Changing Lanes

by AutoPony

Chapter 6

Groggy, your vision is still blurred and dim as you come to, the voices of what sounds like your friends in a room with you.

"...... and that's when I brought her here. Er, him here." The unmistakable voice of Twilight is the first one you can comprehend.

You hear your own voice next. Or, what would normally be your voice, if not for Luna's screwed up spell.

"We are not sure how these two events could be tied together, Twilight," Luna says. You finally get enough strength back to open your eyes, putting a hoof to your throbbing head.

"He's awake," Rainbow says, surprising you. From what she had told you, she would be preoccupied with weather duty for the next few days.

"Yeah... I'm awake," you groan, sitting upright. As your eyes focus, you see you are not in the castle, but in your home on the outskirts of Ponyville. "How did I get here?"

"I brought you back here after I knocked you out," Twilight says, cringing. "Sorry, but you really didn't give me a choice."

You reflect back on the last thing you remember. Nightmare Moon, Luna's room in the castle, and losing your temper, leading to charging up a spell and the blackout.

"I suppose it was either that or tear Luna's room apart," you quip. Rather than get a small smile from anyone in the room, they all look at each other, concerned. Luna finally asks the question you've been waiting for.

"Anon, we want to know what is going on. This sounds quite serious," she says.

"Oh, this should be good," comes the all-too-familiar voice of Nightmare Moon. Your turn your head to the left of the bed, opposite where everyone is standing. Sure enough, the fiendish black pony is standing there, eyeing you with anticipation.

"Anonymous." Luna's voice comes out more demanding, causing you to turn back to her. "I am sorry about earlier tonight, I regret losing my composure."

"I still don't see why you wanted to hide your past. It's awesome!" exclaims Rainbow Dash. Luna must have spilled everything about your confrontation tonight to the other two.

Luna and Twilight both glare at Rainbow, looking rather displeased.

"Sorry," Rainbow says, slumping her shoulders a bit.

"Anon, we can't help you if we don't know what is going on," Twilight says, her eyes pleading with you.

"I'm.... seeing things," you mumble, caving into your friends. Your eyes drop down to the bed upon which you lie.

"Seeing things? That's not exactly being specific," Twilight responds. "Why are you so worried about telling us?"

Rather than look back at your group, you turn your head to Nightmare, who flashes you a toothy, sinister grin. She is enjoying this way too much.

"I'm hallucinating," you say. You hope that you won't need to be more specific than that, though it's still not very informative.

"It is Nightmare Moon you see, is it not?"

"What?!" Both Rainbow and Twilight exclaim the same thought in unison, while you can only snap your head back to Luna, dumbstruck by her guess.

You don't need to answer, your expression is telling enough for her.

"I had feared this may happen before we could get this situation resolved," Luna says, looking down at her hands to emphasize her point.

"But how is it even possible? How could Nightmare Moon have come back?" Twilight asks.

"Because she never really left," you say, turning your attention to Twilight. "She was with Luna the whole time."

"Indeed. Her defeat merely put her to rest, rather than destroy her. It was in the proceeding days after my liberation that I came to that conclusion, for I sensed her presence," Luna says, looking around the room at the three of you. "It took some effort, but I was able to construct a sort of mental wall, to keep her isolated from me."

"I'm guessing that wall came tumbling down when we switched places," you say, shrugging your shoulders. "What do I do now?"

"Well, what does she want, Anon?" Twilight asks apprehensively.

"To be rid of me. To have her own body rather than play the fifth wheel." The room goes eerily silent, as everyone is unsure of how to respond.

Luna breaks the quiet, turning to Twilight.

"We must work even faster to get this spell reversed. Twilight, I want you to bring me some of the books you have been going through so I can help."

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Nightmare Moon scowl before her form flickers, then disappears.

"Alright, I'll be back in just a bit. I found quite a selection of old tomes that may help us," Twilight says excitedly, before disappearing in a flash of light.

"Does she ever not get excited when it comes to books?" you ask. Luna and Rainbow only manage to giggle in response.

"So Anon, how does it feel to be Equestria's newest Princess?" Rainbow asks with a mischievous grin. You cannot help but roll your eyes.

"It's not exactly my cup of tea, to put it lightly," you say. "But I have to say, having magic at my disposal is pretty nifty. And flying, that's awesome." You spread your wings out in display.

Luna tilts her head, smiling. "I am delighted to see you have found at least some positives in this whole experience, Anonymous," she says. "As for me, it has been an eye-opening experience to live without my magic to call upon. I did not realize how much I have taken it for granted."

You can't help but slump your shoulders a bit, realizing you will have to go back to being in that body. But there is one thing she can do now, that you can not.

"Well Luna, you may be stuck without magic right now," you say, unable to keep a sly grin from overtaking you. "But you have the necessary attributes to operate an automobile."

In an instant, Luna's face lights up. "You are not jesting?!" Before you answer her, she throws her arms around you, unable and unwilling to contain her joy. You are unable to see her face though, as her hug causes your mane to fly into your face.

"Blech, get a room, you two," Rainbow says.

"Silence, Rainbow Dash, this IS our room," Luna says. Her tone is playful, but firm. She lets you go after a moment, helping you to fix your ethereal mane. It may be mesmerizing, but it is somewhat of a pain to actually live with. You suppose it would be different if you lived with it as long as Luna has.

Speaking of Luna, she is already halfway out of the house, too excited for this opportunity to wait for you or Rainbow.

---

As you go over the basics with Luna as she sits in the driver's seat, she mouths every word, emulating the actions. It's scary how good her memory is, as while she has watched to drive this thing as well as ride along, you've only explained it in detail a couple of times.

Somewhat reluctantly, you pull your head out of the open driver's window and step back to where Rainbow is.

"You look more nervous than she does, Anon," Rainbow says, looking at you inquisitively. She's right though, as you see how giddy Luna is as she turns over the engine of the Superbird. But then again, this car is your pride and joy, how can you not be nervous seeing someone else behind the wheel?

Er, someone else in your body behind the wheel. Whatever.

The car roars to life, settling into an aggressive burble. In the driver's seat, Luna's smile grows even larger. Looking over at you for confirmation after a quick scan of the gauges, you nod for her to continue. The next part is the tricky part, as using a manual transmission takes some finesse.

Perhaps it will come naturally to her due to your mind, your body knowing how to work it after years of practice. After all, flying and magic has felt and come naturally to you. For now, all you can do is watch as she puts the shifter into gear and gives the car a little throttle.

Sure enough, the purple behemoth moves forward slowly, picking up speed at a leisurely pace. Luna's excitement tones down a bit, focusing on what she is doing in the cockpit. Meanwhile, you take a breath, realizing you've been holding it since stepping back.

Now, as Luna turns toward your little track behind your home, you lazily take to the air, hovering close by as she begins to run it at a very conservative pace. It is amazing to watch her, looking as if she has done this many times before.

A voice inside your head startles you, making you stop and land.

"Where are you, Luna? It is about time to swap places," Celestia's voice calmly calls out through the mental link she and Luna share.

Meanwhile, Luna notices you are no longer tailing her as she comes to a stop and shuts off the Superbird immediately.

I'll be there in a moment. I had a headache last night, so I'm relaxing, you tell Celestia, visualizing her in your mind. As Luna walks over to you very concerned, you put a hoof up to ease her mind.

"Relax," you say. "Celestia reminded me it's about time for the swap." Looking at the sky, you hadn't realized how light it has gotten in the past hour. Reaching out mentally, you give the moon a final nudge, pushing it below the horizon.

"Well, I don't know how much better your headache is going to get, you remember this morning we have our monthly meeting, yes?" Celestia asks.

Of course, you quickly reply. Turning your attention back to Luna, you can't help but tense up again.

"Luna, your sister mentioned something about a meeting this morning. What is she talking about?" you ask. Her first reaction to your question is to cringe, reaching behind her head with a hand.

"I had forgotten about that," she finally mumbles. "It is a meeting we have every month with the various mayors and councils of the larger cities within our kingdom of Equestria. Mainly to discuss budgetary concerns, notable happenings, and upcoming events or issues on the horizon."

"That doesn't sound like much fun," Rainbow says. Behind her, you see Twilight pop her head out the back door of your home, waving a hoof to signal she has returned. You can't help but groan loudly.

"It will be alright, Anon. These meetings are tedious, yes. But you will not have to necessarily do anything, merely listen and perhaps throw out some ideas," Luna says. She bends down a bit, giving you a warm hug. Likewise, you put a hoof around her, returning the gesture as best you can. "You probably should get going though," she says, standing up straight again. "Perhaps you will be able to get some rest beforehand."

"Yeah, I hope so," you say. It's already been a very long night, and it looks life relief won't be in sight for a while.

"Tell Twilight I'm heading back now. I think I'd rather try to relax a bit by flying back to the castle," you say to your two friends, flaring out your wings. Surprisingly, it has been a while since you've last caught sight of Nightmare Moon, maybe being distracted or preoccupied tonight has paid off?

"Take care, Anonymous. Focus on even the mundane aspects of your surroundings. Do not let Nightmare Moon get a foothold in your mind for an instant," Luna says ominously.

With that, you take to the air, heading to the castle barely visible in the distance. You aren't in a rush to get back, but you settle on a fairly quick pace, your majestic wingspan making it easy work to propel you forward at a good clip.

"Hey, wait up!" A voice from behind causes you to crane your neck, looking back to see Rainbow speeding to catch up with you. Obliging her, you slow your pace down drastically.

"What's wrong, Dash?" you ask as she reaches you. She doesn't look overly concerned, but something is clearly on her mind.

"You and Luna, what is going on with you two?" she asks, eyeing you with suspicion.

"What do you mean? Luna and I are good. We had a little squabble earlier, but it's all worked out, I think." Rainbow only shakes her head, a sign that wasn't the response she was hoping to hear.

"No, I mean between the two of you. The hugging, the awkward eye contact, are you two..." Rainbow puts her hooves together as a symbol of her gist.

"Rainbow, I understand what you're asking, but I really have to get going. Let's talk later, OK?" you say. Rather than give her a chance to respond, you fold in your wings and abruptly dive, wanting to avoid this conversation.

"Hey, you're not gonna outrun me," you hear her yell. As you look over your shoulder, you see she's right. Not only is Rainbow staying with you, but she is also, in fact, catching up to you. Not willing to admit defeat yet, you spread your wings, gliding into a tight grove of trees as you near the ground.

You don't have time to rethink this plan, as your left wing clips a tree branch upon entry, sending you sprawling to the forest floor. What were you thinking?

A much more agile flier, Rainbow Dash casually weaves past a thicket of branches, stopping and hovering in front of you as you brush yourself off. Nothing hurts that much, other than your pride. Sighing, you look up at Dash, her forelegs crossed in front of her, silently demanding the discussion take place now.

"There..... might be something going on between us Dash. I really don't know," you tell her. Rainbow's expression softens as she relaxes her forelegs.

"Was that really that hard to tell me?" she asks. "I'm not looking for a long-winded answer, I was just curious if I was going nuts. But don't get too mushy, okay?" Rainbow smiles, helping to brush away some of the foliage tangled in your mane.

"If anyone's going nuts, it is going to be me, Dash," you say, ruffling her mane playfully with a hoof. "Wish me luck."

"Have fun," she calls out, as you take to the sky once again.

---

After arriving back in Canterlot, you relish the opportunity to take a relaxing shower, before the stress of the day really begins. There has been no sign of Celestia on the journey to your room, you assume she is already up and about.

Running the water for a bit, you get it nice and steamy in your private bathroom before stepping in, the heat and the steady patter of water over you instantly washing away your cares of the world.

Outside the door to the bathroom, you hear something stir, but you pay it no mind. Probably a guard checking in. Until your shower suddenly turns ice cold.

With a yelp, you jump backward in an attempt to avoid the icy daggers of water. In your haste, your balance is thrown off, causing you to tumble to the shower floor with a loud thump. As if it never happened, the showerhead once again pumps out warm water, as you hear the unmistakable sound of restrained laughter outside.

"Celestia, I will kill you!" you yell, charging out of the shower with a leap before yanking the door open. Her laughter only getting louder, Celestia turns and streaks out of the room into the hall. You give chase to her, determined to catch her as you leave a trail of dampness and drips in your wake.

It isn't long before she reaches a T in the hall, and you take the chance to strike, leaping at Celestia and putting you both to the floor. Her laughter only grows as she turns to face you.

"What was that for?" she asks, playing innocent.

"Oh nothing," you say, smirking. "You may want to talk to somepony about our water though, there seems to be an issue with pockets of ice cold water mixing in during our showers lately." Getting up off the floor, you help Celestia back up as well, as you continue to drip water on the carpeted hall.

"I couldn't resist having at least a little bit of fun to lighten the mood," she replies. "You know how dull the meetings tend to be." Celestia's horn glows with the golden aura of her magic, as you feel the dampness on your body slowly evaporate in turn.

"Thanks, Tia. I can not say I am looking forward to today, but we will manage," you say. Celestia eyes you inquisitively.

"Have you been sleeping well? You look rather fatigued," she says, rather concerned.

Truth be told, you haven't had a sound rest in well over a day now. You so badly want to tell the regal alicorn the truth, of everything that has been happening, the fact that you really aren't her sister. This whole experience has been eye-opening, seeing how down-to-earth she and Luna really are behind the scenes, and you feel you owe it to her.

she might even know how to undo this situation, you think to yourself. But how do you even begin to explain keeping this secret for the past two days, lying to Celestia every second you are around her?

"Luna?" Celestia asks, breaking you out of your thoughts.

"Yes, sorry. I've had a lot on my mind the past few days. Some... some of the numbers aren't adding together in the budget, I suppose it's getting to me a bit," you tell her.

Offering a smile of sympathy, Celestia drapes a wing over your back as the two of you head back from whence you came.

"You obsess over the smallest things, dear sister," she says. "we must break you of that sometime."

You sigh, regretting keeping up this charade. As you slowly trek down the hall, the movements of your shadow begin to move of their own accord, a pair of beastly, turquoise eyes watching you as you sense Nightmare Moon stirring awake.

Comments

[djponyfl]

This is a really good story so far, and I can't wait to read more of it.

[wlam]

The next part is the tricky part, as using a manual transmission takes some finesse.

This is one of those funny cultural differences that always amuse me a little. I've never driven an automatic in my entire life. They just never really took off here. Everyone just kinda drives stick shift by default.

[Kadigan]

7254899
Yeah, same here. Automatic transmission is gaining traction here, as most people seem to just want to go from point A to point B with as little hassle as possible, so the stick is slowly being relegated to the realm of riding for fun - but it's still some ways away from true dominance, especially with the typical car's age being somewhere between 8 and 15 years.

[Luckyfanisaac]

I'd rather try to relax a bit by flying back to the castle,"

She might even know how to undo this situation, you think to yourself.