The light blinded Twilight. There was nothing but the sheer intensity and brightness above her that she could make out with her eyes. Was it heaven? Hardly. Was it a fate worse? No. In fact. Tartarus itself seemed a more pleasant option than what this light represented to her.
“Oops! Sorry about that. Let me just move this lamp a smidge downward aaand… bingo!” Minuette clapped her hooves together giddily and hopped into the rolling seat next to the chair where Twilight was positioned… A position that was most uncomfortable.
“Thank you, Minuette,” Twilight said, trying her hardest to maintain her regal manners. “But this whole appointment is hardly necessary. I haven’t had any dental issues since I was a filly.” Twilight attempted to reposition herself in the elongated chair to better converse with the dentist, but it was to no avail. “Perhaps this can wait for another day. Or another year for that matter.”
Minuette chuckled and waved the thought off with a quick flick of her hoof. “Oh nonsense, Twilight. We may be old friends, and you may be a Princess now, but that’s no reason to push aside a routine dental examination. Just because you’ve never had a cavity doesn’t mean you won’t ever get one. And let me tell you, Twilight, they are not pleasant. No-sir-ee.”
Twilight groaned and accepted defeat. “Fine, do what you will with me. It’s not like I have anything better to do today.”
“Oh?” Minuette smacked on a surgical mask and began perusing a variety of tools, none of which looked as if they had any business within a pony’s mouth. “Why do you say that?”
Twilight shrugged. “Well, if I ignored my appointment today—”
“Like you did the last three times?”
“Yes, like that,” Twilight continued with a slight hesitation. “If I did that, I’d just be back at the castle doing paperwork or reorganizing treaties and law revisions. Both of my options weren’t exactly favorable. My life just sounds so exciting, doesn't it?”
After picking up a shiny long tool with a reflective surface on the end, Minuette turned back to Twilight. “Oh, I'm sure there’d be something to do. It’s a beautiful day outside. Why not go out to the park with your friends or something. You could probably use a break from all the work.”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond but was instantly invaded by her friend turned adversary.
“Hold that thought, Twi. Just gotta take a quick peek around in here. Don't worry, it shouldn't hurt too bad.”
As Twilight felt her mouth prodded and poked, she couldn’t help but think of the question she was asked. Why not take a break from all the work for once? Maybe because there was so much of it to do. Why not go out with her friends more? Maybe it’s because she was too busy to hardly see them anymore.
“Alright, spit.”
Twilight leaned over and followed instruction into the sink next to her. “There.”
“Good, now, why don’t you take more time for yourself and friends.”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. Between all the work and time constraints, it almost feels like there’s not enough time in the day.”
“I know that feel,” she replied. “Some days after work all I want to do is just crash and sleep. Then when I wake up, it starts all over again.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.” Twilight shook her head and frowned.
“And that’s just me,” Minuette said. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a princess and try to balance everything. It must be hard.”
“It really is…”
“Alright, Twilight, hold on one sec.” The mare flipped the seat around and once again began eyeing the various instruments before selecting the next bane of Twilight’s existence. “Ahh, this will do.” She turned back around with what looked like a thin metal ice pick.
Twilight gulped down a breath as the object came within her eyesight.
“Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as bad as it looks,” Minuette said, muffling a laugh at Twilight’s obvious dismay. “I just need to check your teeth and gums a bit more, shall we say, hooves on.” She chuckled as she popped the item into Twilight’s mouth.
This one hurt a bit more than the last, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. Twilight tried to keep her mind occupied from the continues pokes and sounds coming from her head, but it was to no avail. The only thing her mind would return to is the idea of returning home to drown in work, all the while her friends are out and about having fun. Without her. The stinging in her mouth was a better option at this point.
“...So, what do you think about that, Twilight?”
Twilight shot her eyes open, not even realizing she’d closed them. “Ach, what ah yuu mehn?”
“Oh, sorry!” Minuette yanked the offending tool out of the poor alicorn’s mouth. “Spit.”
Twilight once again followed orders. There was blood this time. That couldn’t be anything good.
“‘What do you mean’ is what I was trying to say,” Twilight reiterated, this time with much less interference.
“Oh, I just asked if you had any plans to spend time with your friends this weekend. It is the Ponyville Family Day Festival. No need to do work on a day like that, right?” Minuette placed the tool to the side and gave her full attention to Twilight. “That could be a nice break.”
“I guess,” Twilight half-heartedly agreed. “It’s not like they’d wanna spend time with me anyway.” Twilight immediately brought her hooves to her mouth. Where in Celestia’s good name did that come from?
“Pardon? Are you okay, Twilight?”
She shook her head in response. “No, I’m so sorry to get all personal like this. You’re just trying to make conversation and here i am, spouting nonsense about the ponies that love me most in the world.” Twilight could almost feel a tear brimming, but blinked it away before any evidence could surface. What was happening to her all of a sudden? She hadn’t even been put under the laughing gas.
“It didn’t sound like nonsense to me,” Minuette said. “What in the world makes you think that, though?”
Twilight tried her best to deflect the conversation elsewhere. To think of any other topic. Minuette didn’t need to hear about her problems. Nopony did. She was the princess of friendship! She wasn’t supposed to have petty problems like this. But then again… it was out in the open. Maybe it was finally time to talk about it. Talk with somepony who was willing to listen.
“I… I just… I just don’t think I’ve been good enough to them,” Twilight said. “There’s been more than a few times recently where we’ve made plans that I broke for the sake of my work. There’ve been times we made plans and I just forgot about them because I was too tired. At this point, I’m not even sure I’d wanna be my friend. They’re probably already making plans without me this weekend, assuming I won’t want to join in, and I don’t even blame them. Why wouldn’t they think that?”
Minuette let out a sigh and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Well, I’m going to say this as your friend right now, Twilight. Not your dentist. We all have responsibilities. Some of us more than others. It happens. But, the mark of a friend is someone who sits with you through the thick and thin. I bet if you think about it, you’ll find that you were there for them countless more times than you’ve let them down.” Minuette took her hoof back. “That’s not to say being let down doesn’t hurt, but if they really are your friends, they’ll still be there for you, no matter what happens. Alright?”
Twilight nodded. Everything she said made sense, but she still had a sour taste in her mouth just thinking about it. Or maybe that was just the dental tools again.
“Anyhow, Twilight, in regards to your teeth, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”
“Okay,” Twilight stated. “What’s the good news?”
Minuette took off her mask, revealing a bright, toothy grin. “The good news is you have no cavities!”
Twilight felt a surge of relief. “Okay, and what’s the ba—”
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by a receptionist mare holding a small envelope.
“Pardon me, you two,” she said, “but I have a delivery for Twilight Sparkle. I was told it was urgent she received it immediately.”
“Thank you!” Minuette said, taking the envelope in her magic and handing it to Twilight.
The receptionist left the room, leaving Twilight and Minuette alone once more.
“I wonder what it could be,” Twilight said, inspecting the envelope carefully. There was no address or markings of any kind. “Do you mind if I open it already?”
Minuette nodded. “Go for it. We’ve got all day. Or, well, at least until closing time.”
Twilight smiled and used her magic to open it up. The contents almost brought a tear to her eye. “W-What is this?”
As the object finally broke free of its packaging, Twilight was able to immediately make out the fact that it was a hoof made greeting card, and given the abundance of pink coloration and confetti taped to it, she didn’t take long to guess who designed it.
On the front of the card, in bold, cutout letters were the words ‘Get Well Soon’.
Twilight’s lip began quivering as she took it all in. As she opened the card, the tears she had been working so hard to hold in flowed freely down her cheeks. Amidst an entanglement of ribbon and confetti, there was a written inscription:
Dear Twilight,
With the help of Spike, it was brought to our attention that you had to go to the dentist today. We all know of your, shall we say, difficulties with said objective, we’re proud of you for going, darling.
Yeah, and we want you to know that we’re here for ya! Even if we’re not actually there with you, you know?
And if you want, we’ll throw a huge party for you right after you get out! Just so you feel better! Doesn’t that sound fun?!
But if you don’t want a party, Twilight, I made a special herb soup that should make your mouth feel better… If they had to do any surgery, that is. Which I’m sure they won’t do.
Don’t worry about anything, though, Twi! You’ve got this in the bag! We’ve kicked the butts of the worst baddies in the world, so you don’t even have to worry about some dentist visit.
Love,
Rarity, AppleJack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Spike
Twilight set the card down and wiped a tear from her eye. If there was ever a time when she needed that, this was it.
“So, sorry for being nosy, Twi, but I couldn’t help but read along,” Minuette said, pulling her head back from its intrusive spot over Twilight’s shoulder. “Not that it’s my business, but it sounds to me like you’ve got a whole group of friends ready to hang out with you again.”
Twilight cracked a smile. “Yeah, it definitely does.”
Minuette nodded in agreement before taking her seat once more. “Now, we do have to move along, though. Are you ready for the bad news?”
Twilight levitated the card to a nearby counter and turned to face her fears. “I’m ready. Hit me.”
“The bad news is I was joking about the good news. You’ve got three cavities in your back molars that are gonna need some drillin’.” Before another word could be said, Minuette produced a tool that looked nothing short of a power drill. “But good thing you’ve got friends waiting for ya' because this could get intense.” Minuette levitated a welding mask onto her face.
Twilight gulped. “Thank Celestia for friends.”