Celestia's lips formed into a smile as she looked up to the sun that she had caused to rise this morning. It was bright, it was beautiful, and it was warm. Clearly, the good folk of Equestria had a pleasant day ahead of them, and Celestia too planned to enjoy hers. And what better way to do so than with one of her favourite activities, strolling through the great gardens of the royal palace? Everywhere she looked, she could see a vast array of exotic creatures and plants, many of whom called out with their unique sounds to her as she passed them by. It brought her joy to be here, without all the hustle and bustle of court.

But as she took her gentle stroll, she was surprised to hear, of all things, a voice. It was quiet, hushed, yet she knew it was from someone close by. Looking around, she eventually spotted someone. To her slight confusion, she saw that it was a colt, off in a quiet corner of the garden, all by himself, yet muttering to seemingly nobody.

"...Hello?" Celestia called out.

Immediately, the colt jumped up, spinning around in place and looking on with both shock and horror at being discovered. He was an earth pony, brown in both fur and mane, who appeared to have yet to earn his cutie mark. But right now, what concerned Celestia most was the sheer panic with which he looked to her, which prompted her to keep her voice calm and gentle as she took a step closer to him.

"I'm sorry for startling you, little one. I hope I didn't frighten you?"

The colt, though he seemed to realise that the Princess wasn't angry with him, nevertheless seemed to blush and shy away from her, almost to the point of not looking at her at all.

"I'm...I'm so sorry! I...I probably shouldn't be here, should I?"

Celestia's smile returned to her.

"You needn't worry. These gardens are open to all. Though in truth, I am surprised to see you. Most don't come here besides myself and a few others, and I do not recall seeing you before."

Slowly, the colt nodded.

"M...my Mother works in the kitchens, Miss. I...sometimes come down here to play."

And it was right at this moment that Celestia noted that the colt was holding himself in such a way that suggested that he was hiding something. Indeed, the Princess could catch a quick glimpse of some object on the ground behind where he was standing, which the youth seemed to be going out of his way to stand in front of. After a time, the older mare smiled again to him.

"And what do you have there, may I ask?"

Again, the colt blushed, and doubled down on his efforts to hide what he'd been hiding, taking a step backwards and looking even more worried than he'd been before.

"It's...it's nothing!"

Whatever it was, he was clearly concerned about it, and Celestia, after taking another step forward, got down to her knees, speaking to him in the same relaxed and caring way that a Mother might.

"I assure you...whatever it is you have...you can trust me."

The little one still seemed uncertain, but as he turned to look to the older mare before him, seeing the sincerity in her eyes, his guard lowered, if only by a little. Hesitation was plastered all over his face, and yet, Celestia's words had managed to get through to him. Ever so slowly, he stepped to one side, revealing what he'd been hiding. It was a toy in the shape of a pony, of a kind that hundreds of children might play with. But, as Celestia soon noted, this toy appeared to be in the shape of a mare. Smiling, she spoke softly.

"And who's this?"

The colt hesitated again, but then turned and picked his toy up.

"Her...her name is Sally. And...I was just playing with her."

Celestia chuckled a little, leaning closer and looking to the toy in his hooves.

"Well hello there, Sally. A pleasure to meet you."

Soon after, she looked to the colt.

"And why would you think you needed to hide her?"

The colt retained his blush, continuing to look away from the Princess.

"Because...she's a toy mare."

Celestia nodded, still smiling.

"Yes, I can see that."

The colt continued.

"And...colts aren't supposed to play with mare toys. They're...they're..."

Celestia tilted her head.

"They're what?"

Here, the youth finally said what had been worrying him.

"...Only fillies are supposed to play with them!"

To that, Celestia blinked, before slowly giving her young friend a nod.

"Ah...I see."

The colt looked away again, looking utterly ashamed.

"Colts aren't supposed to pay with toys like that. Everyone always says so. But...when I first got her, I started playing and..."

After a brief moment, Celestia smiled again.

"You had fun?"

The youngster nodded, and she asked a second question.

"You enjoyed playing with Sally, just like you would with any other toy?"

Again, he nodded, and so the Princess asked a third question.

"Are you worried what your friends might think if they saw you play with her?"

The colt gave a slower nod than before.

"Y...yes, Ma'am."

"But you still have fun with her?"

"...Yes."

Celestia's smile widened a little.

"Well then...if you have fun doing that...then that's all that matters."

The colt looked to her, opening his mouth to speak, only to be stopped from doing so when the mare gently placed her hoof upon his lips.

"I know there will be things people say to you that will stay with you. Colts can only play with this, fillies can only play with that. But the truth is...those things do not determine what children can or should have fun with."

She lowered her hoof as she continued.

"You find joy in playing with Sally. You find her a fun toy to have. If doing that makes you happy, if it brings a smile to your face...then that is the end of it."

She looked down to him warmly.

"Nobody should make a child like you feel bad because of what they choose to spend their time on, or because of what makes them happy."

The colt seemed flabbergasted by this, and struggled to find his words.

"But...but...my friends?"

To that, Celestia took on a sterner look.

"If they make fun of you...simply tell them that this is what makes you happy, that you consider Sally to be a good toy."

Carefully, she placed her hoof under his chin, guiding his face so as to be looking right at her.

"Remember...friendship always requires honesty."

The colt didn't know what to say, but hadn't any time to truly respond to her. For it was at that moment that there was a rustling in some nearby bushes, prompting both the colt and Celestia to look up at them. Here, a trio of other children, two colts and a filly, jumped out, having clearly been looking for him. They were happy to see him, but as soon as they saw Celestia, they halted in their tracks, looking utterly awed, to which Celestia couldn't help but look amused.

"Welcome, children. I trust the day finds you well?"

Remembering their manners, the children all bowed to her, and she to them, and when they looked up again, they saw their lone friend, looking half terrified at having them here.

"We've been looking for you all day," the filly declared.

"Yeah, where have you been?" one of the other colts asked.

A pause, and the young colt looked up to Celestia, who gave him an encouraging nod. Sighing, he picked up his toy, and held it close to him as he regarded his three friends.

"I've...been playing...with my toy."

The three looked to the miniature mare in his hooves, prompting him to further explain.

"Her name is Sally...and I've been having fun with her."

There was another silence, but this one was incredibly brief, as the three looked up to him and, to the colt's surprise, started to smile at him.

"Neat!" one said.

"Have you had her long?" another asked.

"Does she have karate-chop action?" the filly enquired.

The colt blinked, astounded at this response, before glancing back up to Celestia. The latter stifled a giggle, but said nothing as the other children spoke up again.

"We're going over to swim in the pond over there. Wanna come?" the filly asked.

The colt, though still stunned, soon gained a massive smile, nodding back to her.

"Y...yeah! I'll be right over!"

The other three smiled back, before happily trotting off, leaving the colt with his royal friend. Slowly, after giving Sally a final glance, he looked up to Celestia, looking a great deal more relaxed than before.

"Th...thank you, Princess."

Celestia gave her a slight bow of her head.

"Trust me, my young friend...it was my pleasure."

His smile widening, the colt charged off, ready to join his friends, yet still calling back to the Princess.

"Hope you have fun in the rest of the garden, Miss!"

Here, Celestia finally giggled.

"I always do, friend. I always do."

I don't know how likely it is that very young children will see this story of mine. But in the event that they do I hope they take this to heart. If you have something you enjoy doing, or something you find fun, that fun is all that truly matters. Have your good time, and if others say it's something you shouldn't find enjoyable, well, at least know you're having more fun than them