Something Halloween

The day had been disconcertingly weird. Twilight hurried home, driving only a bit above the speed limit. That was probably fine, wasn't it? She had seen more weird lights at the Pony Society. They were always in the corner of her vision and never there when she looked at them directly. Twilight was becoming certain it was because of her sleep spell. The book might hold more clues that she had missed when she read it the first time. Hopefully there was a way to fix this, because she rather liked all the extra time and energy that came from not sleeping. Maybe, Twilight thought, she could get used to an occasional flash of light. It wasn't that bad, just unexpected. If it didn't get any worse, she could live with this. It would only be a month or two, after all.

She was deep in thought when she saw a glimpse of the jaywalking pedestrian. The mare reacted without thought and her magic slammed down on the brakes, hard. The tires squealed for just a moment and then the car's anti-blocking tech kicked in, rattling her teeth. She didn't see what had happened to the human, but there hadn't been an impact, which was a good sign. Twilight was lifted from her seat by the force of deceleration, but the belt kept her mostly in place. Despite being jostled, she kept the pressure on the pedal until the car was stopped completely.

Then, after taking a second or two to catch her breath, she threw the door open and half-fell, half-scrambled out of the seat. She ran back the way she'd come, hoping there wouldn't be someone lying on the ground.

"Please no, please no, please no," she muttered to herself.

There was no one, except a few people on the sidewalk looking at her strangely. The car behind her stopped and a man stepped out.

"Um, you okay... miss?" the driver quavered. He probably hadn't expected to see a pony get out of that car, but he handled it admirably.

Twilight was still looking around. The person - she hadn't seen them clearly - should be right there! This wasn't a flash of light, she was certain of it. This had been an actual human in fancy, colorful clothes! "Did you s-see anyone? Jaywalking, just as I was passing?"

The man also looked around, but shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't see anyone."

That didn't prove anything. If she almost missed them, it was conceivable that the car behind her also failed to spot the jaywalker. There wasn't a body, which was a huge relief and Twilight sagged a little. Her legs began trembling as the adrenaline drained away.

"Huh. M-Maybe they ran away or something."

It was the most logical explanation, anyway. The person was crossing the street and didn't see her coming. She barely missed them and then slammed on the brakes, it might have scared whoever it was. Maybe they thought they were in trouble or something. Jaywalking was technically illegal in this town, but all Twilight had in her mind when she ran out of the car was to make sure the person was alright and apologize for nearly hitting them.

The driver behind her was going back to his car, because several others were already honking. He paused with his hand on the door. "D-Do you need some help? We can pull over at that bus stop up ahead."

Twilight shook her head and gave the kind man a nervous smile. "No, no, I'm okay. I was just worried I hit someone. I think they ran away. Thanks!"

There were a number of dark, narrow alleys along the road, so maybe the jaywalker had gone in one of those. She wasn't about to search, so the mare went back to her car before someone lost their patience. She gave the friendly driver behind her a quick wave, then jumped up into the seat, made sure her seat belt was securely fastened and drove away.

At least now she understood why the driving instructor had trained her to really slam on the breaks. That instinct might have saved someone's life today, both alerting them to her car and giving them time to jump out of the way. Twilight hoped they'd look closer the next time or, better yet, use a crossing. For her part, she drove a bit slower and paid closer attention to pedestrians. She didn't want blood on her hooves!

Twilight was still trembling a little when she came home. Careless, that's what she had been! Flashes of light or not, weird spell or not, it was her duty while operating a vehicle to pay attention to the road and the other participants in traffic. Hadn't it been the most important rule in the driver's ed books? She knew why. Twilight vowed to herself to be more careful in the future.

With all the excitement she completely forgot to go check the book for answers. Instead, she went to the kitchen, poured herself a shot of fine, aged whiskey and took it to the living room. She flopped down on the couch and tossed it back, almost in a single gulp. It burned her tongue and throat, but it was a welcome, familiar pain. In a few more moments it would dull her thoughts and help her relax. She considered pouring another, but it didn't seem like a smart idea. One for her nerves was fine, especially since she didn't intend to go out again that day, but more would be 'drinking'.

Anon must have heard her come in, because the man emerged from his work room and sat beside her on the couch. "Tough day?" he asked, spotting the glass floating in the air before her.

"Huh?"

The man rolled his eyes. "I said: 'tough day?'"

"Oh. No, it was fun. It's just the-" she started to answer, but fell silent in the middle of her sentence.

Now Anon's face was one of concern. "You okay Twiley? You look like you've seen a ghost."

That woke her up and Twilight smiled. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Nearly ran someone over on the way back. I wasn't paying attention..."

Anon, bless him, saw her worry and quickly put his arms around her barrel. He gave her nose a kiss. "You were paying enough attention not to run him over, right? Or was it her?"

"Dunno. Didn't see clearly."

"Okay, 'them'. How close was it?"

Twilight gave the man a weak smile. "Too close," she said, "might need to check the paintwork..."

"Ouch," Anon said, wisely not trying to dismiss it out of hoof. "Well, maybe a close call like this was a good thing. It'll remind you to keep an eye out. Didn't you see the crossing signs or something?"

The mare shook her head. "They were jaywalking."

Anon visibly relaxed. "Oh, that's different. Of course you weren't expecting someone to jump under your car. You did fine, Twilight - just, um, take it a bit slower and keep an eye out. You're a fine driver, trust me. I've seen a lot worse." He gave her nose another peck and lowered his voice: "Some people I know are only still alive through dumb luck."

Actually it did make her feel better to have her thoughts confirmed. Nothing bad had happened, after all. The mare relaxed a little and lifted her muzzle up for a proper kiss. "Thanks. That helps."

She remembered the other thing that was on her mind. "Oh, I also saw a few more of those lights today. Always from the corner of my eye and they weren't there when I looked. It was kinda weird."

Anon looked a little troubled. "I don't like the sound of that. Do you think it's because of your spell?"

Twilight wanted to downplay it, but she couldn't really lie to Anon, not when he asked her directly like this. "Possibly," she answered, bending the truth just a little. "I'll check the book if there's any clues. Maybe it's just my eyes being tired. I'll do more shut-eye, maybe that will help."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then, if it's just an occasional flash of light I can deal with them for a month or so. I'll be fine. If it gets any worse, I'll lift the spell, promise."

The man relaxed a little. He trusted her judgement in this, which really did warm her heart. Twilight smiled, then started licking his face. Anon's scent and taste was familiar. It was home. She closed her eyes and simply anchored herself in the place and presence around her.

Her tongue must have tickled, because Anon giggled and put his hand over her muzzle to stop it. "Okay, okay, that's enough. Relax. What's the plan for tonight?"

Twilight gave his fingers a quick, last lick, then leaned her head to the side as she thought back on the schedule she'd made up that morning. "I got an hour to rest my eyes, then I'll take a look at those two bug reports you sent me yesterday. Then an hour to cuddle until you fall asleep and then I have to do some character research for that reporter who's interviewing me Friday."

"Yikes, busy night," Anon commented, but he was smiling. Twilight knew he was proud of her, even if he was a bit worried about her using magic to accomplish all that. "Here, lie down," the man said and pushed against her barrel to roll the mare to her back. "I can help you relax while you rest your eyes. Least I can do."

She didn't resist and just let Anon push her down on the couch. Her legs were sticking up in the air, but she pulled them close to her body so he would have easier access for whatever he was planning. He put his hands on her chestfluff and his fingers dug in.

"Ooohhh... okay, yeah," the mare moaned. A nice belly rub. She could never say no to that and just closed her eyes, both to rest them and to focus entirely on Anon's hands. He had gotten so good at this. The fingers played out over her barrel and down her belly, applying a light touch here, pushing firmly there, gripping and squeezing in a soothing symphony of touch. Twilight found her tongue lolling out of her mouth, but she didn't much care. All she could get out was a series of grunts, moans and sighs as Anon worked his seductive magic. She noted, dimly, that he was staying away from her 'naughty' areas. He was being so sweet and focusing only on relaxing her without undue stimulation. A real gentlecolt.

The hands vanished and Twilight almost opened her eyes to see what was wrong, but then Anon gripped her hind legs near the thigh and pressed against her muscles. Her hard, knotted muscles she hadn't even been aware of tensing. The limb, and her soul, seemed to melt under that touch.

"Mmmmmmmm..."

The fingers really dug in. Anon knew exactly how much pressure to use to loosen her up but without it actually hurting. He moved up her hind leg, extending it slowly, until he reached the hoof. He cupped it with his fingers and Twilight tried to prepare herself for what was coming. It hadn't worked in the past, but maybe this time she could-

"Ffffffuuuuuuuck..."

The universe shrunk to herself, the frog of her hoof and Anon's fingers pressing in. If she relaxed any more, the mare would be in danger of choking on her tongue. It took a supreme effort of will and an eternity in that black-and-pink hoof-massage oblivion, but Twilight managed to assemble a string of words. Now she pushed them through her lips.

"I love you s-soo... mmmm- mmmuch..."

Anon chuckled to himself, but he never stopped his ministrations. Yeah, this was the life!