Author's Note
A little late, but here is a disturbing story for Halloween! I felt really guilty making this, so I probably won't write anything like this again. And a fair note, the cover art isn't directly representative of the story.
WARNING: Body horror involving teeth, descriptions of injury.
Teeth for a Tooth
"Oh gosh, are you okay?"
Izzy's voice, which was carrying an even higher pitch than usual, pierced through the ebbs of dull ringing that filled Sunny's ears. She lifted her head from where she lay sprawled on the ground and was met with the vision of the pole she had just smashed into. Her legs ached and her mind swirled, but the most demanding pain was of that in her muzzle. A burning fire seemed to flow through her nose, jaw, and gums with each pump of her heart. Her mouth was filling with warm liquid--in her daze, she halfheartedly hoped it was only saliva, but she could taste something akin to metal on the tip of her tongue.
She heard rapid clops of hooves against the road while Izzy hurriedly approached. As the shock of the collision receded, Sunny remembered she had legs and shakily brought herself to her hooves, trembling. Izzy skidded to a halt behind her before trotting around to her front so as to face her. Sunny's head hung low and she drew in heavy breaths as she struggled to deal with the lasting pain, but she glanced upwards to meet Izzy's wide, anxious stare.
"That looked like a nasty trip... Oh my hoofness, your face!"
Cued by Izzy's astonishment, Sunny fruitlessly attempted to glimpse at her own muzzle, crossing her eyes in the process. "What? Is someth--OW!"
As her tongue grazed her front teeth to create the "th" sound, it sent a shockwave of agony up one of her gums. Sunny tensed up and squeezed her eyes shut to brace against the pain while Izzy lifted a foreleg and looked around wildly, unsure whether to run for help or to stay by Sunny's side. Once the newfound pain eased, Sunny touched her tongue to the offending tooth, far more gingerly this time. It moved at the slightest pressure as if it was hanging on by only a thread...
Plink.
Sunny and Izzy both looked down as the small, white-and-red object dropped from Sunny's mouth.
Izzy took a step back. "Uh oh, you lost a tooth!"
"Ya don't shay." Sunny stared at her bloodied tooth with a blank expression, reluctant to let the reality of her situation sink in. A missing tooth wasn't easily replaced in the land of Equestria. And she wasn't a little foal, so it wasn't as if it would grow back. The gap where her perfectly healthy incisor had once been would be a permanent detriment to her overall appearance. She was far from a vain pony, but the notion of losing her formerly flawless smile made her feel a pang of despair.
Her train of thought was halted by the sound of another pony galloping up to her left. Sunny's gaze shot up to confirm that it was Hitch, who stopped just short of her and Izzy, his lungs heaving as they sucked in deep breaths. "Somepony alerted me that Sunny got hurt--" He cut himself off, flinching in alarm as he spotted the red fluid dripping from his friend's muzzle.
"I'm fine, I just..." Sunny winced as articulating speech increased the pain in her raw, empty gum.
"Her skate hit a loose piece of cobblestone sticking out of the road, and she lost control and crashed into the pole," Izzy quickly explained.
Hitch was silent for a few moments while he processed the facts, regaining stability as he realized that Sunny wasn't severely harmed. In a calm tone, he said to Sunny, "You should go home so you can rinse out your mouth and rest." He nodded to Izzy. "I'm entrusting you to get her home safely, all right?"
Sunny turned on her faucet while Izzy hovered patiently by the bathroom doorway. Sunny ducked her head down and scooped some of the cool water into her mouth, before swishing it around with extraordinary gentleness. She let the water, now tinged crimson, dribble out from her muzzle, and she repeated this action a couple more times. She was relieved to wash out as much of the bloody taste as possible, but her optimism was borderline non-existent. What was she meant to do next? She supposed she should pay a visit to the dentist or hospital, but she hated going to those places and was uncertain what they would do--and if she could afford it.
Izzy bashfully scuffed a hoof on the floor, grabbing Sunny's attention. "Y'know, Sunny, I was thinking... I know a way we can fix your tooth."
Sunny turned to her, ears pricked.
The lavender unicorn was smiling nervously, her gaze traveling around yet never quite making contact with Sunny's. "I'm pretty sure unicorn magic could make you as good as new."
Sunny's nostrils flared as she exhaled, and she fixed Izzy with a serious gaze. "I've told you, unicorns should just stick to levitation for now. It's too risky to attempt spells without proper training, especially something as advanced as replacing a body part!"
Izzy reacted with an uncharacteristic pout. "Why didya even bring magic back if you're not gonna let your best friend use it? And you wouldn't let me tell the other unicorns we have other powers, either!"
Sunny nearly rolled her eyes in frustration, but clenched her teeth to keep her temper under control. "Listen, I didn't even know unicorns could do things besides levitate stuff until I uncovered dad's research on it. It just..."
Sunny wanted to admit that the high levels of power unicorns potentially had was a little scary to her, but that would make her sound awful. Leaving the bathroom, she whisked past Izzy and headed for the couch in her living room.
"I'm going to lie down for a bit. I'll ask a doctor if anything can be done later."
Izzy was sitting on a stool by the living room couch in silence. She watched Sunny's chest rise and fall with rhythmic breaths, having fallen asleep not too long after lying across the couch. The unicorn knew she ought to head back to Bridlewood and leave her friend in peace, but she retained a desperate urge to solve Sunny's dental ordeal. She wondered if she could cast a spell without waking the softly snoring mare--but wasn't it wrong to use magic on somepony without their permission? Then again, it was for Sunny's own good...
Izzy stood and began to pace back and forth, stepping lightly so the sound of hooves against wood should not disturb her friend. If she was successful, not only would all of Sunny's worries disappear, but perhaps she would realize advanced magic wasn't dangerous and permit Izzy to spread word to the other unicorns. Then every unicorn could cast all sorts of fancy spells to better Bridlewood and the rest of Equestria!
Concluding that the pros outweighed the cons, Izzy cautiously walked up to Sunny and hesitated for a moment before prying the orange mare's jaw open with a hoof. Sunny's snores became louder, but she didn't stir. Now that the vacant gum was exposed, Izzy took a few large gulps of air to ready herself. She focused, and her horn lit up with a magenta aura. She directed all her attention to the gap between Sunny's teeth, squinting her eyes and gritting her teeth as she concentrated all her magic. She visualized a new tooth growing in. Her cheeks puffed out as she held her breath. The magenta light grew brighter, and brighter, and brighter still...
Something began to happen. A new, sparkling white tooth grew in right before Izzy's eyes. Izzy finally let go of her magic, gasping for air after the episode of exertion, while the magical aura dimmed until it had faded completely. Sunny squirmed while muttering in discomfort for a brief period before sitting up, her eyes creaking open.
"Ugh... What happened?" Sunny asked, rubbing her forehead with a hoof.
Izzy giggled and did a giddy little dance. "I fixed your tooth, Sunny! Told ya I could do it!"
"You did WHAT!?"
All grogginess vanishing, Sunny stared at Izzy with huge, round eyes. She scrambled off the couch and raced to the nearest mirror, which was hanging on the wall. She thrust her face close to her reflection and opened her mouth wide, inspecting her teeth while simultaneously testing the newest addition with her tongue. To her surprise, the replacement tooth was perfectly ordinary and not loose in the least.
"Huh... I guess it did work!" Sunny observed, allowing herself a small smile.
Izzy trotted up behind her with a spring in her step. "So does this mean I can tell the rest of the unicorns that we can do more than just levitate?"
Sunny whipped around and shot Izzy a warning glare, causing her to stop in her tracks and her burst of hope to fizzle out.
"I'm thankful you fixed my tooth, but you shouldn't have done it without my consent, and I'm still not confident in all the unicorns knowing about their... full capabilities."
Izzy stuck out her lower lip, and her ears flopped down. "Fine."
Sunny's stern face transformed into a more apologetic expression. Perhaps she had been too harsh on her friend. "I'm sorry, but I just want to be careful--for now, at least. You should head home anyway. It's been a bit of a hectic day for me."
She placed a hoof on Izzy's shoulder, and the unicorn sniffled. "All right. Can I visit you again tomorrow?"
Sunny beamed. "Of course! You're always welcome in Maretime Bay."
After exchanging affectionate goodbyes, Izzy made her way to the door and departed. The vibration from Izzy shutting the door behind her caused the nearby framed portrait of Sunny and her father to tilt, and Sunny trotted over to straighten it as per usual. Afterwards, she made her way up to her bedroom to settle down with a good book. She could certainly use the distraction after all she had been through.
Once in her room, Sunny selected a fantasy novel from her shelf and then snuggled under her bedcovers. It wasn't long before she was lost within the story, her gaze dancing across the pages as she absorbed every word and pictured each scene in vivid detail. But her immersion would prove to be short-lived as a strange pressure in her gums diverted her attention. She rolled onto her side and furrowed her brow, determined to ignore it. That was not to be the case, as the pressure only increased, transitioning into a dull pain. It felt as if every single one of her teeth was afflicted by a toothache.
With a groan, Sunny set down her book and sat upright, rubbing at her jaw. The soreness in her gums became a sharper breed of pain, and she winced as she was met with the sensation of... her teeth being pushed out? A shrill cry of pain escaped her throat, drowning out the tearing and squelching sounds coming from her gums. Several of her teeth, the roots coated in fresh blood, plopped out of her muzzle and onto her bed.
Sunny tossed her bedcovers aside and rushed to stand in front of her mirror. With her legs rooted to the spot, she watched in horror as her teeth were expelled due to new ones forcibly taking their place, her rejected teeth forming a small pile at her hooves. Then the pain suddenly intensified to the point where a strangled scream erupted from her throat. Now, multiple teeth were fighting to emerge from each gum, causing the pink skin to bulge and split. Her mouth was flooding with blood once more, and her gums were now torn to shreds as her mouth was crowded with triple the number of teeth anypony should have.
She needed to get help. She tried to take a step, but the pain in her face was unbearable, and she instead collapsed to the floor with hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Her personal hell wasn't over yet. She let out a long wail as she felt hard protrusions jutting against her tongue--the roof of her mouth was growing teeth too, breaking through the skin and rapidly growing to their full mast. She shrieked again, her mind terrorized by a level of agony and carnal fear she had never experienced before.
There was a foreboding pressure in one of her forelegs.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, but she cracked one open to glance at her front right hoof. It was shifting slightly on its own accord. And then it started separating from her body, tearing away from her leg as a huge mass of what looked to be hundreds of teeth ejected it from its rightful spot. With what little strength she had, she let out a high-pitched scream at the sight of her disembodied hoof lying on the floor, having been replaced by a gruesome amalgamation of melded-together teeth that stuck out from the end of her leg.
She felt pinpricks of pain throughout her torso. She knew what was coming, but she wanted it to all be a dream--a nightmare. Across her entire body, her skin swelled out and ruptured to make way for teeth growing in like scales. Thin rivers of blood oozed down her coat during the process. Her back, neck, legs, and face were becoming encrusted with shiny, jagged teeth, and there was no end in sight. Clumps of her mane fell out when teeth pushed through her scalp. She struggled to breathe as she felt her nasal cavities filling with teeth. There was an odd squeezing sensation behind her eyeballs. Letting out constant moans and shrieks of suffering, she wanted to writhe in pain, but any movement only made the hurt multiply.
All she could do was hope with all her might that somepony, anypony, would come find her and free her from the endless suffering.
The next day, Izzy was cheerily humming to herself as she pranced up to Sunny's house. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining brightly, and there was no way anything could put a damper on her day. She paused at the front door and knocked it a few times. She wagged her long, flowy tail in anticipation, eager to spend the day with her best friend.
A couple of minutes dragged by, and Izzy's face fell as her patience dwindled. Was Sunny even home? Perhaps she was upstairs in her room, and hadn't heard the knock. Deciding that Sunny wouldn't mind if she let herself in, Izzy slowly pushed open the door and peered inside.
"Hellooo! Anypony here?"
Nothing. Stepping the rest of the way in, Izzy then trotted around the house, keeping a watchful eye for Sunny. Unable to locate her on the first floor, she hopped onto the little platform that served as an elevator for the second floor. She smiled to herself as she realized that Sunny must be invested in something in her room; perhaps she was reading a book, or listening to music, or sorting through more of her dad's research...
As the platform came to a halt on the second floor, one of the first sights to catch Izzy's eye caused every one of her muscles to stiffen. There was a hulking mass, approximately twice the size of an earth pony, lying on the floor somewhere between Sunny's bed and mirror. It was bumpy and off-white, and almost looked like countless smaller objects stuck together. Was it some kind of art project? Izzy approached, placing one cautious hoof in front of the other. It almost looked like... teeth?
Suddenly, the mass twitched, and Izzy jumped back with a yelp. Ever so slowly, the perplexing object lifted its "head". Izzy's heart dropped and seemingly smashed on the floor at what she saw. Peering out from the white cluster was an orange face, its cheeks studded with teeth. Its eye sockets were lacking eyeballs and were instead packed with teeth, and there were even a few protruding from its nostrils, stretching them out. There were so many teeth crammed in its wide-open mouth that its lower jaw was straining to remain attached to its skull.
Izzy's pupils were pinpricks as the blood drained from her face. She spotted a detached, dark pink hoof lying near the mirror. She knew who this was, and knew that whatever had happened was all her fault. Her brain begged her to scream, to run, to do something. But she remained frozen as her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and a low, raspy voice choked out of Sunny's mutated form.
"Pleash...help...me..."
