My eyes flutter open and I stare up at the ceiling of wherever I am, the area around me is seemingly a void and I wonder if I'm in hell and this is the punishment I'm receiving for my sins during my life.
I sit up and look around and I think I'm in the void, there was no light whatsoever piercing through the oppressive darkness surrounding me.
I look up in front of me and see a door shaped portal, on the other side of it were fields of flowers and sunlight. I look at my hands and see hooves in it's place, I'm a pony, I'm not in the human world anymore, in fact I don't think I'm even in the world of the living. I force myself to stand on shaky hooves and wander towards the portal.
"I'm gone.. I'm.. I'm actually dead." I gasp, the realization hitting me hard, I move closer to the mysterious door to the afterlife, if I step into the portal I will be brought to where I will spend eternity.
My heart is pounding in my chest as I get closer to it, is it all a ruse and once I step through then it will reveal itself to have been an awful trick and that I am in hell?
I'm so close to the door, I look through it and it seems so inviting. I reach out to stick my hoof through it when I hear my name bellowed by someone, my ears swivel and I look around to see who was calling out for me.
I can't see very far around me since the overwhelming darkness is preventing me from seeing beyond maybe ten feet.
"Sunset Shimmer do not step through that door!" Someone- No- Somepony in the distance had lit their horn and was coming closer as each second passed. I recognize the voice and the aura of her pale blue magic instantly.
"Princess Luna?-"
She gallops towards me at full speed, trying to reach me before I step through the door, the look on her face conveys strong panic and worry. "Do not enter that portal, if you do then you will never be able to return to your loved ones!"
"But I don't have a choice, princess! I-I'm dead, if I don't step through it then I'll be stuck here forever."
"Sunset, no, you don't understand. You are not dead, many ponies before you have thought they have passed and moved on through the portal and have had their lives ended before their time. The creator has given you a chance to decide whether you want to live or move onto the realm of the honored dead. The creator is not great at communicating that fact at all, it is more of a choice, they are asking you if you wish to pass on, not forcing you to do so."
Her words ring in my head, I glance at the jet black floor. "So I can go back..?"
"Yes, of course you can. But you must remain here until your body wakes up on it's own, tis physically impossible to force yourself to wake up in this state. Trying to will not end well for you."
I remain quiet, I genuinely hope what she's saying is true, I don't have a reason to not believe her but I'm so scared. I have so much I want to do in life, I want to see princess Celestia again, I want to be friends with all of the girls again. "I.."
The stunningly gorgeous mare embraces me suddenly, holding me close to her barrel. It really comforts me, it lets me know that Luna is speaking true. "I can see you're terrified my friend, I promise you that you will wake up, though I do not know why you are so close to death.. I have faith that you will recover."
My breathing is unsteady and I hold onto her like she will turn to dust if I let go, I'm scared and worried about Rarity. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if she's gone. "I.. Okay. I got into a car accident, me and Rarity both and I-" I choke back sobs, I must've unintentionally let out a sad whimper because she holds me tighter and closer to her. "I-I don't know if she's okay, Luna! I'm so worried."
"I pray she is alright Sunset, I have faith that she would be okay and even though I haven't a clue on what a 'car' is, I have a feeling that she is safe and is being taken care of."
I sniffle, I really hope she's right. I can't lose one of my best friends, she and Twilight are the ones I trust the most. "A car is like.. A metal carriage that moves significantly faster and the one steering it is in control and crashes can be fatal, even more so than carriages in Equestria."
I take a breath and steady my breathing before I pull away from her and continue, I explain in great detail what a car is and how it operates. I assume she listened intently because her mouth hangs open in what I interoperate as awe. "So that is what a car is, also called an automobile, or vehicle."
"Incredible.."
"Mhm, it can be very dangerous, especially with the amount of idiots behind the wheel these days. One is responsible for.. What happened."
I heard her snort, I look up to see she had put a hoof over her mouth to muffle her giggles. "I share the same sentiment, many fools are driving carts when they realistically shouldn't. But you are alive and will recover, that is what is important. I am sure that Rarity is still among the living as well and is resting."
I smile and roll my eyes at her and we both tense up when the inky darkness around us starts shifting and shuddering, it seemed to be alive and it freaked me the fuck out. "I-Is this normal?"
"Indeed but it always is unnerving when this happens, you are beginning to return to consciousness. The darkness may shift because it senses that you are still here and it is going to pull you back into your body. I must go, I don't know what will happen if we are both pulled into your body, and I'm not keen on finding out."
I nod, I don't want her to leave me alone in the creepy and seemingly sentient void, but I'm also not to willing to have to share my body with her since that would be a nightmarish situation to deal with.
She stands up, our eyes meet for a brief moment and she smiles before she lights her horn, vanishing in a split second with the usual crack-pop sound of teleportation.
I remain sitting in the oppressive darkness and I see it begin to fold on itself and start descending on me, this shit was unbelievably freaky and I hated it, but if it was the only way to go back to the human world that I called my home then so be it.