Nex sat at a table with Pinkie while Twilight watched with Rainbow. "He's calm now, at least," Twilight sighed, smelling her coffee. "You guys need to relax with him. He's not completely used to so many ponies. And surrounding him doesn't really help."
Rainbow chuckled awkwardly and shrugged. "Sorry?" Twilight shook her head, looking to Nex as a pegasus mare walked to the counter. His eyes scanned her discreetly, his senses on alert. "Wow, he really doesn't like pegasi."
"It's not funny, Rainbow," Twilight reminded her, giving her a look of disbelief. "He could really hurt somepony! Especially you and Fluttershy!"
"Hey, I'm tougher than I look, remember?" she declared, raising her arm and flexing. "And if he touches her wrong I've got a knuckle sandwich waiting for him."
"And he has a sharper one waiting for you," Twilight retorted. "Just... do me a favor and try to avoid him if you can't be friendly. I don't need him freaking out."
"Alright, whatever," Rainbow said, glancing up at the clock near the door. "Oh, ponyfeathers, I gotta go!"
"Don't forget, Rainbow!" Twilight called after her. Rainbow rose a thumbs up and bolted out of the store. The unicorn mare sighed as she stood up and went over to sit with Nex and Pinkie. "What are you two talking about?"
"Party," Nex grunted, resting his chin on the table. "What streamer?"
"Well streamers are these long and short pieces of paper that are ANY color you want!' Pinkie giggled, pulling out a roll of pink streamer. "See? We hang this around with balloons and decorations and confetti and cake and juice and-"
"That's very interesting, but we have to go," Twilight said, grabbing Nex's leash. "C'mon, we still need to help you learn to read."
Nex grunted as he resisted, yanking his neck back and nodding to Pinkie. "Learn about party. Want know."
"Don't worry, I can show you later if you want!" Pinkie smiled, standing up and tugging on his leash. He curiously stood up and waited for either of them to act. "I can show him later, right, Twilight?" she asked a bit loudly, smiling expectantly.
It took a moment for her to catch on, but her mouth went into an "o" shape and she nodded reluctantly. "Yeah... we'll come back later, okay, Nex?"
He glanced to Pinkie, then back to Twilight and nodded. "Okay."
"Bye! - er, see ya later!" Pinkie waved, smiling as they left the shop. "Hm... what flavor would he like?"
"Nex, don't run off like that," Twilight softly reprimanded, "You could've gotten hurt." He grunted in response, slouching over as they made their way back to the library. "Why didn't you wake me up? I would've gotten your food."
He grumbled as he gnawed on the leash, then huffed lowly. "No want to bother," he told her. "You not nice... no want to get mad."
She looked at him with a bit of confusion. He didn't wake her up... because she would be grumpy? It was normal to be grumpy when woken up, but he didn't do it so he wouldn't act out. While the notion frightened and flattered her, it was a small sign of progress. She smiled softly at him, to which he tilted his head.
"You happy?" Nex asked.
"A little... wait, we didn't talk about being happy," she said, thinking back to his lessons.
He nodded back the way they came. "Pink-e teach me," he said. "She happy a lot. Always smile."
"And she taught you what smiling is?" Nex nodded his head, and Twilight rolled her eyes gently. "Well, I think she can explain that a lot better than I could."
They reached the library and went in. She let him roam around while she fixed the kitchen from his escapade for food. "Twilight."
"Yes, Nex?"
"What 'parents'?"
She looked up at him from the ground, anxious to answer his question. "Why... why do you want to know?" He tilted his head, squinting behind the mask.
"Pinkie call cupcake lady and other person parents," he recalled, moving over to watch her pick up his mess. "What that?"
Twilight could see where this would lead, but she couldn't stop him from learning. It would be a good way to progress with knowing him. "Well... parents are two ponies, a mom and a dad." As she suspected he tilted his head again, sitting like a colt in the middle of the kitchen. "A mom is the mare that raised you. And a dad raises you, too, because they made you."
His head realigned and he scooted closer. "They... make me?" Twilight could see thoughts churning in his mind, just by how interested he was getting.
"Well... sometimes. Lots of ponies have parents that didn't make them," she quickly said. This was the perfect opportunity to learn a little about him. "Did you ever have parents?"
He froze up at the question, remaining silent as his head lowered and his eyes wandered. She sat close to him while he thought. It was like he had just shut down, but she had faith he was still digging through his own mind.
"Parents... mom and dad... no one?" She thought about what he was trying to say, then realized after a couple seconds his meaning.
"That's a parent. It could be your mom or your dad." He was sent back into thought, but it looked like he wanted to voice that. "Did... you have a mom? Or a dad?"
Nothing came from his lips. Nothing but an exhale and his tongue to wet his mouth. "Mom... she raise me..." he quietly uttered. She smiled and put a hand on his lap, silently urging him on. "...she try keep me safe... from pit... before change."
Somepony had tried to comfort him before they experimented on him. "What did she look like? Was she a prisoner?" He stared at her without talking until she got the meaning. "Did they make her stay there?"
"Yes... she keep us quiet so masters no get mad," he explained, rubbing his cheek gently. "She tell us... we survive... we have to be strong... we no die in there."
Why... What person can do this to little boys and girls? How can anypony be so cruel?!
She gasped as his finger wiped a tear from her cheek, and he examined it before looking back up to her. "You... sad... when cry?" he hesitantly asked.
She sniffled and wiped her tears before nodding. "Yes... you're right," she laughed, standing up from the floor. "Just wait for me to clean everything up. We'll start the lesson after I eat."
Nex watched her sort everything he had displaced, then glanced down at the overturned table. He went over and flipped it onto its legs. "I help clean."
Manehatten
"He isn't in Canterlot after all," Storm sighed, taking a sip of his gin. "That complicates things a bit."
Bit, Dense, and Spot sat on couches in the room while they waited for Storm. "Any idea where he could be?" Dense asked, playing with his knife. "If he ran at the first chance he might be in Canterlot. Or maybe the mountain?"
"It'd be impossible to find him if he made it farther than the base of the mountain," Bit said. "There's too much land for us to cover. Tartarus, he might have gone into the Everfree for all we know."
Storm set his glass down and ran a hand through his mane. "You might be close, Bit," he chuckled, reading over several reports at once. "The Angel we're looking for was seen in Canterlot... with the Elements of Harmony." The group of hired mercenaries sat up as they listened intently. "They boarded a train, but our eyes haven't been able to reach the town because of a certain mare that loves to announce the arrival of newcomers."
Spot's wings shifted as he scratched his chin. "Wouldn't we have gotten some headline about a freak or whatever?" he questioned.
"Not if she doesn't know it's there," Bit answered, flipping his book closed. "Or... she does know and understands that we're looking for him."
"Or she doesn't want to alert the populace." He stood up from his desk and moved to the door, turning to the men. "She must know enough people in the town need to become comfortable with him before he is announced. I might have a way to confirm his residence, so you all wait here while I sort this out."
The stallions waved him off as he closed the door and walked down the hall. He reached a set of doors and stepped in, smiling as he walked to the desk inside. "We've found him, yes? Or do you need a mare's touch to do it?" Storm chuckled as he sat in front of her.
"Considering he revered you as a guardian, it won't be hard to lure him out," he reminded her. Study sat on her desk as she nodded, looking over a few of the reports he had looked at. "Perhaps if you can put up a facade for the two alicorn sisters, they could bring Nex and from there you can decide how you want to track him."
"Hmm... so I must play the escaped damsel," she laughed, removing her glasses and whipping her hair behind her back. "The boy will not want to leave me."
"Not unless you need help as the others did." A grin crept onto Study's face as she thought it over. "You say you were needed to keep his modifications working, examine him, then request help. If they haven't already offered it."
She shrugged and sat back in her chair. "I can do it within the next month. I have a fresh batch of Angels that need to be ascended before I can focus on my brother's champion." Storm nodded and stood, shaking her hand before heading to the door.
"Try not to let anything slip, and do keep in character," he sarcastically pleaded. She shook her head as he stepped out, then opened a picture of the champion she had cared for above any other being. "I do hope they haven't been able to change you. Your master still needs his champion. And you'll have a partner if you manage to please him."
She glanced at the anatomy of another Angel, who had many more implants than the boy she cherished.
"Your little brother is a big boy, my sweet."
Ponyville, 8 PM
Nex stared at the clock as it ticked, wondering why the big hand was on the twelve, the little hand on the eight, and the red hand was still going. He was dressed in something more casual than what Rarity had made him, thanks to a quick stop at the clothing store Twilight made. She made sure to get something that would cover his arms and body so he wouldn’t lose it. He looked a bit more normal than usual, minus his mask that made looking at him impossible. Twilight was still writing a letter when she heard an alarm go off.
"Oh, shoot, we're gonna be late," she whispered, signing the letter at last. With a quick transportation spell, the parchment was off to Canterlot. "Nex! Ready to go?"
"Yes," his gruff voice called.
She hurried down to meet him, dressed in a magenta shirt and regular jeans. Nex hadn't seen her look so... plain. "C'mon." Nex waited for her to grab his leash as she locked the door behind them, but she started walking without it. He grunted to catch her attention, holding up the tether to remind her. She walked over, but instead of taking the collar she reached up to his neck and undid it. "I don't want you to feel like you need this, so let's keep it off for tonight. But you can't act angry. Promise?"
Nex stared at her for a good minute before slowly tilting his head. "What... promise?"
"A promise is when you say you mean you'll do something. I want you to promise me you'll try to be nice to everypony. That means you have to be nice or else you break the promise, which is bad." She teleported the leash inside, then looked up to him. "So... do you promise to be nice?"
He rubbed his neck where the collar had been, and slowly started nodding his head. "I... promise." She gave a small smile and gestured for him to follow.
The streets weren't as lively as most cities were, so they had a leisure stroll to Sugarcube Corner, aside from a few people pointing at and whispering about Nex. He didn't mind, thankfully, and Twilight chalked it up to him keeping his promise. The candy shop came into view not too long after, and they went inside. Nex looked around for any sign of people, but it was pretty much barren.
"I'm sorry, but we're - oh, Twilight," Mr. Cake smiled, nodding warmly at Nex. "Pinkie's just upstairs. I'm sure she'll be down in second."
"Alright, we'll just wait here," she said. He winked knowingly and made his way back to the kitchen. "Nex, I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."
He nodded and watched her make her way upstairs, then sat down at a booth and laid his head on the table. Meanwhile, Twilight went to Pinkie's room and stepped in, her eyes opening a bit wider when she saw the rest of the girls with her.
"Oh, you're here!" Pinkie squealed, hugging her tightly. "Now we're ready!"
"For what, exactly?" Rainbow asked, playing with the streamers Pinkie had given her.
"This is Nex's party! I didn't wanna scare him when he got here because he was all jumpy and scared of Rainbow and Fluttershy, and he didn't like you or Applejack, but now that we all know him he might not be so jumpy and we can have fun!" She reached into her mane and pulled out a bag of confetti. She emptied its contents into her miniature party cannon, then took two long strips of streamer and cut it up before stuffing it in as well.
"That's why ya wanted Granny’s baking, huh?" Applejack chuckled. "So how are we gonna do this without scarin' him?"
"Well! I'm gonna go down and decorate with him!" Pinkie announced, lugging her cannon to the door. "When this goes off, Fluttershy and Rainbow have to put up the banner, AJ and Twilight are gonna put out the sweets, and then Rarity is gonna help me fix the decorations!"
"You're going to set up the decorations that are for him with him?" Rarity questioned, just as confused as the others.
Pinkie nodded cheerily. "Yeah! He's never had a party, and he doesn't know what it's like, so we're gonna show him!"
She hummed happily as she dragged the cannon out into the hall, yelping when it tumbled down the stairs with her. "I'm okay!"
Applejack shook her head and sat on Pinkie's bed. "Pinkie sure is a special pony," she smiled.
"Yup... and pretty brave, too," Rainbow admitted. "If anyone's gonna keep Nex from tearing this place down, it's her."
"I'm trying, too, Rainbow," Twilight reminded her. Her blue friend chuckled and shrugged playfully. "But you're right... at least Pinkie can keep him entertained."