The air was crisp, the smell of wood ash drifted lightly overhead as a fire billowed smoke from one of the many stone chimneys. I took a deep breath and looked down the long dirt path into the town. I hopped in place once and stretched my fingers. I stepped off towards the way onto the ground and started walking. The slightly damp ground tried to give way under my shoes, but I managed to move quick enough to keep from getting stuck.

A set of ponies walked past, sizing me up as they went. I stretched my arms and slapped my pockets. I had ten bits. I had ten bits and nothing else to my name besides the clothes on my back, and a few useless skills. I walked down the street, listing aimlessly as the sun wavered high over the clouds.

Cold started to sink in as I walked. I coughed roughly and parted to the right side of the road. I pulled my coat's collar up and coughed into it. I stopped on the road and watched a red maned mare walk down the street. Her hooves were muddy from the fetlock down, but she walked into a normal looking building without a second thought.

I looked down at myself and sighed. "Well, if they let her in, why not me." I brushed off my slacks and walked towards the building. I stepped through the soft wooden door and into the empty shop. The thick smell of coffee clung to the heated air as I stood in the doorway, letting the cold draft slip under my arms. A pony at a table looked at me and motioned for me to close the door. "Ah, sorry." I closed it gently. A loud snap saw it closed, and set me off towards the red mare waiting at a waist high counter.

I looked over the mare's head. "...How much?"

The mare looked back up at me, then turned to face me. "Oh, hi. Five bits." She looked me up and down. "Oh, neat. I haven't really seen any of you up close like this." She smiled at me wide as could be. Her voice was sweet as could be, and her muddy appearence did nothing to take away from her.

I reached into my pocket. "Five bits even?"

The mare nodded. "That's all. Pretty cheap for good stuff if you ask me."

I hummed and pulled the coin out. I walked next to her and tapped the coin on the counter. The mare behind the counter wore a deep nutty brown mane and a white streak running down her side. "Yes?"

"Make it two." I slid the coin to her and stepped back.

The mare looked down at the coin and nodded. "Sure, two coffees."

The red mare bumped my hip with her flank. "You didn't have to do that."

I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "I wanted to."

The mare smiled and nodded. "Roseluck."

"Vincent A. Arroyo." I rubbed my now empty pocket. "Poor computer engineer."

The mare looked up at me, her smile faded slowly. "Not going well?"

I shook my head slowly. "No job, no home, but I have coffee for the next few minutes."

Roseluck cocked her head. "That was it, wasn't it?"

I shrugged. "Money well spent. It wouldn't have gone any farther."

Roseluck took a deep breath. "So you going to come over?"

I looked down at her, then sharply back up to the counter. "I don't follow." I grabbed the coffees and turned to watch Roseluck walking towards the door. "Hello?"

"It's getting late. Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to stop fishing for help?" She whipped her tail around and turned around to face me. "There aren't any homeless in Ponyville, and we've all got our part to do." She laughed gently and lead me out into the cold winter afternoon. "Besides, I have a free room. And you did pay for the coffee."

I mumbled to myself and walked alongside the red mare. "You don't have to lie--"

"I'm not lying." Roseluck took a sharp turn towards a path towards the more grassy part of the road.

I sighed and rubbed my head with my wrist. "Well, you don't have to humor me--"

Roseluck smiled and shook her head. "Not humoring you."

I shook my head. "I don't need--"

Roseluck spun around and walked backwards down the damp path through the small rural town. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"N--"

"Do you have a job?"

"I suppose not--"

Roseluck nodded, her eyes flashed open to me. They were an extremely bright shade of soft green. "Would you rather sleep on a bench, or take advantage of some pony hospitality?" She swung back around. "Not like you really have a choice. Its either going to be me or the Apples, and you did buy me coffee." She laughed softly and swung onto a long lawn up to a single two-story house standing before a small grouping of trees.

I looked up at the house and watched my breath curl around my face. The deep dark green around us felt all the darker when placed against the large patches of white snow. "I wouldn't feel right. Hospitality or not, I'd rather not take up spac--"

"You'd be taking up more space on the street." Roseluck turned to the door and pulled a key from around her neck. "Besides, I'm sure you can help me if you're feeling guilty."

I licked my lips and walked up to Roseluck's porch. "You don't have to do this--"

Roseluck reached out and swung her hoof around one of the coffees. "I want to."

I lowered my head and looked down at my coffee cup. "Then I guess I can't say much, can I?"

Roseluck shook her head. "You can come inside before it gets dark."

I nodded. "Okay." I stepped up onto her porch and looked inside. "...Your hooves are muddy."

Roseluck looked down at her hooves. "I was working in the garden."

I held my arm out. "Stand on my shoes."

Roseluck cocked her head. "What?"

I pointed to my feet. "Stand on my shoes."

Roseluck looked down at my feet, then up to me. "I don't think--"

I held my arm out. "Stand on two hooves, and step onto my shoes. Please."

Roseluck smiled nervously and nodded. "Alright, I guess." She walked up to me and leaned against my chest. She pressed her hooves against the tops of my feet and settled in.

I shuffled forward into the house and let the warm beige interior welcome me. I was in a small living room with two halls leading out straight ahead and to the left. "Bathroom?"

"Left hall, second door on the right." Roseluck held her coffee against her chest as I waddled her forward. "This...this is weird." She laughed softly. "Feels like I'm dancing."

I walked her down the hall and into the second door. The room was tile and covered in the usual feminine ways. Soaps, bottles, brushes, all covered with hair or residue. "Alright." I set her down and backed up.

Roseluck turned to the shower. "Hey...so, that was still pretty weird, but thanks."

I nodded and sipped my coffee. It was still rather hot, and had a heavy creamy flavor to it. "I'll just wait here."

Roseluck nodded and slowly closed the door. "Hey, welcome to Ponyville by the way." The door clicked shut, and I was left alone in a strangers house. Yet in all my years of living in LA, I'd never felt more at home, more relaxed.

I sipped my coffee. It was sweet.