A Bit Less Shy

by TransAlchemist

2

Weeks had passed by since then. Unfortunately, the bullying never stopped. Rather, it only got worse. One day, Rainbow Dash decided that she had had enough.

She challenged the bullies: Hoops, Dumbell, and Score, to a competition, a race to be specific. If she won, they would stop bullying Stormcloud. If they won, she wouldn’t get in their way.

When the race was about to begin, Stormcloud went up to signal the start. When he did, the ponies rushed off, but Stormcloud had been knocked off of the cloud, and was falling. He panicked, never really being a good flier, and thought that this was the end. But then, something unexpected happened.

A swarm of butterflies caught him. They slowly lowered him onto the ground. This surprised him greatly, he had never seen butterflies before. He found them beautiful, as well as the meadow where the butterflies had put him. There were animals everywhere. He found that they seemed to be quite nice, friendly even. He enjoyed their company.

Suddenly, an explosion rang out through the sky, scaring all the animals, and sent them running. He panicked as well, not because of the explosion, but more because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his new friends.

So he called out to them. A few of them poked their heads out, and walked over. He comforted them, which led to more showing up, and the cycle repeated. He is surprised with how well he does. He felt a sense of belonging. It surprised him. Suddenly, a light starts to shine on his flank.

Stormcloud looked back, and saw 3 pink butterflies there, and it dawned on him. He finally had his cutie mark.

The animals led Stormcloud to a cottage, long since abandoned. He entered, and saw that it was a mess.

He panicked a little, unsure as to how he was going to live here, but he also didn’t want to let his new animal friends down.

So he did the only thing that he could do. He started to cry.

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A few minutes later, he stopped, hearing a sound. He looked up, and saw that the animals were cleaning up the place for him.

“ You don’t have to –“ Stormcloud started, just above a whisper, when all the animals stared at him, determination obvious in their expressions. They quickly got back to work.

This was unexpected to Stormcloud. He knew that he had a way with animals, but this? These were animals who were working hard to make sure that he was happy. It was nice.

He felt a tug, and looked down. He saw a white bunny tucking at his hof, trying to get him to follow.

So he did. And the bunny brought him to a bedroom, already cleaned by the animals, and then the bunny left. Probably to continue cleaning.

He looked around. There was a nice bird with some leaf accents on it. He also saw a mirror, he didn’t spend much time looking at it, but then something caught his eye.

The closet was partially open, and in it were dresses. He looked and found no suits, only dresses.

It was weird, a small part of him was telling him to try them on!

Stormcloud was confused by this, he was a colt, not a filly. Fillies wear dresses. Where would he wear one?

He wasn’t a filly. Rainbow Dash was a filly. But the small part of him kept growing louder.

Try it on. It insisted, refusing to give up. It was almost annoying. He decided to give it a try. After all, he didn't want this voice becoming something worse later.

So he did. He decided to try on a dress. He found a dress he liked, a green one that seemed to complement his yellow coat, and put it on.

Nothing happened. No major revelation, no letdown, nothing. He just walked towards the closet but then he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

He turned, and saw what he looked like. He saw someone staring back, not a colt in a dress, but rather, a filly, almost. He’s unrealized that that was what he looked like.

But what was even more surprising to him, was that he liked looking like that.

Author's Note:

Chapter 2! This is how Stormcloud/Fluttershy got to ponyville, and how he first found out that he might not be a he. Don’t worry, other ponies will show up very soon.