Changing Lanes

by AutoPony

Chapter 31

As you slowly drift back toward lucidness, it is a relief to note that the headache that had plagued you since... what to even call the mess that transpired over the past couple days? An awakening?

You suppose it matters little, it is just a relief to feel like you're finally well-rested. Though you have yet to open your eyes to greet the day ahead, you sense a pressure upon your back. Cautiously averting the warm, bright rays of your sister's sun you feel seeping inward through the balcony, you crack open an eye to take stock of your surroundings, as well as the unexpected presence.

Before retiring to bed last night, you had decided it would be best to give Anon some space, based on everything that had gone on and Cadance's advice. So, upon seeing him sleeping in your bed, you had grabbed a comforter from a guest room nearby as well as a few blankets, making up a comfortable arrangement on the floor to sleep this night. It was not long before you drifted off to sleep, the pleasant night air wafting in from the open balcony doors soothing, almost beckoning you to sleep under the stars for the night on the balcony itself.

But you wanted to remain close to Anon.

Yet, as you expected in the back of your head, Anonymous has found his way to your side, with his uninjured arm draped over your back. You can't help but smile, though the slight movements you have made upon waking have stirred him from sleep as well. He takes great care as he cracks his eyes, but grins nonetheless upon seeing you are awake as well.

"Bed too good for you?" he jokes.

"No, the one within it was too good for me. Plus, I did not want to awaken you."

Your response makes Anon shake his head, as you flop over onto your side for a more comfortable conversation.

"I would have picked you up and tossed you on the bed next to me, but I can't imagine that would be good for my banged up shoulder," he replies.

"How are you feeling? Overall in the physical sense," you inquire, feeling rather concerned. If he slept with his arm draped over you, he had to have been laying on the arm currently in a sling. You doubt that is an ideal position.

Honestly, you aren't even sure how he got here from the hospital. When you and your sister found him, he was unconscious and rather badly bruised after his tussle with Chrysalis. While nopony has any sort of understanding of human physiology or time needed to recuperate from an injury, it's hard to believe he feels much better only two or three days after the incident.

Or has it been longer than that? You can't remember how long it has been for sure, between the lack of sleep the first day or so, then having your mind shattered and put back together.

As if tuned in to your inner musings, he shrugs before answering. "I actually feel pretty good," he says with a fair amount of nonchalance. "My ribs don't hurt, my shoulder feels fine. Hell, I have half a mind to take this sling off, but I'll listen to the doctor and keep it on for a while."

"You're listening to the doctor? At what point did he say it was a good idea to sneak out of the hospital in the middle of the night?" you ask teasingly.

"He never said I couldn't."

You cannot help but shake your head and give him a slight, playful shove for his nonsense.

"I should know better than to trust your judgment," you joke.

"Speaking of which, what did you make of everything last night?" Anon asks.

"It's... unexpected. A lot to take in at once," you respond slowly. "You really weren't helping matters during the discussion, though."

"Yeah, so I've been told. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Nightmare is part of you and part of me. I mean, I knew she was you, I just... it gets confusing when you start talking about it."

"It would seem that I did an excellent job of creating a mess with one profoundly idiotic idea," you reply. "Again, I am sorry, Anonymous."

"Will you stop apologizing to me, please? I'm fine, Luna," Anon replies, booping your snout with a finger. "It might be stupid of me to be fine with everything and not still be upset, but I don't care. I've missed you."

"And I have missed you," you gush, gently pulling him up next to you. "Mark my words, Anon, I will not betray the trust you have in me again. My eyes have been opened after the ensuing chaos that has resulted from that night months ago, and the last few nights."

"I don't doubt you. But to be fair, Nightmare Moon said it wasn't your fault. If she's correct in being your conscience, how the hell would you know right at wrong?"

"I understand you're trying to make me feel better, but please stop. This is something I need to make amends for, this is a situation from which I should learn. Using excuses to hide is counterproductive." You try your best to be courteous, but put your hoof down at the same time. Anon remains silent for a time, just looking into your eyes.

"Okay," he says, relenting with an exhale. "I'll stop. But other than that, what's your opinion of Nightmare? Do you trust her now?"

You don't hesitate to nod affirmatively. "As surprised as I am to say it, yes. I must commend you for bringing her around, helping her through her own issues. Last night went better than I expected, and I see what you see in her now."

"I still think she needs to change her name though," he muses, pausing for a moment. "You know, since she's a part of you, and a part of me, she's kind of like our child, in a sense. So she should listen to me."

Your eyebrows raise at this suggestion. "Are you sure you want to open up this can of worms? I've heard some strange things in my lifetime, but this is close to the top."

"You might be right, it'd be weird," he abruptly agrees. At least she- nevermind, she heard me..."

"And what's her take on this?" you ask, amused by his sudden complication.

"Nope, nope, not going to repeat it. This was a bad idea," he replies sharply, fervently shaking his head. He quickly raises up the arm he had draped over you, making a fist with his hand aside from one finger.

"What does that mean?"

"Telling her she's number one."

You have strong doubts his definition is correct, but you don't push. Instead, you just break into a giggle fit at the absurdity of this. "You know, it probably isn't the best idea to have conversations with her in public. Ponies that do not know what is really going on with think you have gone insane."

"I'm already getting there anyway," he grumbles, shooting a glare at his invisible combatant before focusing upon you. "So I take it you no longer have a problem with me talking to her."

"No, not after seeing the progress you have made. I was serious when I asked her to do what she can to keep you safe. So in essence, you have to stay in contact with Nightmare."

"In other words, we aren't out of the woods yet as far as trouble," he laments. The sobering turn this conversation is beginning to take spurs you to at least get somewhere more physically comfortable. Without a word, you flare out the magic contained within you, teleporting both of you up onto the bed in a flash. The yielding plush of your mattress is welcoming indeed after a night spent on the floor.

Momentarily dazed, Anon shakes the fogginess from his head, before giving you an unhappy look. "I've told you before to warn me when you do that," he says. "Plus, you know, we were only a couple feet away from the bed in the first place.

"I know, but I was feeling quite lazy, so this was easier. Where were we in this conversation again?"

"Nightmare Moon keeping me safe because this shit storm is still rumbling through," he responds

"Right. As I mentioned in the discussion last night, you need to be wary of everypony. Do not blindly trust the guards, do not blindly trust my sister or I. I want you to contact me first, through our link, as I can do the same with my sister. While it is fortunate we were able to capture Chrysalis, her presence here as a prisoner means we are all targets. I expect the changelings know we have her, and they will likely do whatever they must to free their queen," you explain, feeling uneasy just describing the scenario. Anon suddenly looks quite tense when you finish, but he remains silent.

You are the real Luna in front of me now, right? you hear him ask in your head.

Indeed, Anon. Your response instantly quells his body's tension.

"Oh good, so basically I have to wander around paranoid from now on."

"Until we can either wake her or find a spell to reverse the effects placed upon Twilight, I'm afraid so. When that dilemma is solved, we can move her somewhere else."

"Well, Celestia's been keeping me out of the loop the last couple days. Everything I know boils down to either what I saw before ending up in the hospital or seeing Twilight as a zombie in her cell in the dungeon. Has there been any progress made?" Anon asks, his voice reaching as high as his hope that you will give him at least a morsel of information to digest.

"Slow, but we may be making a little progress," you tell him. "As I understand, you somehow managed to summon a bit of magic to stop Chrysalis, yes?"

"Yeah, it didn't feel like much, but I guess I zapped her pretty good. I was able to use it a bit on the way to Canterlot, too. Popped open a headlight that fell down because of the damage on the nose. Nightmare guided me on that one, fight with Chrysalis was just pure emotion and determination, I guess."

Your eyes widen at his admittance. In a matter of a couple of days, Anon has gone from being hopeless in his pursuit to wield the magic contained within him, to manipulating objects and knocking out the queen of the changelings.

"You okay, Luna?" Anon's voice breaks you out of your stupor.

"Yes, sorry. It's just - when I think I've seen everything from you, somehow you find a way to shock me," you tell him.

"I'm a man of many talents," he says, shrugging with a cocky smirk. "Anyway, back to Twilight."

"Back to Twilight, yes. Now that we know what happened, my sister and I have at least some idea of how to treat her. After all, a purely physical injury is much different from a combination of a physical blow imbued with magic. As for Twi-"

"How is that different?" he interrupts.

"Magic does not just dissipate on its own. The kind of strike you seem to have dealt her allows the magic to continue festering within her body. That needs to be dealt with properly before anything else. I suppose we should have assumed there was magic involved, now that I think of it. Changeling hides are extremely resilient."

"Yeah, I tried crashing the Superbird into her, and that did nothing."

"We had assumed as such, my sister and I," you reply with a nod. "But as I was saying, we are unfortunately still in a holding pattern, waiting for Chrysalis to awaken. Princess Cadance has found some intriguing footnotes in historical texts, but nothing of substance that can actually shed light upon the actual spell placed upon our friend."

"I was afraid you would say that," Anon sighs. Hoping to dull his fears and disappointment, you pull him closer to you and give him a hug, minding his injured shoulder.

"I must say I feel better about our chances getting the answer from the queen herself than we did but a few days ago," you admit to him. "I apologize for my angry outburst when you arrived, I do not blame you for what has happened."

"Thanks. I mean, I still feel a bit guilty, and it sort of is my fault, but you've at least given me a little more hope."

"Do not dwell on it, whatever you do," you warn him. You let go of him and rise to your hooves, taking a moment to stretch.

"Wait, where are you going?" Anon asks, eyeing you with suspicion.

"I must get ready for the day. I will be tending to the kingdom today, and for the next two weeks. Part of my punishment for lying to my sister for the last few months," you explain, sliding down off your bed, your hooves meeting the plush carpet. "Did I forget to mention that last night?"

"Maybe you did. Way too much stuff to process last night," Anon replies, rubbing his temple. "But that doesn't sound horrible if that's all you have to do."

You shake your head, smirking just a bit. "Ah, but that is the easy bit. I'm also assigned to reorganize the library and get it into a more accessible form."

Anon cringes at that. "Are you serious? How the hell does Celestia expect you to do that?"

Try as you might, you can't help but giggle. "Well, I have plenty of time to accomplish it. The downside of being immortal - there is always time to get something done. But I could always use a bit of help, once I begin the process..." You bat your eyes in a flattering, pleading manner.

"You're asking me to share in your punishment? Seriously?"

"No, I am merely putting out the opportunity to spend time with me. Is that so bad?"

"You know, your eyes should be registered as weapons. Way too dangerous to be walking around with those in plain view," he says. "I might take you up on a request for help."

"Ah, but how do you know they are not registered? Not that it would matter, I am a princess, I make the laws," you tease, turning to head for your private bathroom "But I should stop delaying my morning, I need to shower and get ready for the day ahead."

"No kidding, you stink to high heaven," he teases back. "You left the doors open last night, and the flies flocked to you." As if on cue, you spot the aforementioned flies flitting about in the air just a few feet away. Trying to keep a straight face, you levitate an old newspaper from your desk to him, rolling it up.

"There you go, your own weapon with which to fight," you say.

"Wonderful, thank you," he replies, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he takes hold of the offered melee weapon.

Sister, are you awake? Celestia's voice abruptly cuts in through your mind.

Yes, as is Anonymous. We are in my room, you respond back. A brief silence hangs through the telepathic link.

...are you both decent? she finally asks. You can sense how apprehensive she is about asking such a question. You do your best not to laugh.

Indeed. But it would be wise to remove your mind from the gutter, lest you look like a fool.

I'll just ignore your smart-ass remark, she grumbles. Your ears tune in to the sound of hoofsteps nearing your room, and it is but a few moments later Celestia appears in the doorway. She greets you silently with a small, forced smile and begins to step into the room. But you halt her with a rise of a hoof.

You are in fact you, correct? you probe. Celestia nods her head.

"Good morning, sister," you greet her out loud. Anon merely waves to her.

"Yes, good morning. Sorry to disturb you, but we have important matters to deal with," she says, her voice dropping its normally warm tone. It catches you off-guard for a moment, but you are quick to recover.

"What's wrong? Has something happened in the overnight hours?" you inquire.

Your sister gives Anon a polite nod of acknowledgment before she returns her attention to you once again. "Yes, just now. I can back up here right away. Chrysalis is awake and alert."

You freeze in place at the news, your mind taking a moment to completely process the news, as if Celestia had just spoken gibberish.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Anon is quite the opposite, leaping off the bed and onto his feet instantly.

"Is she talking? Did you get her to release Twilight?" he blurts, continuing with a few more inquiries. As usual for her, your sister remains calm as Anon fires off questions at a rapid pace, waiting for him to cease.

"Yes, she is talking, but I haven't begun to interrogate her. Cadance headed home for the Crystal Empire early this morning; I told her as much as I appreciated her help, her kingdom needs her as well. But I need somepony else with me," Celestia replies. Anon looks a bit discouraged by the lack of action, allowing you to step forward.

"Sister, time is of the essence. We must postpone royal duties for the time being," you strongly suggest.

"I agree, Luna. I've already met with our secretary and ordered the castle to be closed to the public. I also ordered the guard to disperse along the perimeters outside and inside, and not allow anypony inside or outside the grounds until further notice," she says, letting out a brief sigh, her face scrunched into a combination of frustration and disgust. "I suppose that helps us with two problems, in a way."

"You are suspicious of our own guards as well."

"As much as I hate to say it, yes," she admits, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "The changelings have already gotten in once and posed as you, who knows how many more are here, watching and waiting."

"Yes, the sooner we can deal with this matter, the better," you agree. But your stomach knots as you become aware of another matter.

What to do with Anonymous?

As if tuned into your thoughts, Anon glances over to you, looking rather defiant. "I'm coming with you two, right?" His words are less of a question and more of an order.

"No, Anon, I do not believe that would be wise," you say, picking your words carefully even as he looks ready to protest. "It's not that I do not trust you, or that you will be in danger; simply put, you did leave the changeling queen in the condition she is right now."

"So?"

Your sister does not look pleased with the situation either, but her eyes belie she has reached the same conclusion as you. "We have only had the unfortunate opportunity to meet Chrysalis once, and that was long enough to realize she has a rather inflated ego about herself. I'm sure she is less than enthused that you were able to stand up to her and deal with her in a manner that led to her capture. I'm afraid your appearance would only agitate her," Celestia explains, her tone apologetic in nature, but firm in her decision.

"So you're going to trust me with the guards?" he challenges. As much as you love him, you dislike Anon's stubbornness he shows when given orders.

"No, Anon. I know you're frustrated, and you want to help, but this is the best scenario we have," you reassure him, sliding next to him and patting him on the back. "I want you to stay here; when I leave I will put a seal upon the room that can only be broken by me or my sister. Nopony will be able to lay a hoof upon you."

"So, it's Panic Room then?"

His response hangs in the air while you and your sister exchange glances. He hangs his head, realizing his quip is gibberish to the two of you.

"Nevermind. It's a crappy movie anyway," he says.

With that, you stride forward towards the door nodding to your elder sibling. "Lead the way, Tia,"

Once the two of you are out in the hall, you turn towards the door as it closes behind you. Concentrating your magic, it flares out of your horn with a warm blue glow, expanding outward until it envelops the entire expanse of your room. A sudden pulse, and the spell's energy dissipates from view, though you can still sense it.

if you have any issues, you know how to reach me, you reassure Anon through your mind.

Yeah, yeah. Just get Twilight fixed up and come back here, he replies dismissively.

Before turning to head down the hall toward the dungeon, you spy a lone unicorn guard just a few doors down in the opposite direction you're headed, standing at attention. Mentally, you tug at your sister to in an effort to beckon her that way as you close the distance, even as she eyes the guard with an unsettled wariness. She stops, as do you, right in front of the stallion in question. His eyes shift from staring straight ahead over to you, with more than a hint of uncertainty.

"Good day, your Highnesses. Is all well with you?" he asks.

"Indeed. Were you posted here this morning?" you ask.

"Yes, your Highness. Is there something I can assist you with?"

"No, we are fine. We just - curiosity, I suppose," you awkwardly reply.

"I am making you unsettled with my proximity to your personal quarters due to the situation at this time. Understood, my apologies," he says, quickly snapping his eyes forward again.

"Yes. Perhaps you could move your post a little further down the hall, if possible."

"Of course, your Highness," he says with a salute. You and Celestia head the other way, back past your room and toward the end of the hall where the secret entrance awaits.

Turning your head to check on the guard, you see he has moved a good ten yards, to the T in the hall where the stairs leading downward intersect. You nod your approval, which his keen eyesight catches, prompting another salute. Quickly, attention shifts back forward, spying the statue that triggers the door. Moving the hidden switch with a gentle push of your magic, the stone door shifts reluctantly, but yields, as Celestia's horn glows to provide more light against the darkness ahead.

"I do hope we can resolve this quickly and allow everything to return to normal. I despise this sense of overzealous paranoia," you sigh.

"We're at least making progress now, Luna. Try to look on the bright side," she reminds you, before starting down the long, winding staircase. You tail her, only a few steps behind.

"Yes, I've already had to try imbuing Anon with more optimism than even I currently possess. I'm afraid my outburst when my mind... wasn't quite clear - weighs on him. He blames himself for Twilight's condition more than he should."

"How are you today? I can tell you didn't get to bathe before coming to get you, but how are you feeling?" she asks. You can't see her face, but by the tone of her voice, you can tell she has a smirk upon her face.

"Yes, yes, Anon already brought that up, thank you," you reply, rolling your eyes.

"Honestly, you smell like you've been sleeping in a barn," Celestia chuckles.

"I'm sure the Apple family would find your joke to be in poor taste. Why are you so playful all of a sudden?"

"A combination of sleep deprivation and excessive caffeine consumption, along with a desire for more positive conversation," she says. "You never did answer my question though."

"I'm doing better. I no longer feel as if my head has been used as a target for bucking. Despite being asleep for those couple days, it was not restful by any means. But I must say, I am not a fan of traversing all these steps mere minutes after waking up," you lament.

"I know. As much as I'd like to just teleport back and forth, you know as well as I the ward that prevents such magic makes this dungeon much more secure and impenetrable," she replies. With that, the rest of the descent is awkwardly silent, the intensity of the situation beginning to set in for both of you.

Only the sound of hoofsteps upon cobblestone is present as you make your way down the corridor, past the cell where Twilight Sparkle resides. You force yourself to avoid looking in at your friend, while Celestia takes a quick yet reluctant glance, frowning in the process at the sight.

Toward the end, one of the last cells of this corridor, the two of you halt, before turning to face the captive.

Evidently awaiting Celestia's return, the changeling queen is already staring holes through you both, frozen and emotionless upon a makeshift bed of straw near the center of the cell. In the dim light, her striking green eyes are almost all that is clearly visible, the rest of her shiny black hide melting into the darkness. But after a few moments of a silent staring contest, her muzzle slowly morphs into a wide, unsettling grin, showing off her fearsome set of teeth.

"Oh good. Visitors."

Comments

[ClosetBrony]

The way they woke up was adorable. I'm glad they're all on the same page about 'Darkie'. I've always felt there's so much potential there. Too bad there's no cell phones. He could just pretend to be on the phone when talking to her. Now Chrysi's awake? Oh boy. Good chapter and I look forward to reading the next one.

[Midknight Defender]

While nopony has any sort of understanding of human physiology or time needed to recuperate from an injury, it's hard to believe he feels much better only two or three days after the incident.

Heh. While injuries can leave us crippled or debilitated for a long while even when not permanent, humans are shockingly resilient compared to most animals when seriously injured. As long as the brain is well, and the systems supplying energy to it also, we keep going. Terminator-style.

[Luckyfanisaac]

you tease, turning to head for your private bathroom.(——

I came back up here right away. Chrysalis is awake and alert."