Heaven Awaits

by Ayla


Chapter 3 Through The Wildland of Regrets

Chapter 3
Through The Wildland of Regrets

Seeing how upset I was, Autumn took over the situation and started talking to the stallion to find out more. She seemed to know the right kind of questions to ask. I guess since she was talking one secretary to another that only made sense. Giggles started exploring the office, not that there was much to explore, and I went over to a mirror on the wall that I'd spotted.

I always considered myself to be a rather plain mare, but my looks seemed to have improved since I've been here. I looked almost... pretty. The wings especially made me look more graceful and almost delicate. The wings looked a little different than normal pegasus wings I noticed. It was a subtle change, but it made them look more beautiful. They were a little bigger, the feathers more fluffed out and exotic looking.

Autumn finally called us back over. Giggles trotted over with a bright smile. Nothing seemed to get that mare down. Seriously how had she of all ponies ended up living in Limbo? It was definitely a mystery.

"Well Wordsmith here told me we have a choice. He said we can wait for a new pony to show up to take you to Heaven, or he can give us a map and we can make our way there ourselves." Autumn told us.

"How long would we have to wait for a new pony to show up?" I asked.

"Oh not too long, just a century or two, three at most." Wordsmith said cheerfully. "In the meantime if you wanted to wait here, you could help me organize and file papers. Wouldn't that be fun?"

By now my right eye was starting to twitch. "Give us that map."



A few minutes later we walked out of the Infinite Information Station, all of us now wearing saddle bags that Wordsmith had given us. Mine had canteens in them, just in case we ever needed water. Giggles had matches in hers, in case we needed fire. Autumn was carrying the map, a few booklets, ink, and a few quills and some blank pieces of paper, in case we needed to write things down. Our bags were mostly empty which meant they were light weight and easy to carry.

"I haven't felt hungry or thirsty since I've been here, why do we need canteens?" I asked.

"Because in some parts of the Afterlife we'll feel hungry and thirsty according to Wordsmith." Autumn answered absently, busy looking at the map that she held stretched out in front of her with her magic.

"Here you don't usually get hungry or thirsty unless you want to be." Giggles told me.

"Why would anyone want to be hungry or thirsty?" My brow furrowed.

"Because some things taste super duper yummy! Mmm mmm!" Giggles licked her lips.

"Oh... right." It was true that some things were a pleasure to partake in. In life I'd always been overweight, but ever since I got here I'd become slender. It was a nice change. I wondered if I started eating again if that weight would come back.

"Why do you walk everywhere? You have wings!" Giggles pointed out.

"I know but in life I was an earth pony. I don't have any idea how to use them."

"I could teach ya!" Giggles flapped her wings a few times, hovering off the ground a few moments before landing again.

"Uh... no thanks. I'm actually kind of scared of heights." I admitted. Actually I was more scared of falling.

"Aw okay. Just let me know if you change your mind." Giggles looked disappointed.

"Will do." I so wouldn't.

"Okay so according to this map to reach Heaven we're going to have to travel through all of Limbo. It'll take days to get to the end of it, but at least then we can finally get you to where you need to be." Autumn looked up.

"Better days than potentially hundreds of years. All right lets do this." I nodded.

"Woo hoo! Road trip!" Giggles cheered.



So we walked back into the Wildland of Regrets. Once again the thoughts of my regrets filled my mind, and after awhile they were driving me crazy!

"It wasn't this bad before, what's going on? Why can't I stop thinking of the things I wish I hadn't done?" I asked them.

"The deeper into the forest we go, the stronger the thoughts and feelings get." Autumn sighed. "We feel it too. That's why we were staying closer to the edge. It's not as bad there."

"Yeah." Giggles nodded. "And as bad as it can feel here sometimes, there are other parts of the Wildland of Regrets that are even worse!"

"People who live in Limbo tend to stay in the parts of it that resemble the way they feel the most." Autumn told me.

"So you two have a lot of regrets then?" I looked at Giggles. "You always seem to be so happy. What things did you do in life that made you end up here? I'd have thought a pony like you would go straight to Heaven."

Giggles' ears folded back and she looked at the ground. "Remember how I told you some ponies thought my jokes and pranks were mean? Well sometimes they caused a lot of trouble. Sometimes the things ponies bought from my shop, or the things that I did with them, made really bad things happen."

"Like what?" I tilted my head.

"Like it broke up relationships of all kinds. Friendships, coltfriends and marefriends, things like that. I didn't mean for things like that to happen! I guess some ponies are just really sensitive about things like that."

"That wasn't entirely your fault." I pointed out. "I mean, none of your jokes ever really hurt anyone right?"

"Not physically, but emotionally yes I suspect." Autumn spoke up.

Giggles nodded in agreement. "Some ponies feelings were really hurt."

"Well you didn't mean for it to happen right?" I asked.

"Of course not! I want to make ponies smile and laugh. I never meant to make anypony sad, honest!" Giggles kicked a small rock away looking dejected.

"Well, how many ponies were upset by the jokes and pranks? Most of them?" Giggles shook her head. "Half of them?" Giggles shook her head again. "Well then how many?"

"Five."

"Five? That's all? Five over sensitive ponies? And how long was your joke shop in business?" I asked.

"Five years."

"Five ponies out of five years, but all the other ponies found your products fun right?" Giggles nodded. "That's not too bad. What was it like one upset pony a year out of everypony else? Why do you have so much regret that you ended up HERE?"

"Because five ponies is five too many! Besides... I didn't just hurt ponies with my jokes from the joke shop. Sometimes I accidentally scared ponies too much or upset them when I was growing up too." Giggles said sadly.

"Some ponies just can't take a joke, but that's not your fault. You can't please everypony all the time. It's just impossible." I pointed out.

"Really?" Giggles asked in a small voice.

"Really." I nodded.

"I concur." Autumn agreed.

"Look! Strawberry bushes!" Giggles squealed suddenly. So we stopped to pick some for our packs.

"So Autumn, how did YOU end up here?" I asked her as we worked. It was only fair, since I'd asked Giggles. Besides talking helped distract me from all my increasingly disturbing thoughts.

Autumn sighed deeply and her ears flattened as a look of shame came over her face. "Remember how I told you that I was a secretary for Fancy Pants? Well... sometimes I... I took bribes from clients to do forgeries to the paperwork so that they looked more important than they really were. So that it would be more likely for Fancy Pants to work with them. I found out later that doing that cost other ponies jobs and oppurtunities that they might have had if it wasn't for me."

"Why did you do that? Just for the money?" I asked.

"I used that extra money for things like fancy clothes so I could look more like a high class lady instead of just some lowly secretary. I had dreams of attracting and marrying a rich stallion and being able to quit my job and live the good life. It was so very selfish of me."

"And you? What things do you regret?" Giggles asked me.

"I regret a lot of things." I admitted. "I regret not making more friends. I regret that I pushed ponies away and didn't let them in. I regret having so much sadness in my life and feeling bitter about my misfortunes. I regret not trying to do more. I regret hurting ponies feelings from being so sarcastic and rude at times. I'd probably need a whole book if I were to write down all my regrets."

"Wow, that's a lot." Giggles blinked.

"Honestly I don't know why I'm not supposed to be here." I shook my head. "Maybe the paperwork they have is wrong."

"Wordsmith was positive that the only error was in the number of your good deeds." Autumn reassured me.

"What good deeds? I stayed away from other ponies. I was a loner." I frowned, not able to figure it out.

"Maybe you did a lot of good things and didn't even realize it." Giggles pointed out.

"Maybe." I sighed. Soon we were on our way again.

We stopped at Looking Glass Lake to fill our canteens when we reached it. When night fell we didn't stop. Apparently in the afterlife you don't need to sleep, and we never seemed to get tired. Autumn just lit up her horn to light the way and we kept going. It got a little chilly but not too bad. All the walking we were doing kept us from really getting cold. Once in awhile I'd look up at the sky. It was full of stars and I wondered if this was the same sky that the living saw.

As we walked we did various things to try to keep our minds off our thoughts. We sang, told jokes, riddles, stories, and played simple games like I Spy and Twenty Questions.

"So how many ponies end up in Limbo anyway?" I asked at one point.

"Not many. Ponies are usually good by nature. We see other creatures here more often." Autumn replied as she jumped over a log. I jumped over it too, surprised that I didn't trip. In life I'd been pretty clumsy. Giggles just flew over it.

Once in awhile Giggles would take to the air and flutter a few feet above us. I think she missed flying. It probably sucked for her that she had to travel with two ground dwellers but she never complained.

"What kind of creatures?" I asked.

"Gryphons, horses, donkeys, diamond dogs, dragons, etc." Autumn replied.

We fell silent, but only for a few minutes. Too much silence promoted too much thinking. Soon Giggles started to sing and since it was a common song that many ponies knew, we both joined in.

"You have a lovely voice." Autumn complimented me.

"Yeah it's really pretty!" Giggles said enthusiastically.

"Thanks." I managed to smile a little.

Just as the sun was starting to rise, Autumn abruptly started trotting faster.

"What is it?" I asked as Giggles and I hurried to catch up with her.

"We'll be in the next part of the Wildland soon." Autumn explained.

"Thank goodness." Giggles looked relieved. At my questioning look she explained. "In every different part of Limbo you get different feelings."

"So what feelings will be up ahead?" I asked, feeling a little uneasy. Was it going to be just as bad or even worse than regret?

"You're about to find out!" Giggles pointed with her right hoof and I looked to see the end of the woods and a place full of hills and valleys start.

I sprang into a gallop and the other mares raced along beside me until we reached the top of the first hill and paused. Normally I probably would have stopped to admire the view, but I suddenly felt very impatient.

"Come on lets go!" I began trotting down the hill quickly.

"Onward!" Giggles cheered.

"Foward!" Autumn said in determination.

I sped up again and leaped over a small bush in my way. I landed on something, or should I say SOMEONE, because whatever I landed on screeched so loudly and shrilly I quickly put my hooves over my ears, losing my balance and tumbling down to the ground.

"Oh dear!" I heard Autumn exclaim as she and Giggles rushed over.

As I turned to see just what it was I'd landed on, the creature grabbed me and yanked me close with a loud growl. This close all I could see was a pair of extremely annoyed yellow eyes.

"Hiya!" Giggles waved. "Oh I just love making new friends."

"Not now Giggles." Autumn groaned.

All I could do was gulp.