//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: It's Urgent... Care // Story: Do Ponies on Earth have Magic Dreams? // by TikiBat //------------------------------// Silver gently tapped a hoof to Scarlet’s side, giving her a small shake, “Hey, Scar can we talk?” The mare slowly stirred and smiled at the nickname. Letting out a long yawn, she rolled over and gave him a very drowsy nod, “Mhmm, what’s up Silvie?” “I think we need to go see a doctor,” he flashed her a worried look, “Your leg doesn’t look so great.” She shifted in her bed and glanced down, flipping on the nearby light and gasping as she took sight of the bruised back leg. She looked back toward Silver and gave a nod, “Right… do we uhh… have to do that? Maybe it just needs time to heal on its own,” she nervously replied back.  Silver stepped forward and took a closer look himself, letting out his own gasp of surprise once he saw it in better light. The leg was definitely bruised, and that was putting it very lightly. A large dark blob took up a sizable portion of her back leg, and he couldn’t help but be reminded of the time he had gotten hit in the leg as a kid. That had hurt a lot, and Scarlet’s must have been even worse if he could see the large bruise all the way through her fur, “No, no we definitely need to go see someone.” He looked up to her in worry, “That doesn’t look good at all. Does it still hurt if you put weight on it?” “I haven’t tried yet, it’s been sore the last couple of nights, but hasn’t really been a searing pain or anything.” “Just try slowly. We did a lot of walking last night, I just want to make sure we didn’t put too much strain on it or anything.” “Silver… I… it sounds silly but I get kinda nervous going to the doctor,” Scarlet admitted. Silver nodded, “I get you. Nothing wrong with being nervous.” “You don’t think it’s weird?” He shook his head, “Not at all. I’m not a fan of going to the doctor either, I don’t think anyone really is.” He looked back down at the large bruise, “You definitely need to go though, and I’ll be right by your side the whole time, okay?” “I just… it’s,” she let out a sigh, stopping as Silver pulled her into a tight embrace. “I love you, and I want to be with you forever. We just need to make sure your leg is good so it doesn’t get worse.” She returned the embrace and nodded, “I love you too. I just can’t help but get a little shaky about this. It’s dumb and I feel dumb.” “Don’t. It’s perfectly normal. I’m not judging you, and no pony else is going to judge you for that.” “I’ll go, but I’m not gonna like it, and you owe me a lot of cuddles after,” she joked.  Silver laughed, “I'll cuddle with you for a whole week if it makes you feel better.” “It would.”  Scarlet slowly began to maneuver herself out of the bed, but quickly winced in pain as she put pressure on the leg. Silver’s heart sank and he rushed to help her up, not wanting her to be in any pain.  “Yeah, we definitely need to go see a doctor about that.” He began to frantically look around the room for his seldom used phone. It wouldn’t be a trot in the park to use, but he could set aside his own frustration for a few minutes given the situation.  “Ya think?” she replied in a sour tone, pausing as she looked back up to see his frantic expression. “Sorry, guess that came out a little rude.” “It’s fine,” he calmly answered back, “you’re in pain and I’d be a little cranky too if I was in your place.” “Thanks for understanding,” she readjusted herself in bed and shimmied closer to him. “So who do we even go to? No offense to Helping Hooves, but she’s not exactly a top rate doctor.” “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. There's not really any nearby hospital or urgent care we can just waltz on into, and I don’t think any pony here can really help.” “And neither of us have income or insurance to throw at this kind of thing,” she added. “I’ve got some cash stashed away for emergencies… I was kinda hoping to use it to buy you a new telescope but this is way more important.” “You could splint it back up again, and I’ll just get used to walking on three legs for now,” she offered. He shook his head again, “Nope, we definitely need to get this checked out,” he glanced out the open window. “You said you used to live an hour away, right? Down in Palm Springs?” “Yeah, why?” “Do you still have family down there?” “My parents are still down there, got an idea or something?” “Well I can’t spring for a hotel room or anything, but maybe they could let us crash on their couch for a night or two? Just to make sure we’re good in case we need to have a follow up or something.” He looked back at her, “Think they’d mind us staying a couple of days?” “I don’t think they would,” she shrugged, “if you dig out my phone I can give them a call and see.” He hopped off of the bed and trotted toward their shared closet where Scarlet’s phone was stashed away, charging, “Glad you have family there. My brother’s ex is the only person I know there and I’m sure that’d be an awkward request to make out of the blue.” “They’re gonna bombard you with tons of questions though just a heads up.” “Mhmm, what kind of questions?” “Your standard fare, easily excitable mom and dad kinda questions. Stuff like when are we getting married, are we gonna have foals, what kinda stuff do you do, where did you live, are they invited to the wedding… that sort of stuff.” Silver slowly nodded, unsure of what any of those answers would be. They had just barely gotten to the cute pet names and more aggressive cuddling part of their relationship and he didn’t even have a clue about what the next step would be. Taking a nervous gulp, he looked back toward her and flashed his best attempt at a confident smile, “Well, I can answer honestly and say we don’t know or I can play with them a bit and say we’ve already got a foal on the way and the wedding’s next week. Think they’d get a kick out of that?” She rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh, “Probably not the best first impression to make. Dad might get a kick out of it though, mom would be mortified.” “You think?” He laughed, “Alright, I’ll play it straight with them and just say we’re a couple of romantics just getting started.” “That’s probably for the best,” she replied, pulling Silver into a tight embrace. “Thanks for taking care of me. I don’t really need you taking care of everything, but I still appreciate it.” Silver leaned into the embrace, nuzzling up to her, “Anytime. This whole thing’s low key my fault so I think taking care of you and making sure you’re nice and comfy is my responsibility.” He looked down at her leg again, “We just need to figure out how to get down there too… not like we can just call an Uber all the way up here.” “Something tells me that a normal doctor’s not gonna know much about this either,” Scarlet added.  Silver hadn’t considered that, but she was absolutely right. By all rights, ponies were practically aliens and they’d be hard pressed to find a doctor that was actually trained to deal with pony injuries. Still though, someone with professional medical training might at least know how to basically treat something until they could get a hold of someone more suited to their needs. Scarlet’s point brought up another thought: the pair would definitely need a checkup eventually. Especially if their innocent cuddles went any further.  He shook his head, that was a talk for another time, there were more important matters in the present, “That’s a good point, but we don’t exactly have a choice. At the very least maybe they can give us some advice, or point us in the right direction or something.” “Guess we’ll find out. That still leaves the matter of how we even get there. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really up for hiking down to the valley.” “We could fly,” he offered. “Sure it’s an hour away, but that’s also because of the way you have to drive to get up here. We could just as easily fly right over there and maybe shave a good chunk off of the trip.” “You want to fly all the way there? Doesn’t that seem a little far to you?” “Maybe, but I’ll tell you what. I’ll pack some necessities and if it gets to be too much then I’ll set up camp somewhere safe and we can take a break. You just have to flap your wings and if you need help I’ll be there.” She paused for a moment before giving a short nod, “Guess it’s worth a shot.” “Glad you agree, now you just sit there and relax, I’m gonna try and figure out where to go.” “Sounds like a plan. I’ll go ahead and give my parents a ring and let them know what’s up. You better save some energy to chat with them, because they’re gonna talk your ears off.” Silver let out a small laugh and began to work his phone. It wasn’t the easiest task in the world, but one he could deal with. Before long he managed to make a few searches and jot down a number for the nearest place they could get to. Obviously it wasn’t a normal situation in the slightest, but it was their best bet, and that was better than nothing. He gave the number a call and sat for a few moments as the phone continued to ring. Realizing that the room was going to get too noisy with both of their phones on speaker, he trotted outside and gently shut the door, just in time for the voice on the other end to greet him.  Not really sure of what to do, or how to explain the situation, he simply gave a quick rundown of what had happened, and in turn answered a few of their questions. It was clear to Silver that whoever had answered had no clue how to treat a pony, but still they collected any information they could— stuff like how much it hurt for her to put weight on it, how old Scarlet was, what tribe she was— lots of mundane things that Silver assumed would give a basic idea of what the doctors were dealing with.  After a few more questions, they had apparently gotten everything they needed, asked him a few similar identifying questions, and gave him instructions on what he should do once they got there. Hanging up the phone, he trotted back inside and looked over toward Scarlet, who was finishing up her own call.  “So, what’d they say?” Silver asked as Scarlet hung up.  “Mom and dad are fine with it, really excited to meet you too.” “They are?” He raised an eyebrow, “How excited are we talking?” “Very excited. Like I said, they’re gonna ask you a lot of awkward questions and it’s gonna be embarrassing for both of us, but that’s just how they are.” “Fair enough. Guess it’s not really a huge shock or anything, they’re probably itching for good news after the whole huge portion of the population are now alien horses thing.” “Probably. So what’s the plan for the trip?” Silver gestured toward the bundled roll of blankets on the ground, “We take our blankets and a few supplies. Not a whole lot. Just my cash, the phone chargers, and some water and breakfast bars in case we need them.” “And you still want to fly?” He nodded, “If you’re okay with that then I am. We can cuddle up and rest when we get to your parents. I called into the urgent care and they said they don’t know how much they can help us, but they can at least have one of their guys take a look at the leg and see if they can offer anything.” “Better than nothing I suppose.” “Exactly. I guess Equestrian doctors are hard to come by. The guy said we can talk about options once we’re there and they can actually take a look at what the problem is.” “Wanna help me out of bed? I need to grab a bite to eat and should probably shower off before we get going.” “Sure, just keep off that leg. I’d feel better if you just relaxed while I whip us up something to eat.” “Or I could shower off while you make breakfast,” she offered, “Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy and give you a holler if I need help. That little scrubber thing you rigged up the other night should make it nice and easy to deal with, even with a busted leg.” Silver hesitated for a moment, before giving a short nod, “Sounds good. You want eggs or fruit salad today? Or something else?” She considered his question and smiled, “Eggs and maybe some French toast? Haven’t had that in a while.” Silver returned a smile of his own, “French toast? I’m all for that!” “Well, I’ll let you get to it.” After their breakfast, the two had packed up their few supplies and had started on their trip, stopping by Helping Hooves’ place on the way out. Truthfully, neither she nor Silver had any idea if they were splinting the leg properly, but it seemed to ease some of Scarlet’s pain so it was as good as they could hope to get. The flight itself was easier than Silver thought it would be, taking almost half the time as the car drive would have taken. Silver had expected the views to be amazing, but words couldn’t describe how beautiful everything from above was. He was used to flying often, but he never just took in the sights as much as he was right now, and that was something he was determined to change going forward.  Just as soon as the flight had begun, it was over, and the pair had come to a gentle landing not far from where they were headed. The city they had landed in was mostly quiet, something that Silver was silently happy for. He didn’t realize it much before, but in the short time he had spent with Scarlet, he had gotten more used to being around ponies, and less used to humans. He wasn’t afraid of them, but he was definitely a little more wary of them, if only just because he was visiting an unfamiliar place that he had only gone to a few times before as a human.   “You all good Silver?” Scarlet asked, leaning up against him. He nodded, “Yeah, just not as used to being back in a human place I guess.” “A couple of weeks up in the mountains and you’re already forgetting about human cities, eh?” she teased.  “A little,” he laughed. “Guess I just forgot how big their buildings are.” “And these aren’t even as big as the ones you probably had back home. They love their mountain views too much for that.” “I figured. Still just takes a moment to get used to again I guess.” “Well if it makes you feel any better I feel the same way.” “At least we can be weirded out by human stuff together then,” he replied with a laugh. “So how about we get the boring doctor stuff out of the way, and then you can show me around.” “Or the two of us can cuddle up together while my leg heals,” she offered. Silver’s heart fluttered at the idea, “That sounds even better. The sooner we knock this out the sooner we can just get back to being all cuddly.” “Cuddles are a good motivator, eh?” she laughed. “When you’re the one dishing them out,” he retorted, giving her a small boop on her muzzle. “We’ll have a lot of time for that after this.” The couple laughed as they continued toward the urgent care building, which thankfully wasn’t too far away from where they had landed. Just a short block’s walk away down an empty sidewalk that was lit by dim fluorescent lighting. Soon enough they reached the large (to them) building marked with a simple “URGENT CARE” sign. Silver glanced up toward the tall door before giving it a firm push, holding it open for Scarlet, who trotted in. Much to their relief, the cozy waiting room was mostly empty except for a bored looking attendant sitting at the desk, and a few humans sitting off to the side. As the door jingled, the woman at the desk looked up and flashed a confused look, shaking her head and muttering quietly to herself. Clearing her throat, she stood up and looked down at the pair, “I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re the pony that called me earlier?” Silver helped Scarlet up onto one of the soft chairs, and then trotted up to the counter, awkwardly standing up on his hind legs and giving the woman a nod, “That’s us.” “Alright. I went ahead and gave Doctor Ramirez the basic rundown of what happened. He’s still probably going to ask you again though, just a heads up.” “That’s fine. So are we able to see him right now?” “Not yet, he’s in with another patient so just hang tight. While you’re here though, mind helping me fill out some info? Just basic stuff that’ll let us figure out your friend’s medical history.” Silver nodded, “That’s fine by me. I can’t promise I’ll know everything, so I might need to run back and ask a few things if that’s alright.” “Sure, sure. I’m going to guess that you at least know her name, right?” she joked. Silver let out a small laugh, “We’re together so I’d sure hope so.” He looked back toward Scarlet, and then back up to the woman,  “Her name is Scarlet Moon.” “Right, so I’m actually going to need her real name. Or, pre pony name I guess.” Silver nodded, pausing for a moment, “Just a sec, okay?” He returned to his quadrupedal stance and trotted over toward Scarlet. The mare looked up at him, “Everything alright?” Silver shrugged, “Just a little snag. She needs your old human name.” “She does? Okay, well it’s just Scarlet Delgado.” She paused for a moment and smiled at Silver’s confused look, “What? Is it that weird to you or something?” “Ehh, not really. Guess I don’t know what I was expecting.” “I figured the first name worked well enough, just changed the second part to match my hobby and cutie mark,” She laughed as she gestured back toward the telescope on her flank, “I told you I was a space nerd, and I guess I fell in love with more than one kind of eclipse.” “Hey it works,” he replied with a small laugh. “You might as well come along, she’s gonna ask you some questions too.” Scarlet nodded, carefully stepping off of the chair. Silver gave her a small hug as they trotted back to the counter, and to the human who had now stepped out and gotten down on a knee to better talk to the pair. “Scarlet Delgado, Miss,” Scarlet replied, giving a cheerful smile to the human. “Delgado. Got it,” She scribbled down a note onto her clipboard. “So Miss Delgado,”  “Just Scarlet’s fine. Easier for both of us,” Scarlet interjected. “Right,” she nodded. “So Scarlet, your boyfriend said that you hurt your leg the other night?” “Mhmm. It’s a long story, but I wound up bucking a tree hard and it’s been aching ever since.” “Alright. Have you had any difficulty moving it in the last couple of days?” “A little,” she emphasized with a small flex of her back leg. “I can move it just fine, but it hurts if I go too fast or put too much weight on it.” “Right, that’s about what I was expecting from that.” She paused, taking down a few more notes, “Well, I think that’s everything I need right now. If you don’t mind, I’m going to have you two take a seat in the waiting area, and I’ll call your name when the doctor’s ready to see you.” Silver smiled, “Thanks miss…” “Claire.” Silver nodded, “Thanks Claire.” The human smiled for what felt like the first time since the two had trotted in, “My pleasure. If you two need anything feel free to ask.” “We will, thanks again for the help,” Scarlet replied.