Book two of "Who We Become".
Being a princess means always worrying what everypony thinks about you. So when Twilight overhears a private conversation, she has to come to terms with how she feels about herself, love, and a certain somepony, all whil...
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The trip to Cloudsdale was not off to a good start. Twilight kept trying to strike up a pleasant conversation, but Fluttershy was being even quieter than usual. It certainly didn't help that they were drawing more than enough attention to distract both of them from talking, although that was certainly not the main problem.
Twilight couldn't blame Fluttershy for being so reserved, but she did find some of her marefriend's behavior baffling. It was clear that she hated her father, or Stormy Skies as she insisted he be called. But despite her reluctance to go, she seemed at least somewhat interested in making a good impression. She had dressed for the occasion, after all, and asked Twilight to do the same. It was nothing elaborate – they both wore simple and modest dresses – but Fluttershy wasn't normally inclined to dress up for anything other than important events.
At least the crowd of onlookers faded away as they went further into the suburbs. The houses around them were all well kept, even if they did look almost identical. Twilight could see why Fluttershy had been intimidated by the size of her parents' house. Even with the impressive architecture common of Cloudsdale homes, nothing around them was nearly as grand, with very few houses reaching two stories.
While most of the houses faded into one another, they eventually came to one that stood out, albeit not in a good way. It had cracked pillars, and a layer of grunge that Twilight simply wouldn't have thought possible in a city where everything was built on top of a layer of cloud. Fluttershy stopped and stared from the street.
"Is this it?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded. She wanted to compliment Fluttershy on her childhood home, but when she looked for something nice to say about the greying building, she instead found clouds cluttering the yard and some mold that didn't look entirely healthy.
Rather than focus on that, she walked up to Fluttershy and pressed up against her, noticing how much she was shaking. "You know, it's not too late. We don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"No, I do have to," Fluttershy said. "You're right. I'll never stop being afraid if I don't face him."
"Just remember, I'm right beside you. And all you have to do is say the word and we're out of there." Twilight kissed Fluttershy's cheek, causing a trace of a smile to flash across her lips.
Taking one last deep breath, Fluttershy walked up to the door. She hesitated for a moment as she took one more look at the state of the house, but knocked all the same. "Just a moment," a gruff voice called. Twilight saw Fluttershy go rigid at the sound and stood close to her in case she felt faint and needed support. Fluttershy just stared at the door resolutely.
The door opened to a grinning light blue pegasus with a grey mane. "Fluttershy! Dear Celestia, you've grown." He held out a foreleg which Fluttershy ignored.
"Twilight, this is Stormy Skies. Stormy Skies, my marefriend Twilight Sparkle," Fluttershy said. Twilight had to stop her jaw from dropping, not just at Fluttershy's words but her tone. She had expected Fluttershy to revert to her usual timid self, possibly even that she'd hide behind Twilight and let her handle her own introduction. Instead, she addressed the stallion as if she dared him to say anything against her.
