I Just Want to Make You Proud

Yan was awoken from a dreamless slumber by the sound of knocking on his front door. He fumbled out of bed, nearly tumbling to the ground. Once he was downstairs, he shook his head to straighten out his dull pink and gray mane. Yan opened the door, and wanted to jump back and hide behind the couch when he saw who it was.

The orange mare from yesterday was standing at Yan's doorstep. She had a look of mixed emotions worn on her face.

"Hey, uh, Ah heard that you came here after you left the cemetery, so Ah thought Ah'd come by to say sorry..."

"F-for what?" Yan stammered, taking a discreet step back.

"Actin' so foolish...Ah feel sorry fer not comin' to German's funeral; Ah didn't even know he'd passed..."

"O-oh..." Yan scraped the floor with his hoof, looking away shyly.

"Ah'm Applejack," The orange mare said, holding out her hoof. "Nice to meetcha."

"I-I'm Yan..." the pegasus responded, not realizing that Applejack was gesturing for a hoofshake.

"Err, hi Yan." She lowered her hoof.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that for a hoofshake?" Yan stuttered, coming back to his senses.

Applejack chuckled. "Yeah, Ah guess you didn't pick up on that..."

"I-I-I'm sorry," Yan blushed. There's that damn lethargy again...

"Hey, you don' know Ponyville very well, do ya? Do you mind if Ah give ya a tour?" Applejack offered.

"I...um..." Yan flustered and stammered. "I-I mean, sure, if, if you don't mind..." He shrinked back a bit, blushing. Why am I so skittish? I know I'm shy normally, but jeez, this is just pitiful... He thought to himself.

"You alright, sugarcube?" Applejack's voice held high concern.

"I-I'm okay, I guess...I'm sorry, I'm not used to talking with other ponies..."

"Heh, you're jus' like Fluttershy. You two'd be perfect for each other," The mare chuckled.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Yan asked, knowing full well what she meant.

"Nothin', nothin'," Applejack dismissed the topic. "Lemme show ya around,"

***

"Oh, an' that's Sugarcube Corner, its pastries are amazing. Be sure to try em out," Applejack pointed out a small building with a sign jutting out from just above its door that had 'Sugarcube Corner' adorned upon its wood in white lettering. The faintest smell of sugar wafted about the building.

Yan was doing his best to be courteous, but in his head, he was still depressed. He listened to Applejack, and he stored the locations and names of all the places she pointed out, but he wasn't returning the enthusiasm.

"Oh, hi Yan, hi Applejack," A quiet voice emanated from somewhere behind the two. Yan turned to see Fluttershy standing a few feet away.

"Oh, hi there sugarcube," Applejack greeted. "What brings you here?"

"I was just milling around town for a bit...you?"

"Ah was showin' Yan here 'round Ponyville, since he's new." Applejack gestured toward the quiet pegasus.

"Oh, he's not new, he was here when he was a foal, but he moved when his mother and father separated...I-I'm sorry, w-was it okay to tell her that?" Fluttershy casted her eyes downward.

"It's fine, I was about to tell her anyways..." Yan responded, equalling Fluttershy's shyness.

"Ah swear, y'all two are just alike," Applejack chuckled.

"How much of town have you shown him?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, most of the interesting places. Do ya want me to show ya more, or are you too skittish to talk?" She teased.

"I'm f-fine, whatever you wanna do is fine..." Yan kicked at the ground, looking everywhere but at her.

"Alrighty then. Follow me."

"I guess I'll tag along. If that's alright with you, I mean..."

Applejack and Fluttershy showed Yan around town just a bit more before heading back to his home. Despite his melancholy state, Yan had some places he definitely wanted to visit in the near future, after he settled down. The three engaged in some small talk, Yan barely contributing.

Yan opened his front door, surprised to see the place pitch black. He turned most of the lights off, but left a light on somewhere for the prevention of this exact event. The bulb musta blew, Yan thought to himself.

He quickly dismissed the thought, for when he flipped a nearby switch, something more serious awaited.

"SURPRISE!!" Came the thunderous shout of over 100 ponies. Yan shreiked and jumped back in fear.

"What in Celestia's name is this!?" He backed up against a wall. Never had he been in the same room with over 100 ponies. He hadn't even been in the same room with 10 ponies.

"Well, since yer a newcomer, and Pinkie Pie, a friend of ours, throws parties for every newcomer, we mighta told her about ya and...well, here we are."

"I...don't...I've never been in the same room with so many ponies before..." Yan admitted. "And I don't do well at parties..."

"Well, Pinkie will be sure to cure ya of that. Anyhow, since she won't be leavin' anytime soon, just interact with somepony. We're all nice here."

At that, Applejack and Fluttershy dispersed into the crowd. Yan didn't know how exactly to tackle this situation, so he walked around his now pony filled home, only stopping when somepony greeted him. He smiled and was courteous, but, at heart, was feeling very intruded upon.

Yan looked around the room. Streamers were hung everywhere, and balloons were scattered about. The happiness of the home contrasted heavily with his emotions; dismal and melancholy. He meandered around the house until stopped by an intensely cheery voice erupting from behind him.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Applejack and Fluttershy told me about how you were new here, and you didn't know anypony, so I thought that I would throw you a welcoming party! I heard about your dad too, so I thought this party could help cheer you up as well!" Yan turned to see a hyper pink earth pony with a curly and poofy pink mane.

"Oh...um...thanks Pinkie Pie..." Yan murmured.

"Are you alright? I was positive that this party would cheer you up," Pinkie said.

"No, it's just that, I've never really been to a party...well, at least not on this scale...I'm not used to so many ponies..."

"Aw, that's too bad! It's alright, we're all nice, and so we don't wanna intrude. HEY, you want some cake?" Pinkie spawned a slice of white frosted cake on a plate out of nowhere.

"Oh, it's a bit too early in the afternoon for cake..." Yan stopped as a growling sound elicited from his stomach. He couldn't deny that he was starving.

"Well, your tummy says otherwise! C'mon, eat up!" Pinkie Pie held out the cake tantalizingly. Yan couldn't turn down a generous offer, and he was really hungry, so he took to slice of cake.

He took a bite, and was instantly in heaven. It was warm and melty, and tasted delicious.

"So, whaddya think, Good huh? It's a Sugarcube Corner special!"

"It is really good..." Yan took more bites, and soon found himself devouring what was left.

"Yep, Sugarcube Corner bakes the best pastries!" Pinkie gushed.

***

After a while, all the ponies filed out of the house. They cleaned up the decorations themselves, leaving the house just as it was before. He thanked Applejack and Fluttershy for the tour as they left.

Yan took this opportunity to organize everything in the house. He took his luggage and plopped it in the bedroom he chose, and began unpacking. He had a few books, some towels, a few fancy clothes for nights out (which was rare) and not much else. Yan found a bookcase somewhere downstairs and placed some of his books in it. He dusted some shelves and tables, and swept and mopped the floors. It took Yan a little over an hour to spruce up the house, getting up dust bunnies from the corners and under chairs. Once finished, Yan packed the supplies away in a closet, then indulged in some leftover cake from the party, then crashed in his room.

After Yan polished off the last of the cake, he began to nod off. His mind wandered, thinking about various things: Applejack, the town, his father, his depression, why he was in a state of apathy every time he was in a 5 yard radius of Applejack. Could he have a crush on her? Was he scared of her? Yan didn't know, he could only wonder. The last thought that drifted in the vacuum of his mind was one that had been dormant in the back of his mind ever since arriving to the town of Ponyville.

He was broke.