Sunburst and Pseudo had spent the good portion of the morning walking. Normally, a changeling wouldn't be walking through the badlands. However, Sunburst was a unicorn and couldn't fly. This annoyed the pilgrim greatly. In response all she did was complain about how hot it was and that this was not the way she should be treated. This had been going on all morning and it didn't look like it would stop any time soon.

"Why couldn't you actually be useful to me? That way I wouldn't be this miserable." Pseudo complained.

"If you don't like me, then fly away. See if I care. Just make sure that the desert wraiths don't get you." Sunburst retorted.

"Th-those are an old drone's tale."

"Maybe to a stuck up grub like you, but us ground-walkers have to deal with them from time to time."

Pseudo soon got back her sense of superiority and said. "I can handle a few of them no problem."

Sunburst laughed. "If your lucky maybe, but those aren't the worst things out her. Wait until you see what comes out at night. Some of those creatures don't have names. That's why we need to keep moving until we get to the safe house."

Pseudo groaned. "Why do we even have those? i know that there for any changeling who is too injured to make the trip, but if they are hurt then their not worth saving."

"That's what they all say until they're in that position."

Sunburst stopped to pull out a canteen and drink from it. Once finished, he lowered it and looked at the area they were in. Large dunes with large rocks jutting out of them occasionally. From here, the next area would be much more barren. There wouldn't be nearly as much sand, but the landscape was riddled with canyons. Those were the dangerous parts. It was also their first pit stop.

"Can we go already?"

Sunburst grumbled. "This is going to be a long day."

Trixie stood atop a lonely hill that overlooked Ponyville. It had been eight years since the attack on the town. It had been eight years since she lost Sigma's son. It had been the longest eight years of her life. Normally, she would stand alone against the world, but she was joined now by one of the last surviving hitcolts, Katar. Neither of them had aged well. Trixie's mane was losing its color and wrinkles adorned her face when she frowned.

Katar's normally dull coat had become sleeker over time. The eyes that once held a fire to save all living things long extinguished.

Katar looked at Trixie "We've been training for this moment for eight years Trixie."

"Trixie knows, but it is our fault all this happened. If it wasn't for us, then Ponyville would still be safe. They wouldn't have had to see Death's ivory gaze. They wouldn't have had to lose so many."

"This journey, you know we won't make a return trip."

Trixie smirked. "Does Trixie detect hesitation in your voice?"

"No, I know that our end will come soon. It was written in an old changeling prophecy and it seems like the end of days is upon us. And its all because of him."

"Trixie knows this, and that is why we mustn't fail now. We must show no mercy, like Razor Wing. We must have no remorse, like Mirrors Edge. We must strike like Silent Night. But above all, we must fight like Sigma."

Katar nodded. "You know that he's even more powerful now than last time."

"Yes, but we've trained for so long. We aren't like what we were before. We must fix the past to change the future."

"Then let us be on our way."

Trixie laughed. This confused Katar slightly. "What is it Trixie?"

"Sigma always said that the last road we walk is one we walk alone."

Katar chuckled. "Despite how much of an asshat he was, you can't argue philosophy with him and come out the same. Ah nostalgia."

Without another word, they departed Ponyville.

Never to be seen in Equestria again.

The lone stallion stood in a pit surrounded by the fires of Tartarus. With every flicker and cackle, the smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils. His opponent was the overseer of his pit. In order to gain his freedom, he was to fight a fully armed hell-spawn with his bare hooves.

The being looked like a demonic manticore, but much smarter. In addition to flying, they could also do very destructive magic. They had no skin or muscles, only bones. The eye sockets were ablaze with a greenish flame. It was easily twice the size of a manticore. If a living being was to stare into the flames of it's eyes, they would loose their minds.

This stallion looked unfazed as the target approached it. Like always, the stallion played a defensive game; using stuns and counter-attacks to weaken the foe before killing them.

The Overseer charged the stallion and made a swipe with his front right, intending to end this fight quickly. The stallion ducked and brought his entire body into a headbutt, using the momentum of his dodge, into the Overseer's face.

Not doing anything but stunning it, the stallion jumped back and started to charge his magic. The Overseer snapped out of its daze and assumed a defensive stance.

The stallion let out a small smile. He let out a large, but extremely weak blast. Falling for the feign, the Overseer put up a shield, but it realized too late that this was a trap. The stallion had used a quarter of what he charged up and teleported directly in front of the Overseer.

Smiling, the stallion released all the energy into the Overseer's face. Once the beam faded, it was shown that the Overseer had no face left.

He looked down on the undead Overseer and spat on it. "Is that all? I was hoping for a challenge."

Death had been watching the entire fight. "Very good, your training is complete. Now go, this was but a test. You still need to defeat Cerberus, that will prove more challenging."

The stallion laughed. "Yeah, that's what you said about this too."

Death frowned. "The challenges are exponential in nature. The next one will prove a much bigger step."

"Fine, but he better not disappoint." Next Chapter: A Crack in the Exterior Estimated time remaining: 16 Minutes