> Early in the Horn: A Ponies Protecting Ponies Tale
>  by Venates
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Early in the Horn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Hey, kid."
Amethyst Star was one of Equestria's finest secret agents. At least, she was pretty good for someone who only just got out of training.
"Star."
Her assignment was pretty unique too: watching Princess Celestia's student, a mare named Twilight Sparkle. This was supposed to be easy, but the unicorn got herself into a rather interesting situation during yesterday's Summer Sun Celebration. It made for a very long night, both literally and metaphorically.
"Star, wake up!"
And Amethyst was very, very tired.
"STAR!"
Luke warm water flooded Amethyst's sinuses and brought her back from the slumber abyss.
"Whuzzuh?!" Amethyst half-yelled as though it were an actual word. "Sparkle tree book!"
She looked up at her aqua attacker. A mint-green unicorn stood above her with a slight scowl on her face, and an empty glass in her hoof. Lyra Heartstrings, Amethyst's trainer-turned-partner, looked out across the way to a library housed inside a giant oak tree. A few lights flickered from its windows.
"Yeah, I can see that," said Lyra as though Amethyst's words made much sense. "Come on..."
Lyra helped Amethyst off her small diner seat and onto her hooves. A waitress was sweeping nearby, but considering it was an outdoors diner, there didn't seem to be much point.
Amethyst yawned. "I was just–"
"I know," answered Lyra. She gave Amethyst one last hefty shrug and let the pink unicorn stand on her own weight. "I'm here to relieve you. I think you're the only one who hasn't gotten a wink since we got here."
Amethyst yawned again. "Sparkle..."
"Is fine," Lyra finished. A piece of paper floated into Amethyst's face. As she took it, Lyra explained, "Here, these are directions to Doo's house. We decided that you'll stay with her until we can get things a bit more sorted out. No one expected us to stay longer than last night, after all."
Derpy Doo was the only pegasus agent in Ponyville. Amethyst only had one real conversation with her so far, but she seemed nice enough. Surely there were far worse roommates Amethyst could have landed with.
"Mm. Doo-mate..." Amethyst's eyes drifted shut, then shot open again as she stopped herself from falling.
"Seriously, Star, go," said Lyra. She gave a hurried wave. "Before somepony picks you up out of the street."
Amethyst nodded in a haze. She clumsily made her way in the direction Lyra waved at as Lyra shook her head and asked the waitress for a menu.



How Amethyst managed to navigate through a still mostly unfamiliar town, she would never know.
Not long after Lyra sent her away from the cafe, Amethyst found herself slumped in Derpy's doorframe. She struggled to lift a hoof, then gave the door a few taps. She waited longer than her eyelids would allow; they closed shut while she was still leaning. Before long that lean turned into a fall, jolting Amethyst awake, just in time to catch herself before hitting the ground. Door still closed, she gave it a few more taps, praying that someone on the other side could show her a place to fall asleep safely.
A few clicks preceded the door's opening. There stood a familiar grey pegasus with only one of her two golden eyes open. Amethyst bemusingly wondered if Derpy's eyes were misaligned, even when closed.
"Amethyst?" asked Derpy with a yawn. "I was wondering if you got the memo. I was expecting you earlier than this..."
Amethyst opened her mouth to speak, but only every few words managed to escape. "You... large... but..."
"Look, you're tired," Derpy said. She stepped out of the way to show Amethyst inside. The pink unicorn took a few steps forward before stumbling a bit and opting to lean on a wall.
"Wow, you're worse than I thought," stated Derpy. She took one of Amethyst's forelegs and gingerly led her toward another room. "Come on, I've already got the guest room set up for you."
Amethyst stepped through another doorframe and took no notice of anything in the room other than the bed. It was both the first and last thing she saw until a blissful dark.



Amethyst couldn't remember feeling so good in her entire life. The whole world was a comfort to her. She could have opened her eyes, but why spoil the moment? Maybe if she laid there for just a bit longer, she could go back to whatever nonsensical dream kept her occupied throughout the night.
Although... Something didn't feel normal. Sure, she just woke up, but... Wait, whose bed was this? And who was breathing right next to her?
Still groggy, Amethyst lethargically opened her eyes. Two perfectly-aligned golden irises stared back at her.
"Are you my sister?"
Amethyst blinked, confused by the question. The head that the eyes were attached to slowly swam into view, as did the rest of a tiny body and the room around them. The voice that addressed Amethyst came from a unicorn filly with blonde hair and a very light violet coat. She stared at Amethyst in wonder.
"Um... I'm not sure?" said Amethyst. She shifted under her bedsheets. The previous night slowly came back to her, but not quick enough to get a complete grasp on her surroundings. A voice called from another room.
"Dinky? Is she awake?"
The filly looked toward the sound of the voice, then back to Amethyst. She asked in a whisper, "Are you awake?"
Amethyst blinked again.
"You can say no, but Mama won't believe you."
"Dinky?" Derpy asked again.
Derpy... This was Derpy's home.
Wait... Derpy has a kid?
Amethyst begrudgingly raised herself to a seated position. "I'm awake, Derpy," she called out.
"Well come get something to eat then!"
"C'mon!" Dinky said to Amethyst. She hopped up onto the bed. Somehow the smallest bit of extra weight made trying to move even more difficult for Amethyst. "Up up up!" Dinky bounced on the luxurious mattress with the kind of enthusiasm only a child could have. One of her landings caught a sensitive part of Amethyst's hind leg. 
"Ow! Quit it!"
"Mama made muffins!" Dinky hopped around and threw her shoulder into Amethyst's back, though only succeeded in causing her own hooves to slip out from underneath her. Opting to try a different approach, Dinky dove underneath Amethyst's bedsheets.
"Cut it out!"
"But it's time for breakfast!" insisted Dinky. She prodded Amethyst again, but the energy behind her pokes, prods, and shoves waned. Amethyst heard a tiny yawn behind her. She stretched her neck around to see the filly now dozing beside her. No longer being attacked, Amethyst stretched and laid back down herself. She had no idea how long the two of them were there before a sudden gust took the sheets from on top of them and sent shivers down Amethyst's spine.
"Gah!"
"I said up!" scolded Derpy. She stood at the bedroom's entrance with her wings facing the pair of unicorns, then folded them to her side. "You're going to let your food get cold."
Dinky gave another tiny yawn and hopped out of the bed. Derpy turned and left, and Dinky toddled after her. Grumbling, Amethyst flopped out of the bed and onto four unsteady hooves. She looked at the discarded bedsheets, considered them for a moment, then shook her head and followed the mother/daughter pair out of the bedroom.
Amethyst followed them through a hallway and into a larger area, one with both a kitchen and a living room. The home gave a feeling of love, despite being sparely furnished by many pictures or trinkets.
The smell of baked goods led Amethyst right to a countertop in the kitchen. Derpy smiled as her hungry guest sat down with anticipation.
"I don't want to brag too much," Derpy began as she turned her oven off, "but I do pride myself in my baking."
"Mama makes the best muffins!" Dinky exclaimed from underneath Amethyst's seat. Derpy picked her up and placed her onto a stool next to Amethyst.
"I make okay muffins." Derpy chuckled and circled back around the countertop.
"Best muffins!" Dinky countered with an adorable stamp on the counter.
Derpy chuckled again and gave her giggling daughter a peck on the cheek. She then turned to Amethyst. "Do you have any sort of preference? I made all sorts, and I never got the chance to ask you last night."
"Um..." Amethyst had trouble thinking straight, as she was still coming to terms with her current situation.
"Blueberry is the best!" Dinky offered.
Amethyst laughed. "Sure. You know what? Blueberry sounds good."
Derpy nodded and carefully removed two blue speckled muffins from a steaming tray. Amethyst took hers in a magical aura while Dinky looked onward. The filly stared at her. Then she stared at her own muffin and scrunched up her face in concentration. Her muffin suddenly decided to visit the other side of the house, and in the fastest way possible.
"Dinky!" scolded Derpy, "You know what I said about using magic!"
"Aw, but she gets to!" complained Dinky, pointing to Amethyst.  Amethyst flinched.
"Yes, but Amethyst knows how to use her magic!" Derpy said. She gave a stern point down the hall. "Now go clean up your mess! I only made two blueberry muffins, so you'll have to settle on another one for today." 
Dinky pouted and made eye contact with a kitchen wall. 
"I said go, young lady!"
Dinky gave an indignant huff before hopping off her stool. She grumbled as she walked toward the splattered remains of her favorite breakfast.
"I'm sorry, Derpy," Amethyst said, carefully floating her muffin into her hoof. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble..."
"It's fine, Amethyst, really." Derpy sighed. She wore a forlorn expression as one of her eyes kept a watchful gaze on Dinky. "She's just getting to that age where she thinks she can do more, but isn't ready to accept the consequences of her actions. It's a hard stage to get through. Or so I'm told, at least."
"Wish I had some advice to offer," Amethyst said, "but I really don't know a whole lot about raising a foal." She bit into her muffin and her whole face lit up. 
Derpy took notice and smiled. "Told you I was proud of my baking," she said.
"Derpy, seriously, this is great!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Seriously, what do you put in this?"
"A mother's secret," Derpy said with a wink.
Amethyst leaned over the counter imploringly. "No, seriously, you've gotta tell me. Unless you're just going to say 'with love' or something."
Derpy chuckled. "It 'seriously' is just a whole lot of love." She then sighed again and peered at her daughter over Amethyst's shoulder. Amethyst looked back at the filly for a brief moment as well.
"The first thing she asked me this morning was if I was her sister," Amethyst said as she took another bite.
Derpy gave an amused frown. "I'm not sure what gave her that idea. I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable in any way."
Amethyst waved a hoof. "Nah, it's fine. I was kind of the same with my cousins when I was her age."
Derpy leaned onto the counter, her frame limp. "You know, she's never just taken to another pony like this before," she said. "She's usually really shy around strangers."
"Well, if she thinks I'm her sister," Amethyst said with a smirk, "then that makes me more family than a stranger, right?"
Derpy gave a tired grin. "I just hope it means she opening up more. It's been a while since I've seen her as happy as she was this morning." Her grin turned into a frown. "You know, until I had to be Mom and scold her the way I did."
"Well, moms need to be tough," Amethyst told her. She lifted another muffin out of the tray with her magic before quickly catching it in a hoof. "Sorry... No magic, right?" Derpy gave an absent-minded wave. "Anyway, if you want to raise her right, you do need to be firm with her. Although I know I just said that I'm no authority on the matter."
"No, it's fine," Derpy told her. She removed a slightly more yellow muffin from the tray and took a bite herself. "You actually reminded me of something Lyra said the other day."
"Lyra?" Amethyst asked, raising an eyebrow. "Was she a parent at some point?"
"No," Derpy said, shaking her head. She then shook it again. "I don't think so, anyway. Look, don't tell her I said anything, okay? She didn't act like she wanted to talk about it too much."
Amethyst stared for a moment, then shrugged. "If you think that's best."
Derpy nodded. Amethyst hesitantly took another muffin. Derpy didn't seem to notice. For a pony who can control her two eyes independently, Amethyst thought, she sure has a hard time removing either from her daughter.
"Well, I better get moving," Derpy suddenly said. She pointed at the communications device hidden in her ear. "Bon Bon says somepony needs to relieve Carrot Top from Sparkle detail."
"Oh! Oh. Right." Somehow Amethyst had forgotten that she had a job, let alone the fact that she and Derpy were coworkers.
Derpy grabbed a clean towel and covered what was left of the muffins. "Feel free to have any throughout the day," she told Amethyst. "There's more food in the fridge if you need something more nutritious. Help yourself."
"Wait," Amethyst said, stopping Derpy, "You mean I'm supposed to stay here? Bon Bon doesn't need me at base or anything?"
Derpy blushed. "Actually, I was kind of hoping you would stay." One of her eyes looked to Amethyst sheepishly. "It's Saturday, and... well... I couldn't find anypony to watch Dinky during my shift."
Amethyst blinked. "You mean you want me to... foalsit?"
Derpy gave an embarrassed smile.
"Even though I just told you that I don't know anything about kids?"
Derpy circled the ground with her hoof.
"I..." Amethyst swallowed and sighed. "Yeah, I can take care of Dinky for a few hours. When is your shift over?"
"I'll... I don't know," Derpy admitted. "I'll let you know any updates on the comms. And I'll tell Bon Bon what's going on."
"Um... Yeah, okay, that works," Amethyst said.
Derpy nodded and turned toward the door. Then she spun and pulled Amethyst into a deep hug.
"Thank you so much for this, Amethyst," she whispered in the unicorn's ear. "I know it's sudden, especially since we just met, but–"
"Derpy, it's fine, really," Amethyst said as she gently pulled the pegasus from her. "I mean, yeah, a little warning next time would be nice, but what are friends for?"
A sad smile crept up on Derpy's face as she visibly held back another hug. "Dinky?" she called out, "Mama's leaving for work!"
The tiny filly ran up behind Amethyst and clutched her mother closely. "I'm sorry for making a mess, Mama," she said. "I promise I'm not mad at you, okay?"
Derpy gave her daughter a close hug in return. "Thank you, Dinky. I love you."
"I love you too, Mama!"
Derpy reluctantly released her daughter. Before leaving, she turned to Amethyst and whispered, "She needs to brush her teeth." With that, she left the home and closed the door behind her. Once gone, Dinky tugged lightly at Amethyst's mane.
"Want to know a secret?" the filly asked.
"Um... sure?"
Dinky wore a wide grin. "Mama said to clean the muffin up... but she didn't say I couldn't use my mouth!"
Amethyst grimaced. Step one, she thought to herself, find out how to get a foal to brush their teeth.



"No! I don't want to!"
"Dinky..."
"It's icky and boring!"
At this point Amethyst wasn't sure if it would be easier to pull teeth rather than brush them. She managed to get Dinky into the already cramped bathroom, but the filly refused to cooperate any further than that.
"Dinky," said Amethyst, "you know what happens if you don't brush your teeth, right?" 
"They rot and fall out and I don't care!" shrieked Dinky. "I don't need teeth to be happy!"
Amethyst groaned and rubbed her temples. How could Derpy possibly think that she was qualified for this? Trying to reason with a child was simply not as straight-forward as dealing with an adult. How was she supposed to connect?
An image of a high-speed muffin whizzed in front of her.
"Dinky," Amethyst began slowly, "if I teach you how to brush your teeth with magic, will you do it?"
Dinky's face came undone as a scrunched-up, frustrated expression melted into wide-eyed wonder. "You mean..." She swallowed. "Mama says no magic..."
Amethyst knelt down so that their eyes were level. "She said I can, remember? And she says that I can because I know how. "
The filly unicorn considered this for a moment. "So... if I learn how to use magic right... she can't get mad at me?"
Amethyst smiled. "Something like that." This is progress, she thought to herself. "You have to make me a promise though. Well, two promises."
"I promise!" Dinky squeaked.
Amethyst laughed. "But I didn't tell you what you're promising to yet!"
"Oh." Dinky shuffled her four hooves. "Okay."
"First," said Amethyst, raising a hoof, "magic is really hard to learn, and takes a lot of practice. So when I teach you, you have to be patient, and not get mad when something winds up being a lot harder than you want it to be. Okay?"
"Okay!" Dinky said with a little hop.
"Second," Amethyst continued, "is that if you don't get this right on the first try, you do it with your hooves. Do you think that's fair?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay." Amethyst sighed and stood herself back up. "It's also important that you don't try to practice on your own. You could break something or hurt yourself. Okay?"
Dinky rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to break anything brushing my teeth..."
"I don't know about that," Amethyst said. She pulled one of her cheeks back with a hoof. She let it go again. "When I first tried to brush my teeth with magic, I knocked out two of my baby teeth. They weren't supposed to come out yet either."
Dinky gulped and slumped away from Amethyst. 
Amethyst blinked. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Dinky didn't make eye contact when she spoke. "I don't think I want to do this anymore..."
"You're a unicorn," Amethyst stated. "You need to learn at some point." She tilted her head. "Besides, I thought you said that you don't need teeth?"
"I just don't want to brush, okay?!" yelled Dinky. She stomped into a tiny, battle-ready stance. "By hoof or with magic!"
"Now now, you said you wouldn't get angry," Amethyst chided.
"Only about learning magic!" Dinky countered.
Amethyst sighed and nodded. "Yeah... you're right..." She slumped onto the bathtub behind her and put her head into her hooves. She stayed there for a moment before a light tapping caused her to raise her head again. Dinky withdrew her hoof.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to make you sad..."
"I'm not–" Amethyst sighed again. "It's okay. Thank you, Dinky."
"Do... Do you still want to teach me how to do magic?"
Amethyst stared at her. "You're not afraid of getting hurt?"
Dinky looked at the ground. "There's this filly at school who rides a scooter a lot," she stated. "And she's really good at it too! Knows all kinds of tricks and stuff!" Dinky gave Amethyst an earnest look. "One time she brought it for show-and-tell, and she said that when she first got it that she used to fall and get hurt a lot. It didn't make her sad though. She kept trying, and now she doesn't fall as much. She's really happy with how good she is now!"
Amethyst continued to stare.
"And..." Dinky swallowed. "So... it's like that, isn't it? If I want to get good?"
Amethyst blinked. She smiled, and then she nodded. She stood herself up from the bathtub. "Are you ready to get started?" she asked.
Dinky gulped and gave a weak smile.
"Okay." Amethyst gripped Dinky's toothbrush in a magical aura and set it down on the sink in front of the filly. Dinky climbed up onto a small stool to better get a look at it. "Now," Amethyst began, "magic is a very deep connection that you have to everything that is around you. Unicorns are special in that they can use this magic to affect those things. In a way, it's kind of like having another leg. Does that make sense?"
Dinky looked at her, confused. "The toothbrush has magic too?"
"What? No, it–" Amethyst sighed. Dinky whimpered a little. When Amethyst noticed the noise, she soothed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I guess I'm not very good at explaining this."
"Oh..." Dinky looked downtrodden.
"That doesn't mean we can't learn magic still!" Amethyst added hastily. "Some ponies, like me, learn better when they have a deeper understanding of how things work. Other ponies are do-ers. That means they learn by doing something. Maybe we should try that?"
"You want me to just... do it?"
"Kind of." Amethyst stepped next to Dinky and lowered her head next to the filly's. "Now, I want you to think really hard about lifting the toothbrush, but not with magic."
Dinky blinked, then picked up her toothbrush with a hoof.
"No, that's not what–" Amethyst stopped and cleared her throat. "Sorry, let me try to explain this better."
"Maybe we should do something else," Dinky said as her ears lowered.
"No! It's okay! Really!" Amethyst gently took the toothbrush from Dinky's hoof and placed it back onto the sink. "Okay, so like I was saying, think really hard about lifting it. I want you to think about lifting it with your hoof, like you did just now, only don't move your hooves. Okay?"
Dinky gave her a confused look. "I don't get it."
"Can you try though?" Amethyst asked. "For me?"
Dinky looked at her a little while longer, then turned back to the toothbrush. She squinted her eyes in concentration. Amethyst stared at the toothbrush with anticipation. So far, it remained stationary. The filly's front legs wobbled. Sweat formed on her brow. Suddenly, the toothbrush rattled.
"There you go, Dinky!" Amethyst exclaimed. "All it takes is a little–" 
The rest of Amethyst's words were replaced by a narrow, yet surprisingly solid object.
"Gak!"
"I'm sorry!"
Amethyst whirled around as the dental tool introduced itself to her esophagus. In a panic, she tried to reach into her mouth with her hoof, only to realize that said hoof was too large to go much further than her front teeth.
"Sorry sorry sorry sorry!"
Amethyst pounded on her chest a few times while Dinky whimpered on her tiny footstool. The grown unicorn's horn lit up as her motions slowed to a stop, her head pointing straight up. Her chest tightened, and a long plastic toothbrush slowly rose up to the ceiling. Once the magic grip released the utensil and it clattered to the ground, Amethyst doubled over and desperately gulped the air that she spent her whole life taking for granted.
Dinky was bawling. "I'm so sorry!" she repeated, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't be mad!"
Amethyst coughed and spluttered. She bent herself over the bathroom's toilet while she collected herself. "I'm..." She gave a short dry heave, but retained her dignity. "I'm not mad," she managed.
"You're just saying that!" Dinky squealed through her sobs.
"No, really," Amethyst said with a particularly weak voice. She turned to the filly and smiled. "That was a very good first try," she told her.
"But... but," Dinky blubbered, "but I almost killed you!"
Amethyst gave a laugh that was more like a cough. "I told you this could be dangerous. Do you see why I said not to practice on your own?"
"But I hurt you!" said Dinky.
"Yeah, but could you imagine what would have happened if it happened to you instead?" asked Amethyst. She shakily stood herself up again. "I had to use my magic to get the toothbrush out. You wouldn't have been able to do that on your own."
Dinky whimpered. "I don't think I want to do that again..."
Amethyst took a step forward and ruffled the filly's mane. "We can be done today if you want. You still need to brush your teeth though."
Dinky shot Amethyst a look that was half indignation, half horror.
"You promised," Amethyst reminded with a smile.
Dinky's expression was now complete indignation. After a second without saying anything, it melted into resignation. She looked toward the toothbrush now laying on the bathroom floor. "Can I use a different one?" she asked Amethyst.
Amethyst chuckled. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to use that one either," she said. She looked around the cramped bathroom. "Er, do you have any spares?"
"There's some in here," Dinky said, trying to open the cupboard under the sink. When the cupboard doors collided with her stool, she gave a frustrated grunt before bouncing off the stool, moving it, and throwing the doors wide open.
"You also promised to not get mad," Amethyst said, jokingly.
"I'm not mad!" Dinky shrieked.
Amethyst reeled backward at the outcry. "Okay! You're not mad!"
Dinky removed a toothbrush from the cabinet, slammed its doors shut again, rammed her stool back in front of them, then attacked her teeth with the new toothbrush while giving her reflection the stink-eye.
All of this Amethyst observed without a word. She opened her mouth to speak more than once, but could never find what to say. When she finally did, her voice was hesitant. "Hey, Dinky..." The filly didn't respond. "Um... When you're done brushing your teeth, are there any games that you would like to play?"
"Games?" Dinky's attitude changed dramatically. She spit a frothy, toothpaste-y mess from her mouth. "Yeah! I have lots! Do you like Tails and Stables?"
"I've never played it," Amethyst admitted. "Maybe you can teach me?"
"Yeah!" Dinky hopped down from her stool. "Come on! My room is this way!"
As the filly scampered away from the bathroom, Amethyst took a moment to give a relieved sigh.
Step one complete, she told herself. Was that really so hard?