Sorry for the long wait. I finished the 2nd chapter of my Fluttershy EQG clopfic and now I've only got one more to go before moving nto the EQG Pool Party Special, so just sit tight. There's no way I'm giving up on this series, oh no, not by a long shot. (or is it longshot?)

You woke up to the sound of your alarm blaring and the birds chirping the next morning. Your arm stung a bit sometimes, but you still beared with the pain. You got out of bed and turned off the alarm with your right hand as your left hand was still in a cast. You remembered yesterday that mom told you to lay down flat on your back with your injured arm stretched out at a 90 degree angle. This advise helped quite a bit, because soon, you felt the joints in your arm were slowly reconnecting, but you were still sore.

Getting out of bed, you grabbed the box of pain killers the doctor prescribed to you. You walked over to the kitchen and got yourself a cup of water. Taking out the small jar, you grabbed one of the pills and gulped it down with your water and set the little jar on the counter. Now all that was left was to get yourself washed up so you can take Balto out for his walk.

Heading into the bathroom, you remove your clothes and turned on the shower. You stepped inside once the shower was warm enough. You quickly got to washing down all the dirt you forgot to wash off yesterday due to your little accident. You used almost a handful of shampoo to wash your hair because it was a little long and a little bit messy. You had a thing for growing out your hair. in your opinion, you always thought that people who had long hair looked pretty cool.

Suddenly, you began thinking about Fluttershy. You weren't sure why, but somehow she can't seem to leave your mind no matter how hard to try to. Maybe it was because she was the first to actually look past your scary face, which felt like the kind of miracle you've been waiting for.

Finishing up your shower time, you climbed out and wrapped a towel around your midsection. "Maybe if she's not busy, I'll give her a call and ask her if she wants to go for a walk," you said, thinking out loud. Opening the door to the hallway, you walked out of the bathroom and straight into your bedroom. Inside, you dried yourself off, making sure you didn't put too much pressure on your injured arm. You walked to your closet and took out a long-sleeved red shirt and some tan pants.

You put those pieces of clothing on your bed before heading over to your dresser and took out some fresh pairs of boxer briefs and some socks. It was tricky to put them on with one hand. Thankfully, you did it in just about a minute before putting on your shirt and pants.

Putting on the shirt was the most tricky because you had to lift up your injured arm and it stung a bit when you slid it through the sleeve. You winced in pain a little, but it was only for a brief moment. Now that you were finished, you went to look in your other pants to check and see if you still had the piece of paper in it with Fluttershy's number on it. Just as you hoped, it was in your left pocket. It was a good thing it didn't fall out of your pocket when Hathi smacked you against the wall yesterday.

You grabbed your phone, which was on your nightstand, fully charged and ready to go. You dialed the number Fluttershy gave you and waited for her to pick up. Sadly, on the 5th ring, Fluttershy didn't pick up and it went to voicemail, to which you sighed.

"Hey, Fluttershy, it's me, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk later on today. If you're too busy, I understand, but if you're not, go ahead and let me know whetehr you want to or not. You got my number now, so call me anytime. Bye," you said before hanging up. "Well, since she's busy, I might as well get something to eat while I'm at it. I'm so hungry right now, I could eat a whole zebra. But first, I gotta feed my hungry pup and then give my boss a call real quick."

Heading into the kitchen, you opened up the pantry and opened up the bag of dog food. You scooped up some and poured it all in Balto's food bowl. Next, you got took his empty water bowl and filled it up in the sink with fresh, cold drinking water.

After settling it back down, Balto woke up and climbed off the couch. He made his way to the kitchen and started eating out of his bowl and drinking his water. You washed your hands and got to making yourself a delicious breakfast dish, nothing too special, just 2 or 3 slices of toast and a cup of orange juice. You took your breakfast over to the living room, setting it down on the coffee table. You walked over to the TV and put on a DVD and sat down on the couch, eating your breakfast while enjoying a movie.

30 minutes into the movie, your dog, Balto walked up to you and sat next to you on the couch, resting his on your lap while you pet him and drink the last of your orange juice.

"I guess you're up for a walk now, aren't you boy?" you asked. Balto just looked up at you with his cute puppy-dog eyes and tried to lick you. "Okay, okay, Balto. No need to drown me in doggy kisses. I'll go get your leash and harness and then I'll take you out for a nice long walk." you said. Balto got off your lap and chased his tail all over the living room. You chuckled and walked into your room, grabbing your dog's leash and harness out of your closet before walking back out.

You attached the leash to his harness and wrapped his harness around your dog. It was a bit difficult to do because he kept rolling on the ground, wanting a belly rub. You gave Balto a few rubs on his tummy before getting him up and walking him over towards the front door.

Next, you grabbed your keys that were hanging from the wall and put on your shoes, which were right next to the front door and then headed out of the house, then locked it. "Come on, boy, let's go," you said, approaching the sidewalk and strolled around the city. Balto was given a few behavior lessons before he could walk around in public, so he's kind enough to people and animals if they approach him in a friendly matter. If they feel scared to pet him, you made him sit and rubbed his face while he just smiled.

During your walk, you could feel the relaxing spring breeze brushing up against your body and making Balto's fur blow in the wind. Just then, before you even realized it, you ended up walking by the animal shelter and a familiar voice called out to you as she was walking out of the shop. "Is that you?" she asked.

You turned around and saw the one and only Fluttershy and she had a few leashes wrapped around her arms and all of them were attached to these different dog breeds. "Hi there, Fluttershy. How is everything going, are you taking these little bundles of joy out for a walk?" you asked. The dogs seemed to like the fact that you referred to them as "bundles of joy" and barked happily.

"Mhmm. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I got your voicemail. And I've decided to accept your offer, so would you mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Alright, great," you said. You and Fluttershy continued on your way, enjoying the scenery. You inhaled the fresh air and let it out. During the walk, Fluttershy got curious about something.

"By the way, the zoo's opening soon, did something happen at work yesterday?" she asked.

"Yeah. I had a bit of an accident in the elephant exhibit. Hathi was in a real crabby mood for not getting his meal on time and he slammed me against the wall with his trunk. I dislocated my shoulder and now I gotta take a few days off of work until my arm stops hurting. It's gonna take a couple of months for it to completely relocate the right joints, so I gotta to some stretching exercises and take some pain killers. The doctor and my mom said it'll speed up the healing process," you explained, softly rubbing your left shoulder.

"Oh my! I'm sorry to hear that. Does it still hurt?" Fluttershy asked.

"Not right now, but I gotta be careful with it. I can't risk stretching it out too far and too quickly or the joints might pop out of place and I'll have to make a 2nd trip to the hospital. So, how is business going at the shelter, finding some nice homes for the animals?" Suddenly, Fluttershy's smile disappeared.

"Well... yes and no. I sent a couple of these dogs to some promising homes a couple of weeks ago, but the familes I sent them to were too cruel to them. I saw them outside in these leaky dog houses. To top it off, the kids hardly ever play with any of them," she said, sadly.

"What? That's messed up! I swear, people these days got no respect for animals. I take it you called up the animal rescue units and brought the animals back?" you asked. Fluttershy nodded. A heavy weight was lifted off your chest when you heard this news. "So, what else has been going on, besides work? You hang out with your friends sometimes, or...?"

"Sometimes, I do. Other times, they usually have their own jobs to do, or they're spending some time with their families or their boyfriends," Fluttershy said.

"All of them are in a relationship?" you asked in surprise. "What about you, don't you have anyone special to spend quality time with?" Fluttershy didn't reply, but she did respond with a sad face and rubbing her arm, which made you realize you said too much. "Oh... I see. I'm sorry, Fluttershy, I..."

"No, it's alright. You were just curious," Fluttershy assured.

"Y-Yeah, but..." you wanted to say more about her relationship problem, but simply bringing up the subject more and more will just make her feel worse. So, for now, you just continued on with your stroll with her and the dogs and changed the subject entirely. "...I'm sorry. Anyways, What about your friends, what do you usually do whenever you're out with the girls?'

"Well, we either go out for smoothies at Sugar Cube Corner and we also used to stay behind in school, practicing in this old band called The Rainbooms. But ever since we graduated, we stopped performing and even some of us had to find a few part-time jobs," Fluttershy said.

"I see. I remember when you guys had that Battle of the Bands during my Junior year in high school, but the sad part about is that when it was taking place, I was somewhere else," you said. "I've been going through a lot of problems back in school, but I'd rather not talk about it... at least not right away." Fluttershy understood you about not wanting to reveal your secret and changed the subject as well.

"Anyways, you sure have a cute doggy. What's the little munchkin's name?" Fluttershy asked, bending down and rubbing your dog's cheeks.

"His name is Balto. He's a half-husky and half-wolf. My mom found him as a rescue and gave him to me as a present during my 18th birthday 9 months ago. He's 2 years old and he's a kind dog. Balto and I are like partners, two peas in a pod, and this might sound funny, but we're butt buddies. And unlike other owners, Balto is given everything a dog could ever want: 3 square meals a day, a warm place to sleep at night, via the couch or my bedroom and lots of walks every day. But even in a tiny apartment like mine, sometimes Balto can get a little restless," you explained.

"Aww, that's so sweet. And I have just the remedy for your pooch's restless attitude. There's a dog park a little East from where we are right now. We can bring along the dogs so they can roam around and play around there and get to know Balto, too," Fluttershy implied.

"Hmm, that sounds good to me. What do you think, Balto?" you asked your dog. The half-wolf wagged his tail and barked happily with a smile. You chuckled. "Okay, it looks like we're in. Lead the way, Flutters," you said, following Fluttershy's lead. You had seen the dog park a couple of times before when you were still living with your mom, but you never quite figured out how to get there.

10 minutes later, you and Fluttershy arrived at the dog park and as promised, you allowed all of the dogs to roam around and play. Balto was having the time of his life. It had been quite a while since he got to get some really good exercise and have fun doing it.

Mostly, you had yourself to blame for not knowing how to get to the dog park sooner. Balto was always an energetic dog and having the running space for playing was hard to find. True, you could take him to the Canterlot Park, but he had to be kept on a leash or people would call the pound on him. It didn't do either of you any favors considering Balto's wolf genes. Thank goodness for Fluttershy's sense of direction that she was able to help both you and Balto find a place where you can let your dog have fun.

After some time watching Balto play with the other dogs, you joined in on the action, playing fetch with a frisbee, which he loved so much. He would chase after it and gnaw on it anytime he caught it.

Then something unexpected happened. Balto, without having the frisbee in his mouth, ran up to you and tackled you to the ground, which ultimately caused you to wince in pain when you felt your injured arm sting from the moment you felt the heavy impact. Balto proceeded to lick your face, showing his doggy love to you for taking him on an amazing walk to this park and helping him make new friends.

"O-Okay Balto, hahaha- OW! I love you, too!" you switched from laughing to shouing in pain. Fluttershy was concerned and ran up to you.

"Oh my, are you okay?" she asked. Balto backed away as Fluttershy helped you back on your feet. She dusted dirt off your clothes and placed a hand on your shoulder. "Does it still hurt?"

"It only stings a tiny bit, but nothing too serious," you assured her. Balto's happy expression turned into a look of guilt and whimpered as if he did something wrong.

"I think Balto's trying to say he's sorry for hurting you. You're not too mad at him, are you?" Fluttershy asked, earning a nod from you. You quickly crawl up to Balto and hug him. Suddenly... "Umm, if you don't mind, could I talk to you in private for a minute or two?" she asked.

"Hmm, what's up?" you asked back.

"Just some things I want to ask you about. Can we sit down on the benches and talk about it?" she asked again, making you curious and nod, then turn to Balto.

"You go on ahead and play with the other dogs, okay?" you said to your dog. He instantly runs towards the other dogs and keeps playing with them.

With your dog occupied, you walked over to the benches and sat down next to Fluttershy. "Okay, Fluttershy, you have my attention so what did you want to talk about?" you asked. Fluttershy said nothing at first, merely taking a few deep breaths. Something must've been bothering her and she needed to get whatever it was off her chest and she needed to do it now.

"I hope you don't mind, but is there a reason why you ended up having such a scary face?" she asked. You were surprised to hear her bring it up. Normally, you'd feel uncomfortable talking about your past, but if Fluttershy wants to know, it's best for you to just tell her the truth.

"You're not gonna like how I ended up looking like this, but since you asked nicely, I'll tell you. I never exactly had a proper childhood because of my good-for-nothing dad... if I could even call him that. They guy was a fatass, drunken old bastard who only cared about beer and banging other women. My mom caught him bringing one of his "partners" to her house and filed for a divorce," you explained.

"Oh dear, was he always this bad?" she asked.

"From the moment I was born, he changed entirely. I was even more disgusted when that fatass tub of lard ended up taking custody of me against my will. They didn't even give me a say in the matter and so I spent 8 long years being in a living hell with that scumbag of a father. And the worst part is the fact that he wouldn't even lift a finger to help out around the house, saying it was my responsibility, not his. I swear, that bastard ticked me off to the point where I ended up taking judo classes in high school. And of course, during my time there, that's when I developed this ugly mug of mine and now almost everyone's scared of me," you said.

"So, what happened to your father, where is he?" Fluttershy asked.

"He's rotting in prison for trying to kill me and abusing me. The lawyer to gave him custody over me was sued and my mom took care of me the rest of the way. Honestly, I'm surprised that bastard lawyer even got the job or that my dad wasn't sent to the slums," you explained. "But what's done is done and when I was old enough to live on my own, I applied to become a zookeeper, even though I live in an apartment. And of course, I have Balto to keep me company, so that pretty much gave me a sense of peace."

Fluttershy stayed silent, processing everything you said. After that, she placed her hand over yours. "I'm very sorry to hear about what happened with you and your father. I can't even begin to imagine all of the hardships that you went through," she said, rubbing your hand.

"T-Thanks Fluttershy, that... that's real nice of you," you replied, blushing a bit. "You know... I had thoughts about keeping what my dad did to me a secret. But..." you paused after you felt Fluttershy pat your hand as if you didn't have to say anything else. You looked at her and she gave you that same smile she always has and you smiled right back at her. "You sure know how to cheer a guy up when he's feeling down. Thanks for listening to what I had to say, Fluttershy."

"You're very welcome," Fluttershy replied. You felt the urge to thank her in more than just with simple words, so you leaned in and hugged her. She hugged you back without question. While in the warm embrace, you felt your whole body shaking.

Fluttershy could sense that you were about to break out of your shell and let out a few tears and kept you in a nice warm hug, never letting go. Your face grew wet as you silently sobbed to yourself. Fluttershy made it more pleasant when she twisted and turned you left and right, gently patting you on the back. This was the first time in 8 years you've ever felt your own tears running down your face.

And it's thanks to Fluttershy that you're glad to be free to express your emotions a whole lot more.

After all, Fluttershy's kindness is a strength that few people in the world can master. God bless this adorable angel for being born with a heart, not of gold... but of platinum.