Spring had left, speaking something of trying to clean the 'foul taint' of the experience from her. Her words were acidic and mean, but she'd never looked happier and even gave a little wink at Tabitha that seemed to promise she'd come back.

She'd come back. Tabitha shuffled from hoof to hoof. She'd just... Well, raped? That seemed the wrong word for it. Spring had come perilously close to begging for it. It wasn't really a matter of consent, that was given. She wasn't a rapist, she was just a failure in a million other ways.

She'd done... things with a person who had no true 'love' for her. Hell, Spring didn't seem to comprehend 'love' as humans and even the ponies understood it. She was a sexy tool, a sharp tool, but not something to expect love or to give that to.

Then there was Coco. Poor Coco. Her heart stung, both of them. The idea that she had betrayed and hurt someone so... innocent. Coco had never done her wrong, and she really did seem to care, to love. She just wanted a partner. Sure, she'd never really considered a woman, let alone a horse, but there she was, with that gentle smile. She wanted love and demanded so very little in return except that exchange.

And there was Tabitha, betraying her. That day... it sucked. It sucked in every way. Tabitha took a slow breath. Looking back on it, her time with Spring, though it left her feeling slimy, wasn't bad per se. She still wasn't sure how that had worked at all. She should have split Spring right in half, though actually hurting the damn elf just would have made her feel worse.

She glanced down at her parts to see she was messy and increasingly crusty as things dried, but she was... decent, or closer to it. She went for a pony suit she had laying around her office and started to climb into it, to hide her literal shame when she went upstairs. It wasn't in the budget, but she would have to get good ventilation in her office. Truthfully, she should spring for the same treatment in her apartment, but she shouldn't have strangers there anyway.

Tabitha tried to control her breathing and marshal her thoughts as she crossed the lobby towards that elevator. She was still the manager of that building. She had responsibilities, both as a landlady and--

"Greetings." Tabitha looked up to see a unicorn in dark robes with a silvery moon on her chest. "You should be expecting me. Princess Luna sent me." She raised a hoof to gesture at herself. "Her words failed to impress on me the exact nature of your... condition, but I am told you are polite and well-intentioned, so I will try to dismiss your physical state. I am Dark Vision, and I will serve as your wizard."

She was a bit confused at first, but it came to her. "Ah! Yes, she did mention that. So you're staying here?" Dark nodded. "Great, we should get a contract written up and a key to you." That process was so blissfully automatic. She turned right around and led the way back to her office.

Inside, Dark's nose twitched faintly. "Pheromones, thick." She raised a brow. "Are you attempting to seduce me? I am flattered at the notion, but I'm not attracted to mares."

Tabitha found her thoughts crashing into the sudden wall. "N-no! Really, I--"

"Not a mare." Dark sniffed softly. "I smell a lot of stallion... Both? Have you bred recently? Am I detecting your paramour?"

Tabitha went a dark red at the questions. She could try to be quiet about it, but Dark seemed to be sharp, and would be there to help, and for the duration. Lying to her seemed a bad idea. "It's from me."

"Not all from you." She sniffed once more. "I can't place the other female. Crystal pony? I haven't had as much exposure to them. The pheromones are stale and fresh at once. You're still producing them." Dark leaned closer, nose twitching. "You're both? Fascinating... But I'm not here to regulate you unless you break the laws of this land. I trust you're avoiding that?"

Despite her desires, she began to swell and thicken between her powerful back legs. "I plan to be a good neighbor." Even if she was the worst, um, how did the ponies put it? Marefriend. "Do you have a preference for floor? They're all available right now."

"Even if you are a stallion, I should decline. It would interfere with my duties. You can stop that." Dark stared at Tabitha for several uneasy moments. "Well?"

Tabitha had no idea how to just... stop that. "How?"

"You're not doing that on purpose?" Dark twitched one of her ears up. "How awkward... I will take any floor, select one."

Tabitha picked a key and wrote out the contract quickly. Dark had the bits ready and surrendered them just like any other tenant.

Dark paused a moment, glancing around. "The other scent changed. I don't recognize it at all. How... intriguing. Tell me about this nexus? I can feel its energy through this building. It's so powerful I am surprised she thought I could handle it alone, but I will try."

Tabitha had a thought. There was a wizard that wasn't trying to get one over on her. "Wait, can you make me human again?"

"Human? Like the one that's been adopted?" Dark shook her head. "I'd need a template. I have ponies memorized, but I've never met a 'human' before. Why?"

"Adopted?" Tabitha hadn't heard of that. It was good to hear there was another hu--

"He requested full transformation. A unicorn, I'm told, colt. He was adopted by two ponies he was familiar with." Dark nodded softly. "Not my jurisdiction." She pointed at Tabitha. "You and this place are. Ma'am, your scent is very powerful. If I was less trained or more inclined, we would be engaged in depravity already. The scents imply this has already occurred?"

Was it that obvious? Tabitha pinkened even as she twitched in her pants. She felt so dirty, not even just figuratively, but her member needed a bath, a real bath. All of her needed a good soaking. Despite being filthy, a teeny part of her insisted it'd be nice to 'greet' Dark in a very personal way. "Yes," she mumbled in reply. Dark was her doctor, of a sort. Lying to one's doctor never helped, no matter how embarrassing. "Can you help?"

Dark broke into a bright smile. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you ask that. If this is truly something beyond your control and against your wishes, then I am duty-bound to help as I can. The first solution, and by far the simplest, is to spend more time with a significant other. Do you have such a relation?"

A vision of Coco appeared in Tabitha's mind. Her gentle smile, those... Tabitha shook her head free of unwanted visions of horse parts, even if they weren't nearly as revolting as they 'should' be. "We're not... that close yet?" Were they? Coco seemed ready to take that leap.

"Shame. For now, I would see my room, then patrol this place thoroughly. We will meet again and discuss it, and your personal problems." Dark gave a slow nod. "You seem to have proper faith in my abilities, and I will endeavor to not disappoint you. You're in my hooves, and I will take care of you."

Tabitha actually did feel better. Even as Dark trotted away. Her robe concealed objectionable parts, thank the varied gods. When Dark was out of sight, Tabitha let out a little breath. She decided she liked Dark and her presence, as alien as some of it was. She seemed a mare that took her job seriously, but she didn't seem like a jerk about it. Compared to Spring's magic use, it was a huge relief in comparison.

Slowly she made her way back to her hooves and locked up the office. She moved for the elevator, but was denied that escape. Bubbles was there. Part of her wanted to scream and run. She had seen too much that day. All she wanted was a bath without end. Was that too much?

"Hey boss." Bubbles glanced left and right before trotting closer. "Look, I wanna talk."

"Talk?" Tabitha was on guard, expecting a verbal attack.

"Yeah, see... We were talking... I'm being, maybe, a little bit of a jerk. I keep expecting you to be the heel, but you aren't, so I just end up playing the real plothole the entire time." She put a hoof to her chest. "So, the way I see it, if being rut in front of you didn't scare you off, hardly nothin' will, so if you're ready to put my shit behind, I'll put your shit behind, and we'll get over this river together, eh?"

Tabitha blinked with amazement. Was Bubbles really offering to move on like that? It seemed too good to be true, especially if it meant Bubbles really would set aside that chip on her shoulder. "That would be nice."

Bubbles smiled. It wasn't Coco's smile, or even Dark's smile. It was a cocky smile, full of self-importance, but it seemed genuine. "Great, so I'll get back to keepin' an eye on things. Speaking of which, did you see that mare in the black robes? Kinda creepy if you ask me, but she had a key? She a renter?"

Tabitha straightened at the mention of her newest tenant. "She is, and she works for a princess, Luna was her name. She's here to help keep an eye out on all the weird things, like that troll."

"Bitching," casually cursed Bubbles. "I bet she knows a few fun spells worth knowing. Wonder if I could get her to share..." She tapped at a chin with a hoof. "But so long as you know she's here, I won't get in her way. I was just makin' sure. She's exactly the kind of weirdo you told me to keep an eye out for."

She wandered away from Tabitha, but stopped and looked over her shoulder. "You can stop staring at my flank." She wriggled her back end. "I know I'm sexy, but I have a coltfriend. Let's not hurt his feelin's any." She winked and trotted off, leaving Tabitha with a growing blush.

Tabitha decided to accept those parting words as a sort of mark of sincerity. She wouldn't say those things to someone she planned to hate. She shook her head and stepped into the elevator, pushing the button for her floor and sighing with relief. Nothing stopped her from fleeing into her room and locking the door. She was finally safe.

"Tabby?" It was Razz, peeking out of the kitchen. "L-last time, I swear. I just... can we talk?"

No! "Sure..." She gestured almost numbly to a chair. "Have a seat. Your girlfriend might get upset if you hang around me."

He blushed as he hopped into the offered chair. "We talked... Did she run into you? Um, really, thank you." He offered a hoof. "Whether or not I'm with with you, you helped me turn a corner, and I'm not blind. I owe you a lot, and I really do want to be friends, which I hope I didn't just completely screw up today, but I understand if I did! So if you want to throw me out and tell me to not come back, I'll do that, alright?"

Throwing him out felt like a great idea. "Razz, I hope you and your girlfriend are both happy, but right now? I just want to forget some things and relax. Can I do that?"

Razz looked confused. "O-Oh, um, sure? I just..."

"I'm not telling you to go away forever."

"Alright." He hopped from his chair, but reared up and hugged her human part. "Thank you." He fled immediately thereafter, leaving Tabitha blissfully alone.

Author's Notes:

And we're finally back to a chapter where the biggest threat are the typos.