Welcome to Hotel Nebula

"Welcome to Hotel Nebula!" I proudly greeted to the ponies of Equestria. "The Hotel that travels across the universes! As you may know, I am Tab Keeper, Hotel Manager. The Skritt rodents you see here are the bellhops, and will take care of you if needed. I will be running the receptionist desk should any of you desire a room. The collection of standard rules are found on every floor and room. The bar for adults is located to your left, as the Gourmet restaurant is to your right. Thank you for arriving, and have a pleasant stay!" After my speech, I quickly stood behind the aforementioned receptionist desk, watching as the crowd of ponies came towards me, while others went to the Void Vineyard or the Gourmet. Flanking my sides were a pair of smaller Mr. Handy robots, each running their own cash registers, awaiting to give room keys. My first customer/guest stood before me, a thin white unicorn mare with a red and blue mane, her cutie mark a pair of arrows cycling each other, with what appeared to be a small family behind her.

"Hello, I would like to rent a room for a family of five," She said. "Three adults and two fillies." I looked at the group, and saw two older unicorns, one a dark gray stallion with a red mane, another light gray mare with a blue mane. Two smaller fillies, one blue with a red mane, the other red with a blue mane, sat at the hooves of their parents. I looked at the young mare, and with a smile, began punching buttons on the cash register.

"One room for five," I repeated. "For how many nights?"

"Three, I suppose." She said, glancing at her family. "Hey, are there any dangerous things here?"

"Only if you break the rules," I said. "Okay, that'll be about fifteen bits per night." The cash register dinged, displaying the payment. "You can pay in advance, or wait until you decide to leave." She blinked at me, glancing at the price on the register constantly.

"Only fifteen bits?" She asked. "That's fairly reasonable for three nights."

"Hotel Nebula believes that customers should have to pay fairly," I said. Walking behind to a large cabinet, I pressed a button on a control panel, and the cabinet opened up, revealing a shiny gold room key. I took the key in my magic, set it on the desk, and beamed at the young mare. "Your room is room 452 on the third floor, left side. Thank you and have a pleasant stay Miss..."

"Redux," She said, nodding. "And thank you." As she took the key in her white colored magic, she trotted off with her family. I smiled, looking at the groups of ponies all milling about, fraternizing with the workers as the entire place ran like a well-oiled machine. Before I went of daydreaming, I received a bit of a surprise when I saw my next guest, needless to say.

The features were easily recognizable: light purple coat, violet mane with a single pink streak running through, purple eyes, a regal horn, elegant wings plastered to the sides, and a cutie mark of a starburst. Of course, there probably isn't a single pony in Equestria who hadn't heard of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Heck, before she was even a princess, I filed her forms to move into the Golden Oaks Library. I bowed my head as the Princess of Friendship trotted up to me.

"Hello again, your Highness," I greeted. We had spoken earlier that day on accounts of the Hotel parking itself above Ponyville. "What do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just exploring the place I allowed to stay up here." She said, looking about the place.  "Which, I must say, is AMAZING!" She moved about, raising a hoof to about everything in the vicinity. "The staff, the décor, the flags, the fact this place is floating midair without the aids of clouds! It's incredible! Speaking of," Twilight turned to me again, this time with curiosity in her eyes. "How is this place floating?" I looked about, trying to think of a viable answer. Eventually, I shrugged my shoulders and told her the truth.

"I'm not sure, your Highness," I admitted. "Be it magic or advanced technology, I am unaware. Maybe you can ask some of the older staff."

"Thank you, Mr. Keeper," She said, pausing for a moment, looking about the building once more. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have seen my other friends around? Y'know, the other Elements of Harmony?"

"No I have not, ma'am," I said. "But I'll be sure as to keep a look out for them..." Then all Tartarus broke loose.

"RUN AWAY!" I heard a certain chattering voice shout. I looked towards the lobby, and I saw Twitchy, the pale furred Skritt I met on my first day (whom later discovered to be the leader of the Skritt here), running full-sprint towards the desk, a horrified look in her beady eyes. I trotted from behind the desk and quickly caught Twitchy in my forelegs.

"Hey, Twitchy, what's wrong?" I asked. The poor girl looked up at me, panting heavily and sweat matting her white fur.

"Scary pink thing!" She exclaimed. "It grabbed me and wouldn't let go! Spoke really fast and scary! Don't let pink thing hurt me?"

"Pink thing?" I asked, unsure of what she meant. "What pink thing?" I felt somepony tap my shoulder, glancing up and seeing Princess Twilight with a pained expression on her face.

"I think your friend might be talking about Pinkie Pie...." She said. I groaned, slapping a hoof to my face, realizing what happened. Scanning about the crowd, I found my pink target and steadily moved to her position. The pink earth pony mare with a wildly curly pink mane and the cutie mark of three balloons, the aforementioned Pinkie Pie, was bouncing about, beaming widely as she glanced about the place.

"Oh Miss Rat-thingy! Are we playing hide-and-seek?" She squeaked. "I love that game!" Before she could take off, I quickly grabbed her tail with my magic and held her still, turning the hyperactive mare towards me.

"Excuse me, Miss Pie," I said. "I recently got a terrified complaint about you harassing my employees."

"Harassing?" She asked, still smiling. "Does that mean playing around?"

I frowned. "It means disturbing, distressing, detrimentally harming. Miss Pie, I do believe you are frightening my employees." Princess Twilight appeared next to her friend, wrapping a hoof around her shoulder.

"Pinkie, I get you're trying to be friendly with the employees," She explained. "But I don't think they're used to this kind of attention."

"In fact," I added. "Skritt themselves were an underground dwelling society, constantly picked on and tormented by more powerful races back in their world. Poor things."

"So..." Pinkie said, tapping her chin. "They don't want to be friends with me?" Her mane drooped downward, almost like a deflated balloon.

"Now, now, Miss Pie," I reassured. "I'm sure the Skritt would love companionship, but they're not used to this kind of attention. Take it slowly with them, and everything will come together like a simple puzzle." She seemed to get it, at least for an instant, but before I could continue, a loud crash occurred from the direction of the Gate Room. I quickly excused myself and went to check out the issue. The room filled with both high-tech and ancient magical Gates between worlds was filled with smaller Mister Handy robots flying about, trying to keep everything running smoothly. In the center of it all was Fix-It, the larger Mister Handy working in front of a very large and ominously black Gate that had a trail of smoke billowing out. I galloped to the robot as fast as my hooves could carry me, until finally skidding to a halt next to a pile of spare parts.

"Connect the blue wire to port B," Fix-It muttered to himself as his robotic appendages worked inside a sparking box. "Install the hexagonal microchip into slot H. Untangle the red and black wires toge- Oh, hello there, Master Tab Keeper."

"Hello, Fix-It." I said. "There's smoke coming out of here, is there something wrong?"

"Blast it," He groaned. "This Gate to the Netherworld is slightly malfunctioning. One of the lesser models practically wired it into the Void!" His three glowing eyes turned to me, lenses slightly closed to give off the impression of squinting. "I promise you, sir, that the Gates will be operational within the hour."

"Good," I said, tapping a hoof on the metallic chassis. "We need the Gates ready for opening before lunchtime." Fix-It gave a quick salute before returning to the haywire Gate. Before I could return to my post, a certain rainbow mane pegasus with a blue coat was hovering dangerously close to the aforementioned Gate.

"What the hay is this thing supposed to be?" She asked, prodding the interior of the arch with a hoof.

"Miss Rainbow Dash, please don't touch that!" I exclaimed, waving my hooves. "That is very sensitive equipment!" The aforementioned upstart turned towards me, slowly retracting her hoof.

"What for?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's not gonna explode on me, or whatever."

"Actually, ma'am," Fix-It proclaimed. "If this Gate is severely tampered with, it could backfire and create a one-way vacuum into the Void. In a sense of the term, it would 'explode' on you." Her face paled immediately, as she slowly hovered away from the machine towards me. I clanked on Fix-It's spherical body for terrifying our guests, returning with a comforting look to Rainbow Dash.

"So, Miss Dash, why and how did you get in here?" I asked. "This area is currently restricted to employees and staff only."

"Eh, saw you come in here and these strange floaty guys moving about." She said with a shrug. "Figured there'd be something cool in here."

"While I'll admit the Gates to other universes and the robots are indeed cool," I said. "You are breaking Hotel rules by trespassing. I highly suggest you leave and return to your friends before I call security. And believe me," I leaned forward, squinting my eyes for good measure. "I don't want to cause problems on day one." I must've come across as more threatening, as Rainbow Dash flew up to my face, pressing her muzzle against mine, an angry glint in her eyes.

"If that a threat, pal?" She asked through gritted teeth. "Cuz if it is, you better bring something to back it up." Knowing the stubbornness of this pony, I backed off, scanned the room for the nearest Big Daddy, and whistled him over. The lumbering metal giant slowly marched towards the two of us, towering high enough to almost blot out the sun. The look on the young mare's face was priceless.

"Meet the Big Daddy," I introduced. "And that drill of his is real." She looked between me, the Big Daddy, and the drill about four times, sweating profusely with each glance. Eventually, she let out a nervous chuckle, then bolted out of the room, a distinct rainbow streak following in pursuit. With a satisfied giggle, I motioned for the guard to return to his post, and left the room myself, leaving Fix-It to the repairs.

Once more, I saw the main lobby filled with ponies, talking or heading to their rooms. I also noticed the incredibly long line at the receptionist desk, and noticed the bits being dropped on the desk. A truly melodious sound, the clinking of coins. The sound of it being pulled from coin purses, dropped on the counter, the ding of the cash register, the people chanting 'go' over and over. Wait, people chanting 'go' over and over? I turned my head in the direction of the new sound, realizing it was coming from the bar. Two and two put together, I realized what was going on. Another drinking bout.

Trotting into the Void Vineyard, I saw the room packed with both off-duty Skritt and ponies, either mingling or standing by the bar, chanting over and over. A repeat of my tour with Lily and Midnight (I had to find them later), and glancing to the bar where Yigvar was once again engaged in a drinking competition. This time, it was against an orange coated Earth Pony mare with a blond pony-tail braid, a cow-pony hat resting atop her head, and a Cutie Mark of a triad of apples. Anypony in Ponyville knew her as Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres and one of the Elements of Harmony. She and Yigvar held their heads back, drinking heavily as a trickle of brew ran down the corners of their mouths. Yigvar slammed his mug down with a resounding belch, raising his arms and hooting loudly. Applejack returned the gesture by slamming her mug top down and loudly cheering. I pushed my way through the cheering crowd to the bar, taking a seat on one of the rotating stools and tapping my hoof on the table. Yigvar dizzily glanced at me, his eyes narrowing at the sight of me.

"Oh, hello boss," Yigvar groaned. "Come to spoil the fun again? Or do you want a *hic* drink yourself?"

"I want to know why your drinking on duty," I said with a glare. "Again."

"I've got a legi-*hic*-gitimate reason for nipping the bottle!" Yigvar proclaimed. He pulled a sheet of paper from beneath the table, and slid it towards me. It appeared to be a sort of list. "Read the line marked Bar Competitions: Belcher's Bluff." I did as he complied, and scanned the paper for the marked line.

"'Belcher's Bluff: a Tyrian drinking game created by the Order of Om as a test of strength and resilience." I read aloud. "The goal of the challenge is to drink as much brew as possible, then belch into the opponent's face. The winner is nominated by whoever grosses out the loser first. Patrons may challenge anyone in the bar to a battle of Belcher's Bluff, and may even take on the champion," I took my eyes off the paper and smirked at the Nord. "The Bartender."

The loud human guffawed, pouring another frothy drink into his and Applejack's cup. "Never lost a game since working here! I may not be Tyrian, but if I was, I'd be the new grand champion of Om!"

"Ah, blow it out yer shaved ape plot, parder," Applejack slurred in her country accent. "Yer lucky Ahm such a nice mare, otherwise y'all get a hoof fulla buck to the face!"

"HA! You're so drunk, you can't even see straight!" Yigvar laughed. "In fact, neither can I! Ahaha!" The two drunken folks shared a laugh, whilst I rolled my eyes and continued about the bar. My eyes fell upon Midnight Rider, who was chatting up a pegasus mare with a turquois coat and orange mane, her face showing a bored expression, nearby the jukebox. I trotted over to the two, just as the mare had left with an evident scowl on her muzzle.

"Oh, hey Tabs." Midnight greeted. "How's runnin' the Hotel?"

"Tedious and busy, as expected," I admitted. "Were you just trying to pick up Sassaflash of all ponies?"

My black coated friend merely shrugged his shoulders and replied with a grin. "Seemed like a pretty mare, but she kept this holier-than-thou attitude and seemed to talk about how odd this place was."

"Yeah, Sassaflash is a strange one," I said. "Always lurking about town. Y'know she put up fliers a few months ago about a job offer for a minion?" We shared a laugh, when I happened to glance at the jukebox. "Hey, you like music, right?"

"Of all kinds." He proudly said, before his face shifted into disgust. "Except that stupid rap music. I swear, it's just poetry to music."

"Well, check this thing out," I gestured to the aforementioned jukebox with my hoof. "A fancy piece of technology from one of the other universes that plays recorded music at random. Like a radio you can play whenever you want! Here, put in a bit and I'll pick a song." Midnight shifted for a moment, unsure of what to make of the futuristic machine. Steadily, he retrieved a golden bit and put it in the slot. Once the coin hit the machine with a klink, I used my magic to select a button to play a song. I finally passed a certain song I had heard before and fell in love with. After a few seconds, the jukebox lit up with various colors as a catchy, wild song began to play. The ponies in the bar looked around in surprise at the sudden music playing, especially with the absence of musicians, searching for a trace. The Skritt, on the other hand, started bobbing their heads to the song and dancing to the beat. I, myself, couldn't hold back and joined in on the dancing. Once the song hit a drum solo, Midnight started to bob to the music with a smirk on his face.

"I like it! It's catchy, repetitive, and obnoxious!" He said, his wings flaring to the beat.

"Just like you!" I joked. He shot my a mock snarl, but we continued dancing. Soon enough, the other ponies in the bar started dancing to the music, laughing and chatting while enjoying the new sounds. Even Yigvar stood up on his bar and started doing this ridiculous dance with his arms, and Applejack laughing herself off the barstool. The room was filled with utter ridiculousness, and we all enjoyed it. Even when a certain part of the song came on, in which the singer started undulating random sounds, and the Skritt began acting like they had muscle spasms, we all relished in merriment. I even noticed Pinkie Pie back to her bubbly self and having fun with the others. It was this kind of joy I liked seeing on faces, especially knowing I was responsible for it. It was a feeling I wished could remain forever.

"Attention, guests of Hotel Nebula!" Fix-It announced over the speakers. "The Universal Gates shall be opening in five minutes! We would like to remind you to not visibly or cruelly to the other visitors, and to have a pleasant day!" Alas, duty had to call. I sputtered, looking to Midnight to explain why I was leaving, but he gave me a confirming nod understanding completely. I waded my way through the crowds of ponies and Skritt, exiting the bar and making way to the Gate Room.

I joined Fix-It at the center of the doorway, watching as several robots and Skritt took their places by the large archways. Preparing my best business posture and adjusting my tie, I glanced up at the steel Mr. Handy with a smile. I gave a nod, and the robot raised one of its three pronged arms above its spherical body.

"Gates are opening in t-minus 9...8...7..." Fix-It counted. "6...5...4..." The Mr. Handy bots had their arms at control panels, anxious for new guest arrival. "3...2...1!"

WHOOOOOOOSH!!!

Each Gate lit up in a series of bright colors. Blue, purple, green, red, and yellow vortexes rippled in the fabric of space and time, opening portals into other universes entirely! I was so excited to see the creatures and species I had seen in my visions from that crystal first-hoof! The loud noises of the machines died down to a low hum, each Gate sporting a deep hole between universes swirling about in a myriad of shades. Shortly afterwards, electrical surges swam across the torrent within the Gates, as something began to emerge. Slowly, but surely, guests began to come from the Gates from across the worlds. A blue-skinned, bipedal pig creature from a marble and onyx colored Gate. A lizard-like creature in futuristic, turtle shell-like armor from a silver Gate with blue lining. A quartet of stout, multi-colored armored knights from a stone Gate. Here, a human skeleton with a head of flame adorned in a black leather outfit. There, a pale family of nine adorned in black and white outfits. Above, a green serpent akin to Neighponese design circling above. Below... A bucket with a gas mask and rubber human gloves scuttling about. One after another, the strange guests from across the dimensions congregated in the center of the room, as all eyes fell upon me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I looked at my guests and smiled.

"Hello and welcome to the Hotel Nebula, the Hotel Between Worlds!" I greeted, a winning smile on my face. "I am Tab Keeper, Hotel Manager and Equestrian Unicorn, and I am pleased to meet you all." The crowd began to murmur between each other, talking indistinctly. "You are located in Equestria, home of ponies and the Regents of the Sun and Moon. Room keys can be picked up at the front desk, the Void Vineyard bar on the left of the lobby and the Gourmet restaurant on the right. We would also like to remind guests to have all weapons turned in at the front desk before checking in. Thank you and have a nice day." Just as I was about to turn about and leave the guests, a voice broke through the crowd.

"What the hell is this bullshit?" Shouted a cruel and raspy voice from the crowd. I faced the crowd, scanning for the upstart. "Seriously, I can't believe this nonsense." The upstart emerged from the crowd, and I was absolutely horrified at the sight. It was a human male with a deathly pale face, adorned in a white hoodie and grey sweatpants. Long black hair draped down to his shoulders, messy and unkempt. What stood out most was his face that would haunt my dreams for ages. Dark rings circled his unblinking eyes, and a red-scared mouth was kept in a horrific smile. Between his dirty pale fingers twirled a sharp kitchen knife, stained with what I prayed was dried tomato paste. Hiding my fear behind a mask of annoyance, I faced the frightening guest.

"I'm sorry, sir, but do you have a problem?" I asked. The pale man laughed, his mouth widening to sizes I thought were impossible.

"Hell yeah, I do, pony," He said, his smile a ruse for his anger. "First off, you're the manager. The last manager, Vendall, now he knew how to cater to the customers. You've been on the job for, what, three days? Vendall had ages of experience runnin' through his greasy veins. Not to mention, your a damn pony. A peaceful type." He spat on the floor, fiddling with his knife. "I hate those types. They don't bleed much." I shuddered at the aspect of a killer being amongst us. "Which brings me to point two, taking away our weapons? What kinda chicken-shit thing is that to deprive us of our only companions and protectors on the harsh road of life? Vendall let us keep our armaments."

"Protector?!" Fix-It shouted, his yellow eyes flaring red. The Mr. Handy flew up to the pale man, a furious behavior I had not seen on this side of the machine, nor even thought possible. "Sir, that knife of yours is stained with innocent blood! The reason we have the rules to keep is to prevent monsters like you from harming our guests! Vendall ignored those rules and guests suffered for it, something that Master Tab Keeper will not let happen! If you do not comply with the rules, either go back through your Gate or face the security force!" He leaned in on the pale man, his robotic eyes mere inches from the unblinking ones from the pale man. "And don't try hiding your weapons, the doors in and out have trackers for all weapons, and the Big Daddies will be on your arse faster than a 9mm bullet!" The two locked eyes for a while, staring deep into each other's unblinking eyes. Another figure stepped from the crowd, another human wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans, and a deep blue mask with black eye sockets. He whispered into Jeff's ear, the ever-smiling freak grunting in annoyance as the masked one left.

"Eh, whatever. You're lucky I'm on vacation." The pale man concluded before storming off. After that outburst, the other outer worldly guests milled out, leaving me, Fix-It, and a few others in the room. Steadily, I trotted up to the chief of maintenance with a concerned face.

"Hey, Fix-It," I said. "Thank you for standing up for me against... whoever that pale man was."

"His name is Jeff the Killer." Fix-It said, turning around. "A sadistic and insane murderous Creep from one of the Earth Universes. He delights in killing people before they sleep, carving smiles onto his victims faces. He even carved those scars on his face himself and cut out his eyelids, so I'm told." I was chilled by the description of such a dangerous character lurking about. "He's a frequent guest at the Hotel... And is responsible for the reason thirteen rooms on the fifth floor are off limits."

"Why is that?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"They never could clean up the mess he left behind." Said a new voice. I turned about and saw none other than Guardian in his human form, a solemn look on his face. "Not to mention the ghosts still linger...."

"He's the very reason we have the rule that weapons are taken from guests." I realized, my ears flattening against my head. "Sweet Celestia, we let him stay here?!"

"Unfortunately, you must if he follows the rules." Guardian said, pointing a gloved finger at me. "He's still a paying guest and you must treat him as such." He let a sly smirk appear on his face. "But that doesn't mean you can't raise his room fee."

"I can do that?" I asked.

"You're Hotel Manager, you can do whatever fits within the boundaries." Guardian said. "Which brings me to why I'm here. Well done on your first day, Mr. Keeper." He kneeled onto one knee, looking at me with a smile. "Despite a few hiccups, things are looking very well for you here at Hotel Nebula. The staff like you, the guests are enjoying themselves, and most of all, you know when to put your foot... err... Hoof down."

I blushed from his praise, and returned with a smile. "Thank you, sir. I try my best to make sure this ship runs on smooth seas."

"Ha!" Guardian laughed. "Sounds like Commodore Legs is rubbing off on you. Oh, and by the way," He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small stone with a purple spiral carving at the center. "I forgot to give you this when you started. This little stone will send you to my office if you press on the spiral. Use it whenever you need help or want to talk to me." He placed it in my hoof, a stern look on his face. "Just... Don't use it at 4:30 PM on Fridays. That's me time."

"Will do, sir." I said, pocketing the stone. Just as Guardian was about to leave, I called him back, one last question on my mind. "Wait, could you tell me what exactly happened to the last Hotel Manager? Someone named Vendall?"

"The Turian?" Guardian asked, a grim frown appearing on his face. "Jeff happened. Enough said." With those final words, Guardian vanished in a flash of light, leaving me and Fix-It in the Gate room alone. Swallowing my fear of getting carved up by that smiling freak, I made my way back to the Lobby and continued my basic job. Hopefully, the next few guests would be reasonable, and I could end my day as normally as possible.

"Welcome to the Hotel Nebula," I said, eyes closed with a smile. "How can I... " Then I opened my eyes. "Help... You..." My heart skipped a beat... twice, at the guest before me. He was tall and serpent-like, a mishmash of numerous animals compiled into one body. A grey pony head with two off-sized yellow eyes with red irises, a single protruding fang sticking from his mouth. Two different horns, one a deer the other a goat, sat above two fluffy white eyebrows. On his long, brown body, he sported one blue bird wing and a purple bat wing. His right arm a lion's paw, his left an eagle talon. A red dragon tail slithered about behind his lizard and goat leg. I knew him... All of Equestria knew him... And worst of all, he carried two bags of luggage with him.

"Absolutely," The Spirit of Chaos said with a chipper smile. "Room for one for two weeks, just for me, Discord." And then, everything went black.