After receiving her cutie mark, Sweetie Belle's childhood seemed to be falling behind her in leaps and bounds. A thousand thoughts flooded through her mind as she tried to prepare herself for yet another first in her journey of self-discovery that led onward to adulthood. She just wished she had a better idea what to expect.
Sweetie Belle realized that she was about to start pacing, so she sat down, a twinge of nervous energy causing her to shudder. She didn't want to seem awkward, but she was afraid she might not be able to help herself. In fact, she didn't even want to be here doing this, but at this point, she was all but committed. She took a deep breath of cold air. She thought about asking the stallion for a blanket, but decided against it. She wanted to exude confidence right now. She'd have felt better if her friends had been able to give her any sort of idea what was about to happen to her, but neither Scootaloo nor Apple Bloom had done this. The little that Apple Bloom had gleaned from overhearing her sister talk about it had suggested that it might be painful.
"Are you ready?" the stallion asked gently.
He was much older than she herself was, but this was acceptable. It simply meant that he was experienced with this sort of thing. Sweetie Belle nodded slowly, her heart pounding in her chest, making the sound of blood rushing through her ears an almost deafening chant.
"Okay," he replied with a smile. "Just lie down, and I'll take care of the rest. Just follow my lead."
Sweetie Belle nodded again. She wanted to say something, but she was afraid it wouldn't come out right, so remaining silent seemed the best course of action. She reclined on her back and waited. Within mere moments, he was over her, scanning her with his eyes for what seemed like several minutes. He touched her gently, and Sweetie Belle opened herself to him. That's when she saw his… instrument. Her eyes widened at the sheer size of it. While it wasn't the first one she'd ever seen, considering what he was about to do with it seemed to make it grow even larger in her mind. Her mouth suddenly became dry, and a lump formed in her throat. She tried to swallow and steel herself for what was coming. It felt as though strength ebbed from her limbs as the stallion delicately began.
He entered slowly, sending a twinge of pain through Sweetie Belle. He smiled at her disarmingly with a great amount of kindness in his eyes. He probed around, very focused on his task. Breathing became difficult, and Sweetie Belle tried to put her mind somewhere else for a little while. This wasn't entirely helpful, but it did seem to make time move a little faster. There was no going back now, and she just wanted to get this over with.
A sharp pain brought her back to the moment. Sweetie Belle let out a whimper that sounded something like a yelp. The hurt became a dull throb that ebbed through her body. Then she felt embarrassed for having reacted in that manner. She wanted to say something, but the stallion didn't seem deterred at all by her discomfort. He continued, still being as gentle as he could. Taking his time, he didn't seem at all bothered by the small amount of blood that had gotten on him. She could hear him breathing, which was a somewhat comforting sound for the rhythm. He continued working in and out of her until he had finished.
He smiled at her again, a light sheen of sweat on his brow as he said, "That's it."
Sweetie Belle sat up slowly, still feeling weak from the experience. Truly, she was relieved that it was over. The stallion began cleaning up, and he helped her do the same. It now made sense why the room was kept at such a frigid temperature. He gave her a folded piece of paper. She gathered her things and calmly walked out of the room, her hooves clicking against the tile floor.
Stopping in the doorway, she turned back to him and said, "Thankth."
"Anytime you need me," he replied with that same kindness in his eyes.
As soon as Sweetie Belle had gained the hallway, she saw her sister, Rarity, sitting in a chair and reading a magazine. The older mare looked up at her and smiled.
"There you are, Sweetie," Rarity said as she rose to greet her. "Now, it wasn't all that bad, was it?"
Sweetie Belle shrugged, "I gueth not."
Rarity smiled at her again, "Well, I suppose there's nothing left but to take care of the bill."
Sweetie Belle followed her sister over to the counter where a mare in a nurses uniform sat. The nurse pushed up her glasses as she regarded the pair. Sweetie Belle used her magic and took the folded paper that the dentist had given her and gave it to the nurse.
"Okay," the nurse said as she wrote some figures on a sheet of paper. "Removal of one cavity ridden, broken tooth. That'll be thirty bits."
Rarity took the money from a small pink purse she was carrying and delivered it to the nurse.
"Thank you so much," Rarity began. "Poor Sweetie was ever so bothered by that tooth."
The nurse simply smiled and said, "That's what we do." Turning to Sweetie Belle, she added, "Now, you need to be sure and brush your teeth after every meal, and try to take it easy on the sprinkled carrot cupcakes."
"Yeth, ma'am," Sweetie Belle replied, her pride more than a little deflated.
"Oh, it won't be so bad, Sweetie," Rarity consoled as they turned to walk out. "It's not that you can't have candy anymore, you just have to have a little less."
"Thwell," Sweetie Belle replied.
And that is the story of when Sweetie Belle had her first cavity pulled.