It was time for recess for the littlest seaponies of Seaquestria. It was an hour of play and friendship-building, a time for them to learn and develop social skills with one another while having fun.

For one little seafilly, making friends was not on her agenda today. All that mattered to Saltwater Taffy was the doll her classmate, Opaque Opal, was playing with, and she wanted it now.

“Give it to me! You’ve had it too long!”

She whined, reaching out for the doll as Opal held it out of her reach.

“No! Go get another one! Then we can play mommies together!”

The seafilly smiled in her attempt at a friendly offer.

Taffy pouted.

“No fair! I want <span class="caps">THAT</span> one!”

“Well you can’t have it! This is MY baby!”

Opal hugged the doll defensively, giving it a kiss on its head in a display of maternal affection.

Taffy knew this would be a hard nut to crack. Opal wasn’t giving up anytime soon, and begging was getting her nowhere. So she got a better idea.

She threw herself backwards and began to freak out, setting her plan into motion.

“EW! EW! <span class="caps">GROSS</span>! <span class="caps">WHY</span> <span class="caps">DID</span> <span class="caps">YOU</span> DO <span class="caps">THAT</span>?”

This caught the attention of some other nearby seafoals who quickly began to flock around them.

“What happened?”

“What did she do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Opal prptested. “I’m playing with a dolly and Taffy’s trying to take it away from me!”

The other seafoals turned towards Taffy disapprovingly.

“Didn’t Miss Coral tell us to share?”

Taffy didn’t expect to be immediately cornered like this but she quickly fired back:

“Opal is <span class="caps">LYING</span>! She has <span class="caps">COOTIES</span> and she’s getting it all over that dolly!”

“Cooties? How do you know?”

Another classmate piped up,

“I saw her sneeze during circle time! It’s gotta be cooties!”

“I saw her cough during snack time!”

“I saw her go potty without washing her fins!”

As the accusations built up in her favor, Saltwater Taffy began to feel powerful. By saying the right things, she could get whatever she wanted. She could get everyone on her side in an instant as long as she made herself out as the good guy. There were so many opportunities at her disposal, this was just the beginning!

Opaque Opal began to cry.

“I didn’t do it! I didn’t cough or sneeze or forget to wash my fins! I don’t have cooties, I promise!”

“Everyone saw you, Opal! There’s no way you don’t have them!”

Taffy snatched the doll from her arms, holding it at arm’s length in feigned disgust.

“No!” Opal cried out.

“I gotta take this to Miss Coral so she can wash it! If Opal played with this, all the other toys could be covered in cooties! Who knows, there might be more infected with cooties among us!”

Just as chaos and accusations began to erupt between the rest of her classmates, Saltwater Taffy swam off to play with the doll by herself. She didn’t care to clean up the mess she made. She got her prize and that was all she cared about.