The Equestrian Inferno

The third section of the eighth circle was a mess. It looked like a battlefield. The ground was uneven and barbed wire was strewn everywhere. As I looked around, I saw that it was full of ponies with their front halves buried in the dirt. Their back halves burned with a black fire. It was a very solemn place. The fires neither crackled nor made any other sound. As I gazed around however, I saw that the fire burning the flank of one pony was darker than those of the others. Most of the fires were such that I could vaguely make out the cutie mark of its pony. This fire however was so dark that it was only through inductive reasoning that I knew there must be a pony inside. "Who's that?" I asked Galaxy. "Why don't you go ask her yourself" suggested Galaxy. I shrugged and began walking toward her.

"Wait" said Galaxy suddenly, "This section is dangerous. If you come in contact with the fire of hatred, it will severely damage your emotional health. You will have to mount me."

Galaxy stooped down to allow me to climb on her, which I did. Once I was fairly comfortable, she set off.

"Were you really not able to do this the entire time?" I asked, "my legs are killing me."

"Suffering can be a very potent tool to purify the soul" said Galaxy in a condescending tone, "this is a learning experience; not a vacation."

Galaxy trotted forward, deftly leaping over bundles of barbed wire and swerving around the burning bodies scattered throughout the section. To keep myself from sliding off, I was forced to lie down close to her and hug her neck. She seemed to sympathize with me knowing that I had never ridden anything other than a car or bike before in my life. Finally, we reached the body I had spotted earlier.

Now that we were positioned right next to the sinister black flame, I wasn't sure where to start. "Ummmm, hello…" I began.

"Ahhhh, Princess Moondust, it is you isn't it?" she said, "Why you must have outlived us all. What brings you up here at this time? Why I thought you'd have been far below me by now but it appears my intuition has failed me."

"No, that's not who I am" I said, "I'm not a princess, or a pony, or even a female…"

"Oh, sorry about that then" replied the buried soul, "the long years have wreaked havoc on my memory."

"Who are you then?" I asked, "And why have you been brought to this fate?"

"My name's Princess Dawn" she began. "Sheesh" I thought to myself, "Do all princesses introduce themselves like that?"

She continued, "When I was alive, I bribed people into being my friend by making them delicious breakfasts. I thought I could buy friendship this way but I was wrong. By reducing friendship in my mind to something that could be bought or sold with gifts, I condemned myself to this fate. My flame burns darker than the others because as a princess, I should have been a role model but failed in this regard."

"So that's what this circle's for." I exclaimed out loud.

"Yep" said the princess, "And buried under us are all those we influenced to do the same in life. Thus, the person ultimately responsible is the one who is burned."

"Who's buried beneath you then?" I asked her.

"Barnacle for trying to buy friendship with chocolate coins, Blueberry Baskets for trying to buy friendship with blueberry muffins, and Lofty for trying to buy friendship with hot air balloon rides" she said, "It sucks. It really does. All I wanted was some friends and for that, I burn forever."

"Princess Twilight never needed to exchange anything with the rest of the Mane 6 to get them to become her friend" I pointed out. Upon hearing this, she fell silent and spoke no more, clearly upset.

"Touché" said Galaxy, "An excellent observation. Well, we'd better get going now." Turning around, she trotted back up to the path.