A Janitor's Duty

Just a couple of minutes ago...

Exiting the mess hall was a satisfied you, rubbing your belly full of that large, tender piece of steak with one hand, and using a toothpick to get out any piece that got stuck between your teeth with the other. You could not have a more pleased face than what you had now. That steak was exactly what you needed to finish this night on a high note. You had more respect for Celestia than you had before, and believed that she wasn't so bad anymore. You were walking down the hall at a rather slow pace, taking your time to memorize every moment you had with that juicy, succulent, morsel of meat that laid on your tray and having your mouth water, wanting more. Alas, that may have been a "one and done" deal, so you never wanted to forget what you had for dinner this night.

As you were walking down the enormous halls, you looked to the right at the glass pane windows, observing the moon and its little children that are the stars. The moon was giving off a bright glow, being your light source for your journey to your room. Up ahead, you could see princess Luna's door, coming closer and closer as you continued walking. You saw that it was slightly ajar and could see the moon's light leaking through the opening. You then heard a slight hum coming from the room. No doubt in your mind that was the princess of the night, tending to her duties of putting stars in the sky and placing the moon wherever she wanted to. Ah, to see her work, carefully placing dots and shades of purple and blue on a canvas. It would actually be more beautiful than the night sky itself. Now normally, you would just walk on by and let out a sigh as you passed by her door, but chances were the curiosity bug got you bad, as you stood still right next to the door's hinges.

You didn't know what came over you. Your plan for the rest of the night was to head to your quarters and get some rest for the big job tomorrow. However, as you were standing still, staring at the ground, you were thinking about taking a peek at the princess, painting her life's work.

One little peek couldn't hurt, you thought.

Oh *YES** it can! And it WILL!* another part of your mind shouted.

It was then you were greeted by your typical shoulder angel on the left and your shoulder devil on the right.

"Now listen here, me!" your shoulder angel began. "You had a plan. And that plan is to go to bed and get a well-deserved rest. Right?"

"Y-y-y-y-yeah?" you answered your shoulder angel.

"So, why don't you get your mind set straight and start marching there, pal?" he demanded.

Before you could even take one step, your shoulder devil intervened.

"Come on, man, don't you be such an Obedient Oliver on me! What's wrong with taking one small peek at the chick, eh? One little peep, and you can move on!" he said.

"Remember last time when he tried to take 'one little peep' at something he shouldn't have?" your shoulder angel brought up.

"It was a common mistake!" your shoulder devil implied. "And besides, I saw you with your wang out as well as I was when we were about to peep and beat at that intercourse at the jewelry store! You can't deny it, because you're not allowed to lie, sucka! Admit it!"

A blush fell upon the face of your shoulder angel. He couldn't lie about the fact that he, like you and the shoulder devil, was about to beat it to a coincidental sex scene. Tugging on the neck of his pure white garment, he cleared his throat and admitted his fault.

"Well, that may be the case, but at least I was there to stop us from doing so, otherwise I believe we would have been in a lot more trouble than before!"

"But THIS time, we ain't gonna touch ourselves at what we're gonna do! All I want is for me and...me," shoulder devil said, pointing to you,"To take one teeny, tiny, little peek at the princess painting the night and we can be fully satisfied. That's all I'm asking!"

It was then your shoulder devil gave your shoulder angel those sad, blue, puppy dog eyes, in hopes that his request, and yours as well, will be granted. Your shoulder angel then squeezed the bridge of his nose with his eyes shut and let out a regretful sigh.

"Ugh. Fine. Fine! If it'll make the both of you Peeping Toms happy, then I guess one little peek won't --" before he could finish his sentence, another voice came into the mix. It was more womanly and coming from the princess's room.

"Whoever you are, I know you are there. Speak now, or there will be consequences," said princess Luna.

Then, simultaneously, all three of your former selves exclaimed in a whisper, "Busted!" And upon saying that, your shoulder angel and devil disappeared with the word 'POOF!' taking their place before fading away as well.

Now the feelings you had at the jewelry store have come back to haunt you, but this time, with a vengeance. The nervous sweat, the cold feet, the flushed face, the churning stomach. It all came back to give you what for. Adding insult to injury that this was probably more serious than the sex situation, your whole body felt like it was gonna collapse. But, like before, you had to say something or else the situation would be much, much worse. So, wiping the sweat from your forehead and taking in a deep breath, you proceeded to open the princess's door ever so slightly so that your face could be seen by her.

"Uhh, hi," you said.

You see that the princess of the night wasn't even looking at you, probably not even when she caught you red-handed. But then, still holding her paint brush, she slowly turned her head and looked over her shoulders to see you -- well, really, your head popping through the opening -- at the door. Her eyebrows, that were once lowered in annoyance, now raised in a way to say that she knows who you are.

"Oh, it's just you," she said, her mouth not visibly seen over her shoulder. "Is there something I can help you with, human?"

You were a tad relieved that the situation was lowered in pressure, but you weren't out of the woods yet. You either had to grow a pair and straight-up tell her the truth about what you were about to do, or make up a pitiful excuse that will most certainly not work. Basically, you were picking which option will hurt less in the end. But you remembered that you made a promise to the princesses not too long ago. It was a little bit after you getting the job as a janitor that you swore an oath to them that, as quoted:

I solemnly swear on all the things good in the world, that, for as long as I remain in this castle, shall I never tell a lie to the princesses of Canterlot. To break such a promise would be to break the trust embedded upon me by the princesses themselves, and that I should never be allowed to set foot upon this premise ever again.

Welp, so much for picking your poison.

You opened the door a bit more to let yourself in Luna's room, only to stop a couple of steps afterwards. Twirling your thumbs around each other and clearing your throat, you began to tell her the truth about what you were attempting to do...or so you thought.

"I--uhh, well. I, uhh....was going to. Umm. Well, the thing is..err," every time you tried to think of a good sentence, it just fell apart on you before you could finish constructing it. The sweat was beginning to soak your eyebrows as you were biting your lower lip. It was until Luna intervened on your explanation.

"You were planning on spying on me doing my latest artwork, weren't you?" Luna said, pretty much saying the explanation for you.

*sigh* "Yeah, I was," but just as you were about to feel gloom, a question suddenly hit you. "Wait. Exactly how did you know what I was trying to explain?" you asked.

"It is a gift of mine," she answered. "Much like dreams, I am able to read a pony's -- or in this case, your -- mind and tell them from whether they're telling the truth or if their truth is nothing but a fib. You were easy to read the moment you came into my abode. "

Ouch, you thought. But then again, you should've seen this coming from a mile away. You knew that those eyes of hers could read you like one of the many scrolls she reads, but you didn't believe it at first. Now you wonder what else she might know about you. However, that would have to wait until you were out of the situation you were currently in.

"L-l-look," you started to apologize, "I'm really sorry for intruding you while you're working. It's just that, well, ever since I came to this castle, I've always wondered what it looks like for a princess like you to be at work. I mean, this was kind of an opportunity right now, but I only wish the circumstances were much more different."

Whilst working on her night sky, Luna said, "It's quite alright. Your apology has been accepted and you may resume your duties."

"Oh," you said at first, but then you became surprised by her response, "Wait. Really? That's it?"

You were waiting for a quick response, but instead, you were given a few seconds of silence. It was until Luna put down her paint brush that she started to say something you wouldn't expect.

"Well... there is one thing that has been bothering me for a few nights now..." she began.

You wondered what she was proposing. Your dirty side went to the obvious answer, but the rest wanted validation of the subject at hand.

"W-w-w-what is it, your highness?" you asked.

She turned to face you, her thinking pose in check.

"Well, ever since you came here, I've always wondered..."

Yes, do go on, you thought with anticipation.

"If you would be so kind to participate in..."

Come on, now. Final stretch...

"A thought experiment with me," Luna finished.

"Oh..." you said with a deflated tone. You could hear in your mind a balloon flying all over the place before finally falling to the floor, flat and floppy. Don't take that out of context. But then you got curious as to what this "thought experiment" was.

"Oh?" you said with a more questioned tone.

"Yes, you see..." Luna explained, "I pretty much know what goes on in the mind of a typical pony, but never have I known about what goes on in the mind of a human before, hence my proposition to you."

You understood about what she explained, but now were a little worrisome about what she could uncover in your mind. Trust yourself when you say, that there are some memories that are better left buried and abandoned. Now you were giving her proposition even more thought.

"Err, I don't know. Sounds kinda dangerous," you said. "I mean, what if you come across something that you shouldn't? Like my darkest fears, or my most embarrassing moments?"

It was then Luna started pondering that particular situation. She wanted to explore your mind, but then again, didn't want to see anything that was supposed to be a secret kept only to you. So, after a good minute of thinking, she altered her proposition a bit.

"How about this, dear human. You can join me in looking through your mind. That way, you can prevent me from seeing any forbidden memories or long kept secrets."

You were still new to this whole magic thing, but you wondered what it would be like to explore your own mind, and hopefully find any good memories long abandoned in the deepest parts of it. And besides, she said that you would join her in her expedition through your mind, so you can make sure she doesn't see anything super personal. After a minute or two, thinking carefully about Luna's proposition, you gave her the answer she wanted.

"Well, as long as I'm along for the ride, I don't see a problem in this 'thought experiment' you speak of."

This filled Luna with a small bit of joy. To being able to explore the mind of a human has always been an intriguing thing she wanted to test out.

"Wonderful!" she said in a rather joyous tone, clasping her hands together, a smile forming on her face.

"Now, in order for this to work," she explains about the procedure, "I will need to be able to access your body's inner mind by skin on skin contact. So I will need you to remove your shirt, if that's not too much trouble."

Your heart skipped a beat after hearing her demand.

Removing my shirt? you thought. Skin on skin contact!? Man, and to think I wasn't gonna get some tonight!

Without haste, you removed your shirt, just as Luna instructed, revealing your muscles that aren't as impressive as Big Mac's, but well toned for anyone to notice. It was then you saw the princess blush a tad, covering her mouth with only the tips of her fingers. However, clearing her throat, she proceeded on with her instructions.

"Alright. Heh. Now, I will need you to simply lie down on your back here," she said, patting the spot next to her on her bed. So, doing as your told, you dropped your shirt where you last stood and first sat on her bed, next to the princess herself on the left, then proceeded to lie down on your back, both of your arms on your sides. You were waiting for the inevitable to happen, so you closed your eyes in hopes that she might do something to surprise you and your little friend. However, the surprise you got wasn't one you expected. You open one eye to see that Luna was caressing your chest in a circular pattern, or so you thought. In fact, she was getting the ritual set up for the 'thought experiment,' drawing a circle at first and then adding strange symbols you haven't seen in any of the books you skimmed through in the library. She then finished the drawing with phases of the moon on each side of the large circle on your chest. You couldn't hear her clearly, but it sounded like she was murmuring some kind of spell. Exhibit B was that her horn was glowing a sky blue color as she was murmuring the said spell. It was then her eyes were completely whitened out and glowing. It was too late to have second thoughts about it now.

As she was continuing with the spell, the drawing on your chest began to glow a white color, shining more and more as the spell went on. Then, Luna placed her right palm on your forehead, and then, everything went blank.

You slowly opened your eyes, only to see that you were standing on nothing. You looked to your left, there was nothing. Looked to the right, same deal. Suddenly, you felt your shorts being tugged on by a small hand. You immediately looked down to see a little mare wearing princess garments. Then, in the cutest voice you ever heard, she said.

"I guess the ritual is going well, then?"

It was then you instantly recognized who that was by her just asking that question.

"Luna?"