A lone pony opens his eyes and finds himself lying in the middle of an empty parking lot of a bar that seems to be sitting in the middle of nowhere. He looks around as he slowly gets to his hooves, stumbling around before gaining his footing. He looks around, seeing that the place he was in was rather…misty and dark. Only the shine of a large pale moon casts any light. However, the bar in question slowly starts to lure in the stallion, his hooves moving on their own as he gets closer and closer before pushing the door open.

As he pushes the door open, he is greeted by a rather old-timey-looking bar that seems to make him think of the old school city noir style bars he had read in his books that he enjoyed reading. There was a jukebox playing some rather old fashioned swing music in the background and the furnishing was a monochromatic mixture of black and white with toxic green lighting all around and under the bar.

A few other ponies were sitting around that seemed to be nursing on their drinks, contemplating and reflecting hard it seemed. On what? Who knew? What was strange was that the whole bar was actually rather quiet. Only a throat clear here or there, but that was it other than the music. Soon enough, the pony’s eyes fell upon the figure behind the bar. A tall man dressed in a black silk suit and tie with a long coat accompanied by a rather tall tophat. His green glowing eyes gazed at the stranger as he tipped his hat with a free hand to the stranger.

“Welcome to The Crossroads, friend. What will you have before passing on to your next destination?” the man asked as he picked up a glass before he began to idly clean it with a rag. The pony tilted his head before responding “W-What happened to me…? I was crossing the street on my way to work when all the sudden, I woke up here. And that is the last thing I remember.” he said as he placed a hand to his head, trying to remember anything else.

“Well, I am afraid that is the last time you will be crossing that street. You are unfortunately dead my friend. And if you have ended up here, it means that you were also a follower of the Voodoo king. Now, what’ll you have?” he spoke as he saw the shock on the pony’s face about the news of his sudden death. “He stumbles over to a barstool before sitting down with a sigh, burying his face into his hands “How….did it happen? And I will take just a cup of Apple Daniel’s, easy on the ice please.”

Kalfu nodded before reaching behind him on the shelf and pulling off a bottle of Apple Daniel’s before grabbing a small block of ice from the freezer that fits in the palm of his hand. He took a chisel to it before breaking the rather high quality ice up into smaller chunks dropping them into the glass cup before pouring the beverage into the glass “One of the taxi carts lost control and plowed right into you as it rounded the corner. It hit you center mass, death on impact.” he said before sliding the completed drink over to the pony who gazed down into the liquid with another sigh.

“So, what happens to me next?” he asked before taking a sip of his drink. Kalfu nodded before picking up another empty glass and began cleaning it idly as he spoke “Well, I go over your life with you before sending you on your way. You are free to deny this however and simply finish your drink whenever and then be on your way. Or even just reflect on your own in silence as you can see a few doing now at the tables. You can stay as long as you want to of course. But passing souls never really stay for long, be it heading to paradise or damnation. So, which will it be for you, friend?” he asked as the music was the only thing heard in the background for a few minutes.

The stallion tilted his glass a bit, watching the contents swirl around a bit before answering “Tell what I was like. I mostly know that I lived on autopilot for the last few years of my life…”. Kalfu simply nodded before pulling out a large book from under the bar top and flipping a few pages “Ah, here we are. One Mister Paper Pusher. You grew up in a loving home with a mother and father who did their best to give you everything you needed and sometimes wanted when they could. You had a rebellious streak as you grew older, but that is fine, nearly every child goes through such a thing.”.

He ran his finger along the words before continuing to read “You did the best you could, which is all one can ask for. You committed no real crimes of note. Nothing that would warrant serious punishment anyway. And the wrongs that you did, you most certainly made an effort or did make up or apologize with sincerity. You were also quite helpful whenever you could be. Even giving what little monetary assets you had to a homeless stallion even though payday was many days away on several occasions. Not because it was a good deed. But because in your heart you knew you’d be doing a good thing for someone. You did have your moments of rage though, like when your co-worker stole your ideas and presented them to your boss as his own, stealing several promotions out from under you. You wanted too badly to put your hands on him, even end his life.”.

The stallion’s ears pinned to the back of his head as Kalfu began to read off the shameful acts of his life at this point “You also chose to try and steal the affection of your neighbor's wife. While yes, she is very, very attractive, it is very unneighbourly of you to try and win the heart of a married mare, especially if she doesn’t wish to leave the stallion she is in love with. Lucky for you, you understood what you were doing was wrong before anyone was caused grievous emotional pain. Good on you, friend. Not many have the willpower to stop there.”.

He then closes the book and places it back under his bar after going over a few more things before speaking “All in all, you lived a rather balanced life. You weren’t cruel and conniving, but you weren’t overly generous with, which is fine. You did give what you were able to give and helped when you were able to help. Therefore, you have earned the right to travel to paradise from here. A new world of no pain and no suffering awaits you, my friend. A land where you can be happy for eternity and no longer have to worry about the cruel reality of the mortal world.” he said as he gestured to the white and gold door on the right side end of the bar.

The stallion looked down into his glass before looking back up at Kalfu “You said I could finish my drink before leaving right..?” he asked as he looked like he wasn’t quite ready to pass on fully just yet.

Kalfu nodded in response “Tale all the time you need. If you wish to reflect on things while you enjoy your drink, please move to one of the booths. The bar stools are for those who are simply coming and leaving right after their drinks.” he said as he held up his other hand to the wall of comfortable looking booths. The stallion nodded before standing up with his drink in hand and going to find himself a seat before placing his drink down and reflecting on his life.

A little while later, the door of the bar swung open again the reveal a rather opulently dressed mare. She had on all kinds of jewelry and expensive designer clothing. Kalfu tipped his hat to the mare as she sauntered over to the bar and made herself comfortable upon the chosen stool she wished to sit on. “Welcome to The Crossroads, Madam. What will you have?” he asked as he placed the glass down onto the countertop that he had been cleaning.

“A french seventy -five. And make it snappy. I have a daughter to get to when I am finished here.” she said in the most snappy and stuck up manner ever heard. Kalfu arched a brow before getting to work on the drink. “You mean, the daughter that is still very much alive safe and sound?” he asked as he was in the middle of the drink at this point, the mare looking over at him as she slowly turned her head to face him fully. “What do you mean…? We were both trapped in the house that I-..I mean was set ablaze by the robber who broke in and tried to steal things from us.” she said as she tried her best to make sure her story was straight. However, Kalfu already knew the truth.

Once he slid the drink towards her, he simply maintained eye contact with the mare. “I mean, when you are greedy enough to set your home on fire WITH your daughter in it to collect that fat life insurance policy, it is easy to get distracted and end up burning alive yourself. Now isn’t it?” he asked before lifting up the book from under the bar and dropping it on the bar top. “Let’s see here….ah yes. One Miss Sensual Velvet. Became a follower of the Voodoo king for all the wrong reasons I see.” he said in his usual emotionless tone. No matter how good or how bad someone was, he remained calm and professional in this place. It was the last courtesy they were ever going to get anyway if they were heading to damnation after all.

“I see here that you grew up with money. Lived a lavish lifestyle due to your father and mother, who were wonderful ponies by the way. Who tried to raise you up to be a fine young mare. But you decided that you wanted everything to be all about you. You lied, connived, and cheated to get what you wanted in life. Even to your own parents who you murdered to inherit their money early.” he said as he continued to look through the book. The mare simply lifted her nose up at Kalfu before sipping on her drink “Hmmph~. I simply laid claim to what was already mine a few years earlier than planned is all. Not like they were using it anyways.”.

“So no remorse for the two lives who raised you and loved you unconditionally and gave you everything you could ever wanted? Understood. Now, let's move on to the father of your daughter. A stallion who loves his little girl with all his heart that YOU took from him simply because you wanted to divorce him so you could take half of his assets. A stallion that genuinely thought he had found the mare of his dreams..who he had brought flowers to you every day. Lavishing and expensive gifts. Or even small gestures such as a romantic meal cooked all on his own or just wanting to spend time with his wife after a long day at work. But, it seems that as the years passed, you grew upset because he wouldn’t hand over his bank account to you You see, there is a term for folks like you, madam. They are ‘gold diggers’ And it seems that your greed has finally caught up to you.” he said before closing up his book and turning his gaze back up to see a fuming mare who was gripping that abr top as hard as she could.

“And with your death, not only will your daughter be reunited with her loving father, the parent who will make sure she is loved and raised properly. But every single bit that you have accumulated with be given to her when she is of proper age. So no, you will NOT be seeing your daughter. In fact, you won’t ever be seeing her when she does pass the mortal realm and into this place. Once you finish that drink, you will be heading to damnation. To be tormented eternally for your crimes again your fellow ponies. Because not only did you attempt to murder your daughter. But, with all that wealth you got, you didn’t even think to give a little bit of it to anyone in need-...” he was then cut off by the mare who started screaming at him, her face red with anger and rage.

“And why should Zi give anything to anyone?! The money I acquired was rightfully mine to spend how I please! I grew up living a high life, so I should be able to live that way until the day I die! So that’s what I did. And I made it happen any way I could! Fuck everyone else and their wants or needs! It's all about me, me, me, me me, me, ME! I deserve nothing but the best! And I deserve paradise! So, you will be a good boy and direct me where that is!” she shouted at him before calming down and sipping her drink once more.

Kalfu went quiet for a moment before simply shaking his head “I am afraid…paradise isn’t a fit place for folks like you, madam. Now, if you’d like to take time to reflect on your life, please move aside to one of the booths and-...” he was cut off by the sudden splash of drink in his face. He simply sighed and wiped his face clean of the beverage before nodding “...As you wish.” he simply said before slamming his hand on a red button that was next to him behind the bar. In the middle of the room, a large metal trap door opened up which was covered by the black carpet. The mare looked at him with a face of regret before the barstool jerked back and flung her toward the opening that had the cries of the damned and sinful wailing from within.

She did her best to grab onto the edge of the flooring, holding on for as long as she could as she struggled and cried out to Kalfu who was now standing above her with his feet just in front of her hands “No! Nonononono! Please my lord! I am sorry for what I did! Please don’t send me to this place! I don’t deserve this kind of treatment for eternity! Please!!!” she cried out as she did her best to try and pull herself back up. Kalfu simply shook his head before giving her the two finger salute “Oh no, you had your chance to reflect, madam. Now, off you go.” he said before placing a foot on her fingers and began pressing down on them till her grip was loosened and leaned down “By the way…your daughter is going to be a fine mare when she grows up. And will learn to take others into consideration like you. I hope that knowledge comforts you...in your eternal torment. Now then, toodles.” he said before letting her fall into the void of darkness before the trap door slammed shut and headed back around to the bar.

So then, when one finally passes on from the mortal world and is a follower of the Voodoo King, this is their next to last destination. And you better hope your life was well balanced or at least your genuine goodness outweighed your evilness. Because you just may end up like the cruel mare and the others like her in the forever torment of damnation. Welcome to The Crossroads. What will you have?

Author's Note

And here is a look into what awaits those in the afterlife when they die if they follow the Voodoo King. Enjoy~.

May the darkness grant you peace.