Tabitha looked curiously at the earth pony that had come up to their table.

Bubbles was less warm. "We're eatin' here."

The new pony glanced between them. "You aren't eating quite yet. Did you order?" She softly cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. May I speak to you?" She was looking directly at Tabitha.

Tabitha gestured to an empty chair. "Hop up. We haven't ordered yet." She heard the pony's belly rumble. How did such a small creature have such a loud rumble? "Hungry?"

"I--"

Bubbles clopped the top of the table. "Hey, come on! I earned this."

Tabitha looked awkward, and the new pony raised a hoof. "Please, you don't have to treat me. I'll buy some myself." She produced her purse from a pocket. "I'm not that hungry though."

Tabitha leaned back. "Alright, well, hello."

"Yeah, hi." Bubbles was scowling at the new member of the conversation.

The new pony ignored her and looked to Tabitha. "Hello. I'm Sweetie Drops. I... a friend of mine..." She had gone with it. She swallowed heavily. "Me and a friend of mine, we... We started a herd with a human."

Bubbles burst into laughter.

Tabitha jumped in place a little with surprise. "You've seen another?"

"Seen? I... Well, he isn't a human anymore." She smiled faintly. "You're not either, I guess. I wonder if it's part of being a human. Um, please, I'm not here to insult you, I promise." Sweetie glanced away a moment. "I must sound like such an annoying ditz."

"Yep," agreed Bubbles.

"Stop that." Tabitha waved a warning finger. "It's alright, Sweetie." It was odd using that as a name instead of a sign of affection. "Please, relax. How about we order something?"

As if summoned, a smiling pegasus mare approached their table on light wings. "Hey there! Can I get you all something to dr--"

Bubbles raised a hoof. "I want an extra large plate of spaghetti with extra alfafa balls and don't skimp on the cheese. If you can still see it under the flakes, keep goin'."

Tabitha smirked a bit at her guard's enthusiasm. "I'll try tha... actually, do you have any meat by chance?"

The mare tilted her head. "We have fish in stock, madame. I should warn, fish is extra."

Fish was a kind of meat, last she checked. "I'll take what she's having, but fish balls."

"You got it! And you?" She looked to Sweetie. "What'll ya have?"

Sweetie froze as if caught in headlights. "I... wasn't..."

Tabitha put a hand in front of Sweetie. "Do you like salads?"

"O-oh, yes. I'll have a salad, with, um, extra nuts, please..." As the waitress flew off, Sweetie sagged. "I'm normally the cool and collected one. I didn't... I... I really need that stupid pony."

Tabitha picked up the glass of water she hadn't even noticed was placed there. "What stupid pony is that?" The human, perhaps?

"My friend, Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings. She's... nice, but a little eccentric, and she got herself in trouble, with that human I mentioned. Now I don't have either of them." She let out a sigh before she straightened out. "I'm not here to sob all over you. What's your name, Miss?"

"Tabitha."

"Bubbles." She flashed a smile at Sweetie. "Now you'd better be careful."

"Huh?" Sweetie tilted her head, wondering if Bubbles was going to threaten her again.

Bubbles pointed at Tabitha. "You jus' made it crystal clear you're an available mare."

Sweetie colored fiercely as she glanced at Tabitha. She was certain that was a human mare! Oh... Her blush only grew worse as she thought of her own relationship with Lyra. "I..."

Tabitha put a hand over one of Sweetie's hooves. "Easy there. I'm not, ugh, trying to 'scope' things out. My social life is complicated enough, and you're very obviously in a bad place anyway." And she wasn't...

entirely...

So maybe she was a bit gay? Bisexual, that was the right word for it.

"Hey, Boss." Bubbles was directing her horn at the hovering pegasus with plates of food.

Tabitha backed away from leaning on the table, giving room for the food to descend onto their level. "Now you just enjoy that!" She grinned and flew off into the back.

Sweetie picked up a fork with a talented hoof and shoveled some of the tasty salad she had into her snout, crunching on those extra nuts. Even if she hadn't admitted her hunger, her body was eager to express gratitude that she had fed it.

Talking ceased for a small while as each enjoyed the food. Fish balls were a new experience, but seemed to work just fine in the dish and she found herself glad that Bubbles had led them there even as she made a mental note to frequent the place again in the future.

"So, um, Tabitha?" Sweetie was looking at her. "Can you... I mean. What do you do?"

Bubbles snorted but didn't speak.

Tabitha shot a dirty look before replying to Sweetie, "I own an apartment building and manage it."

Sweetie smiled. "That sounds nice." She should head back home. She should... get back to... "Do you have openings for short term residents?"

Tabitha nodded. A new tenant wasn't bad. She could also see obvious hurt playing over Sweetie's features. She wasn't sure how to help, but if providing a place to be was a step, she could do that. "Of course. We'll just do it month by month."

Bubbles grinned like a canary that got the bird. "So, little warning."

"Hm?"

"You're about to enter freak central."

Tabitha waved it off. "She's exaggerating, a little. There are some... colorful souls, but they follow the rules and we're one big--"

"--Freaky--"

Tabitha frowned. "Family."

It sounded terrible, and yet... "Alright" She'd have to make some money. "I have enough for the first month, but I'm going to have to get some income."

Bubbles raised a brow. "What'd you do before? You don't look like no homeless pony any."

"I'm not!" defended Sweetie with a frown. "I make candy, back in Ponyville."

Tabitha couldn't help but smile just a bit at the name. "Well, besides packages of candy in food stories, I haven't seen any full on candy stores."

Sweetie brightened. "Maybe there's room for me." Or maybe she should just go... She couldn't. Not yet, at least. "I'll be a good tenant, promise."

With their food demolished and no drinks ordered thanks to Bubbles, Tabitha was ready to go. She fished out some bits and put it down, a bit more than she guessed it would be from the glance she'd had at the menu.

She led the others outside without much difficulty. "So, Sweetie Drops, right?"

"Yes'm."

"What floor do you prefer?"

Sweetie hadn't ever lived very far up. "Second floor at the highest, please." Well, there was that time in Canterlot. But that hardly seemed to count. She looked over her new landlady curiously. She was half human, half not. "So... what happened to you?"

Tabitha quirked a little smile. "Right to the point? I made a bad deal with a supernatural being, and this happened. Before it, what you see up above was my whole me, with human legs, of course. I was also a bit larger, up and down, but a lot smaller, front and back." She looked back over her dressed tauric portion. "Hope it doesn't bother you."

"No! No." She was certain Lyra would be delighted if she saw the odd creature. Sweetie smiled at that. "You seem nice, which matters much more than what you happen to be. You're not that strange."

"Pfft." Bubbles rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I appreciate that." One little part of her wondered why she so rarely attracted a stallion, then the other reminded her she was worrying about the attraction of horses. She let out a faint groan as she went. "Let me get the office all opened up."

As Tabitha trotted up into the building, Bubbles looked over the newest resident to be. "So, here's the place." She thrust a hoof up at the building. "I'm the guard here. Anyone give you trouble or try to take yer stuff, you just shout fer me and I'll clobber 'em good fer ya, alright?"

Sweetie raised a brow at that. "Why was... she taking you out?"

Bubbles developed an awful sneer. "She was maybe hoping I'd forgive her." She waved a hoof afterwards. "I'm playing with you. I was doing my guard thang and it was hard work today, so I got a little treat, and then poof, there you were."

Tabitha entered through the open door of her office. Her scent had been allowed to disperse harmlessly, and it smelled fresh. The pollutant had become so thick and constant that she could smell the difference on reaching the clear space. She started to close the door and stopped. Better to let the air keep flowing.

"Hello."

Tabitha spun in place even as the light in the room bled away rapidly, revealing a swirling black mass. "You are the Caretaker."

Tabitha felt the urge to run, to flee, but she stayed herself. "I am."

The thing seemed pleased by her reaction. "Much more reasonable than the others. I wish residency."

Was it really that simple? "There are some rules about that. Do you have time to go over them?" She walked towards her desk. Going over the basic rules was part of her auto-pilot. She could do that. "We want everyone here to be happy, and following these rules helps ensure that."

"State your terms." The door slapped shut as the figure hovered across on the other side of the desk.

So that's what Tabitha started doing. She ran down all the rules, including the one about not using magic on others.

It perked at the mention of it. "Your... guards employed magic without my consent."

Tabitha inclined a pen towards the shadow. "You weren't a tenant. The rule is specific about that. I'm not the police and I'm not trying to be. I just want peace inside my building. Do you agree to all of that?"

"A very practical Caretaker..." The figure seemed to seethe a moment. "I will agree, but your servants owe a proper apologies for the slights that have been levied. Present the contract."

Tabitha drew out one of her contracts and got to filling it out. "Do you have a preferred floor?"

"The fourth floor would be ideal."

The completed contract was put down. "I just need the bits for first and last month." A heavy bag settled right on the contract from nowhere at all. "And your signature."

As the shadow scrawled it out, the shadow drew back and away, revealing a short bipedal male with bright cyan hair in a mohawk, thick goggles, and a big nose. It was... a gnome? She had a gnome for a tenant.

He noticed her gaping. "Never saw a gnome before? I expected you to change as well, but I suppose I'm seeing the truth of you."

Author's Notes:

And then that happened. Can I blame the typos?