Once again, lined in two by two, they trot into the forest. Commander Nexus was silent and forced them to keep their eyes forward under threat of going hungry. After nearly an hours trot, Ephialtes looked over his shoulder and saw Commander Nexus was nowhere in sight.

“You want to know how I did what I did back in the chow hall?” Commander Nexus asked from the right side of the trail. “How a pony with metal strapped to fifty percent of his body could be so stealthy?” he asked from the left side this time.

The entire squad began looking around for him as his voice continued to emanate from all around them.

“It’s called The Art of the Shadow. Pioneered by zebras in the time before the Great Twilight War and was first used in combat against Celestia by the Evening Armada during the war. It was very effective against the forces of Celestia. If you want to be one of us, you have to master this art. And I suggest that you don‘t…blink.”

Suddenly Commander Nexus was standing amongst them with a smirk on his face. As soon as Ephialtes saw him, he swung himself around and tried to hit Nexus with a wide swinging kick. Nexus was quick and blocked the fast moving strike from Ephialtes. Nexus deflected the kick and pulled Ephialtes into another headlock. Ephialtes looked up and slid his head out of Nexus’ grasp. As he dropped down, he swiped Nexus’ legs out from under him and attempted to take hold of his left foreleg. Before Nexus even hit the ground, he had maneuvered himself away from Ephialtes. He rolled out of the formation and stood with his wings extended.

“I see somepony’s studied The Art of the Shadow before.” Nexus said glaring at Ephialtes. “We start with hoof-to-hoof combat then we move onto combat maneuvers. Sergeants!”

From behind the rest of the group, a black Pegasus mare and a gray earth pony stallion emerged from the bushes surrounding the path.

“Sergeant Midnight and Lumen here will be assisting in flight maneuvers for the Pegasi and combat maneuvers for the rest of you. The unicorns will be with me for Macabre Magic 101. You will listen to them as well as you listen to me or you’ll be working tomorrow night.”

“Commander Nexus, permission to speak freely, Sir?” Hestaria asked.

“Granted.”

“What’s tomorrow, Sir?”

“Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. As with the Summer Solstice, those under the employ of Luna are given the day off unless otherwise told by the Captain of the Guard. So, unless you want to be cleaning barracks all day tomorrow, I suggest you do as I say. We’ll start with hoof-to-hoof combat then I’ll split you off into your separate groups. Form up, forward, march!”

They did as they were told with a Yes Sir, Commander Nexus, Sir!. It was another ten minute trot until they reached the fighting arena. It was a large stone smoothened down into a table with no legs. In white chalk, a circle running the entire circumference of the stone table and a white line splitting it down the middle. The top was smooth though still had some dips in the stone where others before them must have been slammed down repeatedly.

“This will be your training ground. We’ll be starting with holds and how to break them. Sergeant Midnight, if you would be so kind as to join me in the arena.”

“Yes, Commander.” Midnight replied stepping into the center of the stone table with Commander Nexus.

“Basic hold Sergeant Midnight.”

“Yes Commander.”

The Pegasus approached Commander Nexus and proceeded to force him to his hindlegs and put his right hoof behind his back from over his shoulder. Not only did this look extremely painful, but the fact that Sergeant Midnight didn’t restrain from pulling Nexus’ foreleg back stunned Ephialtes. Did Nexus even feel it was the pain question. He didn’t show any pain on his face. Or was that part of the training too?

“From this hold, the easiest thing to do is to use their leverage against them. From this position you can do one of two things; you can toss them over your shoulders, or…”

Nexus bent his knees slightly, then, using Sergeant Midnight as a counter weight, vaulted himself over the Sergeant and touched down behind her with the Sergeant’s hoof still holding his.

“You could reverse the hold and turn the tables. Any questions?”

No pony spoke up as Nexus held the Sergeant in the same hold he had once been trapped in. While watching this display, Ephialtes noticed that the Sergeant wasn’t showing any pain either.

“Now, when you’re putting someone in this hold, you can force them to the ground by knocking their legs out from under them, or you can force them to their knees. It’s all dependent on preference. I like shoving their face into ground.”

He showed his preference by kicking the Sergeant’s legs out from under her and planting the side of her face firmly into the stone.

“Any Questions so far?” Commander Nexus asked once again. And when no one answered, “Good. Pair up and get to work. Start by throwing the other over your shoulder. I know there are eleven of you, so Sergeant Lumen will pair with the straggler. Sergeant Midnight, keep an eye on them. I need to report in with the Princess. I’ll be back in ten minutes max.”

“Yes Sir, Commander Nexus, Sir!” Sergeant Midnight said.

Without another word, Commander Nexus spread his wings and took off from the clearing. Ephialtes was, unwillingly, paired with Hestaria. She and White Knight were the only two ponies here he could consider his “friends”. After all, they were the only ones that willingly talked to him. Ephialtes was the first in the hold. She didn’t hold back as she put him in the most basic hold in The Art of the Shadow. Something he had practiced with his father a long time ago.

“I hope that because I’m a lady that you don’t think I’ll let you take it easy on me.” the bat pone said in his ear.

“I would certainly hope not.” Ephialtes said jumping over her and locking her in the basic hold. “’Cause I studied this since before you were out of diapers.”

Out of udder annoyance, Hestaria pushed her hips back and threw Ephialtes over her shoulders and into the dirt.