Context

Day 58½

“What are you talking about? What animal? We don’t have any pets.” Verde answered the officer, whose sharply kept blonde mane and narrowly sharp golden eyes kept their bearings on Verde. He wore armor like a sentry, but the blue insignia right over his heart in the shape of a badge displayed that he was on official duty for the local precinct for the world to see.

“We got a report from the local Vet that he came here to treat a monkey. He determined would be more humane to put it down rather than to let it continue on.” the police pony stated.

“OH...the vet, well we don’t have any monkeys here, I had a sick human you see and-” Verde was immediately interrupted.

“A human?” the Police pony said, eyeing Verde. Realizing that there were absolutely no human/pony couples in Trottington, she would have to explain it to him.

“Yes see, I’ve decided to herd with a human, he got sick and I got a vet to come here and examine him, but he’s an old coot and wrote him off as a unusually large monkey.” Verde reported.

“Are you allright ma’am? We can take the talking ape in if he is bothering you.” the officer remaked

“Um, you know I did say he was my herdmate right?” Verde was starting to get uncomfortable. Maybe there was some truth to Jason’s displeasure with how the ponies in Trottington treated humans.

“Ma’am, do you need assistance?” The police pony emphasized. Verde was getting worried. The officer peered into the house to see if he could catch anything important

Realizing that he might be trying to find an excuse to enter, Verde knew that she needed to end this conversation right here and now.

“No I don’t need help officer, everything is fine, we don’t have a monkey.” Verde maintained.

“Do you mind if I come in and have a look around?” the officer asked. Verde was now sure he was trying to arrest the human, it frankly frightened her that this was even going on.

“No, this home is not rented in my name, so I am going to ask you to stay out and leave.” Verde dictated, quickly remembering that she could not give permission for the officer to enter the house anyways. “I’m closing the door now.”

Verde slowly closed the door. To her surprise, the police pony didn’t try to stop her or tell her to stop. Worried that he would be sticking around to see what was going on, Verde locked the door and ran to Jason.

“Hey, who was that?” Jason asked as she entered the room. Verde ignored him as she ran to the window to pull the blinds closed.

“Shh...” she whispered. After closing the blinds, she slowly approached Jason.

“Be quiet for now, I think that police officer was trying to arrest you, I’ll explain when I am sure he is gone.” she quietly spoke in his ear.

Jason nodded and closed his eyes. Good, take a nap. Verde thought. She continued to close the blinds around the house in a rushed manner.

When she finished, she moved the pony-step stool from the kitchen to the front door and looked through the peephole.

To her surprise, he really was still there, writing notes it seemed. Verde was just as curious as she was afraid. Why was he acting this way? This should have been a simple thing, did telling him I herded with a human really make him that paranoid?, Verde asked herself.

Realizing he was taking an awfully long time to write his notes, she moved down from the stool and returned to Jason. He was still napping, her plan was to wake him up and inform him of what had just happened incase there was something he knew. Nuzzling him from the side of the bed, his eyes fluttered open.

“Jason, the officer still hasn’t left, is there somthing wrong?” Verde asked.

“Not surprising Verde, like I said, this town has been giving us humans difficulty for the most part. Are there any other human/pony herds in the town?” Jason asked, being as quiet as he could.

“N..no, why, is that a problem?” Verde inquired. Then she started slowly realizing that it was not the fact that she said that she had a human here, it was that she said she was herding with one that made the officer act like he did.

“Wait Jason, I told him you were my herdmate, no pony that I know of in town has openly said that they were herding with a human... he could be confused or-”Verde trailed off

“Or he might think that you’re being held against your will.” Jason spoke, moving his hand to Verde’s mane.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, stroking her head.

“Yeah, I just, well I just never realized that telling anypony that I was with a human would be a problem.” Verde worried out loud.

“Interesting, In the big cities and cities near the Neo equinox, I doubt you could get anyone to care, but here, they seem to be very protective of members of the pony community...” Jason spoke, closing his eyes.

“Humans herd with ponies in other places?” Verde asked him. She was honestly surprised, she thought that he and she were doing something completely new. She then remembered what Wayworth said. Humans and ponies did have intimate relationships.

“You must have heard Lyra’s story.” Jason said. How could she not, Trottington was in a uproar about it, a Human and a Pony doing those kind of things when the two races had only met, and the fact that human could relive a mare’s heat just as well as a stallion without chance of pregnancy. Oh, is that why I knew that Jason could help me thought my heat?, Verde asked herself. The story came out two years ago or so, maybe she just remembered the fact, and not where it came from.

“You know its not just mares and human males, stallions and human females have been at it also.” Jason spoke.

“Do human girls herd with stallions or...?” Verde asked Jason.

“I don’t know, I think that would be up to the couple you’re asking, but”, Jason coughed, “I’ve heard stories of some guys trying their own herds in the more accepting cities, with varying levels of success. But most of the time, from what I can tell, most humans are comfortable with a one to one match up, more in line with what we humans deal with as the norm.”

“Human’s don't have multiple females to a male?” Verde inquired.

“No, Ponies have about a three or four mares to one stallion ratio. Humans, just one to one. While we do and can have multiple partners, even polygamy marriage, we generally meet one person, and they become our mates, for however short or long a time. That and human females don’t go through such a rough period of fertility like mares do.” Jason remarked.

Verde took a moment to think about this, when she wondered if the officer was still at the door.

“Hey, I’ll be right back, I want to see if the officer is still at the door.” Verde spoke already nearly out the door.

Checking the peephole, he was gone. Worried that he simply moved to a window to try to see in, she started checking under the blinds on the windows throughout the house. After checking the bedroom, the last window, she realized he had really left. Verde sighed in relief. Perhaps there was something about this town that did not mix well with humans, or any other sentient species. While you would see a griffon here and there trading, you saw none of the civil diamond dogs nor any minotaurs, and the minotaurs were actually their closest neighbor...

Verde returned to Jason, with him finishing his half eaten eggs from before, he still had yet to touch his toast

“You know I could have reheated that for you in that heatless oven of yours.” Verde commented, getting on the bed to be next to Jason.

“True, but I was the one who started massaging you in lieu of the fact that eggs over time, get cold.” Jason chirped.

Verde pecked Jason’s cheek, to remind him of the obvious fact that she cared. His response was to cup her chin and kiss her on the lips. What was at first, an awkward part of their relationship when she was in her first heat with him, now became common place, assuming he had his wits about him. His lips were thinner than her first stallion, a pony by the name of Thunder Growth, but more assertive, giving of, and demanding of her, passion. Verde realized that, after the initial clumsy, awkward week or so of their courtship, Jason had adjusted just nicely to her, just as she adjusted to the idea of rearing up every time she wanted to be kissed and he was standing. What really astounded her, was his flexibility. Ignoring the congress that they both partook in during her fertile period, he was quite dexterous and agile. In seconds, he could get on all fours and be at about half her height, sit to be at her height, or squat and be a head over her.

But something came to mind. For the most part, Jason and her skipped the courtship phase of herding, where they would talk and get to know each other. She liked to think that the first few weeks of him housing her was essentially that time, only that they had to skip the sampling and rush straight into the fact that he could relieve her of her heat. The sampling, when two non-herding members, become physically intimate to see if it was a desired sexual union, always happens at least once before a new member of the herd was added. She had done it with both Ruffie and Fiery Spirit when she courted that herd. But for Jason and her, he had not known her intimately outside of when she needed him.

She remembered the first time for her and Jason as an awkward affair, he had just agreed to the prospect of a herd the night before and the next morning, an unusually strong moment of heat initiated carnal desire flooded her to the point of immobility. She had to plead with him to help her. At first, she thought that he was permitting the torture of her own body to go on, but soon found out that it was the awkwardness of his own perception of himself and the prospect of transspecies intimacy that held him back. But after breaking him in, he was able to perform most of the time, though clumsy and awkward. When she explained that he need merely give his seed and not be a sex god, he was able relax and do the important task as the stallion of the herd well. Except for the moments after where she would involuntary spasm as tight as she could that he had to shove her off to get himself out, complaining about the pain.

Remembering her promise to help with the groceries broke her out of the reminiscing of Jason and her’s physical intimacy. She remembered that she still had a few of her paintings at the Art Boutique in town and thought that she could help get some bits for fresh food.

“Hey, I need to go into town in a week or so, I haven't checked in a few months with my art dealer and I might have some bits to help with food...” Verde trailed off, nuzzling Jason’s neck.

“If you can get some more bits for food, we can deal until I can return to work. But are we already out of bits that I had in the desk?” asked Jason, chewing on a piece of toast.

“I can’t find anymore. Unless you got some hidden away in a place I didn’t find...” Verde spoke, snuggling against Jason

“Thats all I remember getting.” Jason said, pulling Verde close to him.

“Hey, I know that you have been busy helping me get better Verde, but you told me you love to paint, I want you to take some time out and just paint today all right? I’ll even watch you if you permit it.” Jason asked.

“Just... watch me?” Verde inquired.

“Just watch.” Jason finished.