As the iron bridge entered the next section, it stayed an iron bridge. A thin wall of dull grey stone separated the swampy waters of the transition area from the bubbling black liquid of the fifth section.
"What is that stuff?" I asked Galaxy, "Tar?"
"Nope" she replied, "It's called dark lava. It's basically dark magic crystal that has been superheated in the fires of hatred until it melts. DUCK!"
"Duck? Where?" I asked. I realized what she meant as a low flying pegasus swooped right over me, it's hoof nearly taking my head along with it. It was another large one of those pegasus ponies with bat like wings, glowing red eyes, and a spiked tail. On its back it was carrying a normal sized earth pony. The sight of a pony riding another pony seemed strange at first to me but who was I to question the methods used in a hell for ponies? The pegasus hovered over the lava and in one abrupt motion, bucked the earth pony on it's back into the black liquid below before taking off again.
"Oh, you were trying to tell me to duck" I said. Galaxy just rolled her eyes. Suddenly, we saw a large crowd of the infernal ponies coming toward us and thus, barring our path. "Get behind me" whispered Galaxy. The apparent leader of the infernal ponies stopped a short distance from Galaxy and glared at her. "And to what torture are you taking this young man to?" he asked, "and why are you doing so? Must I punish you for acting outside of your range of duty?"
"Haha, no" said Galaxy, "and you had best watch your threats. Under orders from Princess Celestia, I am taking this brony on a tour through hell. You had best not impede us. Who do you think you are?"
"I am Prince Rageblood, commander of the fire equines" he said.
"Fire equines?" I asked confused.
Upon hearing Celestia's name, the formerly belligerent pony seemed more docile. "I suppose I should ask for proof" he said to Galaxy, "But no one would make something like that up. You may pass, I will send my bodyguards to guide you."
"We're good" said Galaxy, "How hard can it be to trot in a straight line?"
"The main bridge to the sixth section has collapsed after being struck by the tail of a hydra" he explained, "My guards will take you to an alternate path."
Turning to me, he said, "Yes, we are the fire equines. In the days of yore, we lived fairly peacefully with the air pegasi, the water unicorns, and the earth ponies. At some point, my idiot father decided we were better than the rest of the pony kinds so we waged a series of wars against them. The other ponies, fed up with his antics left us and eventually ended up in what is now Equestria. It was only when they were gone that we realized how much we needed them. We searched everywhere for them but due to internal fighting amongst ourselves, never succeeded in getting anywhere. At the height of the chaos, we were overrun by windigoes and froze."
Finishing his story, the prince turned and flew off into the darkness leaving us with his ten attendants. "Follow us" muttered one of them as several began trotting forward. Galaxy and I followed as the remaining fire equines travelled behind us.