"Now you just rest your leg, Mr. Oriole, and you'll be back out there flying in no time, okay?" Fluttershy said. The bird lifted up his head to observe the bandaged appendage, then gingerly touched it with the tips of his wings. Wincing at the resulting pain, he drew back his wings. Fluttershy could only imagine how awful it felt. He looked up at yellow mare, gave a quick nod, showing he understood, and slowly laid back in the makeshift hospital bed. She smiled and tucked him in.

Mr. Oriole was one of a half-dozen birds that had found themselves strung up in a hospital bed. There were at least thirty or forty others that had crashed because of the tumultuous winds that day, but were lucky enough to only receive minor injuries. The birds on the table had crashed into the hardest trees, were flung into sharpest briers and brambles, and fell from the highest heights. After giving each bird one final check, she looked out the window to see the cloud-covered night sky. It had been a long day.

Yawning, she ambled toward the stairs that would lead her to her nice, warm bed. She walked past the couch, noticing that her pet bunny, Angel, had fallen asleep on it.

Usually, Fluttershy would carry him off to bed, but he looked so comfortable snuggled up against the throw pillow that she didn't want to disturb him. Besides, he deserved all the rest he could get. He did find and bring back almost all the birds that now lie on the table, some more than twice his size.

Fluttershy trotted up the stairs, careful not to wake any of them. After quietly shutting her bedroom door, she went into the small master bathroom to brush her teeth, take a quick shower, and then hit the hay. The bathroom resembled her bedroom in many ways: both had a few floral-patterned plates and pictures of friends hung about. There was enough storage for all her things, and all the other furnishings had a clear purpose, like a bed for sleeping, and a bath for cleaning. Rarity would sometimes comment on how bland the room was and that she should do more with it, even offering to help her at times. Fluttershy always said she would later, but never did, simply because she didn’t have the time to decorate.

She grabbed her toothbrush and barely got the cap off the toothpaste when a voice called out to her: "Fluttershy?" The sound came from outside, below the circular bedroom window. Fluttershy put the brush down on the sink, and sighed. Normally when a pony called her name this late at night, it usually meant that they had some emergency that she would have to resolve. Despite it being after hours, she went to answer it.

Opening the window, she noticed an earth stallion situated in her backyard in the cool summer night. His coat was a light-mist beryl, and his mane a little darker, only long enough for it to have some curve. His tail was short and tangled, like Angel’s tail when he refused to have it properly fluffed. His flank showed a glass flask, which was undoubtedly the mark of a scientist. "You heard me!" he said, a gleeful smile covering his face.

"I, uh, suppose I did," Fluttershy said in her usual quiet whisper. "What are doing here at such a late hour? I mean if you don't mind telling me?" She expected an explanation, but all she got was a prancing pony singing, "She heard me, she heard me!" This was a rather strange display for a full-grown stallion, not to mention a weird time to be doing such a thing. She tried calling out to him again, but all he wanted to do was dance and sing about hearing rather than hear. Maybe all he wanted was to be heard, which is a rather strange thing to want.

Not knowing what else to do, she closed the window and went back to brushing her teeth. Normally she would brush Angel's little teeth first, but she just did not have the heart to wake him up from his well-deserved nap. Squeezing just a tiny bit of toothpaste on her toothbrush, she looked up at the mirror. The toothbrush fell from her hooves as she stared. A faint luminescence lit the reflective surface with a tinge of cyan, and the face of the dancing stallion.

Slowly she turned, eyes wide and bottom lip quivering. When she met the reflection, she yelled "G-g-g-g-ghost!" and let out a piercing scream. She found herself making a beeline for the bedroom door when the ghost wisped in front of it with hoof extended to stop her, pleading, "No, wait-" Still screaming, Fluttershy leapt for the circular window, but he intercepted her saying "I don't mean to-" She whipped toward the window adjacent to it, only to find him already in front of it, saying "Look Fluttershy-" but before she could hear any more of him, Fluttershy dove under her bed.

She poked out her head only enough to see the apparition. "P-P-Please, Mr. Ghost, don't hurt my Angel, or my other friends, or me."

The ghost slapped his hoof on his head and, through a grimace, said, "Darn my stupidity and carelessness! I should have been more careful about approaching you. I'm sorry for frightening you like that, but you see, it's been so long since any pony could hear me that the excitement of it all overtook me and caused me to barge in here like some common sneak-thief."

Fluttershy barely heard a word of what the ghost had said, for she had burrowed deeper under her bed, covering her head with her hooves. She had both eyes closed, as if not seeing the ghost would make it go away. A cool wisp brushed against her cheek, and when she opened one eye, there he was, but head only, saying, "I promise I won't-" Before he could finish, Fluttershy screamed and yanked herself out from under her bed so fast that she bashed herself in the corner of the room. The ghost came closer, and all she had left were two thin forelegs to shield herself.

"Please, Mr. Ghost," she begged, "If you would-"

"Fluttershy, I didn't come to hurt you or your animal friends," the ghost said. "Besides, even if I wanted to, I couldn't do them any harm, see?" He passed his hoof through one of the spheres atop a bed post going through it as if the bed were just an illusion. "I came to you for your help, Fluttershy. For some reason that only Celestia knows, you have been gifted with the ability to intercede for me. That being so, you're the only one who can tie a few loose ends that keep me here."

"W-w-what do you mean? Isn't there someone else that can help you?"

"Sadly no, you're the only one I can talk to, and for the longest time I didn't know that, until luck decided to tell me. Remember when that stage unicorn was performing for the town and you were making your way to the front? You bumped into me and apologized. It was only after your friends called your name and you got lost in the crowd when I realized that you were the first pony to see me in years. And now you can help me."

He stepped in closer. She turned her head away, curling up tighter into the corner, wondering what would happen to her. She took a peek at the spirit. His essence seemed to ooze noxious fumes that quickly mixed in the air, and his form became more transparent, letting what little light that was in the room pass through him.

"I've always thought that if I could somehow resolve the wrongs I committed, that I would be able to leave. But it has been a long time, Fluttershy, so long that I thought this place as my prison, and all I could do was hope that whatever supernatural force that kept me here would end this dreadful torture, this solemn abyss among the living not fit for the dead. For years I've been alone; an abandoned soul aimlessly wandering the earth with no other to speak, no friend to converse with, without the simple touch of grass under hoof, or of another.

"Now I do have another, Fluttershy, and it's you. You're my only chance to get out of here, or at least, take solace in my loneliness." He stooped down his head, leveling his eyes with hers. "You're my only chance." Extending what was a hoof, he tried to divide her forelegs that protected her face, but she slapped the menacing essence away. He pulled back his hoof, and his head in shock. He stared at her, eyes widen in utter disbelief. Fluttershy could barely believe that she had hit him.

He lolled his head in despair and turned away. It looked as if he was still absorbing the force of the blow and the rejection. He let out a sigh, then said, "I know now that my time has not come. Besides, I don't deserve your help after all the things I've done."

As the phantom began to step away, she lowered her forelegs and turned toward him. His head had fallen below his shoulders as he sauntered out of the room. Fluttershy picked herself up off the floor and watched him for a while. She could feel herself huffing and puffing as her lungs caught up with her racing heart.

Picking up her hoof, she found that it had turned a flushed red because of her unthinking swipe. She looked back over at the spirit who slowly marched toward the threshold of her doorway. You're my only chance. Her hoof slowly put itself down as her eyes remained fixed on the ghost who stood at the precipice of her bedroom door.

She never thought that a ghost, something that imparted scars, broke bones, and even caused the living to go insane, would act like this. When she imagined loose spirits, she thought of them as stalkers with gnarled vestiges, limping gaits, and laughter more jarring than that of hyenas, all determined to terrify any that crossed their way. He, however, looked like anypony. He didn't deserve her harsh treatment; all he had done was ask her for help.

He stopped and glanced back at her, a short frown crossing his face. His eyes gave her a solemn stare, and they then closed as his head drooped and turned back. Slowly, he picked up each leg, letting his hoof sway carelessly forward. It silently hit the floor.

"Please don't leave," she said, "You're not terrifying. You just startled me a little, that's all. I couldn't bear to know that I was the only one that could help you and I didn't. I know I would hate to be all alone without anyone to talk to."

He stopped, and slowly turned his head just enough to look at her. "So you will help me out of this predicament?"

Suppressing all desire to bolt for the window just a few feet away, she nodded. A gleam shot across the specter's face, and before either of them knew it, he had thrown his forelegs around her neck. He hugged her tight, and the cold ectoplasm pressed against her flesh, his essence like glacial mud, absorbing all warmth wherever it touched. She could swear that it would penetrate her skin and take over if he hugged any tighter. Maybe this is how ponies became possessed; they agreed for a ghost to stay and then the ghost would have the power to take over and make them go crazy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Fluttershy," he said through tears. "I always knew this day would come, when I would have the chance to right my wrongs, and that somepony like you would provide the way."

The ghost pressed tighter. Fluttershy looked down and saw that the ghost's essence grew brighter wherever it touched. She tried to twist out of his clammy grip, but he only clutched tighter. The effulgence seemed to grow dimmer, as if it were sinking in. She had to think quick. "Uh, Mr. Ghost, you wouldn't mind if... if... if I got some sleep now, would you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, yes, of course," he said, letting her go. Fluttershy fell to her haunches, but quickly got back up. "And by the way, my name is Ion, not ghost," the ghost said. "I wish you only the sweetest of dreams, Fluttershy." He left, floating out the door. She thought she caught a sly smirk come across his face, as if he had plans for whenever she woke up. The instant he was out of her sight, Fluttershy ran to the bathroom mirror to see the state of her body. Her neck was still the same sun-yellow color as before, but when she parted her downy coat, she found a number of scars interlaced on her neck. She then frantically searched her shoulders and arms. More scars. Every piece of skin the ghost had touch now had inexplicable scabs covering them. It was as if the ghost shoved her into a thorn patch, and she could only wonder what would have happened if he "hugged" her any longer.

Immediately she darted to the window and flung it opened. The night air whooshed in, brushing her sweaty coat with cool wind. She extended her wings, letting the warmth from being huddled-up against her body drip from each feather. Most pegasi would have instinctively jumped, letting their wings carry them off into the sky, but Fluttershy had to stop and make sure she did it right, or else she could fall to the ground, even if it was only a few feet down from her window.

She remembered her instruction: leap and simultaneously thrust her wings down so gravity wouldn't take her. It wasn't a hard concept; even the smallest pegasus could do it. She drew herself back. All she needed to do was flap hard when she leaped. Her muscles tensed, preparing for action. She lowered her head, ready toss it forward when she pushed off.

There was a moment of hesitation. She would have to surrender the house to the ghost. Worse, she would have to leave him with her animal friends for a while. The thought of leaving them alone stung, but she had to go get help, or else who knows what could happen. She faced the window.

Everything was ready, yet she couldn't go. She was prepared to leave, but she felt a sinking feeling in her gut that kept her from takeoff.

His words ran through her head. She could see his face as he said them. He looked so sad when he recollected his forlorn past, and so happy that it could have come to an end. She was his only hope, and she was just going to abandon him. Her head turned toward the door. Her legs relaxed. Her wings folded in.

It was possible that she could have been mistaken about him trying to possess her. Maybe he had truly been glad to see her and couldn’t hold back. He would seem like the kind of pony to do that. Maybe this was all a simple misunderstanding. Besides, she didn’t know much about ghosts, so how could she tell that he was trying to possess her?

She walked to the mirror, and inspected her scars once more. This time she did it more slowly and carefully, observing each bump, length, and intersection. If he had hugged her any longer, what would have happened? Would the cuts start to bleed? Would her own soul be pushed out and replaced by his?

If she stayed and helped him with whatever he wanted, perhaps he would be able to go on to wherever ghosts went when their tasks were complete. If that’s all she had to do, she would be willing to help. Then again, the way for the ghost to complete his task may involve giving up her body. Maybe for good. If that happened, who would make sure that the badgers had enough food, wake up the birds so they could get their worms, direct the bats to the best places for insects? And what about Angel bunny; who would take care of him? Just then, she remembered a certain zebra that probably could help her in this tight situation.

She looked out the window toward the Everfree Forest. At night, beasts as big as houses, with sharp claws the size of swords and venomous fangs, thirsting for little ponies, came out looking for an easy meal, something like a little pegasus who had trouble flying. She always had trouble flying, but looking back at her wings reminded her she was a lot stronger now, and she had the stare if all else failed.

Readying her flying stance, and with a running start, Fluttershy flew out and headed toward Zecora’s.

Author's Note

I know this is only a start, and has yet to proven itself as a satiable story, but I want to know, how do you like it? Do you know what's going to happen next? Who do you think are the important characters? Was anything confusing?

Anyway, I'm really excited about this story because it is the first time I'm working with any of the mane six. I hope I got Fluttershy characterized right. If not, tell me where I went wrong, or just down-vote.

Oh, and please rate this story. I don't need an explanation why you rated it like you did, just to know if this is the kind of stuff you like or not.