Watching at Twilight

Twilight slipped her key-card into the slot and pushed open the door. She flipped the light on and led Nightwatch in. “Well, this is my room,” Twilight said, “Let’s try to clean you up.”

“O-okay…” Nightwatch replied. His eyes reflected uncertainty; he probably just realized that he’d gone with a stranger, albeit a friendly one.

Both ponies made their way to the bathroom. “Now…” Twilight grabbed a washcloth before she turned on the sink and soaked the cloth in water. In a few moments, she turned the water off and then proceeded to rub the warm cloth all across Nightwatch’s face. He remained perfectly still as Twilight cleaned his face.

After a moment or two, Twilight lifted the rag off his face. “Alright, we’re all done. I’m gonna let a shower do the rest of the work.”

“Uh… Okay.”

“Yeah… Um… Let me call someone over, and I’ll try and get you something to wear. I think your current clothes are just too far gone.”

“Oh.” Nightwatch glanced down at his tattered blue-striped t-shirt. Dirt covered it in patches, and stains from days past already spotted it. A new hole had torn open just above his belly button. “Uh…”

“Well, we can’t have you wearing those dirty things tomorrow,” Twilight smiled.

“Yeah, I guess…” Nightwatch replied. Then he sighed.

“Do you know what size you wear?”

“Uh… No… Sorry.” Tears ticked his eyes.

Twilight tilted her head and adopted a sympathetic look. Sensitivity… that was the least she could expect, from a little boy who’d just lost his parents. “It’s nothing to be sorry about, you probably have more important things to think about, huh?”

Nightwatch averted his gaze. “Yeah…”

Twilight smiled. “Like comic books and video games?”

That got a slight smile, though it was definitely a sad one. “Yeah…”

“Thought so. Mind if I look at the tag on you shirt?”

Nightwatch shook his head, and allowed Twilight to look.

“Alright,” Twilight said after reading it, “Good. I’ll just keep note of this for Justice, he can help us. Now, get in the shower, and I’ll stop bothering you.”

“Okay.”

Twilight gave him a small wave, and closed the door behind her, as she left. The door, while thin, would give the young boy some privacy.

Twilight jumped over to one of the two moderately-sized beds. The one closer to the door, with the fluffy pink sheets, was the one on which she sat. From the wooden nightstand, she picked up the black phone and dialed. She twirled the cable in her fingers as she waited. After a few rings, she heard the click of Justice picking. “‘Yello?”

“Hey, Justice. It’s me. I’m sorry about earlier, and I feel like a total jerk, but can I ask a favor of you?”

“You’re not, like I said, I was out of line. What do you need?”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Justice wasn’t mad at her about earlier...despite her being a jerk. “Can you get me some boys clothes? Boy’s medium for shirts? I’ll pay for them and pay you some extra for your troubles, but I kinda need them and I can’t really leave.” Note to self, Twilight: check his pants size.

“Uh, sure, but… Why?”

“Well… I found Nightwatch.”

“You did?!” She could imagine his eyes widening and him slamming his hands on the table. “Where is he?!”

“In my hotel room, getting a shower. He was real dirty, which is why I need the clothes.”

“Uh… Yeah. Sure. Medium boys you said?”

“Yes. I… don’t really know about pants size, haven’t checked yet, but… I’ll get back to you about telepathy in a moment.” Come to think of it, she could probably use a visualizing spell to see it…

She shut her eyes and soon got the khaki pants in her mind. A large number 10 was on the tag. “Size ten,” she said into the receiver.

“Alright, thanks. I’ll get on that right away.”

“Great, thank you, and I’m real sorry.”

“It’s okay, Princess. I’ll be over in a half-hour.”

“Okay, thank you again.”

“You’re welcome, bye.”

“Bye.” With that, Twilight hung up.

She laid down on the bed, listening to the sound of shower water coming from the bathroom. She was a little worried that Nightwatch might be done with his shower before Justice got here, but that wouldn’t matter that much. After all, there were a few gowns. They were like comfier versions of the ones that might be found at a hospital (minus the tie-on back), though a little on the generic side. Normally, they’d be in use so that the hotel workers had enough time to deep-clean and fluff clothes without forcing patrons to sit around naked while their clothes were given the time of day.

It was one of the times she was glad to be a princess, someone who got those luxuries. So she could help someone in need. She hoped that Nightwatch would be okay with wearing something that could be perceived as a dress, but at the same time, he seemed like a good kid, and it wouldn’t be too long. He’d been surprisingly responsive so far, considering what had happened.

She lay the small garment on the opposite bed, hoping that Nightwatch would understand what she meant. Then she picked up the phone once again and dialed a number.

Two rings sounded before a mature voice responded, “Golden Oaks Memorial Library, Spike the dragon speaking. Can I help you?”

“Hey Spike, it’s Twilight.” Twilight smiled weakly. Spike had always been better at the professionalism thing than she had. She normally just replied with a “hello” on the phone.

“Oh, hey, Twi. How are you?”

“I’m okay, I just need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Well, you know how the two people killed in the fire had a son?”

“Yeah, I guess. Why?”

“I found him… And he’s in the shower right now.”

“So… Wait, you took this guy in?”

“Yeah… I just… I couldn’t leave him there, he was alone, Spike. Wouldn’t you want someone to save you if you were all alone?”

Spike probably ran his hand down his spikes; it was something he did when he was a little bit hesitant about saying something. “Well, of course I would. Who wouldn’t?”

“Exactly. Now… can you mail me Star Swirl’s Advanced Unicorn and Alicorn spells?”

“Uh, Yeah, I reckon so. It’ll be there in a minute.”

After a bit, Twilight felt something; like something was touching her horn. She put just a bit of her willpower into her horn, using her magic to bring it out. The book instantly floated before her. “It’s here. Thank you, Spike.”

“Yeah… Why do you need it?”

“Hmm…” she tapped her chin thoughtfully. Just why did she need it?  “Not sure yet… I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

“Uh… Okay… You’re still coming back Friday, right?”

“Well… It might be later, because of this whole thing…”

“Oh… Okay.” It sounded like he’d tried to mask his disappointment.

"Yeah, I'm real sorry, but-"

"Nothing to apologize about, Twi,” he quickly replied. “Everything's running smoothly over here. I just miss you a bit, is all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, and Apple Bloom's helping me out after school, so it's not like I'm alone all the time."

"Oh... Well that's nice of her." Twilight smiled. Apple Bloom, when she got to it, was actually a really good helper with many interesting things to day.

"Yeah, it is. And it's great to have someone to talk to.”

“I know it is.”

"Yeah... And she's a pretty great person to talk to."

"That's good. Applejack is okay with this, right?"

"Absolutely. And I plan to pay Bloom some of the money you said you might pay me."

"Oh, alright."

The gentle pattering sound of the shower stopped. "Hey Spike, I have to go. Nightwatch is done with his shower."

"Oh, okay. See ya later, Twi."

"See ya. I love you."

"You, too." With that, both hung up, and Twilight went back to the business of her guest.