The stallion walked down the similarly empty streets, his eyes looking at nothing in particular, his mind wandering as much as his hooves.
The moon peaked over the tops of the towering buildings, alone in the sky save for a few stars scattered in the black.
He shivered slightly and tugged his jacket and scarf tighter around his body in an attempt to stave off the chill in the air that had begun to roll in.
The sidewalk stretched far in front of him, as it had been for some time, his destination still looming ahead like a foreboding thunderstorm.
he passed by a small coffeehouse, one of the few buildings still open at such a late hour, the lights inside spilling out into the street, chasing away the inky, young night.
The stallion continued to walk, lost in thought, and briefly glanced at the coffee shop as he went by, hardly registering the few patrons and cozy interior he could see through the window.
And then he left the coffeehouse and its warm, inviting atmosphere behind, returning once more into the dark shadows and sleeping buildings.
The moon rose a little higher in the sky as the stallion trudged through the streets, and after what seemed like ages, he found himself at the street of a small residential neighborhood filled with townhouses, all tall and brick and quiet.
He stood there, staring at the street, trembling slightly, before continuing down the brightly lit road with trepidation.
Feeling an increasing sense of dread creep up on him as he walked past the first few houses, all asleep, he eventually came to a stop at one in particular.
He gave a deep, reluctant, sigh and forged ahead, slinking up the pathway and quietly unlocking the front door and stepping in.
The stallion shut the door as carefully as he could, but still, the sound of the latch clicking shut seemed deafening in the dark, silent house.
He crept forward, taking care not to bump into anything, but before he got through the living room, one of the lamps switched on, revealing the rather angry form of his wife sitting in a chair, waiting for him.
The stallion gave a nervous grin, voicing some feeble excuse for coming home at such a late hour, but the mare in front of him was not having it.
After a heated discussion, the stallion slept on the couch for the remainder of the night, and the next few after that.