The hallway that the nurse had brought them down was nearly devoid of decoration, the pristine surfaces of its white walls only interrupted by the occasional door on both sides.

"So, which is your doctor?" the mare asked. She seemed oddly familiar—Scootaloo could've sworn that she had seen the mare somewhere before, many times.

Scootaloo kept looking at the doors, noting that the shape of their windows was much like those she had seen back in the South Pen. She wondered if that was some sort of Bureau-wide standard or if, well...

"I think she's talking to you, kid," Grey mumbled, bumping Scootaloo's side lightly with his shoulder. The filly jumped, started.

"Oh, uh, I didn't catch his name." Scootaloo gulped. Was that a normal answer? She hoped it was a normal answer.

"Oh, not your usual dentist, then?" the mare asked, her head turning to look at Scootaloo as they continued down the hall. "I guess that makes sense, since the upper floors are usually for dental surgery or specialty work."

"Yes, Carrot Cake here was having some X-rays done to see if she needs braces," Grey interjected smoothly. "We're hoping she doesn't, but I suppose that everyone else does, too."

The nurse laughed and turned back to face the front; internally, Scootaloo let out a sign of relief. "You said it... mare, I remember having to get braces in the fifth grade. 'Steelteeth', the other fillies used to call me in school... heh. Of course, ponies are much nicer about that now," she added quickly. "Plus you might not even have to get them. You ponies have a family history of needin' 'em? Mister..."

"The name's Grey. And yeah, her mother had them back when she was a filly. And while little Carrot here takes after her mom in a lot of ways, we're hoping that this isn't one of them," Grey replied with a hearty laugh that, in Scootaloo's opinion, sounded incredibly fake. The filly was astonished at how easily Grey was able to come up with these stories; then, she remembered that her mom actually did have braces as a filly. Huh.

"Good afternoon, Nurse Redheart," a stallion wearing a white lab coat said as he popped out from one of the doors, closing it gingerly behind him. He raised an eyebrow as he looked over Grey and Scootaloo, however. "Who are these?"

"Oh, these ponies were just at the orthodontist above and got lost coming down. I'm just showing them the way out." Nurse Redheart smiled sweetly.

"Good, good. I'm nearly finished assisting Doctor Scalpel here with a crown, and then he wants to see you downstairs to talk about something."

"Great—tell him I'll be there soon, once I get these folks out of here."

The stallion nodded. "Will do." He trotted away in the direction they had come.

As the three trotted down the hall and then into an elevator on the opposite side of the building, Scootaloo was instead thinking about Nurse Redheart. The name, the mane, the coat, the cutie mark—it took her a few moments but then it hit her: the main nurse at the Ponyville Hospital was named Nurse Redheart. And she looked exactly like this mare, down to the cutie mark. It was downright bizarre and she wanted to ask Grey about it, but she couldn't exactly do so while the mare was in earshot; her questions would have to wait.

The elevator made a suspiciously spaceship-like beep noise as it ground to a halt and the doors slid open. As Scootaloo stepped out, following Nurse Redheart and Grey, she looked down to see her reflection in the polished black tile. She still wasn't used to that big gash that went straight across her muzzle.

"Did you get a sticker upstairs, dear?" Nurse Redheart asked as they neared the reception desk.

"Oh, erm, no, I didn't," Scootaloo stammered, looking up at where the mare stood next to the desk.

Nurse Redheart held out a small green container. "Come on up here and pick one out then!"

After a quick glance at Grey (who, for his part, nodded), Scootaloo leaned in to look at the disorganised heaps of colourful stickers that sat on little scraps of wax paper. A few even sparkled, glistening in the overhead light as Nurse Redheart adjusted the box. Scootaloo pushed some of the stickers aside in the middle, uncovering a few smaller sheets. Finally, she selected a small metallic sticker. She wasn't sure why, but something about it compelled her much more than the tacky cartoon flowers or the images of ponies she didn't recognise. With the edge of her hoof, Scootaloo peeled it from a row of identical stickers and reached up to stick it on her forehead, between her eyes.

When she turned to Grey, smiling, the stallion frowned as he saw the golden star on her forehead. "I think we'd best be going now, don't you think? Daddy's got to get back to work, after all."

"Oh, um, yeah." Scootaloo turned to Nurse Redheart. "Thanks for everything!"

"No problem!" the mare said enthusastically. "Always happy to help." She watched as the orange pegasus filly galloped after Grey, who was already holding the glass door open. As she saw them disappear around the corner, Nurse Redheart looked around to make sure that nopony else was in the lobby. Thankfully, it was a slow day—besides surgeries, the dentist's office was closed. Even the receptionist was on her lunch break. She lifted a foreleg to her mouth.

"Begin transmission. Redheart Umberlight to Xiibal," the mare murmured. "Sighting at Umberlight dentist's office of the filly in question. She's travelling with a grey stallion, destination unknown. E.O.T."

Then, without another word, the mare trotted back upstairs.