Nex, Gladiator

by That_Random_Pony

Chapter 19

Nex watched as Pinkie Pie zoomed back and forth from the counter to a table then back again every other second. He waited in one of the booths closest to the register, as Sugarcube Corner was filled with customers today. Every few minutes he would notice a new pony or two at the counter giving him glances. Pinkie had told him to not pay attention to that, but he was still trying to understand what attention was. He huffed softly as the bell at the entrance rang wildly, and three sets of feet dashed to the register.

“Pinkieeeeee!” a white unicorn filly called. Nex turned his head and peered over to the little group.

“Present!” Pinkie giggled, zipping behind the counter. “What’s up?”

Nex squinted at the little pegasus filly’s wings. They were smaller than most her age. “We wanted to get cupcakes for Fluttershy! And… we kinda… tried making them.” The third filly stepped forward, and Nex lifted his head a bit as he remembered her face.

Applebloom opened the box she was holding and held it up to Pinkie. The pink mare slightly grimaced at the sight of the cupcakes, but smiled forcefully as she took their concoction. “I think we can… work together to make them!” she assured them, taking the box with her behind the counter. “Nex! We’ve got an order for Fluttershy!”

He kept silent as the girls looked over to him and he moved his gaze to them. The orange one looked at him with curiosity, and of course he spotted the fear in the unicorn filly’s eyes. But he lifted his head as Applebloom smiled to him and walked over. “Yer from the farm!” she said, holding out her hand. “Ah didn’t know ya knew Pinkie, too.”

Pinkie popped up next to Nex and hugged his neck. “Yup! Rarity and Dashie and Twi and Fluttershy all know him!” she giggled, slipping under the table and sitting opposite him. “Soooo. You wanna help us bake?” Nex stared at her, an awkward silence ensuing. “Do you uh… know what baking is?”

Nex shook his head. “What bake?”

“You don’t know what baking is?” Scootaloo questioned, chuckling softly. “Aren’t you supposed to be a grown up?”

“Yeah, but Nex isn’t from around here,” Pinkie told them, standing up and tugging on his arm. “There’s a lot of stuff the girls and I are teaching him about Equestria!”

Immediately, all three girls’ eyes lit up; twinkling almost. “We can help!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “I’m Sweetie Belle!”

“And I’m Scootaloo!” the young pegasus announced.

Pinkie waited for Nex to reply, while he turned to her and waited. “Come on, introduce yourself!” she whispered, tugging him again.

The fillies stood back as he gave in to Pinkie’s pulling and got to his feet. Their necks craned back as he rose into his slouch, looming over them. “I… Nex,” he gurgled.

“Nex?” Scootaloo repeated, scratching her head. “What kinda name is-oof!” Applebloom moved her elbow away from her friend’s ribs and smiled sweetly up to him.

“Pleased to meet ya… again,” Applebloom laughed. “Come on, we gotta start baking!”

Pinkie picked up Scootaloo and ran with them to the kitchen, cheering all the way. She plopped the little daredevil down next to the oven with her friends, just as Nex entered the kitchen. “AAAAlrighty, everypony! We have cupcakes for Fluttershy that need baking like NO PONY’s business!” Pinkie shouted. “Well, it’s our pony business, but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!”

The fillies giggled as they gathered the ingredients for the job. “What kinda cupcakes are we making?” Sweetie Belle asked, carrying bowls and whisks over to her. “Is there gonna be chocolate?”

Shaking her head, Pinkie reached into her hair and pulled out an apron. “Not this time, Sweetie.” After tying the straps behind her back, she went into the apron pocket and pulled out a small jar. “We’ve got a special order for Fluttershy! These aren’t cupcakes for ponies. It’s for her little animal friends!”

The girls all groaned in disappointment. “So we ain’t even getting a taste?” Applebloom questioned.

Pinkie giggled and set the jar down next to the flour Scootaloo brought over. “Weeeeell, if you girls help me get these cupcakes ready super-duper early, we can make some for us!” The three Crusaders smiled and rushed to grab a bowl and bags of flour.

Nex stood on the other side of the room, watching the girls crack eggs and pour flour wildly. The younger fillies struggled to keep the flour, and ingredients, in their bowls as they hurriedly mashed everything together. Within minutes the kitchen was getting more and more covered in cake mix as the fillies laughed and played in the middle of baking. Pinkie pulled another apron out from one of the cabinets and slipped it onto Nex, earning a surprised grunt from him. She tied the strings tight and pushed him to a mixing station.

“Welcome to Pinkie Pie’s Baking Class for Beginners!” Pinkie announced, holding out a whisk and measuring cup. “I’ve always wanted to say that!” He stared at her utensils, glancing over to the girls as they each sloppily mashed their batter.

“Make… cup-cake.” Pinkie nodded her head rapidly. He slowly moved his hands to the strange tools and examined them. “What I do?”

Pinkie slid another set of utensils and a bowl over beside him. “So the first step is the most important.” She rose her arms out in front of her, and rolled up her sleeves. “Don’t wanna get messier than we have to!”

He looked at her arms, then to his. She could see him getting stuck in his own thoughts, then remembered his little habit.

“But, I guess it won’t matter anyway,” Pinkie hastily said, pulling her sleeves back down. “We’re gonna get TONS messy!” She reached for her measuring cup and the bag of flour between them. “So the REAL first step, is in the recipe!” She pulled a book out from behind his ear, prompting him to look behind himself questioningly.

Setting the booklet down in front of them, she flipped pages until she found the one she needed. Nex leaned in as he read the title of the page. Unlike Twilight’s big books with lots of big words, this one had a list and a few sentences. Pinkie pointed to the first bulleted sentence.

“Two and a half cups of flour,” she told him, scooping up the required amount in her measuring cup. She watched Nex do the same and look back at her. “Now we’re gonna need some eggs.” She grabbed a carton from Scootaloo’s side and offered him the first picks. “We only need two.”

He took one in each hand and looked at them curiously. Pinkie giggled as he sniffed and licked them, then took her own and waved her hand to get his attention.

“Okay, so now we gotta crack them to get the goopy stuff inside!” He tilted his head as she tapped the two eggs on the edge of the bowl, then cracked them open and dropped the yolks in.

Nex tapped the egg like she did, then held it over the bowl. When nothing came out, he brought it closer to look at the cracks. He crushed the two eggs under his fingers, the yolk and whites spraying out on his hands and into the bowl. Pinkie giggled and brought him a trash bin to clean up the eggshells. “We no use hard egg?”

She shook her head firmly. “Nope! That’s just to keep the yummy insides safe,” Pinkie explained, wrapping napkins around his hands. “Okay now the sugar for the sweet sweetness!”

He glanced to the fillies as they started talking louder and louder amongst each other. Pinkie noticed and looked as well, but didn’t see anything unordinary. “Why… little ponies no need s-weet?”

Her hands turned his face back to her smile. “Because we’re gonna surprise them!” Pinkie noticed him staring intently into her eyes, almost like he was mesmerized. She slowly put the jar of sugar into view and handed him a spoon. “Hey. We can’t surprise them if we don’t have the cupcakes ready!” she whispered.

Nex blinked and focused on the jar of sugar. He took it from her slowly, examining it from different angles. As if she’d just handed him treasure in a bottle. Her giggles got progressively louder as he reached a hand in and grabbed the sugar in his fingers. He sniffed his sugar-coated hand, some powder causing him to sneeze. Pinkie couldn’t resist her snickers and snorts, finding Nex absolutely adorable as he stuck his finger in his mouth. She saw him ponder the taste, but stopped him from getting more.

“We won’t have enough for the surprise, silly!” she laughed quietly, peering over to the fillies. “Okay. Let’s hurry it up!” She poured sugar into their batter and zoomed to the fridge and back, pouring milk in before zooming back to put it away. “Now! We’re gonna mix ‘em all up! So you wanna stir gentlyyy.”

He mimicked her circular motion, lazily pushing the ingredients together. Nex made a small grunt when he saw the various different ingredients mixing. Pinkie noticed his sudden interest, giggling as he started to slow down.

“And theeeen, we GO CRAZY!” she yelled her baker’s cry as she started to whisk her batter wildly, covering herself and the nearby area with uncooked cupcake batter.

Nex jumped, tossing his bowl up into the air. He caught his whisk, the bowl… and was properly splashed with the batter he’d made. Pinkie and the Crusaders all stopped and looked over to him. Without skipping a beat, all four started cracking up, going over to help. The girls got napkins and the mop while Pinkie tried to find Nex in the mess of batter. “Helloooooo,” she chimed.

There was a small growl, and Nex clenched his fists. Their laughing… it reminded him of…

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked, worriedly poking his cheek and wiping some raw batter for herself. “Mm, you’re a natural!” She took a towel from Sweetie and wiped Nex’s face. “Peek a boo!”

“No… laugh…” he growled, glaring into her eye.

To his surprise, she only cocked a brow. “Why not? That was hilarious!” she giggled, wiping the batter to the side of his face.

His growl went silent as he let her clean him of his batter. “No… like laugh… at me,” he grunted, wiping some of the batter from his ear.

Pinkie’s eyes widened, and her smile went soft as she giggled to herself. “We’re not laughing at you to be mean, Nex,” she told him, poking his nose. “If it was me under all that mess I’d laugh too!” He grabbed her hand firmly but gently as she tried cleaning around his mask.

“...why?” he grumbled, struggling to make sense of her words. “Laugh… at you… bee-cause hate.”

Pinkie gasped and shook her head quickly. “No, Nex!” she said, pulling out glasses with an oversized nose from her hair. She slipped it on with a giddy laugh and snickered. “Laugh because funny! Even when happen to you! Funny when it you. Funny when it me!” she said, mimicking his speech.

While he didn’t know where she got the glasses from, he ignored it and pondered her words. “I… I try… to un-derrr-stand,” he gurgled, looking down at his body. “No… laugh… before.”

With another loud gasp, all the color drained out of her as she fainted onto the floor. Nex looked down at her curiously, jumping when she popped back up and almost yelled, “WWWWHAT?! You haven’t laughed before?! It’s amazing! It’s like a million little tickles in your heart and a million fuzzy feelings in your face!” she pushed his cheeks apart to make a fake smile. “I’m gonna tell Twilight that you’ve got to come to Pinkie’s Laugh School as soon as pony possible!”

He growled slightly, and she retracted her hands from his face. He murmured to himself before taking off his apron. “I go clean,” he huffed, heading out of the kitchen.

Watching him go bothered her. She sighed softly as she picked up his apron and set it on the table, turning to the Crusaders. They all zipped their heads back to cleaning, each of them whistling horribly. “Alright girls, let's get these itty bitty cakes ready for Fluttershy,” she said, puffing her chest up with a determined smile. “Pinkie’s got work to do!”

---

What Pinkie had “forgotten” to mention was that she was going to work while the three fillies were sent to Fluttershy’s with Nex. They walked in front of him, since he didn’t know the way to their meek pegasus friend’s house. They would whisper amongst each other and peer back at him. Luckily for them, he never said anything or caught their peeks. Their conversation had been about him since they’d left Sugarcube Corner.

“Why didn’t you tell us about him?!” Scootaloo whispered to Applebloom. “We could’ve had so many plans to get our Cutie Marks by last night!”

“Ah fergot!” Applebloom whispered back with a hiss. “Ah thought he was just passin’ through with Twilight the other day. He was scary!”

Sweetie glanced back, examining his mask as Nex watched a pair of pegasi across the street. “The mask is pretty scary,” she shivered, holding her arms close to herself. “Is he ugly? Or maybe he has burns? Scars? I don’t even wanna think about it.”

“I do!” Scootaloo said, smirking as she looked back at him. “I bet he’s got a nasty scar under there. Like those gladiators from the movies about old ponies!” She adjusted the box of cupcakes before they could fall.

“But I’ve seen ponies with bad scars. And they don’t wear masks,” Sweetie reminded her, holding her chin in thought. “Maybe he’s undercover! And the mask keeps his identity a secret!”

Applebloom shushed Sweetie, the unicorn filly laughing nervously. “Why don’t we just ask him?” she proposed, her friends looking at one another with uncertainty. “We’re not gonna find out otherwise. And besides! The more we know, the more we can try to get our Cutie Marks.”

The girls nodded in agreement, then slowed their pace to keep him between them. They gestured for one another to ask, none willing to do so. Applebloom held up her hands, signing to them the dreaded phrase. Vote. They may have been close friends, but no filly was safe when it came time to vote someone under the wagon. Fingers pointed in different directions, and in the end, Sweetie Belle groaned as the majority ruled she be offered as tribute. She looked up at Nex, who had been watching them. With his icy gaze upon them, Sweetie gulped as she gave her best smile.

“U-Um, Mr. Nex?” she squeaked, rubbing her hands together anxiously. He replied with a grunt, prompting Sweetie to speak. “W-We were um, wondering… why you wear that… mask?”

His pace slowed slightly as he stared down at the white unicorn filly. He glanced to the path as he saw Fluttershy’s house coming into view on the outskirts of town. Turning back them, Nex grunted and gestured to their destination. “Talk… after,” he managed to say, gently moving his hand to Sweetie Belle’s shoulder.

She recoiled slightly, and he moved his hand away. “I-I’m sorry,” Sweetie immediately said. Nex nodded to her, then looked ahead as they walked. The other two Crusaders gave small victory pumps and giggled to themselves. Sweetie still peeked up at him even as they crossed the tiny bridge to Fluttershy’s.

Nex halted in his tracks. Scootaloo noticed first and rose a brow. “Uh, aren’t you coming?” she asked, gesturing to the cottage. “It’s right there.”

He shook his head, looking up at the windows to see if she was watching. “I wait… here,” he told them, nodding to Applebloom. “Go… and come… back.”

They looked between themselves and decided not to question it. “Alrighty,” Applebloom slowly mumbled. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“He’s weird,” Scootaloo said, earning a light punch to the shoulder from Applebloom. “Oww!”

The youngest Apple rolled her eyes as they knocked on Fluttershy’s door. “Ya could’ve said it when we weren’t in front of him,” she said through her teeth.

They looked up at Fluttershy as she opened the door for them. “Hello, girls. Are these the cupcakes Pinkie told me about?” she asked softly, smiling as she opened the box and looked at the animal treats.

“Yup! We made em extra special!” Sweetie proudly said, gesturing to Nex. “Mr. Nex helped us too!”

All of the color drained from Fluttershy’s face as she looked behind the fillies and to him. His eyes were already honed in on her, his slight snarl extremely visible to her. With a weak whimper she shot back inside, slamming the door and setting several locks into place. Scootaloo had looked between Nex and Fluttershy as they stared at one another. So had Applebloom, and they turned to each other.

“Weird,” Scootaloo repeated. Applebloom sighed as they made their way back over. “Alright, we gave her the cupcakes. Now tell us about the mask!”

Nex grumbled to himself, touching the edges of his mask before kneeling down. It was only now that they could see just how much larger he was compared to them. He looked between them quietly, drawing their attention in further. “Talk in safe… p-lace,” he gurgled.

“Talk in safe place?” Sweetie repeated, scratching her head. “I mean, Ponyville’s pretty safe. Y’know, aside from all the stuff our sisters bring into-”

“Ahem!” Scootaloo coughed, glaring at her. “Not helping.”

Applebloom snapped her fingers, smiling at him. “Ah think he means somewhere private,” she explained, a sparkle in her eye. “Girls, I think it’s time we head to the clubhouse for a Cutie Mark Crusader secret!”

They giddily squealed as they grabbed his hands and pulled him back into town. Nex grunted as he fumbled to keep up with them, surprised at their strength. “You’re gonna love our clubhouse!” Sweetie excitedly laughed. “We worked really hard on it!”

“And it’s where we have Ponyville’s Rainbow Dash fanclub meetings!” Scootaloo added, pulling him as she ran faster. “Come on, we gotta show you!”

Author's Note:

Yes, I’m alive. Yes, this story is alive, as well. Updates? We’ll have to see. I’ve been bogged down by college and real life. And I’ve only just gotten back the will to write. I’ll start the next chapter as soon as possible. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about this story! As always, like, fav, comment and have an awesome day or night. Peaces.

Comments

[Portalcreeeper]

8920704
Miiight want to check yourself now.

[Neutral Boy]

The story lives at last. The story lives at last! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY THIS STORY LIVES AT LAST!!!!!

[Texus]

It was better than i thought it would be after all this time, a good chapter.

[Sirbacon]

IT'S ALIVE MAWHAHAHA

[dj-pon46]

Wonce again the sacrifices have brought us another chapter! All hail the fimfiction gods!

[kitsunedagger432]

WHEN IS THE NEXT UPDATE?

[Salty_The_Warden]

To be honest this story is quite glorious

[JackieFingWeeks]

Oh boy, a story that just pulls on the right strings is amazing. I mean this one?! This one pulls just right on the ol' heartstrings, specifically the fighter string and the heartwarming string. You, my dear friend, are skilled. Looking forward to more!

[RazorWing_GB]

I hope the CMC see the tired face of an old fighter and know compassion.