"Where am I?" Sun Chaser asked as her eyes tried to answer the question. No matter where her eyes looked, there was only darkness. Her chest tightened, and the sound of her heart pulsed in her ears.
Something had happened. Something bad, but what? "Is this one of the Princess's tests?"
Even in the utter void around her, one direction felt warmer, like sunlight through a window on a winter's morning. That was wrong. It was more like it somehow pulled the cold away instead of pouring warmth in.
There was the quiet chime of magic, and suddenly, there was a pony there. A tall white and silver unicorn with soft, kind blue eyes. "I know of no such test, little one, from any of the Princesses. Who are you?"
"Me?" Sun Chaser asked, almost jumping as she could suddenly see her own muzzle again. "I'm… I'm Sunchaser. Who might you be?"
"My name is Insight. I am Luna's shepherd."
As Insight spoke, the world around swirled with strange colours, colours she had never seen before. It then settled back to the normal ones.
"What was that?" Sun Chaser asked, looking around. With each tiny shift of hooves, clouds of dust rose from the half-hoof-thick ash that covered everything. Above, hundreds of little lights floated up and away in an unfelt breeze. They looked just like the bedtime stories that described fairies. "Ooo, so pretty." She reached a hoof towards one of the lights.
For some reason, sadness flickered on Insight's face for a moment.