This story involves Princess Celestia and her fear of the dentist and the need for her to get a root canal.
During a trip to Ponyville and after a trip to Sugarcube Corner, Celestia suddenly gets a horrible toothache. She is very apprehensive about going to the dentist but Twilight ultimately persuades her to go. To ease Celestia's pain, Twilight suggests that the dentist write a spell to remove the pain involving root canals. The result benefits more than just Celestia.
It was another peaceful day in Equestria as Celestia rose the sun. She got ready to leave for a meeting with Twilight and her friends in Ponyville. One of her royal guards said, "Are you ready to go Princess?"
"Yes I am. I need to get to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight and her friends are waiting on me." replied Celestia
With that they took off towards Ponyville. It was a relatively short flight and the pegasus ponies had made the weather wonderful that day. They land at Sugarcube Corner and Celestia says to the royal guard, "Thanks. You have a great day."
"You as well your majesty." replied the royal guardspony.
Celestia walked into Sugarcube Corner and was greeted by the ponies. "I am so glad you could make it Princess. I hope your trip here was good." said Twilight
"I am happy to be here Twilight and the trip went good. There wasn't any wind today. Thanks for making the weather so good today Rainbow." replied Celestia
"You're welcome Princess. I wanted to make sure that your trip was perfect." said Rainbow Dash
"Alright, what are we going to have to eat today?" asked Celestia
Twilight told her that they were going to eat some sweet cookies that Pinkie had made. Twilight asked Celestia, "What did you want to see us about today Princess?"
"I just wanted to come by and say hi. This is an informal visit. I wanted to see how my number one student and her friends are doing." said Celestia
"Well Princess, we are doing pretty good right now. Big Macintosh and I have been Applebucking like we usually do this time of year." said Applejack
"Everything is going great! I get to run Sugarcube Corner alone again tomorrow since Mr. and Mrs. Cake are catering a party in Fillydelphia." said an excited Pinkie
"Things are going good so far Princess. Things have been really quiet at the library. I really wish the ponies here were more enthusiastic about reading. It seems like almost nopony here even checks out any books." said Twilight
Celestia replied, "Well hopefully they will come around. Let's eat!"
Pinkie brought out everypony's treats. Celestia loved the cookies that Pinkie had made for the get together. Suddenly Celestia shouted, "Ow, my tooth! It is hurting so bad."
Twilight asked the Princess which one it was. Celestia replied, "It is one in the upper left part of my mouth."
Rarity asked the Princess, "Would you like to go visit the dentist? She graduated with top honors from the Manehattan Dental Academy."
Celestia put her hoof over her mouth and then said, "I don't know. I am really scared of the dentist. I always have been. As a filly I had to get a filling and the shot to numb my mouth hurt really bad."
Fluttershy replied, "Well you could at least go over to her office and see if she could give you a dental exam".
"Oh, ok Fluttershy. I am only going there since you suggested it." said Celestia
Celestia and the ponies headed over to the local dentist's office. As they headed into the door Colgate said, "Hi your Majesty! What brings you here today?"
Twilight replied, "Princess Celestia has developed a bad toothache and I don't know if you would have time to take a look at it?"
Colgate looked through her schedule and replied, "I just had a last minute cancellation. I have time to give you a dental exam. Let's see what is going on."
Colgate led the princess over to the dentist's chair and started checking Celestia's teeth. Colgate used her radiation spell to see what was wrong and she said, "Oh my your Majesty. One of your teeth is in really bad shape. You are going to need a root canal."
"A root canal?" asked a terrified Celestia
"Yes, a root canal. I am going to have to get you scheduled as soon as possible. We can't risk you getting an infection. Would Wednesday the 27th at 11 in the morning work for you Princess?" asked Colgate
Celestia had a terrified look on her face and said, "I don't know. Root canals are really painful. Do you have any sort of pain killers that could stop the pain?"
"I have mouth numbing agents that will lessen the pain but there is no way to completely deaden the pain." replied Colgate
Celestia suddenly wanted to leave, but before she did she told Colgate, "I will only come if you find a way to completely deaden the pain." I experienced great pain at the dentist as a filly and I don't want to have to go through that again."
"Well, that may take quite a while and we need to get this taken care of as soon as possible. I don't want to see you get a horrible infection. That would cause pain far worse than a root canal would." replied Colgate
Colgate also asked Celestia, "Do you brush your teeth three times a day?"
Celestia replied, "I don't brush at all. I didn't know princesses had to brush their teeth."
Colgate told her that all ponies have to brush her teeth and that she really should start brushing her teeth or more of her teeth will get in this bad of shape.
Celestia told Colgate that if she could find a way to make the root canal painless, that not only would she come and get it taken care of, but that she would make it well worth her while. Celestia also told Colgate, "Ok, I will start brushing my teeth so I don't get more bad teeth."
"That is good to hear." said Colgate "I will do my best but I can't make any guarantees."
"Please try your hardest." said Celestia
With that Celestia and the mane six headed towards the door.
"You have a good day Princess and I hope to see you soon." said Colgate as Celestia walked out the door.
Twilight and Celestia headed back towards the library. "Princess, you really need to get this taken care of. My dad had to get a root canal when I was young and he felt much better after it." said Twilight
"But Twilight, I don't think you understand, I am terrified of the dentist. I told you what happened to me as a filly. Maybe you could help Colgate find a spell of some sort or maybe there is a book on pain free dentistry here in the library." replied Celestia
Twilight looked at Celestia and told her that she would talk to Colgate and see if she could do something to remove the pain. Twilight then asked, "Princess, would you want to hang around and have lunch with Spike and I?"
Celestia replied, "I am sorry Twilight but I really have to get back to Canterlot. Besides, it hurts way too much to eat right now."
"Alright Princess, I will get in touch with you later." said Twilight
After that, Celestia's royal guard took her back to Canterlot. Celestia couldn't help but think, "I know I need to get this done and I know she is one of the best dentists in Equestria but I am terrified at the thoughts of the pain."
Later that afternoon Twilight headed back to Colgate's office. Once Twilight walked in the door Colgate said, "What did the Princess say? Is she going to go ahead and get this done?"
Twilight replied, "Colgate, I know you are one of the best dentist's in Equestria but she is really terrified of the pain involved with root canals. Is there any way you could kill the pain entirely? I know this is a lot to ask but I don't want to see her lose that tooth and then go through even more pain."
Colgate looked up and then said, "Twilight, do you have any books about pain free dentistry in your library?"
"Well we can go take a look later. What time does your office close? We can go take a look then." replied Twilight.
Colgate told her that her office closes at 5 and that she would head to the library after she closes.
"That will work." said Twilight. I will see you then."
"Yeah, you will see me then." said Colgate
Wit that Twilight headed back to the library. Five o'clock rolled around and sure enough, there was Colgate knocking on her door.
"I am glad you could make it!" said Twilight
Colgate replied, "Thanks for letting me come over here Twilight. The Princess needs to get this done and I want to do anything I can to get her to get it done."
"Alright Colgate, Spike and I are headed to Sweet Apple Acres. Just make yourself at home." said Twilight
"Thanks Twilight, I really appreciate this." replied Colgate
Twilight and Spike then headed over to Sweet Apple Acres.
Colgate spent three hours going through the books about magic and dentistry in the library. Suddenly she realized something. She knows how to perform pain spells. She would just have to apply it to teeth, which is surprising since she is a dentist and has never done that before.
Twilight and Spike return home. Twilight says, "Colgate, are you still here?"
Colgate replied, "Yes and I just figured out what I can do. I will have to write a new pain killing spell that will work on teeth. It isn't going to be easy but I think I can do it."
"Good, when will you work on this spell?" asked Twilight
Colgate replied, "Since tomorrow is a Saturday, I will be able to spend the weekend working on this. I am confident I can get this done."
"Alright, good luck! I will see you soon." said Twilight
Colgate headed back home after she left the library. She ran into Dr. Whooves on the way home. He said, "Hi Colgate, what are you up to?"
Colgate replied, "Oh I am just headed home. I have to write a pain killing spell for Princess Celestia. She needs a root canal as soon as possible but she is terrified of the dentist."
"Wait a minute. You have to write a spell to make a root canal pain free for Celestia? Couldn't she just cast some sort of spell to fix her tooth or to kill the pain herself?" asked the doctor
Colgate looked at the doctor with an odd expression and said, "Alicorns are very powerful, but even they can not cast a spell to make their own pain go away. They can do that for other ponies but they can not do it for themselves."
The doctor then said, "Well couldn't another Alicorn come with her and wipe out her pain?"
Colgate replied, "No. Not only can't Alicorns ease their own physical pain, they can not ease the pain of another Alicorn. Despite all the beliefs that they are all powerful, there are some things that they simply can not do."
Doctor Whooves then said, "Colgate, you have the ability to bend time. Couldn't you just travel back in time and tell Celestia that she needs to eat better and then this situation wouldn't occur?"
Colgate glared at the doctor and said, "I could do that but then she would not learn her lesson. Just because she is a princess does not mean that she shouldn't have to pay the consequences for her own choices. This is about personal responsibility. If you and I were to start doing that, nopony would take responsibility seriously and they would think that they could just come to us to fix their problems. You can do that if you wish, but count me out!"
Colgate sighed out of frustration and then headed home, bound and determined to write a spell that would make Celestia's root canal painless. She was deep in thought when suddenly this spell came to her mind, "the root is weak, the pain makes a pony freak, many a pony are scared, but this dentist truly cared, confidence helps the dentist to see and make the patient pain free."
Colgate was thrilled when she wrote this spell and then thought to herself, "now I can go to bed. I will see if this works on my next root canal patient, which is first thing Monday morning."
Colgate arrived at her office on Monday morning hoping her spell would work. Her first patient of the day would be getting a root canal. She said to herself, "I hope this works. I don't want to have to go back to the drawing board."
Her first patient walked in the door just a few minutes later. "Lyra, how is your day treating you?" said Colgate as Lyra entered her office
Lyra replied, "It is ok but I am really nervous. I have never had a root canal before and I have heard that they are extremely painful. Is there anything you can do to lessen the pain, such as give me a shot of numbing agents?"
Colgate looked at her with a smile and said, "Well I could do that or I could use a different method."
"What kind of method?" asked Lyra
"I have been working on a spell that will make root canals pain free. I know many ponies dread them because of the pain. I have been working on this spell because Princess Celestia has to have a root canal and she is terrified of the dentist. She has an appointment next Wednesday and she said that she would only come if I had a spell ready to make it pain free." replied Colgate
Lyra looked at her with a terrified face and said, "So I am going to be your test subject to see if it works or not."
Colgate, always the brutally honest type of pony, said to her "Yes. You are going to be my test subject. If it works on you, then I will know it works and I can get Celestia in here and get it taken care of."
Lyra started to head for the door as she did not want to be Colgate's guinea pig but Colgate used her magic to stop her. She levitated Lyra into the dentist's chair and said, "Look, do you want to endure this pain forever or do you want me to take care of this so you can eventually start eating cold foods again?"
Lyra looked stunned that Colgate stopped her from leaving but then said, "Ok, I don't want to endure this pain forever."
Colgate replied, "Well that is good, let's get this started."
Lyra gulped in fear but knew this had to done.
Colgate's horn then began to glow blue as she cast the spell on Lyra, she recited ""the root is weak, the pain makes a pony freak, many a pony are scared, but this dentist truly cared, confidence helps the dentist to see and make the patient pain free."
Lyra had a stunned look on her face but did not say a word. Colgate started working on Lyra's root canal. It took her two hours as root canals are not easy, but ultimately she got it finished. Colgate then asked Lyra, "How much pain did you feel?"
Lyra replied, "I did not feel a thing and suddenly my tooth doesn't even hurt anymore! Thank you Colgate, your spell worked! Now I don't have to be scared to come see you anymore."
Colgate gave her a big smile and said, "I am so glad that it did not hurt you. For you willing to let me do this, I am not going to charge you for this visit. This one is on me."
"Really?" replied Lyra. "You are so generous. When can I eat again?"
Colgate told her that she could start eating normally again right away as the spell not only made her pain free but it also healed the area where she did the root canal as well.
"Thank you again Colgate." said Lyra "I am going to get going. You have a wonderful day."
"You too Lyra!" said Colgate
Twilight knew that Colgate would be performing a root canal this morning, so Twilight headed over to Colgate's office. When Twilight got there, she asked Colgate, "How did it go? Did Lyra feel any pain?"
Colgate replied, "No, she did not feel any pain. The spell worked even better than I could have imagined. Not only did she not feel any pain, but the tooth I worked on healed completely as soon as I finished."
"Wow!" said Twilight in an excited tone of voice. "Now I can let Celestia know this and get her here. Is that spot on the 27th still open?" asked Twilight
"Yes, I have it saved for her. Let me know if she is still interested in getting this taken care of." said Colgate
"Will do." said Twilight "I will send a letter to her as soon as I get home."
"Thanks Twilight, I hope she will still want to get this done. You have a great day." replied Colgate
When Twilight gets home she finds Spike asleep upstairs. "Spike, wake up! I need you to send a letter to the princess."
"Aaaah!" screamed Spike. "Why do you have to yell like that? You know it scares me."
Twilight tells Spike this is important. I need you to write this to the princess. "Dear Princess Celestia, Colgate has written a spell to make a root canal pain free. She cast the spell on one of her patients morning and it worked perfectly. She is hoping that you are still interested in getting your tooth taken care of. If you could get back to me that would be great. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle."
Spike opened the window and sent the letter to the princess. "Wow Spike, I am amazed that Colgate got a spell written so quickly. Not only did she make Lyra's root canal pain free, but Lyra's tooth healed entirely immediately after the procedure was done." said Twilight
Spike replied, "Wow, that is amazing. I wonder if her spell will work on dragons too in the event that I need to see....." Suddenly Spike belched and there was a letter from Princess Celestia.
The letter read, "My Faithful Student Twilight, yes I will make it there next Wednesday. If you could let Colgate know I would greatly appreciate it. Sincerely, Princess Celestia."
Twilight looked at Spike and said, "I need to get over to Colgate's office and let her know that Celestia is coming. I will be back later."
Twilight rushes over to Colgate's office before she closed for the lunch hour. She gets there just as Colgate was locking up for lunch. "Colgate, I just got in touch with the princess. She will be here next Wednesday." said Twilight
Colgate replied, "That is great to hear. I will be seeing her next Wednesday. Thanks a bunch Twilight. You have a great day."
"You have a great day too. I will see you later." said Twilight
Next Wednesday arrives and Celestia arrives at the library a couple hours early. She is greeted by Twilight. Twilight asks her, "Are you ready for this?"
Celestia replies, "Yes I am ready for this. I will admit that I am still nervous but knowing that she has a spell that works, I am not as scared as I was before."
"That is good to hear Princess. We should get going here pretty soon." said Twilight
Twilight and Celestia arrived at Colgate's office a little early. Colgate greets Celestia and says, "I am so glad you could make it your Majesty! Are you ready for this?"
"Yeah, I am ready for it. I will admit that I am still scared but I know that I am in capable hooves." replied Celestia
Colgate led Celestia to her chair and said "Let's get started."
Celestia replied, "Ok, here goes nothing."
Colgate's horn began to glow blue like it did when she did Lyra's root canal and she recited "the root is weak, the pain makes a pony freak, many a pony are scared, but this dentist truly cared, confidence helps the dentist to see and make the patient pain free."
A blue orb of light then enters Celestia's head and Colgate gets to work. Celestia sat there in the chair with a worried look on her face. A couple of hours later Colgate finishes her work. Celestia asks her, "Are we done?"
Colgate replies, "Yes your Majesty, we are done!"
"Wow, that didn't hurt a bit! Where did you find this spell?" asked Celestia
Colgate smiled at the princess and replied, "I wrote this myself. It took me a while to figure it out but after a few hours I got the wording just right."
"Thank you so much Colgate, when can I start eating normally again?" asked Celestia
"You can eat normal now if you would like. The spell also heals the tooth immediately after I am done." said Colgate
Celestia tells Colgate, "Thank you so much! It is so good to not have that toothache anymore!" Celestia then proceeds to ask Colgate, "Would you be able to meet me at the library after you close, at say around 5:30?"
"Yeah, I can do that your Majesty. I will see you then." replied Colgate
Celestia then tells Colgate that her and Twilight will see her then.
Twilight and Celestia leave the dentist's office and head back to the library. "Wow, I didn't expect her spell to work this well. I know you guys told me she graduated at the top of her class, but wow, she has to be the best dentist in Equestria." said Celestia
Twilight replied, "Yes she is a great dentist and when word of her spell gets out, she will probably have patients from all over Equestria coming to see her."
Celestia looked deep in thought and suddenly realized something and said to Twilight, "She wrote her own magic. You know what that means Twilight. It means that she can become an Alicorn princess. I will need to tell her this when she comes over here after she closes for the day."
Twilight replies, "I'm not sure if she is exactly going to want to do that. She loves being a dentist more than anything. Would she still be able to be a dentist if she becomes a princess?"
"No, she wouldn't be able to. She would have royal duties like Cadence, Luna and myself do. I guess she will have a lot of pros and cons to weigh in making her decision." said Celestia
It was a few minutes before 5:30 when Colgate arrived at the library. She knocks on the door and Twilight answers it and says to Colgate, "Celestia and I are so happy you could make it."
Colgate replies, "I am not the type that likes being late, that is why I got here a few minutes early."
Colgate walks into the library to find that Princess Celestia is there. She says, "Hi your Majesty. What did you want to talk to me about?"
Celestia replies "Colgate, what you did has rarely been done. You wrote your own magic. That is an amazing accomplishment. Do you know what your writing your own magic means?"
Colgate looked a bit puzzled but replied, "Does it mean that you will be a regular patient of mine?"
Celestia replied, "No, it does not mean that. It means something much bigger and more meaningful."
Colgate then said, "But what could be more meaningful than you being a regular patient of mine?"
Celestia replies, "It means that you can become an Alicorn princess and it means that you can become royalty. This is a special honor for anypony. What would you think of becoming an Alicorn? You would become immortal as well, you would never die."
Colgate asks Celestia, "Would I still be able to be a dentist? I love being a dentist because I get to help everypony have better oral health like I did with you and Lyra."
Celestia replies, "No, you would not be able to be a dentist anymore. You would have royal duties and Alicorns do not hold ordinary jobs. What do you think? Do you want to be an Alicorn princess?"
Colgate stood in front of Celestia and Twilight for a minute thinking, and then replied, "I want to thank you for this offer your Majesty, but I do not want to leave my job as being a dentist. It is something that I am truly passionate about. When I see a pony feeling better after I work on their teeth I feel like I have truly accomplished something. I feel as though I have improved the life of that pony, which makes me feel good inside. I also do not like the idea of immortality. I do not want to watch my friends die in front of me forever. So I must respectfully decline your offer."
Celestia said, "That is what Twilight thought you would say. I have gained a great deal of respect for you Colgate. So many ponies would say that they would want to be transformed in a heart beat but you put the needs of others first and you follow your heart. You are a real inspiration Colgate. You make me proud."
"Thank you your Majesty, there is one other thing that I want to discuss with you." said Colgate
"What is that?" replied Celestia
"We need to schedule a six month check up. The Equestrian Dental Association states that everypony should get their teeth cleaned and checked every six months. Would October 27th at 10 in the morning work ok for you?" asked Colgate
"Oh Colgate!" said Celestia, "Of course it will work! I do hope that we can meet before then!"
"Of course we can!" said Colgate
Celestia then said that she must return to Canterlot. Her royal guards arrive and fly her home.
"Colgate, I had a feeling that you would choose being a dentist over being a princess." said Twilight
Colgate replied, "Twilight, you know me very well. I would rather follow my heart and do what I love than be elevated to a god-like position and be taken away from my friends. Well I must be getting home, it is getting late and I have a patient coming in tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock. You and Spike have a wonderful night."
Twilight said, "Oh we will, you have a good one."
Spike approached Twilight and said, "You forgot to ask her if her spell would work on dragons."
Twilight replied, "Oh there is plenty of time for us to do that!. Take a note to the princess please."
Spike said, "Alright."
Twilight said, "Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that there are some ponies out there that truly care about the needs of others that would rather follow their hearts than accept an offer that would put them in a high position and give them power. I have also learned that there are ponies out there who do not desire immortality, as they realize the heartache that it brings, that they do not wish to watch their friends die for all eternity. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle."
