Context

Day 55

“Honestly, I think we should put him down, I mean, look at him, poor thing can barely breath.” The Vet spoke in a cracked, disinterested voice.

“Wait, what!?” Verde cried out, disbelieving what she had just heard.

“I’ve treated pet monkeys before and trust me, this one would be better off if we just put him to sleep.” the vet mellowly spoke.

“Get out.” Verde yelled.

“I ser-” the Vet tried to reply.

“GET OUT!!!” Verde screamed, trying to contain her rage and disgust.

“Allright, but know that I will have to report this as animal abuse to animal con-” the Vet said before being interrupted again by being bucked out the door.

Verde looked at her heardmate and sighed, she would need other humans to talk to, the local pony doctor knew nothing of humans and the vet, well she just saw how helpful he was.

Verde started digging around Jason’s stuff. She knew that he did not want her going through his things, even though she was his lead mare. It was going through his strangely shaped desk that she realized that he left every day from 8am to 6pm and he never said what he did or who he worked for, only that he was working.

She began rummaging through the desk more aggressively now, starting to just throw papers on the floor, even getting saliva stains on them from when she stopped caring about the state that they were in. Then she heard him gasp for air.
Running to her herd mate, she saw that he was finally up and again, gasping for air in tears. His face, twisted in agony as he tried to take deep breaths, his hands clenched as if trying to focus on them rather then his current physical state. It finally dawned on Verde, My love was suffocating and there is nothing I can do.

“Oh Celestia, the vet was useless, and I don’t know how to help you. I just don’t know what to do, please just, just try and tell me where I can find more humans... ” she suddenly realized that he was only the 10th or so human she had seen in her life, there were no humans this far from the center of Trottington, at least humans she had seen.

Jason looked at her, between his flinches of pain, she could have sworn that he knew that she was trying her hardest to help him. Lifting up his finger, he pointed at the bathroom where she had dragged him to the hot shower only hours ago.

“Wallet” he coughed out and arched his back in pain. Wallet? What's that?, she thought.

“I don’t understand Jason, what's a wallet?” she said lightly touching his arm with her hoof.

“Jeans....wallet....jea-” Jason interrupted by the pain. His eyes bulged so large for such tiny things as his back once again arched up. Verde turned from him and galloped to the bathroom. There it was, a single pair of jeans on the floor, damp thanks to where the water from the shower overflowed. She started hoofing at it, until she felt a strange hard bulge. Investigating it further, she saw that whatever it was, it was in one of his pockets. Without a second thought, she grabbed the jeans and started shaking it like a dog shaking a toy when it flew out.. and into the toilet...

“Oh my Celestia...” she stared at the toilet. But she knew that if she were to help the human she loved, she would need to retrieve the wallet. Then she saw what had flown out. It was just a piece of black leather... with cards in it? Verde ran to the kitchen and started trying to find a pair of tongs she used earlier. Rushing back into the bathroom, she started to try to fish the wallet out with the tongs. Pulling out the wallet, she ran back to the bedroom with the damp folded leather and dropped it onto Jason’s chest with a flop.

Jason gave out a surprised gasp, slowly feeling his chest, he felt the water logged wallet. Slowly picking it up, he pulled out a few of the cards humans always carried along with them. He started to look at each one carefully. Finally he found the one he was looking for. Pulling it out, he placed it on the side of his bed in front of Verde and closed his eyes, returning to his sleeping, wheezy state. She saw the card, a Zivragon Telecommunications Cooperation card. What what's she supposed to do with this? Maybe there was something on the back, slowly flipping the card to its back, the text got a lot smaller, skimming she finally found what she was looking for... ‘If this card is lost, please return it to 392 Maple RD, Trottington’. Where there was someone to take back a lost human card, there must be other humans there... but the place listed was across Trottington, and the home Jason and Verde lived in was the other side of town. Standing for a moment, she resolved to help her herd mate, by any means necessary. Putting the card in her saddlebag, she checked on Jason one last time before she left.

“Hey Jason, look, I know that I kinda forced myself onto you, I should have known that you had no idea of our customs and stuff... I'm just so sorry that I assumed you understood what verbally inviting me to sleep in the main bed for the night meant. But you took care of me, even when I was a poor companion, you still fed me and gave me shelter, I’m going to go try to get humans this time, humans who can hopefully help you, okay? I’ll be back, I just want you to know that.” she whispered quietly to him. She bumped her head into his arm to try and comfort him.

His eyes suddenly fluttered and he reached out with his hand to touch her face. This time she did not pull back or move away. His blunt limbs softly combed her mane, then, suddenly his hand dropped back onto the bed and he simply muttered out “no … worries”.

Staring at her human stallion, she backed off slowly and turned around. After picking up her saddlebag, she moved to the living room and out the front door. Looking east ward, she began to run with all her might, tears streaming down her face in hopes that other humans could save the man that she now knew loved her so much.

===

“Is that why Jason hasn't showed up to work the last few days?” Jerry said. This human was taller and darker than Jason, and while Jason had an air of reluctant compassion, this one had an air of authority. He had no mane, just the same tanned skin that covered his face and hands. The clothes he wore, while not seemingly fashionable, demanded submission in their sharp corners and mix of black and greys, with the only color on his persons, a belt, that was crimson red as dried blood on a bandage.

Verde found the Zivragon ‘Omnicron’ compound. She was surprised to see it cordoned off with a tall fence made of thin, wrapped metal with a bunch of houses inside the fenced area. She could see humans walking to and from the buildings and even a few ponies that she had never seen in the town before.

“Yes, he is very, very sick, he keeps gasping for air and he can barely speak at all.” Verde exclaimed, she was trying to skip the explaining and jump to the ‘getting help’ part of her mission.

“Thats all well and good, but how do you know this?” Jerry asked. Verde remembered that Jason hated being called her stallion or heardmate, and that he ranted that other humans would mock him for accepting a pony into his herd.

Thinking quickly, she finally came up with an answer. “Oh I am Jason’s house keeper, I go out to his little human house every three days and clean up after him.” she said with a fake smile.

“He can... afford housekeeping?” Jerry asked, with one part of his thin lips frowning to the side.

“Oh um, yeah he knows me from a long while ago and I offered my services at a steep discount, you know, he was so helpful in the past to me that I just felt this was the only way I could repay him!” she cheerfully cried.

“How do you know him? This is his first time in Equestria, how would he ha-” Jerry was interrupted by the lime green pony.

“Oh, my family took a vacation there a few years ago!” she stated with her ears folded back.

“You came to earth... on vacation? The parallel world that most, if not all other ponies in town fear, your family went there... on vacation?” Jerry looked as if he knew was being lied too now...

“Yes, you see, my father always wanted to take us to new places, what place is newer then Earth!” Verde spoke quickly

“....fine then, we know that this town is woefully under equipped to handle human needs, we have a onsite doctor that we can send immediately, let me page her.” Jerry said.

“Oh thank you, thank you very much Mr.Jerry!” Verde nearly screamed.

===

Verde was able to catch a ride back home with the doctor, she had seen human cars before but this was different. It was like an open air box, and it never used a road. It’s doors were much smaller and it had a strange framework in lieu of it being covered completely. She saw that it was named ‘Jeep’. Perhaps humans named their machines like ponies named pets, Verde thought. As they drove, the doctor was already asking her questions about Jason’s condition. Dr.Wayworth was a wrinkled female of Jason’s species who wasted no time in getting to work.

The doctor made no change in her face since Jerry introduced her to Verde. The curls of her white hair offset what seemed a controlled rage and impatience that the doctor herself spent years forging into weapons of dominance. Her white lab coat was even whiter than the pictures Verde saw of Celestia, having never seen the sun princess in person. Beneath it, a dark green with a tinge of blue shirt covered a nearly deathly thin figure, deathly thin for a human at least.

“So the major problem is he can not breath or move under his own power?” she asked Dr.Wayworth, her bleach white hair bouncing up and down with the car.

“Yes, he can still move his arms for the most part, but everything else he needs assistance with.” Verde barked back, trying to overcome the sound of the engine.

“Has he been coughing up blood or mucus?” she quickly replied, keeping her eyes forward.

“Yes he has, but he has no fever.” even Verde knew how to check for a fever.

"Yes he has been coughing up both?" Wayworth sternfully shouted.

"Oh, just the mucus." Verde stated, correcting herself.

“Well I will have to have a look at him, but assuming he has all his vaccinations, he might have Pneumonia.” Dr.Wayworth finished as they pulled up to the house, stopping so hard that Verde almost fell from her seat.

Only Humans bothered to lock the door, no other pony in the town of Trottington did unless the Diamond Dog sirens went off, which kind of spooked the doctor at seeing Verde simply pull down the door handle.

Once inside, Verde lead the Doctor to the master bedroom, and with that, the good doctor went to work immediately.

Verde moved herself to the corner as she watched the human doctor poke and prod Jason. Jason occasionally gargled and coughed but the Doctor seemed to pay no mind. Verde saw the Doctor take notes on one of those magic paper things, very much like what Jason had. Just as Verde just got lost in her thoughts, the Human Female spoke up.

“You said this started three days ago?” the Doctor asked.

“Yes, he was sleeping one moment and gasping for air the next.” Verde replied.

“...Why did you wait to get in contact with us?” the Doctor said, with a almost drone tone in her voice.

“I thought that the local Vet co-” Verde was stopped by the Doctor.

“Excuse me? Did you say Vet?” the doctor stated in an almost mocking tone while eyeing Verde.

“I...I don’t know many humans and” Verde tried to respond, only to have the Doctor interrupt her again.

“Apparently, so you put this man’s life at risk because you felt the local pony population, the ones this far out in the Equestrian boonies, had the knowledge to treat human ailments?” the Doctor raised her voice, staring directly at her with those predator eyes.

Verde was backing away, she could deal with Jason, she knew that he would not hurt her, but this Doctor? This Doctor kept staring at her.

“S..stop p..p.please...y..you’re s..scaring me...” Verde had huddled into the corner she had originally assigned herself at.

“Don’t think just because you ponies are ignorant of our biology that we are also ignorant of pony biology, do you know why you can't handle this stare? Herbivores; A herbivore that sees a predator about to chase after it and your flight response is screaming, demanding safely from the eyes that peer your way. In fact, a few of your brothers and sisters have even mastered this stare. But humans? Its natural to almost every... human.” the Doctor slowly approached Verde, whose voice was a cross of the rage of a thousand ages gone by and a predatory hiss.

“Don’t.” a muffled voice from the bed ariose. “She...tried...” and as quickly as the voice rose, it fell. Verde, peering from the corner of her eye, could see Jason’s hand lifted toward the Doctor.

The Doctor turned to Jason, breaking the stare. Verde suddenly made a dash, tumbling past the doctor and positioned herself on the opposite end of the bed as the doctor, thinking that Jason would be able to protect her. Almost instinctually, Verde buried her face underneath Jason’s arm, it took her a moment to realize what she had done.

“Why...scaring....her.” Jason mumbled as he moved his nearest hand and started stroking Verde’s mane.

The Doctor looked at Jason and with that, wrote on her device again.

“You have a viral strain of Pneumonia. I'll be back with some medication to abate the symptoms, but you will have to overcome it by yourself.” Dr.Wayworth finished.

“Pony, I would have words with you.” the doctor said, turning to Verde.

“W..why?” Verde said muffled between the arm and bed sheets.

“If you care for him at all as your herd mate, you will speak to me.” Dr.Wayworth coldly toned.
Verde lifted her head from the comfort of Jason’s arm

“How did you know that Jason was my herd mate?” Verde weakly asked

“Pony behavior deals with predators by running to the herd mate designated for fighting and waits for them to deal with the threat. If Jason was not your herd mate, you would have made a clean break for the living room when I broke my stare, instead, you clumsily fell to Jason’s side.” Dr.Wayworth said in a more soothing tone. “Tell me, how long have you two been herd mates? Are there any other members?”

“Its just Jason and I” Verde looked up to the Doctor. “I accepted his invite into his herd about two months ago.”

“Invite?” the Doctor tilted her head

“Human/Pony intimate companionship usually follow the human model of relationships, the two spend months learning about each other before moving further, And even then, few human males go on to make a herd of mates because of human stigma against polygamy. But even then, the courted ponies themselves only call themselves a herd when there are three members or more... tell me, what happened?” Dr.Wayworth questioned.

“...He verbally invited me to lay in the master bed for the night...” Verde looked at Jason, her ears flattening as if she was ashamed of her interpretation of his words.

“I see, did he know that he extended a very intimate invitation into his life?” the Doctor inquired

“Apparently not...I...I had no home, I just got kicked out of my first herd before I was even a member, I could not go back home, my Mother’s herd has high expectations for everyone but me, they were stunned that I got an invite at all, without a long courting. But the stallion at the last moment decided that a old member who came back had priority over me...” Verde sighed out.

“So I was in the mud, unsure as to what to do, the Lead Mare teleported my suitcases and painting supplies into into the mud as well... and Jason saw me and -” Verde was interrupted

“He offered you his home to stay for the night... oh you poor thing” the Doctor reached out and touched Verde’s cheek.

“He wasn't asking you to join his herd, he was showing compassion, and in an attempt to make you comfortable, he gave you the master bed didn't he? He was trying to give you a place to sleep comfortably.” the Doctor asked.

Verde nodded, “I thought he was inviting me to join his herd, I...I was desperate and accepted...”

“Have you gone into heat yet?” the Doctor asked
Verde once again nodded, “He didn't understand but, once I made him understand... he helped me get through it.”

“Verde, I want you to know that I am bound by my kind’s privacy laws, its obvious that Jason hasn't told anyone about this and I won’t tell anyone either, I do need to ask, when is your next heat?” the Doctor continued, trying to make Verde feel safe over the fact that she knew about Jason’s secret.

“About Two weeks, why?” Verde asked

“He won't be able to perform his duties to you, I am going to get you a heat kit, I know its not as natural, but since you two are herd mates, you will need to take care of him for the most part while the medication takes care of his symptoms. And if you're in constant heat, it will be difficult.” The Doctor now looked at Verde with far more empathetic eyes

“Once the medication is administered, he will be able to breath relatively normally because I'm giving him a powerful pain suppressant. Talking and the like will come later. I'm also going to prescribe a immune system booster to help his natural defense system overcome the virus. What I need you to do is make sure he is clean, drinks at least two glasses of water a day and you need to get food in him, I know you ponies are not fond of cooking meat, but can I assume you have no problem with cooking eggs?” Wayworth asked.

“I've tried cooking before, but Jason's kitchen isn't made for ponies...” replied Verde

“When I come back, I'll bring a cookbook, and see if I can get any pony cooking utensils at the compound, do you two need groceries?” asked the Doctor

“I don’t know....” Verde looked away

“Does Jason have any bits stashed away?” inquired Wayworth

“Yes, he does, I found some on his work desk” Verde remembered

“I'll help if you two need more money but most of the currency Jason and I are paid in is not legal tender here, normally he would go to our workplace and request a Credit to Bit exchange and that requires that he input his PIN, and since he can possibly contaminate others with his illness, there is no way I'm letting him into the corporation's outpost just yet.” the Doctor stated.

“Do you know how to use a human phone?” asked Wayworth.

“No, the ones that humans carry around, I can't press buttons, like that writing thing you have, my hooves make it do nothing” she said, remembering the time she tried to use Jason’s phone.

“Thats because your hooves are not an adequate conduct of electrical current, here.” the doctor said handing Verde the pen she was using.

“This is a stylus, you will need to use your mouth to complete the circuit. Its almost like writing, except more tapping. There should be an emergency call function on Jason’s phone you can use that is linked to the outpost’s emergency center, if something happens, activate the emergency call feature and make sure you tap speakerphone.” the Doctor finished, walking toward the front door

“Wait, can’t you help me? I don’t have any idea about humans a-” Verde cried before being interrupted.

“You knew enough to come find us when he was legitimately sick, yeah later then I would have liked but you know where to run if you need help.” the Doctor said opening the door.

“Look,” the doctor said turning around, “If you and Jason continue your relationship, I want you to come down to our office sometime. I just want to give you a medical exam so that I can clear you two for travel. Then we can register Jason and you as family members.” the Doctor kneeled down to Verde’s eye level.

“Travel?” Verde asked.

“Don't you know? When Jason’s work visa expires in two months, he has to return to Earth, if you get registered as a family member of his, you will be able to get a family relations visa to go to Earth easil-” Wayworth tried to explain before being interrupted.

“I don’t want to go to Earth!” Verde cried out, she had heard horror stories about that place, what a horrible word Earth must be if it the only sentient species is the top predator...

“...I'll leave that discussion between you and Jason... I’ll be back with a heat kit and the other stuff you need... for now, just take care of Jason.” and with that Wayworth turned and left, leaving Verde to her own thoughts, she didn't want to go to Earth, but Jason has to leave soon.

Verde Cringed when she realized that if she stayed with Jason, she would go to a world inhospitable for ponies, and if she relinquished her herd ship, she would have to go home to her mother’s herd.