Haunted Heart

I looked out of my office window to watch the rain dance down the smooth surface, leaving behind small, liquid trails that were quickly filled by a fresh droplet of water as the cycle repeated itself. I had always liked the rain, there was something about it that soothed me. Perhaps it was the steady rhythm that always seemed to be associated to it, or that I just simply liked rain for what it was; falling water that was used to wash away the dirt and pollen off cars for those of us who were too lazy to do it ourselves.

“Jacob, avoiding me doesn’t make the question go away,” Vince said, leaning against the flimsy wall of my cubicle. “I still need an answer.”

“I told you over an email, I don’t know how I feel about getting back into the swing of your paranormal charade.” I sighed.

Before I had secured a decent job at the bank, I had been working minimum wage. I barely got by, sharing an apartment with Vince. Being around someone for four years, you get to know them pretty well, and Vince’s hobby, borderline obsession, was ghost hunting.

I come from a pretty religious family, their background solidified in the Christian faith, so I knew a little about angels and demons. Ghost weren’t that farfetched from the realm of possibility in my mind, since I was a fairly open minded individual to begin with, within reason of course. It was the fact that there were people that actually went in search of the paranormal that baffled me. Why tamper with or temp things that you truly had no power over?

On several occasions, I had been “volunteered” by Vince to help with camcorders and other such devices. I was pretty tech savvy, and being preoccupied with the cameras meant I didn’t need to go out into the buildings as much. It was a little nerve wracking at times, working with limited light, the feeling of being watched overwhelming your ability to rationalize and process information clearly. For the longest time after my first trip out with Arron and his friends, the slightest shimmer of light off a picture frame would make me jump.

“Huh, it must not have gone through,” Vince shrugged. “Either way, it’s not a charade, you know that. It’s the real deal.”

“That’s what worries me, I would rather go back to being ignorant, than revisit old fears and phobias.” I turned away from him, facing my computer screen once more.

“Fine, I suppose I’ll tell Jessica you’re not coming.” Vince’s every word was dripping with predatory confidence. I could only assume it was accompanied by a shit eating grin.

“You roped Jessica into this?” I asked, spinning around to confirm my suspicions. There was definitely a shit eating grin on his face, he knew he had my attention now.

“She wanted to come actually,” Vince’s grin shifted as he shrugged nonchalantly. “As hard as it may be for you to accept, people actually have fun on these little outings. Jessica just likes to get out, live a little you know?”

“By talking to dead guys?” I rolled my eyes.

“Look, it’s pretty obvious how you feel about her. This is your chance man,” Vince nudged me. “You and her could wander off, and no one would be able to see you two in the dark so…”

“Even if I was interested, I’m just the tag along who brings you guys stuff. How would your plan work out with that wrench thrown in it?” I huffed.

“That was the other thing I needed to mention,” Vince smiled sheepishly. “Alex isn’t going to be able to make it tonight. You’d be on the front lines this time.”

“Oh, well that makes me feel so much better.” I said turning back around.

I could still feel Vince’s eyes on me, despite my desperate attempts to ignore them. I had better things to do than get swept up in some silly ghost chase until six in the morning. Besides, the few times I had gone out with his little band of hunters I had returned exhausted. As tempting as the idea of getting to meet up with Jessica was, I mentally drew a line in the sand, vowing not to jump across it.

“Alright, your call man, let me know when you’re ready to see the world from the other side of that window.” Vince sighed as he walked away.

My fingers suddenly felt like lead as my typing slowed down to what felt like one word a minute. It was hard to turn a friend down, especially Vince. While getting to see Jessica would be a big reason for going, he did need help, and I knew just how difficult it could be getting all of their “gear” into position.

I shook my head and redoubled my efforts to stay focused on work. I needed to clear my mind of this silly idea. Going on ghost hunts was no different than being sent on a wild goose chase. You never found anything substantial anyways, and everyone out on the internet would try to debunk what you captured.

Despite this rationalization, I couldn’t ignore the siren like song of the unknown. It was that small, gentle voice that whispered “what if” sweetly into your ear. It was slowly working my subconscious over with its call, luring me over the line I had drawn for myself.

“Nope, I said I wasn’t going to do it.” I said as I sat up straight in my chair.

As I started a new staring contest with the computer screen in front of me, my thoughts began to drift off as if I was already there, surrounded by the remnants of ruined furniture within a dilapidated building that would eventually be demolished. And while a room filled with asbestos wasn’t exactly the most romantic of settings, my imagination could easily fill in the blanks of possible outcomes; a few of those outcomes quite possibly disturbing the spirits. I was probably being over imaginative, but there was no harm in dreaming, right?

I sighed as I realized that I had just crossed my line in the sand. Perhaps if Vince hadn’t needed help, and Jessica wasn’t going, then I would have been able to resist, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave them hanging.

“So much for being assertive.” I mumbled.

“Turn right.” the Garmin mounted on my windshield chimed, as she guided me to my destination.

It was an abandoned sanitarium, a pleasant little place that housed the convalescing patients of various procedures and illnesses. I had thought ahead and purchased a mask, knowing that Vince had a tendency to come out on these events unprepared. His friend, Ben, was the responsible one of his little team, and was able to keep a level head most of the time, even when walking around in the dark void of the buildings they would visit.

I noticed that the signal on my GPS was dropping, doing little to sooth my already shaky nerves. Not only would I be inside the building where people had died and suffered, but Jessica would be there as well, raising the stakes with her presence alone as I wanted to impress her.

We had been friends for about four years now and had grown pretty close. How in the world she got wrapped up with Vince's hobby is a mystery, but perhaps it has something to do with enjoying the extreme and unusual things in life. I was still waiting for the Facebook post announcing that she had swam with sharks.

Garmin completely lost signal as I rounded the next corner, but it didn’t matter. I had found my destination and no longer needed the electronic map’s assistance anyways.

Vince’s van was already parked in front of the sanitarium, its right passenger side door had been left wide open, no doubt exposing the valuable contents to the elements. I rolled my eyes as I parked my car behind the vehicle, opting to leave the mask I had brought behind for the moment.

I looked inside the van and saw no one inside it. I considered closing it, until I noticed the keys in the ignition. It baffled me at times how clueless Vince was to his surroundings, except for when it was something he was interested in. With a drawn out sigh, I removed the keys and pocketed them. I could tell this was going to be a fun filled night, full of accidents and other nonsense.

“You’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached to your body.” I mumbled as I walked back to my car to grab the mask.

After doing so, I made my way towards the building, slipping the odd looking mask over my face. The volume of my breathing seemed to intensify as the respirator was fitted over my mouth and nose. It distorted my voice slightly, muffling my muttered curses under strained, but now filtered breaths.

I pushed the initial encounter with the van aside, focusing instead on the building. It was staggering in size, and given it's age gave me ominous thoughts about what might happen if it buckled in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

"Hey, you made it!" Vince said as he walked through the door, with nothing more than a doctor's mask on. "What's with that get up?"

"I value my health." I replied flatly.

"Whatever floats your boat," Vince shrugged before motioning for me to follow him. "We've got some stuff to set up before we start."

"You're going all out on this one, huh?" I asked, hiding my growing sense of dread as I entered the double doors which seemed more like the yawning maw of an ancient creature than the entrance to a building.

Upon crossing the threshold, I instantly felt as if I was being watched by something unseen. It was difficult to explain, but it was the odd sensation one would receive if they were aware another person was looking at them behind their backs. Only this sensation felt wrong somehow, and some ingrained part of my subconscious was screaming at me to leave.

"So, how many people died here?" I ventured cautiously.

"Not sure," Vince said as we both turned our flashlights on. "A few hundred, maybe a thousand. The latter would make for a shitty care facility though."

"I'll say." I mumbled, stepping over a decaying chair that looked as if a large cat had gone to town on padded seat.

Thankfully, we didn't have to venture too much further into the building before bumping into actual life. Jessica was busy on her phone, and by busy, I mean she was probably playing candy crush.

Cody was the other lackey Vince had at his disposal. He was okay, just a bit on the quiet side. He was the bravest out of all of us though. He had once sat in a room with no light source to speak of, which was kind of creepy, but gave him massive respect in my opinion.

"Hey Jacob," Jessica said as she pried her eyes from her hand held overlord. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, fancy meeting you here." I laughed nervously.

"You probably shouldn't be in here for much longer, since we're about to start." Cody stood up from the odd box that he had been hunched over, presumably some kind of battery pack.

"Jacob here is getting his wings tonight," Vince slapped me on the back, nearly knocking me off balance. "He'll be taking the third floor."

Both Cody and Jessica cast looks of disbelief in my direction. I felt as if I should say something to reassure them, but my mind was drawing a blank. I couldn't guarantee success tonight.

"I won't let you guys down." I said hesitantly.

"You're sending him up to the third floor?" Cody turned to Vince, as if I had vanished and no longer existed.

"He'll be fine." Vince replied.

"Jacob, are you sure you want to do this?" Jessica asked.

If I was honest with myself, the answer was a resounding no. I couldn't tell Jessica that though, especially since she was the deciding factor that brought me out here to begin with.

"I'll be fine,” I shrugged, trying my best to be confident about the entire situation. “What's the worst that could happen?"

It was oddly quiet as we walked back into the building. Outside, I had expected to hear the steady chirps of nearby crickets, but was met only with silence. Not even the last evening calls of the native birds graced the surrounding trees that had been left for scenery. There was only the faint, occasional howl of the stray breeze that passed through a cracked window.

As I stepped through the door, the feeling of being watched returned. This was accompanied by the ominous pitch black darkness that seemed to engulf the building, save for the few stray beams of moonlight that did shine through the windows and cracks.

Already, my nerves were starting to strain on me, telling me that this was a bad idea. They practically screamed at me to leave, forewarning me of something ill that would inevitably happen.

“Alright, everybody knows their places,” Vince said, turning off his flash light. “Lights out, cameras on.”

“Good luck Jacob.” Jessica said as she wondered off into the darkness, her only light source being a small screen from the camcorder.

“This is it man,” Vince nudged me. “Just don’t scream like a bitch and you’re good. Time to show Jessica that your balls have dropped.”

“You planned this, didn’t you?” I asked.

“Shouldn’t you be on the third floor?” Vince asked in return, dodging the question.

I sighed and slowly approached the stairwell. With no power, I would have to traverse the floors the old fashioned way, which wasn’t the most appealing method in an abandoned building like this. Again, valuing my safety over Vince’s little scheme, I turned on my flashlight in order to find the third floor. Surely it wouldn’t hurt anything if I used it for such a short time.

I passed the first floor without incident, noting the several desks and chairs that were out in the hall for some reason. Cody would be up soon, meaning I had to hurry if I didn’t want to be caught with my light on. The stairwell leading up to the second floor seemed to produce a louder echo with each foot step leading up to my destination. While I summarized this was just my mind playing tricks on me, it didn’t make the experience any less unsettling.

There was a bit of resistance to the second floor door upon reaching the top of the stairs. Thankfully, my mounting anxiety gave me the motivational strength I needed to force open the door with a loud crashing sound of falling metal. IF there was a serial hobo killer in the building, he knew where I was now without question.

I recomposed myself and cast my light on the final set of stairs I needed to take. There was plenty of stray, decaying objects in my path, which delayed my progress. Among these were a few partially destroyed cabinets, wheelchairs, and a gurney which almost caused a slight whimper to slip from my throat.

The doors to the stairs were already open, which relived me of having to endure the loud, annoying sound of rusty metal parts rubbing against one another in order for one of the doors to open. I slowly made my way up the stairs, repeatedly telling myself that this was the last floor, before I could walk down under the light of dawn.

My light flickered suddenly, causing me to freeze. There were new batteries inside, and I had only used the flashlight for a limited time. A few seconds later there was the sound loud crash above me, followed by a cry of pain that sent shivers down my spine.

Two things ran through my mind, one being that we were definitely not alone in the building, spiritual or otherwise. The second thing that I processed at that moment, was that I had left my camcorder off the entire time while I was making my way up to the third floor, which meant I had missed who, or whatever made that moan.

The light started to shake, which was a result of my hand succumbing to my failing nerves. I tried my best to steady myself, but after what I had just heard, I found that my body was betraying me, siding with my subconscious.

I turned on the camcorder, reasoning that I was already going to hear about it for not filming everything. There was a strong possibility they heard the noise carry down to the other floors, which meant they would be expecting something.

I turned the light off, relying on the small screen to serve as my night vision. In the darkness, it felt as if the stairwell was closing in around me, which hastened my accent up the rest of the steps. I had already ruined any chance of stealth at the second floor, though the idea of trying to sneak around a ghost seemed stupid the more I thought about it.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, the door was slow to open much like the second floor’s was. The metal groaned as I pushed it open, making me cringe as I stepped out into the dank floor. It definitely felt colder on the third floor than the others, and there was an odd sensation in the air that felt out of place.

While the other floors had been creepy, and there had been cold spots here and there, it was as if I had stepped into a cold room, where they stored slaughtered animals on the third floor. The difference was staggering in terms of atmosphere.

“H-hello?” I tried to call out, but only managed to half mumble, as my heart was still pounding in my throat.

I shuffled forward into the darkness, trying not to jump at every sound that was made. The only thing holding my nerves together was the thought of what breaking down might do. It would more than likely show Jessica that I wasn’t as brave as Vince or Cody, and that wasn’t far from the truth.

“Umm…hello?” I called out a bit louder. “Is there anyone here?”

There was no response from the darkness that was akin to a sea of black ink. I felt another shiver travel start at the base of my spine, only to spread across my body as the temperature seemed to drop once more. I was beginning to regret not bringing thicker clothing as the air cooled.

“Is that a yes?” I asked, taking slow steps through the darkness.

My foot bumped into something that was light enough to roll about upon behind tapped. I instinctively jerked my camcorder in the direction of the noise, to find a strange object rolling on the floor in a circle from the initial impact.

I carefully picked it up, taking note of it’s cold temperature, and light weight. It had intricate designs along its base, leading up to the pointed tip. It was roughly a foot in length which puzzled as to its purpose. It didn’t look like any decorative item I had ever seen before, and while I wasn’t well versed in the field of medicine, I was fairly sure a tool wouldn’t have such fine detail put into its figure.

As I was studying this strange object, I felt a break in the cold air in the form of warm breath against my neck. This nearly made my heart stop, as I felt it again, nearly causing me to drop the camcorder out of my quickly spiking fear.

“That belongs to-“ I heard a rather raspy, hoarse voice say.

I didn’t give the voice’s owner a chance to finish before making a mad dash for the stairs. Thankfully, I didn’t trip over anything, and dropped the video camera to slam the door shut. The loud sound of the door slamming was followed by a loud thud against the door.

“Holy shit!” I screamed, not caring what the others thought of me as I stumbled down the flight of stairs.

As I fumbled for my flashlight, I tripped over my own feet, slamming my knee against the wall. I felt dazed, and unsteady as I tried to climb to my feet again. I didn't give myself the chance to rest though, with adrenaline still pumping through my veins, urging me to escape from whoever, or whatever was in the darkness, before it caught me.

The flashlight provided much more illumination to my dark surroundings than the small screen ever could. It was this thought that made me realize I had dropped the camcorder, but was still holding onto...whatever this thing was.

I wanted to toss it, in the hopes that it would prevent some psycho stalker from following me home. Still, if I had dropped the video camera, then Vince would want an explanation, and this was probably the only thing I had to offer him.

I had expected to hear foot steps crashing down behind me, but to my surprise, I heard nothing. There was no loud bang of a door opening, or screams for me to stop, only another another dry, throaty cry; mixed with sadness and anger.

"Jacob!?" Vince shouted from the stairwell. "Are you okay!?"

There was no point in lying now. No force in heaven, or on earth, was going to make me go back there and get that camcorder alone. In this type of situation, honesty was the best policy.

"No!" I shouted, turning back to look behind me. There was still nothing, no shadow figure out for vengeance, or a hobo looking to reclaim his prized...something.

"Hang on, we're coming up!" I heard Vince's voice carry up to my level.

It wasn't long before the of heavy feet, accompanied by the brilliant glow of flashlights eased my mind a bit. The comfort they brought was brought to a quick end as I reminded myself of what was still resting on the third floor, probably broken from being dropped.

"Jacob, are you okay?" Vince asked, rushing over. "Good lord, what happened to you?"

"I tripped, trying to run from...something." I replied, my breathing was a bit labored after the punishment I had put my already injured body through.

"You saw something?" Vince asked excitedly. "Let's see it man!"

"I dropped the camcorder." I avoided eye contact, feeling the heat of their eyes on me. "It's on the third floor, where I heard it-"

"Hang on, you just heard something? You didn't even see it?" Cody asked, clearly annoyed with my blunder.

"Cody, go see if you can find the video camera." Vince sighed.

"I could go with him, I mean-" I started to say.

"I think you've helped enough to night," Vince said, thankfully he wasn't hateful, even though he had every right to be. "Maybe whatever you heard got picked up."

"But...I found this, and then..." I mumbled holding up the strange object.

"Jacob, I think you should go home," Jessica said, her words crushing my spirit more than Vince or Cody ever could. "Do you think you can drive?"

"Uh, yeah, I can." I said dejectedly.

I felt Vince place his hand on my shoulder, resting it there until we had both exited the building, once again under the glow of the moon lit sky. As much as I had longed to be outside, I couldn't help but find myself wanting to go back inside, and show them they were wrong, but I had blown my chance.

I had made a fool of myself, a fool of Vince for talking me up, and had probably damaged Jessica's opinion of me. To top it all off, I still had the strange thing that had set these chain of events into motion.

I was again tempted to just discard it like garbage, but my curiosity won out. It was out of place in the hospital, and if it was something Vince and the others could use, then it would probably be my only way to make it up to them.

I slowly slid into my car, my brain switching onto auto pilot as I pulled out the GPS and pushed the home button. I tried to come to terms with what I had found, and heard. It had been a voice, crystal clear, and not disembodied like I assumed it would be. There was also a collision against the door, meaning it had to be real.

Still, that didn't explain why whoever or whatever that was didn't come rushing down after me. While it was very hypocritical of me to make assumptions, I summarized that this peculiar item couldn't belong to a hobo, since it didn't seem to show any signs of wear or tear. In fact, it looked like it was brand new.

I stored my thoughts away on the topic as I followed the Garmin's directions to my house. All the while, I still had a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. I assumed it was because of how rotten I felt letting Vince down tonight. I was disappointed in myself as well.

Eventually, I arrived at my humble abode, and slowly removed myself from the car. As I did so, I had the distinct feeling of being watched again, and quickly unlocked my door. Once inside, I locked both locks, and proceeded to retire to my bedroom.

I shucked my clothing, until I was only sporting my boxers. I had tossed the odd object on the couch, with the intent to google it tomorrow, but for now all I wanted to do was sleep.

"Tomorrow is another day...." I told myself, before surrendering to the warm embrace of sleep.

I awoke to sunlight  streaming through my window, and a throbbing pain in my knee. I forced myself out of bed, unwilling to endure the pain for the comfort of my covers and mattress. A quick look at my phone revealed the time to be ten twenty. It was much later than I was used to waking up, and it felt as if my entire schedule was off now, or it would be if I had a Saturday schedule.

As I walked down stairs I noticed that the blinds on the windows were shut, creating a dark atmosphere. I usually left them up since I lived in a fairly decent neighborhood. More noticeable than that however; was the object that was now missing from the couch.

I knew I had tossed it there last night, and the fact that it was missing disturbed me greatly. I walked down the stairs slowly, not quite sure what to expect. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, I heard the familiar noise of an open ice box. Which I knew for a fact I hadn't touched last night.

"We meet again." came a sharp voice from behind me.

I spun around, startled by the sudden presence making itself known. My heart nearly stopped as I saw what it was that had spoken to me. A tall, black horse stood only a few feet from me. A long horn jutted out from it' s forehead, which was adorned with a flowing mane that resembled the milky way. It's tail had the same appearance as it's mane, which trailed down to the floor. At it's side were two wings, which were positioned just outside of the armor it whore.

"You are rather careless, for a thief." the demon, horse thing said.

From the voice it sounded feminine, which hinted towards the odd creature's gender. The fact that it was speaking was still trying to fully process through my tired, but terrified mind. Her eyes narrowed when I didn't respond, apparently patience wasn't this being's strong point.

"You who have stolen from the ruler of the night, identify yourself!" the horse boomed.

"J-Jacob." I squeaked.

"Jay cob?" she questioned. "An odd name for a thief, hardly intimidating at all. No matter, I've no time for your parent's reasoning behind such an absurd name."

It's okay Jacob, just close your eyes and she'll disappear. This is all just a bad dream. I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

"What are you doing?" the horse asked in an annoyed tone.

"Trying to wake up." I replied, somehow having convinced myself that this was in fact a dream.

"I am no dream mortal!" the creature's shout was enough to put me on my ass, against what felt like cold water on the floor.

I opened my eyes to see her glaring down at me, an aura of pride hanging heavily around her. Were it not for her overwhelming intimidating presence, I probably would have been worried about how I was going to restock the fridge upon noticing that it was actually soiled milk I had landed in.

"I-if you're going to kill me-"

"I have no intention of killing you, so cease your pitiful mewling," the horse said. "After all, why would I kill the one who is indebted to me?"

"Indebted?" the word temporarily snapped me out of my terrified state of being, however briefly.

"Yes, for deciding to spare your life, thief." she replied.

"But you-" I started until the terrifying leer returned. "Who are you?"

"My name is Nightmare Moon, you would do well to remember that name." she replied.

I briefly assessed my current situation, which was less than favorable. I was trapped in my own house with a horse that called itself Nightmare Moon, whom I was fairly positive was responsible for ruining all of the contents of my refrigerator. All of this was a direct result of me being unable to tell Vince no, and wanting to impress Jessica.

"What do you want with me?" I asked.

"For starters, you could tell me what part of Equestria this is. I have never seen your kind before." Nightmare Moon said.

"Equestria?" I thought aloud as I got to my feet. "This is America, you know, land of the free?"

"Who is your monarch?" Nightmare Moon tilted her head.

"There is none." I replied.

"Interesting..." I could see a sly grin begin to form along her muzzle.

"But, we do have a president. He's an elected official." this new information seemed to displease her, as the grin faded into a chilling frown of disappointment.

"Continue then," Nightmare Moon sighed, waving her hoof dismissively. "How far is Equestria from your America?"

"I don't know where that is." I answered slowly, as Nightmare Moon's mane and tail seemed to flow and shimmer at a much faster pace as her mood worsened.

"You have a map, do you not?" the mare asked, to which I nodded. "Bring it to me."

While my brain was still having a hard time wrapping itself around the fact that a horse was talking, and in my kitchen no less, I didn't want to imagine what might happen if I said no. While the threat of dying was off the table, I still didn't want to imagine what might happen if I refused her.

As I walked past her, I heard the sound of hooves behind me. She must not have trusted me, or was very impatient. Either way, I powered up the  lap top that was resting on the coffee table in front of the couch.

The start up jingle caused Nightmare Moon to jump slightly, but after he initial reaction, she showed no more emotion or reaction towards the electronic device. As I clicked on the Google Chrome icon, I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head, making me feel as if this was some sort of test.

"Here you go, umm, Nightmare Moon." I said, turning the laptop towards her.

The mare leaned her head down over the couch, studying the world map I had pulled up. I had never heard of Equestria, then again I had never heard of a lot of places in the world, since I didn't actively seek out random names of random countries.

"This is not a map of Equestria. Surely there is another?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"That's the world map," I pointed at the screen. "You're saying that you don't see your umm...nation, anywhere?"

"That can't be...but how?" Nightmare Moon turned from me and started to pace back and forth behind the couch.

She was muttering to herself, something about elements, and a sparkle, or something like that. I was more concerned about the mare's stability, since the last thing I wanted with this over sized horse demon thing was for her to fall into a frenzy.

"Umm, are you okay?" I asked cautiously.

"Of course not! Twilight Sparkle and her wretched friends must have sent me to this miserable little kingdom." Nightmare Moon replied. "But how? How could the elements manage that!?"

Miserable this, stupid that, this mare's attitude alone was starting to bring out anger instead of fear. Aside from being a nuisance to my kitchen, she had yet to prove to be a real threat to begin with.

"This isn't a kingdom, and it's not miserable." I said, my voice finally shedding its earlier cowardice from our initial encounter.

"I've yet to find any information on my home, my rightful kingdom!" Nightmare Moon fumed.

"I'll wiki it in a second," I said as I stood up to open one of the blinds.

"Wait don't!" I heard the mare exclaim.

It was too late, by the time she had realized what I was doing, I had already opened them to let the sunlight shine through. As it poured in through the now open blinds, I heard a horrible cry of pain come from Nightmare Moon as she retreated to the far corner of the living room where it was still cloaked in shadows.

"What are you, a vampire?" I asked.

Oh shit, she's a vampire horse! I thought to myself only seconds of spouting the words out from my mouth.

"I am no vampire," Nightmare Moon hissed. "J-Just close them, quickly!"

"Look, I don't know if your some hallucination, but you can't come into my house, eat my food, then expect me to be your servant." I crossed my arms, stepping over to the other closed blind.

"You wouldn't..." Nightmare Moon glared at me.

"I would." I stared back, my hand resting on the blind's adjuster.

"Name your terms, Jay Cob." Nightmare Moon relented.

"First it's Jacob, just one word. Secondly, you stop treating me like your slave, I don't know who you think you are-"

"I am the princess of the night!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed.

"Well, maybe in Equestria, but this is America." I quipped.

Nightmare Moon turned her head from me as her eyes narrowed. I could tell she didn't like being put in the position she currently found herself in, which made me worried that after I closed the blind she wouldn't go back on her word.

"What else?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"My house, my rules." I replied.

"If I dispose of you, does it not become my house?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"How do you plan on doing anything while you're in the corner?" I scoffed.

"The sun sets eventually." Nightmare Moon shrugged.

"Fair point." I admitted.

"Is that all?" the mare asked, her wings twitching as she shifted in the corner.

"Can you try not to shout all the time?" I asked. "I don't know if my ears can take it."

"I promise nothing." Nightmare Moon said.

She was right, I couldn't stand here forever by the blinds. The sun would eventually set, and then she would be free to do whatever she wanted, which was a scary prospect. Reluctantly, I closed the blinds, keeping my hand practically fastened to it as she stood up and approached me.

"It seems you didn't put much stock in my word." Nightmare Moon said flatly as she looked at my hand.

A strange light began to emit from her horn as a smile replaced her frown. Seconds later, my hand was engulfed by the same light that was now surrounding the horn on her head. I felt my fingers act against my will, releasing my grip on the adjuster.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"Magic, though I'm not at one hundred percent yet. The sunlight over your kingdom is still strong enough to hinder my recovery," Nightmare Moon explained. "It felt as if what little I had was being drained from my body a while ago."

"Magic isn't a thing here." I said flatly.

"That's preposterous, all of the lands posses magic in some form or another." Nightmare Moon snorted.

"We have the internet, does that count?" I asked.

Nightmare Moon let out a frustrated groan and began pacing again. I sighed and walked back into the kitchen to deal with the ice box. I was still pissed that I had to go out and restock everything, but that meant leaving Nightmare Moon here, alone.

"This is going to suck." I muttered.

"What?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"You left the ice box open, all the food inside spoiled." I explained.

"Your device growled upon investigation." Nightmare Moon said.

"Growled? That was just the cooler kicking in since you opened the door." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not apologizing." Nightmare Moon said.

I rubbed my forehead out of frustration. I wanted this to be some kind of nightmare, but I hadn't woken up yet, and the pain in my knee had come back, assuring me that I wasn't dreaming. There was still the hope that she was some kind of hallucination.

I walked past her and up the stairs where she couldn't follow, since there were no blinds on those windows, only curtains. They were the cheep kind that were supposed to block light, but actually didn't, which I was now thankful for having.

"Where are you going?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Since you took the liberty of ruining my food, I have to go to the store." I replied.

I got dressed and grabbed my wallet and keys. I would probably be taking a pretty big hit to my wallet from this, not including the possible replacement I would have to get Vince if I had broken his on accident.

I found Nightmare Moon sitting in my living room chair. She watched me curiously as I headed for the door and tensed when she saw me reach for the handle. I opened it slowly, showing her that the light didn't reach that far into the living room.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Try not to break anything else." I said before closing the door behind me.