Cozy's Inferno: a Journey through the Darkest Void

Cozy Glow

After rejecting the idealistic world presented to us by the Djinn. I found myself back in the endless void, but now, the wisps of light were backing off. We followed Helel across the darkness until we once again found ourselves in what appeared to be physical reality. Taking the form of a mountainous area, with a clear but rocky path descending gradually downwards into the heart of darkness, on each side of the path were ditches, filled with damned souls. Helel explained that this was the 8th circle, also known as Malebolge, where those who practiced a version and fraud and deception were eternally punished. I guess I would myself be quite at home here. After all, I always used to lie and deceive to get my way. The Malebolge was divided into ten concentric circles, also called bolgias, ditches on each side of the path, each containing a different group of sinners who practiced a different kind of fraud.

The first ditch was a wide track of clay, populated by creatures, ponies, humans, and other things which I had never seen before, running around their concentric ditch in two city directions as fast as they could, which was not at full speed as their joints were seizing up for running for who knew how long, naked and constantly whipped by devils if they started to fall behind. Helel Explained that these were those who had taken advantage of people and forced them to satisfy the whims of others, panderers, and seducers, those who had used their beauty in order to further their own ends. I had certainly pandered to the expectations of others in the past, especially when I joined Twilight’s school, and while seduction was not a common tactic for me at the time as I was just a child at the time, I had used my cuteness to my advantage, which was similar in spirit.

Sunset wanted to help, but Helel insisted that we better not attract the attention of the devils, not now that we were so close to our goal. Suggesting instead that we should run one lap with the damned before sprinting down the path in order to not attract the attention of the devil jailors. This plan went on without a hitch, even if the devils spotted us breaking formation at the last minute, chasing after us, but Helel assured us that they wouldn’t enter the next Bolgia.

Once we reached the second bolgia, the stench assaulted my senses like a hammer. The very rock seemed to be covered by green mold, but that was not the source of the stench. As the ditch was covered in excrement, emitting foul vapors. Among the excrement could be seen just the heads of various creatures, all submerged deep in dung. Helel explained that these were the flatterers, people who told others false compliments in order to achieve their goals. I had done this as well, it was usually quite easy to get on people’s good side if all you did was tell them how awesome they were, Rainbow Dash was especially vulnerable to this. The only path forward was across disgusting nets of mold suspended over the latrine. They could support our weight, if barely, but we had to be careful not to fall into the filth below. Not that this was much of a problem for me because of my wings. According to Helel, the devils of this Bolgia would attack anyone covered in excrement, but if we kept ourselves clean, they would let us pass.

Upon entering the third bolgia, before our eyes were a foul mote, giving off a sound not unlike sizzling oil. Thousands upon thousands of small holes filled the ground, if it wasn't for my wings, it would be hard to navigate around them without falling in. Which meant that I constantly had to provide assistance to Aurora, lest she fall in. Out of each hole we could see the feet, hooves or claws of damned souls, kicking and screaming as the contents of the burning moat were poured into each hole. According to Helel, these were the simoniacs, people who traded sacred offices or artifacts for profit. Out of all the sins I have committed, I can't say I have ever done that. I guess by the standards of my world, that would be like someone paying Celestia to become an alicorn and she actually accepted.

Hanging above the bolgia in a golden cage was a single damned soul, a bearded man, who like all the other damned, was wearing only his skin. Devils circled around the cage, repeatedly branding the man with the symbol of a cross, a mark that covered the man's skin. Helel explained this was Simon Magus, a man who this entire bolgia was named after. A man who attempted to buy the holy power from the servants of Epimethius long ago, and therefore was cursed to be eternally branded by their mark. Sunset wanted to free the poor man, and Jezebel concurred. But Helel said that we couldn't risk the mission now, not while we were so close, so we shouldn’t fight any more devils than neccesary. After all, if our quest was a success we might be able to free all damned souls. After some hesitation, I decided Helel was right, we had to press on.

As we entered the next bolgia, a strong smell of salt hit me, and soon we found the source, an ankle-deep pool of saltwater where the damned wandered, their head twisted backwards. Helel told me that these were the soothsayers, those who tried to predict the future in life, in death they could only see backwards. A strong sense of melancholy filled this bolgia, a sense of despair that only grew stronger the longer we remained.

Then Aurora nudged me, pointing towards one of the damned, a rather familiar colt, Solar Justice. He looked exactly like I remembered him, a young colt with a white coat and yellow mane, but like the other damned in this bolgia, his head was twisted backwards. I tried to recall what I remembered about him. Solar Justice used to be a bully that harassed me and Aurora at Sunrise orphanage in Manehattan, where we grew up. One day, after I made a name for myself, he had offered his hoof in friendship, if I stopped seeing, in his words “That loser Aurora”. I had agreed and left my best friend in the dust, causing her to lose her will to live and end her life, which was how she ended up in the Forest of Suicide. Soon after, Solar Justice himself would end up missing during mysterious circumstances. The only sign of him that remained was a pile of sulfur and an ancient Grimoire, clear signs of demonic activity.

While I knew I was risking my very soul by remaining in this place for much longer, I just had to know, I walked up to Solar Justice and said:

“Hi, remember me?”

The face of Solar Justice got even whiter, like he had seen a ghost.

“Cozy Glow, Aurora? Is that really you or just more spirits sent torment me?” He said with terror in his voice.

I assured him that we were real and that I just had to know the answer to a mystery that had been plaguing me for my entire life. I asked him what happened to cause his death, and why he was among a circle dedicated to punishing soothsayers and sorcerers. He sighed before reluctantly explaining everything he knew.

“The weeks after to the Manehattan chess tournament, leading up to both Aurora’s death and mine, I found a mysterious book in the library in the section about magic. It hadn’t been there previously, so I found that strange, I also felt somewhat drawn to it, like it was my destiny to read it. It was a book about demonology that included a spell to summon an entity that could answer any question. I must admit that after you gained your cutie mark, Cozy Glow, I was jealous. For despite my dedicated studies of magic, my cutie mark had yet to appear. I wanted to know what my special talent was so I could dedicate my efforts were it was appropriate, as maybe my special talent wasn’t in magic after all. I followed the instructions of the ritual and a shadowy figure appeared before me, introducing themselves as the Devourer of Nations. In return for the information I wanted, the demon had only a single demand, a demand that didn’t seem to make much sense at the time. The demon told me that if I wanted information, in return I must befriend Cozy Glow and make sure she is no longer friends with Aurora. Desperate for information, I did exactly as the demon asked, but in the back of my head I was wondering why such an entity made such a banal request. It was only after Aurora hanged herself in her room that the serious consequences of this seemingly insignificant decision showed itself, and I feared that more unforeseen consequences were to come.” The demon appeared before me again soon after to grant my wish. I asked it what my cutie mark would be. The answer it told me sent a chill down my spine. It told me I wouldn’t live to see my destiny realized, for it was now my time to die, and then killed me, as I used a demonic bargain to see the future, my soul was damned to this awful place. As I was catapulted through time and space, I was shown the demon’s design for Equestria. That without Aurora, Cozy would be driven mad and want to usurp the throne, but after she was defeated twice, and turned to stone, the demon would appear before her and offer her a bargain, it would give her rulership over Equestria in return for a price to be paid over 300 years later. She would accept and Equestria would enter a golden age under her rule for over 300 years. But when the time was up, Equestria would tear itself apart and the demon would feast on its inhabitants.”

That more than answered my questions, I always felt that there was some darker design behind Aurora’s and Solar’s demise. To think that Equestria was so close to falling prey to the demon’s designs. I wondered for a while what exactly threw these dread predictions of course. But then I realized that before the demon could come to me with its offer while I was in stone, something happened that it didn’t predict, perhaps because this entity could never grasp the concept of mercy. Sunset Shimmer had freed me from this stone prison. That was very much a good thing, as I knew that at the time, if I were given the offer to rule Equestria, no matter the price, I probably would have accepted. But Sunset had given for free what the given demanded payment for. Aurora then came to me and told me:

“I know he used to torment us, but in this state, I do pity him, we can’t just leave him here, can we?”

However much a part of me wanted to leave him here to suffer eternally for the pain and suffering he caused the both of us. I came to think of how Sunset risked much to save me, even if I maybe didn’t deserve it. Not only did she save me from stone, but she also journeyed to the underworld to rescue me. I knew exactly what she would do. Helel didn’t even protest, as the damned in this circle wasn’t guarded by any devils, perhaps they were also afraid of falling prey to the sense of melancholy and despair that permeated the place. Our hooves started glowing as both me and Aurora willingly decided to share our hope with Solar Justice. As the light entered Solar Justice, his head violently twisted back the natural way and for a moment, the sense of despair seemed to lift. Solar thanked us, but Helel told us to hurry to leave the circle our heads twisted backwards as well, as could apparently happen if you lingered too long in this place. Sunset looked at both me and Aurora with pride. Leaving the circle involved areas where the sea of tears was so deep that the ones among us without wings were forced to swim, and climbing over crystals of coagulated salt, but we soon managed to leave the bolgia.

The next bolgia contained a river of burning tar, over which a stone bridge was suspended, where the damned were submerged, there were thousands upon thousands of them, from every world and time, ponies, human, and all kinds of different creatures. All kept in the river by hordes of devils. Horrified, Solar Justice asked who these people were, and were told that they were people who used their positions in life to gain wealth or other advantages for themselves. The devils of this circle, the Malebrance were even allowed to leave hell to bring souls to this river from anywhere in the multiverse. I thought to myself that I could easily have ended up a victim of this bolgia if my path in life didn’t change. That is, if my crimes weren’t deemed worse. The cold within my being told me that they were, I belonged to the 9th circle, perhaps for betraying my lawful monarch, Twilight Sparkle. Our journey throughout the bolgia was otherwise uneventful, we crossed the long bridge and into the next bolgia. The devils left us alone, busy tormenting the damned, and perhaps knowing that we had no chance to overcome whatever evil resided within the heart of hell.

In the next bolgia, the damned were forced to wear heavy robes as they walked around the circle. The ropes resembled a monk’s cowl, pulled down over their eyes, golden on the outside, but lined with lead on the inside. The bolgia itself consisted of a barren landscape; the eroded rock somewhat resembled an area where once it had been a river. According to our guide, the people confined within were the hypocrites, people who behaved very differently to how they professed people should behave. I could think of a few individuals who fell within this category, including the former monarchs of my homeland. As we traveled through the bolgia, we also encountered unfortunate individuals crucified to the ground, feet and hooves secured with nails. But the journey was otherwise uneventful. However, the territory ahead of us looked quite a lot like a pit of slithering snakes.

This turned out to be correct. The next bolgia was covered in darkness, only the eyes of Minos and the Torch of Hope enabled me to see what’s ahead. The ground of this place couldn’t be seen as it consisted of a seemingly bottomless pit of snakes and other reptiles. Which forced the ones who could, to take to the skies. Jezebel, Helel and Sunset each took Orpheus, Euridice and Aurora. Leaving only me to help Solar, he clinged to me as I was barely able to take flight. As I did my best to remain in the air and not to falter and sink into the pit of snakes, I started to wonder where all the damned was. Helel told me that the snakes and reptiles were the damned, once thieves, their original form was taken from them just like they used to take things from others in life. The snakes and repiles were forever biting eachother, turning to dust after succumbing to the poison, only to be reincarnated soon afterwards for a process to repeat all over again. I was thankful I was not among the souls confined to the pit, and fortunately our wings soon brought us to the other side, but I was totally exhausted.

The narrow bridge that led through the next bolgia was rickety and crumbling, all around us were ziggurats of stained glass, like the ones found in the castle of Canterlot. The damned were consumed by brilliant flames, a lot of flames. Helel told of these souls, evil counselors who used lies as weapons, now they would burn for all eternity, and their ability to lie was taken away. I could relate, as I had done so many times. Among the damned of this bolgia, one talked to us, introducing himself as Odysseus, a former hero who won the war against his enemies with trickery, according to Orpheus, who seemed to have a lot of respect for the fallen hero and was saddened he was trapped here. I was also saddened that cleverness was not rewarded by those in charge of the afterlife, but punished, which enraged me. I would swear right then and there that I would do everything in my power to liberate the souls within. Together with Orpheus and Euridice, I spent more of my hope to share with Odysseus, who joined our ranks. Odysseus thanked us, before joining the group, swearing to come up with clever plans to help us if need be. I told him that this was my job.

Only two bolgias remained, a field of red grass lied before us, from which emerged thread bare banners and rusted weapons, upon which a horde of devils carried out a massacre. Eternally hacking and slashing at the souls here with glee, their blades shining with divine light, as if to suggest their violent actions had divine approval. When they are struck, the damned of this bolgia were not reduced to ash, but instead lingered as sentiment chunks of flesh, hacked into smaller and smaller pieces. Some wandering with their own guts in their hand, until they were finally caught and chopped to bits. Their original form only restored when nothing remained, and then the dismemberment process started all over again. According to Hell, those punished within this bolgia were people who sowed discord among others and started wars and violent feuds for their own ends. Other than me, I could think of one soul that would be at home here, Discord, the Spirit of Chaos. Who had manipulated me and my companions into starting a violent conflict with Equestria. The devils of this bolgia turned out to be particularly violent, soon turning their attention towards us. Only when Helel made an example of their greatest warriors did they leave us alone, the fallen angel dismembering their brethren just like they dismembered the damned of this circle. Helel seemed more focused than ever, driven by how close we were to our goal and more powerful than ever. Eventually the devils bowed before their former Prince, even though Helel had taken many deep wounds from the battle, which Sunset and I helped to heal.

Then we entered into the last bolgia, a desert with dunes and sand seemingly made of gold, but on closer inspection was revealed to be pyrite, fools’ gold. The damned of this bolgia were covered in scabs and sores, Pustulant with some mysterious illness. They wailed and scratched themselves until their scabs bled, a smell of rotten eggs permeating the place. According to our guide, these were alchemists, who boasted about their ability to turn metals into gold to swindle their neighbors. Some of them were filled with resentment and hatred, while others were melancholic and had come to accept their fate. Further into the bolgia, some damned had bellies so swelled with water that they were unable to move. These were the forgers of coin, people who used to make fake currency. Eventually we came across several souls admitting smoke from their skin, their fever so high that it boils their blood. These were the forgers of words, people who spread false rumors to their own advantage. I remembered when I did that, in order to spread discord across Equestria, which also seemed to fall within the theme of the previous bolgia. We managed to cross the golden desert, and soon we would enter into the 9th circle, the Heart of Hell which contained Satan, the corrupted form of Lucifer himself, and perhaps something even worse, someplace where not even the light of the Morningstar could reach.