>"ACHOO!"
>You rub your fingers past your nose and sniff loudly
"Man, this weather blows." you mumble as you shuffle through the light snow
>You look up in the distance to see your favorite coffee shop is still open
"Thank Celestia." you sniffle
>As you approach you notice something quite different
>A small cardboard box sits quietly next to the window of the shop
>Something appears to be inside it as you get closer
>You crouch down to take a better look
"A.. Pony?"
>The small brown pony inside the box shivers before looking up at you
>"H-Hello S-Sir.."
>You peer into her light blue eyes
"Hey. What the hell are you doing in this box? I don't know if you've noticed or not, but it's snowing."
>She shivers, completely ignoring what you said
>"H-How can I service y-you today, S-Sir..."
>You cock an eyebrow
"Service? What are you talking about?"
>She slowly points her hoof at the sign next to her
>You had noticed it earlier but had completely forgotten to check what it said
"5 bits, 10 bits.. 20..." you read aloud
>You look at her again
"What's a hoofjob? Some kind of pony manicure or something?"
>She stares at the bottom of her box, still shivering
>You're genuinely confused, but curious
>Reaching into your back pocket, you pull out a 5 piece bit and drop it next to her
>The sound it made hitting the box made her shoot up
>She quickly picked up the bit and placed it into some kind of smaller box she had behind her
>She looks at you in silence, waiting
"O-Oh, right."
>You hold your hands out in front of her
"Like this, maybe?"
>She's still staring at you
>You retract your hands and put them back in your pockets
"This isn't what a hoofjob is, is it?" you ask
>She slowly shakes her head, still maintaining eye contact
"Then I have no idea what I payed you for."
>She points to your lower region
>It takes you a moment before you realize
>The small pony just shrinks up and stares at the floor of her box again
"Oh.. Hey, look, I'm sorry.. I didn't know this was..."
>"W-Was my service n-not satisfactory S-Sir? W-Would you like a r-refund?"
>She won't look at you directly
"Refund? Well yeah I..."
>You stop yourself
"How long have you been out here?" you ask
>She remains quiet as she shuffles in the back of her box
>She pulls out her smaller box and dumps the contents in front of her
>2 coins fall out
>You can't help but cringe as her shaking hoof pushes the coin towards you
>"I-I'm s-sorry Sir."
>You hesitantly reach for the coin
"No.." you mutter
>You leave the coin on the ground and stand up
>The once light snow had now built up on the box in front of you
>You push some of it off and head inside the coffee shop
>Sitting down at a table, you grasp your head with your hands, trying to comprehend what had just happened
>A mare approaches you
>"You alright, Anon?"
>You shove your hands back into your pockets
"No, I'm not. Do you know about that pony outside your shop?"
>She looks at you for a moment and her expression changes almost immediately
>"Her..."
>You look back at her, puzzled
"...Her?"
>"Listen Anon, you stay away from that.. that.. whore. Alright?"
"Woah, what?"
>She sighs before speaking again
>"She's been out there all week. We don't know where she came from, but she won't leave."
"But why are you calling her a whore?"
>She shares your puzzled expression
>"Did you even read the sign she has out there? She's a whore. She charges money for ponies to.. you know."
>You look over towards the window to see the box still there, motionless
"I saw the sign. Why is she in a box?"
>The mare rolls her eyes
>"She's probably homeless, Anon. Don't know why though, she probably gets a million bits from all those disgusting stallions that visit her."
>You continue staring at the motionless box outside
"Yeah.. probably.."
>The mare coughs to break the silence
>"Anyway, how can I help ya' Anon? The usual?"
>You stop and remember the entire reason you walked through the snow to get here
"Yeah, the usual."
>You always come here for 2 donuts and a cup of coffee
>Today shouldn't be any different
>She smiles and starts to head over towards the glass counter
>"Will that be all for tod--"
"Make that two, please."
>Today is different
>She cocks her head back towards you
>"Two? Really?"
>You look and her and put on a fake expression
"Yeah, I'm feeling uh.. extra hungry today."
>Flawless
>"Alright... 4 donuts and 2 cups of coffee coming right up."
>You look over your shoulder to see it's getting dark fast
"Oh, could I get that to go, please? I'm kind of in a rush."
>You hear a muffled response over the sounds of her stuffing your donuts into a bag and the coffee machine wildly blaring
>You pull out a few bits and leave them on the counter as you wait for your things
>"Sure wish I was a unicorn; magic would make this a hell of a lot easier!" you hear her whine, desperately trying to put the lids on your cups
>You grab the bag and cups and head towards the door
"You always say that." you chuckle as you exit the shop
>The cold air hits you as you look down at the box
>You crouch down once again and see the small pony still shivering inside the box
>You put your things down and give her a small poke
"Hey. You ok in there?"
>She doesn't even open her eyes before she speaks
>"H-Hello S-Sir.. How can I be of s-ser--"
"Stop that."
>You give her another poke
>She opens her eyes and notices its you again
>"O-Oh.. H-Hello Sir."
>You frown
"Don't call me Sir, call me Anon."
>She stares blankly at you
>"Y-Yes S-Sir.."
>You sigh
"Man you're a pain. Take these."
>You push one cup of coffee into her box and grab your bag of donuts
>Shuffling through the bag, you stop to look at her again
"You like chocolate or strawberry?"
>She stares at you silently still, expressionless
"Ugh, strawberry it is then."
>You slide 2 strawberry donuts into her box
>She looks at the contents before her as if she's staring into the eyes of god
>Suddenly, you notice a tear stream down her face
>You were expecting that, and you still couldn't handle it
"Hey, Hey! Don't..."
>She pulls the cup closer towards her and holds it close, tears still falling into her cardboard box
>You wince
"One last thing..."
>You pull off your jacket and push it into the box, carefully avoiding pouring the hot coffee over
>She's still crying in disbelief
>You can't stand another minute of watching that
>Standing up, you start your walk back home, rubbing your arms close
"I'm going to regret that last part, I know it." you mutter
>In the background you hear a familiar voice
>You turn around to see a brown head sticking out the box
>"T-Thank you S-Si-- um.. A-Anon..."
>You smile and continue to head home
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