//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Nex, Gladiator // by That_Random_Pony //------------------------------// A chunk of rock fell from the side of the mountain, landing not too far from where a group of stallions was walking. "They didn't need to destroy the place," an aqua colored pegasus sighed. "All the time we spent... and not one of the angels survived." An older earthen kicked a rock, forming a crack on it. His bronze hand ran over the slivers of holes in it, and he sighed. "I left for a single day, and then this happens," he huffed, crossing his arms. "He won't be pleased when he finds that his western pit was destroyed." "You two cannot be serious," another pegasus groaned, his grey wings flapping as he looked for a way in. "The old stallion has four of these in every corner of the country. He's even started another in griffon territory." Other earth ponies began pulling rocks and moving slabs of granite and quartz. "Be careful! It'll come down on top of us if we aren't careful!" The voice came from a unicorn, his teal horn glowing as he pushed aside smaller chunks. "What's so important that he wants us digging up a broken mountain?" The earthen shrugged. "How much do you think each of his angels is worth?" the blue pegasus questioned. "Let's just say he could build a town and PAY ponies to live there for a good century. And that's for every one of them." The two mercenaries looked to him with wide eyes. "Guess we're getting paid a good amount," the earthen mumbled. "But we're wasting our time. Those Royal Guards are thorough... wish they were lazy like the cops in Manehatten." The other pegasus landed and watched the stallions opening the cave. "Flip! You guys in yet?" he shouted to the unicorn. Bit Flip examined the rubble for another second before turning. "Nothing yet, Spot!" he called back, using his magic to blast a boulder apart. "Dense! Get over there and help!" Dense Fist sighed and made his way over. "Just because I'm an earth pony doesn't mean I'm a heavy lifter," he grunted, pulling away another large rock. "Doesn't look that way to me," the blue pegasus quipped. "And why wouldn't you be with your name?" He smirked and showed his shoulder, revealing a cutie mark of an iron fist cracking a skull. "You can break heads and not lift," he chuckled. The others shook their heads and moved over to the nearly-cleared rubble. "So, why are you here, Mr..." "Storm Glide," the blue pegasus answered, looking at scorch marks. "Your employer sent me to supervise you and... collect information." Dense pushed a rock away and turned to him. "What sort of information?" he asked. "If there's some dark secret that'll kill us all then-" "The information regards one of his angels... a very unique angel," he said, looking over to an earthen that fell into a hole. "Alright, get in there and search for what you can." Dense and Dull Spot went over to Flip, then entered the cavern. The air was heavy with a lingering stench, and barely any light made it into the large hall. The group moved further in, stepping over the threshold of a door that looked like it'd been blasted open. Some of the other ponies gagged and groaned in disgust, but the mercenaries examined the sight closely. Pools of blood splashed beneath their feet as they moved into the seats of the coliseum. Their boots knocked into some limbs as they moved to the glass dome, peering into the pit below. "Looks like they missed them," Flip sighed. "Spot, go with Storm in there." They glided down through the massive hole, landing beside the pile of bodies. "Celestia... what are they?" Spot murmured. Storm seemed to disregard their gory "enhancements" and looked over their wounds, moving them around as if examining something in a shop. "Hmm... these two must have been fighting... the pegasus won... and this earthen was killed by a unicorn." He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up at Spot. "Might wanna rethink that," he said. Storm followed where he was looking, his eyes resting on the sight of a dead unicorn. He walked over to him and started prodding, pushing his head up to reveal a slashed throat. His horn had been cut in half, but scorch marks trailed up the wall across from him. The rocks hadn't been cracked, and none of the other two opposing gladiators had any signs of magical damage. "He wasn't strong enough to break a rock..." Storm went to the pegasus without a wing, then to the pegasus with a large gash in its jaw. "Hmm... the pegasus are much more injured than the earthen... and his blood trails outside." "Whose blood?" Spot questioned. "What are you talking about?" "Not to mention the news about a colt and mare being rescued," Storm mumbled, wiping his bloodied hands on his handkerchief. "Hmm... so it wasn't a total loss." Spot rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Alright, what in Tartarus are you talking about?" he sternly asked. "There's nothing here, so what's going on?" A brief minute later, Storm exhaled and looked to him. "If we weren't so lucky, we'd be dead stallions in 24 hours," he calmly sighed, flapping his wings to take flight. "To answer your question, our benefactor had an extremely valuable Angel in this pit. He was worth twice as much as Canterlot, and worth the entirety of Canterlot Castle. He's alive, and I'm willing to wager a certain pair of monarchs know where we would find him." Spot followed him out of the pit, then shook his head. "So... are we done here?" he asked. He ducked under a pound of dynamite being thrown over him, glaring at Storm as he lit a match. He tossed the match on the ground, which ignited a trail of powder that flowed through the stands. "Yes, we are." Spot anxiously walked with Storm, ready to take off the moment he heard anything louder than a mouse. Once everypony was outside, an enormous number of explosions shook the ground, just as smoke and dust shot out from the mouth of the cave. Rocks tumbled and boulders crashed as the mountain began to collapse, forcing the group to get farther away. Storm watched nonchalantly, while the hired help stared in disbelief. "We might require your services for a bit longer than we contracted. But don't fret, we can compensate what we owe," he smiled. Flip had seen those types of smiles. This wasn't happiness or relief. It was a smile that foreshadowed what was to come. Whether it was good or bad, he knew there were only two types of ponies that could pull of that sort of expression. And Storm certainly wasn't panicking. It was the smile of a psychopath. Canterlot Castle It'd been nearly a week since Celestia had looked into his memories. A week that she had spent in constant reminder of that fact, as Luna hadn't let up about the invasion of privacy. As a dreamwalker, she had been allowed to see memories alongside dreams, and she knew that only certain ponies were allowed to hear of such things. Memories were sacred, more than any conjured dream could be. And it was insulting to know she did it while she was in his head. However, even she had to admit that it had been worth trespassing. Nex no longer thrashed in his cell, or skipped eating. He seemed calm now, but he still wasn't improving beyond that. Whenever Celestia visited, he would be fine with her presence, but he didn't speak much. As for Luna, he returned her cold attitude and said little to nothing. He still spent his dream time looking over his past, especially his youth. But now they knew everything. He'd explained what had happened to him and countless others as children. It had put their minds to ease, but disgusted and disheartened them much more. To think that so many foals had been murdered... just to find the few that could adapt, and survive horrible experimentation. Then put into an arena to slaughter one another. That's what the mountain had been. A place of death and murder, all to survive and hope they wouldn't die the next fight. Most that had been foalnapped were orphans, but there were few that belonged to a family. When the toll had come in, it was the hardest six letters both princesses had to write. "Your colt/filly was modified gruesomely then brutally killed by others like him/her." It wouldn't bring any mother or father peace. They would have to know their foal suffered long before they were killed, and that others had lost their minds and turned into killing machines. All for sport. Luna remembered the times of gladiators. The times she and her sister put prisoners against their legions for entertainment. She remembered those times, and she wasn't proud of them. But to mutilate foals and have them fight... it was unheard of. "We'll have to search for them... this is just a small part of something much bigger," Luna said to her sister. "I can have the Lunar Guard search Equestria by night. It would keep the matter away from the media's eyes." Her sister nodded softly, adjusting herself in her seat on the couch. "Luna... we still have to help him," she said in a low voice. Luna softly sighed and rubbed her temple. "I know that," she replied in a low tone. "The question I believe we both need an answer to... is: how?" Both had spent varying amounts of time on coming up with a solution. He still held an instant distrust in ponies, and he was only slightly comfortable with their own presence. Not to mention his hatred towards pegasi. Hiring a therapist was too risky, and that was if he decided to talk. He needed to be kept close to somepony who could stop an outburst without the help of a platoon of guards. They could do so... but he wouldn't get better if they babysat him. He needed to learn that there was good in ponies other than them. Canterlot was no place for that... not entirely, at least. Most of the nobles would demand for something to be done, and that's if they didn't cause him to lash out first. Manehatten, Apploosa, and Fiilydelphia were much too far, ruling them out immediately. Ponyville was close... just a short train ride away... maybe even a chariot. On top of that, there were six ponies and a dragon who had helped Equestria four times over. "Luna." Her sister perked her ears, looking up and waiting for her to speak. "I think... I might have a way." "Are you going to say it?" she asked. Celestia rolled her eyes at her tone and sat up. "Nex trusts nopony aside from us. He thinks everypony is cruel and he hates them," she said, standing up with a small glint in her eyes. "We need to show him that ponies aren't all that way. He needs ponies that will help him day and night." "You mean us?" Luna questioned, resting her head on her knuckles. "Sister, we've-" "Not just us... he needs more than us." She looked at a stained glass depiction of the fall of Nightmare Moon. Luna glanced at it, then turned to her sister with a suspicious gaze. "He needs friends." A moment of silence ensued, both princesses staring back at one another with mixed thoughts. Luna broke her gaze away and closed her eyes, setting her crown on the cushion beside her. "We cannot control him," she began, casting a glance towards the door. "If he should lose his calm there could be untold consequences. They aren't as prepared as the castle is for him." "I know, Luna, but if he can keep himself under control, or my student or the Elements-" "And what if he can't?" Luna interjected, standing up to assert herself. 'He's barely refrained from attacking us, and he still threatens any pegasi. That is all aside from the fact that he is immune to magic AND has the ability to siphon it." Celestia looked unmoved by her sister's argument. She closed her eyes in thought, moving away from the couches and to one of the windows. Luna waited in her original seat, watching her sister stare through the glass depiction of Discord's fall. The light bathed through it in a beautiful spectrum of color, painting Celestia's milk white dress. She turned around hesitantly before returning to her seat across from her younger sister, then cleared her throat. "He's like you, Luna." The words put her off, like she thought it would, but Luna refrained from retorting. "You felt alone when you returned... remember?" Celestia knew her sister remembered. It was nearly a week before her body returned to its normal state, when Luna was still learning about what had happened during her absence. "A thousand years away from Equestria is different than spending a life in a pit," she weakly shot back. "Luna, no pony was there to torture you, or hurt you, or damage you... not after I wronged you," Celestia whispered, pushing her voice past the lump in her throat. "You had me to help you because I am your sister. Twilight helped you even more when you visited on Nightmare Night. Who does Nex have? Us?" "We've done our best to help but he refuses to let us!" Luna suddenly exclaimed, pointing her finger as she seethed. "Don't compare myself to him." "What if you refused my help?" Celestia questioned. "Do you think I would have given up? Leave you to suffer alone? Why should we do that to him?" She moved Luna's trembling hand, holding it with both of her own. "Would you have done that to me?" The room was silent again, neither princess moving. Celestia waited for a response, but Luna didn't offer one. The door to the chamber slowly creaked open, an anxious Solar poking his head in. "Princess Celestia," he called, clearing his throat before walking towards them. He held out a scroll, prompting both princesses to look at it. "Thank you," she said softly, taking the parchment from him. He bowed respectfully before hurrying out. "I'm going to my chambers," Luna told her, walking to the door. "Luna." The lunar princess stopped at the door, peering over her shoulder. "We can help him... I know that Twilight and her friends can show him the truth." Luna opened the door and stepped outside, but turned back to her sister with a softer expression. "You'd better ask Twilight Sparkle what she thinks before you 'dump him on her'" she said. Ponyville "Give it back!" Twilight shouted, chasing a laughing Rainbow over the fields outside of the town. Rainbow swerved and looped to avoid her purple friend as she flipped through the novel she'd been reading. "What's the big deal, I just wanna see it!" she laughed, holding the book up as she ducked under Twilight. "You could've asked!" Twilight called, teleporting herself closer. "Can I see it?" Twilight smacked her palm against her face, causing Rainbow to burst into more giggles. "Ohoho, what's this?!" Pinkie giggled from below as she skipped along, Applejack and Fluttershy following behind. "Least she's gettin' the hang of her wings," the farm girl chuckled, putting her orange hands into the pockets of her vest. "How long has she kept from crashing?" "Fifteen minutes! It's her new record!" Pinkie announced, a stopwatch in each hand. "What kinda book is Twilight reading, anyway? I bet it's about something super-duper awesome! Or super-duper interesting! Or super-duper-interestingly-amazing!" "Ah'm sure it's somethin'. Even Dash's reading it," she smiled, waiting for their rainbow headed friend to crash. "Looks like Twilight's catching up." They cringed as Twilight tackled Rainbow into a tree, the leaves and branches rustling before Rainbow fell out on her head. The alicorn princess yelped as she pulled her skirt free from the branches and fell on top of Rainbow. She shook her head and groaned before grabbing her book. Applejack offered a hand, pulling her to her feet. "You can move when ya need to," Applejack smirked, brushing off some of the twigs in her mane. "Come on, Dashie. Up and at 'em." Rainbow clutched her head and groaned in pain. "Jeez, Twi, you could've asked," she groaned, rubbing the growing bump. Twilight huffed and teleported the book back to the library. "Oh, haha," she mockingly said. "Cherilee recommended it to me, so I'd better not hear about it from anypony else." Rainbow laughed and wiggled her eyebrows. "I can't promise that, Twi," she snickered, smiling mischievously. "Twilight!" The girls turned to the town as Spike came running, holding a scroll in his claw. He panted heavily as he reached them, falling to his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. "Princess... message... important." "Calm down, Spike," Twilight said, putting a hand on his back. He slowly started to catch his breath, panting less and less until he was fine. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, but the princess wanted me to make sure I brought this to you right away," he panted, handing her the scroll. "Think it's bad?" Rainbow asked, looking from over Twilight's shoulder. "Ah hope it ain't another Sombra fiasco," Applejack said, shivering quietly. "Don't be so negative, girls! Maybe there's a shortage of cotton candy in Canterlot, and the princess needs us to find a secret fountain that makes a super secret ingredient that-" "You're hungry, aren't you, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked. "Yup!" she giggled. "Y'know what we should get?" "Can everypony be quiet?!" Twilight exclaimed, breaking the seal. "The princess might need us to help Equestria so we need to... focus..." The girls leaned in to see the parchment, which was mostly blank except for one line. "’Twilight, get on the last train to Canterlot. Bring everypony with you. Leave Spike.'" Pinkie read. "Aww, really?" the young drake groaned. "I want to help!" "I'm sure the princess has her reasons," Fluttershy croaked, coughing softly and clearing her throat. Applejack crossed her arms and sighed. "Sounds shady. Sure that ain't some fake seal?" she asked, pulling her stetson back. "There isn't anypony with this kind of seal. And I can feel some of her magic on it," Twilight said, rolling the paper back up. "But... this isn't like her to leave me in the dark." "What about that letter she sent before we went to the Crystal Empire?" Spike questioned. "She said it was a test, but nothing else." "Let's just go!" Rainbow said, heading back to the town. "Come on, there's nothing we can't handle, right? I bet the princess just wants us to clean up some chump that thinks he can take over Equestria." Twilight looked a bit concerned, but Applejack patted her shoulder. "Don't worry so much. Long as we're together, there ain't nothin' we can't do," she nodded. Twilight smiled, then gave her own nod. "Alright, girls. Let's get ready to... where's Pinkie? Fluttershy gave her a small note. "Went to go pack! I'm so excited!!!! Rarity's coming too so I'm gonna tell her! Oh! I need this paper back! It's my emergency 'We're all going on an adventure and we need to pack but Rarity isn't here and somepony who isn't talking is sick' note! Be right back!" "Hm... alright, let's go!"