Paradise Inn

The Everfree forest is deep and dark, almost alive some would say. It chills to the bone and makes even the strongest of stallions jitter as the trees themselves seem to creep towards you with the intent to drag you down. It is said if one was to enter it they would need a strong heart and an unstoppable soul to escape.

Or perhaps all one needed was luck.

Weary, tired, and with red-rimmed, blurry eyes, a creature stumbled out of the Everfree's murky embrace, dregs of the forest clinging in its feathers and fur like gloomy scars of some lost fight. It was almost pitiful to watch as the creature struggled to pull itself together, stumbling once or twice before making an attempt to hold itself high, only to trip once more.

It pulled itself along, mud blending with its fur and chaffing at its flesh and weighing it down as its eyes fixed on a light - likely the first it had seen in ages - that flickered in the distance.

It hobbled over ditches, past fences and through a creek, weak but determined to make it, to reach this one bright point. No matter how much it ached, it had to push itself.

And so it reached the light - the warm glow of a fireplace and oil lamps through a window. Slowly, ever so carefully, as if any sudden movement might make the flickering illumination vanish, it raised its head and peered in to this glorious sight.

It saw a gathering of ponies, a multitude of colours and shapes, sizes and genders, all sitting in a great room, talking, laughing. One, large, black, horned and with a slightly hectic look about him was loudly telling something of a story to those who would listen, while one lay curled upon a couch like a cat, listening intently with others. On occasion one with a bright white mane that caught the colours of the fire would speak up. The forest worried creature sat by the window and listened throughout the night, and nopony was the wiser.

Zephyr Plume yawned, the byzantium mare stretching from her seat on the couch, brushing her shock white mane out of her eyes as she absent-mindedly prodded her mango coloured friend in the side. This earned the purple pegasus a disgruntled grumble from the earth pony as a red tail flicked in annoyance. Zeph rolled her eyes, as she prodded her friend again, "Rapoza, get your lazy ass up. We fell asleep at Izzy, Ray and Chaz's place again."

The stallion stubbornly grumbled and rolled over on the couch, hooves wrapping about the cushion he was laying on. Zeph sighed, propping herself up against the arm of their shared resting place before continuing to pester her companion, "If you don't get up, I'll make you get up." Upon being met with another grunt, she planted her hooves against the stubborn stallion and gave a great shove.

The storm of swearing that escaped the displaced stallion was met with a hearty laugh as a massive black unicorn leaned against the door frame. The volume of swearing increased as the unicorn smirked, making 'tsk'ing noises before speaking up, red eyes sparkling with delight, "What's this, the great Rapoza not landing on his hooves? What happened to those fabled cat like reflexes?"

"Shut it Night Bane," Green eyes glared out from under a bright red mane as the slightly smaller stallion picked himself off the floor.

He was waved off as the unicorn turned, "Anyways, came to tell you two breakfast is ready. Better hurry before it's gone."

Rapoza grumbled under his breath as they made their way through the messy Inn, Zeph ducking under a stack of scrolls that was floating in mid air as she resonded to the stallions mutterings, "If you had gotten up, you would have avoided all that you know, right?"

"And you could have not pushed me, you featherhead!"

The light-hearted bickering continued all the way into the "dining room", where Night greeted them with heaps of waffles already on his plate and vanishing into his bottomless pit of a stomach. Izzy waved from where he sat at the stove, the old waffle iron steaming as the breakfast treat cooked.

The room itself was cozy, full of mismatched furniture, random cushions and piles of straw around tables of various ages and wear. It wasn't extravagant, but it was comfortable to the point many of the towns folk would show up to order food there over the local restaurants. Izzy was also an amazing cook, though the menu was less a choice and more 'whatever he had on hand.'

After a few minutes of frantic eating, and a coin or two tossed into the change box, Rapoza broke the relative silence. "So, what's the plan for today?"

The ebony unicorn snorted, pouring syrup into his coffee as he rattled off a short list. "Write some tales, stay alive... Not falling asleep in the common room."

"You let us stay in the common room, not like you kicked us out," The mango stallion pointed out, fork jabbing towards a pancake.

"Not really a good excuse. This is Paradise Inn, remember?" Night frowned slightly, taking a swig of his coffee and grimacing before pouring an even more gratuitous amount of syrup into the beverage. "Gotta pay for room and board. I only stick around because I get discounts for doing all their written work."

"Give me a break Night, you just hate doing things like making beds, making food and keeping a yard,." Zephyr sipped her caffeine laden beverage. "Mind you, that doesn't mean you're not right. Not exactly making a killing right now."

"Well, we'll deal with that later, we've gotta meet up with Sang, remember?"

The purple pegasus smacked her forehead with a hoof. "Shoot, we're gonna be late! Come on, lets go!" With a half flap, she rocketed through the doorway, her mango companion shaking his head as he followed behind.

Night shouted at them as they left, half grinning as Rapoza's half turn nearly ran him into the door frame. "Say Hello for me! I'm busy for the day!"

With a nod, the mango coloured pony followed the mad-mare.

"So, what are you up to next?"

A red mare perched gracefully on the booths bench, slowly sampling her salad as she regarded Zephyr over an early brunch.

"Uuuh, I dunno. Maybe a story about a Zebra, far off ports, pirates, slavers, adventure..." The pegasus trailed off, eyes looking to the middle distance thoughtfully. "Something dramatic."

Sanguine Blaze hummed, hewing her mouthful of food before speaking up once more. "You know, you'd have better luck with romance if you need money."

Zephyr made a barfing noise, muzzle scrunching up in distaste. "Ugh, I would rather sell my soul to Discord than buckle and produce the same story everypony else does. Boring."

"I don't know, I'm writing a romance as it is, it's not going too terribly," Rapoza took a quick slurp of his soda, carrying on after letting out a small belch. "Kinda enjoying it, to be honest."

"You would, wouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Foreeeever aloooone~" Zeyphr dodged out of the mango coloured ponies hoof range as he took a playful swipe, laughing good naturedly even as she half tumbled out of the booth. "You know I'm kidding Rapo."

Sang rolled her eyes. "Really mature you two."

Rapoza grinned, waving Zephyr back over. "Yeah yeah..." He polished off his soda, sighing contentedly as he slid the tall glass into the tables center. "We all back to the Inn tonight? Nights doing another story session."

"Not surprising, but I suppose we should go give him our support," Sanguine pushed her empty plate to join the tall soda glass, raising her hoof for the bill. "Not that he needs it, you know."

"Yeah, well, we might as well enjoy the show. Nothing like a good night of 'Paradise Theater.'"

The common-room of the Paradise Inn was as cozy and mismatched as the rest of the inn, scrolls floating just off of shelves, a few couches, cushions, tables, a small stage over by the fireplace, wood worn and battered from time, and oil lamps suspended mid air. It was odd, to say the least, but then again, the owners of the establishment themselves where unusual. Ray in particular was something of a unicorn engineer, magic finding its way into almost anything; windows leading outside despite being in the center of the building, the floating bunches of scrolls, and the fact that the common room, despite being in the middle of the small, three story inn, had a vaulted ceiling and could seat most of the town only helped drive the point home.

That said, the common room was crowded. Not unusual at all, there was always a crowd on story nights, something that had been branded as a theater, most likely from how lively Night was when he spun tales - Watching him was like watching a one stallion stage show. For all his quirks, Night Bane was most definitely an attraction in the town, a grand bard who had chosen to make his place at the inn, and when he told stories, it seemed all came to listen, no matter the age or class. Izzy, Ray and Chaz had deemed the added income and Nights other work for them more then enough reason to almost let him stay for free.

The ebony unicorn was, per usual, entertaining as many in the common room as he could, a slightly mad look crossing over his features as he gestured wildly with one hoof and a levitated bottle. "- And there was the changeling, surrounded on all sides by diamond dogs. They growled deeply, moving in for the kill, sharp splinters of teeth gnashing as they thought of finishing off the troublesome bug. The first lunged, and Skitter dodged to the left, using the mutts momentum to swing it into one of its companions before launching himself up, towards to caverns high ceiling. The dogs response was a hail of wicked rocks, most falling short or going wide, by enough hit to slow down the changeling. All seemed lost," The unicorn paused dramatically before carrying on, letting the audience lean forwards in the small lull. "BAM! An arcane explosion ripped from on the the side tunnels, tossing dogs helter-skelter!"

"'SKIT!' Came the shout as his love, the one he had though lost to him forever, barreled into the cavern, the teal coloured unicorns horn still smoking in her purple mane. 'I thought I'd lost you!'"

Zeph stopped paying attention again. It had gotten past the major climax in the story, things would level out from there and they would all live happily ever after. Turning to Rapoza, she prodded the curled up stallion in the side. "He has an odd fixation with changelings, don't you think?"

"Third story this month, but he's always told tales of them," The mango coloured stallion shrugged, eyes lazily looking over the crowd. "Who knows, maybe there's one in here and this story is for them."

Sanguine nodded from her perch on the couches arm rest, the crimson earth pony glancing at Rapoza. "Maybe," She fixed her amber eyes back on the black unicorn, before sighing softly. "He's going to end this romantically, with everything perfect."

Zephyr snorted. "He almost always does. He hates having the good guys hurt."

"Hopeless romantic that one."

"Eyup."

After that, they just sat and listened, pointing out minor errors in continuity to each other quietly on their couch, cozily located in the back of the room. Before long Knight was wrapping up the story, grinning wide as the audience looked on in rapture. "She looked over at him before asking, 'Where should we go?' The changeling smiled wide before softly kissing the unicorn. 'Anywhere you want.'"

A low but feminine voice cut in. "Hah."

There was a murmur of wondering as the newcomer strode through the murky entrance and into the room. Messy brown feathers, a slight tint of red on them, followed by an equally ragged coat of fur, sharp black talons and a swept back crest marked the griffoness as something wild. Her eyes, however, looked disinterested and tired, like she didn't care at all, deep green colouration reminding less of gems and more of swamp slime.

"I'll tell you all how this story ends, the good guys die and the bad guys win."

Night growled. "This isn't your story birdy. Shove off."

He was met with a smirk. "The two lovers escaped to the west, bringing with them the few possessions they could. Skitter, or 'Skit' as he chose to be called, putting on a traveling show to make ends meet, doing his best to make Cloud comfortable. Unbeknownst to them, the few remaining diamond dogs had been made to talk. Rumor had said one pony had gone into the caves and two had come out. Cloud was known about Canterlot, a mare of great skill when it came to hot air balloons even though it was not her 'special talent', so it was only a matter of time before others went looking for her...'" The Griffoness only grinned wider as Night scowled. Then her words flowed out and twisted the tale.

It took her a good hour to flesh the tale out, bringing in a fictional Captain of the Guard, White Knight, tasked with finding the great mind of cloud and bring her back, most of the time focusing on the hardship of the changeling, forced to be someone he wasn't just to not be hated, just to stay alive, the constant fear of discovery. The finale was finally drawing close, the Captain having cornered the couple in a temple, the statue of Celestia looking down upon it all.

"-And as White Knight brought his sword down, intent on cutting the changeling to pieces, the battered mare threw herself in the way. Time stood still as Skit could only watch, helpless as his love was cut down. Knight swore. 'Stupid mare! I told you not to get in the way!' With that he slammed Cloud to the side, rage billowing up as he turned his blade to the changeling once more. 'For corrupting a mare like that, vile beast, I hope the goddess makes you pay.' The changeling ignored the insane captain, instead trying his best to crawl to his love. She needed him. He had to make sure she was ok. He had to. He struggled, the sound of the blade rushing through the air filling his ears even as he reached out and touched his loves hoof."

The half cat paused her narration, eyes closing as her wings spread dramatically, their ragged width looking like the reapers cape in the low light. "His last thoughts where how he had failed her, and how it might have been better if they had never met that fateful day."

Half the audience was shaking. Night was scowling. Rapoza and Zephyr both stared with slack jaws. The room was dead quiet save for the crackling fire in the hearth.

Somepony did a slow stomp, the steady applause making everyone in the room turn. Sanguine Blaze, eyes half lidded, thumped her hoof against the floorboards. Slowly the sound was joined by others, everypony murmuring to one another as the griffoness fluffed herself up as she strode across the room and jumped onto the couch beside Zephyr.

"I must say, that was quite a turn you pulled there. Far too many stories you hear are feel good, it's refreshing to hear something different," Sang had moved behind the couch, front hooves over the backrest as she inspected the ruddy griffon. She motioned to herself before continuing, "Sanguine Blaze, and you are?"

With a snort, the half bird turned her beak to face the crimson earth mare. "Marr," She flicked her tail and smoothed her ragged feathers down before continuing. "No story is really done until the hero is dead," She paused, contemplating something before continuing. "Sometimes it just happens sooner."

The crimson pony nodded sagely. "Not every story has a happy ending."

"Might have a happy middle though," The ruddy griffon grinned, letting herself lounge on the soft couch, wings half spreading.

"What happened to your feathers?" Zephyr reached out a hoof, trying to get a better look at the tattered and mangled looking primaries that graced the half birds wide wings.

The griffoness retracted the appendages sharply, scowling. "Came through the Everfree. Bit of a rough patch."

"Through the forest? Wouldn't it have been better to have gone over?"

Marr regarded Rapoza as though he where mentally challenged, beak a firm line. "Ya think?" She pushed herself out of her seat, wings half spreading to keep her stable on her paws. "Sometimes it seems like that forest reaches out and grabs you. Then you've gotta fight your way out," She glanced back at them, eyes unreadable before she padded out as abruptly as she had entered.

There was silence for a while before Rapoza spoke up, breaking the silence. "Well. She seemed nice."

Marr joined them for breakfast the next day, the griffon sitting off to the side by one of the three entrances, already munching away at pancakes as Zephyr strode in.

"I can't believe we feel asleep here again Rapo," The pegasus scowled, grabbing a plate of pancakes and slathering syrup and butter on them.

The mango coloured pony rolled his eyes as he followed suit, sitting beside the pegasus. blinking, he looked about the room. "Where's Night?"

Izzy shrugged from his place over at the stove, the silent pony continuing to make breakfast as a few other guests filed in, the place slowly filling with a humm of activity.

"I bet he's sulking because he got out done last night," The pegasus hummed to herself, eyeing the new creature in town. "She's certainly interesting."

Rapoza snorted. "More like a rebel without a cause. That story was really... Grim."

"Yeah, it was," Zephyr thoughtfully chewed on a pancake. "I liked it."

The mango coloured stallion rolled his eyes. "I guess it's exactly the type of thing you'd enjoy, isn't it?" His companion just nodded, white mane bouncing up and down.

As more and more ponies filed in, Zeph noticed the griffoness edging further and further towards the door, after a while silently placing the half finished plate of pancakes on a table and stalking out. The purple mare excused herself, leaving Rapoza, dodging around the chaotic mess hall and through the cluttered hallways, following the griffons ruddy tail like a cat might chase a snake.

As the half bird went to enter her room, a shout halted her. "Hold up!" The griffon paused, looking over her shoulder at Zephyr, eyebrow rasied.

"Marr, right?"

The ruddy coloured griffon turned, disinterested gaze roaming over the pegasus. "Yeah. What do ya want?"

"Well, you're gonna be sticking around for a while right?" The pegasus grinned up at the griffoness, smile fading a touch as Marr frowned slightly.

"Dunno."

The mare fidgeted slightly. "Maybe I could show you around town..?"

Marr rolled her eyes before fixing the pegasus with an amused look. "And who, exactly, are you?"

"Oh, feathers, sorry, I'm Zephyr. Zephyr Plume," The deep purple pegasus lifted a hoof for Marr to shake as she carried on. "And I'm very interested in your story telling."