After discovering the gates in the forest, the Mane 6 had followed them into Furnace, a burned out waste land of destruction. After walking for a while and not finding any sign of Inferni, they stopped, trying to figure out where to go next. Drake then heard something, so he perked his ear up and motioned for the others to be silent. There it was again, the sound of moaning. The sound was getting closer, so they gathered in a circle to watch each others backs. Then, out of no where, a pale figure appeared. The figure was wearing nothing but a tattered blanket over its back.
As it drew closer they were able to make out its whispering words. "Who are you.. and what are you doing here?" the figure wheezed. Drake, who was closer answered. "We are here to find the queen of fire, who are you?" The figure nodded slowly and answered, "I am Light Hoof, and i am a spirit of Furnace, for you see, this place is evil. 1000 years ago this place was a flourishing land filled with life. Then, one day an evil queen arrived and took over, imprisoning us all. She worked us to death, and tortured us, until we were nothing but shells of our former selves."
Light Hoof coughed heavily, then continued with a shaky breath. "Then, one day she lost all of her sanity and used a powerful spell to cast this land into a shadow of its former glory. In the blast, everything was destroyed, the land, our homes, and all of the inhabitants. After the blast, the queen was no where to be found, and in the place of her castle, a volcano stood in its place." Light Hoof sighed, tear drops at the corners of his eyes. "Nothing was ever the same, and we can never leave, because of the curse the queen put us under." Twilight stepped forward and laid a hoof on his shoulder. "I am sorry you have had to endure all this suffering, but I promise we will do everything in our power to help you.
The rest of the group nodded and Light Hoof smiled. "Thank you young one, that is very kind of you." Twilight returned his smile, then growing serious she asked, "Have you seen an alicorn fly by here." Light Hoof thought for a moment, then said,"Yes, I believe i did see someone fly to the volcano." Twilight looked to where he was pointing. "Then that's where we need to go to find Inferni." Light Hoof looked at her, his eyes wide. "Did you say Inferni?"
Twilight nodded and Light Hoof's face twisted into a snarl. "That's the name of the evil queen,she has returned!" The group looked at each other and Twilight turned back to Light Hoof and said,"Can you take us to the volcano Light Hoof?" Light Hoof nodded, eyes alight with fury, "Of course, anything to defeat that witch!, come" He started walking and they followed him in the direction of the volcano.