Squeaky Clean lived a simple life, with a simple family. He never really had any great passions in life...except one. At an early age he found a passion for cleaning and before long got his cutie mark in it. Now finally back from the country, he was heading to Canterlot Castle to try to get a job as a janitor there. As an added bonus, Squeaky was also going to reunite with his foalhood friend, now captain of the guard: Stone Wall.
"Stone Wall is that you?" Squeaky said to his old friend after meeting him just outside the throne room. "I barely recognize you, look at all those muscles."
"Yeah, I've gotten quite a few workouts since the last time we've met," Stone Wall replied. "Hard to believe that was years ago."
“Yeah,” Squeaky agreed as he couldn’t help but think of those days from long ago. “I see you still have the saddle bag that matches your cutie mark I got you.”
“I was about to say the same,” Stone Wall replied.
"So do you really think I'll get this job at the castle?"
"Well it isn't up to me it's up to the princess so make sure you make a good impression," Stone Wall answered. “I did go through all the trouble of arranging this little meeting.”
“Does the princess talk to all the ponies that want to work at the castle?”
“No. It’s quite the rarity actually, but she made an exception for you considering your background. Now remember when you talk to the princess, maintain eye contact and keep it quick, she has a busy day."
"Got it," Squeaky Clean said to his old friend.
"Good," Stone Wall said. "And don't be nervous, she's very friendly." Stone Wall then entered the throne room and Squeaky followed.
Better get ready to make my good impression, Squeaky thought to himself as he was looking at the carpet. Okay Squeaky, remember what Stone Wall said, eye contact. Squeaky Clean then lifted up his head and the second he looked into the eyes of Princess Celestia, it seemed to him that time had stopped. Gazing upon the large white alicorn filled Squeaky with a warm feeling that could only be one thing, love. M-My gosh she's beautiful. The very definition of a fairy tale princess.
"Why isn't he saying anything?" Princess Celestia whispered to Stone Wall who was sitting beside him.
"I think he's nervous," Stone Wall answered but then Squeaky Clean cleared his throat to get back the attention of the princess.
"Um, my name is janitor, and I'd like to be your Squeaky Clean." The princess couldn't help but giggle while Stone Wall put his hoof to his head.
"I see. Well, do you have any past experience as a Squeaky Clean?" Hearing that helped Squeaky Clean snapped out of his love trance.
"Yes, well your majesty I'm very good at cleaning, that's how I got my cutie mark."
"I see, well if cleaning is your special talent, and my own captain of the guard recommended you, then it only makes sense that I hire you. When can you start?"
"Right now."
"Good, Stone Wall, why don't you show your friend where the cleaning supplies are?"
"Yes princess," Stone Wall answered and left the throne room and gestured to Squeaky to follow him once again.
"I think that went pretty well," Squeaky said.
"I think so too janitor," Stone Wall replied.
"Heh you heard that?"
"Of course I heard that! I was standing right next to the princess." Stone Wall then smacked his old friend across his head. “All these years and you’re still a goofball. You got the job, just don't screw it up or you’ll make me look bad. And don’t think just because we’re friends I’m gonna let you goof off."
“Right, I figured as much.” He hasn’t changed all that much either. Stone Wall showed Squeaky Clean where the cleaning equipment was kept and he quickly got to work. For the next few days Squeaky would arrive at the castle, clean, admire the beautiful Princess Celestia whenever he saw her, and go home when he finished his shift.
One day however, would change his life and all of Equestria forever.
"I need you to clean this entire hallway today. Can you do that?" Princess Celestia asked.
"Yes princess," Squeaky replied as he was walking behind the princess.
"Good, and can you get to the windows as well?"
"Yes princess."
"Good, oh and Squeaky one other thing."
"Yes princess."
"If you value your job, stop looking at my royal rump." Squeaky Clean then suddenly walked past her, his head was as red as a cherry.
"Yes princess. Sorry."
“It’s all right,” Princess Celestia said then giggled a bit once again. Squeaky had a way of making her laugh. As Squeaky continued walking, he saw a lavender unicorn approaching.
"Oh my gosh Squeaky Clean is that you?!" The unicorn said. "It's so good to see you again."
"It-It is?" Squeaky asked.
"It's me, Twilight Sparkle, you foal sat for me once, remember?"
"I did?" Squeaky had not remotely remembered such a thing.
"Well I guess I can't blame you. It was quite a long time ago, but still it's great to see you again."
"I didn't know you knew my student Squeaky."
"Neither did I.”
"Oh princess, before I forget I heard some interesting news. An Ursa Major has been spotted near Canterlot."
"It is?" Princess Celestia asked. "How near?"
THUMP
"What in Equestria was that?" The princess asked.
"I think it's an answer to your question," Squeaky Clean said. The three ponies made their way to the window and saw that the Ursa Major was on the verge of entering Canterlot.
“You’ll have to excuse me,” Princess Celestia said as she flew out the window, she informed Stone Wall and a plan was put into action. Princess Celestia took to the sky with pegasus guards. The Wonderbolts were in Canterlot that day, so they were able to help as well. Squeaky, wanting to help as well, gave a few extra spears to the land guards.
"We’re going to need more spears,” Shining Armor called out.
“Squeaky,” Stone Wall called out, getting his attention right away. “Princess Celestia gave you a custodian key correct?”
“On my first day,” Squeaky replied, ready to help his friend.
“It can open almost any door in the castle. Head down to the basement, there’s a storage room for weapons. It’s the last door on the right.”
“Oh it,” Squeaky said before dashing off. Before long he was in the basement, but was having a little trouble remembering if Stone Wall said the last door on the left or the right.
Deciding not to waste time he tried the one on the left, inside was a series of relics carefully preserved. Above the relics was the painting of an elderly stallion with a long beard. “Starswirl the Bearded,” Squeaky said to himself, recognising him right away having read a lot about him when he was a colt. “I wonder if all this stuff belonged to him?” I wonder if he was close to the princess?
Suddenly Squeaky saw a small orb which caught the humble janitor’s attention. The sphere was red and blue with a yellow spot, in that spot was what looked like a majestic stallion. "What is this?" Squeaky Clean asked as he approached it. As he picked it up, he thought perhaps it had magical properties that would allow him to help fight the Ursa Major, he had no idea how right he was. He pressed it against his chest prepared to carry it, but then the sphere spread all over him.
"What the?" Squeaky asked, suddenly realizing his voice was different and that he seemed to be wearing some sort of costume along with a larger build. "What in Equestria is going on?”
THUMP
The Ursa Major! I forgot, I’ll figure this out later, I got to get to that weapon storage, Squeaky thought as he tried to run but to his shock he found that he was flying. He made it to the storage room but couldn’t get to the key with the sphere covering his old clothing. Out of instinct and curiosity he teleported himself into the storage room no problem with enhanced magic. After that he grabbed a box of spears and lifted up no problem, because his strength was enhanced as well.
“You know,” Squeaky said as he placed the box down. “I think there’s a better way I can help.”
***
"Has anypony seen Squeaky Clean?" A guard asked. "I think we could really use those extra spears."
"They'd be little more than toothpicks to that creature anyway," Stone Wall said. "We need to find a way to get it out of here and fast, any ideas?"
"Maybe we could try to get closer to the princess and back her up," Shining Armor suggested.
"That's not a bad idea," Stone Wall said. "You guards go with him and help out the princess, the rest of you help continue the evacuation."
"Yes sir," the guards said as they followed their captain's orders.
"How could a creature this huge get this close to the capital without any pony noticing sooner? And why is it even here? What does it want?" Stone Wall asked himself. "It just doesn't make any sense."
Meanwhile Twilight Sparkle, one of the few ponies that hadn't evacuated, climbed a building in hopes of studying the Ursa Major upclose.
"I can't believe I can observe an Ursa Major this close," Twilight said with glee while writing in a notepad she brought with her. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." As she continued talking to herself, Princess Celestia kept trying to push the creature back.
"What does a Ursa Major want in Canterlot anyway?" The princess asked. "They've never come near here before." When it seemed like the Ursa Major was falling back, it suddenly became more violent, and attacked the buildings more, including the one the Twilight was on.
The princess noticed, but she was distracted by it, causing her to get hit by the Ursa Major and was about to slam her into the ground, but she made a bubble around her that protected her from getting hurt. But the Ursa was trying to break the bubble and she had to make sure it didn't.
"HELP! HELP!" Twilight said about to fall off the several story high building she was on. She tried to pull herself up but she lost her grip and started to fall. "SOMEPONY PLEASE HELP!” Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs when suddenly a pony caught her in midair.
"Need a lift," Squeaky Clean said after finding his way out of the castle and flying to where Twilight was. After grabbing her he flew her to a different building away from the Ursa Major. "Sorry to pick you up at the last minute, but I'm still getting the hang of flying." Suddenly The Ursa Major started to attack the places around it even more.
"Yikes, that thing is getting more dangerous by the minute. We should probably get you further away from it." Squeaky picked up Twilight and jumped. To Twilight and his surprise he jumped all the way over Canterlot castle.
"Oh my gosh!" Twilight said.
"I know, I only meant to jump over to the castle entrance but we went clear over the whole thing."
"W-Who are you?" Twilight asked both shocked and amazed.
"Who am I? That's a good question," He responded almost as confused on the matter as Twilight was. Suddenly a great idea popped into the stallion’s head "I'm something great, I'm a pony that can do the impossible, I'm Super Stallion." He lifted off the ground while saying the last part. "Well you should be safe here. I'll see what I can do about that Ursa Major."
Squeaky turned to fly off again. "Wait!" Twilight said before he left. "How are you able to fly if you aren't a pegasus?"
"Faith, trust, and pixie dust," Squeaky Clean answered and then he flew off.
"Did he just quote Pony Pan?"
***
The Wonderbolts who took some damage from some swats by the Ursa Major got a second wind and were flying back to help the princess.
"Let's take that Ursa Major down!" Soarin said.
"Don't get too cocky Soarin!" Spitfire said. "We may still be able to fight, but it's gonna take a lot to deal with that creature." Just then something flew right past the Wonderbolts. Suddenly the Ursa Major was forced back with a push, allowing Princess Celestia to dispel her sphere.
"Wow I barely had to try," Super Stallion said as he noticed Princess Celestia was shocked at what she just saw, a flying earth pony that pushed back the Ursa Major. "Oh hi, you look tired, let me handle this." Suddenly the Ursa Major roared in anger so loudly half of Equestria probably heard it which nearly made Super Stallion’s head split in half. “I also have super hearing now, good to know.” The Ursa Major then attacked Super Stallion furiously, Super Stallion however dodged them easily.
“Who is that stallion?” Princess Celestia asked. The Ursa Major then smacked several buildings but Super Stallion grabbed all the rubble and neatly placed it on the ground.
"If this keeps up this thing is really going to make a mess. Time to see how strong I really am." Super Stallion then flew below the Ursa Major and suddenly it was lifted off the ground. The Wonderbolts and the princess herself literally dropped their jaws seeing this visual of strength. Super Stallion then carried the Ursa Major outside of Canterlot and off the mountain entirely then tossed it. When the Ursa Major got up, it looked around as if confused by where it was and before long left to find its cave.
"I wasn't sure I could do that. I don't know what this suit is exactly but I'm glad I found it," Super Stallion said as he flew back to the princess. "As you can see the Ursa Major is gone and I don't think it's coming back."
"H-How did you lift it all by yourself?" Soarin asked.
"Yeah that was the most amazing thing I ever saw," Spitfire said.
"It wasn't as easy as it looked. That thing was heavy," Super Stallion said. "Well with the Ursa Major problem solved, I guess I better get going." Super Stallion then flew off before the others could ask him anything else.
"Should we try to catch up to him?" Soarin asked.
"No he's way too fast even for us,” Spitfire said.
“Besides we should get to cleaning up the mess the Ursa Major made," Princess Celestia answered. Super Stallion flew until he knew he was out of sight, then flew back to the castle and landed in a spot where nopony was around.
"Wow that was great, but how do I get this off?" Super Stallion tried to pull off the suit but it was like his skin. "Okay think how did I get this on? I'm pretty sure I pressed it against my chest so maybe." Putting his theory to the test, Super Stallion then pressed on his chest and the suit formed back into a sphere. "All right it worked, I'm me again!" Squeaky Clean said with joy.
Now once again a mild mannered janitor, Squeaky Clean went back to where he found the sphere. There he brought the spears to the royal guards; they were so focused on the Ursa Major they didn't even notice how long he was gone. Before long Princess Celestia returned, informing them the Ursa Major was gone.
"Excellent work Princess Celestia,” Stone Wall said.
"Actually it was another pony that handled the problem," Princess Celestia said.
“Who?” Stone Wall asked.
"It was a flying earth pony," Princess Celestia answered.
"Flying earth pony? Like Pony Pan?" Stone Wall asked in confusion.
"Yes. I’ll explain more later, but for now the Ursa Major still did a lot of damage. We should get to cleaning and repairing right away," Princess Celestia said. Stone Wall agreed and assigned the guards and the Wonderbolts to help the princess. Squeaky Clean helped out as well for a while.
"Where should I go next?" Squeaky asked after helping clean and repair an area of Canterlot using his magic for the latter.
"That'll do for now take the rest of the day off," Stone Wall said. "And have a big breakfast because you’re going to need a lot of energy tomorrow."
"No argument here," Squeaky said as he went home.
"Hi Squeaky," Shining Armor said.
"Oh hello..." Squeaky replied but stopped because he didn't know this stallion's name.
"Shining Armor, I'm Twilight Sparkle's big brother."
"Oh."
"Did you hear the bad news?"
"I think we all heard the Ursa Major coming," Squeaky replied again as they started walking together.
"No, not that the Sapphire Shores concert that was going to happen tomorrow was canceled because of all the damage."
"Oh that is too bad, I like her music."
"Me too, I even bought a ticket but at least they said they would give refunds."
"Well that's good."
"So that flying earth pony, what do you think about him?"
"I don't know. I was in the castle getting the guards more spears," Squeaky quickly replied as to avoid suspicion.
"Oh I see, maybe we'll get to actually talk to this pony. We'll just have to wait and see what develops, take care," Shining Armor said as he went a different direction.
"Take care," Squeaky replied. "I wonder how many other ponies will be interested in Super Stallion?"
***
"Faster than the Wonderbolts, more powerful than an Ursa Major, able to leap Canterlot castle in a single bound," A reporter said on the news the next day. "It's Super Stallion, a pony out of a comic book and into Canterlot. With comments from the few ponies that engaged in conversation with him, including not just the princess but her personal student, we still have little to go with. When will we learn more about this mysterious stallion? Only time will tell."
When Squeaky Clean made his way to work Super Stallion was the talk of Canterlot.
"I had a feeling that this Super Stallion would be the talk of Canterlot," Princess Celestia said. "I just didn't think it would be so fast."
"If he's as fast as his rumors are he'll be able to help you out a lot more," Stone Wall said. "That is of course if you can't pick up the pace."
"Is there supposed to be another meaning to that Stone Wall?"
"You could have fought off that Ursa Major yourself but you didn't. You held back."
"Yes I could have done it, but I didn't wish to seriously harm it. As a princess I care for all the creatures in my kingdom big and small."
"That's exactly the problem, you're too soft."
"Maybe you have a point. In the future I'll try to be more assertive. And perhaps you can learn to become a little softer perhaps on the royal guards who nearly train from dawn until dusk." Princess Celestia then used her magic to lift Stone Wall's helmet off him and before he realized it the princess gave him a playful rub until he used his magic to put his helmet back on his head.
"Don't tell me how to do my job!" Stone Wall said in an almost demanding tone.
"Oh, but you can tell me how to do my job," The Princess replied in almost a mocking tone. In response Stone Wall used his magic to remove Celestia's breast plate and tried to blindfold her with it, the two playfully teased one another for a minute or two. Meanwhile Squeaky Clean was on one of his breaks and was looking in town for a place to eat when suddenly he heard screaming.
"STOP THIEF!" A unicorn named Golden Gavel who runs the auction house screamed. A masked unicorn had grabbed the money from the auction.
"I can't believe those ponies spent all these bits on old stuff," The thief said while running and using his magic to carry the bag of bits. Luckily everypony was so focused on the thief nopony noticed Squeaky Clean sneak into an alley and get out a certain sphere. "Easy life here I come."
"I don't think so," Super Stallion said as he blocked the thief's path while hovering in the air by a few inches with his front hooves crossed. Not too long after that, one more criminal would be behind bars.