The Glow
The first thing Sunset realized was how bright everything was, even beneath her eyelids. Her eyes fluttered open, squinting at the glow that permeated every inch of the little room she found herself in. Rather than settle into the shape of a bulb or candle or any other object, the brilliance remained ever-present, as if emanating from the walls themselves.
She sat up on... Whatever it was she was lying on. Blearily blinking away exhaustion, Sunset ran her hand over what she could only assume was some sort of table. It was bright white, matching the colorlessness of the walls, floor and ceiling of the tiny room, almost as if a continuation of the minimal design. Looking around, she noticed an open doorway leading to more featureless whiteness.
What was this place? Some kind of museum, or maybe a religious temple? That still wouldn’t explain how she got here, nor why she couldn’t remember whatever preceded her awakening. Maybe this was a dream, although if it was, it was frighteningly real. Sunset pinched her arm, testing for unconsciousness.
Nope, not a dream. At least as far as old adages were concerned.
Sunset looked over her arm and was surprised to find it so clean. Turning around, Sunset realized she was covered by a plain white nightgown that stretched down to the floor. The cloth was silken smooth and incredibly comfortable. Its sleeves were roomy to say the least, stretching past her elbows and draping down. The entire gown almost seemed made for a person several sizes larger than Sunset herself.
Clearly this was a dream, then. Sunset owned no such gown, although she certainly wished she did—the thing was so damn soft. Her eyes ran over the garment one more time, admiring the beautiful, comforting appearance of such a simple white dress.
Sunset paused. Was it a gown, or was it a dress? Rarity would be ashamed of her for not knowing the difference.
With a heavy sigh, she returned to pondering the nature of this dream. Sunset was never one to perfectly recall the details of her dreams, but she remembered enough to know that none of them were like this. Despite the emptiness of wherever she was, it felt as real and tangible as any other day of her life.
Still, her confusion didn’t bother her too much. For having awoken in a strange place with no memory of how or why she was there, she remained remarkably calm, so much so that it was surprising, even to herself.
All around her, the very air hummed with an indescribable energy that left Sunset with a sense of easy tranquility. If she closed her eyes and really focused on it, the invisible sensation almost seemed to be singing, as if an angelic chorus was playing the role of tinnitus. Their melodious voices—if they were in fact voices—were impossibly quiet, so much so that Sunset lost them to silence the moment she opened her eyes.
Sunset stood up, stretching, and immediately marveled at the softness of what she had presumed was a stone floor. Despite being completely smooth, it was plush, as if the floor was made of condensed cotton clouds that retained their puffiness in defiance of being a solid surface.
Something about this place was making Sunset feel so present, so serene and clear-headed and peaceful all at once. Such calmness was a foreign feeling for her, but one she gratefully accepted all the same.
One more glance around the room confirmed there was absolutely nothing there but the table—or rather, as Sunset could now see, a solid slab of exactly the same material that made up everything else. Unlike the walls and floor, though, the slab seemed to inflate and deflate at regular intervals, almost as if it was breathing. Curious, she reached to touch it. The second her fingers made contact, the slab gleamed with brilliant light before fading into a shapeless mass of whiteness, almost like a cloud. Blinking, Sunset waved her hand through it and was surprised to find that it was quite chilly.
This dream was getting weirder by the second, and yet it still felt so real. With no signs of waking up any time soon, Sunset departed through the doorway, the bottom of her gown sliding smoothly on the floor beneath her. The cozy sensation of its delicate fabric sliding across her legs was yet another thing that made it more difficult for her to continue believing this was all in her head.
As she wandered down the hallway in search of anything, Sunset finally began to question just what the heck was going on.