The Equestrian Inferno

Galaxy and I continued walking along the riverbank. As we did, I shifted over to her left side to shield myself from the heat, which her force field didn't seem to block. Galaxy herself seemed unfazed. A short time later, we came across a rickety old wooden bridge which Galaxy started to cross. "Wait" I said, "You can't be serious. That thing can't even support my weight let alone yours. Plus, how is it not even burning." "Don't worry" said Galaxy laughing, "it's enchanted. It'll only fall if someone who isn't supposed to crosses." Galaxy continued walking forward and I followed. Her body no longer offered any protection from the scorching heat which now rose up from below. I could even feel it through the rubber bottoms of my sneakers.

On the other side of the bridge was still desert. I really didn't see any difference. It was the same sand, same drab sky, same rain of fire… Even on the other side, we continued walking along the river's bank. This time, I stood on Galaxy's right side. When it got to the point where I seriously began to question if she knew where she was going, we saw a large crowd of figures up ahead. As they got closer, I could see that their clothes were torn and ripped from many years of wandering around in the dessert. They passed by my right side, all of them giving us curious looks. Galaxy opened her mouth to speak; probably to explain to me who they were. Before she could do so however, a member of the crowd trotted over to us and greeted me."

"Well, if it isn't you again with us after all these years. How have you been?"

"Not too well Star Swirl" I said, "though I see that you've been worse off than I."

I had never actually seen Star Swirl before, but only recognized him due to his resemblance to Twilight's Nightmare Night costume.

"Haha, I might be better if my magic weren't taken away from me" replied Star Swirl, "seriously. I was the most powerful unicorn in my time, there's a shelf in the Canterlot Library named after me filled with advanced and forbidden books on magic, and here I am wandering around in this place taking this torture passively like an Earth Pony."

"Why is this so?" I asked Star Swirl. I expected that someone like him would be living in the first circle with Galaxy.

"The wars and battles between the feuding princess ponies in my time did much harm to nature. As a powerful unicorn, I could have helped prevent this destruction but was too wrapped up in my own experiments to care. Thus, I'm here now."

We were walking in the opposite direction of the wandering group Star Swirl had originally been a part of. I glanced back at them. "Don't worry" said the old mage, "I'll catch up to them later. I wanted to say a few words with you. Celestia's curse was not able to remove all of my magic; just most of the active part. I may not be able to cast spells, but I still retain my gift of prophecy, though it is greatly diminished. You're going to be quite a famous man. Many will know your name. But though you will improve the world a lot, there are certain groups of people out there who will be out to destroy you."

"Sheesh I said. Everypony seems to be hinting that something bad will happen to me in the future. Is that really all you can say?"

"Unfortunately yes" said Star Swirl, "I do not have my divination instruments with me at the moment which I have relied on in the past."

"It's all the same then" I replied, "I'll just ask Rainbow Dash for more information when I reach her. It really doesn't worry me anymore. Whatever fate has in store for me, I doubt I can change it and so I figure I might as well accept it peacefully."

"You're learning then" said Galaxy. It was the first time she had spoken in a while.

"Hey, I said, why don't the other ponies wait for you?" I asked Star Swirl, "and who in Equestria are they?" They seemed to have just left him behind.

"We aren't allowed to stand still" he replied, "if we do, it feels as if a thousand red hot spikes are goading us forward. As for who they are, I assume most of them you wouldn't recognize. Diamond Tiarra and Silver Spoon are both there for littering. Lavan is there as well for being stupid and disrupting the balance of Ponyland by failing to control the magical force he was wielding. Oh, hey they're going over the horizon. I'd better get back before they go out of sight. I don't want to lose them."

And in this way, he left, galloping over across the sand with all the air of a victorious race horse.