Ebony woke to the soft beeping of his alarm clock, sunlight having already crept up the windowsill. His claws uncurled slowly, having been balled into fists most of the night, likely due to his quickly-fading dreams....

A few deep breaths later, and the griffin slid out of bed. It didn't take long to make himself semi-presentable, to which a brief shower fixed.

Of course, fixing one's feathers usually took as long as the shower itself.

A clatter to the floor drew Ebony's attention, and the griffin sighed to himself as he stowed the object in its rightful place: above where his head would rest, in a small recess set in the wall. There wasn't too much of a need for a crossbow, much less a compact one nowadays.....

Yet there it lay, along with its other partners.

He shook his head, shoving down the less-than-pleasant memories that threatened to arise. No, not this early in the day.

Ebony's limbs carried him to the hallway, and then downstairs to the kitchen, where a nice breakfast of fruits and pastries awaited. Too early for meat, usually that was a dinner sort of dish.

“Mornin' boss.” Came the slightly muted greeting of Rolls.

The griffin couldn't help but chuckle, the stallion clearly dead on his feet.

“Jeez Rolls, it's an hour past your shift ending...go get some sleep.” He said, taking the broom from the almost-comatose stallion.

“Mmmkay....” The less than coherent individual then stumbled up the stairs and to his room. Rolls was one of the workers that lived in the inn, a situation born out of convenience, and then tragedy when his entire apartment complex burned to the ground.

But....

Ebony cast a quick glance around the main entrance area, noting with a smile that a unicorn mare seemed suddenly very interested in sweeping now that he was watching. That'd be Buttermilk....

Buttermilk and Rolls....

Buttermilk Rolls.

The griffin had to bite back a laugh- which sounded more like a disturbed sneeze. The cream-colored mare had been spending more time with Rolls in the past week, and a good thing too. As long as it didn't interfere with their work, Ebony had no issue with romance on the job concerning workers.

Easy for you to say. You've never had to deal with that, now have you?

His tail swished in thought, talons running through his head-feathers briefly. Of all the reminders, he did NOT need that, not this early in the day.

Ebony shoved the thoughts down once again, taking a deep breath as he looked at the clock. Still a bit of time before opening, perfect....

He set about checking the various areas- ensuring the cash register was all set, and of course, dusting the top of the sign. It was a large piece of solid oak, engraved with beautiful precision that didn't quite match the words, the phrase- 'Every'un can enter, bar none, y'hear?'

A few fond memories drifted to the fore- causing Ebony to grin. That old rusty stallion had been quite a riot. Hopefully what the place had become would please him.

Seeing the grey individual's face staring back at him from a picture frame mounted below the sign, Ebony nodded slowly, a feeling of warm affirmation flitting through his frame.

He would...I think.

A moving object then caught Ebony's attention: a bit coin floating through the air. Unlike other coins, this one appeared to have a picture on it, a carving that appeared to be....

Dancing?

Oh. Of course.

“Hello Discord.”

The coin morphed into the mischievous draconequus with a 'pop', the strange creature sporting a slight frown on his face.

“Not even a slight jump? Psh. You're no fun Ebony. Perhaps I need to shake things up a bit....” To emphasize his statement, Discord levitated a pile of bit coins from...somewhere, and promptly began swirling them with a claw, turning them into a small golden tornado.

Ebony shook his head with a grimace, an unpleasant memory quickly coming to mind.

“I prefer the dancing images, thank you. Your last method of payment was rather troublesome. It took some wrangling to catch it.”

This prompted a chortle from the god of chaos, who finally settled down on a chair near the 'bar' area.

“Well, what do you expect when coins can run? You know what they say about loose change....”

Now it was Discord's turn to grimace.

“Ick. That was horrid, even for me. Well now. I assume you know my order by now?” The draconequus narrowed his eyes as he spoke. Ebony wasn't sure if it was out of playfulness or hidden maliciousness. Reformed or not, Discord still was the god of chaos. The last time they had tried to guess his order and failed, the minotaur cook had flowers sprouting from his horns for a week...

“Humor me Discord, on request of the cook.” Ebony tossed his head back towards the kitchen as an emphasis.

The chaotic creature looked up from sipping the glass from some chocolate milk.

“Fine fine. Your cook makes a mean hay fries topped with a strawberry milkshake. How to describe it to you...there's a certain aura of appeal to freshly-cooked food, rather than that conjured with magic, in any form.”

Discord then glared at Ebony with his still-narrowed eyes.

“That's the most sense I'll be making all day, thank you very much. I used up my quota already, thanks to you.”

Ebony rolled his eyes, shrugging his wings as he glanced to the cook who had poked his head out of the kitchen at the sound of Discord's telltale voice.

“Chaotic special, number two.”

The minotaur nodded, and set about ordering the kitchen staff with his characteristic flailing spatula.

Turning to look around, Ebony's gaze stopped at the stairs, where he looked at the figure standing at the top. It was the griffin from the night before. Her feathers were ruffled, and she seemed to be focused on Discord, who was currently watching some bits dance across the bar countertop. Her eyes narrowed-

Oooh boy. She. Was. Mad.

“YOU!”

Ebony didn't have time to react as his recent guest's wings flared, the female griffin launching herself at the draconequus with claws outstretched.

That's when everything froze.

Author's Note

I'm really liking this. Lots of ideas......hehehe.
As always, suggestions/corrections are welcome!