"Ah Twister Slash, we bid you welcome." Princess Luna boomed as the light grey stallion entered the throne room.
I was the dead of night, and the only guards that stood in the hall were Luna's elite bat eared ponies of the night. Whatever mission she had for him must be secretive and important if she were to call him this late.
He didn't mind though, he loved the night it was his favorite time of day.
He bowed low, his black and red stripped mane falling in front of his eyes.
"Does thou knoweth of Tireks defeat at the hooves of Twilight Sparkle?" She asked him softer then she normally spoke.
"Yes, your highness." He replied, looking up to meet her eye.
"Then you are aware of the creation of the castle of friendship?"
"Ofc." He replied, standing up at attention.
"Very good. Then, you will know that since this development, many of our enemies have placed a price on our friend Twilight." She said gravely. "And as you know, her loss could very well mean the destruction of Equestria itself."
"So you want me to protect her?" He asked, glancing at the hilt of the sword that hung at his side.
"Quite. But I do not wish for her to know as she may give away your presence to any would be assassins." She nodded pleased that her faithful Warrior knew her whims so well. "That is why I've had you assigned as her castles janitor."
"Very well, your highness. I will be discreet and cautious."
"Thank you, dear friend." She bowed her head pleased with his response. "Prepare yourself and be on the earliest train to ponyville."
Twister nodded solemnly , turned, and walked back into the hall.
****
Twilight walked out of the castles' front doors and out into the early morning light.
Ponyville was always so quiet and quaint in the morning.
"What a beautiful morning," she said, almost singing it out.
Spike groaned as he followed her. "Yeah, yeah, I don't see why I had to meet the royal janitor, too." He grumbled half to himself. "You could have let me sleep in."
"But then you would have missed the beautiful sunrise." She pointed out, patting head as they walked.
"That's exactly what I wanted to do....." He shot back under his breath.
Twilight rolled her eyes and giggled. They walked down the quiet dirt road to the small train station. The ponyville express' whistle sounding as it pulled into the station.
They watched at the train doors opened, and a few early travelers walked out.
She looked around, expecting a snobby looking unicorn to step out and announce him or herself.
She was surprised to see a grey earthpony step out of the door. His mane was black with red stripes scattered across it, it was tied back in a small bun as was his tail, which seemed long for a stallion. His attire was an unassuming green jumpsuit stained in what looked like mud and cleaning supplies.
His face was chiseled, and firm a frowning expression made him look hard and unapproachable. But, his expression changed when he saw her his face breaking into a friendly smile that showed he wasn't as surly as he first looked.
"Hello, you must be princess Twilight. " He said, reaching to, she assumed shake her hoof. Extending it, he reached down and kissed it. "My name is Twister Sweep night shift janitor to canterlot castle."
Twilight was a bit shocked as nopony had greeted her in such an old-fashioned way before. "Oh, um, nice to meet you." She said a slight flush rushing to her cheeks.
"Princess Luna said that since my services were so fine that you would need my assistance keeping the castle of friendship up to standards." He said, mixing in a bit of truth with the story Luna at given him.
"Well, it definitely will be a relief. Spike can hardly keep up with the mess." She said, motioning to her number 1 assistant, who was currently eyeing Twister suspiciously.
"Nice to meet you." He said to the purple dragon, who held a claw out to the newcomer.
"Likewise." Spike pulled Twister in close and whispered. "Don't try anything funny. I'm watching you, pretty boy." He almost hissed the last word.
"I can assure you, my friend, I'm only here to help." He replied to the protective dragon.
"Spike, be nice; he was only being polite." Twilight said, giving her friend a look, clearly annoyed at his threat to their new janitor.
Spike rolled his eyes and turned to head to the castle.
******
Twister picked his suitcase up, placing it on the desk across the room from his bed, opening it. he pulled a few different jumpsuits out of it. A black one mixed into the stack poked out. He placed them in a drawer, closing it. You reached into the suit case, pulling a short sword out from it. He slid it between the bed and the wall hidden from view but where it could be grabbed at a moments notice.
"Hey, Mr Sweep!" Spikes voice echoed down the hallway.
Twister calmly placed his suitcase into the closet. Then, opened the door and walked to meet him.
"Yes, Spike?" He asked.
"Pinkie, let her party cannon off in the foyer again." Spike said calmly. "Could you clean up the confetti?"
"Ofc, I'll get right on it." He replied, reaching for the broom closet, which was conveniently across from his room, grabbing a broom and dust pan he rushed off to clean up the mess Pinkie had made.
Spike watched him run off, smiling evilly as he snug into the janitors room.
The room was mostly empty as he had barely had time to unpack. A picture frame sat on the dresser of an older mare and Stallion, his parents most likely.
Spike opened the dresser drawer, looking at the green jumpsuits stacked and folded neatly. "Ofc he wears the same thing every day." Spike said unimpressed. If this big city janitor thought himself worthy of Twilight's attention, it was Spike's job to determine if he could be trusted.
He pulled the jumpsuits up to see if anything was hidden under them but was disappointed to see the bottom of the drawer, not even noticing the black suit placed between the green ones.
Placing them back, he left the drawer and checked the closet, noticing the suitcase sitting unassumingly in it. Knowing his time was limited, he opened it quickly.
Nothing. Disappointed spike closed it and left the room after checking under the bed. Maybe the new janitor was just that a janitor.
******
Twilight sat in the library reading a book on the mysterious mating rituals of wendigos.
The library door creaked open, causing her to look up as Twister walked into the large room, an extendable duster on his belt and a broom in his hoof.
"Good evening, your highness." He said politely. "Don't mind me, I'm just here to dust."
"Call me Twilight, please." She replied, smiling sweetly. "We're friends, after all."
"Humility suits you, Twilight." He replied, matching her smile.
Turning, he pulled the duster out, spraying it with some cleaner before extending it and running it across each self of the bookshelves that lined the walls of the library.
"Soooo, how long have you been a janitor for?" Twilight asked as she watched him over the brim of her book.
"10 or so years." He replied. "It's nice, quiet work when everyone is asleep." He thought back to one long night just waiting for the right moment to strike his target, a posh upperclassmen who had enslaved ponies in his diamond mine. Celestia herself had ordered the hit. He still remembered the quiet, calm of the night as he waited.
"Do the royal libraries get as dusty, too?" Twilight asked, smiling as she watched him stare off.
"Oh, yes definitely!" He said abruptly snapped out of the memory. "I remember when I went on vacation, and there was a inch of dust in there because my replacement thought it wasn't important to dust old books."
"Disgusting......" Twilight growled quietly. "Do you read, Twister?"
"Yes, I love reading; it's the best way to relax." He nodded, recalling his favorite tale. "My favorites are Edgar Allen Pone's poems, just love the dark enthralling feeling of them."
"OH! I have just the book for you then!" She hopped up from her armchair, walking to one of the bookshelves next to the one Twister was dusting. Her magic cocconed a single volume and pulled it from the shelf she offered it to him.
Placing the duster down, he took it from her before being teleported to a nearby couch, Twilight sitting next to him. "Yikes, warn me first." He said, shocked at the suddenness of the teleportation.
"Here." She said, flipping to the first chapter. "It's really good. It's about a soldier questioning if the war he's waging is right or if his king is a tyrant."
"I take it you like this one if you're this excited to share it." He said, giving her a knowing smirk.
"I liked it so much. I read it twice!" She chirped back, grinning ear to ear. She curled up next to him as she started to read the first page.
He adjusted himself and began to read along with her. If someone had seen them, they'd have said that this was a commonplace occurrence for the two of them.