Welcome to Hotel Nebula

Paper filed. And the next bill...I thought, glossing over the paper. It was a bill submitted by the Ponyville school board to repair the playground after a recent incident involving three particular fillies. The payment sum was reasonable, so I decided to approve the bill and soon will send it to the city council and mayor for consideration. That's how my day usually goes: Get a paper, read it over, put a check or cross on it, file said paper, lather, rinse, repeat. Then again, that's my job, I check over bills going in and out of Ponyville. Oh great, there I go, rambling about my boring job without even giving an introduction. Father always said the best way to know a pony is by their introduction.

My name is Tab Keeper, I'm a grey coated, red manned unicorn stallion with a cutie mark of a filing cabinet. Most people think my talent is office work, but instead it's organization. I keep everything in order, be it office papers or even other ponies. Most ponies say if I had the right motivation, I could easily run for mayor, but that's too much pressure for me, and I'm not much of a leading person. I live in the quaint little town of Ponyville, the deceptively quiet little valley town. Granted, it being the home of the Elements of Harmony and a Princess caused it to lose the quiet town feeling a few years back, but still, it's a nice life. I work at Town Hall, handling bills and requests or whatnot, but you probably know that already. I get paid about 20 bits a day, five days a week, and then go home and sleep. It's not much, but still, it was the peaceful life I asked for. Until... one day a package arrived.

I was working in my office, a small room with a desk in the center and a wall of filing cabinets to my left, reading over a bill requesting a tax increase on sugar due to the incredible sales of baked goods. Naturally, ponies would be outraged by the prices of sweets going up, and I enjoy a Sugarcube Corner cookie every now and then, so I hastily scribbled a cross on the box labeled 'decline', and filed it in the respective file. I was just about to reach out for the next paper when I noticed something on the floor: a pale white crystal. Being one for inspecting things (and keeping my workstation clean), I reached out for the crystal, enveloping it in the light red glow my magic and raising it to my eye. I noticed that there was a small grey dot in the center, but there were absolutely no nicks the crystal to show it was physical insertion. I raised a hoof to tap the crystal, when suddenly it started to glow a pale blue. Then, my mind was opened.

I saw a tremendous number of things! My mind entered tunnel vision as I mentally went on a trip across the dimensions. I saw buildings filled with strange bipedal hairless apes, grassy fields populated by deer grazing, vast deserts with crystal mountains, desolate wastelands with strewn about wreckages dotting the landscape, metallic rooms in the vastness of space itself with... whales swimming by? And there's more: I saw sentient life. The bipedal apes, lizard-like monsters with swords, rat-like creatures scavenging amongst metal, four armed machines with orbs for bodies, minotaurs, undead beings, I even saw various ponies. At the very end of it all, I saw a shadowy figure adorned in a wide brimmed hat and flowing cape. He looked at me with a single glowing yellow eye, and the vision ended. While most ponies would probably go insane from a trip like that, or assume it was a bizarre mental snap moment, I knew exactly what it was. I had gone through the Gate and learned of something most would deem impossible: There are other universes, and they are populated.

Dropping the crystal, I sat on my haunches, breathing heavily, trying to fully comprehend what just happened. What was I supposed to do? Why did this crystal come to me? Did those visions actually happen? Are those worlds I saw real? Why am I asking myself all these questions. More questions continued to assault my brain to the point I hadn't even noticed that somepony else had entered the room.

"You look a bit dazed." Said a voice in a Canterlot accent. I managed to awaken myself from this shocked stupor to get a good look at the pony before me. He was... a sight to say the least. A tall black alicorn with an ash-white mane and tail flowing in the nonexistent breeze was staring down at me. He was wearing an eye-patch over his left eye, and wore a black suit. What really caught my attention was the fact he wore a wide-brimmed black hat, a long black cape that obscured his cutie-mark, and his single eye was a golden color.

"You..." I said, pointing a shaky hoof. "You're the figure in my vision." The black alicorn looked at me for a bit, then at the crystal lying on the floor.

"So I take it," He said, gesturing to the vision crystal. "You took a look into the crystal." I slowly nodded, while the alicorn sputtered in annoyance. "Great, we've got another one." He then began to pace about the office, while I steadily rose myself to all fours.

"Another one? What in Celestia's mane are you talking about?" I asked, a bit irate. "And who in Equestria are you?" The black alicorn stopped his pacing, glancing towards me with his single eye. His horn glowed a light gold as a chair popped into existence and sat himself down in an odd position I had seen one mint green unicorn take up. He waved a hoof towards my desk, and I took my seat.

"Well, since you've taken an look into the Insight Stone, you must be aware of what you have seen." He explained. "Outside of the bounds of Equus, there are a wide number of universes inhabited by various creatures and beings. Heck, there are even several alternate universes based around Equestria. Anyway, I am the leader of an organization dedicated to keeping order across these universes. You may call me The Guardian of Worlds, a pleasure."

"So... You're not a real pony, then?" I asked. He merely shook his head.

"No, this is merely the form I take in this universe that best suits my power." Guardian answered. "Anyway, that crystal you just viewed is what we call an Insight Stone. It contains a vast amount of information, and it just beamed itself inside of your brain. Congratulations, you now have the basic knowledge of one of my agents."

"But..." I sputtered, still unable to comprehend why this was happening to me. "Why me? Why did I learn all this knowledge?" Guardian narrowed his eye, a frown forming on his face.

"That would be because of a certain dolt of a recruit fumbled and lost his Stone," Guardian explained. "And it somehow ended up in your hands, err, hooves." He rubbed a foreleg behind his neck, flustered. "Sorry, pony terminology messes with me for a bit." Well, that explained quite a bit, but I still had one question left.

"So... what do I do now?" I asked. "I mean, what's the point of learning all of this wondrous information without putting it to use?"

"Well..." Guardian stood up from his seat, looking at me very closely. "You don't appear to have gone insane like the others who accidentally looked into an Insight Stone, so I won't have you put in an asylum." He sat back in his seat, pressing a hoof to his chin. "And you might not be combat proficient, so Agent work is out...." He continued pondering, as I decided to get back to work, filing and sorting more bills. I managed to get five more papers finished (mostly to cover the damages done by the last ancient foe attack, go figure), when Guardian loudly laughed and stomped his hoof, sending me falling out of my chair, forelegs flailing wildly.

"I take it you came up with a solution?" I asked, rubbing my back. I felt myself lifted in the air, encased in a golden aura and placed back unto my feet. Guardian looked at me with a cheerful smirk on his face.

"From judging your cutie-mark, I can tell you have a talent for organization?" He asked.

"Absolutely." I said, pointing a hoof at my filing cabinet.

"Yes, but I bet that reaches beyond the boundaries of mere filing." He mused. "Were you the kind of boy... I mean colt, who, while other fillies and colts at school played with their toys, you spent time putting them in a neat line?" I narrowed my eyes, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"I was. And I don't mean figuratively." I replied.

"And I bet that also expanded to the realm of the sentient. Keeping others in line, no doubt?"

"Well, whenever the boss was out back when I worked at Linguini's Bitalian restaurant in Manehattanen," I remembered, rubbing my chin with a hoof. "He made sure I was in charge, and I kept everypony in line." I shrugged my shoulders, remembering why I quit that fine establishment. "But, being a leader isn't exactly my strong suit." Guardian pursed his lips, making an audible tsking sound.

"Leadership is an important part of being a man... err... stallion." He said. "But, still, by your description, you fit the job I seek perfectly."

"And that job is?" I asked. He began pacing about the room again, still bearing that cheerful smile of his.

"Well, I mentioned how my organization works across numerous universes?" I nodded. "Well, sometimes they need to get away from it all. Just take a moment to relax. Heck, we even have tourists who are thrilled by the prospect of other worlds." And that's when I realized where this was going. Something I would never have expected to come to pass in all my days.

"Mr. Guardian, you can't seriously be saying that-" I said.

"You're going to run a hotel!"

After vanishing in a flash of light, Guardian and I had teleported to a location far away from my office to discuss business. I didn't even get a chance to clock out! However, the prospect of Guardian's offer intrigued me. I mean, me, in charge of a hotel of all things? That's about as ridiculous as Princess Celestia running down Canterlot in a banana suit! However, the information I had learned could be put to good use this way. Anyway, we appeared in a clearing in the middle of the forest (which I have no idea if it was the Everfree or not). I started glancing around, searching for this hotel I was going to be running.

"Um... There's no hotel here." I said. Guardian merely lifted up his hoof and pointed to the sky. I did as instructed... and my jaw dropped. There, floating five stories in the sky, was a gigantic skyscraper hotel building. It was painted a golden color with a black trim on certain details, and appeared to go up at least fifty floors! What more or less impressed me was that I didn't notice it until Guardian pointed it out.

"You like it?" He asked.

"How did I not notice something like that?!" I exclaimed.

"Specialized technology we procured from another universe." Guardian explained. "We've got a generator in there that produces a field that causes onlookers to ignore the building completely unless they were directly looking for it." Neat. I thought. We walked towards the floating building, but then I realized one glaring detail.

"How am I supposed to run this place when I can't even get up there?!" I shouted. Guardian merely chuckled and tapped his hoof three times.

"Dehkae Lives On." He said in a commanding voice. Suddenly, a wide platform spread at our hooves, and shot us up to the front entrance at speeds that would make a Wonderbolt motion sick. Once we came to a stop near the triple set of glass double doors, I shot an angry glance at Guardian for not giving me a warning. "A simple command phrase. I'll give you a list to what does what should you accept."

We walked into the double doors, and found myself greeted by the main hall. It was gorgeous, pristine marble walls and red carpets line the paths. A mahogany greeters desk sat at the far end while smaller paths diverge off to elevators and other sections of the building. Numerous flags and tapestries of nations I did not recognize until later swung freely from pillars. At the very center of the room was a large water fountain, spraying water in a beautiful fashion. I was astonished.

"It's beautiful..." I said, starry eyed. Guardian chuckled slightly, grinning to himself.

"Thank you, I had a hand in its construction." He said. He froze up for a moment, wincing and rubbing his back. "Excuse me, but I must change for a moment."

"Change?" I had asked. I was quite surprised when I saw a cloud of darkness consume Guardian, and watch it mold into another form. Once the cloud dispersed, he had changed. Still retaining his hat, cape, suit, and eye-patch, he had suddenly turned into one of those bipedal creatures I had seen in my vision. He stood well over two meters taller than I, had a very slim figure, and had a thick black beard and mustache over his mouth.

"Sorry about that." He said, stretching his muscles. "But it's hard to stay in an equine form for so long, it gets mildly uncomfortable." He turned to face me, and saw my shocked face. "Oh, yes, this is my most commonly used form. This form is that of a human, a bipedal intelligent race you'll probably see commonly around this place." He got down on one knee to my level and placed a black gloved... hand?... upon my shoulder. "You might want to keep that reaction under wraps. Most people don't like being stared at. Especially Nightkin." I made a mental note to ask about these Nightkin later. "Now, let's give you the tour."

With a brisk walk, we walked about the building, getting the lay of the facility that would soon be my responsibility. First, we entered a large room with metal walls, where several archways of varying minerals lined against the walls for what seemed to be yards.

"This here is the Gate Room." Guardian explained. "You see, there are two ways someone can enter a universe: one is through a Rift, which is a random tear in the fabric of reality. Most people don't trust them, as they end up dumping random things anywhere, and also work two ways. The other is through Gates, which are like Rifts, but instead are in tune with a specific location." He waved at the various archways, which I deduced to be these aforementioned Gates. "These Gates will be used by out of world guests, coming and going. They will be monitored by the chief of maintenance." A loud explosion rocked the room. "Speaking of...." I looked forwards and saw a pillar of smoke rising from a nearby Gate. A strange floating sphere flew out of the cloud, flailing several long appendages wildly.

"Confound it all!" It exclaimed in a robotic Canterlot accent. "These damnable wires have crossed themselves once again. I must restore them before the new manager comes for inspect... oh." It stopped talking, a bright yellow light shining in the smoke. The figure emerged from the smog to reveal its true form to me: a floating spherical orb, with three dangling limbs pointing about. Three metallic orbs stuck out to the side, glowing and looking about like eyes. "Hello, erm, sir."

"Having trouble with one of the Gates, Fix-It?" Guardian rhetorically asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Unfortunately, sir." The machine sadly said. "The last worker to run the Citadel Gate was apparently in a rush, and several of the wires are tangled in a knot. I was in the process of working on repairing the wires myself when the control box... exploded."

"Just ask for help next time," Guardian said. "I get that you're a robot, but even advanced, Pre-War machinery needs help every now and then." He looked back at me and gestured towards the thing, the robot he called it. "Tabs, this is a Mr. Handy Repair Drone, F1X-1T, but we call him Fix-It." The robot flew up towards me and flashed a blue light at me.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir." He cheerfully said. "I assume you are the new manager of the Hotel?"

I chuckled slightly. "Well, that has yet to be determined. I'm Tab Keeper. Might I ask what world you're from?"

"I come from one of the many Alternate Earth universes," Fix-It stated. "My universe is often referred to as the Wasteland Universe, due to it having been bombed into destruction 200 years ago."

"Wow... That's depressing." I said.

"Not entirely. I was still active around the time the bombs dropped in the Mojave desert, but suffered programming issues." Fix-It explained. "I was found by salvagers and repurposed into a repair drone to restore a local settlement."

"A friend of mine bought him off a junk dealer in that universe," Guardian said, pressing a hand against the metal frame of Fix-It's body. "So we gave him a personality matrix and put him to work monitoring the Gates and other machinery of the Hotel."

"And might I say, it has been the most illuminating experience since passing beta!" Fix-It exclaimed, spinning about midair. A small fire shot out of the smoking Gate, causing Fix-It to yelp in surprise. "Oh, dear. I must get back to work before this sensitive machinery explodes. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Keeper, and I look forward to working for you." As the robot flew off to address the problem, Guardian and I walked out of the Gate Room and continued our tour.

The next room on the first floor was a bar, of sorts. It had the standard build for a bar, what with the counter with shelves stocked with various brews and intoxicating beverages, tables strewn about, and a couple of booth seats. Other things I noticed were a metallic box covered in music notes off in the corner, and a large performer stand in the center.

"This is the bar, the Void Vineyard." Guardian explained. "Here is where customers can come and enjoy a drink, while watching various entertainment from across the worlds." We walked over to the bar, where we seated ourselves on the stools. Every fiber in my body tried to resist the childish urge to spin about on the stools, but I stood firm. "Only people who meet age requirement can order drinks, so standard rules that the bartender will supervise." He looked about, searching for something. "Speaking of, where is that hairy son of a gun?"

BURP!

I nearly fell out of my seat, surprised by the loud sound. "What in Equestria?" Guardian looked over the counter, frowning. He reached over the counter and lifted with relative ease another human, only this one seemed more... filthy. He was slightly overweight, had a balding head aside from his long, curly red mustache, and wore no shirt, exposing several animal themed tattoos. I noticed he was clutching a bottle in his hand, leading me to believe that he was sampling the merchandise.

"We drink to our youth," The drunken human groggily sang. "To days come and *hic* gone!" I was about to ask why the human was drunk out of his mind, when Guardian placed a palm on his chest. The bartender seized up as blue lightening shot from Guardian's hand, zapping him with electricity. After the voltage passed, the bartender shook his head, his mustache frayed about hilariously. "I'm awake! I'm sober and awake!"

"I see that." Guardian said, wiping his glove on the counter. "Tab Keeper, this is Yigvar Beerbelly, a Nord from the realm of Nirn. He'll be running the Vineyard and selling alcohol. That is," He shot the bartender an angry look. "If he remembers the booze is for the customers!"

"Well, sir, the Hotel isn't open yet." Yigvar exclaimed, straightening out his mustache. "So I figured I'd sample the fine products here." The large man looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "So you're the new manager, eh? Tell me, how can you hold your drink?"

After dispersing Yigvar's rather pungent smell from my nostrils, I leaned on the counter and answered him. "I'm not really much of a drinking stallion, but every now and then, I can handle myself a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres Apple Cider."

"Apple... Cider?" Yigvar said, starting to snicker. "That sounds like milk-drinker mead!" The loud Nord burst into laughter, falling over the counter. I furrowed my brown, unhappy with the way a future employee mocking an Apple Family drink. My slight irritation was cut short when I saw Guardian produce a familiar bottle from within his suit.

"Yigvar, I have a standard bottle of this Apple Cider," He said, placing the bottle on the counter. "And take a look at the alcohol proficiency." Wiping a mirthful tear away, Yigvar grabbed the bottle and scanned the label. I almost burst into laughter watching his eyes widen. He turned the bottle towards Guardian with a disbelieving look in his eyes.

".250 prof." He stuttered. ".250 alcohol proficiency. These ponies have managed to make 150% alcoholic beverages!" As the Nord began rambling about the illogical nature of such a drink existing, Guardian and I took our leave and resumed the tour.

The next room was a fancy restaurant, very large in size and just as grand. The same red carpet found everywhere else was seen, but the rest of the room was painted a nice shade of light red, much like the color of my mane. Fancy white-clothed tables and chairs were neatly arranged in almost a checkered pattern. Needless to say, it was a classy establishment.

"This here is The Gourmet's, the fanciest restaurant with fantastic food," Guardian said. "The menus in this place actually are linked to the brainwaves of the reader, showing meals usually found in their home universes." He produced a menu from the nearby host stand and tossed it to me. "Here, take a look." I did as complied, and saw a menu shimmer before my eyes. I saw various types of hay-based foods, flower side dishes, and a wide assortment of salads.

"This looks like something off the Grand Galloping Gala menu!" I exclaimed. Then I looked at the prices. "But 20 bits for a small carrot salad?!"

"Hey, high prices for fancy food." Guardian said with a shrug. "Blame the cook, not me. We should go meet him, now." Steadily walking through the restaurant, we came across a pair of wooden double doors, and just as I was about to put it open, a knife stuck through the wood! Loud clanking and banging came from the kitchen beyond, and I could faintly make out a loud voice shouting in there.

"Unbelievable! Simply disgusting!" A deep masculine voice boomed. "The aroma is completely off and the utensils are unwashed! This is what Quaggan have to work with?! Quaggan is abhorred, do you hear Quaggan? BooooOOOOoooo!" I was scared, at this point, worried that I was going to have some brutish minotaur or worse as a chef. "And what is this? A cracked plate! Unacceptable!"

*CRASH*

Guardian and I slowly peeked our heads into the linoleum walled and floored kitchen, making sure not to step on the shattered remains of a plate.

"Head Chef Moogaroo?" Guardian asked, completely undeterred by the cook's rampancy. "I've brought the new manager!" I scanned the room, searching for the angry chef. Aside from the strewn about pots and knives stuck in the walls, I didn't see anything big, loud, or scary.

"The new manager is here?" The loud voice asked. "Wonderful!" I heard the soft patter of steps coming from behind one of the counters. I looked and saw something waddle out before us. It looked like a small blue whale, a round form with a blue top and white underbelly. A pair of black beady eyes sat near the edges of a wide mouth, and a set of small arms and legs rested on the sides of the body. At the top of it's head, a rather comically large chef's hat rested. Needless to say, I was looking at possibly the most adorable thing next to a Breezie.

"Okay, you're pulling my leg here, Guardian." I said, glancing at the suited man. "Where is the head chef?"

"You're looking at Quaggan." The whale creature said in the very same deep voice that I was greeted by. "Head Chef MoogaroooOOOooo, at your service." He gave me a little bow, nearly causing his hat to fall off. I was so very close to just up and shout D'AAAAAAAAAW, but for professionalism's sake chose not to.

"Moogaroo is a Quaggan, one of an amphibious race from the land of Tyria." Guardian introduced. "He is a phenomenal cook and a very brilliant individual." I steadily walked up to the Quaggan and extended a forehoof to greet.

"Tab Keeper, nice to meet you." I said. Moogaroo gave a small smile and took my hoof in both his hands a shook it.

"Quaggan will not disappoint you or any of the customers." He said. "In fact, Quaggan has prepared a dish for your arrival." The little Quaggan waddled off into the kitchen, then quickly returned with a plate of salad, topped with various greens and vegetables. I procured a salad fork with my magic, and took a bite. It was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. Every flavor blended together and formed a parade in my mouth, assaulting my taste buds with sweet delicious ecstasy!

"Can I get this to go?" I asked. "And possibly with five more bowls?" Moogaroo smiled widely and poured the salad into a container for me. I thanked the little guy and left the restaurant, happily munching on a salad.

As we returned to the lobby, I noticed a shadowy figure run by, clearly wanting to avoid the line of sight. Guardian was nowhere in sight, so I decided to make my move and introduce myself. Setting aside my salad, I slowly walked over to the pillar the figure was hiding behind.

"Hey, there. Don't be afraid." I said in the calmest voice I could muster. "I'm Tab Keeper, the new manager Mr. Guardian employed." I heard a chattering sound coming from behind the pillar, as well as nervous scratching.

"You new boss?" A feminine sounding voice said. "You no want hurt?" The broken speech was a bit deterring, but still, the voice sounded innocent and scared.

"Yes, I don't want to hurt you." I reassured. "Won't you come out?" Slowly, the figure emerged from behind its cover. It was something between a bipedal creature and a rat, standing about three ft. on two crooked legs, covered in a pale white fur. It wore a sort of black cloth barding, and had a sword resting on the side of its hip. The creature's mousy head twitched about, sniffing the air and looking at me nervously. Although most would probably be frightened or disgusted by such a creature, I showed no fear.

"Hi," The creature said quickly, rubbing her paws together.

"Hello," I replied. "What's your name?"

"Friends call me Twitchy..." The creature said. "I'm a Skritt. From Tyria." I trotted towards the frightened Skritt, and extended a hoof.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Twitchy." I greeted. Twitchy appeared to smile, and shyly took my hoof and quickly shook it before retracting. "Are there any more of you here?"

"Y-yes..." Twitchy replied. "Skritt brothers and sisters grab trash and unwanted shines. Fishy person asks us to give food to visitors." I assumed by 'Fishy person', she meant Moogaroo. "Also sometimes help metal giants keep guard." I quirked an eyebrow at that last statement.

"'Metal giants?'" I repeated. Twitchy nodded quickly. "What do you mean by that?"

"She's referring to the security guards you'll meet eventually." Guardian said, walking up behind me. Twitchy stiffened to attention while I turned about to face my new employer. "The Big Daddies. But, enough about then, we've got one more place to visit on the tour." He walked over to a nearby elevator, and pushed a button, summoning the lift. I turned to say goodbye to Twitchy, but she appeared to have already left. I shrugged my shoulders, knowing I'd see her again sometime soon, and joined Guardian.

The elevator shared the standard look of the main hall, with a red carpet and white walls, but was large enough to support about 15 average size ponies (or whatever guests would be using this elevator). A golden panel sat next to the front door, displaying all the various floor numbers. A single button marked 'C' shone with a bright light, as we began to rise upwards. The ride, however, ended with an abrupt halt on the 33rd floor. The doors slid open, and revealed something I only thought I'd see in my nightmares. It was a big lumbering humanoid creature, encased in what appeared to be a diver's suit, standing a few feet even above Guardian. In its left hand it carried a toolbox, and on the right sat a massive rusty drill. There was something about the creature that made me want to keep as much distance from them as possible.

"You remember the Big Daddies I talked about earlier?" Guardian whispered into my ear. I nodded slowly, trying not to look at the metal monster. "That's one of them. And they're the security of this place. Just make sure you or any of the patrons don't enrage them, or else...." He ended that point by pointing at the massive drill. I shuddered to think about how much damage that thing could do to somepony. We finally came to the top floor, and the Big Daddy lumbered out of the room, moaning slightly to himself and walking out of sight. The room was a gigantic dome, complete with several windows and screens showing images of rooms inside the Hotel, and even the outlying area. I could see my house from up here! A large machine sat in the center of the room, with a large screen (a computer, as Guardian called it) displaying a series of numbers constantly shifting resting above. Right below the screen was a steering wheel much like that of a pirate's ship, a red light indicating it was locked in place.

"Here we have the Control Room," Guardian announced. "This is where the navigator will have us hop from universe to universe and make sure the Hotel doesn't crash into anything." I looked about the room, amazed at the level of technology put into the whole facility.

"And where is the navigator?" I asked.

"'Allo!" Greeted a loud Prench-sounding voice. I whipped about to see... a bipedal frog in a naval uniform and ridiculous Neighpoleon hat twirling a curly mustache standing right behind me. "I am ze navigator, Commodore Legs! And you must be ze new leader of our fine establishment! A pleasure!" I slowly nodded as the incredible stereotype bowed his incredibly long legs and leapt towards the steering wheel. Guardian took notice of my dumbfounded look, and walked over to where Commodore Legs was working.

"The Commodore here is from the world of Mobius, where anthropomorphic animals and humans live together and such." Guardian said. "He joined up with us after a Space Pirate raid attacked his ship."

"Oui, I lost several good men zat day." Legs recounted sadly, putting his large hat atop his heart. "But ze Hotel, she is a fine vessel, and I will not steer you wrong." With that, Guardian and I left the Commodore to his own devices and stepped back onto the elevator. Slowly, we made our descent to the bottom, not saying a word all the while.

"So, tell me, what do you think?" Guardian asked. I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. This place was bizarre, insane, odd, and somewhat frightening. But all in all, the staff were really nice, if somewhat peculiar for being in other universes. There was one last thing I had to ask before I made the final decision.

"What's the pay like?" I asked.

"In Equestrian currency?" Guardian pondered, stroking his beard. "I'd say about 250 bits a day." My heart nearly skipped a beat. 250 bits a day?! I'd have enough money to buy a fancy Canterlot chariot with that kind of coin. At that moment I was sold. I extended my hoof, and Guardian clasped it in his hand and shook it.

"Looks like your hotel just got a new manager." I said, smiling.

"It appears so." He said. The elevator finally came to a stop at the bottom floor, opening up into the hallway. Waiting for us was everyone I had met during my tour: Fix-It, Yigvar, Moogaroo, Twitchy, several other Skritt, and even a few Big Daddies. They all looked at me with anxious eyes (except for those with none or had them concealed), waiting for the final reply. Guardian stepped forward, his arms stretched outward and proclaimed in a very loud voice. "Ladies, gentlemen, robots and cyborgs, I would like to introduce you to your new manager, Mr. Tab Keeper of Equestria!" The entire hall erupted in cheers, each creature celebrating in their own individual way. I smiled, knowing this would be one grand adventure, and how much work it would take. Lucky for me, I had a great and (hopefully) loyal staff to help me every step of the way. I felt a gloved hand press upon my head, looking up and seeing Guardian smile proudly.

"Welcome to the Hotel Nebula."