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Just a short few yards back, a navy colored foal with pale hair stopped to observe the young unicorn's practiced attempts at lifting. It was rather fascinating for the earth pony, not having any magic of her own nor the gift of flight, to watch such actions and there was a distinct air of jealousy. Especially for unicorns, who seemed so refined and special.

Her orange eyes were wide, mouth agape in awe as two rocks and a boot hovered off the ground with what seemed like practiced ease... until the spectral unicorn fumbled.

SPLOOSH!

At first, Mandrake Blossom let out a horrified gasp, but as End of an Era rose from the mucky lake, all that followed was shrill laughter. She could barely stand, her legs feeling wobbly with the force of the humor that struck her so suddenly, tears forming in her eyes. With a dull thump, Mandrake was on her side, small legs kicking as she giggled uncontrollably.

"L-LOOK AT YOUR FACE, HAHAHAHA!" Her volume couldn't be contained, voice rising to a horrid shriek as she attempted to speak through her laughter.

Rolling. She was literally rolling with the force of her laughter. The small filly sidled back and forth on the ground, legs kicking in the air. She, too, was nearly crying, but for a completely different reason than the poor unicorn. Mandrake heard the motion of the water as End of an Era exited the pond, her shrill laughter not quieting or ceasing except for a few seconds at a time where she would have to gasp for breath and it would start again. Her wailing laughter no doubt carried far, but a firm shriek from the unicorn and a mud covered jab at her chest finally turned her laughter into muted snickers as she tried to keep her mouth shut and stare at the filthy filly towering above her.

"A-a-and what do you find so funny?"

If it hadn't been for the clearly angry look and lack of any laughter in her voice, Mandrake might have taken her comment sarcastically. Instead, her brows upturned to worry but her smirk couldn't be quelled just yet and occasionally a snerk wormed its way out of her throat as she looked the poor girl over. "I-... snrk ...erm... Y-you!" she finally managed to blurt it out, bringing her hooves up to cover her face before she started on another torrent of laughter.

She didn't care about the mud on her fur now, and if she were in Ender's position she wouldn't have cared about the mud all over her. Maybe the lily pad was not as welcomed. Rolling quickly to her feet, Mandrake grabbed the edge of the plant with her teeth and tossed it like a frizbee behind her. "Haha, ohhh..." she sighed, finally coming down from the fit, "You're not hurt, right?" Orange eyes roamed over Ender's form but all she could see was mud and some of the palest fur she had ever been privy too. It looked awesome. "I didn't think so when you popped back up! ...And... and the lily pad... snrk!!" If she wasn't careful she would fall right back into another laughing fit.

"Well that's good, at least!"

The ghostly filly certainly didn't look hurt and that was the whole reason Mandrake allowed herself to laugh in the first place. She looked so utterly ridiculous, but if the poor phony had been hurt she would've been moping and guilting herself all through the rest of the day. This, however, wasn't quite the reaction the navy blue filly had been expecting and she held her breath momentarily to keep from falling into a fit of giggling confusion.

"I'm not funny... I can't be funny! Phonies like me can't be funny!"

...Seriously?

And then she dropped on her rump on the grass, trying to get the mud off herself. Mandrake barely even remembered having mud in her own fur, not caring to wipe it off in the mean time. Flicking an ear curiously, she clopped over to the edge of the pond with Ender, keeping just a few paces back.

"Yeah." she answered simply at first, "It made you look really goofy! And then when your face was all mushy-muddy." Mandrake plopped down on her own rump, raising her front hooves to her cheeks and smushing them all around, making funny faces.

It was weird trying to explain the mechanics of humor to somepony when she had never had to do that before. Considering her squeak before, was it possible this filly was... mad at her for having laughed?

Mandrake quirked a brow at the spectral filly before her. How did anyone her age not know that goofy was good? Then again, the way she spoke and carried herself was far from how she'd seen any colt or foal act or speak. She was an interesting sort all right; weird but interesting, for sure.

Her mimicry of Mandrake's silly face illicited a laugh from her and the Sleepy Pickle perked up again, grinning hard. It seemed like she was getting the hang of it!

"Yeah?" she drawled in response to the other filly's request, trotting over with a quick, "You can call me Mandrake, y'know. So whattaya need me to see?" Her orange eyes lit up excitedly, gleaming with expectancy for the oncoming humor. She literally had no idea what Ender had in mind, having been lost in thought while she set up the act. Mandrake wasn't the smartest Pickle in the pile, but she also wasn't the dullest and she kept a wry grin on her face while she tried to read Ender's own expression.

Before Mandrake had time to blink, there was suddenly something cold, wet and gooey slapped down against her mane and face, and she felt the sludgey trickle of mud down between her eyes and across her snout. For a brief moment, she looked positively aghast -- horrified, even -- and stared at Ender with a wide eyed gaze, her tiny mouth drooped open in stunned silence.

Slowly, as mud dripped off her nose and the sides of her face, she turned to look at her reflection in the murky pool beside her. She could barely recognize herself with the stupid lilypad hat and blotchy brown face! The unicorn's giggle was met with a continued silence for a few seconds more before Mandrake dug the tips of her hooves into the soft, damp dirt lining the pond and violently shook off the lilypad as well as the mud, spraying dirt gunk every which way. As she did so, a small sound welled up until it increased in volume and became shrill, nearly ear piercing, and as if her throat had been hooked up to an amplifier.

"....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--" it sounded like something between rage and sorrow... at least until Mandrake reared up her front legs and fell backwards hard, kicking her legs in the air once again, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA YOU-- HAHAHAAHAHAHA YOU GOT ME!"

Lilypad hats were the silliest.

Oh man. Mandrake loved a good, long laugh. It felt good on her lungs, made her throat satisfyingly sore and in general she just felt better no matter what kind of day she had been having. Laughter was great! Of course, laughter couldn't go on forever, and it slowed down to quiet giggles and deep seated grins that refused to leave.

Getting back on her hooves, Mandrake Blossom scrunched up her face as Ender wiped some mud off her snout with a gentle hoof and the filly eagerly chuckled again, grinning wide. The thanks, however, was unexpected and she let her ears twitch curiously as she listened to the unicorn's explanation.

So she had done a good thing today? Just from laughing and taking a joke?

"Awesome," she blurted first, more to herself than in response to Ender, "You're welcome! I'm, uh... glad I could help too! I didn't know being able to take a joke and laugh at yourself was kind, but I'm glad I do now! So thank you too!" Mandrake practically shrieked at the positive feels coursing through her now. Ender was able to find some good ol' humor, Mandrake had a good time of laughs and she was able to be nice enough to someone that it made them happy.

All in all, today was a pretty good day!