“Hold still, Mayor Mare! I can’t do my work with you squirming like that. You need to be more careful.”

The tan colored mare shivered as Colgate levitated the metal instruments out of her mouth. She groaned and said, “That hurt. You should be more careful yourself.”

Colgate, a smaller, blue colored mare with a white and blue mane, rolled her eyes and said through her mask, “Filling a cavity isn’t easy. If you keep weaseling every time it gets the least bit uncomfortable then we won’t be able to finish. I swear, you’re worse than some of the fillies I’ve had today.”

Mayor Mare harrumphed and laid back in her chair. At Colgate’s beckoning, she opened wide and was again staring at the levitating instruments doing their work on her. When she felt a metal syringe clink against her pained tooth, she squeezed her eyes and wished in her head that she was anywhere else in Equestria.

While Mayor Mare was deep in regret for so much enjoying caramel apples from Sweet Apple Acres, Colgate was deep in concentration as she carefully levitated the syringe and, with great precision that was peculiar to her trade, inserted it into the cavity. Mayor Mare tensed up suddenly but Colgate was skilled in handling the jerky motion. She relaxed her magic in that split second so the delicate instrument moved with the motion and did not break or cause further harm. When Mayor Mare had calmed down again, Colgate began slowly to inject the dental filling into the tooth.

After the cavity had been appropriately filled, Colgate removed the dental tools and said in exasperation, “You’re done Mayor Mare. You can’t eat anything for the next hour. I don’t want you to have to come back here because you loosened your filling.”

Mayor Mare responded with a sigh of relief, “Oh thank Celestia, we’re done!” She jumped out of the chair and shook her entire body like she was a dog coming in from the rain. She looked at Colgate and gave her a condescending smile saying, “Well I have to go. Mayoral duty calls and all that business. Bye, Colgate.”

With that, the mare with the gray mane left. Colgate sat on her haunches and watched her go. After a few moments, she sighed and asked herself, “Why do they always thank Celestia for leaving and never me for helping them?” She stood up and walked with defeated footsteps to the scheduling board on the wall. With a burst of magic, she lifted the sheets and read down the list only to find that Mayor Mare was her last client for the day.

She sighed with a hint of giddiness. Her work for the day was over, and it wasn’t even 2:00 PM yet. The gossamer blue mare brought up her forehooves before her and clopped them together as she magically disrobed from her white gown and mask. She hung the articles of clothing on two hooks stemming from one of the bleach white walls of the well lit room. She cantered off to a door leading into a stairwell. A quick climb brought her to her bedroom where she launched into bed.

This was often the high point of Colgate’s day. She loved nothing more than curling up in her comfy bed decked with better than a dozen pillows and lounging for a delightful nap. The air outside was chilly, and she liked to leave one of her windows open just an inch so the cool air would permeate the room. The chill air clashing with the delightful warmth of the pillows and blankets was simply divine to her. She let loose like a little school filly and started jumping up and down in her bed. She had to be shrewd with her clients all day and found it absolutely necessary to be a foal for at least a few minutes every day.

When she exerted herself from the giddy jumping to the point of panting, she settled down and gathered the mass of covers around her. She quickly set her alarm for 4:00 PM and pulled a pillow over her head to shut out the light and fell into a blissful little sleep.

A bit later, there suddenly came a loud scream to disturb her sleep. Colgate launched into the air, bursting from her cocoon of warmth. She looked all about and found herself in darkness. She looked at her alarm clock to see that it was already late in the evening. "Why hadn’t it gone off?" she wondered to herself. Again she heard a scream followed by a general cacophony of sounds from outside her room. Colgate jumped from her bed, tossing multiple pillows in her wake, and threw open her wide window.

What she saw could only be described as nightmarish. The night sky was darker than usual. Had she the time, Colgate would have found it unusual to see no moon in the sky. As unusual as that was, it was nothing to her then as she saw the reds and yellows and oranges of the fire screaming through the night. It was not cold anymore. The chill of the season was completely subdued by the roaring fires that went on as far as her crystal blue eyes could see. Ponyville was being swept up in a great cataclysm of fire, scorching every house and store of her cheerful little village.

As terrible as it all looked and felt, It was the din that came as the true horror. The ponies of Ponyville were dashing from the flaming buildings everywhere. Their screams curdled the blood in Colgate's veins, and she fell away from the window, stumbling to the floor. Her thoughts went wild as she tried to think what she should do. In the heat of the moment, with the fires blazing around her, she drew a blank.

That moment of indecision ended abruptly as, from across the room, she saw her bed suddenly burst into flame. It was no small flame but a towering column of heat that swirled violently. It reached to the ceiling in its height and quickly began to leap off the bed, its reds and yellows and oranges licking and swallowing anything it touched. Colgate bolted from the floor to her door and plunged down the staircase into her office.

The office was as brightly lit up her bedroom as the same column of fire that had consumed her bed seemed to have gone right through the floor to consume the chair the fillies and colts sat on to get their teeth checked. Colgate searched wildly and found the path to the exit clear. She sprinted across the room, knocking over a tray of instruments and other articles as she went. She magically twisted the doorknob and plunged out into the fiery night. What she saw seemed even more horrible than the dreadful burning.

In front of Colgate, standing in a dense horseshoe, stood every resident of Ponyville. There was no longer the sound of screaming even as the fires continued to blaze in the background. They all stood motionless and stared as one at Colgate who stopped just outside her door to greet the crowd.

Colgate coughed from the smoke and asked loudly to the assembly, “What’s going on?”

All of the ponies stood silently and gave her vacant stares. Colgate’s eyes shot wildly from one pony to another, pleading any of them would answer her. Finally, a pony stepped from the crowd and walked up to her. The cream colored mare with the bright orange mane stopped in front of her. It was Colgate’s best friend, Carrot Top. The dentist uttered a sigh of relief and said, “Thank Celestia, Carrot Top. What’s happening? Why is everypony at my doorstep? Why is Ponyville on fire?”

Instead of answering her, Carrot Top continued to stare vacantly at Colgate, making her feel even more uncomfortable. The look was so grim it made her hackles stand on end. Just when Colgate felt she couldn’t take the gazing of the ponies any longer, Carrot Top suddenly slumped down, and her jaw dropped open. The sight caused Colgate to stagger back and wretch on the ground.

Carrot Top’s teeth were not the brilliant white that she had been accustomed to seeing in her best friend. They were instead an inky black color and were misshappen and broken haphazardly in her mouth. It was the single most revolting thing Colgate could remember ever having seen. When she finally looked up from her vomit she was met with not just Carrot Top’s gaping maw but the mouths of everypony in Ponyville. They were, all of them, filled with inky black teeth looking like so many broken and rotten stalagmites and stalactites. Every mouth seemed like the hellish gates of Tartarus opening wide to release doom on her world.

Unable to bear the sight a second longer, Colgate ran back into her house and slammed the door shut. When she turned from the door, she was greeted with a great wall of fire that had consumed everything in the room. She turned to go for the door again but found that also to be completely wrapped in fire. The heat was the most intense she had ever felt in her life, and she felt death to be close. Having no other recourse, she curled into a ball, hugged her flowing blue and white tail to her chest, and shut her eyes against the roaring holocaust. In darkness, she sought her solace.

Colgate’s eyes shot open when she heard a loud and obnoxious ringing. She jumped up to burst from a pile of pillows and blankets. Her breathing came in ragged gasps, and she was covered from horn to hooves in a thick sheen of sweat. She gasped for air and whirled furiously about in a circle, trying to figure out what was happening. In whirling, she lost her balance and tumbled out of her bed landing on the chill floor of her room. From there she groaned, “Ouch.”

She got up and found the source of the obnoxious ringing to be her alarm clock. She wiped a hoof across her face to rid herself of some of the lather and slowly brought it down to stop the noise. It was 4:00 PM. She was supposed to meet her friend Carrot Top at 5:00 for dinner at The Hayfield. Though she didn’t feel especially hungry right then, Colgate would not leave her best friend hanging.

The sweaty, blue mare shuffled across her bedroom and into her bathroom. She pulled open the curtain to her tub and started the shower water. As she waited for the water to get to the temperature she wanted, her mind wandered back to the dream she had just experienced. She shivered from the thoughts and the cold air that was clashing with her sweat ridden coat. She could not remember ever having a dream so horrible in all her life. The reality of the dream stuck with her, making her feel ill.

When the water was the right temperature, she climbed in and pulled the curtains. She tried to dismiss the dream as she shampooed her mane and tail, but the sounds and the colors just kept coming back to her. The fire had been so terrible and hot, and the screams had been so agonizing. For some reason though, those screams and flames seemed like nothing to her compared to the horror of the rotten teeth.

She finished washing her mane and laid down in the tub, letting the warm water flow over her back. The ill feelings were not just fear from the dream. Colgate felt defeated. It was odd, but she had the sick feeling of having lost something very important. She could not explain what it was, but it made her feel dumpy, like a loser. She felt worthless and the passing moments of the shower and her usual routine did nothing to change it.

After a while, Colgate stepped out of the shower and walked over to her large mirror that adorned a wall. She dried herself with a large towel and got out her mane dryer. The warm breeze clashed against the cold air of the room, and gave her some pleasure. After she dried her mane, she picked up her manebrush and began grooming herself to perfection.

As she brushed herself, she absently considered her cutie mark in the mirror. Nopony would have guessed her trade just by looking at it. It was nothing but an hourglass half poured. That was not an uncommon cutie mark though. Ponies who had it usually had their special talent connected to time. Colgate smirked at the thought of the confusion most ponies had over her profession when they discovered she was a dentist. Colgate would always smile and say, “Well, isn’t everyone overdue for a check up?” She would receive very little argument about that.

When she felt her mane was brushed to the correct smoothness and consistency, she trotted out of the bathroom and made her way downstairs. The thoughts of the dream still followed her, but she felt a little better knowing she would be able to relax with her best friend. Maybe that would do her some good and calm her down.

She exited her house and workplace to greet the chill autumn day. She might have taken time to gaze at the festive colors that were spread across the landscape, but she was almost late for her meal with Carrot Top. She brought her pace into a gentle gallop. As she went on her way she saw many other ponies coming into lively action as there was a general regression from their workplaces. They were all tired from the workday but would wave nonetheless if they caught Colgate’s eyes. She in turn always grinned and waved back.

Presently, she reached a small restaurant ringed by a couple dozen circular tables. Around the tables were set soft heaps of hay for sitting. Colgate glanced the crowd of tables until she spotted her target. The cream colored mare with the bright orange mane was sitting at one of the soft piles of hay with her face planted firmly on a table. Colgate chuckled. The orange mare had probably had a busy day. Her slumped shoulders showed her drowsiness. Colgate decided to have a little fun.

She ducked down and crept in a circle around Carrot Top till she was out of the mare’s line of sight. A waiter came up to her to ask Colgate if something was wrong. She quickly brought her hoof up to silence the stallion and silently shuffled over to the orange topped mare until she was right behind her. The stallion chuckled silently as the blue mare came to within inches of her friend, her face low to the ground while her rump was poised in the air, tail wagging.

Just as Colgate was about to make her move and pounce on her friend, Carrot Top suddenly lifted her own rump into the air and pelted a noxious fume right into Colgate’s face. The hunter fell back, haunted with a most unholy stench. Carrot Top burst into a huge bout of laughter as she rolled on the ground. As Colgate shoved her face in the grass and tried to rub the stench away, she also heard the waiter cracking up and stamping his forehoof into the ground.

Colgate brought her head up to see Carrot Top rolling around, clutching at her belly. Colgate immediately felt the call for revenge and jumped on top of her friend. She grabbed ahold of her curly orange mane in her teeth and jabbed both of her forehooves into her friend’s sides.

Carrot Top bounced to her feet and shouted through her laughing, “Ow, ow. Let go of my mane. Don’t be a sour puss. I got you fair and square!”

Colgate let go of her mane and pushed her across the ground saying, “What do you mean fair and square? You farted in my face! You’re gross!”

Carrot Top laughed maniacally and responded, “Oh please, everypony farts. That’s not disgusting. What is gross is ponies who swallow other ponies’ farts.”

At that remark, Colgate went red with fury and was about to tackle Carrot Top again and not let up her tickling until her friend wet herself but was stopped when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see the waiter standing beside her in his black suit jacket. He presented her with a folded menu and asked politely, “Would you like to take a seat and order ma’am?”

Colgate suddenly became very aware of her surroundings. A quick sweep revealed dozens of pairs of eyes pointed in their direction. Colgate blushed hard and took the menu with a terse thank you. She sat herself down on one of the cozy piles of hay and gave Carrot Top an evil look. Carrot Top rolled to her feet, still grinning from ear to ear, and plopped herself opposite her best friend.

After they had settled in and Carrot Top judged the embarrassment in Colgate had subsided she asked, “So how was your day, dear? You look a little beat.”

Colgate tore her eyes from the menu and admitted, “I am a little beat.”

Carrot Top waited a moment for her to say more, but Colgate did not seem to be in the speaking mood. She pressed, “Did some filly give you a hard time today?”

Colgate scowled a little at her friend’s condescending tone but said, “No. Mayor Mare put up a bit of a fuss today, but that’s about it. I even got off work early.”

“Then what’s wrong dear?” She leaned forward with worry and prodded, “Is it something I did?”

Colgate gave her a look and asked, “You mean like farting in my face just now?”

Carrot Top chuckled again, “You still on that, sweetheart? You need to lighten up.”

Colgate shook her head and sighed, “No. It’s not that. It’s actually about this dream I just had.”

Carrot Top’s ears visibly perked up and she swished her mane out of her face with a hoof while asking in a concerned voice, “Oh really? It must have been an unpleasant dream to have gotten you in this dumpy mood dear. Was it that bad?”

Colgate’s eyes left her friend’s to gaze off absently into the clear sky. The sun was not too far from the horizon. The days were growing shorter. As she gazed off, she tried to recall the images of the dream. There was the fire. There were her friends. Colgate shivered. Then, there was the teeth. She answered, “Yes, actually, it was horrible. It was the most horrific dream I've ever had.”

Carrot Top’s jaw fell open as she exclaimed, “Oh my Celestia. That sounds terrible. What was it about?”

Colgate continued gazing at the dimming sky. She said, almost as absently as she gazed, “There was a fire.” As she spoke, she could almost see the flames licking the buildings around her.

Colgate was quiet, and Carrot Top, feeling a bit unnerved, pressed, “Where was the fire?”

Colgate quit her absent search of the sky and looked directly at her friend. Her response was cryptic, “Everywhere.”

She brought her forehooves up and gestured all around her, “Ponyville was up in flames. The ponies were running and screaming, and the dark night was lit up like the sun had risen.”

Carrot Top was almost fearful as she muttered to herself, “That sounds awful.”

Just then, the waiter came up to the pair and cleared his throat. They both turned to regard him as he asked, “Have you two made up your minds on what you would like tonight?”

They both gave him a flat stare for a few seconds until Carrot Top remembered her manners and answered, “Oh yes. I would like the raspberry tart with extra confections, please.”

The waiter worked a quill with his magic to write down the order on his notepad and asked, “And for you miss?”

Colgate seemed pensive for a moment before answering, “Oatmeal. No sugar.”

The unicorn waiter made a quick scratch on his notepad and said, “Very well ladies. I will be back with your orders shortly.”

As the waiter disappeared into the restaurant, Carrot Top turned to Colgate and asked, “No sugar? You should try lightening up every once in awhile. You always get something so bland.”

Colgate shook her head and explained, “I’m not in the mood for sweets right now. Besides, it’s not good for my teeth.”

“You’re always so meticulous about your teeth, but you usually at least get sugar!” Carrot Top exclaimed. She now looked really worried, “Is it because of the dream?”

Colgate nodded, “Yes. The dream got even worse than the fire.”

Carrot Top, showing skepticism, asked, “What could be worse than Ponyville burning?”

“I had to rush out of my own house because it started burning. When I got outside my door, I found everypony in Ponyville waiting for me.”

The orange maned mare cocked her head and asked, “Was I there?”

“Yes," she said, “in fact, you were the only one to step from the crowd to talk to me.”

“What did I say?”

Colgate lowered her voice a little. It almost pained her to remember. “You didn’t say anything. You just opened your mouth and showed me your teeth like any of my clients do. Only, your teeth weren’t pretty and white. They were black and spiky and awful to look at. Then the ponies behind you opened their mouths and all of their teeth were horrible and spiky like yours.”

Carrot Top’s worry suddenly shifted to confusion. She shot her tongue out to run the rim of her teeth. They felt fine to her. She could see the duress in her friend’s eyes though and chose not to say that she thought it sounded silly. She instead asked, “What do you suppose it means?”

It was Colgate’s turn to look confused, “What?”

Carrot Top gestured a hoof out in front of her and explained, “Every dream has some meaning right? Otherwise we wouldn’t have them. What do you suppose this dream of yours could mean?”

Colgate turned very thoughtful for a moment. She had not thought about the dream actually meaning something. “Huh, I don’t know what it could mean.” She felt her countenance droop as a thought did strike her mind. “Well, maybe I do.”

Her friend leaned forward expectantly, “Yes, dear?”

Colgate averted her eyes. She had never confessed to what she was about to say in her entire life. It had always been in the back of her mind but had never really been a chief concern to her until today. She had never really thought about it seriously until that dream. She explained, “It might be because of my cutie mark.”

Carrot Top’s eyes shot to her friend’s flank as she asked, “What’s wrong with your cutie mark?”

Colgate sighed and almost regretted what she was about to say, almost. “I think my cutie mark is wrong.”

“What do you mean wrong?” she asked with her head cocked.

The blue mare turned her head to regard her own flank. The half filled hour glass rested as it had since the day she’d gotten it. Her flowing white and blue tail was curled up right beside it, accenting it beautifully. Colgate’s eyes did not leave it as she said, “I got my cutie mark when I realised I could manipulate the tools for dentistry perfectly and could use several at the same time.” She closed her eyes dreamily as she remembered the day.

She had been a little filly, almost a foal. She'd never even used magic yet. She had chipped her tooth on a rock while chasing Carrot Top down the street. The cream colored filly had stolen her favorite stuffed pony and taunted her with it. After the chase ended in a bloody and rather traumatic fall, Colgate had gotten her first trip to the dentist’s office.

She remembered the office well. The white walls and shiny tools seemed so cool to her, even when she was as scared from the pain as she was. She was left alone to wait for the dentist. When the dentist pony, her name had been Minty, entered the room, she found little Colgate levitating every one of the instruments before her eyes. Minty almost fainted when she saw it, but Colgate’s talent could not be ignored. Even as blood pooled from her mouth, she had been fascinated the very first time she saw those tools. The cutie mark that formed on her flank was all the more proof anypony needed.

The small smile that had formed on her face from the memory disappeared as she came back to the present. She continued, “I was so happy to get my cutie mark and finally find what my super special talent was.” She looked back up to face her best friend, a hint of sad desperation in her face, “But over the last few years, I think I’ve stopped liking my job.”

Carrot Top gasped slightly. She brought both hooves to cover her mouth and asked, “How can you not like your super special talent? You’re the only dentist in all of Ponyville. You’re so important. How can you not love being a dentist?”

Colgate scowled slightly as she explained, “I don’t just not enjoy it. I think I hate it sometimes. I’m good at it sure, but nopony likes me.” She slammed the tip of her forehoof into the ground and started to scratch at the dirt through the hay pile. Her expression grew angrier as she went on, “I work every day to clean other ponies’ teeth and they are never happy about it. They always mope and groan and are never happy to see me.” Her eyes drifted to the ground she was digging at as she went on, “Ponies avoid me like the Trots. It’s like nopony even cares.”

“Is it really that bad?”

Colgate felt tears springing to her eyes as she silently muttered, “They don’t even say thank you most of the time.”

Carrot Top stood up from her fluffy hay seat and circumvented the table to sit next to Colgate. She swung a comforting hoof around her friend’s shoulder and said, “You know, I know you feel really bad right now, but that’s no reason to be selfish.”

Colgate sniffed through her tears and gaped at her friend in amazement and confusion. She opened her mouth and shut it again several times before she finally stuttered, “What?”

Carrot Top removed the hoof from her shoulder and gave her a firm nudge saying, “You may not be besties with everypony, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about you.” Her voice changed from comforting to stern as she went on, “You are an important member of Ponyville, and everypony respects you. Who else can thread a needle ten yards off, besides Rarity? If we didn’t have you then there would be crooked teeth in everyponys’ mouths, like in your dream.” She swung her forehooves up dramatically and said, “Ponyville could be reduced to chaos without you! How can you think that we don't care about you?” Carrot Top’s voice grew very shaky and hints of moisture formed in her eyes as they had in Colgate’s, “How can you think I don’t care about you?”

Colgate looked down at the ground, feeling a little guilty and sorry. She rubbed a hoof against her snout, sniffed again, and said, “I’m sorry Carrot Top. I know you care about me. I know I’m important and all that,” her gaze wandered back to her friends as she continued slowly, “but for some reason I can’t explain, I’m unhappy. I’m not just a little irritated with my job, I hate it sometimes.” Colgate sank her head into her friend’s curly orange mane and pleaded, “What am I supposed to do?”

Carrot Top curled her neck against her friend’s in a gentle pony’s hug and sat quietly for a moment. Just as she was about to say more words of hollow comfort to Colgate, the pair was disturbed by somepony clearing his throat. They broke off the hug to see the waiter levitating two trays. He bowed his head slightly and said, “Your meals are ready.”

Carrot Top gave her friend a quick and gentle nudge with her shoulder and rounded back to her seat. The waiter levitated the two trays to their appropriate spots. Carrot Top could not help but lick her lips at the raspberry tart doused in a heavy coating of powdered sugar. She brought her snout down and took a large bite. She shut her eyes and moaned in pleasure, savoring every moment of it.

Colgate looked at her friend, a mild feeling of disdain creeping in on her thoughts. She thought silently, “I wouldn’t even have a job if everypony didn’t eat so many sweets.” Her eyes dropped to her own bowl of oatmeal. The coarse grains could do little other than clean her teeth by comparison. “It would be better if everypony just ate clean food like this. But then,” her eyes again going to the red gushing, white powdered tart, “then everypony would miss the flavors.” She sighed audibly thinking, “What little filly doesn’t go for what’s bad for her instead of what’s good?”

Carrot Top opened her eyes again as she heard her friend sigh. She noticed that she wasn’t eating her oatmeal. She stopped her chewing and asked with her mouth full, “Aren’t you going to eat that?”

Colgate flinched slightly as a crumb of tart flew from her friend’s mouth and landed on her cheek. She wiped it quickly with the back of her hoof and said poutingly, “It tastes yucky.”

Carrot Top looked flabbergasted as she asked, “Really? Then why in the hay did you order it? You know what oatmeal tastes like. Why didn’t you order something with a little sugar in it?”

Colgate reached up and lifted the bowl to her face. A pleasant steam rose up from the cereal and warmed her face, but she greeted it with a scowl. “I ordered it because it’s what’s good for my teeth.” Her scowl grew more severe as she continued, “We should eat what’s good for us right?”

Carrot Top opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Colgate smashing the bowl against the table. The ceramic shattered and the gruel spewed about, making a terrific mess. Carrot Top could do nothing but gape in horror, she and the rest of the ponies around them. Colgate looked at the mess, ignoring everypony staring at her, and said, “We’re supposed to eat this stuff even if it doesn’t taste good, even if it’s not sweet. We’re just expected to belly up and do what we’re meant to do and enjoy it.”

She felt pain emanating from her right fore hoof and brought it to her face. The ceramic from the bowl had shattered against her soft frog and cut her. As she looked at it, dark red blood dripped up the gossamer blue coat on her leg. It formed into streams and was painful just to look at. Rather than flinching at the sight of blood, she slowly set the hoof back down and whispered, “I’m sick of it. Carrot Top,” she said, finally drawing her eyes back up to her friend’s, “I quit. I won’t do it anymore.”

Carrot Top finally stammered, “Do what?”

Colgate stood up and turned around. She looked up at the sun. It had just reached the distant crest of clouds, soon to disappear. It seemed that day would be especially short. She answered, “I’m not going to eat oatmeal. I want something sweet.” She walked off, not saying another word.

Carrot Top stood to go after her friend but then remembered that they had not paid for their meal. She frowned and reached into a saddlebag on the ground next to her. She dropped bits enough for the meal plus some extra for the mess. As she turned to go after her friend, she felt a sudden uneasiness. She fell back on her hindquarters as she realized that she had no idea what to say or do to her friend. She had never seen a pony act so angry in all her life, especially her friend. Sure she had always tended a little towards the negative, but she could not believe how upset she was.

She sat for several moments thinking. Her thoughts eventually brought her to a wonderful idea, and she leaped to her hooves saying, “I bet Twilight Sparkle will know what to do.” With that, she trotted off in the direction of Ponyville’s library.

As Carrot Top set her course, Colgate was fast approaching hers. She was fuming and bitter, more so than she had ever been in her life. Every step she took shot pain through her body and seemed only to reinforce her thinking. She muttered aloud to herself as she walked, chanting in a rhythm that matched her limping gait, “It’s not fair. It’s not fair. It’s not fair. I’m not doing this anymore. It’s not fair. Why should I do what I hate? Why should I get stuck with this burden? It’s not fair. Why should all the other ponies hate me?”

She finally came to her two story abode. Every step she took leading up to it could be traced with hoofmarks of red. When she got to her door she did not wipe her hooves but just stormed right in, slamming the door behind her with an angry burst of magic that made it rattle and creak. She trotted up to a cabinet and levitated down a large circle of dove white gauze.

She sat down on the chair meant for her clients and expertly began to wrap herself in the thick bandage. The blood discolored it, but most of the bleeding had stopped with clotting. When she felt she had wrapped it tightly enough she stood up and tested her balance. After having sat down and lost some of the steam that had driven her home, she felt the pain to be much less tolerable and could not keep herself upright properly.

Colgate groaned and looked about weakly, wondering as to what she should do. She had initially planned to spend the evening with her friend but was not at all in the mood for that anymore. As she looked about, she was disgusted with all of the instruments of her trade; the drills, the mirrors, the lights, the scrapers, the toothbrushes and toothpastes she gave to the fillies and colts. It all stood as a bitter reminder of who she was. It was the doom of her unhappiness.

She magically pulled to her side a sheet of paper and quill off of a counter. She pressed the quill hard against the page and wrote, slowly so the ink would bleed and become thick, “Closed indefinitely.” She opened the door across the room and stuck the paper up with a hooftack. She slammed the door again, trying hard to bolster her own resolution, but quickly crippled into a deep sigh of regret. She had no clue what to do, where to go. She had never done anything else. The idea of not being a dentist anymore terrified her but, at the same time, she saw nothing else she could do. She wanted to be happy again, and there didn’t seem to be any way that was happening with her being a dentist everypony hated to see.

Seeing nothing else she could do, Colgate limped over to her stairs and ascended to her room. She was greeted by chill air that still permeated through her partially open window. She sighed and shivered slightly. With a touch of magic from her shining horn, she closed the window and crawled in the direction of her bed. She climbed in and pulled the covers over her head. There was no bouncing, no shenanigans, nothing which one could use to chart a pleasant demeanor. Colgate just laid there limply, moping and crying slightly at the pain. She felt sad, terrible, and defeated. Worst of all, she felt like she had lost something, something really important. It was the same feeling of loss that she had experienced that afternoon, the same dread, the same defeat. Only now, she believed she knew what she had lost.

Colgate shut her eyes and cried softly. The tears drained her and caused her to stop thinking quite so much. As her thoughts became less coherent, she grew very tired, exhausted from stress and the pain in her leg. Slowly and smoothly, she drifted off into slumber. This time, she slept dreamlessly.