Changing Lanes 14

>“Whatcha reading, Luna?”
>Rainbow strides into the room as you are seated on the couch, deep in one of the books Anon brought.
>You managed to get a few hours of sleep after Anon departed, before you finally got up and started reading.
“Anon brought us a few books that needed translation, or at least somep0ny that could read this older language.”
>The blue pegasus jumps onto the couch and looks at the page you’re on.
>“Yeah, that looks like a bunch of gibberish. How old is it?”
“Probably only about 750 years old, give or take a few years.”
>Dash looks at you funny.
“What? What did I say?”
>“’Only’ 750 years old? Holy shit.”
“Pardon me, but compared to how long we have been around, it is not exactly that long ago.”
>She blushes a bit as she realizes how her comment came across.
>You really aren’t that upset, since your age is something that can be a bit overlooked.
>Truthfully, you don’t know how old you are, you lost track a long time ago.
“It is fine, Rainbow Dash. We are not upset.”
>“So what are you reading these for? Think they might have what you need to reverse the mistake.”
“We are unsure right now. Hopefully, this or the last book we have has something.
>Rainbow looks bored as you resume reading.
>“So what will you do if you can’t reverse the spell?”
“Rainbow Dash, there is always a way to reverse a spell. It will just take some time to find the answer.”
>“Yeah, but you don’t have magic to cast it, Anon is in your body. Do you think he can do it?”
>Horseapples. You hadn’t thought of that.
>Your silence clearly has tipped Rainbow off.
>“You didn’t think about that till now, did you?”
“No, unfortunately. It never occurred to us. But we are confident we will find a way to fix this.”
>“How did Anon seem to be doing? Still have all his marbles?”
>You know Dash is just trying to lighten the mood a bit, but the light-hearted jokes seem rather out of place.
>Besides that, you aren’t sure how Anon is doing.
“He said he was alright.”
>“There’s a ‘but’ coming up here, I can feel it.”
“I don’t think he is being completely open to me.”
>“What makes you say that?”
>You can’t help but giggle a bit.
“We have been in that body for well over a millennia, we know our own little tics and nuances. He seemed very on edge, and I could tell he was lying.”
>Rainbow raises an eyebrow.
>“So why not make him tell you the truth?”
“I think he has enough stress now, I don’t see a clear reason to push him any more.”

* * *

>“Oh come on, where are you going?”
>The sound of your hooves as you gallop down the hallway partially drowns out the taunting of Nightmare Moon.
>You don’t know where to go or what to do.
>You just know you need to get away from the bitch before she scrambles your brain.
>“Really? How do you think you’re going to run away from me? I’m YOU, dipshit.”
>Once again, she is right ahead of you.
>Gasping for breath, you slow down and make a hard right into the next hallway.
>Suddenly, you hit something, and crash to the floor.
>Where the hallway had appeared to be is just an empty room.
>“Hahaha, Told you running was pointless. That was fun to watch though!”
“Just leave me alone for five fucking minutes!”
>As you get up off the floor, you hear a voice behind you.
>“Anon! What in Equestria is going on?!”
>Is this another ruse, or is the Twilight standing here the real thing?
>You take your chances.
>Dropping your head, you charge toward the doorway the purple alicorn is standing in.
>As you get to the doorway, part of you expects to feel resistance.
>Instead, you go right through her.
>She isn’t real.
>“Damn. Well, I have to say, you’ve got guts.”
>Still trying to catch your breath, you give up running and slowly amble back toward your room.
>“There you go. Just give up and it will be over sooner, so you don’t have to fight.”
“Fuck you! Unless you kill me, you’re not going to gain control! And killing me kills you, so you’re fucked!”
>Nightmare Moon’s cocky grin turns into a sneer.
>“That sounds like a challenge to me. Challenge accepted.”
>“Sister! Are you alright? We heard yelling and glass breaking.”
>“Oh goody, a show!”
>Jesus, this shit again.
“Really Nightmare Moon? Can you come up with something more imaginative than the same shit over and over?”
>“What?! Luna, what are you talking about?!”
“Shut the fuck up, you aren’t real!”
>Celestia, or at least the vision of her, recoils in shock.
>“Calm down, please! You’re not well.”
>You laugh, partly out of frustration, partly out of the sheer unoriginality of this trick.
>“Luna…..just come with me, calm down.”
>Okay, fuck this.
>You send a bolt of energy in the direction of the hallucination, to get rid of it like the last one.
>This time, it manages to shield itself from the attack with its own magic.
>Dammit. You were hoping that would dissipate the illusion.
>“Please, don’t made me fight you. I can’t do this again.
>Celestia looks as if she’s about to break down.
>Shit. You really fucked up now.
“I…..I’m sorry. I don’t know wh-”
>You’re hit with a bright beam of energy that knocks you on your ass.
>Momentarily stunned, you try to get up.
>Only to be slammed back to the ground by a forceful white hoof.
>The look on Celestia’s face is grim, as you search for a way to get free.
>You are hit again, knocking you out of your train of thought.
>“I would have just ended you a 100 years ago if I had known this would happen again.
“I’m sorry! I just need help, let me explain!”
>Your pleas are met with more pain as you try to resist and get out of her reach.
>Eventually, you give up, and close your eyes, waiting for the end.


>“Anon, get up! What the hay happened to you?”
>All feelings of pain slowly melt away, as you open your eyes.
>Celestia is nowhere to be found.
>You turn your head to see Twilight galloping toward you.
“Are you actually real?”
>“What?”
>Slowly, you get up off the hallway floor.
“Are. You. Real?”
>Twilight looks very nervous. As you take an offensive stance.
>“Yes, Anon. It’s me, Twilight.”
>Fuck it. You decide to go along with it.
>You’re tired of fighting right now.
>Or, to be more specific, getting beaten to a pulp.
>“Now, tell me what happened. The hallway is a mess!”
>As the two of you walk back to your room, you tell her everything.
>No sense in lying anymore, your visions are just getting worse.
>The two of you are very careful once you reach the broken glass in the hallway.
>Apparently all the guards are deaf. Or just retarded, since no one has shown up.
>No wonder this place is susceptible to attacks from time to time.
“So what do I do now, Twilight? Apparently, I can’t be left alone. But how can I have you or somebody accompanying me without making Celestia and other suspicious?”
>Twilight sighs, a look of defeat upon her face.
>“I don’t know. At this point, I feel like we’re running out of time if it’s getting this bad.”
“Well, it’s only 9 in the morning, and Celly wants me to take the night off again, so the way I see it, I still have at least about 36 hours to do whatever. May as well have a bit more privacy at my place.”
>“I suppose so. At least if you start having a freakout again, you won’t be near Celestia and cause her more concern. I’ll go grab some more books.”
>You walk along with her in relative silence again.
>“So, are you seeing anything right now?”
“No. It seems like Nightmare Moon has to go dormant after every ‘attack.’ Unfortunately, the hallucinations are getting more and more real. As in, feeling pain, like when Celestia beat the shit out of me.”
>Twilight cringes at the last part.
>You open the door to your room and Twilight grabs her saddlebags.
>They are absolutely packed full of books.
“Damn. Did you bring the whole section with you?”
>“No. It’s only about fifty books.”
>You shake your head.
“You ready then?”
>“Yep.”
>You focus on your home, and in a flash, the castle room disappears.

>When your surroundings come into focus, they definitely aren’t that of your home.
>The remnants of an old stone building lay around you.
>Whatever it was, it was a massive structure.
>“Anon, why are we here?”
>Twilight shifts uncomfortably.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know where ‘here’ is.”
>“This is the old castle where the Princesses resided.”
“Old castle? What happened to it? Looks like a bomb hit it.”
>“I happened.”
>You look up to see Nightmare Moon again, standing on an outcropping on one of the walls.
“You mean you’re ugly enough to cause walls to crumble at your side?”
>“…..Anon?”
“What?”
>“I’m guessing you’re hallucinating again?”
>You scowl back up at the wall.
>Nightmare Moon is no longer there, but you can hear her laughing.
“Yeah. I’ve never been here before, but by what I was told, this is where it all went down all those years ago?”
>“Yes. After those events, Celestia abandoned it. It was too much work to repair,  and the memories were too painful for her, I’d imagine.”
“Why don’t you teleport us this time? Apparently my magic is now being a bit……..influenced.”
>Once again, your surroundings disappear in a flash.
>This time when your surroundings come into view, you are in your home.
>Luna and Rainbow are both sitting on the couch.
>“Hey guys, what’s up?”
>Luna keeps her eyes buried in the book in front of her.
>“We assume you are ready to tell us how you are really doing today?”
>Well then.
“Was I that bad of a liar, or are you just really good at reading people?”
>Luna looks up at you and chuckles.
>“Both.”
>You make a mental note to never try to lie to Luna again.
“I guess for the time being, I can’t really be left alone, because my hallucinations are getting worse. Celestia has given me the night off because she suspects something is wrong as well.”
>Luna’s face turns troubled at the last part of your sentence.
>“If she is beginning to suspect something, we must make haste and find a solution very soon.”
>“I brought a bunch more books, and I can always pop in and get more if we need them.”
>Twilight gets excited, just like whenever she begins talking about books.
>You turn to Rainbow. You’re surprised she is even here.
“Rainbow, I thought you had work today?”
>“I do, I actually need to get going shortly. I was just checking in on Luna before I left.”
>Damn. You were hoping she didn’t have to work, that she was mistaken or something.
>For now, it looks like you’ll be spending the day with Luna and Twilight.
>Who are busy reading.
>Well, this will be dull.
>Which is probably a good thing.
>“Spill it Anon. We need to know what all has happened.”

>You spend the next 20 minutes describing the events of the last day and a half.
>Midway through, Dash cannot stay any longer, else she would be late for work.
>But Luna is quiet the whole time, while Twilight makes faces and gasps as if she were watching a horror movie.
>You would expect that kind of a melodramatic response from Rarity, but not Twilight.
“So, now we’re here. No sign of Nightmare Moon at the moment. Seems like after every bout, she has to recharge for a bit, so I get some peace.”
>“While it is unfortunate the hallucinations are now afflicting not just your sight, but other senses, it is at least a good thing Nightmare is not constantly around you.”
>You sigh. It’s not much of a silver lining in this whole mess, but it’s something to hold on to.
“I’m just worried one of these times I will mistake one of my friends for a hallucination. It seems like there’s no way to tell the difference!”
>“There is no way to tell the difference. You just need to remain calm when you have an attack.”
“Right, because that’s easy when I’m being pummeled into oblivion.”
>Luna crosses her arms. She seems a bit frustrated with your answers.
>“Nop0ny said it would be easy. It certainly won’t be. But for the sake of you and your friends, you must adapt and endure it until we can come up with something.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”