//------------------------------// // Stitches // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// “Is that it?” Rarity’s blue magic removed some debris from the operating area on Gyro’s back and tossed it aside in a small bowl. Her head felt light and her hooves tingly and numb, but she persevered through sheer stubbornness, refusing to let the sight of blood, muscle, and the vertebrae of Gyro’s spine make her fall faint. Even still, all she wanted was to finish the procedure as fast as possible so she didn’t have to look at it anymore. Gauze leaned closer to Gyro’s spine and slowly worked his eyes across it. “The nerve bundles don’t seem compressed anymore and you managed to repair the herniated disc. I don’t see any other signs of damage, so we should be finished.” The seamstress let out a sigh of relief. “Good,” she said. “Now, how do I go about patching her back up?” “With plenty of stitches,” Gauze said, passing a needle and thread over to her. “This part should be easy for you, or at least I should assume.” Rarity nodded and took the thread and needle, and with Gauze’s directions, she began to repair the damage done to Gyro’s back. While she did that, the doctor stepped forward just enough for Gyro to see him. “We’re finishing up,” he told her. “Congratulations, you survived.” “Really? It’s done?” Gyro excitedly turned her head as if she expected to see her hind hooves tap dancing behind her, but Gauze quickly stopped her from turning all the way around with an outstretched hoof. “Rarity hasn’t finished sewing your back shut,” he informed her. “I would not recommend looking right now.” “Oh. Yeah, you’re probably right.” Gyro turned back to Rainbow, but the jubilant smile on her face was impossible to miss. “I’m gonna walk again! This is awesome! I didn’t die and I’m gonna walk again!” “That’s that earth pony toughness for you,” Rainbow said, bumping her hoof against Gyro’s paralyzed limb. “I bet you’ll be walking around here tomorrow like nothing ever happened!” Gauze shook his head and turned back to watch Rarity work. “She still has to undergo rehab,” he said. “Paralysis like this, even temporary, damages the muscles and nerves. Your spinal nerves were compressed and unable to send or receive signals for more than forty-eight hours, Gyro. I expect it to be nearly a full week before you’re able to stand on your own and walk again.” “A full week’s not so bad when I was staring down paralysis for life, I guess,” Gyro asked. Grimacing, she added, “How long until I get control of my bowels again?” “That should pass much quicker, thankfully.” Gauze shook his head. “You might find it a little more difficult to go than usual, but I will ask you to make sure you don’t strain too hard.” “Eww.” Rainbow stuck out her tongue. “That’s nasty, doc.” Doctor Gauze merely gave her a deadpan look. “It is my duty as a medical professional to keep a patient informed and honestly answer their questions to the best of my ability. Addressing Gyro’s incontinence is no different.” “This is why I don’t like doctors,” Rainbow grumbled to herself. “They’re never any fun.” “Fun does not save ponies’ lives or fix their backs. Practice and expertise does.” “Or a pony who’s good with her magic,” Rainbow rebutted, winking at Rarity. Rarity shook her head and moved onto the next thing that needed stitching. “I was merely acting as an extension of Doctor Gauze’s own experience and knowledge,” she said. “I wouldn’t have had the slightest clue what to do or where to cut otherwise.” “And you performed admirably,” Gauze said with a slight nod. “Your magic is some of the steadiest and most precise I’ve ever seen. I understand now why my daughters are obsessed with pinching their pennies to buy your dresses.” “Daughters?” Rarity blinked. “You have a family? A wife and kids?” “Just the kids,” Gauze said, holding up a hoof. “The wife and I are divorced. Me serving aboard airships and never being around put a strain on the marriage. It’s old news, frankly. This happened nearly ten years ago.” “Oh.” Rarity momentarily let her focus shift back to her work as she tried to let the conversation die. “Well, I’m sorry, regardless.” Gauze merely nodded once. “Make sure the stitching is tight,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to work her skin like fabric. Skin is tough and pliable; it’ll survive. The important thing is to stop the bleeding.” “It’s merely like sewing designs onto ponnequins,” Rarity said. “I suppose with her body paralyzed like so, Gyro isn’t too much different.” “I heard that,” Gyro grumbled. “You better not use some kind of freaky spell to turn me into one when you eventually snap after not making a dress in so long.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “I was never good at major transfiguration such as that,” she said. “I always had Twilight do it for me. Otherwise, they would struggle too much, and the pose would be all wrong.” Gyro blinked and her shoulders tensed. “I… uh…” “That was a joke, darling,” Rarity assured her. Winking, she added, “Two can play at that game.” “To be fair, G, you never know what’s gonna come out of a unicorn’s horn next,” Rainbow said. “I’m pretty sure half of them could take over Equestria if they wanted to.” “It does seem to be the unicorns that are always messing things up,” Gyro said. “No wonder magic makes us earth ponies uncomfortable. There’s nothing we can do against that.” Rarity hummed to herself as she knotted off the final stitch. “There, all done,” she said. Smiling, she took a step back to admire her work. Though blood oozed around the cuts in Gyro’s back and stained her coat, the obvious bulge in her back had disappeared, sliced out by Rarity’s magic. She swayed a bit, still feeling faint after getting hoof-deep into the mare’s back, but she knew that because of her, Gyro would one day walk again. That feeling alone was worth it. “Alright,” Gauze tested the quality of the stitching with his hoof, then walked around in front of his patient. “How good is your pain tolerance?” he asked her. Gyro shrugged. “I broke my leg once and dealt with it for an entire day because my dad didn’t think it was actually broken, so I guess pretty good.” Gauze nodded. “I’m going to remove the numbing spell from your back now because it’s exhausting to maintain. I don’t have any painkillers with me, so it is likely going to hurt for the next twenty-four hours. After that, the pain should gradually begin to subside over the next few days. I’m not going to release the paralysis spell yet because I don’t need you thrashing and flailing about and risk injuring your spine or bursting your stitches, okay?” Gyro nodded. “I’m sure it won’t be too bad. I’m an earth pony.” The doctor merely shook his head. “That’s what they all say,” he murmured to himself, and the glow around his horn dimmed by half. Gyro immediately sucked down a deep breath and a vein on her forehead momentarily bulged. Hissing in pain, her jaw trembled as she clenched her teeth shut, and her eyes bulged out. She grunted and squeaked, but after what felt like an eternity to Rarity, her features slowly began to relax, and she started to breath more or less normally again. “That…” Gyro wheezed, “That’s nothing.” The corners of her twitching lips pulled off something resembling a cocky smile, though it was hard to pick out beneath the pain. “I… I feel like going for a walk…” Gauze shook his head and lifted the paralyzed mare off of the table with his magic. Carefully laying her on a bed on her stomach, he took a step back. “Do not try to twist your back or roll over. Rest here and don’t move until I say you can. The important thing is that we give your back time to properly heal. Understand?” The gray mare nodded along. “Yeah… sounds great…” With that, the glow around Gauze’s horn completely vanished, and Gyro’s body fell limp. Gyro immediately stuck her hoof in her muzzle and bit down on it as hard as she could, and the doctor turned to Rainbow and Rarity. “I’ll give her a piece of wood to chew on,” he said. “She’ll be fine under my care. As I understand it, you two have other engagements for the night.” Rarity nodded. “Yes, I believe we do. Thank you very much for this, doctor,” she said. “It means a lot to her, and to us by extension.” Gauze bowed his head. “It’s my job,” he said. “Though I couldn’t have done it without you.” “Yeah, that was awesome, Rares!” Rainbow said. Draping a wing across Rarity’s back, she nuzzled the seamstress’ cheek. “Ever think about being a doctor when we get back home? You’re pretty good at it.” Rarity giggled and shook her head. “Oh, no, that’s much too stressful for me.” Then, smiling one last time at Doctor Gauze, she dipped her head. “Keep her safe and comfortable. We’ll be back in the morning.” “I will,” the doctor assured her. “Take care and stay safe.”