Chapter 2
"Sandbar! Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Sandbar blinked. Above him, Gallus had placed his talons on his shoulders, as if he'd been trying to wake him from a deep sleep. The stallion was taken aback by the tears in the griffon's eyes, yet there was tremendous relief in them. "Gallus?"
"Oh, thank gods," Gallus nearly crushed him in a tight hug, sighing. But a moment later, he pulled away to slap him across the face.
"Ow!" Sandbar rubbed his cheek, "What was that for?"
"That was for scaring the crap out of me! You were a bloody mess a moment ago, and you kept fading in and out, and you didn't wake up, and…" Gallus rubbed his eyes, breathing deeply. "Don't ever do that again!"
While rubbing his cheek, Sandbar looked around. "Hey, dude… where-"
"No idea," Gallus interrupted. "It was like this when we got here."
Regardless of what direction they looked, there was nothing. Sure, they felt the ground beneath them, but it was nothing but a clean, blank world. It looked like an endless white canvas where the only things to exist were them.
"How long have you been here?" Sandbar asked while getting up.
"I'm… not sure. I was so scared that I didn't think about it." Gallus looked at him. "But what happened to you? You looked like a ghost for a long time."
"In what way?"
"As in see-through, completely beaten and broken. Now you're… well… not."
Sandbar looked down and around himself. Despite having rocks fallen on him, he was whole again. There were no cuts, bruises, or blood. It was as if nothing had happened to him.
"To be honest, I'm not one hundred percent sure," he scratched the back of his neck. "It was really confusing. I… I think I was taken somewhere. Maybe a hospital? I remember something about an emergency room, along with surgery, and you…"
"What?" Gallus tilted his head.
"I think… somepony said that you died. But that can't be. You're right here."
"Well, of course I am! I'm not dead. I'm…" he trailed off as Gallus' eyes started to go wide. Looking around, he asked, "Hang on… where… are we?"
"You said you didn't-"
"Not that, I mean… If what you're saying is right… we were crushed back there. We should have died right there and then, but we're okay now. None of this is making sense Sandbar, how did we-"
Before Gallus could finish his conclusion, there was a sudden rip that got their attention. At a stone's throw away, a very sharp scythe blade punctured through the void. It was then pulled down towards the ground, tearing the white nothing like fabric. Instinctively, Gallus placed himself between Sandbar and whatever was coming. The blade disappeared for a moment, and out from that torn portal, a figure wrapped in black stepped out, carrying a scythe.
"Sandbar! Make a run for-" Gallus shouted but was quickly interrupted.
"Hold on! Hold on!" the dark figure said in an impatient tone. "Let me get this thing off me." Setting the scythe aside, which was in the air on its own, the figure pulled the black cloak's hood off. The being had the head of a stallion, the claws and wings of a griffon, and a pony's flank. The unique-looking hippogriff was also all white except for the black dress shirt, suit, and gray tie. "That's better," the thing said, adjusting his tie. "I barely got back from up north where the chill has forced me to dress warmly than usual. Sorry if I startled you two."
"Uh…" Sandbar was about to say something but couldn't find the words.
"So, my apologies for getting here late — I'm afraid we're a bit understaffed at the moment — but I'm here now."
"Are you…" Gallus gulped, "Death?"
"You're thinking of my boss, who, between you and me, is a cosmic migraine to work with. So no, I'm more of a Reaper, you see. Think of me as a glorified chauffeur of sorts that's overworked and underpaid."
".... Uh-huh…" Sandbar walked around Gallus. "So are you an angel or something?"
"Unfortunately, yes," he deadpanned. "One that's stuck doing this for the next couple thousand years. So look, I'm going to make this quick. You two come with me, and we'll get you sorted out where you needed to go. Okay?"
"Wait, hold on!" Sandbar asked, taking a deep breath as he stepped forward. "Does this mean… that we're..."
"Dead as a flock of birds near a firework? Yep." The Grim Reaper Angel said, pointing his scythe to Gallus. "You got crushed to death and died instantly about two hours ago. And you..." He pointed to Sandbar, "faded in and out, but ended up dying of your wounds just about five minutes ago."
"W-Well then I chall-"
"Challenging Death to a game for your soul back is a rumor. In practice, it doesn't work. Trust me. Even angels can't win. How else do you think I got this job?" The Grim Reaper finished as Sandbar lowered his head. "Anything else? No? Good, let's go."
"Where are we going?" Gallus asked.
"I told you, to get you two sorted out," the Reaper opened the ripped portal wider. "Well, c'mon! You don't want to spend eternal boredom in here, do you?"
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?"
The Reaper shook his head.
Seeing that they have no other option, Sandbar and Gallus followed the Reaper through the portal.
Neither of them knew what to expect when they crossed over. They followed the Reaper to a place that looked like a waiting area one would see at an airship port. It was the size of a city block with hundreds of benches in the middle. Above them were a glass and silver skylight, while around the walls, there were stands made into the brick walls. You could see them from the food court to the gift shop between golden columns. Around them, creatures of every kind were waiting. Here, Ponies were making small talk with Yaks. Griffons paced about near a gift shop while the Hippogriffs were scarfing down seafood near a vendor. They spotted Reindeer and Buffalos debating politics on the benches while a few Dragons were lying down on the benches, trying to sleep among the lively chatter. Meanwhile, some Zebras noticed them for a moment before returning to their crossword puzzles while a few bored Changelings flew to the ceiling to see if there was an opening.
"What's this place?" Sandbar inquired.
"This is one of many waiting rooms for the afterlife." The Reaper explained.
"I didn't know there were waiting rooms."
"Well, with creatures dying more and more every day, we got to have someplace to at least process them all."
"So what do we do now?" Gallus asked the Reaper.
"Welp, the two of you wait," reaching into his breast coat pocket, the Reaper pulled out a couple of tickets with numbers on them, "when they call up your number, go over there." He pointed over towards a section in the back of the room where there was a line where angels guarded it in security outfits. They stood in front of a metal detector-looking device made out of a unique silverish-white glass. One by one, creatures would step in the middle of the device in which it would light up as blue at first. But after a moment or two, it would change colors from either green or red. "That's where you get processed." The Reaper explained, "You step through that detector, and from there, the staff will take you to your destination."
"What does the thing detect?" Sandbar questioned.
The two of them looked over to the detector where a Hippogriff stepped through. The device had a blue glow for a moment before it turned green. There was a relieved joy from the creature from what they could see as it hopped up and down. The nearby staff placed a glowing halo on its head, thereby turning its wings a snowy white. One of the angels then guided the Hippogriff down a hall to the right where a glowing light was at the end of it.
"Well, the good news is that it doesn't pick up on what gods you believe. However, it weighs up to see if you were an overall good enough being. If in life you didn't do anything hurtful and did what you could to cause the least amount of suffering, or at least made an effort to reverse it, then you should be okay."
Suddenly, there was a commotion, and they looked over to the detector. A mare was horrified to see the glass device had turned red. But before she could flee, the other hall that had a burning light had several red hot chains that came out like snakes and, as quick as lightning, wrapped around the struggling mare, picked her up, and was taken away despite her screaming protests.
Gallus swallowed, "And… if not?"
"Let's just say you're not going to have a fun time." A beeping sound was heard, and the Reaper pulled on his sleeve to look at his watch. He let out a grunt. "Oh joy, another mass murder. God, I hate my boss sometimes." He muttered. "Look, I gotta go. If I miss this one, my boss will have me work overtime."
"But what do we do?" Sandbar asked.
"I don't know, wait? There's enough stuff in here to keep you occupied until your number gets called up." Using his scythe, the Reaper opened a portal. "Good luck," he said before stepping through the portal, closing it behind.
A voice announced over the intercom system: "Would the following numbers please line up: 781 to 800. I repeat, numbers 781 through 800. Please come line up for judgment. Thank you."
"So… We're dead." Gallus finally said.
"Yep."
Another long pause. Neither of them had any idea how long they'd been sitting on the benches. It could have been two minutes or perhaps an eternity - neither of them has noticed. The two of them sat there, letting the gravity of what just happened to sink in.
Both of them spent a long time figuring out how to respond to all of this, but nothing was coming to them. How do you just suddenly react to knowing you were dead?
"Um… y-you know," Gallus began again, "I'm a bit shocked none of us got here sooner."
"Huh?" Sandbar finally looked up.
"Well, looking back at the idiotic things we've done over the years and that’s not including the times we had to save the world we didn’t die sooner. I mean it's kinda amazing that out of all the pranks and stupid moments we’ve done, like the one time all of us got drunk and hung out on the school's roof, that we did all die earlier. Yet, it was falling rocks that did us in. How embarrassing!"
Sandbar chuckled. "Now that you've pointed it out, yeah, I'm surprised that death didn't come sooner." But his laughter morphed to concern. "But… we did die. For real this time. Goddesses… I can't imagine what it must be like for them."
"Who?"
"Our friends, they must be balling their eyes out by now… and my family, they must be devastated. My mom cried for months after Grandma passed. Just imagine what she and Dad and my little Sis must be going through. How are they going to cope with me gone? And Yona… I don't remember if I said goodbye to her."
Gallus sighed, "Tell me about it. But what can we do now?" He shook his head. "Still… I told you to run back there."
"What?"
"The cave. You should have saved yourself. I mean, even if you did drag me out, I probably would have died from that death beam thing."
"But I couldn't do that. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Just leave you there? I couldn't do that knowing that I might have saved you. I just…" Sandbar trailed off, harrumphing in his seat. "Maybe I couldn't prevent you from dying, but I could at least try. I couldn't leave you alone in the dark with no chance."
Gallus took in a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, I get it. Even though I didn't ask for it, I'm at least grateful that with all things considering, I didn't die alone."
"Yeah?"
"Well, back in that void… purgatory… place, thing, when I woke up, I saw that you were kinda there with me. Sure, you were see-through, but I was so scared to see you so… broken. But now that I think of it, even just seeing you would be better than being alone in that nothing space. At least you took my mind off of being alone." He glanced over at Sandbar. "If that makes sense."
"Totally," Sandbar nodded. "I think I've heard somewhere that death is the last great adventure - but now I think it's more bearable when you have a friend like you to be with." They heard another scream coming from the gates, meaning that someone wasn't so lucky. "I just hope that wherever we end up, we could still be together."
Gallus nervously nodded, "Yeah… I hope so too."
Another awkward pause.
Above them, the intercom system called: "Would the following numbers please line up: 801 to 820. I repeat numbers 801 through 820. Please come line up for judgment. Thank you."
"I'm gonna see if I can get a snack," Sandbar hopped off the bench, "You want anything?"
"Nah, I'll just sit here."
While Sandbar maneuvered his way over to the food court, Gallus sat there in thought, his claws holding up his head. So deep in thinking that he failed to notice someone with a broom sweeping towards his direction.
"Lift your legs, please."
"Huh," this snapped Gallus out of his thoughts, looking up to a larger griffon that was gray, piercing eyes and a glowing red collar around his neck.
"Just need to sweep under you."
Gallus paused, "Have I seen you before?"
"Doubt it, legs please," he pointed a talon upward.
While Gallus did obey and the griffon swept under him, he remarked, "I think I've seen you before - in a book."
"So?"
"Yeah, you look like…" His eyes went wide. "No…" He stood up. "I think I know who you are! King Guto, the last-"
"King of the Griffons before the Idol of Boreas was taken, I know. I was there." He turned his back, continue to sweep.
"Wait a minute!" Gallus flew around him, "What are you doing here? I'd thought you might be-"
"In Hell?" Guto finished his sentence. "Why yes, yes I have been sent there. You see this collar," he pointed, "this keeps me trapped."
"Okay, but why are you sweeping in here? Shouldn't you be… you know…"
He sighed, "It's part of my punishment. For the crime of selfishness, greed, and nearsightedness for not using my power to improve the lives of griffons and destroying the kingdom in the process, I was sentenced to be a slave for all eternity. Which, between you and me, is a bunch of crap. Well, since the waiting rooms have been a bit understaffed when it comes to janitorial duty, I have to sweep this place over and over and over again."
"Huh, and here I thought it would be worse."
"You don't get about the concept of damnation, do you?" Guto questioned. "So here's some inside information for you. Over there, not everyone gets the same punishment. They're tailor-made depending on what you did. For example, since I absolutely hate doing things like… Oh, I don't know… cleaning, or charity work, or anything that doesn't equal fun - I'm stuck with this. I've been doing this for who-knows-how-many-moons. Now, if you please excuse me, I have work to do." Walking around Gallus, the ex-king continued to sweep.
Meanwhile, Sandbar got behind a line for freshly fried potato chips. There were only a few in front of him (a few Ponies, a Yak, and a Zebra). Eventually, a Changeling got in line behind Sandbar.
"Uh… so…" Sandbar turned his head over to the Changeling, who he noticed was shaking nervously. "You uh… been here long?"
"No, I just got in line-"
"I mean, being here…" the Changeling looked around, "I think I've been here for hours, and they still haven't called up my number yet."
"What's your name?"
"Anteni."
"Sandbar," he gave a friendly smile, "yeah, I just got here too with a friend of mine. Truthfully, I don't know how long we've been here."
"Oh…" The Changeling looked back to the gates where the souls were being judged. "S-Sorry, I'm just really nervous."
"How come?"
"Well, aside from me dying, I don't know what's going to happen to me. I think I'll be terrified by the time my number is called up. I mean… What if they make a mistake?"
"That's unlikely." Said a new voice. Sandbar and Anteni looked over to the Angel at the stand. A bored-looking dragon with blue scales and a white apron. "So, how many do you want?"
"Well, two…" Sandbar answered, "but what do you mean by unlikely that they'll make a mistake?"
"You see that detector over there?" He nodded as he scooped up some potato chips from the fryer. "That thing has been crafted to perfection. You see, what it does is that it looks at your life, see your actions in terms of how much pain you caused to others, your overall character, and how much you put in the effort to make amends. There's more to that, but essentially, it would see if you're alright."
"But you only allow the good into paradise, right?" Anteni asked, and the Angel nodded. "So how would I know if I'm good enough?"
"Well, truthfully, it's not my place to judge," he said, dumping a few spoonfuls of chips into a few paper trays. "So let me ask you this simple question that might help somewhat - do you overall consider yourself good?"
"I…" Anteni hesitated, "I don't… think so…" she looked down and quietly answered, "no."
The Angel hummed, "Then I can safely say you have nothing to worry about."
"Huh?" Sandbar questioned, "Why's that?"
"Because, even we noticed that the worst kind of creatures that ever lived: the cruelest kings, the informants that sent hundreds of innocent groups to prison, the bigots that burned books and kept entire communities segregated, etc... they have done all of this and more simply because they believed that they were doing the right thing. Ask any monster that question, and they would tell you with a straight face that they're blameless, that they didn't do anything wrong because it's always someone else that should be punished. They're convinced that they were on the side of angels. But the key to getting into Heaven, from what I'm told, is to be self-aware of the evil one is capable of. Here you go." He offered Sandbar the two trays of chips. "In other words, I think you're gonna be fine. So how much do you want?"
Looking back at the detector again, the Changeling replied, "Actually… I think I'll be okay," and walked away.
Sandbar carried the potato chips on his back and returned to the bench where Gallus was.
"Well… that was interesting," Gallus said.
"What?"
"I just saw the last King of Griffonstone-"
Gallus was interrupted as a voice over the intercom system called out: "Would the following numbers please line up: 821 to 840. I repeat numbers 821 through 840. Please come line up for judgment. Thank you."
Sandbar and Gallus looked at the tickets that the Reaper had given them. They were being called up.
"You know what," Gallus took hold of the trays, "I think I might need this after all. Because I think they're gonna be my last meal."
"What's wrong?" Sandbar asked as he and Gallus started to head towards the detector.
"Oh nothing, I think that I might be judged as crappy enough to be dragged by red hot chains to do who-knows-what for all eternity while probably getting separated, but other than that..." Gallus started stuffing his beak with chips. ".... I'm perfectly fine."
"Dude, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about."
"Easy for you to say, but I don't think I'm gonna make it." He said after swallowing a mouthful before doing another.
Sandbar patted his back, "Then trust me on this, everything's gonna be okay."
Gallus wished he could say the same.
Once Gallus had fully scarfed down the chips, he and Sandbar got in line for their souls to be processed. The line itself wasn't very long, yet the closer they got to the glass detector, the longer time seems to drag on. One by one, various creatures' souls would step through and would either be deemed worthy of paradise - or eternal suffering. At least for Gallus, the worst part was that he's going to be judged first between the two.
"We have done enough," Sandbar said, in an attempt to comfort him. "We've saved the world plenty of times and learned about friendship and kindness in ways we didn't know existed. I still think we'll be okay."
In front of him, a confident Hippogriff stepped into the glass detector, where it went blue for a moment before turning red. "What! No!" he yelled as the chains swiftly wrapped around his legs, "I tried to create paradise on Equis! You can't take me!" but the chains did.
"Next," An Angel who was a deer called out and turned to Gallus. "Yes, it's your turn, c'mon now."
Gallus gulped but looked back at Sandbar, who smiled up at him. Turning to the detector, the griffon felt as if he was walking to the platform of the gallows. His execution seemed imminent.
"All the way," the Angel told him, "step all the way in, please."
Gallus took another step.
"Hold still, please."
Inside the glass, everything turned blue, and yet, he saw in his reflection everything in his life being played back all at once. Every memory that he remembered and forgot about came at once. The orphanage, begging in the streets, Grandpa Gruff sending him to school, his friends, his teachers, the adventures, his crushes, and his death; all in the exact moment. Then, just as quickly, they stopped, and the blue light was replaced with green.
Gallus blinked. "Wait, what?"
"See, I told you! You have nothing to worry about!" Sandbar clapped his hooves.
"Step out, please," the Angel instructed.
From there, he was pointed over to a dispassionate pegasus in white next to a box of halos. "Here you go," the stallion took out one of the halos and put it over his head. Gallus looked behind him, where he spread his wings in time to see them turn white.
"I… I made it?" Gallus said in dumbfounded amazement, "I actually made it?"
"Told you everything's gonna be fine," he looked over as Sandbar said that, noticing that the detector turned green for him as well. "So now what?"
"Here," the pegasus gave him his halo, and Gallus watched as his friend's back started to glow brightly before it sprouted wings. "Go down to the end of the hall where you'll need to fill out a few things."
The two of them looked down at the gate marked as Heaven, towards the light at the very end of it. Together, they walked towards the near blinding light. As they walked further in (although they couldn't be sure), the hall around them seemed to change. With every step, the blue walls became paler and paler until they were pure white. The ceiling was sloping upwards, and the walls were expanding further apart until the space around them resembled the void they entered earlier. But this too lasted for a moment. With every step, their eyes were adjusting to where they started to see more details around them. They saw columns of white marble along with windows that each looked out to extraordinary vistas from different parts of the world. Above them were murals that depicted the seasons where the trees were swaying in a breeze, and below were tiles made of solid pieces of huge opals. The further they went, the more this unfamiliar, fantastical place resembled a palace.
Even the light that they walked towards was mercifully getting dimmer to where they could see what was ahead of them. When it was gone, the two found a desk with an Angel who looked like he barely slept, sitting behind it in the middle of the light. The desk itself was simple, if not modest, as it was made of oak. On it was piles of books, including one that the Angel was using as a pillow. Behind the Angel was the source of the light - a door that was as humble as the desk, yet around the tiny gaps where the streams of light that moved and flickered about like a candle flame.
When Gallus and Sandbar reached the desk, they saw in detail what kind of creature the sleepy Angel behind the desk was. It was a dragon. One that resembled and was the size of a teenager. Yellow scales with white spikes on his back, both of them were intrigued by how this Angel had two different sets of wings - the left was the leathery kind while the other was made of feathers and above the dragon's head was a halo that silently floated over.
"Uh… hi?" Sandbar began, but the dragon kept softly snoring. "Hello?"
With no response, Gallus frowned. So turning to one of the heavier-looking books, he picked one of them up and, using his wings, flew up a little before letting the book drop. The book hit the desk with a noticeably loud bang.
"Gah!" the dragon jumped from his seat, grabbing his chest. "Okay, I'm up! I'm up!" After taking in a few calming breaths, the dragon rubbed his eyes. "What is it? What do you want?"
"You tell us, we just got here," Gallus replied.
"Huh?" he looked up, "Oh, new arrivals…"
"You okay?" Sandbar asked.
"Sorry, I'm just," the dragon yawned, "I didn't sleep well - or at all for the past couple hundred years. What time is it?" Reaching for a drawer, he pulled out a grandfather clock. "How do you like that? I should have had my coffee break five months ago. Okay," Clearing his throat, he turned to them, "Tell you guys what, I'll get you two all set up, and I can finally get on with my break? Good? Great. Now, where did I - there it is." From a drawer, he pulled out a quill pen. "I'm just gonna ask you two some questions, and then I'll let you in there. Okay?"
They nodded.
Turning a page from his open book, the dragon asked with a dull tone. "Name?"
"Sandbar Oceanvale."
“Gallus of Griffonstone.”
"Uh-huh…" He scribbled a bit. "Age?"
"I'm eighteen." Gallus answered, "Sandbar would be turning eighteen in August."
The dragon hummed, "Birthday?"
"Mine is August 29th." Sandbar said.
"February 18th," Gallus said while adding, "I think."
This raised the dragon's eyebrow, "You think?"
"Coming from someone that doesn't know when I was born, I'm only going off when I was given to the orphanage."
".... I see…" the dragon jotted it down. "Cause of death?"
"The Reaper guy said that I died from a cave-in."
"And I died from my wounds on the operating table."
The dragon shook his head but didn't give any remark. "Orientation in religion or faith?"
"Does New Age count?" Sandbar asked.
"Yeah, sure," the Angel wrote it down. "And you?" He pointed at Gallus.
"Well… none actually, which is partly why I'm surprised I'm here."
"Atheist?" Gallus nodded. "To be fair, the universe as a whole runs on the forces of good and evil. So if you were overall trying to be good, you end up at this desk. If you were bad, well... you get the idea. I'm asking this because depending on what you worship, we'll still give you benefits, as well as meeting up with your gods. I guess that neither of you has much to worry about. But we're getting off-topic." After scribbling down, he further asked: "If given a chance, would either of you want to be reincarnated?"
Sandbar and Gallus looked at one another. "That's an option?" Sandbar asked.
"It's more of a preference thing, like saying someone isn't ready for Heaven yet. However, if you do go for that option, your memory will have to be deleted and start from scratch again. Kinda a big gamble if you ask me. We ask that to give the rest of us an expectation, you see. Just in case if we need to make any accommodations or not."
Both Gallus and Sandbar stood there, silent and uncertain.
The Angel spoke up, "How about I put that under 'Undecided.' That way, it should give you all the time in the cosmos. Anyways…" After writing that, he asked, "Were either of you in a romantic relationship with anyone before coming here?"
"I… yeah." Sandbar nodded. "Was."
Gallus shook his head. For a moment while the dragon wrote down their answers, he remembered his last memory of Silverstream before saving Sandbar. He realized that he didn't so much as say goodbye to her in those last moments he had with her.
"Okay, last question here," the dragon looked up from his book and asked with a straight face, "are either of you virgins?"
This caught them off guard. "Excuse me!?" Sandbar questioned, his cheeks turning pink.
"To put it in plain Equestrian, have either of you ever had a sexual experience with someone else?"
Gallus turned to Sandbar, seeing him shook his head. "Seriously? Never?" Gallus asked, taken aback, "Not with Yona? I thought you guys were really close."
"Yeah, but I didn't exactly… well…" his cheeks turned a darker tone of red. "I didn't feel… r-ready."
"How about you?" the dragon asked Gallus.
Gallus folded his arms and sighed, "No, and not by choice either. I was never given the opportunity."
"In that case, I got some good news for both of you." The dragon informed. "While the only downside is that you'll have to wait until eighteen, there is a program to help out virgins like yourselves have that experience when they weren't able or didn't feel ready when they were alive. From what I've heard, it's a pretty fun experience."
"Um… okay?" Gallus replied with a raised eyebrow.
"One last thing before I set you two loose," The dragon pulled upon another drawer to pull out a folded-up pamphlet. "This thing is gonna be your best friend. This is your map, your idiot's guide to knowing how stuff works, and it points in the direction to the stuff you want to do. And there's a whole bunch of other stuff too that you'll find out." He handed the pamphlet over to them. The cover was a sky-blue background with clouds floating across with the title of "Heaven" on it.
Unfolding it, Gallus looked between it and the dragon, "There's nothing on it."
"Of course there isn't. You're not on the other side of the door yet." Placing a bookmark, he closed the massive tome. "Now, with all of that out of the way, Welcome to Paradise full of eternal peace, blah, blah, blah. Okay, let's get you in so I can have my coffee break."
Getting out of his seat, the dragon waved a claw until a key appeared. Walking over to the door, he unlocked it and turned the knob. "If you have any questions or concerns, just ring up the Angel Customer Service Station, and a poor sucker- I mean, a helpful representative will help ya. Got it? Good?" He pulled open the door, bathing the two souls in its brilliant light, "Welcome to Heaven."
Side by side, Gallus and Sandbar walked around the desk and entered into the light.
As soon as the door was shut behind them, they blinked in the blinding light until they began to see figures moving about. Rubbing their eyes, things around them became unblurred, colors, shapes, sounds, and smells faded in until they were able to see with clarity. When everything came into focus, they blinked once more in confusion.
Neither of them had any idea what to expect from Heaven. But if they didn't know any better, they might have said that they came back to Ponyville. They almost expected this paradise to resemble something like Cloudsdale, yet there they were, standing in the marketplace where the sky was blue, the grass was green, and the buildings at first glance looked similar to home. But at the same time… it almost wasn't. There were statues and stands, shops and houses, trees and lampposts that were more or less in the same places as Ponyville. Yet it wasn't. It was as if every flaw from the cracks in the plastered walls to the crooked cobblestones was corrected. There was something, even in the air, that felt more vibrant than usual. As they circled around, they began to notice that there were buildings that they never saw before or were destroyed long ago. From a shop that sold inventions that they never saw before to an oak tree down the road that had a sign that said "Golden Oaks Library."
Of course, this second, seemingly-perfected Ponyville had its pony residence too, along with other creatures and Angels that went by with their day. Some were doing jobs like carrying mail or selling their goods by the stands. A yellow stallion with a red mane could be seen placing apple pies on a stand while a purple pegasus with a blue mane moved a cloud while humming a tune.
The only thing that was out of place was the gate they came through. It was framed in snow-white marble with columns on each side and capped with an arch with a large chunk of gold as a keystone. This gate stood out from the rest of the town as it looked like it was part of a temple, yet it stood alone. But what was unique about it was the bright light that illuminated from it. Sandbar and Gallus came through it, but the light was as solid as a wall when they touched it.
Even though the gate was open, they could not go back.
A fact that took both of them several minutes to let their situation genuinely sink in.
"So…" Gallus finally said. "We're in Heaven."
"Yep." Sandbar replied matter of factly.
After looking this way and that, Gallus wondered aloud, "Now what?"
"I don't know. Should we ask for something?"
A ringing sound caught their attention, and both of them looked over to the pamphlet that Gallus was holding. Curious, he unfolded it. "There are words here."
"What does it say?"
"It's kinda vague. 'Ask, and ye shall receive.' What do you think that means?"
"Maybe if we ask aloud for something, we'll get it."
"Hey, the words are changing."
"It is? What does it say now?" Sandbar looked over his friend's shoulder and read aloud: "'Yep, pretty much.' Huh…" After looking around again, a thought came to him, "I'm gonna try something."
"What?"
"I guess something small to start with? You know, to see how this works." Clearing his throat, he asked aloud, "Can I uh… get a chocolate peanut butter milkshake? That has whipped cream, chopped peanuts, edible gold flakes, and a candied cherry on top… please?"
Their ears perked up when down the road, there was the unmistakable sound of a bell that followed by a mare pulling an ice cream cart. She pulled up in front of them. "Excuse me, you're Sandbar, right?"
"Uh… yeah?"
"I got an order for a milkshake, so let me get it out." Unhitching herself, the mare trotted to the back of her cart and opened a door that both Sandbar and Gallus saw a blizzard pouring out. "Here it is!" She stepped back, pulling out a tall glass of the very milkshake Sandbar had described; cherry, golden-flakes, and all. "Would you want spoons and straws with this?"
".... Sure." Sandbar was handed the milkshake in which the mare placed a couple of long spoons and bendy straws.
Hitching herself back to the cart, the mare waved at them, "Have a nice day!" and trotted away.
Blinking, Sandbar placed the milkshake down and used one of the straws to sip it up. His eyes widened, "Holy-" he covered his mouth.
"What? Is something wrong with it?"
Sandbar shook his head, "Taste it."
"Why?"
"Just taste it."
Curious, Gallus took the other straw to his beak and sucked up a little bit of the ice cream. "That's… actually really good."
"That's the best milkshake I've ever had." Sandbar commented, proceeding to consume the dessert. "Ask for something."
"Like what?"
"I don't know… maybe a cake or whatever. Do you have a favorite?"
Gallus folded his arms, "Well, I do remember this one time that Professor Pinkie brought in this cake for… some reason. I kinda wish I had more of it. It was an ice cream cake with cookies and cream, while the cake itself was dark chocolate and covered all over with vanilla frosting. I wonder if this place could make that?"
"Oh hey!" the ice cream mare came back to them, "I'm so sorry, I knew I forgot something." Quickly unhitching herself, she went around the wagon and pulled out the cake that Gallus recalled not too long ago. "Usually, I'm not this careless, and I'm always on top of stuff like this."
"No… problem…" Gallus took hold of the cake in his paws.
"Next time, I'll be sure not to forget your order. Bye!" Once again, she walked away with the ice cream wagon in tow.
"Hm… Could have at least given us a knife." He muttered.
"Free knives! Get your free knives!" A vendor called out from one of the stalls, "Perfect to cut your ice cream cake with!"
"This place is full of coincidences." Sandbar remarked.
"It's like we're given all the good luck." Gallus walked over to the stall which he was handed a knife. After spending a moment cutting a small slice to extract from the cake, he took a good look at it. "This even looks like what Pinkie made." He took a bite. His eyes widened in amazement, and he looked in disbelief at the cake. "Dude! It tastes just like it!"
For the next minute, Gallus devoured the cake like a starved animal that captured its first meal in weeks. Sandbar merely shrugged and tended to his milkshake.
"Ya know, as pretty as this place is," Gallus pointed out, "I realize that we're homeless at the moment."
By the time Gallus had said this, he and Sandbar had looked around this alternative Ponyville. As similar as it was, a few landmarks were missing - mainly the Academy along with Twilight's crystal castle. There were the familiar shops, the town hall, and the cafes that they knew in life, yet when it came to looking for a place to stay when they had nothing… it dawned on them that they had no place to sleep for the night.
And when Gallus made this remark, they wandered about on the same land where the school should be, yet all they found was nothing but grass, some rocky hills, and a stream that ran through it.
Sandbar sat on his hunches, "What do you think we should do? We just got here, and as far as I'm aware, we don't have any money… Does Heaven have money?"
Gallus shrugged. "Don't know… but it's getting dark soon. I wonder if there's some way to find a place to stay." A moment later, the pamphlet that he was carrying around started to ring. Opening it up, and Gallus tilted his head. "Talk about convenient. Hey Sandbar, take a look at this."
Sandbar moved behind his friend to look over his shoulder. The pamphlet now showed rows of houses from the traditional cottage to a few modern creations. Each house had a little arrow pointing down at them, all of them saying the same thing: "Touch Me."
"Mind if I try something?" Sandbar asked, and he reached a hoof towards one of the houses. As soon as he did, they were taken aback that a cubist two-story house suddenly appeared on the field. "Where did that come from?"
Gallus looked between the open pamphlet and the suddenly materialized house. Curious, he picked another place at random, and instantly the house was replaced with a stone castle - drawbridge and all. Blinking, he chose a hut that reminded him of the ones in Griffonstone, and lo and behold, it appeared.
"I think this thing is giving us a place to live," Gallus said, "and by the looks of it, we got a lot to choose from."
"Let me see." Sandbar took the pamphlet in his hooves. "So how about… this one?" Upon tapping on the paper, a beach house materialized, complete with sand, black shingles, and light blue walls with a white door.
"I prefer not to get sand in every orifice, so how about…" Gallus ran his talon across the folded-up pages. "What about this one?" Upon tapping it, a palace with golden onion domes, purple tiles, and a few guards stood at the gate. The building looked like it would be the setting for 1,001 Saddle Arabian Nights.
"I don't like it," Sandbar shook his head.
"Why? What's wrong with it?"
"It looks so… gaudy."
"Well, forgive me if the idea of living in a hut is something I find unappealing." Gallus deadpanned.
Sandbar put a hoof under his chin in thought. "What about something that we could compromise?"
"Like what?"
"Maybe…" Sandbar looked through the options until one caught his eye. "This one."
With a tap, a new structure took its place. It resembled an ancient oak tree in its form and color, yet it was made out of crystal. Beside the front door were twin staircases that lead up to the branches with its shining leaves that glittered in the sunset. Like a real tree, the upper branches sway gently in the breeze, yet there were balconies, windows, and an observatory at the top. It appeared both as a natural treehouse and yet an artificial place to live in.
"That…" Gallus walked towards it, "doesn't it kinda remind you of the clubhouse at the Castle of the Two Sisters? It's like that only more-"
"Natural?" Sandbar nodded, "I like it."
Gallus flew over to the front door, "Let's go see what's inside!" Flinging the door open, the griffon stepped in. "Holy crap! Sandbar, get in here!"
Sandbar galloped in, he had no idea what to expect, but he was taken aback by how massive it was inside. As soon as he walked in, a swimming pool resembled the watering hole that he and his friend used to go to on hot days. If anything, the interior was almost like being outside in a forest, but there were plenty inside aspects as well. The hallway was covered with various paintings that showed Gallus or Sandbar at multiple aspects of their lives, including some with their friends. The various hallways led to other rooms, but a grand staircase went up two more floors. Finally, the smell was like a fresh minty smell that reminded Sandbar of the forests back at home.
With his hooves clopping against the warm red rug, Sandbar walked inside as he and Gallus looked around in awe. Turning to each other, they grinned and decided without speaking to check the place out. After all, if this was their new home for eternity, they might as well spend time looking at it.
The first thing they did was look through what was behind these near countless doors that all seemed to be bigger on the inside than on the outside. One door opened to a gym, another to an arcade room, a theater room, an aquarium, a bowling alley, a library that had comic books, an armory complete with suits of armor from around the world, a sauna, a stage, a carnival including a rollercoaster, and more. It was as if an eccentric kid designed the house - not that either of them minded.
Eventually, Sandbar opened a door that showed a bathroom. It had a walk-in shower where water would fall like rain, a tub that was more like a bubbling hot spring, a sink, and something else that caught the pony's eye - a toilet.
"Hey, what's this one?" Gallus popped his head in. "This is nice!"
"Hang on a minute," Sandbar pointed at the toilet, "you see that, right?"
"Yeah? So?"
"Don't you think it's a little odd to have that around?"
Gallus blinked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, we've been in Heaven for hours, and never once did I ever feel like using that. I mean… does anyone here need a toilet?"
"I…" Gallus paused for a moment, "Now that I think of it, I never felt the need to go ever since we uh… died. But if there's a toilet here, does that mean…?"
"Don't know," Sandbar walked in and put a hoof to the door, "I guess there's one way to find out." With that, he shut the door.
"Gross," Gallus rolled his eyes. "I'm just gonna keep looking around."
After going through a few more doors, eventually, he found one of the rooms that he was more curious about - the kitchen. Or at least, he found an area that combined the kitchen and dining room. All around the walls were the cabinets, drawers, fridge, freezer, stove, and pantry. But in the center was a table with six chairs but could easily fit several times that amount. On the table was a grassy-green tablecloth with fine white china, silverware, carved crystal glasses, and a centerpiece that resembled a garden with branches that held out thin candles.
But the table wasn't what Gallus was after.
Opening the drawers and cabinets, he searched until he found the pantry. His jaw dropped what he saw. It was the size of a small bedroom, and all around, there were shelves upon shelves of every kind of food that could be put into jars, smoked, boxed, and bagged - and some with stuff he had never seen before. But there were jars of pasta, smoked sausages, cookies, chips, jams, rare candied fruits, and chocolate. He then went to the fridge, where he found cheeses that would cost a goldmine, a row of fruits and vegetables that looked like they were just picked and cleaned, and various meats all nicely cut up in various sizes. The freezer even had ice cream just made from scratch. Then turning to a cabinet, he found enough bread and pastries to open a bakery.
"Well, at least I know where the goodies are," Gallus smirked as he continued to open more drawers and cabinets.
Then between the sink and the oven, and just underneath a wooden chopping board, he found a row of knives—dozens of blades for different uses. Before Gallus moved on, a thought came to him. His claw grabbed hold of a heavy chef's knife and looked at his reflection in it.
"I wonder…" he muttered. Eyeing the cutting board, he placed his left claw on it. 'I know this is Heaven, but… what happens if you're chopping veggies away and you accidentally slip?' So he thought he should try something small at first. Carefully guiding the tip of the blade to one of his fingers, Gallus hesitated for a moment and tried to give himself a very shallow cut. What resulted was something… odd. Not that he couldn't feel the blade, but it didn't hurt. If anything, when he pulled away to look at his talon, he didn't see anything. So placing his claw back on again, he steadied himself with his right claw, lifted it high, took a deep breath to brace himself, and brought it down on his wrist.
Again, he felt the knife that made contact with his bones, but it didn't hurt. Even more shocking was the fact that that there was no blood or searing pain. So when he pulled away, he watched the wound pull itself back together again like a thread pulling two pieces of fabric to one. Even the scar sealed up to make it look like nothing had happened.
"So in Heaven, I have regeneration powers… neat!" Looking around with a smirk, he asked aloud, "Now I wonder where the skewers are?"
For several minutes, Gallus went around the kitchen, trying to stab himself with whatever pointy thing he could find. He jabbed a fork into his neck, a steak knife in his arm, a corkscrew to his heart, a spork into his flank. Whatever that Gallus could find that was sharp, he stuck it into his body - and he felt no pain. If anything, without the feeling of his nerves were in agony, it kinda tickled when those pieces of metal scraped his bones to the point that he was giggling.
"So it turns out we can go to the bathroom," Sandbar said as he walked through the door, "but all that came out was - WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Dude! This is incredible!" Gallus exclaimed with a good chunk of kitchen tools being in him. "It doesn't even hurt! I'm like a living pincushion. Watch!" He then grabbed a steak knife and jabbed it in his belly. "See, I'm not even screaming!"
Sandbar blinked. "Woah… With all of this stuff sticking out, you look like a hedgehog." He chuckled, "Stab yourself anymore, and I think I should call you Gallus the Hedgehog- Hey!" Gallus took out the chief's knife and stabbed him in the chest. "Huh… you're right, it doesn't hurt."
"That joke was terrible, and you should feel terrible."
"Yeah, but I got a big knife in my chest." Sandbar blinked. A moment later, he stumbled back dramatically. "Oh, ech! Et Tu, Gallus?" He fell backward on the floor, convulsing his legs this way and that. "Oh, what a world, what a world," then he went limp, "eh…" and let his tongue out to the side.
"Oh, brother," Gallus rolled his eyes, pulling a skewer out from his hindleg. "C'mon dude, I want to see the rest of the house."
"Can't. I'm trying to be dead."
"You're already dead. We're already dead."
"Well, I wanna be… deader."
"That makes no sense!"
"So does having a house that's bigger on the-" Sandbar was cut off by the sound of a doorbell. "Who can be here?"
"You didn't ask for anything, did you?" Gallus asked, pulling his friend up off the floor.
"No, and I take you didn't either?" Gallus shook his head.
Curious who could be at their newly made home, the two of them, without so much as taking out the kitchenware still stabbed in them, went to the front door. Sandbar was the first to reach the knob and turn it, and after pulling it open, there was a mare that neither of them recognized. She looked to be in her thirties, a deep pink mane tied back in a bun, copper framed glasses in front of light artic blue eyes, and a coat of spring green.
"Uh… hi?" Sandbar greeted, but the mare's jaw dropped, partly in shock and partly in amazement. At first, Sandbar thought it was from the big knife sticking out of his withers. "Oh! I forgot that was there!" He pulled it out in which the wound healed. "Sorry about that, we were fooling around and-"
"Sandbar!" the mare unexpectedly dragged him into a bone-popping hug, "I've missed you so much! It's so good to see you finally!" Despite being dead, Sandbar fascinatingly found it hard to breathe. His forelegs waved about for air. "Oh! Sorry," the mare let go of him, "I forgot that I'm stronger than you remembered."
"Yeah," Sandbar heaved, "who… are you again?"
For a brief moment, the mare had a hurt expression in her eyes, "You mean you don't - Oh!" She suddenly realized, "That's right, you don't remember me being like this. Some days I wonder if I left my head somewhere else if it wasn't screwed on. Hold on a second…" Before their eyes, the mare closed her eyes, and they saw wrinkles forming on her face, her coat fade, her mane grew ever-increasing strands of gray. In a matter of seconds, they watched this mare aged into her forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, and then she stopped to open her eyes. "Ring any bells?" She asked in a shaky voice.
Gallus saw in Sandbar something he hadn't seen him do in years - the stallion's eyes watered up, threatened to burst. "G-Grandma!" Sandbar hugged her back, letting the tears trail down his face. "I thought I would never see you again!"
"There there," Sandbar's grandmother patted him on the back, "I'm here now. It's all right."
"Wait, how did you find us?" Gallus asked, "In fact, how did you know we're here?"
"It's a policy in Heaven, you see," she explained, while stroking her grandson's back, "you know how they asked your names earlier? It makes it easier for relatives on this side of the veil to be reunited so they wouldn't be alone." Pulling Sandbar away, she wiped the tears from his eyes, "So young… but we have plenty to catch up on."
"Excuse me, ma'am," Gallus inquired, "I get you're his grandma and all, but what's your name?"
"Spring River, and you?"
"Gallus, I'm his friend and was with him when we… you know."
"Dear, just say it, we're dead. There's nothing taboo about it, kinda pointless to be at this point." Pulling away from her grandson, she added, "Besides, we have much to catch up on with the rest of the family."
"The rest?" Sandbar sniffed, "You mean...?"
"Those slowpokes should be here by now. We would have met you earlier, but your passing was so unexpected. The rest of the family ought to be if only they - ah! There they are!"
Looking out into the twilight sky, they spot a flock of ponies heading their way. Touching down before the stream and folding their wings, one of them called out, "Spring, I thought we were gonna greet 'em together."
"Well, forgive me if I happen to miss my grandson."
"Who was tha-" Sandbar asked but was quickly answered.
"That's your grandfather. I don't think you know him. He passed away when you were just a baby. Everyone else is your uncles, aunts, a few cousins, and even some of your ancestors."
Gallus hummed as he pulled a few more knives out of him, "Hey, since we're all here, why don't we have an impromptu party?"
"Now?" Sandbar inquired.
"Why not? We got a new house with pretty much everything, a good chunk of your family's here, plus we still haven't explored the rest of the house." He poked his head out, "Hey! You guys gonna stand there or what? Let's party!"
Gallus barely made it out of the way from the stampede of ancestors that came in.
It wouldn't be until dawn that the ancestors finally decided to go home. They ate, played games, rode the rides, swam, and told stories of their lives throughout the night. Gallus was impressed by how fascinating Sandbar's family was. He didn't know that Comment, Sandbar's great-great-great-grand uncle, was a monster hunter in the Everfree Forest who once battled with a hydra. Or Grace, his friend's great-grandaunt, pioneered civil rights for non-ponies in Equestria, including griffons. Even his friend's second cousin twenty-fifth times removed, Peanut, was interesting, dying in an experiment involving a combination of cherry trees, crystals, gunpowder, and a hill of salt.
There were plenty of things that the two of them were surprised to find out. They were taken aback that a good chunk of Sandbar's ancestors were married to more than one pony. Spring had taken them aside to explained that in Heaven, it was considered okay to be in a relationship with more than one spouse. Given how some of them had married more than once when they were alive, it made sense. There was also the interesting fact that you could marry a different creature in Heaven, provided you did love each other and your other spouses gave their permission. Polyamory was prevalent in the afterlife. However, only in Heaven could you marry and love one another. In Hell - as they were told - everyone was a demon's bitch.
Yet, as the night went on, something about this gathering didn't suit well for Gallus. Not that these were terrible ponies (they were in Heaven after all). But from what Sandbar's grandma had mentioned about finding them… Gallus wondered where his family was.
"Sandbar, you make sure you come around to visit." Spring told her grandson, "I'll be happy to give you the grand tour of this Equestria while making a plate of cookies with your name on it."
"Thanks a lot, grandma!" Sandbar smiled, "I think we'll come by later today." After saying their farewells, Sandbar closed the front door. "You know Gallus, I never knew that the afterlife could be this wild! Especially with the family I never knew I had."
"Tell me about it." Gallus nodded, "I guess that since we've kicked the bucket off a cliff, maybe we could see if we could find anyone famous up here?"
"Yeah, that's right! Everyone that's in our history books or old movies and such might be here. Maybe we might run into all sorts of dead guys - Beethooven, Da Vinci, Dawn Lemon, the Wright Brothers… I wonder if they're in Heaven or not."
"Speaking of which," Gallus said, looking out of a window. "Did you notice that it was all your family that came to see us?"
"Well yeah," Sandbar tilted his head. "Why'd you ask?"
"I guess," rubbing the back of his neck, Gallus told him, "I was wondering something. If your family's in Heaven, where are mine? I didn't think about it for a while, but since last night… Where do you think they could be? This place is probably bigger than the world we knew so..."
"I see…" Sandbar looked around, "where did that brochure thing go?"
His question was answered by a ring that was coming from a drawer that was under a mirror. After pulling it out and unfolding it, the pamphlet showed a simple instruction manual on how to get in contact with the Angel Customer Service Station. "It just said to touch a mirror where some numbers would show up," Sandbar told him, "press 4-1-1, and it would get an Angel to help with whatever questions we have."
"I guess it's worth a try. Let's do it," Gallus said as he and Sandbar walked over to a nearby oval mirror. Putting his paw on the glass, he watched as it glowed a golden aura before a set of numbers appeared.
Gallus pressed the proper number combo that Sandbar told him about, each press letting out a small beeping noise. The numbers washed away, and a few minutes later, the mirror went static for a second before a female Griffin Angel appeared, using a nail file on her claw. She was in some cubicle with papers around and looked bored out of her mind. "Thank you for calling Angel Customer Service Station. My name is Glinda. What do you want?" She asked in a dull tone.
Raising an eyebrow at the remark, Gallus just pushed his annoyance aside and spoke, "Um hi, my name is Gallus. I recently died, and I was wondering if my parents were also dead or if they were still back on Equis."
"Last name?" Glinda asked, taking out a book from her desk.
"I uh... don't have one," Gallus said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was orphaned… that's why I want to know..."
"Uh-huh," Glinda said, without looking up. "Hang on, let's see what I can dig up." She tossed the nail file away and started flipping through the book for a few minutes.
Gallus and Sandbar just stood there patiently as they waited for some kind of response. He did his best to hide it well, but Gallus could feel his heart beating from anxiety. All his life, he just wondered about his origins, and now he was going to learn about them at last. Since his parents weren't here with Sandbar's family, considering they had all got notified, it probably meant that they were still alive. Even if that was true, just knowing even a bit about them would be enough.
"Well, congratulations. Your last name is Skyflight," Glinda said, which made Gallus blink.
"Gallus Skyflight… not of a bad name," Gallus said, letting roll off the tip of his tongue. "Yeah, I can dig that."
"I like it," Sandbar said, smiling. "Sounds cool."
"And my parents?" Gallus asked eagerly.
"Victor Skyflight and Ginny Skyflight died about thirteen years ago. Father died from a blade to the heart, and an arrow to the face and chest caused your mother's death," Glinda said.
"Wait… thirteen years ago?" Gallus was stunned. He was still alive back then? Where were his parents all this time? "Hang on, a blade to the heart? Arrows?!" Gallus pressed against the mirror with his talons. "Were they… were they murdered?!"
"Well, I don't know if being killed by Griffin Rangers for crimes of theft, murder, and outlaw-related violence counts as murder, but if you want to call it that, sure," Glinda responded with a shrug.
For the first time since Gallus found out he was dead, he felt a dark and sinking pit of horror in his stomach. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped slightly as the revelation echoed in his head. "O-Outlaws?"
"Oh yeah. Both your parents were wanted in several Griffin providences for running with some outlaw gang," Glinda responded, not even bothering to act sympathetic at all as she read a few pages. "Says here they gave birth to you and left you in some town they were passing by. A few years later, the Griffin Rangers caught the bandit group they were a part of and killed them all when they resisted arrest."
Gallus slowly backed away as he silently lowered his head. Sandbar looked at his friend with horror upon hearing this. It was bad enough to learn your parents were also dead but were criminals? Not to mention that they abandoned Gallus without a care? Heaven suddenly wasn't all bright and shining anymore. Turning to the mirror with some vain hope, Sandbar asked, "Are they in Heaven?"
That caused the Angel to snort. "Yeah, right! Those two are in the pits of Hell, kid. Rotting there with the other criminals. Let's see…"
"What happened to them?" Gallus asked, trying as hard as he could to hold it together.
"Hold on, I know that's somewhere… Here it is. Apparently, they both got the same punishment. Since they went around without a heart, they have been given a shared sentence of reliving the lives of everyone they've ever robbed, killed, exploited, and - especially in your case - abandoned. Nasty stuff if you ask me." She then closed the book and asked, "So anything else?"
Gallus didn't say anything. He just kept his head down with his feathers hiding his expression while Sandbar walked over to touch his friend on the shoulder. Only for Gallus to just walk away without saying anything. Taking this as her cue, Glinda ended the call, and the mirror turned back into a regular mirror as Sandbar quickly followed his best friend.
"Hey, Gallus?"
"I'm fine."
"But, your parents-"
"It's fine."
"No, it's not!" Sandbar went around to face him. "This is not fine."
Gallus looked at him, his eyes holding back the explosive anger, the horror, and the deep sadness of the truth he's learned. "Sand," Gallus said sternly, "I know you want to help. And before you say anything, don't. I'm not in the mood to listen right now. Because right now, nothing is fine, and I need time away before I could listen to whatever you're gonna say. So I'm going to ask you this once, and as nicely as I can without screaming: please, let, me, be."
Gallus walked around Sandbar and walked out of the front door before slamming it. Sandbar went over to a window to watch his friend fly up to a nearby cloud. There were a million thoughts that the stallion had pondered all at once. Despite Heaven being a paradise, it now was a lonely place. Sandbar looked up to the cloud, imagining what his friend must be feeling right now. It was a situation that was enough to make him cry, make him want to do something, say something to ease the pain that Gallus was going through. It pained him that for the second time in his friend's life, he was alone again.
Up in the cloud, Gallus curled up and sobbed softly.
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Damn. Poor Gallus. Hope he has at least one ancestor that wasn't a pile of mule droppings. I rather like your depiction of Heaven, though the waiting room gave me some serious Beetlejuice vibes
.
10781669
Probably was based off of Beetlejuice.
That was quite the chapter. I seriously didn't expect to get emotional at times great job! Really hope the Changeling that Gallus and Sandbar met made it, I liked him. It's a real bummer about Gallus' parents, hopefully there is a family member in Heaven that he can talk to. Looking forward to what's next!
There is actually one thing though.....
What the heck did that guy do?
10781803
She*
10782340
Oh, thanks.
10782397
You're welcome mate
10782340
The changeling and the hippogriff are two different characters. The hippogriff is a he.
10782711
i was referring to the changeling and my comment had nothing to do with the hippogriff.
10781803
Ya know, while the Changeling and the Hippogriff weren't our main focus (be it on Sandbar and Gallus) it does leave up to the imagination of what became of them. In a way, this was done on purpose throughout this story. Yet, if you like, I could toss my hat into the ring. Although, keep in mind, even though I'm the author, don't necessarily take my word as cannon.
In my head, the Changeling, although nervous and worried, did get into Heaven. But I confess, I don't know what she ends up doing with her afterlife.
As to the hippogriff that was sent to Hell, for some reason, I could see that in life, he was one of the Hippogriff nobility. Someone who cared about the kingdom so much that he had planned to build up a navy to try to conquer the world. But before he could do that, I can see him advocating for isolationist policies for the kingdom, but the Queen rejected it outright. So in bitterness, he used his anger and hatred to gather up an army - probably to try to overthrow the Queen, launch his navy, and use that momentous hatred to commit genocides. Fortunately, he had died before he could do anything about it. All that time, he claims that he didn't do anything wrong, and placed the blame squarely on the Storm King.
At least, that's what I think had happened. But still, don't think this is set in stone. I'd like to see how others would look at this and interpreted how certain things played out.
10783219
Thank you
so living people are ghosts from the perspective of the afterlife, neat
so if a hippogriff was hippogriffed again?
in this economy!
so there's an entire agricultural and industrial economy functioning in this afterlife? though i guess Guto's presence would mean that it doesn't have to be contained entirely in this purgatory-like space
love that this is how it works
hehe of course!
so true actually
aww love the ice cream mare with her wagon hitched to herself
the School of Friendship doesn't exist in heaven? what did they mean by this
that is a very good point actually. i would not mind not needing to!
this seems almost expected somehow
and oof. you sure found a way to make literal heaven painful for Gallus
This house sounds like the TARDIS
Da Vinci and the Wright Brothers didn't need ponifying apparently, but Beethoven and John Lennon- DAWN LEMON