Seeing Clearly
When she got done with the hallway, Delta was down to one jug of carpet cleaning solution. Now came one of the trickier parts of this task; getting the bedroom cleared enough so she could get as much of the floor clean as possible. She figured the easiest and quickest way to go about it was to get everything to the far side of the room first; so she started by rolling up the blankets and pillows, setting them aside, and tipping the bed up on it's side, against the far window. Doing so blocked most of the natural light, so before moving the nightstand, she set the lamp on the floor, then turned it on. Next, she unplugged the small television and shoved the dresser it sat on against the wall next to the bed.
After a quick pass with the wet-dry vac, she came in with the carpet cleaner, and as she had quickly come to expect, barely made a single pass before the reservoir needed changing. But here, the difference between dirty and clean was more noticeable, and it was easy to know why; she spent more time here than anywhere else in the trailer, not to mention the... Gentlecolt callers, that frequently accompanied her here.
As she headed into the afternoon, a rain storm came rolling through the area, and that snuffed out any hope of returning the cleaner tonight; not a terribly big deal; she had until noon tomorrow to get her deposit back. As much as the rainfall on the roof of the trailer was hypnotic, she decided to leave the bedroom furniture where it was for the rest of the evening to let the carpet dry.
With the weather keeping her indoors, she grabbed a small bucket, filled it with soapy water, grabbed a sponge from beneath the sink, and started scrubbing every surface that the broom or vacuums hadn't touched; tables, chairs, countertops, and walls. She had to pop in another couple pieces of nicotine gum, but was elated when the smoke stains started to clear up from the walls.
Sure enough, it was past 9 PM when the rain passed, and there would be no getting to the Feed 'n' Seed before closing, not to mention that the lot and most of the roads there would be nothing but mud and muck until morning. So for now, the bedroom carpet had dried, and she returned the bed and furniture to their original places. As she laid down in bed and stole another glance at the picture of her parents, she began to wonder; with all the progress she had been making here, what would she do with herself when there was nothing left to clean? That was thinking fairly far ahead; there was easily weeks' worth of work here for a single pony.
The possibilities of what else this place could be other than a junkyard would wait for another time, as her train of thought didn't get far from the station when she fell through to the world of dreams.
When Delta returned home the next morning after taking the carpet cleaner back, she got another unexpected windfall when a stallion showed up with a wagon and bought 75 bits worth of scrap rebar. It was sales like those that kept her bar tab paid down, but now, she wondered what she could put it towards; she had already made another small purchase after returning the cleaner; two bottles of disinfectant and a box of baking soda. She knew the entire inside of the fridge and freezer needed to be cleaned, and then what would probably be the most unpleasant cleaning experience in the trailer, Delta knew that the bathroom and shower was long overdue for a hard scrubbing. Other than the bedroom, that was where she woke up most of the time, unable to recall the details of how she got there.
The fridge and freezer interiors would be a time sensitive task; she could only leave the items out on the counter for so long. The easiest method was to take the ice trays and ice cream out of the freezer, quickly clean it, then take whatever was in the fridge that could be safely frozen and thawed, and put that in the freezer. Once the freezer was done, she refilled the ice cube trays, and returned them to their place along with the ice cream, which had only thawed a bit.
That was the easy part; the fridge was another matter; she had frequently forgot about leftovers in the very back, and they'd spend the next several weeks going rancid, and that was when they managed to find their way back into the fridge at all. Delta started another sink full of hot, soapy water, and washed the shelves one by one, before giving the interior a good spray down and scrubbing. With that done, she returned all the shelved items to their place, then focused on the door, where bottles, condiments, and alcohol frequently sat, ready and waiting. With that task done, before shutting it, she set the open box of baking soda inside, ensuring that any upcoming food odors would be taken care of, at least in the short term.
She was about to head to the bathroom with the cleaning supplies when there was a knock at the front door. After setting the supplies at the bathroom door, she went to go answer it. Opening it, she came face to face with a mail delivery stallion.
"Good afternoon, Miss... Delta Vee?" He greeted.
"That's me." She replied. He dug into his mailbag and pulled out a small, almost hoof-sized box.
"Just need you to sign for this." The courier pony said, offering her a pen and clipboard. Delta's heart skipped a beat as she sloppily signed her name on the dotted line, handing the clipboard back to him and getting the package in return.
"That's it. Got to go. Have a pleasant day, Miss Vee." He said with a wave before turning to head out of the lot.
"Thanks, you too." She replied before heading back inside, closing the door behind her. She set it on the kitchen table before reaching into the a drawer and taking out her utility knife. She cut the packing tape with a great deal of care, and opened the flaps of the box. Inside, was a hinged, felt-covered hard case. She picked up up with the tips of her wings, and slowly opened it as it responded with a soft muffled squeak.
Inside, was a pair of brand new eyeglasses, very similar to the ones she had in college. She used to have two pairs; one pair she lost after throwing them at Jet as they argued the night she took off, and the backup pair was lost during one of her one night stands at the seedy dives that dotted the greater Las Pegasus area. Ever since, she found herself squinting at manuals, screwdrivers, and warning labels.
She carefully removed them from the case and placed them on the bridge of her snout, and she found herself short of breath when she realized how she had forgotten how much sharp and clear everything was with these on. She went down the hall to the bathroom, and risked looking in the mirror, and was overcome with emotion when she looked herself in the eyes.
Something as simple as a pair of glasses seemed to take ten years away. The bags below her eyes were suddenly harder to notice. As she began to cry silently in front of the mirror, she slowly became afraid that she'd leave the bathroom and suddenly find all these details and dirty spots that she had missed over the last few days of cleaning. The thought made her chuckle. Sweet Celestia, it felt great to laugh a little again.
"Well Delta," she began, glancing down to the cleaning supplies she had left by the doorway. "Let's tackle this bathroom."
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a super good story that is shaping up rather well.
I love the symbolism that Delta's glasses had in the original comic and in this chapter of the story. After throwing her glasses during her argument with Jet, one in which she had every right to be angry, she lost some clarity in her life both literally and figuratively. Now, here, after getting the glasses (presumably from Apogee) and putting them on, it was returning to her life and she was taking steps to better her life.
I am REALLY loving how this story is going, and how it draws from the comics.
9520772
Oh whoops, that is a detail I overlooked
She bought them herself, that was the 50% sale sign she saw on her way home.
Very well done.
I salute your skill!
I feel her!
I lost my glasses between Aachen Hauptbahnhof and my hotel one time.
It was also the best week of eating of my life.
Does that mean food in Germany is that much better than in the US?
Or does it mean that I’m better at ordering food when I can’t read the explitive-deleted menu?
Either way: I now carry spare glasses.
Nice to see glasses being portrayed as shaving some years off rather than putting them on. It's a real thing, but it's not something you see in most media.
The idea of Delta wearing her glasses again actually inspired me to sketch this little thing.
pbs.twimg.com/media/ESNmsIaVUAA42A1?format=jpg&name=large
10115586
Lovely!
I've never knew that reading plot of Delta cleaning her place would be an entertainment too...
10115586
Very nice drawing, sure as I'm a brony, Delta Vee looks a whole lot better with her glasses, and I am loving the symbolism.