The Dream Well

>It was cold. So cold.
>You got up and looked around
>You were in a vast, snow covered forest
>The sky was overcast and it was near pitch black
>All you could feel was the thick, bitter cold biting your extremities
>You looked forward, seeing a slightly treded path
>Who were you?
>Why were you out here, passed out in the middle of nowhere?
>The questions ringed in your mind but you didn't have the focus to answer them
>It was all so foggy, like you had awoken from anesthesia
>You reached inside your leather pocket
>To your luck, you found a wallet, ID included
>Your name was Sunset Shimmer
>You were 19 years old and went to a school called Canterlot High
>Your blood type was O and you were a registered organ donor
>But that was all the information that little piece of plastic was able to give
>But at least you had something
>At least you had a name
>Now to find shelter or another person
>Perhaps they could explain what was going on
>You drudged through the thick snow, your leather jacket and knee high skirt doing little good to combat the bitter cold
>None the less, you press on
>The snow began to rise, reaching all the way to you knees
>you felt like you had been walking for hours and nothing
>No signs of roads or houses or animals, the forest itself seemed completely silent
>Even the wind dared not breathe throughout the trees
>It was dead silent
>The more you tried to listen, the more oppressive the silence became
>This wasn't natural
>There should be some noise in the forest
>But there wasn't
>Just complete quiet
>It sent chills down your spine
>Just when you thought you were going to give up you saw it
>A dim orange glow in the distance
>It was a fire!
>You quickly made your way through the now waist high snow
>Each pull of your leg sapped more and more strength but you didn't care
>You had to know what was going on
>The closer you got the fire, the lower the snow became
>As you got within feet of it, the snow was finally back at your ankles
>To your relief, another person sat there
>It was a girl with blue-white hair and a star hairpin
>She stared at the flames with cold, almost lifeless eyes
>The kind of eyes you see from someone who's had the spirit kicked out of them
"Oh thank goodness. Can you help me? I seemed to be lost."
>The girl simply shook her head in reponse
"Do you know where we are?"
>She shook her head again
"What's your name?"
>Silence
>You began to get frustrated
"Say something! Anything!"
>"Don't you get it yet?"
"Get what?"
>"Put your hand on your chest.Then you'll figure it out."
>You give an odd look at the request
>Why would that help you in any way?
>You did it anyway and instantly you figured out what she meant
>It made your blood run cold
>You chest was silent. No heartbeat whatsoever.
>You put your fingers on the veins in your neck and wrist just to be sure
>To your horror it was no mistake
>Your heart had completely stopped
>The more you thought about it, the more you noticed
>In particular the fact that you weren't breathing at all
>Yet you felt none of it, it was as if you didn't even have too
"Am I... Am I dead?"
>"So it would seem."
"How long have you been like this?"
>"Three days."
>That proved it then. Was this some kind of afterlife? Or worse... was this hell?
>Did she do something terrible in life that condemned her to a place like this?
>Where in the world were they?
>"What's your name?"
"Sunset. Sunset Shimmer."
>"Nice to meet you. I'm Trixie."
>You sat down beside her by the fire
>"What are we going to do? I'm so cold."
"Then lets go. I'm sick of staying out in the freezing cold like this."
>"There's no where to go."
"There has to be. Plus what do we have to lose?"
>"I guess you're right."
>Trixie lifted herself to her feet and you followed suit
"Let's get going then."
>"Right."
>The two wondered for what seemed like an eternity
>Sunset was really beginning to lose hope
>Perhaps there really wasn't anything here
>Perhaps they really were condemned to walk with dark, empty world for all eternity
>Just when she was about to throw her hands up and give into despair, she saw something in the distance
>A manor!
>Not only that, but it had light seeping from it's windows!
>That meant someone was here!
>Sunset picked Trixie up in her arms and quickly shuffled to the manor
>When they arrived the first thing they noticed was a small graveyard
>Most of the of tombstones were either blank or two weathered to read
>All except for two
>They read Sunset Shimmer 1995-2014 and Trixie Lulamoon 1996-2000
>It sent chills down Sunset's spine
>This really was the afterlife
>Strangely enough, despite the fact that she and Trixie were roughly the same age when they met, the gravestone now reflected the age she was now, five.
>Did she die at five? Or did this world make you shift age at random?
>Perhaps whoever owned the house would know
"Stay close by me Trixie."
>"Alright mama"
>You walked to the door and slammed the large black iron knocker
>In a few moments the opened on it's own
>As you entered the hallway, the candles began to light up despite nobody to be seen
>It was as if the house itself was alive and responding to their presence
>You walk down the hall making you way to a large double stair case and two hallways on either side
>The room was filled with paintings of people whom you'd never seen
>You felt that feeling you get when someone was staring at you for at an abnormally long time from the paintings
>It was as if they were watching you
>There was a large statue in between the stair cases
>A woman with angel wings
>The head was missing however, seeming to have either fallen off from lack of maintenance or been knocked off deliberately
>This whole place was giving her the creeps
>Something was seriously wrong about this house
>Against you better judgement, you decide to call out
"Hello?"
>The was silence for a long while before you heard what sounded like hooves clip clopping from the hall upstairs
>To your surprise a pony with wings and a horn, colored a deep blue and a moon shaped brand on her flank walked out
>But it wasn't a brand, it was her fur
>To add to the oddity, he mane, which also blue, was almost ethereal
>It was as if it wasn't hair at all, but a thick mist surrounding her head
>Following close behind her was a girl with purple hair done in a bun with glasses, a book clutched tightly to her chest
>She wore what looked like a school uniform
>The pony spoke
>"Ah Sunset Shimmer. Trixie Lulamoon. I've been expecting you."
"Who are you? What is this place?"
>"Come. Follow me to my study and I shall explain."
>She turned to the human by her side
>"Please see too it the rooms are ready by the time I'm finished."
>The girl bowed her head
>"Yes Mistress Luna. As you command."
>The girl rushed off down the hall
>"Now if you would, please follow me."
>You didn't want too
>This whole thing had danger written all over it
>But it was either this or going back out into that empty world again
>You were caught between a rock and a hard place
>You pulled Trixie along and followed the mysterious pony named Luna down the hall
>After going down a series of twists and turns you entered into a large circular room with a large floating gem at it's center
>Beautiful lights bounced in and out of it, like the Aurora Borealis
>Around the gem were a groups of pillows
>"Come. Sit."
>Both you and Trixie sat beside each other
>All of a sudden you felt different
>Strange
>You put your hand to your head and, to your horror, it wasn't a hand but a hoof
>You had shrunk by several times and there was a large piece off bone jutting out your head!
>A horn!
"W-what is this!? What did you do to me!?"
>"I must ask you to remain calm Sunset. You're merely experiencing another stage of your life."
"Another stage of my life!? But I'm a horse!"
>"Relax and I shall explain everything."
>Luna calmly took a small sip from her tea
>tea she seemingly got from nowhere
>You took a few deep breaths, finally relaxing
"Ok. I'm calmed. Now tell me what's going on."
>"You're in the Dream Well. A world where all other worlds converge and a world where ones deepest desires, fears, and insecurities manifest themselves."
"You're making no sense at all."
>"Allow me to fill in the blanks. Your name is Sunset Shimmer. You were born and raised in a country called Equestria, in a utopian universe inhabited by ponies who can preform magic. The reason I take the form you see right now is because it belongs to someone you knew during your life. In reality, my form is beyond comprehension."
"Who are you? What are you? How do you expect me to believe any of that?"
>"You will know the answer to all three of those questions soon enough. But I must explain a few more things too you."
>Luna took another sip of her tea
>"Tomorrow, as the clock strikes three in the after noon, you and your friend there will encounter your first trial. You see, you have been sent here for a reason. You have inner demons that must be dealt with. If you do not conquer these demons by the time a week passes, you shall become the bedrock of this world."
"The bedrock?"
>"Yes. Everything you see here, the trees, the rocks, the very air we're breathing. All of it belongs to the souls of the lost and the damned. And you too shall join them if you do not defeat these inner demons."
>A loud bong is heard, so loud it made you cover your ears
>"I must bid you ado for now."
"Wait! I Still have questions!"
>But before you had even finished that sentence, Luna had already vanished
>The purple haired girl walked back into the room
>"Mistress Shimmer and Mistress Lulamoon, your rooms are ready. Right this way please."
>You try to pick Trixie up, but forget that you're now a small horse