Chapter Three:
Sweet Baby James
It took several hours for Trotten, Twilight, and Nurse Redheart to complete the surgery. After it ended, while Big Mac was still unconscious from the sedatives he had been given, Trotten showed Applejack and Rarity how to remove and attach the splints on Big Mac's legs, as well as the stretches they would have to help him do. He explained that they would have to take him through these exercises several times a day, as well as apply moisturizing creams daily, as the scar tissue and skin grafts would lack the oil and sweat glands necessary to keep the skin moist.
Later, Applejack jury-rigged one of her apple carts into a makeshift wagon that they used to move Big Mac back to Sweet Apple Acres. They struggled for the better part of an hour to move the large workhorse upstairs to his room. Finally, at his insistence, they opted to put him in the first floor guest room and simply turn it into his new room.
It was getting close to sunset by the time they finally finished. They had dinner, Big Mac taking some of Zecora's anesthetic herbs with his.
Everypony was feeling worn out by the time dinner ended, but Rarity still had to take Big Mac through his stretches.
She was a little nervous as she went towards Big Mac's room. It was in part because she had never tried this before, and, as Trotten had told her, it would not be a pleasant experience for Big Mac. The other thing which caused her nervousness was that, in all honesty, Big Mac's injuries were repulsive. She hated herself for even thinking it, but she couldn't help herself. The fact of the matter was that the thought of such gruesome wounds made her shudder. She steeled herself.
I will not allow such impulses cause me to act selfishly, she told herself firmly, as she entered the room.
"Are you ready to get started?" she asked with somewhat forced brightness.
"Ah reckon," Big Mac replied.
A part of him knew he should be nervous about what was to come, but he was still riding the buzz from the painkillers he'd had with dinner, and it was keeping him from feeling too concerned about anything.
Rarity approached the bed, and began to undo the splint covering his front right leg. His leg automatically curled into a more comfortable position as she pulled the splint away. She then unwrapped the pressure bandages that were wrapped around his leg. Her horn glowed with magic, which moved and wrapped itself around his leg.
She looked over at his face.
"Ready?" she asked.
He nodded.
Rarity took a deep breath and used her magic to gently straighten out his leg as far as possible.
"Ah!" The pain cut through the haze of painkillers like a knife.
Rarity held his leg straight.
"Don't hold your breath," she instructed him, realizing that she had been doing just that herself.
She held his leg for a little longer, then gently released it back to its resting position. Big Mac was trembling faintly, and breathing slightly harder.
One down, three to go, she thought to herself.
By the time she was stretching out the last leg, Big Mac was visibly shaking, and had developed a layer of perspiration. She finally released his leg, and both of them let out a sigh of relief.
Rarity brought a bowl of water over to Big Mac which he drank down gratefully.
She got out the case of cream needed to moisturize Big Mac's skin grafts, and opened it up. She was about to use her magic to apply it to his fetlocks, when she stopped. If she was going to do this, and really commit to it, then she would have to get over any kind of revulsion she felt to his injuries.
She dipped her hoof into the container and rubbed the salve onto his legs. Big Mac closed his eyes. Compared what he'd just experienced, this was heaven. Rarity applied the cream onto his legs, and gave it a few minutes to be absorbed. Then came the painful task of reapplying the bandages and splints.
"There. All finished," she said, after attaching the last splint. "Now I think we both need some sleep."
She moved to the door.
"Goodnight Big Macintosh."
"Goodnight Miss Rarity," he replied. "And thank you."
*****
It was two days later that Apple Bloom rushed into his room with a big grin on her face. She had been excited about something all day, but Big Mac hadn't pressed her on it, as he could tell she was trying to keep it a surprise.
She ran up to Big Mac and covered his eyes with her hooves.
"Now don't look," she commanded.
She kept her hooves there as Big Mac heard the sound of something being rolled into the room. Apple Bloom pulled away her hooves.
"Okay, now you can look."
Big Mac opened his eyes. The three Cutie Mark Crusaders standing proudly in front of what looked like a cross between a bed and a cart.
"Me an' Sweetie Belle was telling Scootaloo 'bout how you was gonna have ta be holed up in your room 'cause ya can't walk or nothing, an' she had the idea to make ya a bed ya can roll around. So we got some help from Applejack, an' Mister Davenport helped us too an didn' even charge us or nothing, 'cause you're a big hero!" Apple Bloom explained.
Big Mac broke into a big smile.
"Well thank you very much, ladies. Ah was afraid Ah was gonna get cabin fever from being cooped up in here."
"Come on, let's try it out!" Scootaloo said enthusiastically.
With Applejack's and Rarity's help they managed to move Big Mac onto the new bed. He shifted around experimentally.
"Shoot," he said, "this is nicer then mah old bed."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders high-hooved at his verdict.
"Let's push him outside," Sweetie Belle suggested.
Straining, the three fillies managed to roll the bed through the house and onto the front porch. Apple Bloom disappeared into the house, and then galloped out a moment later carrying a bag in her mouth, and set the bag down on the bed.
She said, "We also stopped at the library an' Twilight helped us pick out some books for ya,"
"Well, thank ya again," Big Mac replied.
He looked through the books, until he found one he had fond memories of.
"How's 'bout Ah read to y'all from one of them?"
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded enthusiastically. Scootaloo looked doubtful.
"I don't know…" she said. "It's not gonna be a boring book, is it?"
"Well, this story is 'bout a colt who fights pirates for buried treasure," he replied, "but if that ain't exciting enough…."
"No no, that sounds awesome!" Scootaloo interrupted.
Big Mac grinned, and started reading.
"'To the hesitating purchaser:
If sailor tales to sailor tunes,
Storm and adventure, heat and cold,
If schooners, islands, and maroons,
And buccaneers, and buried gold,
And all the old romance, retold
Exactly in the ancient way,
Can please, as me they pleased of old,
The wiser youngsters of today:
—So be it, and fall on!... '"
Author's Notes:
The title of this chapter, "Sweet Baby James," is the name of a James Taylor song. The book is of course the classic Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.