Fluttershy sat alone in her house on Halloween Night, steadily rocking in her chair. The creak of the chair was the only noise in the room, and the sounds of partying and trick-or-treaters only dimly pierced against the confines of her home.

She leaned over and rested her head on her hand, sighing. She was lonely tonight. She’d been lonely almost every night for some years now.

First, her friends had drifted apart over the years. Nothing dramatic or bad happened, they’d just … went and pursued their dreams and fallen out of contact in recent years. Twilight was a researcher at a pharmaceutical company. Rainbow Dash was an athlete who traveled the country for high-stakes games. Pinkie Pie ran her own catering service. Rarity was married and now did all her dress orders online so she could spend more time with her family. Applejack took care of her farm. The sun could explode tomorrow, an eldritch god could claim the earth and shroud the world in darkness, and Applejack would still be taking care of her farm. She was steady like that.

As for Fluttershy herself, she’d found a nice man to settle down with who later turned less nice than she thought. They’d gone to divorce court and he got custody of the single child they had. She still got alimony payments, but she hadn’t the motivation to do much other than just sit around in her house in her rocking chair, except go out to buy groceries.

All of which was to say that, if she were to disappear, she would likely not be missed for a long time.

Rarity wandered back into her thoughts. Fluttershy closed her eyes and leaned against the back of the rocking chair. She imagined seeing Rarity, having Rarity here with her, Rarity greeting her with breakfast in the morning weaning but an apron, leaving nothing to imagination and letting Fluttershy see her round-

Fluttershy cut herself off mid-thought. She fanned her face with her hand.

Where did all that come from? Fluttershy asked herself, though if pressed, she would admit she found Rarity attractive. She had loved a man enough to have a child with him at one point in time, yet this was still the case, so she supposed she was bisexual, but she honestly didn’t care to spend a whole lot of time thinking about that.

“Maybe I should give her a call,” Fluttershy thought. She pushed herself up from her rocking chair and went over to her landline, picking the phone off the receiver and dialing Rarity’s number. At least, what Rarity’s number was the last time Fluttershy called her. It would be just her luck if Rarity had gotten a new number by now and she had no way of finding it out. Perhaps she could message Rarity on BookFace if she didn’t pick up.

The phone rang, and Fluttershy heard Rarity’s voice through it.

“Hello?” Rarity called. “Who is this?”

“Oh, um, it’s … Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said.

“Fluttershy, darling! I haven’t heard from you in ages! How have you been?”

“I’m … okay,” Fluttershy said, and it was a total lie to Rarity and herself. She might have been shy, she may have been an introvert, but it was so long since she had someone to care about or someone to care about her she was starting to go stir-crazy. Her ex-husband never called, always sent the check by mail, her son didn’t or couldn’t call, her friends had moved away, and she was here in this house by herself with no one to make sure she was taking care of herself.

“That’s good to hear! What have you been up to?”

“Up to?” Fluttershy asked. A lump formed in her throat.

“Yes, darling. Up to. You … do remember what that means, don’t you? I knew you were shy, but … how long has it been since you talked to another person?”

“Not that long,” Fluttershy mumbled, too quiet for Rarity to hear. Granted, the last person she talked to had been the cashier at the grocery store, and even then, she mumbled and used as much nonverbal communication as she could through the entire transaction.

“Oh, I know what it is! You spent the last year in Germany and now you’re struggling to switch back to English.”

“Um … sure.” Fluttershy didn’t know what to say to that. If she told Rarity the truth, she might make Rarity worry, and she hated making her friends worry, even if, as in this case, they perhaps should be.

“Well, darling, it’s been wonderful catching up with you after all this time, but unless you’ve got something urgent, I’m afraid I have to hang up. I have a bunch of new dress orders I need ready by next week, and I think I can hear my son crying in the other room.”

“Son?” Fluttershy said. She didn’t know Rarity had another child!

“Ta-ta for now.”

“No, wait!” Fluttershy said, but too late. Rarity already hung up by the time she got the words out.

Fluttershy sighed. She replaced the phone on the receiver and stood there with a slouch, looking down on the floor, crestfallen.

She inhaled sharply. Maybe, if I’m lucky, she’ll get a divorce too and then come running into my arms, and I can hold her and comfort her and we’ll be spend a lot of time close and-

Fluttershy shook her head. No, no, I shouldn’t think like that. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Much less Rarity and her kid. Kids. They don’t deserve to go through that.

Fluttershy sighed again. She rested one hand on the wall and ran the other against her face. She looked towards the window and saw a trio of trick-or-treaters passing by.

“I should go on a walk to clear my head,” Fluttershy said to herself. “Even if trick-or-treaters are everywhere and everyone’s partying, it’ll at least give me something else to think about.”

She changed from her moping-in-the-rocking-chair outfit to something more appropriate for a long walk and headed out. She made sure to lock the door behind her, double and triple checking to make sure no one could get through the door. Once she was satisfied, she headed down the street.

She was given an immediate reminder of why she disliked large crowds and holidays, as someone bumped into her hip as soon as she got onto the sidewalk.

“Sorry, ma’am, excuse us,” a boy wearing a ghost sheet and his friends walked around Fluttershy. They giggled to themselves. Fluttershy braced a hand against her hips and glared at them. They were young, but Fluttershy suspected the boy bumped into her on purpose in order to cop a feel.

“Someone ought to give that boy a lesson in some manners,” Fluttershy grumbled to herself. She marched after them for three blocks or so, meaning to give them a piece of her mind, then lost steam when they reached the fourth block. It just didn’t seem worth the effort. The boy would go on being a brat and either push the wrong woman too hard and get a well-deserved slap for his trouble, or he’d go on and get arrested for inappropriate exposure at a party.

Fluttershy looked around the neighborhood. People were answering doors and handing out candy. Children were comparing candies, including one who complained about getting a rock. Everywhere she looked, somebody was doing something Halloween related, but she didn’t see anything that spoke to an adult like herself. These were all children-oriented activities. And given her own feelings on stranger danger, she didn’t want to intrude on any of them unless someone invited her … but she could also really go for there being a more teen-to-adult oriented party somewhere nearby that didn’t require an invitation, just so she could other people to talk to without them possibility interpreting it the wrong way.

Fluttershy continued walking. She tapped her fingers together nervously, looking for something she could do, a party she could attend, some trick-or-treaters she could ask for candy, something.

She reached the end of the block and looked down the end. Nothing but jack o'lanterns, eerie green leds, and inflatable witches as far as the eye could see.

Fluttershy sighed. If Rarity were here, she'd be able to do something to spruce up the neighborhood a bit. At least get on to the neighbors' cases and make them coordinate so they didn't repeat almost the exact same set up, beat for beat.

As she walked down the street, Fluttershy was struck by how repetitive it all seemed. Witch. Pumpkin. Lights. Witch. Pumpkin. Lights. Lights. Pumpkin. Witch.

"Doesn't anybody have a sense of originality?" Fluttershy wondered, placing a hand on her hip and looking around with a dubious eye. She missed Rarity even more than before. Heck, even Rainbow Dash. She'd have a better sense of what to do for spooky decorations than these bozos.

Fluttershy stumbled into a case of being careful what to wish for, as it just might be granted. Loud, harsh laughter traveled across the road, startling Fluttershy and making her stumble on the sidewalk before she regained her balance and her bearings.

She looked across the street and saw a light-up inflatable evil clown standing watch over a house like a sentry. An evil, killer sentry clad in face paint.

"Ugh." Fluttershy shivered. She didn't care for clowns. She'd been afraid of them at one point, but she managed to reduce that over time to just a mild distaste. Their makeup still made them look inhuman to her.

The wind picked up, blowing Fluttershy's hair all over the place and making her long skirt billow. She clamped down on the hem to be sure she didn't show unwittingly show something inappropriate to nearby children.

"Windy today, isn't it?" a friendly woman approached Fluttershy, supervising another trio of trick-or-treaters. "Better hope nobody's mask goes flying off, or it might hit someone in the face."

"Yes," Fluttershy said, desperately trying to get her hair under control while still holding onto the skirt hem. "That would be bad."

Fluttershy stepped onto the yard of the block as the woman and her charges passed by. After her earlier incident, she didn't trust any of these little rascals not to be up to something perverted. She supposed that might explain why some people had an innate dislike of children.

Maybe, but she doubted it. There was probably more to it than that.

The wind died down, and Fluttershy's hair returned to its proper resting place on her back. She looked and surveyed the area again, with all the repetitive witches, pumpkins, and lights. More trick-or-treaters had emerged since Fluttershy first stepped onto this street, each of them walking from one house to the next, getting their candy, then moving onto the next. There was, always, the trademark 'unfun' neighbor who gave out things like toothbrushes and floss instead of the candies the children were taught to expect, and would of course end up using, as long after the last wrapper of the last chocolate bar was tossed into a wastebasket, the brush and floss would still be there ...waiting ... for its inevitable turn in the spotlight.

Fluttershy chuckled. She was stuck by a humorous fantasy of toothbrushes and floss coming alive and striking a rebellion against naughty kids who didn't floss, or brush after each meal, or got midnight snacks. She dimly recalled a cartoon having something similar to that once. Was it on CNN? No, not CNN, the other one.

Oh, never mind. It wasn’t important now.

"What are you supposed to be?"

Fluttershy turned around, surprised to see a man and the two trick-or-treaters he was chaperoning, both of whom were staring at her for some explanation. One of them was a doctor, while the other was a Frankenstein's monster.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your costume. What are you dressed as?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know," Fluttershy said. She looked down at her clothes and saw how unfit to be a Halloween costume they were. These were casual walking clothes. She hadn't dressed for Halloween: she dressed to go on a walk.

"Tell you what," Fluttershy said. "Why don't you tell me what you are and maybe I'll tell you what I am?"

"Sure! I'm Frankenstein," the doctor said.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. She pointed at the monster. "Isn't he Frankenstein?"

"Common misconception. He's Frankenstein's monster, and I'm Victor Frankenstein."

"Ooh, that's clever!" Fluttershy said. "Very clever."

"Thanks! Now, what's your costume?"

"Oh, um ..."

"Now boys," their chaperone said, "maybe we should leave this nice young lady alone. I don't think she wants to be disturbed."

"Aw, but Dad! She promised!"

"I know, but-"

"No, no, it's fine," Fluttershy said. "Since you were nice enough to tell me what you are, I'll tell you what I am; I'm a ghost."

"A ghost?" the monster-dressed kid said. "You don't look very ghostly to me."

"That's because I'm a particular kind of ghost," Fluttershy said wisely. "I'm the ghost of a lovely maiden who was used and abused by a person she was in love with. I'm her lingering resentment and grudges made manifest on the earth, filled with spite and bile and contempt for men and all the ways they can be so cruel, using you up and then tossing you aside when they've gotten everything they can for you like a doll with no feelings!" She made fists, breathing heavily, infusing every word with more passion the last.

"Okay," the boys' father, "boys, I think it's time to go. This is getting a little too real for my taste."

He put his hands on his boys' shoulders and quickly steered them past Fluttershy.

Fluttershy bit her lip, fiddling anxiously with her fingers. "I guess I did maybe get a little carried away there ..."

Fluttershy resumed her walk, no longer attempting to avoid trick-or-treaters. She stared at the sidewalk, her eyes on the ground. Most of the kids were considerate enough to walk around her when they saw she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

Did I mean all the things I said back there? Fluttershy thought to herself. I guess maybe I'm carrying more resentment than I thought. Maybe I should go see my therapist.

She paused.

Wait, do I even have a therapist? It's been so long since I last saw one, I'm not sure I do.

She continued walking, trying to recall when her last trip to a mental health professional was.

Was it last Christmas? Or July? She braced her hands against her chin.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by the sound of crying. A grown woman's, from the sounds of it, which was interesting. If there were going to be tears tonight, FLuttershy would assume they would be from children who were disappointed in their candy selection and not emotionally mature enough to cope with disappointment, or who tripped and injured themselves.

"Hello?" Fluttershy asked, looking around for the source of the noise.

A woman came stomping down the street, grumbling and muttering under her breath.

“Unbelievable,” she said as she brought her foot down hard on the sidewalk, almost hard enough to crack it if were just a hair less sturdy. “I can’t believe this … after all of the … who does that? Who just goes up and asks a person that?”

Fluttershy didn’t think this fuming woman was the source of the noise. She knew someone being angry didn’t preclude them from crying, as some children believed before they understood the complexities of human emotion, but this woman’s face was dry.

“Of all the rotten ...”

“Excuse me, miss?” Fluttershy said, raising a hand. “Who are you talking about?”

“Oh, this crazy … troll who thinks she can just go and ask people to be her – you know what, never mind. It sounds stupid when I say it. But heed my advice, if you see her, you’d better steer clean and stay far away from her. Mark my words.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said, raising her hands in defeat and backing away. Her instinct was to console this woman and try to talk her down before she hurt herself or others, but it became obvious she wasn’t in a consolable state of mind.

The woman continued stomping around and was long gone by the time Fluttershy realized she never asked for a description of this woman she was supposed to be avoiding.

“Miss?” Fluttershy turned around to discover she was left alone.

As usual.

“Typical, really,” Fluttershy tapped her foot impatiently on the sidewalk, getting angry herself. Remembering the teachings of Cadence and her mother, she raised her hands out in front of her and took several deep breaths to steady herself. Getting worked up wouldn’t help her make any new friends or reconnect with old ones.

When she turned around, the crying had stopped.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy cupped her knuckles to her chin. “Whoever they are, I hope they’re all right.” She resumed her walk, going at a leisurely pace down the sidewalk, still on the lookout for a hangout she could crash into. Only now she was on the alert for sounds of crying women as well.

She didn’t travel far before coming to a stop by a large house, one that could have been a mansion with a little more flair. As it stood, it was just a simple two or three story house with Halloween decorations around, and they were the first house she’d seen that did something other than just the witch and pumpkins combo, with skeletons and tombstones around. Lights hung overhead and music blared. There was a party going on there.

Fluttershy stood by the mailbox of the house, tapping her fingers, wondering whether or not to go in. If she could. If she should. What if the party was invite only? She’d be turned away at the door. Her old adversarial companion, her anxiety, popped up to say she’d also probably not just turned away, but laughed out the door, with the party-goers pointing and laughing at her for being so pathetically friendless on a holiday as social as Halloween.

“Cram it, you.” Fluttershy closed her eyes and imagined bringing her fist down on a shapeless blob monster, splattering it all over the walls. She sighed contentedly. That helped.

Right as she was about to sally forth and brave the adventure of going up to the front door and knocking, she heard the sound of crying again.

There was a woman sitting on a bench a few blocks down from the big house, resting under the shadow of some trees while burying her face into her hands.

“Hello?” Fluttershy called again, walking down the street and approaching the woman. She arrived at the bench and stood by it awkwardly while the woman continued to cry, her head bobbing up and down as she bawled.

Fluttershy got on one knee next to the bench. “There, there,” she patted the woman on her exposed knee. “I’m sure everything will be alright.”

The woman stopped crying at hearing another voice. She lowered her hands and showed her face, exposing a pale face with striking blue eyes. She tried to say something, couldn’t, because of the overflow of fluids from her face, and choked air down, trying and succeeding on the second try. “You really think so?”

Fluttershy experienced a nasty flashback towards her husband and their divorce, and the way he’d essentially used her as a breeding device, then chucked her out. She held it back and spoke reassuringly despite the memory. “Yes. I know it might not seem like it now, and that it might even seem like you’ll never be happy again, but I can assure you, things can get better. Even if it takes a long time. Even if it takes a lot of hard work, they can get better.” She stood up. “Can I sit by you?”

"Sure," the woman scooted off to one side of the bench and patted the empty space next to her. "Anything for the woman who comforted me in my hour of need."

Fluttershy chuckled and grinned as she sat down. "Well, I don't know about that. I'm sure anybody would have done the same."

"Are you sure?" the woman said. "Because I don't know about you, but I sure didn't see a whole lot of people lining up to comfort little old me around here." She gestured to the empty sidewalk around them.

"I'm sure somebody would have done the same," Fluttershy corrected herself. "Eventually. How's that?"

"Better," the woman said, and giggled. "What's your name?"

"Fluttershy."

"I'm Greta." Greta extended her hand, and Fluttershy shook it.

"Pleasure to meet you, Greta," Fluttershy said. "Can I ask what you were crying about?"

"Oh, nothing ..." Greta said, and dropped her chin into her palms, looking at the sidewalk and sighing. "I just ... haven't been able to get a second head."

"Second head?" Fluttershy arched an eyebrow, confused at the notion.

"Yeah," Greta said. "I’m a troll, and I need a second head. I've asked person after person after woman after woman and no one has agreed to be my second head. There was one woman who almost seemed willing, but then she backed out. She said some very harsh things about me while she did, too!"

That would be the woman I met before, then, Fluttershy thought. Should I mention to Greta that I saw her? Probably not. It would probably just upset her more. And what does she mean by second head - oh, I'm dumb. It's Halloween. What do you think she means? The question seemed to come from Rainbow Dash's voice instead of her own. She needs a second head for her costume, whatever it is.

"Greta?" Fluttershy said. "Can I ask you what exactly happened with this woman?"

"What's there to tell?" Greta asked, tossing her hand through the air. "She was going to be my second head, and then she didn't, and now she's gone, FOREVER, and I'm never going to find my second head, never, never!"

Greta buried her face into her hands and wept again.

Fluttershy scrunched up her face, wondering what to say to get her to calm down again.

There comes a time when just words won't do, Fluttershy thought. Twilight would be so dismayed to hear her say that, but it was true.

Fluttershy spread her arms and wrapped them around Greta, pulling her close into a hug. Her shoulder dug uncomfortably into Fluttershy's skin between her breasts, but nothing Fluttershy couldn't put up with in the name of kindness.

Greta's crying died down slowly, and she reached a hand up to touch Fluttershy's arm, shocked someone would be willing to touch her at all after the night she'd been having.

"T-thank you," Greta said between teary breaths.

"No problem," Fluttershy said. "Feel better now?"

"A little, yeah."

"Good, good. I'm going to let go now, okay?"

"Okay ... wait, no. Could you hold on just a little bit longer?"

"If that's what you need." Fluttershy pulled in closer and rested her chin on Greta's shoulder. They sat in this position for a few minutes.

"Thank you," Greta said. She patted Fluttershy's arm to signal Fluttershy could let go. "I really needed that."

"Sounded like you do," Fluttershy said with a knowing, wise smile.

Greta blushed and looked away. It was only now Fluttershy noticed her head. It was bald at the scalp, completely devoid of hair. Something about it seemed off, though. If she were Rarity, Fluttershy would think it being bald was enough to be 'off,', but she wasn't Rarity, she was Fluttershy. Something about its shape. Like it was ... bulbous. Larger than it should have been. Disproportionate. That was the word. Her forehead and scalped swell up slightly relative to her face and cheeks.

Greta turned to Fluttershy, smiled brightly, then stood up.

"I guess I should be going, then," Greta said. "That second head of mine isn't going to find itself."

"No, probably not," Fluttershy said, smiling to herself, confident she did a good deed.

"Even though everyone I've asked has already turned me down ... and the closest I came to it, the person ran away and told me I was a freak ..." Greta's eyes welled up, and she stared at the ground. Fluttershy didn't need to be a psychologist to tell she was going to start crying again if she didn't do something soon.

Fluttershy tapped her fingers together furiously, trying to think of something fast that she could do. Something that would stick. Something she could do that would stop Greta from crying and keep her from crying again.

"I'll be your second head," Fluttershy blurted out.

Greta whipped around to face her, shock wide in her eyes. "Really?"

"Yes." Fluttershy hauled herself up off the bench and dusted off her skirt. "I'll be your second head."

"Are ... are you sure?" Greta asked, putting her fingers to her chin and looking at Fluttershy with concern. "After everyone else didn't, you would?"

"Yes," Fluttershy nodded. "If that's what you need, which it sounds like it is, that's what I'll do for you."

Greta covered her mouth. "Fluttershy, I ... I don't know what to say! But ... are you sure? Are you really sure?"

"Yes! I already told you, yes, okay?" Fluttershy said. Goodness, it's almost like she doesn't want to take yes for an answer. Was this what I was like when I was younger?

"It's just ..." Greta intertwined her fingers, rubbing them anxiously. "I think there's some things you should know about it before you commit to being a troll."

"Oh?" Now this had Fluttershy intrigued. What could be so disturbing about being the second head for a costume?

"Once you commit, there's no going back," Greta said. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes, yes, let's just hurry this up," Fluttershy said, waving her hand in a let's go gesture.

"Okay ... get ready."

"Right ... wait, ready for what?"

Greta took Fluttershy's hand. Fluttershy was pulled in towards Greta, her shoes scooting across the sidewalk pavement.

"W-wait, what?" Fluttershy looked down at her moving shoes. She wasn't moving them. She wasn't walking. So how she was moving?

She looked up again and gasped. Greta had changed. She didn't look like a regular woman. She had pale gray skin, her bald head was proportionate now, but to the portion of something not human, and she was possessed of considerable girth, with a wide, protruding belly, thick thighs, and thick biceps.

"W-wait," Fluttershy said. She grabbed her arm and tried to wrest it free.

"I told you, there's no going back!"

"What is going on?" Fluttershy asked. "What are you doing to me?"

Fluttershy looked around. She'd gone further down the block than she realized. The large house with the party loomed in the distance, too far away to be of any help. There were no other houses close by - the closest was eight blocks down. They had reached a section of trees like it was cut out for a park. Even if she screamed, she'd have to scream the loudest and hardest for anybody to hear her and come help.

She was pulled further into Greta and smushed against Greta's body. Their skin stuck together, the way it did when pressed against a leather chair in a hot office.

"Mm..." Greta reached around and grabbed Fluttershy's hip. "You're so thick, Fluttershy! You're probably the best choice I could have made!"

"I'm glad you're happy!" Fluttershy replied, breaking out her sarcasm. Greta's bright smile indicated she didn't pick it up on.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy!I know it might seem scary at first, but don’t worry, everything will be alright.”

Fluttershy felt herself ... merging into Greta. She almost didn't want to look, but look she did, as she needed to understand what was happening to her.

They were ... fusing. Greta's body was absorbing her. Melding with her. Taking her into Greta's body.

Fluttershy stomped on the sidewalk, making one last effort to break away, but it was doomed from the start.

Minutes later, the merger was successful. Fluttershy blinked, not expecting to survive the process. She felt the fat around her thighs and stomach jiggle and bounce, and her breasts sway slightly from motion.

She looked around and her jaw dropped. She and Greta had become a singular body. Her neck rested on the same torso as Greta's, separated by only a few centimeters worth of space. From either side sprouted two arms, one raised up higher than the other, all four of them thick and muscular, with three three legs between them arranged like a half-sized spider, and their chests half-merged like Geryon's, with four breasts shared between them arranged in two rows. All three feet wore high heels with striped white and black stockings. She didn’t notice at first, but her own hair gone from its longed, flowing locks to a smooth, business-like beehive haircut.

"Oh, thank you, Fluttershy! You've made me so happy. I was beginning to think I'd never get a second head!" Greta leaned over and covered Fluttershy's cheek with smooches. She raised the two arms on her side and curled them into fists. "Gosh, I've never felt so powerful! Anyway, we should probably heading on back home, now that I've got a second head. Ooh, I probably shouldn't talk about you like you're not here like that, shouldn't I? Sorry, tee-hee!"

Greta tried to move, but only her legs on her side moved. Fluttershy's share of legs remained rooted in place.

"Um, Fluttershy? I'm gonna need you to life your legs up so we can go. Come on."

Fluttershy remained where she was, stunned as she puzzled it all out.

Grey skin, multiple limbs, more powerful with two heads ... so when the woman said she was a troll, she meant an actual troll? Not an internet one? And the reason she was so upset was because she was going to be Greta's second head, not for a costume, but an actual second head? Greta must have explained it more to her than me, and that's why she was so upset! Or maybe she was just able to break free.

Fluttershy looked down at her feet, wondering what she was supposed to make of life now.

Author's Note

An interesting commission, to be sure, and one specifically themed for Halloween. Spoooky. Are you spooked yet? Be spooked.

And as always, obligatory Patreon shoutouts:

Trepphacs
LazyReader19
Facinus
Thehock1
MyMaskofShame
Captain Croisandwich
Ganduil