Something Halloween

It was Tuesday evening and she still hadn't felt the least need to sleep. It was still just as uncanny and Twilight felt a little weird as she waited for the lift to take her down. She'd spent most of the day at the company and the afternoon on a photo shoot for one of the big magazines who were publishing an interview with her. Now it was time to go check on things at the Pony Society.
Twilight wanted to get that done, preferably by one or two in the morning, so she could come back and cuddle with a sleeping Anon for a few hours. In particular, she wanted to be in bed with him when he woke up. Morning sex was even better if you weren't sleepy! Then she'd join him at the company again.

It looked like that would be her routine: mornings in the office then afternoons either helping out at the Pony Society or her diplomatic work. Nights were reserved for complicated programming or paperwork. No one bothered her much during the night, which was just as well.

She had also meticulously scheduled four breaks during the day, each an hour long, where she just sat or lay somewhere with her eyes closed. That seemed to keep her comfortable enough, but the mare was paying close attention to her body. According to the book she still needed to let her muscles rest, despite how fresh and energetic she felt all the time. However confident Twilight had acted to Anon, she was very aware how dangerous magic like this could be. Not because of the spell itself, but because it masked or changed some perceptions about her own body, which could lead to herself wearing it out. Her being an alicorn lessened some of those concerns, but she still didn't relish the idea of being blind for a few months because she'd let her eyes dry out completely.

She had it all in hoof. It helped to have such a precise, organized mind as hers.

The elevator dinged as it arrived, but at the same time Twilight heard a clink of a cup on the coffee table. She had a few minutes to spare so she hurried back. "I'll just do some paperwork and then maybe grab some fast food on the way back. Do you want anything?"

Anon looked at her blankly. "At one in the morning? No, I don't think I do."

"What if I'm done sooner and come back before midnight?"

Now he was thoughtful. There was a measure of doubt in his face, which made Twilight grin wryly and stick her tongue out at the man. Shame he didn't seem to see it.

"Call me, okay? If you're done before midnight call me and we can have a date."

"Deal!" She reared up, put her hooves on Anon's knees and got her face close enough for a quick kiss. When it was done she leaned further to nuzzle against Anon's neck. "Love you."

"You too!"

The mare was almost sad to go, but she'd put off this paperwork for a day already and it had to be done. Funny how there didn't seem to be enough time despite not having to sleep. She'd have to check her schedules again to figure out where it all went.

Twilight was about to leave, but there was a flash of light from the terrace which made her spin around. "Huh?!"

Anon looked at the sliding door. "What? Did you see something? Hear something?"

She walked over to the glass, but couldn't see anything outside. The light in the living room, even if it was dimmed, made the terrace door reflect too much. All she could see was her own confused expression. "Turn off the light for a minute." she asked Anon.

He stood up and reached over the couch for the switch on the wall there. The light went out and Twilight saw the dark, quiet terrace outside. There was the pool, the chairs, the railing. Beyond it were the other buildings. Most windows had lights.

"Maybe someone took a photo or something. Across the street." She didn't quite believe it. If that had really been the case, she would have seen the same thing before today. The chances that nobody took a photo until now in any of the apartments in the other buildings were basically zero. Shrugging a little to herself, Twilight turned around and gave Anon a faint smile. "Dunno, maybe it was some joker with a laser or a flashlight."

She was about to walk away, but there was something she half-saw out the corner of her eye. Again it was like a faint flash of light, but this time it seemed much closer. It looked as if it was sitting on the railing - exactly where she'd seen it the other day. By the time she turned around again, it was gone.

"Weird."

Twilight hurriedly slid the door open and ran outside to the spot, horn already lighting up to feel for any magic. "Tell me you saw that too!" she demanded from the human, who was following her.

"Saw what? You were just looking outside, then you jumped and rushed out. What was I supposed to see?"

Twilight tried to remember the shape, but having seen it from the corner of her eye only she didn't really know what it was. "Like a blob. Mostly white and blue."

Anon joined her at the railing and looked over it at the street below. "Sorry, nothing like that."

She didn't feel any magic in the air. It was still possible that it had been a drone or something like that, but Twilight couldn't make herself believe it. When she followed Anon back to the apartment she was thoughtful. Once would have been a fluke, but twice, in the same spot, was a pattern. She decided to go through the sleep book again in detail, when she was back. Her Anon-cuddles would just have to wait. Maybe it was a side-effect of the spell. She forced herself to admit it, even if she didn't want to. It was probably something simple, like her not getting enough shut-eye time and her eyes playing tricks on her.

It would have been too much of a coincidence for something like this to start happening so shortly after casting that spell. Still, Twilight didn't tell Anon any of this. He'd just worry needlessly and make her remove the spell. She felt fine despite it. Twilight wasn't the best at healing magic, but she had checked herself out a few times and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. If occasional hallucinations were the entirety of the side effects, she could deal with them for a month. Her work was too important. Especially if the things were going to be this obvious - she'd just learn to ignore them.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Anon asked and Twilight realized he'd followed her to the lift.

She pressed the button before answering: "Oh- uh, nothing," she lied, "just thinking about the paperwork I have to finish."

He bought it and smiled at her. It made her feel a little bad for the white lie, but Twilight really didn't want him to worry. She'd tell him if it became any worse, she promised herself. "I'll try and finish by midnight, then I'll grab us a slice of pizza each at that corner place. They close at midnight."

"Oh, I remember that place," Anon said, "they are good! Okay, I'll try and stay awake till midnight at least."

Twilight half-sat on her haunches and splayed her ears. Anon instantly understood the signal and held out his arms. That allowed her to rear up and hook her forelegs on his wrists, which balanced her and gave her enough height to give the man a kiss. Before pulling back she leaned her muzzle against his cheek for a few seconds. Then Anon kissed the tip of her nose.

"Hope the paperwork goes smoothly," he wished her. "Bye, Twiley."

"Yeah, thanks. Bye!" She slipped from his grasp just as the lift dinged and opened. Her saddlebags were ready on the floor beside her, so Twilight just levitated them across her back. She didn't bother with the straps since she'd be tossing them in the car a few minutes later anyway. She gave Anon a quick wave as the door slid closed, then she heaved a sigh.

"Just flashes of light. Maybe that's normal, but it's not a big deal even if it isn't. You can handle it, Twilight. You got too much work to do." Saying it out loud, even just to herself, helped and the mare relaxed. Whatever it was, she'd figure it out. If it came to the worst, she'd just lift the spell and be done with it.