Gallant Gust found Fall and his sister snuggled up together and fast asleep.
“Oh, sis,” he said while carefully making his way up onto Fall’s bunk. “I’m so happy to see you with a friend.”
The orange Pegasus had never seen any pony want to get close to his sister. Every pony admired him for his impressive wings and strong hooves, but they often would try to avoid his sister beyond giving her judgmental stares.
“Mom was right,” he continued to whisper while seeing the cuddled pair fast asleep. “Some pony would be able to understand and see you as a friend instead of as a burden.”
Gallant did his best to adjust the thin blanket around both Fall and his sister. He then found the flat pillow on Fall’s bed, curled up in a ball in front of the pair, covered himself up with the pillow, and fell asleep.
***
The next day was all about getting ready to do the Hearths Warming Ceremony. There was a lot of chaos, but Gallant managed to keep every pony under control. Even the older ponies got into the spirit of aiding to ensure everything stayed happy, calm, and fair.
“You’re really cool!” complimented a teenage pony. “How old are you?”
“I’m ten going on eleven,” replied Gallant Gust.
“Ten?” the bewildered teen replied. “I’d have never guessed.”
Gallant Gust smiled and pointed towards his sister who was with Fall helping the youngest of the orphans in making decorations for the night’s performance.
“I get told that a lot,” he replied. “It’s because I made a promise to my parents to always look out for my little sister.”
“Look out for your sister?” the Earth Pony teen wondered. “What do you mean?”
“As a big brother,” stated gallant. “It is my responsibility to make sure my sister is safe and not hurt by anyone, or anything.”
“Oh,” the teen said. “Nobody does that here.”
Gallant faced the older, Earth Pony.
“Maybe some pony should?” he suggested. “We bigger kids should always do our best to show our younger friends good examples of kindness, generosity, honesty, and loyalty.”
“Hey!” called out a Pegasus who appeared even older than the Earth Pony that Gallant was talking to. “Are you talking about ‘The Elements of Harmony’?”
“Yeah,” Gallant replied.
“But you forgot laughter and magic,” stated another, teenage pony as she and a friend joined the group.
“Oh!” blushed Gallant. “I was just starting to learn about them in school before, well…”
“Hey!” the teen filly stated with a smile. “It’s nothing to get upset over.”
“You’re right,” replied Gallant as he pushed the thoughts of his deceased parents out of his mind. “Let’s go get everything ready for tonight’s show.”