Chapter 18: The Many Mysteries of Pony Medicine
“Scarlet Delgado?”
Scarlet looked up toward the sound of the voice, catching sight of a tall human standing in the doorway.
“That’s me,” she replied with a nod.
“My name is Doctor Ramirez, and I’m all ready to see you now.”
She nodded, carefully stepping down from the chair with Silver’s help. She probably could have done it herself just as easily, but she still appreciated the thought. Plus, it was probably better just to be safe in case she stumbled or something. Making her injury worse would just be what the two needed right now.
Letting her sarcastic thought fade, she looked up at the Doctor, “So am I your first pony patient?”
“Mhmm,” he replied as he led them down the hallway. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my fair share of ponies, but I’ve never had any stop by here. I got pretty far along in the process too, but then that spell kicked in and stopped it dead in its tracks.”
“And then you rehumanized,” Silver added.
“Yep, was actually one of the first once it was available out here.”
“Do you ever wish you could have gone all the way?”
He paused and looked down at Scarlet, “To tell you the truth, sometimes I do. As a doctor, all of this has just been so…”
“Unreal?”
He nodded, “That’s a good way to put it. This is why I was interested in your case. A lot of the doctors around here got hit with ETS, and some even decided to stick around as ponies, but none really stop by here much anymore. There’s not much I’ll be able to do, but this might give me a better understanding of how different you guys are. It could maybe even help others that get into similar predicaments.”
“So, you’re not kidding around when you say I’m the only pony patient you’ve ever seen?” Scarlet asked.
“Nope, but you all also seem very durable, so I think that’s a good explanation why.”
Scarlet slowly nodded as they stepped through the door and into one of the exam rooms, a feeling of worry starting to well up inside her. She was sure she’d be fine, but what if she had really hurt her leg bad? Evidently, ponies were super durable or something, but that bruise looked really bad, which meant she must have really messed something up. Not to mention that this doctor had never seen a pony patient before, and apparently, no other doctor out here had either.
“So, what do you think you can do then?” she nervously asked.
“Well, that’s the hard part. This is something I’m not trained in, though I am planning on taking the crash course that’s being offered soon. Luckily many things are the same from one mammal to another, a bone is a bone, an ankle is an ankle. I want to at least take an X-ray and see how bad the damage is, but if I’m going to be honest here, I don’t think I’ll be able to do much other than offering some recommendations on how to take care of it so it won’t get any worse.”
“Is there anyone you can recommend us to that could help more?” Silver asked, “I know you can’t do much, but maybe someone else can.”
The doctor paused for a few moments, giving Scarlet another sense of worry. It was only a few quiet moments, but the silence was deafening.
After what felt like an eternity, the doctor finally spoke up, “I don’t know anyone who’s medically trained to handle ponies outside of the larger cities. An old friend of mine is supposed to get training on that soon too, but we don’t have any time frame for when we might get that here.”
Scarlet’s ears perked up, and a small smile spread across her face, “Oh good, so you can direct us his way once you have the X-rays?”
The human shook his head, “He’s way out east, so unless you’re heading that way, you’re out of luck. Last I checked, there were a couple of doctors being trained in Colorado, and a couple I knew down in Florida; maybe even elsewhere if there’s a large enough pony population to make it necessary. The most we got was some basic literature, but no one here actually has any formal training.”
“Not really a necessity then.” Silver concluded.
“Yep. That’s how it is, though. We’ll get some in time, but we’re pretty low on the list as far as I know.”
That optimistic feeling melted away just as quickly as it had shown up. Scarlet shook her head; this was a doctor; he wouldn’t just let her run off if she was in danger of hurting herself worse. But he also couldn’t treat her efficiently. Still though, he was a doctor, and she wasn’t. She’d just have to trust that he knew what he was doing.
“So…” Scarlet started, unsure of what to even ask.
“So, I’m going to run a few tests, get some X-rays, compare them to some of the notes I do have, and we’ll see what happens.”
“What kind of tests?” Silver asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Just some basic things. See where it hurts, how much she can move it, and then just what the X-rays look like. That will at least give me an idea of what we’re dealing with. At the very least, I can maybe tell you whether it’s fractured or not.”
Scarlet slowly nodded. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous, but the doctor’s confident voice at least eased her worries slightly. It helped that she had Silver along with her too; she had always been the nervous type when going to the doctor, and having someone familiar that she felt comfortable with near her made the experience a lot less stressful.
“So, what’s first?” she asked, her voice sounding less anxious.
“I’m going to have you sit up here,” the doctor patted the bed, “and then we’ll see what hurts and when it hurts. Do you need help getting up?”
Scarlet shook her head, gently flapping her wings and carefully flying over to the bed, coming to a soft landing, “I got it.”
Doctor Ramirez looked back with a bewildered expression, “I’ll never get used to that.”
“Seeing ponies fly?”
“Mhmm. It shouldn’t be possible, but somehow it is.”
“Hey doc, I don’t want to sound rude, but can we maybe hold off on the idle chit chat until after we know what’s wrong?”
He looked over toward Silver and nodded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name, mister…”
“Eclipse. Silver Eclipse,” Silver paused. “I don’t want to rush you because you’re the pro, but what if she broke something or—“
“—it’s nothing to be worried about, Mr. Eclipse. If it was broken, I don’t think she’d be able to move it without it hurting like crazy.”
“It’s been hurting pretty bad lately,” Scarlet chimed in.
“But you’ve still been able to move it, right?”
She paused, giving it a few small flexes, “Yeah. I can’t put a lot of weight on it, though, and if I lay wrong, it hurts like hell.”
“Alright,” he stepped closer, pulling off the makeshift splint and looking down at her bruised back leg, “who wrapped this?”
Scarlet looked back at Silver and pointed towards him with a wing, “He did.”
“You did a very good job with this. Did you do this kind of stuff as a human?”
Silver cocked his head to the side, “No actually, just took a few classes back when I needed to fill some college credits. I never thought I’d have to use what I learned, but guess I’m glad I did.”
“I’m glad you did too. I can tell you right off the bat that this could have been a worse injury if you had just let it sit.”
“Guess that’s another one I owe you for, eh Silver?” Scarlet teased.
“Oh don’t start with that, you would have done the same thing for me.”
“Maybe,” she smiled. “So anyhow doc, how bad do you think it is?”
“Probably not too horrible. Now, I’m going to put some slight pressure on it and move it slightly to see if we can figure out that answer. If it hurts too much, just let me know.”
Scarlet nodded, “Okay, doc.”
The doctor began to slowly move the injured leg, stopping as Scarlet let out a small wince of pain.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded, “Just hurt for a sec,” she glanced over toward Silver, who seemed as if he was tense and on edge. No doubt, he was worried sick about her, and she couldn’t help but feel a wave of sympathy pass through her.
“Gotcha,” he took a step back. “So, it’s definitely a sprain, at least that’s what I’m guessing it is. Hard to tell without knowing what I’m looking for, but I can tell you that it isn’t broken.”
“How bad of a sprain?” Silver anxiously asked.
“Hard to say. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either— no sprain is.”
“So, what does that mean?” he shouted back, flashing an embarrassed look as he noticed his small, probably unintentional outburst, which made Scarlet laugh. “Sorry, I mean, what do you think this means for her recovery?”
“What it means is that it’s not broken and she’ll probably make a perfect recovery, but I don’t know how bad it is, or what we’re dealing with. You have to remember that you’re put together a lot differently than a human is.”
“So,” Scarlet cut in, not wanting to see Silver get sent out to the waiting room for being too loud and anxious, “what’s next?”
“Like I said, I want to grab a few X-rays and check the documentation the pony trained doctors sent over, but I don’t think I can treat you, at least not effectively.”
“So what does that mean then? It just has to heal on its own?”
“That’s generally how these types of injuries go,” he offered. “But if you want a second opinion, and this is going to sound completely silly, but your best bet is probably going to be going to a vet and having them take a look at you. I have some basic notes and literature, but that’s nothing without training, and I can tell you that I’m not going to have any idea how to treat this properly without running the risk of making it work.”
“But, a vet can?” Silver asked.
“It’s not a guarantee, but they might be able to tell how your limbs work a little better than I can.”
“Right now?”
“I want to do a bit of research and make some calls, see what I can learn about this, and we can go from there for a follow-up.”
“A vet,” Silver repeated back again.
“Yes, trust me, it sounds weird to me too, but they have equipment that’s probably better suited for your anatomy.”
As weird as it was to Scarlet, it made enough sense. She looked over toward Doctor Ramirez and nodded, “And they’ll probably have a better understanding of how to deal with something like this because of that.”
“Correct. It sounds dumb enough, but it won’t hurt. I don’t think we’re looking at severe long term damage, but I would rather have you go to someone who might have a better idea of what’s up rather than me, a human doctor who’s only ever dealt with human patients before, at least until I have a better idea of what we’re working with.”
Scarlet glanced back over in Silver’s direction, noting that he seemed a little more relaxed and calm now. She couldn’t blame him for being nervous, he felt like he had indirectly caused this whole situation, and he was probably feeling a pretty potent mix of guilt and worry. She’d have to treat him to something nice later, if anything, just to reassure him that he was still fine and was making a mountain out of a molehill.
“Gotcha, so do you still wanna grab some X-rays then?”
“Yes, you’re kind of the guinea pig here, but seeing the actual damage makes learning about it a lot easier.”
“Well, let’s get to it then. You said you had a friend who was being trained by an Equestrian doctor, too, right?”
“Right.”
“Any chance you could send him a copy to see what he has to say on it? Even if it’s just getting a second opinion? I’m fine going to the vet, but I kinda want to at least have a trained doctor look at it, just to give me that extra reassurance.” She glanced back to Silver, “To give us that extra reassurance.”
“Of course. How long it will take him to respond, I don’t know. Might be for the best though, there’s a good chance it’ll get us moved up on the list for getting actual training from Equestrian physicians if we’re dealing with a couple of pony patients.”
“I think that’s a pretty good deal for all of us then, eh?”
“It seems so.” He looked over to Silver, “Now, I’ll need you to go wait out in the waiting room while I get her X-rays. You all might be pretty durable when it comes to physical things, but I still can’t let you back in for that part.”
Silver looked over at Scarlet and gave a slow nod, “If it’s okay with you, Scarlet.”
A twinge of her earlier anxiety flared back up for a brief moment before it was quickly calmed. Scarlet felt dumb that she was so nervous earlier, Doctor Ramirez had done an excellent job at calming her worries, and she trusted him enough to leave Silver for just a quick X-ray session.
“It is,” she nodded. “Just hang out for a bit, and I promise I’ll treat you to something nice in the morning.”
He gave her a small hug, “You don’t need to do that.”
“Sure, I don’t, but I want to. You’ve done so much to make sure I’m comfortable, and I think it’s time I treat us both to something.”
Silver began to protest, but stopped, giving a nod, “Okay.”
Seeing his hesitation, she gave him another embrace, “Why don’t you go leave our phone number with Claire? I’m sure they’ll need that if the doctor needs to get ahold of us.”
“That’s a great idea,” Doctor Ramirez commented. “It won’t take long to get the results back, but it will probably take a while to hear back from my friend. If it’s any consolation, I have a good feeling that we’ll see each other again sooner than later.”
Silver and Scarlet had finished up their business with the urgent care and were already making their way over to the vet in record time. They had left their information with the receptionist, with the reassurance that they’d be in for another follow up before long. Much to Silver’s relief, the checkup didn’t wind up breaking the bank, but it wasn’t cheap either. He would be cutting it close if he wanted to buy Scarlet a new telescope, assuming that the vet didn’t eat up the rest of his cash.
The two had lucked out with the fact that the nearest vet happened to be open late, and they wouldn’t have to get up early to see them. The tall (for a pony) stucco building seemed to tower over them, though they had gotten a little more used to human dwellings again by this time. Wanting to avoid any awkward questions, Scarlet had had Silver call ahead and explain the situation to the local vet, who had thought it was a prank at first, but seemed to understand once Doctor Ramirez had explained everything.
Much to Scarlet’s relief, the door was propped open, making it easy enough for them to enter without having to fumble with the door awkwardly.
“You’re the special case, eh?”
Scarlet jumped out of surprise and looked up at the tall man sitting by the door once she had gotten her bearings, “Yeah, I suppose that’s me,” she flexed her back leg.
“Mhmm, well, you’re in luck; we can have someone take a look at that and hopefully get it sorted out.”
“That’s good to hear,” Silver added,
He held open a door and waved the pair over, “I don’t think you guys are going to complain, but this is kind of off the books. I’ve never had to process an order like this before.”
“Why’s it off the books?” Scarlet asked.
“Well, you’re a pony, but you’re not actually an animal. This is a veterinarian’s office, we probably know more about how to help you than a regular doctor, but we’re not allowed to work on people. Soooo… what that means is that you brought your dog with a sprained paw in, and no one’s going to question that. Sound good?”
Scarlet nodded, “Yeah, weird, but it works,” she replied with a laugh.
“You could totally play the sick puppy act, Scar,” Silver laughed back, earning a smirk from his marefriend.
“Glad you two understand,” he pushed open another door. “Go ahead and take a seat, Clara will be in in a few minutes to see you.”
The couple trotted over to a pair of small chairs and took a seat, cuddling up together. Scarlet looked up and nodded, “Sure,” she scanned for a nickname, picking it out, “Thanks, Mark.”
“Mhmm, if you need anything, feel free to give a holler, I’ll just be over in the next room.”
“Thanks,” Silver replied.
The human stepped out, letting the door softly close behind him, leaving the two alone together. Scarlet wasn’t as anxious as she was earlier, something she could tell that Silver had caught onto as well. She glanced over to the stallion and nuzzled up next to him, noting that he had relaxed a bit too.
“So, I still owe you a nice night out after this. What do you say we go stop by my parents' place and get the introductions out of the way, and then I show you around the old stomping grounds?”
“Is anything going to even be open once we’re out? This didn’t really peg me as the up all night kind of place.”
“Some stuff maybe,” she shrugged, “and if it isn’t, I know a guy at one of the libraries that’s in charge of the observatory there. I’ll show you what a real telescope’s like.”
“Some advanced stargazing, eh? Sounds like a hot date.”
“For me, it is,” she teased. “I don’t know what kind of stuff you’d be into here, but there might be some nice little hangouts we can stop by. Maybe even get some snacks at a bar or something.”
“You wanna go hang out in a bar?”
“Maybe. Don’t think I’ll do a whole lot of drinking, but the mood’s always nice. We could get our own little booth and just chat the night away.”
The door opened, interrupting the pair, and a shorter woman walked in, looking down at the two with a warm smile, “Alrighty then, I’m Doctor Clara, and where is this sick puppy?”
Scarlet chuckled to herself and raised one of her front hooves, “That’d be me.”
“Perfect. Mark gave me the rundown of what’s up; I’ve got the exam room all prepped, so this shouldn’t take long at all.”
“You’re all ready to go?” Silver asked.
“Uh-huh, this is such an odd case, and I figured you two probably want to get this sorted out sooner rather than later. We’ll sit down, take some pictures of your hurt leg, and then hopefully get you all patched up before long.”
Scarlet might have been nervous at first with the last doctor, but right off the bat, this vet was warm and inviting, making her feel perfectly comfortable and not at all nervous. She returned a cheerful smile and nodded, “Sounds good! Think you’ll be able to get it all fixed up then?”
“We’ll find out in about half an hour. If you want to follow me, I can get started.”
Scarlet hopped down off of the chair and glanced back toward Silver, “Can my stallionfriend come along too?”
The vet smiled, “He’ll have to go sit out in the hallway when we’re doing the X-rays, but yeah, there’s no issue with that at all. Feeling nervous?”
Scarlet shook her head, “Not at all.”
“Great,” she held the door open, “Right this way then. It’s the second door on the left,” she looked down at Silver, “And this is going to sound kind of silly, but there’s a nice big dog bed off to the side, go ahead and crash there for a bit if you want. It’s probably a lot comfier than the ground.”
“A dog bed?” He hesitantly replied, “I…” he paused.
“It’s weird, I know. Don’t worry, though. I just washed it earlier today, and if you think you’ll look weird, then don’t worry. It’s just Mark and me here right now, and Mark’s not going to bother anyone.”
Silver nodded, “Thanks, Doctor.”
Silver nervously glanced around and took a seat on the soft-looking dog bed, letting his body relax as Scarlet trotted through the open door with Doctor Clara.
“Alrighty miss Scarlet, this won’t take too long, and I’m sure you went through most of this in the urgent care,” she helped Scarlet up onto the table and continued, “I’m just going to need you to lay very still, and you might feel a little pain when I move your leg. I don’t know what to expect, but it can’t be that different from any other similar creature, right?”
“Well, I’m a former human, now a small other-dimensional horse looking thing with fangs and bat wings, and some of us can use magic. So I’m going to guess it won’t just be that simple.”
“Probably,” she shrugged, “at the very least, I’ll be able to splint the thing up better so you can let the sprain heal on its own.” She slowly unwrapped the splint, making Scarlet wince as the pressure was put on the sprain.
“Was it not done up enough before?”
The vet shook her head. “I can tell it was done by a doctor that deals with humans, and that wouldn’t normally be an issue… but you’re obviously not a human. Don’t get me wrong though, it did the job well enough but I’m just going to make sure it’s done in a way that’ll better support your leg. But first,” she pulled the apparatus closer, “it’s X-ray time!”
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Pouts, "You no use bat for work no more?"
Laughs, "Being silly really, as my recent blog entry notes, things have been a bit crazy here lately (106 hours of work in two weeks), so I prolly wouldn't've been able to do much."
Ok, with that out of the way, while I am enjoying the story, I wasn't really taken with this chapter, the whole doctor and vet thing didn't really work for me, at least not in this form, and there were definitely some missed opportunities. Still, it wasn't terrible, nor is it going to chase me away, I'm looking forward to what's coming.
It is kinda interesting to see how things are playing out - how society is coping with all these changes. Understandable that some docs that went full pony would go to do some retraining, but I'm kind of surprised that they're all still unsure how to handle pony patients, or that they haven't had any pony patients. They're durable sure but still. It also makes me wonder how they treat those who are only partially changed.
This is an interesting perspective into how the human society is adjusting to the conformational and sometimes real changes of this syndrome. It is still rather baffling that the doctors are still, if I dare say, incompetent in helping the ponies to treat their injuries, though that could be due to the segregation of the societies and communities, tied down to the fundamentals of philisophy and ideality between the two species. It is heartwarming that this human doctor was able to keep his mind open to this and consider looking into this case with some amount of effort, rather than shrugging it off entirely which is a gratifying moment in humanity. This is especially so with the great divisions in class and race societies in the real world today on a global level. It is a thought-provoking chapter that conveyed significantly more meaning to the prior in the scope of the environment around them, particularly in the human society, and it is a commendable piece.
Huh, my comments from the previous chapter were spot on for the best way forward. Did forget vets can't treat humans as part of normal business