Fall admired how Candy Cloud had a very unique way of trotting. It was like she was in a constant state of happiness. Her smile seemed to never fade as she more skipped than walked. She also flapped her wings gently while bobbing her head about. This made her Fall-inspired pigtails appear as if they were little swings as they swung steadily about.
Watching her pink, Pegasus friend made Fall want to try and be like her, too. The small, brown Pegasus allowed herself to smile while moving her head so that her deep-brown colored pigtails could do as Candy Cloud’s were. She even attempted to let her wings do the little flap her friend’s were doing. However, due to how underdeveloped they were, the most Fall could get her wings to do was twitch.
“You’re smiling,” grinned Candy Cloud.
Fall nodded.
“You know,” said the white-haired Pegasus. “I used to think what Pint and Bucky did was mean, too.”
Fall appeared surprised as she stopped what she was doing and looked up towards her friend.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Candy Cloud galloped about as she answered, “My mom and dad had to tell me about playful teasing.”
“Playful…, what?” asked Fall.
“It’s something boys do a lot,” stated Candy Cloud. “My daddy told me all about when he was a colt and how his friends would say a lot of things, but only for fun.”
Fall was confused.
“How can saying mean things be fun?” she inquired. “There’s nothing fun about being mean.”
The pink Pegasus fluttered her wings.
“That’s exactly what I told my daddy when he told me that!”
“Really?” asked Fall.
“Really, really!” squeaked the energetic, pink filly. “Mommy tells me boys are immature and say immature things to make each other do things.”
Fall put her hoof to her muzzle.
“I’m-a-what?” she asked.
“Yeah,” giggled Candy Cloud. “I don’t get it either. It did make daddy say some silly things while making a funny face towards my mommy. Then my mommy said something like the colts at school say to each other to my daddy before they got all silly.”
“NO!” cried Pint from within the crowd of kids. “NOT AGAIN!”
Fall went to turn back and see what was wrong, but Candy Cloud put her hoof in front of her before the tiny, brown Pegasus could move.
“Pint lost again,” said Candy Cloud. “I’m sure he’ll win one day.”
Fall didn’t understand why her friend was keeping her from heading back towards where her friends were.
“I’ve got to see if Pint’s okay,” she insisted.
“Oh, he’s fine,” giggled Candy Cloud. “I’ve told him he needs to use more magical Backyard Brawlers if he wants to beat Bucky, but, like my mom says, ‘boys don’t listen’.”
Fall looked at Candy Cloud with wide, blue eyes.
“How can you say that?” she asked. “How do you know?”
“Look,” squeaked Candy Cloud as she gestured her hoof out towards the dispersing crowd. Pint and Bucky were saying things that sounded not so friendly while picking up their Backyard Brawlers.
“They are saying not nice things!” snapped Fall. “Why would you want me to see that?”
“No, no,” replied Candy Cloud. “Look at their faces.”
Fall looked closer and could see something very odd on both Bucky and Pint’s face. They were smiling.
“They’re…, happy?” she asked.
Candy Cloud brought Fall in for a hug.
“My mom and dad told me how you can tell the difference between good and bad teasing can be seen on the faces of those doing it,” she said. “My dad said boys do it to be com, comp, compete-a-tive…?”
“So…,?” asked Fall. “Teasing can be a ‘good’ thing?”
“It can,” replied Candy Cloud. “But you have to make sure.”
“How do you do that?” asked Fall.
“You ask if everything’s okay,” stated Candy Cloud. “If you don’t know if they are being friendly, you go and ask. They’ll tell you.”
Fall looked with interest towards her friend.
“And what do you do if they say it’s not ‘good’ teasing?” she asked.
Candy Cloud stomped her front hooves down and stated, “You tell them to stop it. And, if that doesn’t work, you find a grown-up to make them stop.”
Fall thought on the ‘get a grown-up’ part. The grown-ups at the orphanage would, more ofteh-than-not, be meaner than the fillies, or colts, doing the teasing.
“It’s not hard to do the right thing,” said Candy Cloud. “You just got to ask and make sure nobody is getting hurt feelings. If some pony is feeling unhappy, you tell the pony who’s being mean to stop. If they don’t stop, you get a grown-up. Never hit.”
Fall sighed as she thought on how much she wished this was how things worked back at the orphanage. It amazed her how a three year old, like Candy Cloud, knew more about kindness than the grown stallions and mares at the orphanage.
DING-DING-DING-DING-DING
“TIME TO EAT!” called out Pint’s father as he rang a hand bell.
“Yay!” cheered Candy Cloud. “Will you sit by me?”
“Uh, sure,” replied Fall.
“And me,” added Pint as he walked alongside Fall.
“It’s your birthday,” pouted Bucky. “So you get to choose who you want to sit with for your birthday meal.”
Pint gently nudged Bucky.
“We can all sit together on one of my dad’s picnic blankets,” he stated.
Bucky’s tummy rumbled.
“Well, then,” he said. “Let’s go and get some grub!”