"Hi Applejack."
The orange pony paused mid-buck, then turned around to see where her friend was. She spotted her hovering in the sky, sitting on a cloud and looking as if she'd just surfaced from a midday nap.
"Well hi there Rainbow. Come for a visit?" Applejack tried to keep the trace of suspicion out of her voice but failed.
"You don't have to take that tone with me!" the pegasus replied, shaking her head in disappointment. "Maybe I just flew over here to see how you were doing."
"Oh, well in that case, howdy." Back to apple bucking. She sized up the tree once more.
Rainbow Dash said nothing. That was a bad sign.
"What do you want, Rainbow?" Applejack said, unimpressed.
"Well now that I'm here, I was wondering if you'd let me have an apple."
"Will you leave me alone if I give you one?"
"Maybe."
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings slowly, propelling her chosen cloud (today's was extra-luxurious) across the Ponyville sky. She tossed her lunch from hoof to hoof, toying with it before she ate it at her leisure. Applejack could always be counted upon for a free apple every now and again. Now she had to find a spot with just the right amount of sun that she'd be able to nod off, and no annoying noise from the ground. Especially not the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were nice and everything, but they did end up in the strangest places. Usually right underneath wherever she was napping, although she attributed that to Scootaloo more than the other two. Anyway, not today. Today was going to be the best nap ever. Just as soon as she'd had that apple.
When she bit into it, she immediately knew something wasn't right. The crunch had sounded somewhat hollow and unsatisfying. But she realised the problem when she tried to pull off the lump of apple.
"Owwwww!" She complained noisily, her entire upper jaw erupting into a thousand volcanoes of pain. Or something like that. It definitely hurt a lot. The pegasus tried taking another bite, but that hurt way more. Something was wrong, and she didn't like it at all. Not eating was not cool. But Rainbow had learned a while ago that the solution to most emergencies was Twilight Sparkle, so she pointed her cloud towards the library and began flying. No afternoon nap for her.
"Hi Twilight."
"Oh, hi Rainbow! Nice to see you. I was just-"
"Whatever, look, I need to ask you something."
The purple unicorn looked a bit put out, and clapped her book shut. "I told you yesterday that the next Daring Do adventure isn't in yet. It's not even published until next month. Anyway, purists have been saying that this one-"
"It's not that!" Rainbow Dash glowered, annoyed that Twilight wasn't taking her seriously. "I need your help with something."
"What is it?" Twilight's tone had changed to one of concern.
"I just bit this apple and now my mouth hurts. Can you have a look?" The blue pony opened her mouth wide and tipped her head back so that Twilight could get a good look.
A look of disgust crossed Twilight's face. "Ew, no. Or at least, come over here into the light and lie down. I've only read two books on equine dentistry so I might not have all of the answers."
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she dropped onto her back and stared upwards, with her friend's face bobbing around in front of her as she examined her teeth.
"Oh, my. Rainbow, when did you last go to a dentist? A proper one?"
The pegasus took a few moments to consider this. "Either nine or ten years ago. I'm not sure which. Why?"
"You're not supposed to go that long between check-ups!"
Typical Twilight, always nagging. "Whatever, I know, every six years. I was going to!"
"No Rainbow, every six months! As far as I can see, you might have broken one of your teeth. I can talk to the dentist if you don't want to?"
Rainbow spread her wings and sighed. "I'll do it. You're such a nag Twilight."
"Hey, I'm just trying to help you."
The pegasus flew away from the library, annoyed at herself. She knew she should probably see a dentist, but she just didn't like other ponies... touching her. It was like hooficures all over again. All that poking around with bits of metal... Rainbow shuddered and crash landed onto a cloud with a faint flump noise.
No way she was going to the dentist. She'd just wait it out and see if it would go away. Or maybe she could find some medicine. Zecora would definitely have some! But then she'd just tell her to go to the dentist... maybe Fluttershy would have something? Her animals were always getting sick and needing treatment.
The Everfree Forest's strange weather always played havoc with moving clouds around the sky, so Rainbow abandoned her mode of transport and glided down to the door of Fluttershy's cottage. Her jaw stull hurt and it was giving her a headache, coupled with her missing her nap and feeling tired.
"Hi Fluttershy."
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash. Do you want to come in? I was just feeding my animal friends."
"Okay. Look, I need to ask you something."
The interior of the cottage was swarming with various animals all eating as much food as they could. The two pegasi had to hover in mid-air, since there was barely the room to put one hoof down, let alone four.
"What is it Rainbow? Is something wrong with Tank?" Fluttershy's expression changed to one of sadness in an instant.
"No no. Tank is fine. It's my mouth. It really hurts because I bit into an apple earlier and I was wondering if you had some medicine or something?"
Fluttershy seemed thoughtful. "I don't know, you should really go to the dentist."
"Look, do you have something or not?"
"Not that would work on ponies. You see, I normally have to deal with nothing bigger than a bunny or a hedgehog so-" Fluttershy was off, staring into the cute eyes of a rabbit again.
Rainbow flew away, muttering angrily to herself. How hard was it for somepony to just help her out and not want her to go to the stupid dentist! Those horrible mirrors and sharp drills... it was not going to happen, ever. Never ever.
As the sun illuminated the horizon the next morning, its long orange rays skimmed the cloud Rainbow was sleeping on. Bathed in orange, she woke suddenly. Another hunger pang.
"I need to eat..." She complained, jumping off the cloud and diving to the ground. She tried a hoof-ful of grass but chewing it send shooting pain through her mouth and jaw. Even with the morning dew, there was no way she could do more than swallow it whole.
She had the energy to flap over to Twilight's library again, but collapsed on the balcony, clutching her mouth.
"Rainbow?" The unicorn asked, concerned about the obvious pain on the pegasus' face. "Wow, have you still not gone to the dentist?"
The blue pony shook her head but made no noise. Opening her mouth hurt too much.
"I'll go and make an appointment. Just wait here."
And so Rainbow Dash found herself sitting nervously in the waiting room of Ponyville Dental Surgery, her wings folded underneath her and her mouth hurting worse than ever. Memories of having her teeth checked as a filly filled her with dread, and she did her best to stop her hooves shaking. For Celestia's sake, there were foals sitting quietly in the corner and she was making a fuss.
"Twilight... I don't know..." she said to her companion.
The unicorn rolled her eyes. "It'll only take a few minutes and you'll be able to get rid of that awful pain. It must be a relief to finally be able to eat."
The white wall stared back at Rainbow Dash as she waited for her name to be called. The clock said it was time for her appointment. Maybe she could just run for it, or make up an excuse why she was going to be sick, or-
"Rainbow Dash to surgery two, please."
"That's you Rainbow. Off you go. I'll wait." Twilight said, nudging her motionless friend.
Rainbow hardly remembered the steps down the corridor and she had no recollection of opening the door, but suddenly she found herself in a brightly lit room with the chair of torture right in the middle.
"Take a seat. I'll be with you in a moment." The voice was calm, professional. It came from a pony Rainbow hadn't noticed, busying herself with a file at one side. Her blue and white tail swished slightly from side to side.
The pegasus pondered the best way to fold her wings for a moment, then shuffled into the chair. It felt plastic-y yet comfortable. But the tray full of vicious metal sticks and the bright spotlight were freaking her out. She was an inch from running for it when the dentist turned around.
"Ah, hello Rainbow Dash. I haven't seen you in here before. Don't worry, I've had your file flown down from Cloudsdale, but I couldn't trace your most recent appointments. Did you go somewhere else, Canterlot perhaps?" The dentist was pulling on a pair of rubber gloves and smiling politely at the pegasus.
"Er... not exactly." Rainbow replied, her eyes flickering nervously from left to right.
"Oh, I see. Oh well, at least you've come in for this one. My name is Colgate." The blue unicorn said, putting a face mask on. "Now, if you don't mind just opening nice and wide for me, that's it. Oh, my. You've got a cracked lateral molar and oh dear, that's not good..."
Rainbow quaked as Colgate picked up a long metal stick with a pointy thing on the end and began poking it around in her mouth.
"Tell me when it hurts."
Pressure was applied, which Rainbow was pleased to note didn't hurt in the slightest. Hah, she was still the Iron Pony of Ponyville, after all.
Colgate poked again.
"AAHAHAHGAGAHAG!" Rainbow yelled, although it was more of a gurgle.
"Hmm. Okay then."
Colgate poked around with a number of other instruments whilst Rainbow sweated and squinted in the bright light.
"Okay Rainbow, I'm done for now."
The chair whirred back to an upright position and the pegasus whimpered unhappily. "So what's the problem, doc?"
"Well firstly, I may have a doctorate but you can just call me Colgate. Secondly, when it comes to your teeth, it's a bit of bad news. I'm going to have to pull the rotten tooth out, and I'm going to drill six others for fillings and put caps on three. Now, I'll replace the missing tooth with a kind of false tooth, but it's permanent and you probably won't notice the difference." Whilst she was saying this, she was busying herself making all kinds of notes in a brown file. Or at least, her unicorn magic was. She was readying a dental drill and replacing her gloves. Rainbow caught herself admiring the unicorn's tail.
"Your mouth will be quite painful for the next two days, but I'll give you some painkilling herbs. Take two a day but no more, and avoid strenuous exercise. Finally, I noticed you don't seem to brush as much as you should, so I'll give you a good toothbrush and we'll say no more until your next appointment."
Rainbow didn't reply. She was nearly white from fear.
"Okay Rainbow, you're doing great. Now just open up and I'll get started."
Colgate started by putting a soothing pad into Rainbow's mouth, which the pegasus had to admit, felt quite good. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad, especially with the painkillers.
And then the dentist pulled out the pliers.
***
"Good morning Rainbow. How are you feeling?" Twilight asked in a singsong voice, poking her head through the window to Fluttershy's cottage.
"Mmff," Rainbow replied. It had been two days since her treatment and the pain in her jaw had reduced to a dull ache. Colgate has told her that all of the pain was over, and all she had to do was come back for the false tooth. That sounded okay, at least. Plus she'd had loads of attention from her friends, and had a whole week's paid holiday from the weather squad. She'd found herself wishing she could go back to the dentist sooner.
"I'm glad to hear it. I'm here to take you down for your final appointment." Twilight said. "I made us a picnic to celebrate once you're done! No hard items whatsoever, just jelly and cake and all kind of nice things."
A picnic did sound nice, Rainbow thought as she settled into the plastic chair again. But then again, so did Colgate's voice. And she knew which one she preferred.
"Open wide."
The false tooth was barely noticeable, the pegasus thought happily as she admired her reflection later. "Thanks Colgate, you've really sorted me out."
"Oh, no problem Rainbow. It's my pleasure. Just remember to brushie brushie twice a day and hopefully we won't see much more of each other," the dentist said, spinning around to finish her writing in Rainbow's file.
The swishing of her tail drew the pegasus's attention away from her new tooth, but when Colgate turned around, Rainbow blushed and looked away. "Er I'll be off then... see you around." Rainbow Dash couldn't think of another time when she'd left a building so quickly without just blasting through the wall. Colgate had been wearing such a knowing look that the pegasus was nearly certain she'd been rumbled.
She flew straight into Twilight as she tried to escape.
"Ouch! Oh, hi Rainbow Dash! I brought the picnic, and everypony else is waiting over at Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight said with a happy smile. "I was just coming to ask if you were done yet."
"Yes, I'm done. Come on, let's go," Rainbow said, taking to the air again and zipping away in the direction of Applejack's barn.
"Wait a minute!"
The pegasus came to a screeching halt. "Yes, Twilight?"
The unicorn smiled smugly, her magic still tightly holding the pegasus' tail and preventing her from going any further. "I was going to invite Colgate to come with us. I happen to know it's her afternoon off."
And so Rainbow Dash found herself sitting on a checked rug eating cake and trying not to make eye contact with the blue unicorn mare. Colgate was chatting happily to Rarity, daintily eating small bites of cake.
"How are your teeth Dashie?" Pinkie Pie yelled into Rainbow's ear. "Looking good!"
"Pinkie, you don't need to deafen me."
"I'm just so glad you're all back to normal. Now, have some more cake. I made it specially for you, I even tried including some of that super-spicy rainbow but there weren't any in the sky."
"Thanks." The good news was that chewing was much easier now, but the bad news was that she couldn't keep her eyes from straying to the unicorn who was eating cake in a rather attractive manner.
***
"Well, are you going to tell me or am I just going to have your annoying wings beating in my ear all afternoon?" Twilight said irritably as Rainbow's downdraft blew more quills from her desk.
"I'm scared to tell you, okay?" Rainbow replied, falling to the ground and looking put out.
"If it's your teeth again, you just need to go-"
"No it's not my teeth. Look, I think... I think I may have a crush."
Twilight shut her book with a serious expression. "A crush? I've read about those in a number of books. Are you having thoughts about this pony? Do you get sweaty and nervous when you're near them. Ooh, ooh, I think there might be a quiz in a back issue of a magazine..."
Rainbow just stood there and watched Twilight running around.
"Twilight, I know it's a crush. I just haven't had one before," she eventually said.
The unicorn paused once again. "I see. So you're not sure what to do?" Rainbow nodded. "Well, according to my books, you should start by getting to know the pony. And then when you're good friends, you can try asking them on a date."
"I... I can't. I get too nervous! You know how it is when I'm nervous, remember the Best Young Flier competition? I stunk! The only reason I won was because Rarity had to keep showing off."
"Hmm, that may be true. Well, another solution is to get a friend to set you up," she said, reading it from the book she had just levitated over. "The friend asks the potential date, and then they agree to meet up at a later time. Sounds perfect for you."
"Twilight, you've got to ask them for me. I know I just can't do it," Rainbow begged, doing her best to look needy. "Please? Just this one thing?"
"Of course I will! There are even a list of techniques in here about how best to get them to say yes," the unicorn said, flicking through pages.
"Thank you so much!" Rainbow said, doing a loop the loop to celebrate. "Alright, I'll be on a cloud someplace. See you soon!"
"Rainbow... you need to tell me who I'm asking first."
"Oh, um. It's somepony."
"Who is...?" Twilight's expression was one of glee and Rainbow suspected she would start bounding around in a circle soon.
"It's... Colgate."
"Knew it! I so guessed it! I am a genius!" Twilight celebrated, beginning to bounce. Rainbow left before she could start moving in a circle.
***
Sweat was trickling down in that bit between Rainbow's wings that she couldn't scratch. Normally she'd go for a brisk flight to air off, but for now she was stuck sat in the chair at Ponyville's al fresco restaurant, fidgeting with the menu and wishing she could stretch her wings.
"Hi Rainbow Dash."
Her voice jerked Rainbow out of her thoughts and she jumped, nearly leaping out of her chair. "Oh, wow... sorry Colgate, you scared me."
The dentist pony smiled and sat down, her perfect teeth glimmering. "It's okay. I didn't mean to make you jump."
"Er. So."
"Would you like to get something to eat?"
Rainbow Dash was a little unnerved at how Colgate was so confident. Maybe she'd been on lots of dates. The pegasus herself had never been on a date, and wasn't sure what to do. "Sure."
Colgate glanced at the menu and then looked over at Rainbow, who tried to hide her face behind the piece of card.
"So, how's Twilight? It was nice to see her the other day, and of course at the picnic," Colgate said, trying to peer around the menu.
"She's fine."
"And little Spike? My his teeth are quite a challenge at times."
"Also fine."
"Rainbow Dash, are you nervous?"
Rainbow paused. "Um, no?"
Colgate just laughed. "It's okay. To tell you the truth, I'm a little nervous too, but all those years of dealing with patients means I'm better at hiding it."
Better at hiding it? I'm Ponyville's number one pony, I shouldn't be shaking like a leaf, Rainbow thought. She cast the menu aside.
"I'm okay. I'm just pleased that you agreed... to this date."
The unicorn used her magic to levitate the menu back onto the table. "I'm glad you asked."
The waitress came over and took their orders. Colgate was having a salad, which Rainbow assumed was because it had no sugar in it. She herself had hay fries as usual.
"So, I was wondering, when will it rain next? I've never really been friends with a weather pony before," Colgate said, a slight red tinge appearing on her cheeks. "The idea of it has always interested me."
Rainbow laughed. "Oh, we get all of our instructions from Cloudsdale. They make the clouds, so they tell us when to use them. I think the next downpour is tomorrow night, so it's okay," the pegasus explained. "Everypony will be asleep."
"That's good. The rain always seems to mean a spate of ponies coming to the surgery just to stay dry," the unicorn chuckled as their food arrived. "Makes it quite busy, and half of them don't even have appointments."
The pegasus nodded. "I was always too afraid of the dentist to go in. Not now, obviously."
"Lots of ponies are. I haven't seen half of Ponyville in my surgery, ever. They seem to think I'm going to torture them, but normally I just lecture them about not brushing enough."
"It's hard for us pegasi to remember our toothbrushes most of the time. I mean, they tend to sink through the clouds, and you try getting running water up there."
Colgate laughed, her teeth shining, and Rainbow suddenly felt more at ease.
***
Winona yapped and chased after the branch that Applejack had just launched.
"Hey girls, have any of you seen Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, trotting over with Owloysuis on her back. "She's supposed to be coming with Tank, but Tank is already here." The six ponies looked up towards a tree and noticed the levitating turtletoise sitting peacefully on a branch, not really doing anything very much.
"She said she was on her way, but then she doubled back towards Ponyville," Rarity said, lazily stroking Opal and getting evil glares in response.
"Applejack, could you go and find her? She might be tardy," Twilight said, and the glint in her purple eyes was all it took to send Applejack off at a full gallop.
"Hey Rainbow? You around here?" Applejack shouted to the square, drawing strange glances. She ignored them and tried again, this time focusing on the clouds in case the pegasus had fallen asleep.
"Oh, hi Applejack," Rainbow replied, hurrying out of a building with her mane disheveled. "I was just er, delivering a package."
"Alright. Come one, Tank's waiting for you," the apple farming pony said, turning to gallop back. But as she did, she noticed a blue unicorn waving her hoof in a cutesy way at Rainbow, who returned the wave in a very un-awesome way. Applejack just rolled her eyes.
"Miss me Tank?" Rainbow said, skimming past at speed and grabbing hold of her pet, ensuring to avoid the spinning rotors.
"Just where were you, Rainbow Dash? You know we always meet at two o'clock, and it's three minutes past," Twilight demanded in a tone that sent Fluttershy hiding behind Angel.
"I had to pick up something from town. Don't worry, it's done now."
"You told me you were delivering a package!" Applejack said hotly. "Ah don't appreciate bein' lied to."
"Er, I did that first. Then picked something up."
"A likely story. Girls, I think Rainbow Dash here has just got back from a special meeting with a certain marefriend of hers," Twilight said with a giggle.
Rainbow just blushed and flew off with Tank.
***
"Dashie, can I ask you something?" Colgate said, rolling into her front. The couple were sunning themselves on the ground, which Rainbow complained was too hard and itchy.
"Sure. Ask away," Rainbow replied without opening her eyes.
"Can you fly... and carry another pony?"
This made the pegasus look up. "Huh? I guess so. Why? Are you thinking of a way of pulling teeth out?"
Colgate playfully hit Rainbow. "No, not everything is about pulling teeth out. I mean, I'd really like to go on a flight. I've always been stuck on the ground, being a unicorn."
"Well you should have said so earlier!" Rainbow said, grabbing her marefriend under the shoulders and flapping her wings.
The two of them took off and Rainbow went for a slow aerial tour of Ponyville, doing her best to point out the sights without dropping Colgate.
"Wow... this is so amazing. I can see why you pegasus like it," Colgate said, her eyes as wide as saucers as she stared down at the ponies far below.
"Of course. Come on, let's go through some clouds."
"Will it be wet?"
"Yes."
"Rainbow!"
