least popping in for a bit. Night, Luna.”
>As you open your door, a tingling sensation slowly turns you back around.
>Luna has you in her magical grip as she stands in front of you.
>“Thou was not planning to leave without a hug, yes?”
“Uh, no. Of course not.”
>She jumps up, her forelegs resting on your shoulders.
>She looks at you with half lidded eyes, a sly smile across her face as she leans in.
>“Or maybe a bit more than a hug…”


“Anon!”
>BANG
“GODDAMN IT!”
>You open your eyes, seeing stars.
>As you finally focus, you see the underside of your dashboard again.
>Well that was an…… interesting dream.
>“What the hay were you doing? All I could hear was mumbling.”
>You turn your head to look at Rainbow Dash, who is standing near your open car door.
“I apparently fell asleep for a bit.”
>Dash smirks.
>“That explains a lot then. What were you dreaming that you kept blubbering on about?”
“Nothing. I don’t remember.”
>“Luna is right, you suck at lying.”
>You feel your face grow hot as Rainbow mentions Luna.
>Her face lights up as she tries not to laugh at your obvious giveaway.
>Damn it.
“Rainbow, we will not mention this. Ever. Or I will kill you.”
>She stop laughing at your threat.
>“You’re no fun.”
>Still silence.
>“Fine, relax. But can you tell me what it was about?”
“Subject change, now. Did you find any broke wires under the hood?”
>She turns back and heads to the front of the Superbird as you twist and sit upright in the seat, and step out.
>You find Dash pointing to a small, disconnected plug.
>Really? How the hell did you manage to miss that?
“That’s probably it.”
>Snapping the plug back together, you fire up the car and check the gauges.
>Sure enough, the tach is working again.
>Suddenly, a thought comes to your mind.
“Hey Rainbow, Luna has the power to go through people’s dreams, doesn’t she?”
>“Yeah, I think so. Why do you ask?”
>As she finishes, Dash seems to understand where you are going with the question.
>“Well, I guess depending on what your dream was, you’re hoping Luna didn’t happen to stop by, huh?”
>That’s an understatement.
>Fuck magic.
>Rainbow seems to sense you are genuinely uncomfortable with the situation, and changes her tone.
>“I wouldn’t worry about it Anon, whatever it is. I can imagine she has seen a lot worse in p0nies’ dreams.”
>The two of you laugh, while at least you cringe internally.
>You can not imagine what kind of fucked up dreams Luna has probably seen in other p0nies.
“Well, I think I’m going to head over to Twilight’s and visit her, you wanna come?”
>“I would, but I haven’t even been home yet. Tank is probably wondering if I got lost.”
>Oh lord, her pet turtle.
>The last time Rainbow brought him around, you swear you got a concussion when he managed to bang you in the head.
>You grab first gear, and calmly let out of the clutch as the Superbird begins to roll.
“Alrighty then, see you later.”

>Twilight’s treebrary was a little less than two miles from your house, which is on the outskirts of town.
>Thankfully, you don’t have to walk, so you’re there in no time.
>Killing the ignition, you climb out and knock on the door.
>“We’re closed for the day!”
>What the hell?
“It’s me, Anon. I just came to vis-”
>The door rapidly opens, and you are forcefully pulled in by magic, with the door slamming behind you.
>You spot Twilight on the floor above, apparently hunched over a book.
“Well it’s nice to see you too, Twilight. What gives?”
>As you climb up the stairs, she seems to be trying to figure out what to say.
>Judging by the minor dishevelment of her mane, she’s stressed.
“Twilight, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
>Finally, she speaks.
>“I just got a letter from Princess Celestia.”
>Well that’s not really out of the ordinary.
>You press onward.
“Okay. That’s not really helpful to me. You’re stressing out big time right now, spill it.”
>For the first time since you came in, she looks at you.
>“Luna is missing.”
“Missing, what do you mean missing? For how long now?”
>Twi turns her head back to the letter sitting on her bed.
>“Apparently she disappeared after her shift and going to bed yesterday. Last night she never showed up for court, and she still has not been seen since.”
>You feel like you’re going to throw up, your mind focusing on one thing.
“Twilight. Do you think maybe she couldn’t handle…..”
>“The delusions you were having? I don’t know, Anon. While Celestia is concerned, she doesn’t want to raise the alarm and cause panic, so this information doesn’t leave this room.”
“Well, does Celly know about the hallucinations I was having?”
>The purple alicorn responds with a funny look.
>“Celly?”
“Sorry, habit from the whole clusterfuck a few days ago. It’s the name I used to annoy her.”
>“We really need to go more in depth about what happened during those few days. But anyway, no, I have no idea what Luna told her.”
“So what is she doing about it? You know, since she apparently is more concerned about scaring people rather than finding her own sister?”
>“Anon!”
>You throw your hands up in frustration.
“I’m just calling it as I see it.”
>“She has p0nies from the guard incognito searching for her,  scanning the skies. She cares about Luna, but she also cannot let her emotions get in the way of ruling the kingdom.”
>You relent a bit. She has a point there.
“I’ll give her that. So what do we do, since we can’t go searching and let everyone know what’s going on.”
>You hope Twilight doesn’t give you the answer you think she will.
>“I guess we just have to wait.”
>Fuck. There it is.