Chapter 21: Aftermath
Monday, After Alexander Left...
Ditzy continued staring at the door long after Alexander left. She had to deliberately force herself to stop thinking about the events that had just taken place. An effort wasted because she still kept thinking about it, no matter how hard she tried not to. She slowly turned around and began dragging her hooves to the stairs. She felt completely exhausted from all of the emotional turmoil that had happened in the past few minutes.
I just... can't believe that happened, Ditzy thought, plodding wearily up the stairs. She stumbled into her room and fell face down on her bed. She couldn't forget the image of the bunny's lifeless eyes staring at her from a puddle of its own blood. She started crying silently into her pillow.
She turned over on her side and curled into a ball. She did her best to wipe the tears from her face and closed her eyes. She had the fleeting thought of how safe she had felt wrapped in Alexander's fore legs. Ditzy just shoved it to the back of her mind to deal with later.
Sleep did not come easily to Ditzy on this night. Her mind was running in circles around her head, replaying the events over and over again. It seemed like she had just fallen asleep when her alarm went off, ruining her barely achieved slumber.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Are you in there, darling?!" called a voice loudly, piercing the fog of her grogginess.
It's too early for this much noise, Ditzy thought, opening her eyes one at a time. She turned off her alarm and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. She wearily got out of bed and stumbled down the stairs. She pointedly didn't look toward the kitchen and did her best to block out the slight smell that had permeated the lower floor of her house. "Who is it?" she mumbled through the door.
"Darling, you sound terrible! Is everything alright?" exclaimed the voice that Ditzy now recognized as Rarity.
Ditzy opened the door slowly. "What do you need, Rarity?" she asked.
Rarity froze upon seeing Ditzy's disheveled appearance and red, puffy eyes. "I think it's more a question of what you need, darling," she said, shivering involuntarily. "I came over to see how Alexander's clothes fit but I can see that I have a much more pressing need. Wait here, I'll be back in just one moment," she said. "Don't move a muscle!" Rarity called over her shoulder, trotting off towards the town.
Ditzy yawned, nodding slightly. But what about work? her subconscious reminded her. I'll get ready to go and if she gets back here before I leave then she does, and if not then I leave, she bartered with her mind. Deal, she responded.
Her extended shower time hadn't done much for her appearance but at least the tear stains had been washed off of her face. Her mane was still tangled, her eyes were still puffy, and her face lacked her usual joviality. Ditzy had her hat and mailbags equipped and ready for work when she heard more knocking on the door.
"It's me, Rarity! I have good news, darling!"
Ditzy walked over to the door and opened it. "What good news?" she asked.
"I managed to secure for you a paid vacation today," said a slightly tired looking Rarity with an unidentifiable white substance on her lips. "I had a little talk with your manager and was able to persuaded him that you weren't feeling well," she said licking the substance off of her lips. "I just love that method, it's really quite delicious," she mumbled to herself.
"...You got me a paid vacation? How?"
"Ladies work in mysterious ways..." Rarity said coyly with a wink. "So," she said, switching into business mode, "You can't be seen looking like that, no mare should. We are going to the spa for an all inclusive treatment and I will hear no arguments from you. Now take off your uniform and put this on so you can make it into town incognito," she said, levitating a simple lavender cloak with dull gold stitching over to Ditzy.
"I don't have the kind of bits for a trip to the spa!" exclaimed Ditzy. "That's my paycheck for the entire week!"
"My word, darling, you think I was going to make you pay for this?"
Ditzy nodded slowly.
"Darling, you have to understand something. The day I see a mare, any mare, looking as depressed and... unpolished... as you do right now is the day I sell the boutique and take up rock farming. Now, put this on and then you can tell me all about what happened to cause this when we get to the spa."
"Are you sure you want to do this, Rarity? I'm not really worth spending that many bits on just to make me look prettier."
"Don't. You. Dare. All mares deserve a visit to the spa at multiple points of their lives, money should always be substituted for pampering. And if you say those words again I will have no choice but to make an excessive amount of thongs and convince Twilight to teleport them onto you at the most inconvenient of times," said Rarity with absolute sincerity.
Ditzy just sighed and did as she was told.
"So, darling, I have been patiently waiting until now for you to come clean as to why you were looking as you were," said Rarity, sitting across from Ditzy in the relaxing hot tub. "We are completely alone, the masseuses are elsewhere and there are no other customers in the room." She leaned forward expectantly. "I want to know what happened," she whispered conspiratorially. "Did you break up with your coltfriend?"
"What? No, I don't, and didn't, have a coltfriend," said Ditzy shaking her head.
"Well then, what happened?"
"Something happened last night between Alexander and me," said Ditzy.
"Really?" said Rarity, cocking a quizzical eyebrow.
"But not like that!" said Ditzy quickly.
"I didn't say anything."
"The thing is... He said he's an onni- ommi- oum... he eats animals. And last night he killed a poor, helpless bunny; just so he could eat it! Even worse I found it in my sink when I got home. It was horrible..." Ditzy said, shivering.
"And then?" encouraged Rarity.
"I... well, kicked him out of my house. There was no way I was having an animal eating hyuman in my house while I slept," she said. "Merry was right, he is dangerous, I should go apologize to her," she mumbled.
Rarity was silent for a few minutes while she digested the information. "I think you might have made a mistake," she said. "Let me explain," she said, upon seeing Ditzy's shocked face. "Two things I have to ask though: did he say sorry and did he leave without struggle when you told him to leave?"
"I think he tried to before I cut him off and he just left when I got mad at him. Why do you want to know?" she said slowly, not understanding where this was going.
"While I agree that it sounds like a very traumatic experience, I think you might have overreacted. Think about it, where did he say he was from?" asked Rarity.
"...All I remember him saying is that he isn't from here and doesn't belong here," said Ditzy.
"Don't you think they have different customs there? I am something of an expert on manner, etiquette, and customs and I know that what one race might find pleasing the other might find offensive. For instance, did you know that in the Griffon Kingdom, eating meat a perfectly acceptable activity for the inhabitants," Rarity said. "And in the Minotaur Mountains it is a grave offense to walk past a friend without punching him in the abdomen. Even though Alexander didn't have the most civil of depositions he was by no means a senseless brute. And the fact that he left your house in the middle of the night with a badly hurt leg while offering no resistance speaks much for his character. He respected your authority more than his wants or needs. Quite noble when you think about it."
"You think I was the pony in the wrong? You weren't there! You didn't see the horrible things he did to that bunny! You didn't see him wrap his fore legs around me to comfort me then betray my trust by killing that bunny in the first place!" shouted Ditzy, getting slightly louder with each word. She quickly got to her hooves and practically screamed, "How can he like muffins and do that!?"
She panted heavily for a few minutes then slowly sunk back into the soothing water and mumbled, "I guess I got a bit excited... sorry..."
"It's perfectly alright, darling. Do you feel a bit better now?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, a little bit..." Ditzy mumbled. "I do have a question though..." she said, raising her voice to normal speaking volumes.
"Yes?"
"How did you manage to convince my boss to give me a paid day off? He doesn't do that for anypony, especially not me."
"Can you keep a secret?" Rarity asked.
Ditzy nodded.
"Let's just say that no stallion can resist a seductive Rarity suggestively eating a frosted cupcake. Its the frosting that really gets them. I had you boss practically begging me to either leave or go to a more private room with him in less than twenty seconds. He was whining like a puppy within the first minute," said Rarity with a smirk. "It was a simple matter to ask him to give you a day off."
"Oh..."
"Now I want to ask you something," said Rarity. "Why would you take comfort in Alexander's fore legs when you were feeling upset? How scandalous! You barely know him," said Rarity, switching to gossip mode.
"I just needed somepony to hold me and he happened to be sitting there, that's it," said Ditzy, blushing slightly. "I'm not very good with blood... and stuff. A little bit is okay but no more than that."
"Understandable. Now then, are you ready for the massage of a lifetime?" said Rarity as she rang a small silver bell, signaling that they were done with the hot tub.
"I guess so," said Ditzy, as the spa's owners walked in the room.
"Mass-age time!" they cheered in unison.
Rarity and Ditzy were lead over to a pair of low, padded tables. After they laid down and got comfortable on the tables Aloe and Lotus began working. Ditzy felt a pair of hooves touch her shoulders, right below her neck.
"Careful!" said Ditzy, feeling uncomfortable instead of soothed by the gentle touches.
"Sister," Aloe called to her twin. "You have to feel this customer."
Lotus walked over and carefully put her hooves in the same place that Aloe had. "Have you had some stress recently?" she asked Ditzy, while Aloe traded places and began working on Rarity. "I have never felt anypony with a back this tight before."
"You could say my life is stressful and leave it at that," responded Ditzy.
"Have you ever been to a spa or a masseuse before?" Lotus asked, working her hooves down Ditzy back.
"No!" squealed Ditzy as Lotus pressed down on her cutie marks.
"Well... I have good news and bad news. The good news is I can loosen up your back; the bad news is it's going to hurt," said Lotus. "Brace yourself."
"But what if I don't-"
*Gaaak*
If feels like she is jumping on my back, thought Ditzy, peering around to see what she was actually doing. She is jumping on my back! "Stop! It! That! Hurts!" grunted Ditzy in time with the energetic jumps.
Lotus gave one last heave and jumped as high as she could. She landed with her hooves digging into four very particular places along Ditzy's back.
Ditzy's back gave one enormous cracking sound that caused her entire body to tense up then relax. She fell face down on the table and blacked out, smiling.
Ditzy woke up in her bed some time later, but something was different. Her face split into a huge grin. My back feels so good! I never even knew it could feel this good! She quickly jumped out of bed and ran to her bathroom, reveling in the way she felt. She looked in the mirror and saw a much prettier face than normal looking back at her.
Her mane had been washed and combed to the point of brilliance and it shone in the sunlight coming through the window. Her eyelashes had been touched up slightly and they looked fuller and longer than normal. Her eyes were no longer puffy and swollen and a little bit of blush was dusting to her cheeks. She could even see that a pale rose colored lipstick had been applied to her lips.
I actually kinda look good for once, she thought, inspecting herself in the mirror. She pouted slightly and changed the angle of her head to make sure she looked good from all angles. A small piece of paper propped in the corner of her mirror caught her attention. "To Ditzy," she read out loud. "I took the liberty of returning you to your house after you fell asleep. Lotus said that the reason you blacked out was because you were so relaxed that you couldn't stay awake. Enjoy your new look! Rarity. P.S. You don't have to worry about your sink I had somepony who owed me a favor take care of it."
Ditzy looked in the mirror and smiled. "I think I might be going back soon. I could get used to looking like this," she said. "Once I save up enough bits, of course." She sighed softly. "Now I just wish I had a coltfriend, or any stallion really, that I wanted to impress."