Twilight pressed the topmost button, like Dread had told her. It glowed a soft white and exuded a warmth of equal softness. Not at all like the oppressive heat of Hell. It was more like the warmth from a thick blanket on a cold day. Just warm enough to make you lethargic but not enough to make you sweat.
"Wow. You're really caught up in this whole warmth thing. Weird considering you just came from a nightmare world made of fire."
"Yeah, well, it's just. . . well, I don't know. When I pressed the button I felt. . . safe. I know it doesn't make much sense, but-"
"It makes perfect sense, Miss Sparkle. You'll see why in just a few second. Literally about three seconds. . . . I'd stand back from those doors if I were you."
But Twilight didn't stand back. And so the doors flew open, letting in a gust of wind so strong, that it sent Twilight flying back into the wall of the elevator. She laid there, essentially plastered to the cushioned metal wall, waiting for the wind to stop. But it didn't stop. Or at least, it didn't stop for her, as Dread appeared to be largely unaffected by this strange wind. In fact, he stepped forward, as if the wind was non-existent, and began to recite some kind of incantation. A large part of it was in a language Twilight couldn't understand, but the last bit, at least, was in Equish:
"As a grand-high reaper, wayfinder of lost souls and shepherd to the damned, I command of thee, O' Heavenly Winds, cease thine blowing!"
The winds blew on. What Dread had planned to accomplish with that, Twilight was unsure.
". . . Yo Peter! Shut it down!"
The wind stopped and Twilight fell to the floor. Confused, she rose, rubbing her sore flank. Dread seemed frustrated and tired, but as with most things that had occurred since She killed herself, she wasn't sure why.
"I'm frustrated because the level of professionalism in my workplace isn't exactly what I'd like it to be. Honestly, it's like nobody's even trying to be ominous or foreboding anymore. But I digress."
"Well. . . alright then. What exactly was that wind?"
"The Heavenly winds; a fail-safe designed to keep the impure out of Deadworld 50, or as you know it, Heaven."
"Heaven? We're in Heaven?"
"Sure are."
Dread stepped out of the elevator, into the great expanse of Heaven. He took a few steps before turning to face Twilight."
"Are you coming?"
"I can leave the elevator?"
"Why wouldn't you be able to?"
"Well, you wouldn't let me get out in Hell."
"Did you really want to though? Did you really want to get out and explore every nook and crevice in Hell, Ms. Sparkle?"
"No."
"Well, there you go. Now hurry up and get out here."
Twilight hurried herself out of the elevator, the doors closing and disappearing behind her. Twilight found the elevators sudden dissipation to be a bit disconcerting, but hey, she was in Heaven. What could possibly happen to her here?
Twilight turned her focus away from the topic of the elevator and gazed across the endless expanse of white and blue that was Heaven. Here, standing on the seemingly infinite sea of clouds, everything just seemed so at peace. Twilight could hear the squawks and caws and chirps of various birds circling overhead. She saw phoenixes and sparrows, crows and doves, hawks, eagles, falcons, and. . . was that a pterodactyl? Yes, in fact it was. It seemed a little out of place, but who was Twilight to question the machinations of Heaven?
"Hey, Dread?"
"Projections, Twilight. Nothing more."
"But why birds?"
"You'll understand when I introduce you to Peter."
"And who exactly is- where did this city come from?"
Twilight had looked down from the birds to find that she and Dread had arrived at a city of dazzling white, guarded by and enclosed within a gate of pure gold. The gate was taller than any building Twilight had ever seen, so tall in fact, that she couldn't even see the top of it. It seemed nigh on unscalable. But the gates immense size was not what had Twilight so surprised; it was the fact that they had appeared out of nowhere! Twilight could tolerate the elevator disappearing, but an entire city popping into existence? That just didn't make any sense.
"Try not to think about it too hard Ms. Sparkle. Some things aren't meant to be understood."
"I guess I can try not to think about it too hard. But I'm still going to think about it. Anyway, where is this Peter guy you wanted me to meet?"
"Blink, Twilight."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Twilight's question was answered quickly, as when she blinked, a winged human had manifested in front of the golden gates.
"Oh come on, now you're just trying to mess with me."
The winged human chuckled. He was rather tall, and seemed to be of an advanced age, as all his hair, facial or otherwise, was a pearly white.
"Forgive me, Ms. Sparkle. I don't get many visitors here in Heaven, so when I do, I take it as an opportunity to have a little fun. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Peter, the Shepherd of saintly souls and gatekeeper of Deadworlds fifty through forty."
"So you're a reaper, right?"
"Of course."
"And reapers take on the form of the most intelligent creature in their assigned world, right?"
"That is true."
"So are winged humans common in your world? I've only ever met the types that walk on the ground, and I just think it'd be interesting if more species of human existed."
"Well, the answer's a bit complicated. We don't really have time for an in-depth explanation, as you have a tour to take. Perhaps Dread could tell you the story."
Peter snapped his fingers, and with a clunk and thud, the gates of Heaven unlocked. They opened silently, swinging inward.
"Please enjoy you're time here in Heaven. Oh, and please, don't drink the water."
"Oh, um, okay. I'll be sure to remember that."
Peter flew off into the distance, his form blending into the shapes of the various birds off in the distance. Twilight wondered just what kind of world it was that could be filled with creatures such as that.
"That would be no world, Ms. Sparkle."
"Pardon me?"
"The inhabitants of Peter's assigned world aren't always the most rational creatures. They go to war for no reason, fight over the most arbitrary and insignificant of topics, and very rarely are capable of self-control. Peter was being over-worked by their constant murder of one another, so one day he descended upon them in the form you see now, though he was much younger, and at the time, he went by the name Michael. His subjects were in awe of him and he used this awe to devise a system that would help regulate them and keep them in line. This system was religion. Of course, it's not a perfect system and oftentimes, they'll fight over who's right about how to interpret this religion. But there's only so much that Peter can do."
"So. . . he took that form to capture the attention of his people?"
"That and he's got a crazy bird fetish."
"Oh."
Twilight and Dread stepped through the gates. They shut just as silently as they had opened and then disappeared altogether. Twilight wasn't very concerned with it this time though, as she was too busy being frozen in awe at all that she beheld. It was not the awe she had felt in Hell, which had been born of horror and disgust. This awe was born of sheer sensory overload. There were palaces and buildings crafted from precious metals and built in abstract shapes and proportions that by all rights should have caused them to collapse. The streets were literally paved with gold and the windows were made of purest crystal. Rivers flowed all throughout the city and the waters seemed to glow with purity.
"They are glowing, Ms. Sparkle, but I wouldn't exactly say that it's with purity."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that, one, that isn't water, and two, it's radioactive. That's why it's glowing."
"Well, what is it then, if not water."
"We don't really know. It's just something we Reapers kind of. . . excrete. We'd dump it in Hell, but we're afraid that it would give the demons superpowers. And as cool as that sounds, it's something we'd rather not deal with."
"Well, isn't there a better alternative to keeping it in Heaven? Aren't you concerned about all the creatures that live here?"
"I would be, but as you'll soon see, Ms. Sparkle, there's no one in Heaven to be concerned about. Well, actually, that's not totally true. Follow me."
Twilight followed, wondering what Dread wanted to show her. Observing her surroundings, she began to notice just how empty the city was. Not a soul to be seen; just birds. Or rather, the projections of birds. But surely, with all the demons residing in Hell, there had to be an equal amount of inhabitants in Heaven. So where was everyone? Twilight would have given more thought to the topic but her concentration was broken by the not-so-distant barking of a dog. . . a dog?
"Yes, Ms. Sparkle, a dog. Just follow me around this corner here."
Dread turned left, around an asymmetrical skyscraper. Once more, Twilight followed. Rounding the corner, she stopped beside Dread who had halted at the very beginning of the street. The dog's barking sounded closer now. In fact, Twilight could see the dog, just a bit farther down the road. It was a big yellow thing, a Black Mouth Cur from the looks of it. It was carrying a stick in its mouth and taking it to a rather short human in a thick white tunic and sandals. His hair was rather long and messy and he had a magnificent beard. He seemed oddly approachable, and ,overall, looked like a friendly man.
"Who are they?"
"That dog over there is Old Yeller. A more loyal dog you'll never find. Brought to an untimely end by some rather unfortunate circumstances involving rabies. I pity the boy that had to shoot him; he loved that dog more than anything."
"That does sound pretty sad."
"Everything has to go sometime, Ms. Sparkle. Anyway, that human over there, that's Jesus. Now as far as humans go, he's as good as they get. Real nice guy. Not much fun at parties though."
"So why are they the only ones here? Is there anyone else you're just hiding from me? Someone that's going to pop out and try to entertain themselves by scaring and frustrating me?"
"No, Ms. Sparkle. Jesus and Yeller are the only ones here. And that's because, in all of existence, within the countless eons the multiverse has existed, to have hearts pure enough to reside here. The afterlife is a game of purity, Ms. Sparkle. How pure you are determines where you end up."
"I. . . I don't really think I understand."
"Then please, allow me to explain."