The wall slid closed behind me and Vidala. The wall was smooth. Perfectly smooth as if the doorway was never there. Ahead of us was another room. An empty room, old and dusty.

“Where are we?”

“Room one. I can’t get us into the management room directly and the fastest way is through.” Vidala responded. She walked further into the room towards the door on the opposite side. She walked straight ahead. Fearlessly. I couldn’t help but feel like she knew something I didn’t. It was a good feeling though. To know she wasn’t afraid of the house, helped me to not be as afraid.

“This can’t be room one.” I said. “Room one was filled with crappy Halloween decorations.”

“Room one is always filled with decorations. It’s how the house plays with you. It knows what you’re not afraid of.”

“But there’s nothing here.”

“This is MY room one.” she said. “I’ve never had a Nightmare Night.”

I didn’t say anything to her, but I definitely questioned how the buck could no one have a Nightmare Night? Maybe it’s that family that she talked about? Maybe they never celebrated but if she knew the house, what other option did I have to follow? She placed her hoof on the door knob and walked through the door labeled “2.”

Room two was the same size as room one, but this room was filled with playground equipment. Vidala’s stride never broke. She continued deeper into the room and I followed at a steady pace as well. I couldn’t help but look in awe at the slides and swings we passed along the way. This was so different from my room two. No paper ghosts or smoke machines. This was almost eerie. If I hadn’t spent so much time in the house already, I would have been shocked. At some point I must have been lost in the room and was staring at the golden 3 that was screwed into the brown wooden door in front of me. If I hadn’t caught myself I would have a bloody nose from bashing my head into it. I must have zoned out. I looked back at Vidala still come through the room, looking at the swings as she went by. Out of instinct I reached for the knob.

"Wait!”

In a last split second I turned my head back to see Vidala reaching out to me before my hoof touched the knob for room three. Instantly, the room went black. My hoof grasped nothing. I felt around in front me frantically trying to find the door that I stood in front of just a moment earlier but there was nothing. Just blackness and silence. Celestia dammit! I was in the blackness again! That bucking blackness that was my room four must be Vidala’s room three. I felt the panic rising in my again. All confidence from watching Vidala earlier was gone. I looked in all directions trying to find a wall or a door, my arms outstretched.

“Vidala!? Where are you?” I called out into the darkness. No response. She had to be in this room, just not around me. “Vidala?” The hum. That bucking hum was back. It was soft again and started to build. The panic was definitely back. The house knew this was the worse thing it could give me and it gave it to me again. I started moving. If I kept going in one direction I’d have to find a wall. Even if it’s not the door, I could follow the wall until I found the door out. I must have been moving faster than I thought. I crashed into something hard. It shook and fell over. It couldn’t have been a pony but it startled me just the same. Last time I was in this room I know I was alone but this time I knew something had to be here. The flash happened, flooding the room with temporary light. It was a stool. And what rolled off of it was a flashlight. No that couldn’t be it. Why? Before I had a chance to look for the exit the lights were out again and I was back in blackness. I dropped to the floor, searching were the afterimage of the flashlight still was. I had it. I prayed that the light hadn’t broken when it fell. Thank Celestia. It still worked. The beam nearly illuminated the whole room with the light and directly ahead of me was a hand written 4 in black sharpie on a glass door. Thanks to the light, I noticed the tag on the flashlight. “To Felix. From Management. I love you.” The buckers are toying with me aren’t they? But this time I’m with…. I searched the room again. Vidala was no where to be found.

All 4 walls, the door and no Vidala… Reluctantly, I continued to the door. Vidala was still in the house with me. I’d find her again. The glass door was fogged up. I couldn’t see through it, but whatever was on the other side…was cold… I opened the door and stepped in.

Room four didn’t require the flashlight. It was cold, that’s for damn sure but it wasn’t dark. It was a well lit meat locker. Row after row of cow and pig hung in all directions. Whomever this was intended to feed, they must have had a killer appetite. The chill made it hard to stay still for too long. I rubbed my hooves over my exposed body and moved one to the side, looking beyond. More meat. I continued deeper and even more meat still. I moved further in silence. I passed by carcasses of every noticeable animal the further I went. My hooves were sticky and red with the blood of the hanging beasts of all different shapes and sizes. To make things even more confusing, they started to become animals I didn’t recognize. Mammals with more than 4 legs which didn’t seem possible to me. Finally, I came across one that I did recognize. I was expecting to see this form the moment I entered the meat locker but that didn’t save my stomach from turning at the site. A pony body, skinned and decapitated hung in my way. I tried not to look and pushed past. This was disgusting. More and more bodies hung from the ceiling closer together, and to make matters worse the temperature was starting to rise. The bodies were suffocating enough but the air became thick with the stench of wet rot. The bodies were squeezing me enough to almost raise me off the ground while pushing my way through. The frozen meat had become soft and squishy, pulling off chunks as I pushed my way through. I coughed and held my hoof over my face to keep myself from vomiting. Little help that did, I just ended up covering myself in more blood.

I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t move. I’m was going to die here. I’m was going to drown in blood and bodies. I reached my arm deeper into the bodies and rested my head on a blood soaked rib cage, suspended in the air drawing in breath as much as I could through my mouth.

The coppery taste of blood on my tongue had taken to the air. I was losing consciousness.

Something grabbed me. I was going to recoil my arm but I couldn’t. The hoof had grabbed me tightly along my fore arm. I was pulling back and the hoof was pulling me towards it, pulling myself out of the bodies. And into Room 5.

Vidala looked down at me. I sat at the base of the door and a dark blue light illuminated Vidala's look of anger. I could breathe again. Vidala was back. Finally my panic began to subside.

“Don’t you ever touch a door without me.”

“You could have said something before hoof. This isn’t my house I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to get my girlfriend and get out of-”

A small crinkle in my pocket alarmed it.  I pulled it out.  It was from Onyx. “Don’t trust her.” Vidala looked down at my phone and snatched it out of my hoof. She angrily pointed the phone at me.

“Are you kidding me? Are you bucking kidding me? You’re talking with Onyx!? You can’t trust me? I’ve told you everything about this house! I lead you back into the house and you can’t trust me!”

“He just sent that to me! Don’t bucking accuse me of anything!” I gruffly snatched the letter back from her hoof and shoved it back into my pocket. I pushed her to the side and moved into the room. I hadn’t taken in the room until this point but the blue lights finally made sense. We were at an indoor pool, lit around the edges by lights just under the surface. “What is this?”

“My room 5.” We walked over to the pool and looked in. I could see the bottom with a lighted 6. Next to edge was a a yellow scuba tank. Just 1. I knelt beside it as she dipped her hoof into the waters to test it. She didn’t recoil or scream so as far as I could tell, the water was safe enough. I inspected the tank. As I expected there was another note. “With Love, From Management” bucking management. Was it Onyx that was giving me these things? If it was, why? Why help me? I ripped off the tag and placed it in my pocket and picked up the tank. I handed it to Vidala.

“We’re going to have to share.”

“And you can trust me with it? I want my house back Felix. I want to control this house… Do you trust me more than Onyx?”

I did not look away from her. I weighed her. I had no idea why she would want this house but I needed her. I shook my hoof for her to take the tank from me. She did and fixed the rebreather into her mouth.

I needed her. I didn’t trust her.

Two things became apparent when entering the water. The lights on the 6 at the bottom of the pool were off as soon as we entered, and the water was surprisingly warm. If I didn’t feel like my life was in danger, I might have actually enjoyed this swim. We dove down and it quickly became evident that the 6 at the bottom did not signify 6 feet. The bottom seemed to drop away almost. We swam down, taking a break every so often to breath from Vidala’s re-breather. The pressure grew stronger as we descended and the lights began to fade. After a few minutes, it felt like I should be seeing angler fish swimming around. It became so dark. I realized I was still holding the flashlight I got from Room 3. It couldn’t hurt to try and a beam of light shot out into the the darkness in the water. I took another hit of fresh air from Vidala’s rebreather. I saw her looking at the light and back up at me. Her expression told me that we would be having another heated conversation about the flashlight when we got out of the water. I pointed it downward. Still no bottom. I pressed on downward and felt a current of motion in the water above me. I turned the flashlight upward and searched the water. By this point I couldn’t even see the surface any longer, but there was nothing around me. The water was pitch black in all directions. I looked back towards Vidala who looked at me confused. I wrote it off as another hallucination and continued downward. The house was going to get to me and I was jumpy as it was. The current changed again and this time I could feel it closer. I swam close to Vidala to take another breath from the O2 tank and pointed the flashlight in all directions to check again. Still nothing but blackness. Her hoof rested on my wrist and she looked at me concerned. I tried to communicate with her but it was impossible without speech. How do you say “I think there’s a lake monster in here” without words? Suddenly, her grip tightened and her body thrashed about. The rebreather dropped from my mouth and I grabbed her hoof with mine. Her eyes showed panic and she looked down to her leg. Something was there.

Something that was a deep blue or a black. I couldn’t see it clearly and I couldn’t point the light directly at it with all the thrashing. I couldn’t let her go. I needed her. She needed to get me to the end of this house. She opened her mouth to scream but only bubbles escaped in the pressure under water. She needed the O2 tank or she’d drown, but there was too much going on to think how to fix it. It happened so fast, I couldn’t put it all together. Her grip loosened and she was gone in an instant into the black water. I pointed the flashlight in the direction she went but there was nothing. Darkness. I looked everywhere I could think. She was gone, but the oxygen was gone as well and panic was setting in. my chest started to burn. Finally I looked down… I was on the bottom and below me was a large white 6 painted perfectly on a sheet of glass. It was right here, but that was impossible. With all the thrashing, I should have been ascending not descending but it was the bottom all the less. I looked upward again trying to find Natalie. I couldn’t continue without her but my air was running out and the pressure at this depth was pushing precious oxygen out of my lungs. I turned back to the glass and bashed it with the flashlight. Nothing. Shit! I have to get through this. How was I supposed to when I was under water? I bashed it again as hard I could with the water resistance holding me back. A crack. Thank god a fucking crack. I wheeled back again but my body betrayed me and I took in a short breath of water. I choked and held a hand over my nose and mouth. This can’t be happening, there was no where else to go and I can’t go back up. The crack grew larger below me. I kicked at it as hard as I could with my feet below me and-

The crash was deafening.

I flooded into Room six completely dry but coughing water out of my lungs and gasping for precious air. I was on the floor crying and coughing. I fell to my side. I didn’t want to continue. I’d already gone through Tartarus once. What the Hay was I doing here again? What could be worth this Bucking torture?

“You’ve been cheating.”

The first time I heard that voice I nearly jumped out of my skin but this time, I remember her, and just like last time, she wasn’t going to let me pass out. I caught my breath and I stood up to face her. Just like before the filly and the beast consumed the same space. I couldn’t keep looking at her for long but I did what I could to not show how much my head throbbed from looking at them.

“You can’t have a partner. That’s cheating you know.”

“Is she alive?”

“Is who alive? Belle doesn’t like that new girl.”

That struck it. Belle was here. She knew it. I was getting closer.

“How do you know Belle? Is she here do you know where she is?!”

“…Who’s Belle?”

“STOP FUCKING WITH ME! Fuck this house and fuck Onyx and fuck whatever the Tartarus you are. Give me Belle and get me out of here!”

“Fine” This time she didn’t sound like the little filly. This time she sounded like Belle. That was the last straw.

“Oh buck you.” I turned my back to the thing. I was going to move on. I ran my hooves over the wall looking for the door. What did I have to do this time? I slammed my hoof against the wall searching for a hollow point with no result. It was solid. Did I need to scratch the 7 into the door again? I took my hoof and started to trace the shape of the 7 into the paint.

“That’s not going to work.” Belle said.

I spun around to look the little filly in the face and tell her to shut her Celestia damn mouth, but I was near speechless to find Belle standing before me. She couldn’t be real. She couldn’t be there. None the less, I was fighting back happy tears and the urge to run to her and hold her next to me again.

“Belle..? Is this really you or is it the house? I have to know.”

“It’s fine I understand… You want Vidala back right? Is she your new girlfriend Felix?”

“No it’s not like that she’s helping me rescue you”

“Wasn’t that your fault though? Didn’t YOU lead me to this house?”

“No, Belle. I didn’t want you to come here. I was just trying to make some quick money”

“NO Felix. I think you were bucking a filly behind my back! I think, You TOLD Onyx to bring me here! I think you wanted me out of the way.”

“Belle this is crazy! Why would I kill you!? Calm down!”

“NO Felix,” Belle’s hoof slid from behind her back holding a surgical scalpel. “I’m done with your lying and your bullshit! I’m done with you.”

“Belle. Stop…. the house is bucking with us ok. This isn’t you. I swear to Celestia this isn’t you and whatever you were seeing, it wasn’t me.”

“No Felix.” She pointed the knife at herself and raised her hoof into the air. The light from the one bulb shining above her gleamed off of the blade. My hoof came up from my side. This isn’t real. I swear this has to just be the house bucking with me. She wouldn’t say this. She couldn’t do this. “This is real.”

I screamed louder than I’ve ever screamed as she plunged the knife into her chest. I watched it unfold in front of me like a horror film. She stared me right in the eyes and covered her body in blood. She repeatedly thrust the scalpel into her her chest and throat. over and over and over.

She fell to the floor in a heap. I still stood there screaming. If this was real like she said, what had I done? When my throat was finally hoarse from screaming I dropped to her side and held her finally. Tears were streaming down my face and I was sobbing. All I could say was “I’m sorry” continuously. As much as I wanted to believe that this was the house playing with me I couldn’t help it. This was Belle. I loved this filly. And now…..

I looked over her wounds… Her cuts formed a 7 in her chest… If the house could laugh at me I’m sure it would have. The tears stopped. My body shook. I wanted to scream and cry… and burn this Celestia damn house to the ground. I placed my hoof on the scalpel that was still sticking out of the 7 in this Belle’s chest….. and pulled.

I was outside…. Room 8 is always outside.

I sat there in front of the NoEnd House but somehow I knew I was still in the NoEnd House. I looked around me as though I were the living dead. I was just holding my dead marefriend. I was just there watching her yell at me, watching her break and watching her commit suicide. Was she even really in the house or have I just been stuck here the whole time? The house was going to far. It was too much. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t anymore. I wanted out.

Another crinkle in my pocket.

It was Onyx.

“Felix, You have to go home.” Despite the fact that it was a paper, I could hear the words loud and clear.

“Onyx what the buck is going on? I’m in the house and this filly said that you’re the one running it.”

“She’s not wrong and she’s not right. Go home Felix.”

“I can’t. I’m back in the house already.”

“No. you’re outside. Go Home.”

“Buck you!” I ripped up the paper and ran.  He’s told me all I need to know. If I was outside. If I was REALLY outside, I would go to the police. I’d contact anyone that could help me. We’d tear the house down brick by brick if we had to to get Belle out. I continued running.  Finally, I didn’t know if it was real or not, but it felt good to at least watch the house fade into the darkness behind me as I traveled down the dirt road. Ten minutes later and I was finally back into town and approaching the Police Station. A sigh escaped my lips. “Please be real.” I whispered to myself. And if it is, it’s felt like years since I had spoken to another pony being who wasn’t involved with this house. I prepped myself as much as I could and walked to the doors of the station.

A small stoop sat before the police station and I hopped up the steps quick to come to the sight that I dreaded to see. Across both of the doors of the Police station, in black paint, was spray painted a large 8. I shook my head in disbelief. I knew that I was still in the house but it knew I would come here. That was insane. Onyx just told me that I was outside. He WAS bucking me. He WAS running things here.

“Felix…. go home and forget about the house.” I heard his voice in my head, no letter.

That was Onyx’s voice. This was the house! This was the bucking house again! I ran back down the stairs and kept running. I had no idea where I was going or where I COULD go to. I just ran. Every store. Every house. Every bucking mailbox I passed. 8.

8’s were on everything and on every street. No matter where I turned there was the door to the next room. I couldn’t enjoy being out of the house. I couldn’t get help. I was helplessly trapped in the No End House.

I was home. I don’t know how or why I drove home. I don’t think I was driving home…. but here I was parked in my driveway again. The door of my car creaked open and I looked up at my door. There was no 8. Closer and closer I came to it, but not at 8 this time. My neighbors all had 8s but my door… My door had a glowing green Exit above it like you would see in the halls of a school.

The house had to be lying to me. This couldn’t actually be the exit… but if Onyx was the management, maybe he really wanted me out of the house. Maybe I was too close and he knew I was… Freedom is right here and all I had to do was walk out. My breathing was so much harder. I’ve been scared before, but how was I supposed to know anymore what was right to do here? My hoof moved to the doorknob of the exit. Why was I even here anymore? Why not risk the Exit?

“Belle’s dead. Forget about her and move on.” I just stared at the exit sign… Maggie…

I took my hoof away from the door knob. The humming…. was back. The house is pushing me to leave. The management wanted me to leave. Belle couldn’t be dead. I took a step back away from my door. Belle was here. I walked down the steps of my house. Belle needed me. I walked up to my neighbor’s door with the large 8 painted on it. We were going to get out of here together. I entered room 8.

I was in the room again. One chair and one light. The door behind me was gone again. I didn’t have to turn to know that, but my eyes didn’t leave what was in front of me. Onyx sat in the chair before me. He looked like he always did. No blood and no weapons. He just sat there in his T-shirt and Jeans looking me right in the eyes. He stood up and smiled at me like he was happy to see me. I continued to look on at him. He did all of this to me. To us.

“Was it worth another 5000 bits, Felix? Killing Vidala? Killing Belle?”

“What? Me?” Was this guy serious? He’s going to blame me for all this? He got me involved he was the one running this bucking house and he is blaming me for all my torture? “Are you real Onyx?”

“Am I real…Was Vidala real? Or was that the house pushing you further? Because you wanted to go through the service entrance. You wanted to cheat and make your way in and back out again easily.”

“Stop it! I didn’t do anything.”

“That’s not how the NoEnd House works Felix. You know that right?”

“I’m doing the right thing here. I’m trying to get Belle out.”

“There are consequences Felix! This is your fault!”

“Onyx… I dont care about what kind of shit you’re wrapped up in.”

“You killed them Felix… Their blood is on your hooves.”

“You want to fight witches or.. Vampires or werewolves or whatever the buck I don’t care… I want out. I just want Belle and I want out.”

“You had your chance to get out Felix but you didn’t take it and now the only way-”

There was a gunshot.

Onyx’s brain was in specs all over the floor and there was a large hole through his left eye. He fell to the floor in front of me. Two. I watched two of closest ponies to me die today. I had nothing to say. I just looked at his body as blood pooled around him on the floor from the gaping wound in his head. Vidala stood behind him with the smoking pistol in her hoof. She was soaking wet and limped towards me. She was furious and exhausted. The house was really playing tricks on my mind for the past few rooms but whatever she had seen, was far more physically taxing. Tears welled up. Why couldn’t we have let him live I wanted to say. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

“He was the door.” She said reading my expression. I turned around to the direction she was gesturing and there was the large golden 9 screwed to an oak door.

“He’s not the real Onyx. The real Onyx is the management. He was probably going to talk you into killing yourself with this.” She tossed the pistol toward me and I caught it. The barrel was still warm from the bullet she put through Onyx… The Onyx that had disappeared…. the blood and brains as well. I looked over the gun to find another note. “Don’t be afraid. With love, Management”

“With Love? Want to explain something to me about your relationship with Onyx?”

I swallowed hard. This wasn’t like last time. Management was helping me. Management wanted to let me leave… Something changed.

“No I wouldn’t. You want to explain where you went to?”

“You mean after you abandoned me?”

“Look I just want Belle and to get out of the house. Whatever happened to you I thought you were dead. ” She stared at me. Anger in her eyes and I stared right back unblinking. I didn’t give a shit where she’d actually been. I was at room 9 and she had done what she needed to.

“…Just get me my bucking house back and get out.”

We walked into the lobby. On the table again was a letter that read

Congratulations. But we didn’t take the exit. We walked right past the front desk and to the door to room 1 which now had a metal plaque that read “Management.” The door opened with a click and we stepped into the room.

In the center of the room was a desk. All walls surrounding it had large windows showing the outside of the house. And sitting behind the desk, was Belle. On her chest was pinned “Management.”

“Is that her?…. the real her?”

Vidala nodded in disbelief. I ran to Belle’s side. I grabbed a hold of her shoulders and turned her towards me. She was in some kind of trance. She just stared straight ahead. I shook her a bit trying to break her free.

“Belle?… Belle is that you? Please…. Please be ok?” I grabbed ahold of that accursed management pin and threw it across the room. It wanted the house to be as far away from us as it could be. Finally, her eyes focused. She was coming too. I knelt next to her and looked into her eyes, brushed the hair out of her face so she could see me clearly. “Belle. It’s ok I’ve got you now we can go home.”

“No! Not real! NOT REAL” She was hysterical. Her arms were like hurricanes, she punched herself away from me. She cowered into the corner screaming.

“Belle it’s me! I swear it’s me!” I was confused. I looked back to Vidala there was something wrong. Vidala bent down and picked up the pin that I had thrown. She turned it over in her hands eying it like it was solid gold. She slowly placed it onto her shirt.

“You didnt… I dont believe it you actually killed him? You’re the new management?”

I looked back to Belle sobbing in the corner and looking towards the windows. My hoof moved over the tag on the gun again. She was management?

Belle saw me leave the house. Belle saw me use the service entrance. Belle saw me enter room one. She saw me dive into the pool. She saw me drive to my house. She watched me waiver and come back for her. She watched the false Onyx died. She watched me walk into the management office. She was watching as I looked at the pistol in front of her. She saw me reaching for her.

Belle’s tears ran down her face and looked back towards me screaming and scratching at my arm.

“You’re not real! You’re not real!” I pulled my arm back before she could mess me up further.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She broke. The house wins. That’s what always happens. The house wins. She was never ready to power the house. ONyx couldn’t either. Not like I could.” Vidala pinned the badge to her chest and smiles. “Onyx was right. He was right all this time… the power in this house it’s… intoxicating…. This is my house.”

“You have your house back. You can fix her! You have what you want now give me what I want. Let me and Belle escape. I helped you. Help me.”

“You want to get out with Belle…? Ok.”

Vidala raised her hand pointing in Belle's direction again. Belle screamed and grasped at her head. She looked back up at the two standing in the office and I was horrified to see the word “Exit” scratched into the skin of her forehead.

“No. You can’t do that!”

“If you want out of the house, this is the only way! You know the rules. You face a trial to go through a door. This is your trial. Shoot her Felix. Set her free and get out of my house.”

“I won’t do that! This isn’t fair!”

“When has this house been fair? If you want out, then open the door. Do you want to really leave with her like this? Suffering? Crazy? She could never have a normal life again Felix.”

I couldn’t do that to her. Belle was sobbing and I was holding the pistol in my hoof. The weight of the gun becoming greater with each passing second. My grip on the gun tightened and I aimed the barrel at Vidala. “Let us out…. or I’ll kill you.”

Mockingly, Vidala smiled back at me. “And then You’ll be management. You aren’t special Felix. Not like me! Never even like Onyx. And then YOU will be trapped here. Forever. With her. The house will make you just as crazy as that little bitch of yours….Leave Felix. How long have you been in the house? I’m sure you want out as badly as she does and she’s practically asking you to kill her! There’s nothing for you here. There’s nothing for HER here. Kill her Felix. End the suffering for her. She needs it.”

Vidala can’t be right. There must me another way out of this room. I looked to the windows. They were outside weren’t they? The doorway came through must have been locked but I could break the windows. I knew I could get out of here. I moved my hoof to point the gun at the windows but I couldn’t stop myself. The gun pointed directly at Belle. I pulled my arm in the other direction and my body betrayed me again. The gun was pointed at Vidala. The house was bucking with me again. She was right. I only had one choice left… I lowered the gun to my side.

“I’m sorry Belle."

“You’re doing the right thing Felix.”

I pulled the trigger again.

“I’m sorry Belle….. I’m so sorry…… but now that I’m management…. we don’t have to be apart anymore…. We’ll be here together…. forever.”