“Hmm… Now what does she think they will gain from bringing him there?” A woman sat in a dimly lit study, reading over the reports of the scavengers. Or, as her brother liked to call them, the hired help. “This technology is beyond anything they’ve ever seen. And considering they haven’t a clue on reverse-engineering those compounds, what could they gain?”
Across from her, a low, throaty chuckle pierced the silence. “Gain?” a raspy voice asked. “The princesses don't seek any gain," the man snickered, planting his cane on the floor to assist him. "They believe they can help the damned thing."
"And why couldn't they?" the mare rebutted teasingly, setting the papers down beside her. "Look here. It was him, a small colt, and a young mare. Lovely thing, a bit scrawny for my brother's arena."
The older stallion hobbled over to her, snatching her papers and reading over them with his right eye. "...the colt hasn't been in combat long enough to turn him," he growled, examining the young adult of a mare. "I believe your brother intended her to mate with his prized 'champion.' Still, he was rash to assume her mind would be lost so quickly."
The mare stood up, taking several books from the oak table between the two sofas and shelving them in their appropriate places. "And yet my brother is confident he cannot be brought back," she laughed, buttoning her lab coat. "It's no longer sane, I'll give him that, and every pony or creature he'll meet will be a potential opponent. In a world of fearful citizens, it won't be long before his presence is announced."
"And announce he will, Study," he said confidently. "The moment he has the chance to spill blood will be the opportunity to show what he is. What he was destined for!"
Deep Study shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You speak like that pit has produced heroes." She turned back to the dying light of the fireplace to the right of where she had sat. Above it, the banner of a long forgotten class of nobles displayed its meek blue and bold yellow. At the center of the strip, a black symbol contrasted from the rest, though it was in a language assumed dead.
"It created me." She rose a brow and gave him a sarcastic smile, to which he replied with a toothy smirk, revealing several sharpened, rotting teeth. "I survived your father's trials. It taught me the value of life; that you must fight and overcome."
"And yet, Scythe, you can barely walk without your cane. Not to mention you're as blind as a bat here," she said as she tapped her left eye, to which he snarled.
"Sacrifices of survival. I didn't lose an arm, and I've yet to be buried," Keen Scythe growled, limping over to her. "That pit will be that animal's rite of passage. Whether or not he wants to, he will survive, and I will make sure of that."
Study snickered lowly, motioning for him to follow. "Oh, I don't doubt that," she said, signaling a servant to open the door. "And neither will my dear sibling. It costed a fortune, one we are barely recovering from, but my brother managed to make the ultimate killer. It can counter any race's strengths, and even use some against them. I'm sure he'll stay alive until we can extract him."
"If his modifications don't kill him first," Scythe muttered. "As soon as we have him back, you are to start a project to help his muscle tissue. All the gore his body withstands will weaken him. I'm sure your brother understands." Study nodded, exiting the room. Scythe reached a hand up to his left eye, running his finger over the deep crevice of a scar that had blinded him.
With another servant at her side, Study made her way to her lab. There, she was met by several other chemists, neurologists and biologists. They handed her information, and she coordinated them to have their experiments ready for testing. She walked over to the glass panel across from the entrance and smiled maniacally. Below her, dozens of fillies and colts growled and shouted at each other ferociously, a few carcasses littering the floor. She was excited to know so many had made it back alive, which meant more fighters for their pits. They were so young, so innocent, and she would make them believe they wouldn't have that taken. Foals were so foolishly stupid.
"Miss Study." She turned as a stallion in a lab coat walked over with a sheet of papers, which he handed to her. "There are 50 survivors. The most we've ever had. Are we really going to risk half the batch?"
"My brother only had one abomination strong enough to withstand these experiments," Study announced, enough for the anxious scientists to hear. "It's been nearly a decade since one survived, so until we can make another, half the batch will always be necessary. If we create another, you'll all see much more bits for it."
"But what about the other specimen?" a mare called, her eyes analyzing a slew of information about the foals below.
A smirk grew on Study's lips. "It's still a work in progress," she replied. "Though I wish I had the opportunity to work on it. When it's completely upgraded, it'll be much better than its predecessor."
"I hope so." Study glanced back, beaming as she walked over to her brother and hugged him. "There seems to be more than usual down there. Are you excited?"
"I'm tingling," Study remarked sarcastically. "So, how goes it with 02?
The stallion before her, roughly her height, straightened his greyish-green mane with a ruby hand. "It's much more resilient, and a tad more intelligent than my old champion," he lightly chuckled, looking over the fillies and colts. "They're so beautiful before we ascend them."
"Then they're godly," Study said. "What brings you down here?"
He glanced back at her and grinned. "I'm sure you've heard about the situation so far," he said, waiting for her to nod. "I'm debating on whether or not to send somepony to fetch him. Gods know what he might do if he escapes."
His sister shot him a questioning smile. "You're concerned?"
"Considering I've spent nearly half of my wealth creating him, yes, I'm concerned," he shot back, a small bit of annoyance spilling into his voice. "It will take them time, but I'm sure a regime of Solar guards can wipe him out."
"He's in the custody of the princesses. I'm sure they can keep him well for us,” Study sighed. "And if not you'll know when you read the paper."
She heard his footsteps fading as he walked to the door. "In any case, I'd like to have my eyes and ears around, should something of importance happen," he called, the sound of the metal door opening. "I'll leave you to it, sister."
"You'll have your next batch soon, brother!" Study chimed. The door shut, and she turned to her lab attendants. "Alright. Bring in the Angels."
Ponyville
The sun was inching its way over the horizon, streaks of violets and magenta fading into deep blues. Slinking through the streets, Twilight anxiously looked every which way, sure that everypony was still asleep. She tugged on the leash, Nex grunting as he followed close. There was the sound of somepony running, and Twilight pushed him into an alley. The earth pony, who she recognized as Lotus's sister Aloe, jogged down the street, wearing a tank top and tight shorts. She let out a breath of relief, motioning for Nex to follow. He looked in the direction of the jogging mare, growling lowly before Twilight tugged him forward. They hurried down a dirt path, and up to Rarity's Boutique.
Nex squinted his eyes as the morning sun rose, a rooster off in the distance startling him as it cried out to signal morning. After quickly calming him, Twilight knocked on the door to her friend's shop. When there was no answer, she knocked harder, her impatience rising as the sun crept higher and higher above the valleys.
"Just a minute!" Rarity's voice called, annoyance in her tone.
Twilight sighed with relief, turning to Nex to get him ready. He stared off into the distance, watching the bright oranges and reds disappear as the sky turned blue. She'd woken up to see him staring out her window, as if waiting for something.
The door clicked as Rarity opened the door. "Who in Celestia's-" her eyes widened as she looked at the two. "Oh, Twilight! Come in, both of you!"
"Alright, come on, Nex," Twilight said, walking into Rarity's Boutique. She yelped as the leash stretched to its limit, causing her to fall back. Getting back up, she looked over to Nex, who was still staring into the sky. "Nex, get in here! Before somepony sees you!"
He grunted at her, and she groaned before grabbing his arm and pulling. It wasn't even enough to budge him. She struggled to move him inside, though he kept staring. Staring and staring and even still, he stared off into the distance.
"What are you looking at?" Twilight finally asked, panting by the door. Nex lowered his head and glanced over his shoulder. Twilight felt a chill run down her spine, unable to tell his emotions because of his mask.
"Blue... no know sky blue," he said to her. "It... it look... it look... I want look at it."
He didn't know how to describe the sky. It was the same sight every sunny day, a big blue sky and a bright sun to lighten up the day. "You mean it looks nice?" she asked softly.
He looked to her, then to the sky. "Nice... it... it look... nice." Nex turned back to the sky. "Sky look nice."
"Twilight, get inside!" Rarity called from inside. "We should get him out of sight!"
Nex turned and followed Twilight, who closed the door before leading him further inside. He looked all around at the decorative shop, staring down pegasus mannequins and sizing up other models. Rarity waved the two over from the other side of the room as she doodled on her sketchpad. Just as Twilight looked over her shoulder, she turned and lit her horn, bringing several measuring tapes over to them. Nex growled lowly, but Twilight gave him a stern glare to ease him off.
"I just want to measure you, Nex," Rarity assured him, nervously smiling as she approached. "If you're going to stay with us, you don't want to look like a mess, right?"
Nex relaxed, watching her carefully as she moved the yellow measuring tapes to his limbs and body. She took measurements of his neck, shoulders, arms, legs, waist, then grabbed one from the floor and went behind him.
"Nex, could you straighten your back? I need to make sure I get a proper measurement," she hesitantly told him. He slowly straightened his back, looming over Rarity and making her conscious of her own height. "Um... thank you."
She quickly measured his back, getting onto her toes to reach his head. The sight of his blood-stained clothes, and especially the stench, made her cringe. "Nex, this is Rarity," Twilight told him, gesturing to the seamstress. "She's my friend. And she's not going to hurt you, okay?"
He nodded softly. "White unicorn," he said.
"Rarity, dear," she reminded him, pulling away with several varying tapes. "I can whip something up by the next few hours. In the meantime, Nex, take a shower and... throw away those rags. Ponies aren't casual about blood on clothing."
He looked at his "shirt" before looking to Twilight. "Shou-wer?" Nex repeated. "What... shou-wer?"
Both mares turned to him, Rarity's expression a mixture of horror and curious concern. "You've never bathed? You know, got clean?" Twilight asked, mimicking the act of cleaning her arms.
He curiously watched, slowly shaking his head. "Master... clean me when sleeping," Nex recalled, looking at his good hand. "Say get infe... in-fe-jon if no clean... but no clean a lot."
Rarity motioned with her finger for Twilight to come over. "I doubt he'll know how to work the shower upstairs," she whispered into her ear. "Just show him how to turn it on and off and come downstairs. And keep quiet. Sweetie Belle is still asleep."
"Got it. Nex." He raised his head and grunted. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."
She quietly led him up the stairs and past Sweetie's bedroom, taking him into Rarity's bathroom and slowly closing the door. Nex sniffed the bottles of perfume and shampoo, yelling in surprise when he sprayed himself with a small bottle.
"Shhh!" Twilight put a hand over his mouth, her ear turned to the door to listen for the filly down the hall. "We have to be quiet! Relax!" she whispered.
He nodded, and she snatched the perfume from him and went to the shower. Nex watched her turn two knobs, then water started running from a faucet into a tub. Twilight turned on the shower, and the gushing water stopped, then cascaded in droplets from a smaller, angled faucet high on the wall. Nex jumped when it started, knocking into the shampoos and dropping some.
"It's okay, it's okay!" Twilight said, grabbing his arm and putting a hand on his chest. "Look. It's just water."
She guided his hand over to the shower, holding his hand out towards the falling water. He recoiled as he realized what she was doing, but she held his hand firmly. Before he could jerk his hand, there was a warmth on his hand. Twilight smiled as he moved his hand inside the stream, before moving back and staring.
"...water."
"Yeah, it's water," Twilight softly laughed. "This is a shower. We clean ourselves here."
She held up a bar of soap. "Just get yourself wet and rub this over yourself, okay? Then just wait until it washes off," Twilight instructed. She gave him the bar of soap and pointed to the shower. "Make sure you take off your clothes. And just wear one of these towels."
Twilight unlatched the chain from his neck and smiled before walking out, closing the door behind her. Nex looked to the running water, then to the bar of soap in his hand. He put it on the sink counter and started to strip, carefully unwrapping his bandaged hand. Clenching his teeth, he unfurled his bruised fingers and looked at them, watching a bone crack as it realigned itself with a small whir. Another bone did the same, and his pinky straightened itself out with his knuckles. He flexed them again, wincing less but still feeling the bruises. He rewrapped his hand before tearing off his shirt and moving to the shower. Before he did, he jerked his head to the right and jumped back, bumping into the wall.
There was another figure on the wall. He growled and moved with his left hand curled into a fist. Once he was close enough, he noticed the figure was naked, and in the same stance he was. Nex cautiously opened his palm, the figure doing the same. He looked closer, then realized what - no - who he was looking at.
He scanned over his own body in the mirror, or what he believed was his body. There was hardly any skin untouched by the Pit, and any that was stuck out. Then he looked at his own face. No, his face was masked. He gazed into his own cold eyes, unable to remember what his face looked like.
Clank!
He stared...
...and stared...
...then touched his own face.
He couldn't feel it, but he knew what he was touching as he watched himself in the mirror. Then and there, he started growing conscious. They weren't scarred. They weren't tainted and marred with grotesque wounds. He didn't know how to describe them. Any of them. But he wasn't like them. No one could see his body. Especially his face.
No one.