• Published 7th May 2016
  • 10,081 Views, 192 Comments

Changing Lanes - AutoPony



When a human and his home land in Equestria, his love of speed quickly draws a few ponies to him, most notably Princess Luna. But her own desires and secrets soon begin to create..... complications in their friendship.

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Chapter 25

The sound of hoofsteps echoing along the hall corridors rouses you from your sleep. You don't know how long you drifted off for, just as the time down here has been a mystery. With no light aside from the glow of torches, the damp foreboding darkness of this place makes every minute that passes feel like an hour. Being stuck alone with your thoughts is near torture, so any sleep you can get to pass the time is a blessing, even if you don't need it. But every few hours, a guard's check of your cell disturbs your restless slumber.

But this time, you note a subtle difference in the hoofsteps. Not different in the sense of the pony, but in their nature. So used to the almost casual march of the guards, these hooves clearly move with purpose, on a mission as they grow louder and louder.

Briefly, you consider making some sort of effort to make yourself presentable. But in reality, there is no point. Instead, you continue to lounge upon the straw in the cell, your eyes peeled for your mystery guest.

It doesn't take long before the origin of the sounds comes into view, a single Canterlot guard attired in the standard golden armor. This particular stallion is a unicorn, his horn lighting with a warm white glow as a mess of chains and shackles levitate off of his back, untangling themselves as gravity takes hold.

"You've been summoned," he states, his tone gruff and apathetic.

You only nod slightly in a silent acknowledgment as the restraints he holds slip through the bars of your cell. You rise to your hooves, complying with what you know comes next. One by one, each clasp encloses around your hooves, the chains attaching your left and right sides clattering noisily upon the cobblestone floor.

A final piece - a large ring - makes its way into your cell as well, separate from the other restraints. This one slowly slides over your horn, locking itself into place upon sensing the presence of magic. The cold steel clasps and ring begin to glow with a ghastly violet hue, sigils appearing on the bands as you feel the magic within you being sapped away.

It is only a matter of seconds before the glow fades, the magic within you dissipated for the safety of everypony else. The cell itself has made any casting of magic impossible from within, but the chains binding you now make it possible for you to be moved.

"Come, the Princess is waiting," the guard orders, tugging on the chains between your forehooves. You oblige him as the cell door creaks open, stepping into the hall to see another guard waiting for you, another unicorn stallion. He turns away and begins to march forward as you follow him, the original guard tailing behind.

You keep your head low as your escorts lead you up into the castle, only looking up to be sure of where you are walking. Your wardens are silent, the only sounds exchanged between the three of you being the clop of hooves upon stone and the clatter of steel chains. You feel the glares and scowls that await you as your caravan passes guards on station, waiting for any sudden movements from their prisoner. But you have no thoughts of escape.

Eventually, the guard ahead stops, causing you to look up. He stands before yet another pair of white stallions attired in the same gold-plated armor, protecting a towering set of oak doors with spears clutched within their forehooves. They nod silently as the doors open slowly, groaning with deep reluctance. Again you feel eyes upon you, judging your pathetic form as you forge ahead into the room.

The march forward feels as if it takes eons, as you dread what comes next. You want to just gallop forward and get this all over with, but that would be far from an intelligent idea. As you contemplate what to say, you realize your escorts have stopped, and you do the same. Finally looking up, you find yourself at the base of a flight of stairs, leading up to the plateau where a white alicorn meets your gaze, her posture rigid and regal, her magenta eyes drilling through to your soul.

"Hello, Princess Celestia," you say, barely above a mumble. Celestia remains silent for a time, merely taking a moment to study you as you keep your head low.

"Hello Luna," she finally replies, lacking any sort of emotion. "I'm sure you know why I have called you."

"Indeed," you agree, slightly nodding.

Frankly, you are surprised it has been such a wait since seeing your sister again. While your mind remains hazy with the details, the night of your confrontation with Nightmare Moon in your dreams led to an apparent spell of incoherent babbling as your mind tried making sense of all the memories suddenly flooding back in all at once. During that time, you were in and out of consciousness, before coming back in a hazy state of mind. The truth you hid came out in that period, with your older sister present.

You eventually confirmed to her everything you had said was fact.

Your sister turns her attention away from you, scanning across the guards posted around the throne room.

"Guards, you are dismissed," she orders. The guards on either side of you look at each other, unsure of what they just heard. Indeed, all the guards seem taken aback by Celestia's directions.

"That is a direct order," Celestia barks, impatient with the lack of movement. At once, everypony evacuates the throne room with haste, leaving just you and your sister, whose gaze focuses upon you once again.

"It pains me to once again be in a position like this with you," she says in a hushed tone, trying hard to mask the sadness within her. It still touches her voice a bit, though her gaze remains firm and emotionless.

"I know," you reply quietly. You feel no desire for long-winded answers at this point in time; there is no need.

"Why you decided to purposely place one of Equestria's greatest threats with your human friend is beyond my comprehension," she says, her tone becoming more biting and direct as she continues. "Not just that, you fail to inform me Nightmare Moon even exists in any form in the first place. Would you care to elaborate?"

Your mind stumbles upon itself as you try to come up with an answer for Celestia that will sate her. With the revelations that Nightmare Moon fed to you in the confrontation the two of you had, your brain is still a hazy, haphazard mess as it continues to try to file everything away, even now.

"I do not have a sensible answer to that," you respond, giving up on any sort of excuse or explanation. "For some reason, I felt this was a good way to get closer to Anonymous, though the idea makes no sense. Perhaps I just wanted to spread my sickness."

Princess Celestia remains mute throughout your response, though her face and posture exude disgust and disappointment with every word you speak.

"I gave you another chance, I thought you had changed as a pony. I suppose you have proven I was mistaken, blinded by our tearful reunion," she finally says, cold in both her sharp tone and judging gaze upon you. It causes you to slump you whole form even more, the weight of the restraints pulling you down along with the realization your sister is right.

She took a chance on you, forgiving your past misdeeds and handing you a fresh start on life after millennia away.

All you have done is throw it back in her face.

"Maybe I have always been broken. I don't know," you muse quietly. The statement hangs in the air, as silence befalls the two of you for a spell. Both of you stare at each other, waiting for the other to speak up.

"I have not told Anonymous why I had you imprisoned," Celestia announces, drawing your attention enough that you stand up straight.

"That may be for the best. I have ruined our relationship enough," you reply back. But Celestia shakes her head quickly.

"No, I want you to tell him what you did to him. You owe him that much," she snaps, anger seeping into her voice for the first time. She does not give you time to answer, raising her head and turning to her left.

"Anonymous, you may enter now," she booms. As quick as her words come out, a door to the far left of the room opens up, the aforementioned human cautiously entering.

His eyes fall upon you quickly, causing him to rapidly drop his apprehensive attitude and heads your way in haste. Clearly, he has no idea what has befallen you to necessitate the state he sees you in now, nor does he have an idea of why he has been summoned.

"Luna, what's going on?" he asks, concerned. Your heart sinks with every step forward he takes. You've lied to him so much to keep your secret intact, and now you must divulge everything.

There is no way out of this.

No more running.

As he reaches you, he kneels down, ready to give you a hug. But you halt his advance with an outstretched hoof. Or at least, the best you can, considering the chains that bind you. Even so, it is enough to keep him at a distance, as much as it pains you.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, deeply hurt by your rejection. It only makes your stomach churn uneasily as you try to decide how to begin.

"There's something I need to explain to you," you start hesitantly. "Something I probably should have told you a long time ago. Actually, something that should not have occurred in the first place."

Anonymous is silent, frozen stiff by your low, ominous tone. You take a deep breath, before exhaling every detail you held from him.

"The spell I cast that eventually led to Nightmare Moon being stuck within you was not an accident. It was what I had planned to do, other than her actually being awake and able to speak with you."

Anonymous opens his mouth to say something, but you keep going, letting the truth gush out in one swift current.

"The spell was not an accident, the way it was cast I had to wait two days to make sure Nightmare Moon bonded to your consciousness within my body. It was wrong, but I liked you, and I wanted to know if you felt the same way about me. I was just too scared to ask you or confess my own feelings. I'm sorry."

You finish, taking in a big gulp of air after another session of rambling. Anon is frozen in place, mute as he wraps his head around everything you have explained.

But in the blink of an eye, he suddenly scowls, raising a fist in anger and striking you across the snout.

Your eyes well in tears from the sudden shock of pain sent through you, as a metallic smell and taste permeate your senses. You raise a hoof to your nose slowly, gingerly touching your muzzle before lowering it again, confirming your nose bleed.

"I never should have trusted you," Anonymous growls, rapidly rising to his feet and storming away from you. You say nothing in response as he directs his ire towards Princess Celestia.

"I don't ever want to see her again, Tia," he shouts angrily. "I hate her."

You hear a door slam shut as silence once again falls upon the throne room. You do nothing, only staring down at the floor, blood occasionally dripping from your nose onto the carpet. But the physical discomfort is nothing compared to your heartache, the last three words from his mouth cutting deep, sending shockwaves through you.

Nightmare was right, this is the path that you chose. All along, you weren't the victim of circumstance, you were the creator of every hurdle you have faced and stumbled over. You are the monster you have been afraid of this whole time.

"Luna, stand up," you hear Celestia command quietly. You do as you are told, hardening yourself and pushing away your emotions as you look up to your older sister.

"You heard him, sister," you say, your voice cracking. "I do not deserve mercy. I ruin everything I touch. For the sake of Equestria, rid the world of me once and for all. You can not kill me, but you can lock me away for eternity, a fate I deserve."

"I could not agree more, Luna," Princess Celestia bluntly responds. While she is agreeing with what you have said, hearing somepony else with the same conviction still stings.

No words are spoken between the two of you, as Celestia's magic envelops the shackles around your hooves, freeing them with a click from each of the four before lifted away. However, the ring upon your horn stays, as it should.

"I will at least grant you your latent magic, enabling your strength and flight. You will likely need it where you are going," Celestia says, her horn's normal golden glow slowly fading into a bluish-violet hue, a portal opening up before your forehooves.

"Tartarus," you mumble, the name of the vile place hesitant to even leave your tongue. Your eyes dance across the forbidden wasteland as it takes form in the portal, dark and foreboding forests contrasted with towering, rocky crags. Even from outside, you see eyes of various fiendish creatures piercing the dark, staring in your direction.

As if knowing fresh meat is in store.

You take a step forward, just about to enter the portal before you hold and look up, meeting the watchful, wary eyes of your sister one last time.

"I am sorry," you say, your voice wavering with emotion despite your best effort to keep stoic. "Goodbye, Tia."

Celestia nods slowly, keeping her composure as she continues to stare you down. "Goodbye, Luna."

With last words exchanged, you take a deep breath, leaping through the portal in one swift movement.

As you enter this new dimension, a chill runs down your spine, the temperature having dropped drastically over what had been a pleasant warmth in the castle. Underhoof, gravel as black as night crunches loudly, making your presence known to all inhabitants.

You are home, where you belong.

But through the silence and the endless dark of night, another sound reaches your ears. A low rumble off in the distance, seeming to echo ceaselessly across the landscape and all around you. It's a familiar sound, but you can not quite put your hoof on where you have heard it. After all, you aren't sure what all creatures inhabit this place, who knows what you will stumble upon.

Or what may stumble upon you.

It seems the eyes you had spotted in the portal before entering were just an illusion of some sort, as there is no sign of activity in your immediate vicinity. Even so, you remain on guard as you try to decide which way to head. Shelter is certainly a priority, as is water.

But no sooner do you take a step forward do you hear a sinister snarl behind you. With great care you turn your head to face the aggressor, finding nothing but a pair of floating eyes all too familiar to your memory. Teal, feral eyes.

"No, how are you here?" you manage to gasp, as fear grips your very soul. You get no answer back as you take a step backward, the eyes moving towards you as they keep the same distance. This has to be a hallucination, right? Nightmare Moon is still with Anonymous, how can she be here?

The rumble you heard earlier suddenly returns, before instantly growing into a deafening roar, the origin of the sound manifesting directly behind you. Forced to make a decision on the most concerning foe, you turn away from Nightmare Moon's gaze to the newcomer.

Instantly, you're forced to squint, as a blinding white light obstructs your view of what lays in front of you. But as you bring a hoof up to your eyes to shield yourself, the light dims, though your eyes are still in shock from the brightness to focus. But you sense one presence is gone, the specter of Nightmare Moon that had been behind you before this intruder came along.

In reality, the sudden events in such a short time span have your mind reeling to make sense of everything. Your ears pick up the same rhythmic rumble as earlier, right in front of you. Finally, something clicks in your head as you remember the sound, but it still makes no sense whatsoever.

Anon's car, the Superbird.

Your heart races upon the realization, your eyes finally beginning to adjust once again to the relative darkness. Sure enough, the mechanical beast sits directly in front of you, as improbable as it may seem. The burbling note of the exhaust continues to purr away, the headlights focused squarely upon you.

"Anon...?" you ask, barely above a whisper. The windows are too dark to see anything inside, forcing you to slowly make your way to the driver's side of the car. But as you do so, you find that this contraption is not what you are expecting.

Instead, the Superbird is a glossy pitch black, rather than the metallic purple it should be. In fact, there is nothing that accents the car, as the wheels, the trim around the windows, everything is blacked out. Quickly, you take a few steps back, dread creeping within you as your stomach turns, the absurdity of it all making your head spin.

An echoing click is the only warning you receive as the driver's door flings itself wide open, giving you a glance not into the interior, but an empty black chasm. Just as you prepare to bolt in the opposite direction, wisps of blue haze seep out, surrounding your hooves and seizing them with force. Terrified, you spread your wings and frantically flap to no avail, the mysterious smoke overpowering your attempts at escape. What little flight you get only serves to help whatever has you within its grip, dragging you quickly into the abyss.

The force of the tug upon your body sends you reeling, tumbling backward upon the ground as the haze dissipates and leaves you at the mercy of gravity. What little light that shines in comes from the outside of the "car," through the open door. But that too is short-lived, as with a shrill squeak of the hinges, the light fades away as the door closes with a resounding thump.

You can see nothing - not even the ground under your hooves as an endless sea of black surrounds you. Again silence reigns, only the sound of your own hooves echoing infinitely as you slowly take a few experimental steps.

But exactly what in Equestria is going on right now? Everything made sense until you stepped into the portal before, but since entering Tartarus all logic has gone out the window. You have been here before when dealing with some of Equestria's other villains, banishing them here with your sister. It is a different realm, but it still always acted relatively normal, rather than the bizarre and rather impossible experiences you have had thus far.

At least now there is nothing in existence, giving you a moment to slow your frantic heartrate. Perhaps this place acts differently for those lacking magic? At this point, it is the only plausible idea you possess. Tartarus is a place of punishment, after all. Maybe it manifests objects and creatures that in reality are not possible.

"Oh, I assure you, I am real," calls a familiar, threatening voice. Once again, you spy Nightmare's trademark predatory eyes, as she manifests herself in front of you. She looks pleased, an air of cockiness practically oozing from her form.

But you have had enough of this. Even as your fear returns and spikes your pulse once again, you stand defiantly, looking her straight in the eyes. "No, you're not real. At least, not physically," you snarl. "I don't know what this is or what you really are, but your existence here in Tartarus is not possible."

"Oh, I never claimed this to be Tartarus," she says with a chuckle. "That was all you, my dear. I've just been... helping you along, so to speak." Nightmare begins pacing around you, as you in turn slowly match her every move. "This is all just a fun little game, Lulu. Just getting you where I need you. I need your will broken, and I think we're close."

"You are lying. I'm - I'm dreaming, aren't I?!" you shout back, continuing to mirror your other half. "Why are you doing this? What is the meaning of these mind games?"

"Oh, I figured that was obvious enough. You and I are meant to be together, as one entity once again," she says, flashing a sinister, toothy grin. "As Nightmare Moon. No more Luna from here on out. You get to ride in the back seat."

"Impossible, you're inside... inside Anonymous..." you trail off, remembering the last meeting with him. But was it real?

When did this become a dream?

Or a hallucination?

What is this?

A sudden bout of laughter snaps you from you existential crisis as Nightmare is almost beside herself with amusement, her wicked grin only continuing to grow. "Maybe none of this is real. Maybe you've been on the moon this whole time and your return was just a fantasy. Or, perhaps you really have fallen from grace once again. Does it really matter?" She takes a step toward you, causing you to flinch away.

But to your horror, your legs do not respond. In fact, the chains that had previously bound your hooves have returned, tied tightly to the ground below you.

"Leave me alone!" you shout at the top of your lungs, your eyes slammed shut in an effort to make this terrible scene disappear.

"You've always been alone, and always will be," cackles Nightmare Moon, her voice drifting around you, surrounding you as she continues to laugh. Opening your eyes in surprise, she is indeed gone, though her laughter continues. You drop to the floor, covering your head with your hooves and sob heavily at your own helplessness. There's nothing else you can do, trapped by your own self, as a result of your own actions.

Whether this is real or fiction does not matter.

This truly is Tartarus.