>The blizzard you had found yourself trapped in was intensifying, and you were unsure of your current location amidst the unrelenting cascade of snow and ice.
>You had only intended to travel a short distance from your cabin you had rented out on vacation, but after wandering for hours, you found yourself in unfamiliar terrain, all on your own.    
>It might not have been the wisest choice, but you were in a daze most days, unsure if you really had anything to care about anymore.
>You didn't really want to die, but you weren't certain if you were that concerned with living as well.
>Most days felt empty and meaningless, and though there were still bright aspects, it was hard to remember them.
>You had been trudging for a while, but eventually a grim realization came to you upon considering your current situation.
>You weren't going to survive.
>Resigned to your fate, you collapse, feeling a sudden sense of euphoria in knowing that soon your suffering would come to an end.
>Elation sets in at awaiting death's embrace, and a comforting drowsiness takes hold as you close your eyes one last time...
>"Hey! Hello there!" 
>Or you would have, if a sudden voice coming from out of nowhere hadn't startled you awake.
>"Hey! HEY!" 
>You can barely keep your eyes open, but the voice is unmistakably clear despite the howling winds.
>"HEY! Anypony in there?! Yooooohoooooo!"
>Managing just enough strength, you turn your head up towards the voice, and are greeted by a most unexpected presence.
>"You're up! Phew, glad I got here in time! A few minutes later and your eternal soul might have gotten lost forever!" 
>The harsh flurry of snow gradually eased, and revealed a pony standing before you.
>You've seen her before, a fair blue mare with a familiar stare that nulled all despair.
>...You had the feeling delirium was quickly settling in. 
>"Let me introduce myself, I'm Colgate, chief representative of the Equestrian-Earth Relations and Transportation committee!"
>It's quite the title.
>"Oh, and I'm a dentist too!"
>If you were going to die a madman, might as well be polite to the figment of your imagination.
"I... I'm Anon."
>"Good to meetcha, and let's just say, today is definitely your lucky day!"
"Dying on my lucky day, how wonderful..."
>"Aww don't worry, it's not so bad! Now that you're done here, I can make sure you get to Equestria safely!" 
>Now you knew you were going insane. 
>You had always dreamed of going to Equestria one day, but to take it seriously seemed laughable.
>It seems your mind wants to humor you one final time.
"So... you're the one in charge of taking people to Equestria?"
>You didn't really care who was taking you to your "paradise," but it was a little odd that this bubbly, perky mare was basically the grim reaper.  
>"Well actually, it's a funny story! Normally Princess Celestia, you probably know her, she's a really swell pony, would be the one to guide spirits to Equestria, but she had an emergency to take care of, and I was doing her dental exam when it came up, and well, one thing led to another and-"  
>She puts a hoof to her mouth.
>"Aww geez, it's pretty inconsiderate of me to have you hear me rambling while you're freezing your flank off, isn't it?"
>She giggles a bit before reaching out a hoof to help you up.
>Without thinking, you reach out to her, and are shocked beyond words that you can actually feel her hoof.
>On your feet, you tower over her, and she gives a warm smile at seeing your recovered state.
>"Don't worry, I'll get us out of here quick as a fiddle."
>She begins channeling magic, coalescing magical essence into a spiral shape, and distorting the boundary of the corporeal world.
>The magic gradually takes a solid shape, and before your eyes forms the egress to your salvation, a portal.
>You're left in awe at the sight.
>It looks far too real to simply be another mind trick.
>"Let's get going, huh? You've gone through enough here on your own, and I think Equestria's really gonna like having you around."
>Understandably speechless, you can only nod as she holds your hand and guides you to the now fully formed portal, a bright violet color that heavily contrasts with the dark, frozen abyss all around you.
>"Hold on tight, okay?"
>She seems to sense your apprehension, and tightens her grip. 
>That felt real as well, undoubtedly so.
>You were afraid to believe this was really happening, and wasn't a delusion of any sort.
>"Don't be afraid, okay? I'm going to see you through this the whole way, I'll be right by your side."
>She takes a step forward, and you follow suit, never once averting your gaze forward.
>Together, you slowly approach the portal, closing your eyes as you enter at last, feeling all the tension you had built up begin to escape.
>You don't look back once throughout the ordeal.
>Once you and Colgate are fully through, the portal closes, leaving no trace of any kind that it was ever here. 
>The winds return, and the snow quickly erases your tracks, and your last proof of existence with it.

>Upon opening your eyes, you find yourself in a world you weren't expecting to see.
>The sky was a color reminiscent of the portal you had just gone through, and the terrain was a dull gray and covered in craters.
>The 'portal energy,' for lack of a better term, was swirling everywhere you looked, with large chunks of rock floating through the air.  
>"Surprising, huh? I felt that way too when I passed here the first time."
>You turn to see Colgate standing behind you, chipper as ever.
>"I thought it would be a direct gate, y'know, just hop in and bam, you're on the other side, but nope, turns out there's this huuuge interdimensional world you gotta go through first."
>You don't really know how to respond, so you scratch your head a bit.
>Colgate doesn't mind, bobbing her head to a cheery song she was humming.
>"So how 'bout we get going, I bet you're dying to see Equestria, aren't ya?"
>She pauses for a moment, then laughs.
>"Okay, I really didn't mean to say it that way, my bad!"
>For the first time since meeting her, you give a soft smile.
>"Now that's a winning smile if I've ever seen one, it suits you!"
"Thanks."
>"But seriously, let's get a move on! We've got a looooooooong way to go."
>She points toward a far off trail leading to a steep hill, any possible continuation far out of sight.
"We have to walk all that?"
>"It's no big deal, we've got all the time we need in here, this place is a fantastical realm free of the limitations of time and space!"
>"Or something like that, the princesses didn't have much time to explain everything, but I remember the part about this place being weird pretty well."
"Gotcha, that's good to know."
>"That gives us lots of time to get to know each other, I've got loads of questions I wanna ask you!"
"But shouldn't you already know a lot about me? Someone had to judge me of being worthy or whatever of going to Equestria, right?
>She gives a nervous chuckle and blushes a bit.
>"I was, uh, supposed to read up on your life history before meeting you, see each person has a little book detailing what they did in life, what they're like, and a whole bunch of fun stuff like that."
"I'm guessing you didn't have much time to read up before you got assigned to me, huh?"
>"Yeah, but I think this is better though, I get to know you through firsthand experience rather than just reading about you."
"That's a good way of looking at it." 
>"It's funny, I didn't know about any of this just a few weeks ago, and now I'm in charge of guiding souls over to Equestria!"
>"Life sure is full of surprises, huh? Oh wait, is this still 'life' for you? Hm, what IS life anyways?"
>She sits down and ponders the mystery of her previous statement.
>You aren't sure whether to interrupt her thought process or not, so you sit alongside her.


>The bizarre landscape was eye-catching enough to stare at for a while, and as she said, you had all the time you needed in here.
>You've accepted that this was no longer a simple dream, that this was all really happening.
>You had been saved from purgatory or who knows what by the pony grim reaper, who was Colgate of all ponies.
>She would be taking you to Equestria, a land you had always wanted to go to, a land full of adorable and friendly ponies just like her.
>It was all still rather overwhelming, you needed a moment to register everything that had transpired.
>You close your eyes for a bit, gradually letting exhaustion overtake you...

>After who knows how long, you awaken from your impromptu nap.
>Checking your surroundings, you see things haven't changed, the area was as crazy looking as before.
>"Oh hey, good... uh... actually I'm not sure what time of day it is in here, but glad you're awake!" 
>You turn to face her, and freeze up upon noticing the menacing scythe at her side. 
>She looks confused at your shocked state, until you manage to point at her sudden new accessory.
>"Oh, this thing? I accidently left it behind before I entered the portal to Earth, luckily I found it while you were napping." 
 >"I know, it's weird lugging around a random farming tool, but it was an order."
>She probably wasn't aware of the connotations of wielding a scythe.
>Combined with her pitch-black cloak, she really did look like the messenger of death.
>"It's imbued with magic to help guide us to Equestria, since this place is pretty big and all it's easy to get lost in here."
>"Princess Celestia wasn't a fan of this getup either, but she heard it was a familiar look for humans when they think of death."
"Familiar, yeah, but not exactly comforting."
>No matter how adorable she herself was, her outfit's intimidating look couldn't help but unnerve you. 
>"Ohhh, I see, maybe this'll help." 
>From her cloak, she pulls out the most unique pair of glasses you've ever laid your eyes on.
>"It's not part of the uniform, but I always carry them around with me."
>She puts them on, and the contrast of her foreboding grim reaper appearance with the sunny tropical themed eyewear was quite a sight.
"Wow, those are, uh..."
>"Spiffy, aren't they? I know they clash with the outfit but I think they add a much needed touch of color, don't you?"
"Yeah, they sure do."
>As goofy as they looked, there was a certain charm to them.
>They also distracted you away from the giant scythe, so bonus points there.
>"So, all rested up and raring to go?" 
"Yep, I'm good to go."
>"Then let's get a move on, Equestria awaits!"

>The two of you proceed onward, following the only path leading anywhere.
>The floating rocks from earlier had gone elsewhere, leaving nothing but the uncomfortable miasma.
>She hums the song from earlier the whole way, filling the void with some much-needed ambiance.  
>Upon reaching the top of the hill, you see multiple paths branching out heading in several directions.
>A few go left, some go right, and one plummets straight down.
>You sincerely hope the correct path isn't the last one.
>"Whoa, the paths are different from last time, this place really does change."
>Levitating the scythe in front of her, it suddenly glows a bright bluish color, and the blade points straight ahead, toward no path in sight.
"I think your scythe might have something wrong with it, there's no path there."
>"I know it looks that way, but check this out!"
>She leaps from the hill toward empty space, your heart dropping at her mad attempt.
>However, she lands perfectly fine, on some sort of invisible surface.
>She turns toward you and gives a sly wink.
>"Pretty cool, huh?"
"I was thinking trippy, are invisible paths something that normally happen here?"
>"Oh this is nothing, things don't just get weird in here, they get WEIRD."
"I'll keep that in mind."
>"Whenever you're ready, make the leap!"
>After a moment to collect yourself, you jump on the invisible path.
>"Nice job, let's hope our journey won't get much crazier than that."
>Suddenly, you hear a loud boom coming from where you and Colgate first landed.
>The land had begun to shake, and began to crumble.
>Soon, large pieces began separating, and fell into the abyss below.
>The nearby paths you didn't take followed suit, and disappeared as well.
>There was no longer any visible land anywhere, leaving the two of you appearing to float in space.
"Guess we can't head back to where we came from."
>"I guess so!"
>The invisible surface you were on began to shift, and you found yourselves slowly moving away toward the sky.
>"Looks like we found a moving platform, guess we won't have to walk for a while."
>You wonder how she's able to keep calm despite the insanity going on.
>She said things could get weird, but you were scared to discover how weird they could be if this didn't get much of a reaction from her.
>"You're doing really well for your first time here."
"You think? I'm just trying to hang in there as best I can."
>"For sure, I was a total wreck my first time here, I had no idea what I was in for, but you look like you're right at home here!"
"It helps that I've got you here, you make all the difference."
>"Hooray! Makes the trip I had to get here totally worth it."
>You had a sudden realization that she had to have crossed this entire world on her own.
>It was an impressive feat, but it saddened you to think how long she must been in this place by herself. 

>"So how'd you end up being the one to ferry me across the worlds?"
>"Oh yeah, my story! Hang on a sec."
>She conjures up an astral projection, depicting her and Celestia in a rather cute artstyle.
>"See, the princess came in to see me after getting a really bad cavity, I warned her too many sweets would do that, by the way, and asked me to take a look."
>"I was just about to get going with her check-up when a guard came in and said 

>"So anyways, after the princess was called out I immediately got my first assignment, it was really nerve-wracking!