Something Halloween

Twilight didn't do any further work that day. Even if she had felt inclined, Anon probably wouldn't let her. He insisted she should rest, despite her repeated assurances that she was feeling perfectly fine. In the end she agreed to lie on the couch in his office with her eyes closed simply because it was easier than arguing. After her annoyance faded a little, Twilight had to admit that it wasn't bad. The cushion was comfortable, the blanket Darlene had found somewhere was warm and the quiet susurration of Anon working on his computer was incredibly soothing. If she could, she would definitely have fallen asleep. As it was, Twilight still appreciated a chance to simply do nothing and rest her eyes. Maybe Anon was right and she had been overdoing it.

There was no way a sleep spell would cause hallucinations, right? That's what she had decided they were. First the lights, then the little girl. It didn't make much sense. She wiggled against the couch and stretched out her legs. Normally that would have made her yawn, but not since the spell. Sometimes she missed yawning. There was something incredibly relaxing about a good yawn. Funny, the things you notice only when you lose them. It wasn't forever, the mare reminded herself.

"Almost done. I'll just wait for CI and then we're going home," Anonymous announced.

Twilight turned her head to look at him, but the man was staring fixedly at his screen. "You'll drop me off at the Society?"

"Nope," came the answer. "We're going straight home. You're taking the day off."

"Anon, I-"

He stood up so quickly that it shut her up. "No buts!" Anon said forcefully. "A day off!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I took Sunday off already."

He wasn't mad, but he also wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. Anon walked over and put his hand on her belly; warm, even if the blanket was in the way. "You took the day off then spent the whole night working. I still don't think that's good for you."

Twilight didn't have a counter for that, so she just remained silent. The truth was, now that she had gotten through some backlog, the work was suddenly a lot more manageable. Maybe she wouldn't need to keep the spell up much longer? It frightened her a little just how vivid the little girl had looked. She was completely lifelike. The bright red of the blood made the mare shudder a little as she remembered it.

"Okay, a day off. So what am I supposed to do all night?"

"Movies until midnight, then an hour or two in bed, then something you enjoy which doesn't involve a computer screen!"

"Ha! Who's gonna make me? You?"

Anon brought his face right up to hers and stared fixedly in her eyes until she squirmed uncomfortably. "Yes, I'll stay up all night to make sure you don't hurt yourself. Then I'll feel like shit the entire day and it'll be your fault. The guilt will be unbearable."

Twilight opened her mouth to refute this claim, but he silenced her with a kiss and her argument evaporated from her thoughts.

"O-Okay," she replied, breathlessly. "But only if you do that again."

He obliged and the sheer warmth and passion behind the kiss would have made her go weak at the knees, had Twilight been standing. As it was, it left her with her eyes closed and a smile on her muzzle.

"Oh, sorry Darlene, I didn't see you there," Anon said and Twilight sat bolt upright in shock.

"Eep!"

Twilight and Anon had agreed a long time ago that there would be no fooling around at the office. It was a place for work and rubbing their unconventional relationship in too many faces was bound to end badly. They had broken their rule in small, inconsequential ways before - a pat on on the back, a brush of the flank, a lifting of a tail and showing of a glimpse - but not as blatantly as this. Good thing her muzzle was violet, otherwise the blush would be really obvious. It was also a piece of good luck that it was the receptionist who chanced upon them, and not someone else.

Darlene just smiled and waved dismissively. "Don't worry, Mr. Anonymous. It's kinda cute, actually. Mrs. Twilight? There's a call for you on hold."

The mare blinked. Her cell hadn't rung, so it must have been a call on her office phone. Who did that nowadays?

"Uh, can you put it through to Anon's phone? I'll take it here."

The receptionist nodded. "Will do!"

Before the woman could leave, Twilight called out a question she'd barely remembered in time. "Did they say who they were?"

"It's Peterson, from the ad agency."

"Oh. Yeah, I'll take it here. Thanks, Darlene!"

Anon was already frowning, but Twilight just gave him an innocent smile. "It's not real work. It's probably just some questions about the Internet ads. I promise I'll make it quick."

The man sighed, shrugged and went back to his computer.

Twilight Sparkle sat in the passenger seat for a change. She had insisted she was fine, but Anon put his foot down and was driving them home. Good thing he at least let her call Clarissa and explain. The girl didn't mind handling things on her own for a day or two, until Twilight could figure out this problem with seeing things, so that was good.

All that was left now was to have a pleasant evening with Anon and then do something relaxing over the night. Oh, and it became really important to have the counterspell ready, so she would do that first. Twilight relaxed by watching the people and the shops stream past as they drove. There wasn't much she wanted to talk about at the moment, so Anon had simply put on one of their playlists. He couldn't believe she was still somewhat of a fan of 'Coldplay', but he also didn't mind listening to them while driving.

'A Sky Full of Stars' was playing, which had become quite a nostalgic song for the mare. There wasn't much of what you might call lyrics, but it still reminded her of Princess Luna. She should arrange a visit, soon. She missed her friends, her mentor, her brother - everypony. It was sometimes hard to remember that Equestria still existed when she was so busy with things on Earth.

The car rolled to a gentle stop at a red light and Twilight focused on a brightly lit pub sign across the road. It looked like one of those places from the seventies, when neon was the way to go.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She didn't look around, but still smiled when Anon laid a hand on her withers. "Just thinking of home," she admitted.

"You miss your friends?" the man guessed.

"Mhm." There wasn't a whole lot more to say, so she didn't. Instead she watched a man step out of the seventies pub. He looked like a good fit for the place, honestly. Flared pants, a high-rise waistcoat, both in a garish blue color, and shoulder-length hair. The man was looking away from her, but Twilight wouldn't be surprised if he had star-shaped shades on his eyes as well.

"Huh. It isn't Halloween yet, is it?"

"No, why do you ask?"

She pointed a hoof. "That guy. Looks, um... what's the word? 'Disco', I think."

Anon glanced over and scanned the street for a few moments. "Where? I don't see him?"

Twilight looked at Anon to verify that he was turned in the correct direction. "Just over there! He's crossing the street!" Her hoof flew to her mouth and she gasped. The man hadn't seen that old muscle car!

"NO! WATCH OUT!" she yelled, but of course he couldn't hear her across this distance and over traffic. All she could do was stare in horror as the Ford oldsmobile hit the disco-dressed man. He bounced from the hood in slow motion as Twilight hurriedly undid her belt with her telekinesis.

"What happened?! What's going on?" Anon yelled, also reaching for his seat belt.

She didn't explain. The first minute was the most critical when dealing with this kind of injuries. It had looked like the car was going pretty fast and the man was sent flying. Twilight saw a flash of his cyan suit on the sidewalk where he had landed. She threw the door open and leapt out. Dimly she was aware of Anon following, but that wasn't as important right now. Horns honked at her and tires screeched from one side, but she ignored those too. Twilight ducked around a van and galloped for where she had seen the human.

As she came near, her steps faltered. There was no blue-suited man. For that matter, there was no old car.

Anon caught up to her and put a comforting hand on her head. "What's wrong? What did you see?"

Still panting from panic and sudden exertion, the mare gave him a wide-eyed stare. "He got run over! Disco-dressed man, he was just hit by an old Ford car. Mustang, I think!"

Anon dutifully looked around, then shrugged with a faint, worried smile. "I don't see it anywhere. Or him."

"It must have driven away!" Twilight insisted.

"Where? The crossroad is packed, Twilight!"

She was forced to admit that this was true. Another car honked and Anon quickly led her to the sidewalk. There was no sign of the accident she had just witnessed. The people were hurrying on their business and aside from a few strange looks, no one was paying them much mind.

"He came out of that pub and-" Twilight let her voice trail off. There was no neon sign. She looked the other way on this street but still couldn't see one. There had been a neon sign, she was sure of it.

"Are you seeing things again?" Anon asked, voice definitely tinged with worry.

The mare was afraid as well. Her legs were trembling and it wasn't just from seeing someone get killed on the road. "I- I'm... I dunno," she stammered.

Anon leaned down so he could lay his hand against her neck. There was no anger in his voice, only concern. "Come on, let's get you back to the car and home as soon as possible. I'll call Dr. Hayes."

"I don't think-"

"Hush. Come on."

She walked as if in a daze as he led her back across the road and to their car. The other drivers, Twilight noted, have simply driven around them. One of them honked as he passed.

"I'm s-sorry," she whimpered.

"None of that now. Let's get you home and have Dr. Hayes look at you. Come on, up you go."

Hands half-lifted her up in the passenger seat and Twilight didn't resist. She tried to help, but her mind was racing and she was still remembering the way that man had bounced off the hood. She was sure she saw a spray of blood. It had been a deadly accident, she had no doubt. Had it all been just in her mind? A hallucination? Why would she imagine something this strange? Why a car-death from the early seventies?! None of it made much sense. She couldn't understand why it was happening, which was scary for the alicorn. She hadn't come across a puzzle she couldn't eventually solve, yet.

The car began moving again, but this time Twilight wasn't looking out anymore. She wasn't paying attention to the music, nor the soothing nothings Anon was saying. She just stared fixedly at the dashboard and went over the sleep-spell in her mind again and again, trying to understand how it could explain hallucinations.

Or - the thought chilled her - were these more than hallucinations? It felt as if her heart skipped a beat. She could look on the Internet for car accidents on this road in the 1970s. She could also look for a little girl who was somehow struck on her head - Twilight shuddered as she remembered the blood.

The question was, did she dare? What if these weren't hallucinations?

"W-What if I'm s-seeing how people d-died?" she whispered.

Anon fell silent and didn't comment for a while. She looked at him with terrified eyes. He placed his hand on her withers, a gesture for which Twilight was immensely grateful. That touch was her best chance to avoid outright panicking.

"Whatever it is, you'll figure it out. Take the spell off, please? I'm worried about you, Twiley."

She just nodded blankly. "Y-Yes. I will." It was getting too weird and scary. Anon was right - the spell was the only possible explanation and undoing it suddenly sounded like a good idea.

"Hey, relax," Anon went on. "You nearly got run over in that crossroads, but you're fine. We're both fine."

She nodded in relief. The sound of screeching tires suddenly played in her mind again. How close was she really to ending up like that unfortunate disco-man?

"T-Thanks..."