Tabitha relaxed into her new, crazy role in life. She found that pony food, or most of it, was alright. She only had to run to the bathroom once, and she only felt ill one morning that she couldn't easily place on the food or just a passing illness, so she avoided it, and everything seemed... alright. Her computer worked, so long as no online functions were needed, so she played some games when she was between manning the office.

She heard a soft thump at the window and glanced to see the pegasus had landed on her balcony. He knocked with a soft clopping of his hoof on the glass door. "Sorry to bother you, um, Tabitha?"

Tabitha pushed to her feet and approached curiously. Was she about to be hit on gracelessly again? "What's up, bird-horse?"

"Razz Berry," he corrected as he colored. "Just making sure you're alright. I heard some odd sounds so I came to look."

Tabitha glanced over her shoulder at the paused game and back at Razz. "As you can probably see, I'm fine. How did you hear that from far away?" He started to turn new colors and she realized she had caught him. "Why were you listening to me?"

Razz put up his hooves defensively. "I was just worried about you! It's not any kind of weird stalking, I swear." He lowered the hooves and tapped at the glass. "Can I come in?"

She strongly considered denying him, but she opened the door despite those feelings. "You ever play a video game?"

"The magic games?" he asked as he trotted inside with a growing smile. "Is that what the sound is?"

"I guess it's magic if you don't know what it is, and only a few people know that." She closed the doors. "I have a few two-player games, want to try?"

His eyes went wide. "I'd love to, um, Tabby."

She got the idea half his excitement had nothing to do with the game directly, but she moved back to her chair, got comfy, and loaded up a simple rhythm game for them to play. She handed over one of her gamepads, unsure how he'd handle it with hooves, but curious to see it work.

He looked at it curiously. "Small buttons." He turned it this way and that a moment before his wings unfolded and came in to act as assistants as he started manipulating it with excited hoof presses and wing squeezes. Soon they were both making their avatars dance around in a very musical battle against each other. While eager, she had experience on her side, and she knocked his warrior down with a digital cry as the music came to a dramatic halt.

He whistled softly as he put the gamepad down. "This must have cost you quite a few bits. The graphics are amazing, and the sound is fantastic."

"I have others."

If his eyes could actually pop out of his head. "Your magic can do more than one game?! I never saw one that could manage that, even the expensive ones... Where'd you get it?" He tilted his head. "Are there more um, what you are there?"

He really didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she was notably not a pony. She was unashamedly human and comfortable with it, and he just ate it up. It was charming in a way. "Actually, yes. You can call this human magic, and you wouldn't be far off."

"Is that what you are?"

He looked so curious, it was adorable. "Yes, I'm a human." She leaned towards him suddenly. "Rawr."

He wasn't scared, he just smiled. "If humans are all like you, they seem alright. Wanna play an--"

His words were cut off by a dull thump from below. Either someone fell, no, there was another thump. It came regularly, like someone was stomping or playing a stereo really loudly. Either way was a violation of the rules.

Tabitha pushed to her feet with a grunt. "I have to see what that is, and stop it. I'll talk later, alright?"

He nodded and she saw him to the balcony where he took off. She flicked the lock back into place and stormed out into the hallway.

The thumping could be felt as she went down and seemed to come from the second floor. She only had one resident there... She winced at the idea of having to deal with the white-furred monster that lived with her as she walked down the hallway. She tried to look at the bright side. "I'm a monster as far as the ponies see, and they put up with me. I should wear just as brave a face."

With a false smile and equally false bravery, she knocked on his door.

The thumping stopped.

There was a quiet moment before the door creaked open an inch. Snow and frost gusted out in a sudden flurry, spreading snow into the hallway and over Tabitha's shoes as she shivered at the sudden drop in temperature.

The tenant was there, glaring at her with one eye visible. "I told you," he boomed in his authoritative way. "I am not to be bothered on the fourteenth day of any month. This is ver--"

"You're making noise and bothering everyone!" she shouted back at him with an authority born of being a born landlady. "What's with all the banging?"

His expression turned from stern anger to befuddlement. "You could hear it?"

The door suddenly tore open away from his clawed hand, revealing a snow covered landscape that spread far more inside than any apartment should allow. A terrific roar came from the frozen place as a huge six-legged beast crested a hill, dropping spittle and staring at her tenant balefully.

He put a hand in her way. "You would do well to stay back." He advanced towards the beast, returning its display of teeth with his own as his claws went wide, ready to fight.

The beast came down on... the beast. It was black on white, making it a confusing mess as they wrestled, clawed, and bit. Neither bled. There was no red, but terrible jagged wounds were formed that refused to ooze life essence. The tenant picked up the creature and hurled it down at the ground. Something broke, and it yelped with pain before rolling over, glaring, and running away.

Tabitha stared at the whole exchange with her mouth open a little. The horses were one thing. Compared to them... Yeah, she could handle the horses, ultimately... "What..."

"I apologize. I must have formed things incorrectly. I will fix it and the sound will cease. Please do not bother me again." He grabbed the door and slammed it shut, leaving some snow in the hallway.

Should she yell? Should she complain? She slowly turned away from the door, taking a slow breath.

There was no more sound that evening, and Tabitha left it alone at that. She returned to her room, shaken. What was going on in her precious building?

Instead of pushing inside, she turned away. She had to know... She walked away to the next door and threw it open, just to expose an endless field of stars that seemed to stretch out forever beyond, ignoring all geometry of the building itself. The faint rushing of air around her hinted that she truly stood before a void, and it seemed a miracle that she hadn't been sucked out into it.

With a shaking hand, she slowly closed that door. Just as she got halfway there, a squid like monster swam through the darkness and seemed to notice her. It paused and turned before darting at her with terrific speed.

She yelped in fright and slammed the door shut. It thumped softly from the other side once, but the void was gone, and so was the creature. She was safe, for the moment...

Tabitha leaned back against the wall and heaved for breath.

"Are you alright?" It was Coco, looking concerned. "I was just going to see what all that noise was."

"No no no no! Everything's fine." She laughed with hysterical notes before she noticed and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Look, everything's nice and quiet now."

Coco tilted her head as if listening a quiet moment before she nodded. "Thank you for that. I'm trying to design a new set of clothes and some quiet to concentrate goes a long way. I don't mean to be a bother."

"You're a designer?" Tabitha looked over the pony curiously. "Clothes you said?" Clothes designing felt so delightfully mundane compared to what else she'd seen that evening, she attached right to it. "May I see?"

"Oh, sure..." She seemed disarmed at the query. "I'm afraid none of it is really made for bipeds. I've had a minotaur client before, but most are ponies, and a few griffons."

Of course, minotaurs. She grinned wryly as her past thought proved all too correct. "Lead the way. I'm sure it's charming."

She followed along behind Coco as she led the way back to her room. "I notice you wear a lot of clothing. Is that a personal decision or a, um, what you are decision? You know, society?"

"Society says I have to cover up," admitted Tabitha with a smile. "I get to decide what I wear. Today felt like a jeans day." She patted her weathered jeans. "So here we are."

She turned and regarded them curiously. She reached out a hoof and felt a little. "The pattern is familiar but so tight and precise. How can a pony stitch it so well?"

"I don't know a pony could... But even humans don't, we have machines."

"Oh!" She smiled with understanding. "Your pants are made with a sewing machine. That makes sense." She opened her door and led her inside, showing a room overflowing with books, not fashion. She had some pony mannequins, ponyquins? She had some of those with fabric on them in the suggestion of clothes to come but not done yet. "I'd like to see a, what was that, human? A human sewing machine. I wonder how it's similar or not." She pointed at her dummies. "Here they are."

"Still in the planning stage?" Tabitha raised a brow as she looked them over. There wasn't enough there to really give a solid idea of what Coco was aiming for.

Coco let out a loud sigh just as the door they had just entered opened with a bang. A light pink pony stormed in with a little smile and a bolt of fabric floating beside her.

"Coco," she demanded. "I need you to get to work. Make a whole line with this." She set the bolt down then gestured at the dolls, ripping them clean without thought with her magic. "Forget everything. This will win us the competition for sure."

"But..."

"Now!"

"Yes, Miss Polomare..." Coco's head hung, clearly whipped, but she got to work.

Tabitha blinked softly. "Uh..."

That was when Polomare noticed her and blinked. "Hello there. I'm sorry, but she can't talk to friends right now. She has to finish this work for me, tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Tonight..." Polomare glared daggers at Coco, then smiled at Tabitha. "Fly along now. She'll be available tomorrow perhaps."

Tabitha remembered she was still a pegasus as far as any pony that didn't live there was concerned, like this rude pink pony. She considered challenging her, but standing up for her tenants was a big leap. They were barely friends. "Hey, Coco. We'll talk later, alright? Be well."

Author's Notes:

The mysteries of the building deepen, even as Tabitha discovers the typos in her relations to those that live with her.