//------------------------------// // Trip to the Dentist // Story: Fluttershy's First Date // by StormLuna //------------------------------// A Frustrating Morning Another day had arrived in Ponyville and like it is every other morning, Fluttershy was not woke up by the sun, but by Angel pulling on her tail demanding that he be fed. She was still quite tired and while this had began to irritate her, she still got up to feed her pet rabbit. While she fed most of her animals pellets, she always had to give Angel what amounted to a full salad, and that was not always cheap. Unfortunately that morning, Fluttershy did not have quite as much in the way of leafy things as normal so when she gave him what she had left, he was not thrilled. He developed a scowl on his face and yanked on her tail, causing her to gasp in shock, "Angel bunny, that is all I have left." He began stomping his hoof on her leg causing her to continue, "Angel, I'll get you more while I'm out and about but I have to see the dentist so I don't know how much I can afford." He gave her a deep scowl and again yanked on her tail, only harder this time. She sighed, "Alright Angel, I'll get you as much as I can." Angel let out a grunt like he always does in situations like this which caused Fluttershy to eat her breakfast a bit more quickly than normal and head out to the market before going to the dentist. Once she finished her breakfast, she grabbed her reusable grocery bag and headed out the door. Trip to the Dentist As Fluttershy headed towards the market, she held her head low as she felt embarrassed that morning. She felt like she had no control over her life and was beginning to get frustrated with Angel and his behavior. She sighed to herself, "Why do I always cave in to him? I know I shouldn't cave in like this but I don't want him to starve." When she arrived at the market, she headed to the various stands and like it always seemed to be, ponies would cut in line and laugh as she would sometimes wind up having to get the last of a certain item or wind up having to go to another stand where the same product was a bit more expensive. By the time she had bought everything she needed for Angel, she had spent nearly twice as much as she had hoped and most likely did not have enough to pay the dentist up front. She sighed, "All I can do is hope Dr. Colgate will take payments." When she headed into the office she was immediately greeted by a mint green unicorn with gold eyes, "Hi Fluttershy, how are you doing today?" Fluttershy was not doing as well as she normally was but did not want to address her problems to an acquaintance so she lied, "Oh I'm doing good. I'm just here for my appointment at eleven." Given that it was a very slow day and Fluttershy was the only patient scheduled until that afternoon, Lyra thought that perhaps Colgate would take her back early. She replied, "It's a slow day so let me run back and see if she will take you in early." Fluttershy nodded as Lyra ran back. She found Colgate sitting there on her computer checking the prices of more advanced whitening agents. Lyra said, "Sis, we have a patient who arrived early for her appointment and I thought that since you have nopony else scheduled for a while that maybe you could take her back early." Colgate's ears shot up. If there was one thing that she valued, it was ponies who showed up early. She replied, "Alright, let me go out and get her." Lyra returned to her desk and Colgate headed out to the waiting room. She gave her a warm smile and said, "Fluttershy, it is good to see you, come on back." Fluttershy grabbed her grocery bag and began to follow her back. Colgate turned around and frowned, "Fluttershy, you can't bring your groceries back with you, it would violate health code regulations." Fluttershy asked, "But what if somepony was to steal them?" Colgate looked over at Lyra and asked, "Lyra, could you keep her groceries with you? Fluttershy is worried that somepony may steal them." Lyra grabbed her bag in her aura and replied, "Of course I can!" Once Lyra had her bag, Colgate led Fluttershy back and got her sat down in the chair. Fluttershy had always been a bit nervous going to the dentist and despite her being friendlier than other dentists she had seen in her life, Colgate still kind of scared her. Colgate saw the nervous look in her eyes and said, "Fluttershy, you know the drill." Fluttershy gulped before opening her mouth. When she opened her mouth, the dentist would not be pleased with what she saw. While Colgate did a much better job of hiding her displeasure than she did when she first got into dentistry, her eyes still gave her away. Colgate continued to examine her teeth and asked, "Fluttershy, how often do you brush?" Fluttershy replied, "Once a day, right before I go to bed." Colgate sighed, "Well that would explain the thin layer of plaque on your teeth and would explain why it looks like you're developing gingivitis as well." Fluttershy asked, "You're not mad at me are you?" She became more paranoid and continued, "Please don't be mad at me!" Fluttershy's case of gingivitis was mild and was in its earliest stages, despite being displeased, she was really more disappointed than anything else. She replied, "I'm going to admit, I'm not pleased and I'm not mad at you but I am disappointed like I am with patients with your problems." Fluttershy asked, "So what is wrong?" Colgate replied, "Well you have a thin layer of plaque on your teeth and you are beginning to develop gingivitis." Fluttershy developed a nervous look on her face prompting Colgate to continue, "It's nothing serious. I'll clean your teeth today and I would also advise you get anti-bacterial toothpaste and anti-bacterial mouthwash." Fluttershy said, "But I can't......" Colgate interrupted, "And it would be best if you brush your teeth three times a day and rinse your mouth in the morning and at night before you go to bed." Fluttershy said, "But I can't afford all that. I spent most of my money today on food for Angel...." Colgate interrupted, "Who?" Fluttershy continued, "My bunny Angel. He is a very picky eater and I'm going to be honest, I don't know if I even have enough to pay you after going to the market this morning." This was something that always frustrated Colgate and in many instances, made her angry. As she looked at Fluttershy and saw a more nervous look developing on her face, she just couldn't be angry with the pegasus. Colgate also saw this as an opportunity to liven up her normally mundane life. She said, "It's alright Fluttershy, we can make payment arrangements or if you do one little thing for me, not only will I write your bill off, but I will give you the toothpaste and mouth wash you need for free." Fluttershy's ears perked up when she heard this. She was curious as to what it was that Colgate would want her to do but figured that it couldn't be anything too bad. She asked, "What is it you want me to do?" Colgate replied, "If you will go out to supper with me tonight at the cafe, I'll write all this off." Fluttershy protested, "But I don't have the money to......" Colgate interrupted, "Don't worry about that, it is on me." When Fluttershy realized that she would not have to pay for her supper, she developed a smile on her face. While she had never had thoughts like this before, she did find Colgate attractive and realized that this would be a good opportunity to do something for supper other than her usual meal at home and dealing with Angel's disapproving looks. She replied, "Yeah, I'll go out to supper with you. What time do you want me to meet you?" Colgate replied, "Don't worry, I'll come to your place and we can walk there together." Fluttershy asked, "So what time?" Colgate replied, "How about six?" Fluttershy nodded yes and Colgate continued, "Alright, lets get these teeth of yours cleaned and then I'll get you everything you need." Fluttershy nodded and opened her mouth so that Colgate could clean her teeth. Colgate was pleased that Fluttershy did not have much in the way of plaque so cleaning her teeth was relatively easy and quick. Once she had them cleaned, Colgate grabbed what she promised to Fluttershy and led her up front. Colgate gave her a smile and asked, "See you tonight?" Fluttershy returned the smile and replied, "Yes, see you tonight at six." As Fluttershy headed out the door, Colgate couldn't help but have a smile on her face. This caused Lyra to become curious because her sister never just let patients leave without paying, much less giving them full sized tubes of toothpaste or full sized bottles of mouthwash. She gave her sister a curious look and asked, "Sis, what is up with all that? You've never done this for anypony and what in Equestria is up with the smile?" Colgate replied, "Uh, well...." Lyra gasped, "Colgate, do you have a crush on Fluttershy?" Colgate continued to be at a loss for words as Lyra began to sing, "Colgate and Fluttershy sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!...." Colgate interrupted, "Lyra, it's not like that but I am taking her out to supper tonight." Lyra giggled, "No crush huh? Whatever Colgate, whatever!" Colgate blushed and headed into the back. She didn't want to admit it to anypony, especially Lyra given how she reacted but she did find Fluttershy attractive and did want to get to know her better. While she knew that the chances of anything developing between them were next to zero, she figured it would be worth a chance.