Cheerilee woke up the next morning with a mild hangover. The pounding in her head was minor, but the bright light spilling in the window was doing nothing for it at all. She rolled out of bed, briefly noticing her evening gown hung up on the ship’s wheel, and stumbled toward the bathroom. She did her business then sipped at the bathroom sink’s water, swishing and spitting to rid herself of the taste of leftover alcohol, then washed her face clean of last night’s revelry.

While she was drying her face off, she fumbled with the bathroom handle. Her hangover was giving her difficulty with the most mundane of things. She grumbled and stepped through the door when it finally swung open and pulled the towel from her face. In place of her room, a long hallway was in front of her, stretching out some distance to a point where it turned sharply to the right. It was sinuous and curved, with minimal lighting and dingy walls. Cheerilee screeched and leaped backward, rolling out of the doorway and back into her bathroom.

Her bathroom only had the one door, so Cheerilee was now effectively trapped. There weren’t even any windows she could think about climbing out or even shouting for help. It was her and the door, and it had outsmarted her because she was out partying.

No, that wasn’t fair. It was magic and could replace any door, so this was inevitable. If it wanted her to go through it, it had only to wait. The problem now was figuring out how to deal with it. The obvious option was to go through it, but she had no idea what was waiting for her on the other side. It could be dangerous. But then, some magical door replacing things she needed to use was already dangerous.

Well, waiting was going to get her nowhere, so Cheerilee stepped into the door one hoof at a time. She’d been fully inside it not a minute ago, and if it had wanted to shut behind her it could have then, but she was still scared. She wasn’t a unicorn, and her defenses against magic included ‘hoping it doesn’t kill me’, and ‘find a unicorn to deal with it.’

When she was fully inside, Cheerilee looked behind her. Her bathroom was sitting there with the door open, her discarded towel on the floor. It didn’t appear to be swinging shut, but she wasn’t very far inside. With much trepidation, she began walking slowly down the snake-like hall, wishing she had some company. She hoped this magical mess wouldn’t make her miss her ‘date’ with Dandelion. The contours of the hall gave the impression of motion even though she knew full well it was sitting still, and eventually she came to the corner. She looked back at her door, and it was still open, which was quite reassuring. Satisfied it hadn’t shut her in, she poked her head around the corner, and saw another door, roughly the same distance away from the corner as hers.

Well, there were only two exits. One exit she had come from, and the other was at the other end of the hall. She couldn’t exit her restroom any other directions except into this… thing, so there was only one option. She marched down the hall toward the other door, climbing the slight hills and keeping her ears perked for any strange noises. She reached the door without incident, and examined it.

It was the same style as the other side, which wasn’t particularly surprising, but still, it at least seemed to indicate it would stay connected to itself. She wasn’t positive, because nothing to do with magic could ever be trusted as far as she was concerned. It was useful, sure, but Cheerilee would never live in a house made of it. Like Twilight’s crystal castle. That was a bit disconcerting to see.

Cheerilee put her hoof on the handle of the door and slowly pulled it down. She heard the click, and held her breath, then swung it open the rest of the way.

Inside was a small room, with just a dresser and a bed. On the walls were posters and shelves holding what looked like somepony’s life history. It was dark, but she could make out some of the posters with the minimal light coming through the crack in the curtains. It looked like whomever this room belonged to liked the wonderbolts, not unlike Rainbow Dash. This pony didn’t look to have quite made it. There were a few trophies to do with flying, but she couldn’t tell what the rest of the items were as they were too far away. Her door had opened in place of the door of this pony’s room. She didn’t know if that meant she had opened the door to the room, but she had to assume it was the case, so since she had no other choice, she stepped in and shut the door behind her.

“Now why did you bring me here?” Cheerilee asked, her voice low.

She tip-hoofed closer to the bed, and looked for something that might explain why she had ended up in this pony’s room. She felt out of place, like she was trespassing. Probably because she was, but this wasn’t really her fault! She didn’t have a choice! She examined some of the items on the shelves, and saw a familiar name written on the trophies!

“Dandelion?” Cheerilee turned to look at the sleeping figure, who snorted at the mention of his name.

“Huh? Whuzzat?” He turned over and looked at the clock, then reflexively smacked the top with a hoof. “It ain’t even noon, Speedy. Show’s not till four. Go fuck yourself.” He turned back over and waved a dismissive hoof.

Cheerilee approached the bed. “Pardon me Mr. Dandelion, but you told me I could come by and see you today.”

Dandelion’s silhouette rolled over again and squinted up at her. “You’re not Speedy. Who the...” Awareness seemed to dawn on him and his eyes opened wide. “The mare from last night! Cherrylee was it?”

“Hah! Cheerilee. But you were close,” Cheerilee said.

“Yeah, sorry. I had a lot to drink last night,” Dandelion said.

Cheerilee was feeling a bit bolder now that she knew who it was, so she crouched down and leaned onto the edge of the bed. “We both did. My head still hurts a little bit, but I wasn’t going to let a stallion like you get away from me. What would you say to a little breakfast, then we can go from there, hmm?”

“I think I would like that very much Miss Cheerilee.”

Cheerilee waited while Dandelion pulled himself out of bed and squeezed past her in his tiny room to the tiny bathroom. She was a little taken aback by how small his quarters were, but if he lived in the same building he worked in, it made more sense. In all honesty, she had no idea where she was.

“So, may I ask why your room is so very small?”

“Ah. Yeah. The business allows us to live on the premises, but because the place was built so long ago, the rooms weren’t built to be quite so spacious as you might expect nowadays,” Dandelion said. “They haven’t expanded them, and offered them to us free of charge, so long as we perform when they ask. We’re a small group, and not very well-known, so we didn’t want to pass it up.”

“Contracted?"

“Yeah. Four years. Two more to go.”

“Not a bad deal.”

“Nah, not at all. By the way, how did you get up here? Was it Speedy? He’s always getting on my case.”

Cheerilee bit her lip and looked at the door. It had transformed back into a normal door, so she’d have to go home the regular way if it didn’t show up, but she had no good explanation for him. She didn’t even know the path! She couldn’t tell him it was magic, that would be a little creepy. She hesitated, but decided to try to fudge it.

“I just… told the front desk I was here to see you, and they… let me come to the back!” Cheerilee mentally berated herself. That was such a lame explanation. Nopony would believe that!

Dandelion laughed a hearty laugh. She loved the sound of it, but she knew she hadn’t gotten past him with her lies. “I appreciate the humor, and I won’t press as to which one of the team flew you up, but come on. Was that really the best you could come up with? I’m sure you can be more creative than that.”

He finished cleaning himself up and opened the door for her. Cheerilee stepped outside onto a short landing with a single chair and a small gate. She stepped closer and realized why he hadn’t believed her. There was nothing but a long drop all the way down to the floor.

“Sweet Celestia!” Cheerilee backed away from the edge and pressed up against the wall.

“Preparing to go down is a lot worse than coming up, isn’t it? I hear that a lot from earth ponies and unicorns,” Dandelion said.

She was trying not to have to explain how she had arrived up here, but she was swiftly running out of ideas. The only name of his crew that she knew was Speedy, but they would talk, and her lies would come out. She was trapped. He didn’t seem to be pressing the issue, so she decided to leave it for now, but it was going to come up sooner or later. She could feel it.

“Yeah, because it was built in Las Pegasus, it was all built with pegasi in mind. The rooms up here are pegasi only. Mostly used for employees, but for a nominal fee you can rent ones at the end,” Dandelion said. “They’ve even let a few earth ponies or unicorns rent them. Extra charge for the need for a Pegasus escort, of course.”

“It’s… quite something,” Cheerilee said.

Dandelion chuckled. “Alright, I can see you’re uncomfortable. Let’s get you down.” He held out his forehooves.

Cheerilee moved into his hooves and wrapped hers around his neck. He lifted her up with some slight difficulty, but didn’t say anything, and swooped down to the lobby. He placed her on the floor and she breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she was still hundreds of feet in the air, but at least she couldn’t see any edges.

“So let’s find something to eat. I know this great restaurant. Serves the best breakfast burritos,” Dandelion said.

Cheerilee followed him outside and they made their way along the streets as Dandelion showed her the restaurants he frequently ate at. It was a relaxed morning, and she enjoyed his company. He treated her very well and didn’t even bring up either the fact that she had thrown herself at him last night, or the way she’d gotten into his room.

As it got into the afternoon, Dandelion kept checking the time. “I have a performance at four, as I’m sure you remember. I’ll have to head back at three to join in the warm-up. Speedy’s working on a new routine, but until he has it planned out practice only happens sporadically.”

“How long have you all been together?” Cheerilee asked.

“Speedy and I started the whole thing. The other members come and go. We didn’t quite make it into the Wonderbolts academy, so we started our own.”

“That’s very clever.”

“We thought so. Speedy came up with the name: Trickselion! Cause we do tricks like loops n’ stuff. Eh?”

He looked so proud of the name, Cheerilee couldn’t help but laugh though. “You obviously but a lot of thought and care into it. I’m glad it worked out for you two.”

“Yeah. He’s a great guy. Always bugs me about my love life, though. That’s why I thought he was the one who brought you up to my room,” Dandelion said. “By the way, if it wasn’t him, how did you get up there? I’m genuinely curious. You even seemed surprised to see we were so high up.”

Cheerilee sighed. “Okay, I’ll tell you, and it’s going to sound crazy, but I swear it’s the truth.”

“Go on.”

“A magic door.”

He waited, but Cheerilee said nothing else. She just looked at him and tried to gauge his reaction.

“That’s all?”

Cheerilee nodded. “It started appearing two days ago. It appears on walls and replaces doors in buildings for me. I don’t know why or how or for what reason.”

“That actually sounds really creepy.”

“I know! But it replaced my bathroom door this morning and I couldn’t get out, so I had to go in! Then the door at the other end of the hall was your room. It then disappeared, leaving me there. I’m just glad you were home,” Cheerilee said.

Dandelion closed his eyes and folded his hooves. He seemed to be measuring her story up in his mind and trying to decide to believe it or not. “Well, I can’t rightly say that magic can’t do that, because I’m clearly not a unicorn. But somepony has to be behind the spell. It’s too neat and tidy to be wild magic.”

Cheerilee saw something red and white out of the corner of her eye, and turned to look. Sure enough, there was the door, down an alleyway across the street from her and Dandelion. Cheerilee poked Dandelion and tilted her head.

“Okay, so please be patient Dandelion, but the door has appeared,” she said.

“Really? Right now?”

“Mm-hmm. It’s right down that alley across the street. Do you see it? Red frame, white door, glass handle.” She pointed.

Dandelion looked, and he even squinted, but he shook his head. “I don’t see anything. Certainly not a door coloured like that.”

Cheerilee leaned back in her chair and groaned. “See, that’s what I mean. Nopony but me appears to be able to see it. I was caught in a restroom when it replaced the door, and the ponies outside thought I was on drugs!”

“Well, it was probably weird seeing somepony interacting with an invisible object. I mean, maybe some thought you were just a mime?”

“They tried to guess what drug I was on. Some said Everfree powder. Everfree powder! I’m never even seen Everfree powder!”

“Don’t worry so much, Cheerilee. Let’s get closer. Is it still there?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what makes it come and go.”

“Then let’s go have a closer look at this wall.”

They paid for their meal and approached the short alleyway. Boards had been placed down on the clouds so other ponies could walk through it. Cheerilee didn’t know how that worked, but it was pegasi magic, so she just trusted it. She got up to the door and motioned with a hoof.

“Right here,” she said.

Dandelion looked at the wall, then back at her, and Cheerilee knew he couldn’t see it. “You can’t see it, can you. To you, this is just a blank wall.”

“Yeah, I’ll be honest. I think you’re just messing with me,” Dandelion said.

Cheerilee looked down the long dark hallway. This time the floor didn’t wobble up and down, but only side to side. It was still lit with only a few lights, and it still had that ninety degree turn some distance away.

“Okay, then let me just” – Cheerilee stepped inside the door, and Dandelion jumped in shock. – “step inside.”

Dandelion stared at the wall. His eyes flashed up and down as he tried to make sense of what he’d just seen. It was magic, but he didn’t like it very much. “So why can’t I see it then? Why just you?”

Cheerilee stuck her head out, and Dandelion yelped in surprise. “I don’t know, but it got me to your room this morning, so it can’t be all bad.”

“No, but that’s really strange. I don’t like it,” Dandelion said.

“I didn’t either, but it’s kind of growing on me. Let me see where this door goes. Be right back.” Cheerilee pulled her head back into the wall, as it appeared to Dandelion, and trotted down the crooked passage. The path felt about the same length as earlier, although she knew it was far shorter than the actual length of time it would take to get from her hotel to the Midway Starship. That made her curious how far it could go. Could it transport her all the way to Ponyville from here?

She rounded the corner, and saw the door at the far end. Her path was straight ahead, and the open door behind her still showed the alleyway where Dandelion was sitting. He was scratching his neck in confusion and Cheerilee couldn’t help but chuckle. She didn’t want to keep him waiting, so she cantered down the hall to the closed door.

Upon opening the door, Cheerilee was delighted to see a familiar house. The bedroom of her home in Ponyville was before her. The bed was made, the floor was tidy, and everything was just as she had left it. Excited, she left the door open and dashed back around the corner. She hopped out of the doorway, beaming, and grabbed Dandelion’s hoof.

“It’s my house!” Cheerilee said.

“What? What is?” Dandelion’s confusion had not abated, but he was happy to see her.

“The door leads to my house in Ponyville!”

“Seriously? That’s hundreds of miles away! How?”

Cheerilee shrugged. “Do you want to see?”

“Your house?” Dandelion looked at the blank–to him–wall. “Can I even go in it?”

“Maybe. I can, so if you hold my hoof, that might work. If not, I guess I’ll just close it and we can go back to the Midway Starship,” Cheerilee said.

“Yeah, I have to go to work in less than an hour, so I might not have time.”

“Well at least help me find out if you can enter with me holding your hoof.”

“Okay, okay.” Dandelion grabbed Cheerilee’s hoof and gave her a weak smile.

Cheerilee grinned and gripped his hoof tight, then stepped into the doorway. The hoof holding Dandelion’s approached the wall and he flinched, but to both pony’s surprise, and Cheerilee’s delight, it passed through the wall and into the ethereal passage. He watched as his forehoof disappeared into what looked like a solid surface. His snout approached and he cringed, but it too passed through without impact, until he was entirely inside the hallway.

Dandelion looked around in bewilderment at the sinuous passage, still a bit unbelieving of the whole thing. “You weren’t kidding. It’s just a hallway.”

“It’s strange, and a bit spooky, but yes. It’s just a hallway,” Cheerilee said.

She started to let go of his hoof, but he gripped it tight. “Please don’t let go. I can’t see the door, which means this was meant for you. If you let go while I’m in here, what might happen?”

Cheerilee hadn’t considered that. She bit her lip, but nodded. “You’re right. This could be dangerous. Let’s get back out and go to your practice. It will come back I’m sure.”

Dandelion looked more than a little relieved. “Thank you, Cheerilee.”

Dandelion stepped back out first, followed by Cheerilee still holding his hoof. Once both were certain they were out of the doorway, they released each other’s hooves and Cheerilee shut the door. It was still invisible to Dandelion, so it looked like she was shutting nothing, but he didn’t say anything. He had seen it, after all. It was real, but he was not privy to it.

They chatted about other things, with Dandelion curious about her life in Ponyville. Cheerilee told him how she was a school teacher, and more about what life was like for her in Ponyville. They walked back to the Midway Starship, and Dandelion had to go to practice, but Cheerilee waited. She was there to observe the performance all the way through. Dandelion flew underneath her more often than not whenever there was a spare chance, and she waved every time.

When it was over, he came back out to her table after his shower and they talked some more. Cheerilee noticed some other mares nearby saw him come straight to her and they frowned. She felt important. Like she had something other mares didn’t. The fact that it was something that made her feel attractive was nice. It was a good feeling. She didn’t even mind the fact that she was not seeing much of Las Pegasus. Dandelion’s company was more than enough.

The two talked as the evening passed, and they had a single drink each, but eventually, talk came down to where they might get a little more intimate. Since they were already in the Midway Starship, Dandelion suggested they go back to his room, since all he would have to do was fly her up there.

“Well, I did say I always wanted to do it on a boat, and this is shaped like one. Okay,” Cheerilee said.

They settle their tab and Dandelion lifted her up, then took off into the upper sections of the building. Cheerilee held tight to his neck as he flew and avoided looking down. Heights were okay, but with only a single pony between herself and a long fall, she couldn’t get comfortable. It was a short flight, and he set her down behind the railing while he unlocked the door. As soon as the door was open, she threw herself on him, kissing him deep as they struggled toward the bed.

The fight was long, yet passionate, and it ended with them both breathing hard.

When they decided to stop, it was late. Or perhaps early. It depended on your point of view. They were holding each other in their hooves, manes disheveled and fur ruffled. Cheerilee sighed and smiled. It had been a long time since she was so comfortable with somepony like this, and could get this intimate. She wasn’t sure if it was the vacation or maybe alcohol, but she was happy.

“Some of that was not quite what I’d expect from a schoolteacher,” Dandelion said.

“What, you think because I teach foals that I’m not allowed to have deep dark secret desires?” Cheerilee said.

“Hey, not at all. It’s just you have this image of teachers, you know? Probably from your school days, and you just threw the ones I had all off kilter,” Dandelion said.

“Well, guess you’ll have to get used to that, because I plan on throwing them all off again soon,” Cheerilee said.

“Nice.” Dandelion wrapped his hooves around her and pulled her close.

“Oh no you don’t,” Cheerilee pulled away, but gave him a quick kiss. “I’m still too tired and sore, and I need to clean up.” She smiled and stood up, heading to the bathroom.

“Well, I can wait. I don’t have anything scheduled,” Dandelion said.

“Perfect. We can choose something to do after we’re all cleaned up,” Cheerilee said.

She shut the door behind her and hopped into the cramped shower space. It was small, and the water pressure was poor, but she got herself cleaned up and crawled out of the tiny tub. When she turned to look at the door, she was dismayed to see it was the red and white door that had been hounding her. She grunted in frustration.

“Sweet Celestia, what do you even want, door?” Cheerilee said.

“Cheerilee? What’s going on?”

“It’s that stupid door again. It replaced the bathroom door.”

“Seriously? Why?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Well how do you get rid of it?”

“I don’t know any surefire way to get rid of it. Those mares in the bathroom stuck their hooves through it and it disappeared. Can you come do that?”

“Okay. Hang on.”

Cheerilee opened the door to see a straight, brightly-lit passage with that ninety-degree turn. She heard Dandelion’s hoofsteps tapping toward her and stop somewhere in front of her. A hoof appeared, sticking out of the vision in front of her, cut off where her view of the hallway began.

“Is it still there?” Dandelion asked.

“Yeah, I just see your hoof floating in mid-air,” Cheerilee said. “I don’t know what else to do.”

Dandelion walked through the vision and joined her in the small bathroom. “I guess we can both go through. That way I won’t lose you somewhere on the far end, wherever it is.”

Cheerilee smiled at him. “Thank you. I know it’s unsettling, and I wish I could fix it. I’ll try to contact some unicorn services soon.”

Cheerilee grabbed Dandelion’s hoof, steeled herself, then stepped into the hall. Dandelion stayed beside her, his grip tightening as they entered the hallway. They walked side by side down the path, up toward the corner. Cheerilee was getting quite fed up with this door appearing and disappearing at a whim of its own. She didn’t know any unicorns except Twilight or Starlight back in that crystal castle that might be powerful enough to figure out what magic this was and get rid of it.

They rounded the corner and Cheerilee balked at the sight of the door. It wasn’t the red and white she was used to. This time, the frame was green, and the door itself was black, with a metal handle.

“Something’s wrong.” Cheerilee said. “The door is different.”

“Different how?”

“It’s an entirely different colour.”

“And that’s bad?”

“I… honestly don’t know.”

“Well we won’t know unless we try. How else are you going to get out of the bathroom?”

“Okay, okay. But don’t let go of me no matter what.”

“Same goes for you.”

Cheerilee gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile, and they proceeded down the bright and welcoming hallway to the strangely-coloured door. The walls were clean and free from scuff marks, and the floor was smooth and polished. When they got to the door, Cheerilee could see that it was of the same quality. A stark difference to the weathered, worn, and dark hallway she had seen before. The only other time it was this clean was when she was in the restroom before. What was the difference between the two types of hallway, she wondered? What significance did this hold?

The two approached the door with caution. This magic hallway had suddenly changed the rules she thought she understood without warning her, and now she had to deal with the changes. The problem Cheerilee had with this was that it seemed random, and it was magic.

Cheerilee didn’t understand magic on her best days. She was forced to just accept it as something that unicorns could do and was a fact of life. This magic was unsettling. It was following her, she was sure of that, and it wanted her to pass through it. The fact that it wasn’t utterly random was the scariest part. That meant there was some purpose to its appearances, and she had no way of knowing what that purpose was.

When they reached the door, Cheerilee reached out and gripped the handle with her free hoof. She looked at Dandelion, who smiled down at her. She took a deep breath, turned the handle, and pushed.

The door swung open to reveal Dandelion’s room. Or at least, it appeared to be Dandelion’s room. It had all his posters, trophies, and other knick-knacks on the shelves. The only difference was the bed was currently occupied.

“It’s… my room?” Dandelion said.

“Shhh, almost.” Cheerilee pointed at the bed.

“Who’s that in the bed?” Dandelion stepped out of the hall, bristling at their privacy being invaded. “Hey, you! What are you doing in here!”

“Dandelion, no! This isn’t right!”

It was too late. Dandelion stepped out of the hall and let go of Cheerilee’s hoof. The figure in the bed sat up and rubbed his eyes. Cheerilee gasped, and Dandelion’s eyes widened in shock.

It was Dandelion.

“What in Tartarus? Am I dreaming?” The second Dandelion said. He looked from Dandelion, to Cheerilee peering out of his bathroom door. “What are you two doing in my room?”

The first Dandelion looked back to Cheerilee. “Cheerilee, what is this? Did that hallway do something?”

“Yes! It’s not good magic! Come back here, quickly! Let’s leave!” She motioned to him frantically to come back.

The second Dandelion’s ears whipped forward, and he suddenly looked very awake. “Hallway? Hallway! It came back!” Second Dandelion leaped across the room, pushing the first Dandelion aside in his haste. “I can finally leave!”

The Dandelion that had been pushed aside stumbled, but turned to grab the other one before he could make it to Cheerilee. “Hold it! What the hell are you talking about? Why do you know about these things?”

The other Dandelion fought back, squirming and thrashing as he tried to get past Dandelion and into the hallway. The two wrestled and fought, until Cheerilee had no idea which one was which anymore.

“Stop this! Fighting will get us nowhere!” Cheerilee shouted. The two Dandelions didn’t listen.

Their wrestling became a hoof-fight, and they traded blows back and forth. It was light hits at first, meant only to stun, but after the first few they grew stronger and harder. Blood began to fly and eyes to blacken. Cheerilee thought she recognized her Dandelion, as one of the two had a crazed look in his eyes as his hooves flew with desperation born of desire to leave this place.

Cheerilee moved toward the scuffle, intent on helping. As soon as she stepped outside of the hall, the door began swinging shut.

“No!” Both Dandelions yelled at once. They leaped toward the door in unison, bowling over Cheerilee. All three of them landed just inside the hall. They blocked the door, but the Dandelions were still fighting, Cheerilee now caught up in the brawl.

Cheerilee felt a few stray hooves strike her head, and she struggled to try to free herself. “Stop it! Stop it both of you! Just stop!”

“I won’t stay here any longer! Home is waiting for me! You’ve taken my place long enough you imposter!”

“Imposter? I don’t even know what these hallways are! Why do you? You’re keeping something from us and I won’t let you through until I know *oof* what!”

Cheerilee covered her head while they fought, accidental blows striking her back and hooves like angry hail. She finally found an opportunity, when one Dandelion had lifted the other over his head, and Cheerilee rolled away, deeper into the hall.

The moment she separated from them, the Dandelion that had the other one gripped in his hooves screamed in pain and dropped his victim. Cheerilee turned around to look, and saw Dandelion’s fur tearing off his body. It happened fast, faster than he could escape from the hall. His fur ripped off, then his skin was flayed off his muscle. Underneath that, Cheerilee was expecting a skeleton, but instead there was a mass of rigid, colourful bars, and beyond that, nothing but eyes. Eyes that stared out in pain and fear as they, too, were torn away into the air, leaving half of Dandelion’s body twitching inside the room.

“What… what is... ‘was’ that?” Cheerilee was in shock, staring wide-eyed at the mess.

“That—“ Dandelion kicked the body into the room “—was something. I don’t know what, but it wanted to traverse the hallway. I’ve seen them before.” He shut the door and moved toward Cheerilee. “They’re not allowed, but you brought one in. Why?”

Cheerilee shuffled away from him. “But, nopony but me was able to even see or do anything with the hallway unless I helped them. What made him different?”

“Ah, shit. You went native, didn’t you?” He held out a hoof, which Cheerilee avoided and pulled herself to her hooves. “They’re not different. You are. You’ve just forgotten.”

“What?” Cheerilee was confused.

Dandelion trotted down the hall, back to the room Cheerilee had entered from. It was the same as it was when the two of them had left, only now Cheerilee was returning to it with a stranger. “Listen, I don’t want to explain. I’ve been stuck there for years. You’re not my problem. I have things I need to do.” He began searching the room, looking for something. Cheerilee didn’t know what for, but he wasn’t the Dandelion she had just slept with.

Cheerilee remembered what she had seen when Dandelion had died in the hallway, and what had been inside him. Her mind was a muddle, but that one visual stuck out. “What… was Dandelion?”

“I said I don’t know.”

“Is everypony here like that?”

“I don’t know.”

“But then… why?”

“I’m a traveler. It’s what I do. So are, or were, you. You seem to have forgotten.” Dandelion had found whatever he was looking for, and placed it in a set of saddlebags. He returned to the hallway and pushed past Cheerilee to get inside.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“I don’t know.”

“But I love… you,” Cheerilee said, the final word losing its force as she remembered this wasn’t the same Dandelion.

Dandelion sighed. “No. You loved that thing, and it only loved you for the hallway, I assure you. Whatever you do from here on out, good luck, Miss.” He pushed Cheerilee out of the way and shut the door. It vanished, leaving her alone.

Cheerilee sat alone with her thoughts for some time, until she realized Dandelion was gone, and she was trapped in his room far above the floor. She wasn’t going to be able to get down. She wanted to cry, but couldn’t, so she just stared at the door. She missed Dandelion. Or at least, the idea of Dandelion. That… thing she had seen wasn’t a pony, but it had treated her nicely. She wanted him back. She didn’t want to stay here where the memory of Dandelion was without Dandelion. He was the closest thing to a special somepony she’d had in years.

She curled up and fell asleep on the floor, not willing to go to the bed they had just shared. She awoke sometime later, darkness filling the room. Cheerilee looked around, then remembered everything that had happened. It all finally hit her and she began crying, remembering all the strange things that had happened and the good times she had spent with Dandelion.

Once she finally got out of here, she was going to have to go home to her job in Ponyville, where she was just a teacher, and she was going to live out her life teaching foals how to do numbers and recite the alphabet. She didn’t want to do that alone.

She pulled herself to her hooves, and turned to the front door. She wasn’t going to be able to fly down, but maybe she could just jump. End her own damn misery.

Cheerilee turned the handle and looked ahead. Instead of the railing and edge leading to the bottom floor, Cheerilee was staring at a long hallway. It was lit brightly, with a poster pointing to the right.

She had found a second Dandelion in another world beyond the hallway once. That meant there might be more. She stepped into the hall and shut the door behind her. No matter what was out there, it was better than loneliness.

The End.

Author's Note

I had a lot of trouble writing this, and had to stop in the middle for a bit. I needed to finish it though, so that's what created the ending. It could lead into other things, and further development, but that's to be seen.

It is rough, but it is done. Enjoy what it is for now.