//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Nex, Gladiator 
// by That_Random_Pony 
//------------------------------//

"Is Nex done up there?" Rarity hummed, finishing the stitches on a new set of pants. "With this he'll be less cave-worthy."

"And aside from not having fur or a snout, I think it'll make him look less intimidating," Twilight weakly laughed. Rarity harrumphed and shook her head.

"As long as he wears that mask he'll always seem intimidating," she stated, pulling the needle through its last stitch. "Alright. It isn't my best work but at the very least presentable."

Twilight stood up and headed for the stairs. "I'll go get him before Sweetie walks in on him." She hurried to the top and quietly ran down the hall, grabbing the bathroom knob and pulling. Halfway open, the door slammed itself back towards her, knocking her down and slamming shut. "Nex! Ah, that stings... I hope I don't bleed."

"White unicorn ready?" Nex's voice questioned.

"Yes, Nex," she groaned, grabbing the handle and pushing again. The door didn't budge, and Twilight tried her best to force it open. "That means we go downstairs, Nex!"

She waited for him to respond, a grunt or something primal, but there wasn't any sound. The sound of a heavy footstep startled her, and the door cracked open just enough to show his eye, the rest of his face masked. "Bring clothes... no go out."

"What do you mean? Just come downstairs, stallions always leave their shirts off," Twilight insisted, pushing the door only to have it shut again. "Nex, what's the matter? You can tell me."

He was silent again, his ragged breathing the only indication he was there. "No... no want ponies see body," Nex grunted. Twilight's hand moved away from the door, frowning as she waited for him to keep speaking. "No... let ponies see... what I turn to."

Twilight wanted to say something, but there wasn't anything to say at all. He had been in a pit, fighting for years. He was still alive, but she doubted he always came out untouched. For him to hide his own body, something she believed he wasn't mindful of... she was curious and slightly worried. Releasing the knob, she stepped back and wondered what to do. 

"I'll bring up the clothes. I won't look, okay?" Twilight asked, Nex mulling it over.

"Go." Twilight headed back the way she came, her quick steps attracting Rarity's attention.

"Is he coming?" she asked, standing from her fainting couch. 

Twilight shook her head and slung his clothes over her arm. "He wants to change upstairs," she explained. "He doesn't want us to see him without a shirt."

Rarity giggled. "Who would have thought him to be modest?" she snickered. Twilight tried playing along, half-heartedly laughing with her as she went up the stairs. 

When she reached the bathroom, she heard several linking sounds. Like locks. "Nex? What are you doing in there?" The sounds ceased, and the door cracked open.

His masked face peered into the opening, eyeing the clothes curiously. "Leave there. I take." She kneeled down and set the clothes on the floor, trying to steal a glance at the mirror. Sadly, his back was covered with one of Rarity's towels. "Go. I wait."

"Don't take too long." Nex waited until he couldn't hear anything, then opened the door.

He made sure the towels were secure before peeking out into the hall. It was empty. Wrapping another towel around his good arm, he reached out and snatched the clothes up, then shut the door behind him. He dropped the towels over his body and held up the black shirt the white mare had made. Recalling his old rags, he looked for a way to get his arms into the small holes. He looked under and found a big hole, then pulled it over him. His good arm struggled to find an exit, and his bandaged hand was caught on the hem, forcing him to struggle. Grunting in annoyance, he wriggled his arms around, until his left hand felt the sleeve. He shot his arm out, then felt around for the big hole. When he found it, he reached in and grabbed his head, guiding himself out. Nex gasped as he freed his head, slowly working his other hand and arm out of the other sleeve socket. 

There was a small grey piece of cloth that looked like his old pants, if that was what they were called. There was a big opening, and two smaller ones underneath. He stuck his legs into the two openings, struggling to fit them properly. Ripping them off, he examined them again, then tried putting his legs in the larger opening. His feet caught themselves, but he managed to slip them out and pulled the briefs up. A small, pained grunt escaped his throat, and he pulled them slightly down and struggled to restrain his coughs. With much more caution, he slipped his dark grey pants on, noticing they were a bit loose and open. There was a little set of teeth near his crotch, and he grabbed the small metal piece connected to the base. His zipper closed up, leaving him with the white blazer. He slid into it more easily, glancing at the buttons and small holes on the edges of the middle. 

His mask clicked as he set it in place, pulling it to make sure its position was locked. Hesitantly, he opened the door, glancing down both hallways. The voices of the women downstairs reached him, guiding him back to the stairs. He started down the steps, a few creaks of the wooden steps causing the girls to turn to him. Rarity's eyes lit up in delight, while Twilight's smile was a bit forced.

"You look wonderful, Nex!" Rarity squealed, adjusting his collar. "It would be better if you took this off." She went to touch the mask, but he reached a hand up and grabbed her wrist.

Rarity froze in fear as he growled, his teeth baring again. "No... touch." Twilight's hand trembled as she gripped the leash, ready to inject the sedative. Thankfully, Nex's hand let go, and he moved away.

Rarity rubbed her wrist, glad to see it hadn't been bruised. "W-Well, thanks for making him the clothes," Twilight said, tugging on his leash to get him to follow. "We should get going. Spike should be coming home later."

Rarity nodded, her ears perking up. "Oh, wait, before you go take these." She rushed over to one of her benches and sifted around underneath. "One of my clients... had ordered - where are they? Hmm, ahah!" She crawled out from under and held up a pair of shoes. "They might be a bit big, but I'm sure they'll do for now."

"Oh yeah. We wouldn't want him walking around barefoot," Twilight said. Nex sat down by the door while Rarity slipped them on. 

Like she thought, there was some space in front of his toes. "It isn't too big," Twilight sighed. "He'll get used to them. I hope."

Nex looked at the shoes on his feet, their eloquent design new to him. His arm strained as he remembered where he'd seen shoes like them. The masters had worn them. He slipped out of his thoughts and back to reality, listening to them as they set up some sort of appointment. 

"Monday it is," Twilight chimed, hugging Rarity. "Thank you."

"It's no problem, Twilight," her friend chimed. "And remember: be careful."

She glanced to Nex as he moved his toes inside of his shoes and sighed, turning back with a smile. "Don't worry. We're here to help him, after all," Twilight reminded her. "We shouldn't act too scared of him."

"I doubt any of us are acting, dear," Rarity sighed. "Even Applejack seems a bit frightened."

"Right," Twilight nervously laughed. "I'll get him up to speed on what he missed and get him acting like any other person. Well, I'll try."

"Alright. Get going now. Best to get the shock out of the town while you're there," Rarity sighed, opening the door for them. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Twilight smiled, nudging Nex along. He grunted as natural light hit his eyes again, which he adjusted to quickly. Twilight looked around anxiously, glad to know not many ponies were out yet. 

However, the merchants and vendors were already in the market. The sun was in the sky, which meant people were getting up for the day and heading out. There were already a few other people walking around, some noticing the strange creature behind her. Nex wasn't oblivious to their stares either, prompting him to examine everypony he saw. He tensed when he saw shadows of pegasi on the ground, which Twilight felt. 

"Calm down, Nex," Twilight whispered, smiling nervously to passing ponies. "No pony wants to hurt you." He stared down a pair of dumbstruck colts, a low growl escaping him out of instinct. "Nex, please. You don't want ponies to be afraid of you, right?"

She could see some mares whispering amongst one another, one giggling and pointing to Nex. Following her gesture, she silently gasped as she realized they were pointing to his leash. A bit of embarrassment rushed to her cheeks as she remembered reading about certain... kinks. It didn't do well for them since he moved closer to her, sniffing and continuing to growl to himself. 

It's fine... it's fine... just have to act normal. This is just temporary, and then we can sort this all out.

They were the center of attention as they passed through the market district. Vendors and buyers quieted down to look over to the spectacle. Twilight thanked the lack of media in the town, hating to imagine what would occur with nosy, personal-space-invading cameramen. That said, there wasn't much space as they moved through the slowly gathering crowds. Nex panickedly looked around, feeling their eyes on him and the fear of the unknown seeping from their faces. Twilight yanked on his leash to keep him moving, praying she didn't have to sedate him.

They made it through the sea of people and rushed back to the library. Twilight opened the door and pushed him inside, slamming the door behind them and groaning as she slid to the floor. Nex unhooked the leash from his neck, raising his arms to examine the strange clothing. He tried to take off the sleeved shirt but pulled it back on when he saw his arm. He kicked off his shoes and rubbed his feet, glancing over to Twilight as she sat on the floor. She clutched her head desperately, breathing softly as she stared at the ground.

"Celestia wants me to help... but how?" she asked herself. Nex tilted his head,
hunching back over and creeping towards her. Twilight gasped as he dropped several books from the shelf beside her. "Nex, be careful! Some of these books are older than either of us."

She gathered them in her aura, sorting them into their rightful shelves. There was one book unaccounted for, and she looked around until she found Nex sitting on the floor with it in his hands. He flipped through it, fascinated with the pages themselves instead of the writing. "What this?" he grumbled, dangling it by the cover.

With a small laugh she adjusted his hold on it, keeping it upright in front of him. "It's a book. Ponies read and make these about lots of things," she explained, gesturing to the writing. "See? This one is... 'A Guide to Live and Love,' by Heart Struck." 

She held her smile as he stared at the cover, unable to gauge any emotion. "What... this?" he hesitantly asked. Twilight weakly laughed, scooting to sit beside him and pointed to the writing on the cover.

"This is her name, and this is the title. See?" He stared blankly, then rose a furless finger to the title.

"Ti...tle," he uttered. "What... ti-tle say?"

For a moment, Twilight wondered if he'd been paying attention. She banished the thought when she remembered who, or what, she was dealing with. "Nex... can you read?" Twilight questioned. 

He grunted, murmuring to himself before he sighed. "What... ree-eed, mean?"

She just stared at him for a moment, unable to grasp the concept of what he was saying. "Reading is when you open a book and... well, read the words," she explained. 

He tilted his head again, gurgling softly as he ran her words through his head. "How... how you re-eed?" Twilight tried to speak, but stopped and thought to herself.

"Come here," she said, gesturing to the coffee table. Nex followed, watching her horn ignite and several pieces of paper float over. An inkwell and quill followed, then nestled on the paper. "I think reading can make it a bit easier for me to teach you, so we'll start there. Just write the alphabet for me."

He looked to her, down to the table, then back to Twilight. "Wr...write?" She sighed, then sat him down on the couch, surprising him.

"Like this," she said, scribbling down the first letter of the alphabet. "There. That's writing. Now write the next letter."

She gave him the quill and scooted away to watch. He stared down at the paper, examining the neat letter she'd written. Twilight waited patiently, glancing to him as he stared. 

"Nex... are you okay?" 

"..."

He growled and lifted a fist, ready to smash the table, but restrained himself and lowered his arm. "I... no know... how... wr...write." He set the quill down, glaring at his wrist as he covered it with his sleeve. 

She noticed the little adjustment, but focused on what he said. "Well... then I guess we can start there," Twilight smiled, doing her best to stay positive. She floated over a book, meant for foals but appropriate for him. He rose a brow beneath his mask, looking over the bright and colorful pictures. "Open it."

Nex paused before taking the cover between his fingers and turning it over. He gasped as a pop-up "A" sprang from the page, along with a large apple on the right page. 

"That's the letter A.”