"Thank you." Dark nodded as her horn glowed, taking the piece of paper away.

It was a nice day. The sun was shining. The wind was mild and refreshing. A pity Tabitha was inside not enjoying any of it. She was in her office, having just filled out the immigration papers. "You do understand, you are still, legally, Easy Glider." She raised a brow. "You may be better off simply accepting that title. You are her. If it comforts you, I would believe she would be pleased with how things have turned, if her opinion could be solicited."

Of all the things she had surrendered, that was one she could clutch to. "Ponies can change names, can't they?"

"If they wish." Dark furrowed her brow slightly. "I gather you do."

"I do." Tabitha nodded as she patted off her new blue and pink suit. "Please make me, officially, Tabitha Taylor."

Dark shook her head. "As you wish, but there may yet be some complications. We'll deal with those as they come. Your outfit suits you, and I have a gift to go with it."

Tabitha leaned forward a bit at the news. "Oh?" She imagined a set of gloves, then a hat and finally a purse. "What?"

Dark set down a curious stone that glowed a dull green. "Slip that into a pocket and your scent will not escape that suit. That will prevent your signal from being an issue in public, where the damage would be the most severe."

That was a far cry from the fashion-minded options Tabitha had thought of at first, but it was still good. She picked up the marble-sized stone and stuffed it into her outfit. She didn't feel different. "Should we see or feel anything?"

Dark sniffed softly. "Your room still reeks of you. It will take time for it to air out. You may wish to keep the door open for a while."

Tabitha glanced back at her poor human chair, useless as it was. It wasn't large enough for a pony body to perch in easily, let alone her curiously shaped self. She needed something... wider. "I'll leave that open while I head out for a little while."

A soft clopping came from the door a moment before it swung open to reveal the unicorn that belonged to the repair team. "Hey Boss. I've got the latest invoices."

Tabitha perked up. "Oh right. Let's see those. No reason to put that off." She held out a hand and the sheaf of papers landed in them even as Dark quietly moved off. "Hey, we'll talk later, Dark."

The unicorns nodded to one another, then Dark was gone.

"Paint, caulk, labor..." Most of the things on the list were pretty normal, at least until she got to the middle. "Hazard pay?"

The unicorn nodded quickly. "Dark Vision confirmed it was potentially dangerous, though we haven't been bothered yet."

The line only added ten bits. Ten bits was basically nothing, compared to the rest of it. She could argue it, but it seemed like a losing proposition. She ended up signing off on the mess and offering a bag of bits to the patient horse.

"Thanks!" They turned to leave, unaffected by the scent. Tabitha was mildly curious about that, but didn't complain.

She tucked the invoices away and moved for the exit herself. As promised, she left the door wide open to let fresh air come in. She also made sure things that could lock, were locked. Sure, most ponies were nice enough, still, why risk it? She hung a little 'be back soon' sign on the open door and stepped out onto the street.

"Ah, there you are." A familiar news reporting mare approached her. "I can't wait to see this building of yours, is this it?"

Tabitha felt quite guilty. She didn't remember the mare's name at all. "Yeah..." Was their appointment for that day?

"Oh, I never did introduce myself properly." She fished out a card from her jacket and offered it. "Due Diligence, at your service! Now, about that interview?"

Due Note and Due Diligence? That matched nicely. "I was just about to head out, actually... How about we get something together while we're going?" And while she was away from that office, and was wearing her scent blocker.

Due Diligence tilted her head a little. "We can do that, certainly. I figured you'd want me to look at this house of yours."

"We can do that when we get back," Tabitha demurred. "This way." She led the way with the reporter just to the side and a little back.

"So how did such an interesting creature as yourself end up being a sizable landowner?" Due's eyes wandered up and down Tabitha's form. "What kind of pony are you, if I may be so bold?"

Tabitha was about to reply when, even over the loud noises of the street, she heard a rather loud sniff come from Due Diligence. "Um? Everything alright?" She hoped her scent blocker was operating properly.

Due shook her head. "I spoke to my brother and made the mistake of assuming he knew anything."

Tabitha blinked at that, coloring faintly. "What did he say?" She kept her eyes on the horizon, looking for a decent place to get something to nibble on rather than shopping for a chair with the reporter.

She perked an ear. "Most of it ain't fit to say on a street corner. Good thing I love that horny stallion." She shook her head a little. "Forget that. This is about us. So... kind of pony?"

"I'm me," offered Tabitha unhelpfully. "I inherited the building from my parents, and I plan to do it right."

"Always nice to see a pony with a sense of family responsibility." She flashed a grin. "Good thing me and Note missed out on that, or we'd be musicians. Shoot, that's how Due Note got his name at first."

Tabitha considered that even as her eyes settled on a safe-enough looking diner. She went towards it with a smile. "Let's get a little lunch." With an agreeable Due Diligence at her side, they found a booth and settled in.

The seats there were made for ponies. They were deep enough that a pony could easily curl up on one if they wanted, or sit up, if they preferred. Tabitha considered how her own seat would have to look. Maybe a seat in general wasn't the way to go...

"Have you eaten here before?" Due Diligence grabbed a menu with a hoof and flipped it open. "I love their fried oat mash."

"Oh? We're having a special on that." Another mare was standing beside the table with a bit of a smile and half glasses on. "What'll ya have ta drink?"

Tabitha wasn't expecting help so quickly, but didn't complain. "Let me have a tall glass of orange juice, kindly."

"Soda pop, extra bubbles."

The waitress nodded as she moved to depart. "I'll have those right out."

Due Diligence leaned across the table. "Alright, alright. You can stop staring now."

Tabitha blinked rapidly. "What?"

Due raised a hoof to point at herself. "You already caught my brother's eye, you don't need mine too."

Tabitha was confused to put it mildly. "No offense, but I wasn't... doing what you're saying."

She perked an ear. "Huh?" The way she said that one syllable implied she believed Tabitha. "Shoot... I'm going nuts then." She reached out just as the pop arrived and brought the glass over to sip from heavily.

The fact that Due Diligence could work with a hoof was a small miracle. A small... curious miracle. She raised one of her own hooves and tried to 'grip' her glass of orange juice, doing little but nudging it around and almost tipping it.

Due noticed the attempt and snorted. "That's what you get for being born with hands." She leveled a hoof at one of Tabitha's hands. "When you don't have one of those, you get creative. Eventually, you figure it out, especially when your kid brother makes you look like a chump, just grabbing things with his fancy magic." She rolled her eyes and half-lidded those same eyes. "So, about you..."

Tabitha raised her glass with one of those clever hands. The juice was fresh and tasty. "I wanted to get a pic--"

"Forget that a moment." Due waved it off. "I want to know more about you. Nice dress, by the way. It must have cost you a fortune."

Tabitha colored faintly. "It was a... a gift in part, from a very dear friend." Even as she said it, she realized it was true. She was coming to enjoy Coco's company more by the day.

Due rolled a hoof a bit. "Oh? A gift from yer stallion? I bet a mare like you had quite a stallion watchin' out for her and doin' whatever she says."

Tabitha blinked at that. "She's a mare, actually? Does that matter?"

Due recoiled in clear surprise. "What?!"

"That's my question." When had the waitress returned? "What'll ya have?"

Tabitha glanced down at her menu, but she hadn't really read over it much. "You have a burger and fries?"

"Sure thing." She glanced at Due. "And you?" With a glowing horn, she claimed Tabitha's menu, though her eyes didn't leave Due Diligence.

"I'll... have that oat mash, kindly."

"Extra large," added the waitress without prompting and without complaints coming from Due. "Comin' right up." She turned and headed off. The menu in Due's hoof glowed the same color and flew right over to the waitress.

Tabitha peered a bit more curiously at Due than the waitress doing her job. "Why did you sound so surprised?"

"I..." She shook her head. "Look. It's easy to assume there's more to a story than there is. It's a bad habit. You're in the game long enough, you start working it outta yer system, get it?" She sipped from her fizzy drink. "So... I just assumed you were... standard issue, not a filly fooler."

It was Tabitha's turn to darken. "I'm not!"

Due blinked at that. "So... you're not marefriends with them?"

Which... she was. She sagged, and Due grinned triumphantly. "You are! It's alright. Look, really, it's alright. I'll tell you a secret, but you better keep it." She held up a hoof and leaned in closer. "So am I."

Tabitha went rigid a moment as the implications of that settled on her. It was everything she asked for, in one horrifying little package.

The reporter tilted her head. "You waitin' on the right stallion to snatch you away, or a fooler for life?"

Opting for the safer route, Tabitha gestured at Due. "Are you?"

Due snorted softly. "I put up with my brother, but that's about it, so far as love goes." She glanced away and back at Tabitha. "Just thinkin' about stallion parts, ugh." She made a bit of a face as one hoof hung limply down and wagged in a loose approximation of a stallion's dangling parts.

Tabitha was coloring. Due was attracted to her as a mare, but, from the sound of it, utterly hated even the notion of masculinity in her love life. They were gay. They were both gay. Gay siblings. She had to laugh, and a little noise escaped her despite her attempt to restrain herself.

Due raised a brow for a silent moment as plates were set before them with their food. The burger, of course, had no meat. Tabitha smirked a bit at herself for even dreaming the ponies would serve much different without specifically asking.

When the waitress was gone, Due grabbed a fork, somehow, and scooped a muzzle-full in. She swallowed stiffly, her eyes on Tabitha. "I'm getting crossed wires here, so let's make this nice and clear." She raised a brow. "Now you can say no. We're both adults and I won't run off crying if you do say no, but is there any chance you'll bring me home to meet this mare of yours?"

No! Or, at least, that was her first hunch. To say no no no no as loudly and as frequently as possible. She didn't hate Due though. She didn't hate the reporter's brother either. She didn't want to smash either's feelings, but she did want to be clear. "Due."

"Yeah?"

Tabitha sat up tall. "You seem like a fascinating mare and I would love to get to know you better and maybe become friends, but I'm not looking for another marefriend. Thank you, but let's not, alright? It's me here, and that's my decision."

Due flashed a smile. "You're old-fashioned, at least, as much as any filly fooler can be. Ya got a mare, so that's who yer with. I can respect that." She sipped her pop. "I hope you two are happy together, alright? No harm, no foul."

Tabitha let out her breath, releasing some tension she hadn't realized she had been building up. She grabbed her burger in her hands and sank her teeth into it, discovering it was made of oats and not cow at all. Disappointing, and yet... not bad. She would ask for an actual burger the next time, but for the moment, it worked and the fries were perfect.

Due gestured back towards the building they had left. "So, about that building? Nice place. Still got room for a filly fooler that barks up the wrong trees?"

Tabitha set her burger down as she nodded. "For sure. Like you said, no harm, no foul." She couldn't fault Due for the basic pass. She had taken the denial the right way. "When did you need a place?"

Due rubbed behind her head. "If there's a spot open, tonight wouldn't be bad, and I could get those pictures you were yammerin' about."

Author's Notes:

Oh shoot, this chapter went on longer than I intended. A typo, clearly!