"Amy!  AmyAmyAmyAmyAmyAmyAmy!"

The purple unicorn in question scanned the area for the source of her name.  She gazed like a burrowing owl at the marketplace, looking for the pony calling her.  When nopony was found, she simply shrugged it off and continued her business.  As soon as her head locked in the forward position, large sapphire eyes blotted her vision.  She took a step back to find a jittery, smiling, bouncy Minuette in front of her.

"Amy!"  She yelled out again as if Amethyst wasn't there.

"Yes yes what is it, Colgate?"  Amethyst asked, slightly recovering from a heart attack.

The indigo unicorn bounced up and down with every word, "Guess what guess what guess what guess what!"

"What?  What happened?"  Amethyst didn't know if she should be excited or scared.

Minuette took a deep breath before emptying out a large paragraph, "So I was at the flea market today and I was looking for some cool stuff for all my friends!  I found some really cool knick knacks for Lemon's antique collection and found a new lyre for Lyra and found a really really pretty dress that I know you will love!  Anyway!  So when I was looking through some old dusty knick knacks, I saw this brown coated stallion and guess what?  He had the same cutie mark as me!  I was like 'woa that's so cool!' So I went up and said hi and he said hi and we started talking and his name is Doctor Whooves and he's super cool and funny!"

Amethyst blinked, did she even take a breath?  She quickly dismissed the thought.  The main thing was that it seems as if Minuette has found an interesting stallion.  Amethyst smiled.  "Oh my, that's fantastic!  Tell me more about this 'Mr. Whooves'  Is he cute?"  Amethyst fluttered her eyelashes.

Minuette looked at her with confusion for a quick second, then it made sense a few seconds later.  "Oh no no no!  Silly Amethyst!  He's 23 years older then me and he's married and he has a daughter."

"Oh, what a shame."  Amethyst muttered under her breath, "Anyway, so what was so significant about him?"

"Oh yea!  I almost forgot!  So Doctor W was at the flea market cause he was looking for a anniversary gift for his wife, Ditzy when I ran into him.  After talking a little, he said that he was gonna go out for dinner on his anniversary and needed a foalsitter for his daughter and I was like 'Pick me! Pick me!' So I'm gonna be a foalsitter tonight!  Eeeeee!"

Amethyst Star chuckled.  No matter what kind of mood you're in or how bad your day has been, Minuette was always there to make you laugh.  Although Amethyst wasn't having a bad day, it was still nice for Minuette to brighten it up just a little bit more.  "That sounds wonderful!"  She gasped. "Would you like some advice?  I'm great with foals!"

Minuette also gasped as her eyes grew wide, "Yes!  Yesyesyesyesyes!"

"Ok ok," Amethyst said, trying to calm herself down, "From my experience, what you want to do is always keep the foal occupied.  If not, they will get bored very easily.  Another thing, if you want them to like you, try to spoil them a bit, but not too much.  Ya know, let them watch a movie or play a game that their parents won't allow them to.  Or give them some extra sweets or something."  She nudged Minuette's shoulder.

"Ohhh, I see what you mean."  She winked.  "Anything else?"

Amethyst brought her hoof to her chin, "How old is she?"

"Nine."

"Oh good!  She's young and full of energy.  Have fun with her a little bit, like..play dress up or something with her."

Minuette started bouncing in place from excitement.  "That sounds like so much fun!  I can't wait!"  Without another word, Minuette zipped off in a blue blur towards who knows where.  Amethyst chuckled.  Sometimes Minuette can be a hooffull.  That energetic indigo pony seems to never run out of energy.  Minuette kind of reminded her of that pink pony that hosted the party before the Summer Sun Celebration.  She, too, was crazy and full of energy.  Perhaps the two could be good friends.

(\/);,;(\/)

Good good.  You are starting to act like your normal self again.  Our friends are starting to believe that there is nothing wrong.

Minuette allowed her head to drop.  That voice in the back of her head was actually making her worry about her mental health.  How many times have you heard of a pony who didn't go insane from hearing some kind of voice in their heads?  The indigo pony was having thoughts about seeing a psychiatrist before this gets out of hoof.

Ha ha!  No no Minuette, you are not going insane.  Everypony has a conscience, I'm just...stronger than most...

For a brief period, she completely forgot that her conscience can read her mind.  Considering it was her mind.  Can there ever be a point where Minuette can think without her conscience listening?  Was that even possible?  Can it even hear her right now?

Yes...

Minuette huffed, Can you leave me alone?  I don't feel comfortable thinking I'm insane.

For the last time, you're not insane.  Besides, don't you want help with your little...situation with a certain gray mare?

Minuette felt her face flush, I..yes..

Exactly.  To do so, you must--wait where are we going?

The not-insane indigo pony stopped before a small house on the western part of Ponyville.  It was two story, with a balcony and a red roof.  This is the place where I'm foalsitting, remember?

Wait, you were serious about that?

Yea!  It sounds like fun!

Listen, I'm here to help you with your Moondancer problem.  I don't need--oh never mind.  If only I can control your movements...

Minuette ignored her conscience and proceeded to the door.  At the porch, she stopped to gather her thoughts before knocking.  Remembering everything Amethyst told her, she took a deep breath, smiled, and gently knocked on the door.  A second or so later, a brown earth pony with a hourglass cutie mark answered.  He wore a red tie with a collar.  

He smiled when he saw Minuette, "Minuette!  You're early!"  He checked his watch, "Fourteen minutes and twenty seven seconds to be precise."  Doctor Whooves always had a knack for time.  Even though his cutie mark is the same as Minuette's, they both share different special talents.  Minuette builds and repairs clocks and watches, while Doctor always somehow knows what time it is, and he can estimate precisely the time it would take to do anything.  He works at City Hall for Ponyville.  He's the time keeper when it comes to almost everything.  He marks the dates of events that take place, city repairs, or something else, and estimates the times when it would best fit.  "Just enough time for me and Ditzy to give you some instructions for Dinky.  Come in, please."  The stallion stood aside to allow her entry.

"Sounds great!"  Minuette exclaimed.  She entered the home.  Inside, the first thing she noticed was a large grandfather clock in the living room, along with a rug in front of a sofa and recliner chair.  The kitchen was to the left of the living room, and a set of stairs was directly placed by the front door.  Doctor's wife, Ditzy Doo, a grey pegasus with a blonde mane, had just came downstairs wearing a simple dress.

She smiled at Minuette, and looked at her with crossed eyes, but blinked to quickly fix them.  "Oh you must be Minuette!  My husband's been talking about you since he came home!  So you'll be foalsitting our little Dinky?"  She asked in a motherly tone.

Minuette nodded, "Yes ma'm!"

Ditzy smiled and led Minuette to the other room.  There, a small foal shaped object sat on the couch while enjoying a television show.  She was a faded purple unicorn filly with a blonde mane.  "There's a couple things you should know about Dinky before we leave."  Ditzy said.  "We don't really have much rules for her, she's always just a sweet little muffin, but there's just one or two things I have to point out.  It's Friday so have her in bed before midnight.  She's already had dinner and a bath, so all you need to do really is just have fun!  Oh and one more thing, she's allergic to peanuts, so don't feed her any of the nutty snacks in the pantry."

"Mooooooooooom."  The filly said, looking away from the TV at her, "I'm not a dog, I'm not going to purposely eat them..." She started to mumble.

Ditzy giggled and kissed Dinky on the base of her horn, "Of course, muffin, I know you're a smart little filly."  She turned to Minuette, "Well, that's about it.  If you need to call us the phone is in the kitchen and our number is on a paper next to it.  Have fun you two!"  With that said, Ditzy and Doctor headed for the front door.  They were about to leave when Doctor stopped her and looked at his watch.

"Wait for it..."  He said.

A few seconds have past.

"Ok if we leave in the next nine seconds, which is about enough time for me to explain why I stopped, we will be exactly five minutes and twelve seconds early for our reservation.  Let's go!"  With that, the two left.

Minuette turned back to the filly watching television.  She mentally ran through everything Amethyst had told her about foalsitting, then trotted over to Dinky and sat next to her.

"Hey!"  Minuette said cheerfully.

"Hey."  Dinky replied, less cheerfully.  A small silence passed.

"Soooo."  Minuette said, trying to strike a conversation.  "Watcha watching?"

"A movie."

Minuette furrowed her brow, apparently this filly isn't the talkative type.  She tried a different approach.  "Wanna play a game?  Liiiiiike, hide and seak?"

"Nah."

This is going nowhere.  Minuette bit her hoof, quickly trying to think of something else to do.  She tried to remember what Amethyst had told her, but nothing that she said seemed to be helping.  Hide and seek was out of the question, this filly doesn't seem to want to play childish games so dress up is also eliminated.  

Seeing how tensed the indigo pony was, Dinky mentally sighed and figured they'd do something together.  Lest she be annoying her all night trying to do something.  "I got video games,"  Dinky said, "We could play one of those."

Minuette gasped and smiled brightly, "I love video games!  What kind do you have?!"

Dinky got up from her spot on the rug and trotted to the television stand.  She pulled open a drawer and pulled out a small game console, some controllers, and a stack of DVD cases.  She sprawled the cases on the floor in front of Minuette, showing their titles to her.  A few of them were racing games, most of them were rated E.  Then there was this one that caught her eye.  She picked up the case in her magic and examined it further.

"Haylo: Reach."  She knew of this game, it was a violent, ruthless, and thrilling first person shooter.  Although she's never played the game before, she has heard the colts at school talk about it a lot.

"Oh that one."  Dinky said, "My mom says I'm not allowed to play that one because it's too violent.  My brother used to play it a lot before he went to join the army."

"Hmmm."  A light bulb appeared above her head as an idea came to mind.  The conversation she had with Amethyst earlier popped into her head.  Another thing, if you want them to like you, try to spoil them a bit, but not too much.  Ya know, let them watch a movie or play a game that their parents won't allow them to.  Perfect.

Minuette smiled, "Tell ya what."  She leaned in close to whisper to her, "I'll let you play the game with me, just don't tell your mom."  She winked.

Dinky smiled, "Really?!  Awesome!"  She then began to set up the game by placing the DVD inside the console, turning it on, and handing a second controller to Minuette.  After a few brief instructions on how to play the game, the two faced each other in a match one on one.

About ten minutes into the game, Minuette has been killed nearly seventeen times, and Dinky still stands with zero deaths.  After a lucky shot with a sniper rifle, Minuette started to get cocky.  It didn't take her long to adapt to the concept and strategies.  Fifteen minutes into the game, Minuette had a bazooka and started camping in a corner of a room.  After much 'gamer talk', as Dinky liked to call it, Minuette eventually learned that camping was for 'noobs' and soon left her position, not wanting to agitate the filly.  All in all, the two laughed the whole way through the game.  Minuette mentally sighed, this foalsitting thing wasn't so hard!  

Their gaming ended after about an hour of ruthlessly killing themselves.  Dinky placed the console back into the drawer of the television stand, along with the DVD cases and controllers.  Minuette leaned back on the couch with a smug smile, amused by how she was able to have some fun with Dinky.  The only problem is, can she keep the fun going on the rest of night?

"So watcha wanna do next, Dinky?  Hey where'd you go?"  Minuette scanned the living room that showed no signs of a blonde maned filly.  Minuette started to worry a bit.  Did Dinky ditch her?  Did she run away in anger or rage from their recently played video game?  She started to panic, was she a bad foalsitter?  No.  Minuette was more positive then that.  Dinky probably left to get a drink or something.

Her ear twitched as she heard a muffled sound coming from behind.  Her head swiveled around at the source of the voice.  It came clearer as she entered another room.  The muffled sound almost sounded like giggling now.  Putting all the pieces together, she smiled devilishly and decided to play along.

In a mock tone, she started calling out for Dinky, "I wonder where Dinky is?  Gee, I sure hope I can find her."  Without warning, she ignited her horn and pulled open the door of a cabinet under the sink, revealing a faded purple pony shaped object.  And so started their game of hide and seek.  Minuette quietly cheered the entire time.  All she had to do was get Dinky interested, and show her that Minuette was a fun pony, and she was all for any game now.  The game lasted for about an hour and a half.  It took excruciatingly long for Dinky to find Minuette when she remembered an invisibility spell and decided to have some fun.

When the game was done, the two were exhausted and just decided to relax on the couch.  Minuette levitated two glasses of water for her and the exhausted filly.  All the while, Dinky stared at the magical arcane aura enveloping the glasses.  She furrowed her brow and lowered her head.

"Hey, Minuette?"  Dinky asked.

Minuette giggled, "I told you, silly filly, you can call me Colgate, everypony does!"

"Alright then, Colgate, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead!"  She replied cheerfully.

The blue aura dissipated from the two water glasses, but the question Dinky had still remained.  "When did you learn to use magic?"  The filly looked at the older mare expectantly.

Minuette smiled, "Well lets see,"  She put her hoof to her chin in thought, remembering the times when she was a filly.  Remembering when she levitated her first object, and the looks on her parents faces.  "I was about seven years old when I first levitated something.  I think it was a ball.  It was one of the happiest moments in my life.  Well, every moment is a happy moment for me!  My parents were so proud of me, a few months later I got accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns!"

Dinky looked at the floor, sighing.  "Seven huh?  I'm almost ten and I can't do more than make a spark.  It's also hard when both your parents aren't unicorns, so really I have no one to teach me.  Oh well."  Dinky laid on her back on the couch and stared at the ceiling.  

Her vision was soon obscured by ocean blue eyes.  Two indigo hooves scooped her up into a light embrace.  "Hey don't say things like that!  You sound like my friend Lemon, and she's a complete down downer.  Don't worry, soon the spark will come to you, and before you know it, you'll be able to teleport!"

Minuette broke the embrace and set Dinky down.  The filly seemed unmoved by her speech.  "Teleport?  Doubt it.  That spell is way too hard, and the only pony I know who can teleport is that new librarian.  What's her name...Twilight Twinkle?"

"Twilight Sparkle."  She corrected, "Yes, she is a pretty talented unicorn, but any unicorn can learn any spell!  Look at me!  I turned invisible!  My friend Twinkleshine teleported to here from Canterlot!"

"Woa woa wait!"  Dinky said, completely taken aback.  "Teleported from Canterlot?  How is that possible!  Starswirl the Bearded couldn't even do that alone!"  Dinky exclaimed, remembering the archmage from her history class.

"Well yea.  She used a thing called a 'rune' that's supposed to make spells a lot stronger!"

Dinky shrugged, "I guess that makes sense."

Suddenly, Minuette gasped and once again squeezed the younger unicorn in a bone crushing hug.  "I just had the bestest most amazing idea ever!  I could teach you how to do magic!  Oh it'll be so fun!  I can tell you about ley lines, and about magical atonement, and, don't tell your mother about this, I can teach you how to shoot lazers!"  Minuette stared at Dinky with saucer sized eyes and a mile long smile.

Dinky's eyes also went wide at her proposal, "Really?  You could teach me how to do magic?"

"Absolutely!  It's going to be so fun!"  All the excitement has finally gotten to Minuette, and she slumped down on the couch, ready for some sleep.  She yawned to show her exhaustion, and laid back on the couch.  Dinky, too, yawned and made for her bed, but found it easier to not climb up those dreaded stairs.  Instead, she just laid on the couch next to Minuette.  The indigo pony curled up.  Her entire body made a perfect circle with a hole in the middle.  She held Dinky in the middle of her like a mother dog protecting her puppy.  Dinky rested her head above Minuette's stomach, and almost instantly drifted to sleep.

(\/);,;(\/)

Ditzy 'Derpy' Whooves and her husband, Doctor Whooves, came through the door of their house after a long evening celebrating their anniversary.  It was almost one AM, and expected their daughter, Dinky, to be asleep already with Minuette awaiting their arrival.  However, what they found was completely different, and heart warming.  

The indigo pony was curled up like a doughnut, sound asleep with an equally sound asleep filly curled up inside the perimeter she made with her body.  The married couple smiled upon seeing it.  Their daughter had certainly made a new friend.  Ditzy quietly went over and kissed her daughter on the base of her horn, while Doctor pulled a blanket over the two before returning to bed himself.

Next Chapter: Lemon Hearts - When Life Gives You Lemons...You Say 'Screw You Life, I Don't Want Your Damn Lemons!' Estimated time remaining: 9 Minutes