Author's Note

Italics in this chapter is meant to signify a flashback. I'll rectify this in later chapters.

It started off simple

“Morning, Mr.Clean!”

“Morning, See Shells.”

A couple years ago I was just doing my rounds cleaning floors and sweeping up the already clean halls of a local government building. I was a janitor, nothing special, but it paid the bills. I enjoyed my job if I’m honest, it's simple, quiet, and people generally leave me alone. Each day is the same.

“Mornin’, Clean!”

“Mornin’ to you too, See Shore”

I was doing my usual rounds, I had my suit on with all my tools, one of the lights in the twelfth floor kept flickering, and it was my job to change it. Not only was I a “skilled” janitor; I was also a “skilled” repair man. I had simple tools, a box cutter for cutting, a five-in-one for stuff that got stuck, a hammer for nails, a flashlight for when the power went out, and a ring of keys. Only my keys would be needed. Everyone was gone for the day, and tonight’s job was overnight. The security guard called me and asked for me to fill in for him.

“Good morning, Mister Clean!”

“Good morning, Captain Shoe Horne”

Armed with a fresh light and my ladder, I moved on with my job. Changing lights was a simple task, even a child could do it. I was not a child, so I had faith in my skills. I exited the elevator and started looking for room 221. Going for the door, I put my keys in and tried to unlock it. I shook the handle and found that I had only relocked the door. Apparently whoever was last forgot to lock the door. Nothing new, but I reminded myself to make sure all the doors are locked. It's a good time waster if anything. No point in continuously re-cleaning the floors if they’re already clean. No one there to dirty them anyway.

“Howdy, Mistah Clean!”

“Howdy to you too, Honey Apples, how's the family?.”

“Good! We’re thrivin’ and farmin’! Wife’s gettin’ a bit sick, but grannie’s still kickin’!”

“Good to hear, Apple.”

Correctly unlocking the door this time, I set up my ladder and started to climb up it. Taking out my screwdriver, I undid the screws and removed the casing off the light fixture. The first time I did this, a plumb of dust and dead bugs cascaded onto me, since then I’ve made sure to clean each light in the building. All 16-fucking-floors. All 12,522-fucking-lights. Needless to say, it definitely kept me busy on the slow nights.

“Clean! Clean! Clean!”

“Yes, Blueblood?”

“I made another friend today!”

As I tower over the small, white colt. I can see the happiness in his eyes. He’s always had trouble making friends. When Celestia adopted him two years ago, he was quiet for months.

“Thats perfect, Blue! What's their name?”

“Shining Armor! He’s the tall, white pony like me!”

I recognized that name immediately. He was the older brother to Celestia’s new student. Twilight Sparkle, if I was remembering correctly.

“The newest recruit of the guard? That's good to hear, Blue.”

“Yup… Oh! I’ve gotta go! I’ve still got homework to do before class.”

“All right, Blueblood; good luck on your work. Don’t forget to call me if you need help.”

“Okay! Thanks, Clean!”

Breaking away from the conversation, I continued to reminisce about my time before winding up here.

It's easy work, too easy, and the night was going too well. I should have known that something was going to happen. I had just gotten a raise, and things were going too smoothly. Finishing up my light adventure, I left the room, locked it, and left my ladder and the old light by the elevator. Going through the floor, I checked each door and locked the unlocked ones. Damn those workers, they know they’re supposed to lock up. I don’t mind the extra work, but if something were to happen it would fall on my neck. I returned back to the elevator, got in, and pressed the button to the top floor. Best to start from the top and work my way down.

“GOOD MORNING ,CLEAN! WHAT’CHA THINKING ABOUT?”

“Sweet Lord, Morning Dew. Do you really have to scream in my ear?”

“If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be as awake as you are now, would you?”

“I was perfectly awake before, in fact, I feel more dead and deafened than I did before.”

The mare's ears fold back. This is her routine every morning. She pouts and pulls a puppy eyes, trying to get make me feel bad. Unfortunately for her, I’ve known her since she was a filly, and nothing she does works on my. Morning Dew was actually a Thestral. A fluffy, more batty version of the normal ponies.

Noticing that her pouty face wasn’t working on me, she huffs, “C’mon, can’t you give in at least once?”

“Nope, not gonna happen,” I pat her on the head as a small reward for her efforts. “Good attempt, though.”

“I just wanted to see you before I went to sleep, long shift today but atleast I got to see my favorite human!”

“As the only human, I feel offended that you and the other hundreds of ponies find that a compliment.”

“Well… I mean it more!”

“Good enough for me, then.”

We both wave as we cross paths.

As I go through each floor, making sure that each door is locked, I feel a small itch in the back of my mind. Like I’m forgetting something. I just pass it off as the urge to smoke, so I decide to take a break and head down to the first floor’s smoking room. Taking out my pack of smokes and a small zippo, I start to light the cigarette while walking through the door. By the time I’m finally able to start the zippo and light the smoke, I hear the door close behind me. Looking up and around I find, not the first floor smoking room, but instead a large throne room. It's dark, but I can see the moonlight shining through the large glass windows.

“Cleaaaaan! Mister Cleaaan! I’ve got some free time before class, let’s study!”

I feel the small form of a filly crash into my shins. It doesn’t hurt, but it served its purpose of gaining my attention. Looking down at the small monstrosity straddling my shin and attempting to end my life with an impromptu trip to the floor, I see none other that Celestia’s newest prodigy. Twilight Sparkle.

“And Hello to you too, Twilight. I’m a bit busy at the moment, maybe later?”

She visibly deflates at my rejection. “Okay… maybe later?”

“Of course, Twilight; I’ll always try and make time for you, now go to class. You don’t want to be late again, now do you?”

“Nope! See ya, Mister Clean!”

Inside the throne room, I hear the distinct sound of someone crying. Looking around for the source of the forlorn crying, I find a white figure on one of the two thrones in the room.
“Hello? Are you okay,miss?”
The crying abruptly halts, and with a few sniffles and a with a shaky voice, she protests. “I-... I thought I said not to interrupt me for the rest of the night”
“Look, I’m not sure what’s going on, but it sounds like you’re kinda upset. Anything I can do to help?”
The figure stands up, a clear seven feet tall, with a large horn adding another foot or so of length. Standing on four legs, the large horse trotted up to me. She surveyed me with wary, bloodshot eyes.
“You don’t look like one of my subjects. What are you and where do you hail from?”

“Good morning, Clean. I trust that today’s Sun was as magnificent as the last?”

“Speak of the devil and she shall appear; good morning, Celestia. And yes, the sun was just as good as the last.”

“Calling a goddess such as I a ‘devil’ could land you in the dungeons, but I feel the chains and whips might be more of an reward than a punishment.”

“Dirty jokes don’t work well with you Celestia, and to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you this early in the morning?”

“Nothing really, just making sure Twilight makes it to her class, it also gives me a few moments of peace before the rustle and bustle of the nobles come in.”

“Fair enough, I was just on my way to quickly sweep the throne room before they came in, care to join me?”

“I suppose it's inevitable, if you insist.”

“Care for a smoke?” I ask, offering the large Alicorn one of my cigarettes. “It’ll help you calm down.”
“A ‘smoke’? What is this small stick you call a smoke, and why does it smell so bad?”
“It's just a bunch of leaves in a piece of paper basically, helps kill you faster, but sometimes helps you calm down.”
She turns her nose up to it, and knocks the box out of my hand with her hoof. “Why would you do something that would kill you faster! Life is too precious for that!”
I couldn’t help but shrug. “No idea, but it helps me calm down.” I pick the pack back up and pull out another one, setting it in my mouth and lighting it. “I’ve been smoking these for years, hasn’t killed me yet, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Over the past thirty minutes, Celestia, as I learned her name was, has been dumping all of her problems onto me. Apparently, 800-ish years ago she was forced to banish her sister to the moon, and every Summer Solstice she raises the sun and spends the day tormenting herself over her past mistakes. She told me about her life, her sister, her daily duties, and I replied with my own life. My life is barely a fraction of what hers is, but she held onto every word, fascinated in both me and herself. She had never told another creature about her life, and yet here she was. Telling a complete stranger, and a previously unidentified creature her entire life story.

“I… must thank you.”
“For what?”
“For spending the time to listen to my lament. I’ve kept my pain to myself for so long, that I feared that I would lose myself.”
“Think nothing of it, boss, just helping a friend out.”
“A friend? You truly consider us a friend? But we’ve just met not even an hour ago?”
“And? Time doesn’t really matter, just as long as people get along.”

This stumped her. She gave up her hopes of making a friend centuries ago. Ever since she took up the crown, it had just been her and her sister.

We arrived at the throne room. It was quiet and empty. Not a single soul had arrived yet, and the floor was still clean from the previous night’s cleaning.

“Welp, this is it, Tia: this is where we part ways for the day.”

“Yes, I must agree. We both have our duties for the day.”

Celestia looked at the human, and for the first time in a long time, she was reminded of their first encounter. The dingy human, wearing a wrinkled uniform and tool belt, still looked the same has he had since he arrived. Not aging a day, but keeping the same gentle look in his eyes. He was a proud man, with no regrets. If he were to die today, he would happily accept his fate.

“If you ever need anything, I’ll always be there for you.”
“If you ever need anything, I’ll always be there for you.”

Those words made tears sting at Celestia’s eyes. True to his word, he’s always been there for her. For almost 200 years now, he’s stayed by her side. As a friend, and as a brother. She knew that he meant what he said, even if it would cost him his life.

She felt special, he was too nice, everyone loved him, but she’s seen his dark side. His fears and his weaknesses. Just as he had seen her own.. She only hoped that he would help heal her sister as well, if she were to ever return...