As she walked through the dark streets, less cautious than previously, the buildings gradually became smaller and less impressive. Finally Nexus was walking through nothing more than empty suburban streets lined by large houses and gardens. The thick cloud blocking out the moon made it difficult to see very far ahead, it was times like these she missed her pipbucks light. She briefly paused to vainly tap and poke the device attached to her hoof but to no avail, the screen remained blank.

Nexus walked a little while longer but without the streets lights near the centre, the going was much slower. After tripping over a stray plank of wood and sprawling to the floor for the third time, she decided it was probably best to wait until the sun came up before progressing.

The nearest few houses seemed particularly unstable, creaking and groaning with every gust of wind that blew down the street. Finally however, she came to one that seemed safe enough. The tall, wooden house stood at the centre of an impressive dirt patch that had once been a garden. A cracked, stone fountain of two dancing ponies adorned the pathway to the front door in front of which Nexus stood. Carefully, she pushed on the large, heavy looking door hoping that the previous occupant had left them unlocked. The aged hinges gave an incredibly loud squeal of protest as they worked before giving up completely. The entire door came away from it’s frame with a splintering crack. It fell back to the floor with a deafening crash that shook the floor and echoed loudly down the entire street.

Nexus stood frozen to the spot, staring with a look of shock at the collapsed door which now lay on the floor, partially obscured by a billowing cloud of dust that had been whipped up. For a moment, everything was silent. Then the sound of creaking timbers filled the air as the entire front of the house fell backwards, crushing the outer walls as it went. Within seconds, the entire house had collapsed in upon itself, leaving nothing but a pile of rubble where it had once stood.

Where the front door had been stood Nexus, hoof still raised from pushing the door open. She looked about with an almost guilty expression before rapidly retreating down the street at speed. Maybe these houses weren't the place to stay for the night after all.