I Just Want to Make You Proud

"Get outta here, filly!"

"Yeah, filly, no pony wants you here!"

"Filly!"

The three colts began chanting 'filly' over and over. Yan backed away, tears forming in his eyes. He turned and ran back home, away from the three bullies. Other schoolfoals saw, and started laughing. The foal broke into full gallop, crying and hurt. This wasn't the first time; every time he was near those three colts, they would pick on him, rough him up, and call him a filly. And then almost everypony would laugh at him, join in the chant or do nothing. It was needless to say that Yan had no friends.

But Yan had one escape. His father would bring him on walks, pretend play with Yan, and basically be the best dad ever.

That is, until the break-up. For some reason, his mom and dad got in a lot of fights. It would never get physical, but the screaming scared Yan a lot. He would hide under the covers as he heard his mother and father fight, crying and wishing for them to stop. It would end with the slam of the front door, and his mother storming up the steps to her room, then another slam of a door. The stress at home rubbed off at school as well. Yan let his grades slip, and would be inattentive during class. The bullying didn't help this account, either. Most of the schoolfoals would pick on him because of his filly-ish looks and actions. Usually, spending time with his father would help to take Yan's mind off of it, but ever since the fights, German never had the energy or drive to do anything.

His only friend, the only thing in the world Yan could look forward to was gone.

Soon, the fights led to the divorce, and then his mother left, taking Yan with her. Little goodbyes were said, and Yan was soon relocated in a new home in Manehatten. Silence was common in Yan's new home. He and his mother never spoke. At his new school, he wasn't noticed. Nor was he bullied, which had its upsides, but he wanted a friend more than anything. His mother didn't hate him, nor did Yan hate her, but there was no support, no words, no family bond. His mother didn't replace his father; she never tried to take his mind off of everything, she just let him fester in his conflicting emotions.

Yet, one pony saw this.

"You're Yan, right?"

"U-um..." The small pegasus scraped the wood floor with his hoof.

"C'mon, you can talk to me. I'm Desert Eagle." The sand-colored unicorn held out his hoof.

Yan kept his hoof to the ground, too shy to respond.

"Uh, this is where you hold out your hoof for a hoofshake." Desert bluntly stated.

Yan slowly raised his hoof, in which Desert took it and shook it.

"There ya go. If you don't mind me asking, do you have any friends?" Yan shook his head in response. "Well, wanna be friends? It's not good to be alone all the time."

Yan lifted his head, seeing a glimmer of hope. "Y-yes, please!" Yan shrinked back a bit. "If you don't mind..."

Desert chuckled. "O'course not. C'mon, class is about to start."

The rest of Yan's school life slowly became bearable. Desert always hung out with him after school and helped to take Yan's mind off of his life. Desert's home became Yan's second home, his second life. Come to find out, Desert didn't have a father, either. His father left his mother before he was born. Despite genuinely feeling sorry for Desert, Yan felt a little better at that fact.

Someone else knew his pain.

***

It'd been a week since Yan was hired at Ponyville Post Office. His plan of trying to become more confident around others was slowly whittling away at his shyness. He still wasn't as hyper as Pinkie, but he could be around other ponies without wanting to bolt away. Yan thought that it would actually work. He thought he could talk to Applejack without feeling lethargic and jumpy.

That is, until today.

Yan was walking back from work when someone was trying to get his attention.

"Um, Yan..." A quiet voice emanated from behind him.

"Oh, hi, Fluttershy," He greeted as he turned around. The butter yellow pegasus shyly waved. "What're you up to?"

"I just saw you walking, and I thought I could walk with you. That is, if it's alright with you..."

"No, it's fine," Yan said as he waited for Fluttershy to walk beside him.

The two walked through the streets of the town, engaging in small talk. The two had a lot of common ground, mainly their shyness. And the fact that Fluttershy was friends with German. She talked about him quite a bit; she had said that he was a really good person, always trying to help those who needed it. The two met while German was walking around the edges of Everfree Forest, when he saw Fluttershy trying to get a kitten that was stuck in a tree. Very high in a tree. Since Fluttershy was scared of heights, German offered to fly up to get him. Contrary to what Fluttershy thought, he flew up and gently soothed the kitten into standing on his back while he lowered himself down. One thing led to another, and they were quite acquainted. They would talk to each other when they would come across each other in town. According to Fluttershy, he talked about Yan quite a lot. He said his son had left when he and his wife separated. Apparently, he missed him a lot.

That fact didn't help Yan's mood.

"Oh, I have an idea," Suddenly exclaimed Fluttershy.

"Uh, what?"

"Applejack's almost done with vending her apples. Why don't you ask her to spend the day with her?"

"Wh-what? No! I...I can't do that..." Yan regretted telling her about his small crush on Applejack.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but..."

"Oh, howdy, you two. How're ya doin'?" came a distinct accented voice.

Yan jumped in surprise. He turned to see Applejack approaching. At that moment, all of Yan's shyness and skittish behavior returned at the sight of the orange mare.

Well, there goes a week of social training.

"Just walking around town..." Fluttershy responded. "Now's your chance," Fluttershy whispered into Yan's ear.

"Hey, u-um, Applejack..." Yan said meekly.

"What's up, sugarcube?"

Yan blushed a bit when she called him sugarcube. He knew she called everypony she knew that, but it still sounded like a pet name.

"Um...I was wondering...if...you would like to...err..."

"Speak up, sugar, I can't hear ya," She said, taking a step closer, making Yan blush more.

"Iwaswonderingifyouwouldliketospendtheafternoonwithme," Yan stammered out, shrinking back once he finished.

"Why, sure, I'm free for the rest of the day. What didja have in mind?"

"Just, um, a walk..."

"I don see why not." Applejack straightened her hat.

"Well, I'll let you two have fun. Bye," Fluttershy waved before she departed.

"So, let's go."

Yan and Applejack wandered aimlessly around Ponyville. Yan stayed silent, but Applejack talked most of the time. Yan took the time to get to know her. He asked her about small things at first; her job, her hobbies. The small things. Soon, the two had come across the outskirts of the town. Yan still had barely spoken, but he listened and nodded to show he was paying attention.

"Oh, there's a nice spot," Yan muttered to himself as he saw a little hill approaching. Applejack followed as he trekked a small distance up the small hill.

"Where's this?" Applejack asked.

"Um, my dad used to take me here when I was a foal..." Yan murmured as he reached the top of the hill.

"Oh."

Yan sat on his haunches, staring directly ahead. Applejack took up a seat of grass next to him, leaving a foot of space between them.

Silence. The two were quiet for a long while. Yan glanced towards Applejack, seeing that she was facing away from him. He stared at her for a long while, admiring her looks. The sunlight hit her face just right, making her orange coat glow. Applejack looked toward Yan, noticing he was staring. He looked away quickly, blushing.

After more silence, Yan spoke.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Have you, um, ever wondered what it's like to, err, fly?"