It was about thirty minutes before Hestaria started getting worried about Ephialtes. She liked him. He was a lot like her. ‘I know you’re thinking love triangle but keep in mind The Element of Fate’s ending’ Hestaria thought to herself taking the last sip of her beer. She stepped outside and was immediately greeted by a rumbling explosion to the east. She took flight and headed towards the forest as bight flashes continued emanating from the forest.

High above the trees, Hestaria flew towards the bright flashes of light and loud explosions emanating from the trees. She could feel something strange in the air; a static charge and a heavy weight pressed into her like needles. The flashes were getting closer but dimmer as she approached a clearing they seemed to be coming from. As the center of the clearing came into view, she was horrified by the sight. Ephialtes standing over Commander Nexus laying in a pool of his own blood.

“Ephi! What are you doing!?” Hestaria shouted as she landed behind him.

Ephialtes turned and smirked at Hestaria. “What I should have done the minute I met him.”

Nexus groaned and a flash of light shot from his horn. Ephialtes shouted in anger and stopped his hoof down onto Nexus’ throat. He gasped, trying to shout through Ephialtes’ hoof crushing his windpipe. He barely struggled as Ephialtes pressed his hoof down harder. His right eye was nearly closed as his continued to try and pull in another breath. After a few agonizing seconds, his metallic limbs went limp in a clatter of metal. His right eye still half open and blank, starring back at Ephialtes. Ephialtes released Nexus from his hold and his final breath escaped his mouth. Ephialtes turned again to Hestaria with a sick, sadistic smile spread across his face.

“Are you afraid Hestaria?” Ephialtes asked with great pleasure in his voice. “I can taste your fear, and it’s delicious.”

His horn glowed black and he threw Hestaria against the closest tree. He slowly approached her showing his teeth as shadows started swirling around to his right.

“Lunarus’ death was long and painful, I won’t give you the same luxury of wasting my time.”

Within the shadows a blade of ice formed. As he reached Hestaria, he put the ice dagger to her throat. Then, he hesitated, looked over his shoulders and then he fell to his side. Hestaria fell from the tree and the ice dagger shattered against its roots. She quickly ran to Ephialtes and knelt at his side.

“Ephi! Are you okay!? Wait here, I’ll get help!” she said franticly before flying back towards Canterlot.

The adrenaline coursing through her veins made her fly even faster towards Canterlot Military Academy. She burst through the doors of the bar and saw Princess Luna herself sitting at the bar talking to the troops.

“Help, Captain Nexus is being attacked!” Hestaria shouted.

The band stopped and everypony looked to the panicked bat pony.

“Lunarus? You heard her, to arms!” Princess Luna said.

All of the troops in the bar quickly rushed out of the bar and followed Hestaria and White Knight towards the armory. Luna selected twenty pegasus soldiers to follow her and told the rest to remain behind and keep an eye on the Academy in case something went wrong. Most were told to hang back and hold a perimeter with Luna while Hestaria and four other Pegasi were to engage anything hostile inside of the clearing.

As they arrived, Hestaria saw Ephialtes surrounded by at least six manticores. One of the pegasus troops threw his lance at the closest one to Ephialtes and watched it turn into golden dust. The troops landed and Hestaria quickly pinned Ephialtes to the dirt with her lance in his face.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t skewer you right now Ephi!?” the gray Pegasus demanded.

She looked into his eyes, his blue-purple serpent eye and noticed something. He was afraid. Hestaria’s expression softened a bit under her helm but she didn’t take the lance out of the unicorn’s face.

“Halt!” Luna called from above.

Hestaria looked over her shoulder and watched as Luna landed down near where Nexus lay dead. She could see the other troops she had brought with her land behind the edge of the clearing and take up the perimeter.

“Release him.” she commanded.

Hestaria let Ephialtes up but kept a close eye on him.

“Please, Ephialtes, step forward.”

Ephialtes nervously took a step forward. Before he could take another however, Hestaria stopped him and whispered in his ear. “I’m really happy to see you’re not insane anymore.” She meant it, she didn’t want to lose another friend today.

“Let him pass, Hestaria.”

“Yes, Princess.”

She moved out of the way and allowed him to stand face to face with her. Luna’s horn glowed lightly as she looked into his eyes. She sighed and looked back to Nexus.

“Lunarus.” she said.

“Princess!” a mare shouted in the distance. “Princess, what’s going on!?”

“Dust, stay back!” Luna shouted back as a light brown Pegasus mare with a long black mane swooped down into the clearing.

Upon entering the clearing the first thing she saw was Nexus’ battered and bloody body lying still under the moon.

“Lunar…Lunar! No, no, no! Get up, please!” she shouted kneeling next to him.

“Captain Storm, please, take her back to the castle.” Luna said looking to the Pegasus next to her.

“Yes, Your Highness. Come on Dust.”

“No, I’m not leaving him!”

She continued to shout and struggle as Strom dragged her out of the clearing.

“As for you, Ephialtes…” Luna said looking back at him.

Ephialtes gulped before speaking. “I didn’t kill him.” Ephialtes said standing tall.

“Oh, is that so?” Luna asked.

“Yes. I didn’t kill him. I wasn’t in control of my body.”

“Then what was?”

“Sombra.”

Luna seemed very taken back by the statement, but composed herself before continuing. “Sombra was defeated only a few months ago.”

“He can’t die. So long as fear and hate still live, so does he.”

‘Who the hay is Sombra?’ Hestaria thought to herself. ‘I did just see him kill Nexus but maybe he’s telling the truth.’

Luna’s horn glowed as she looked him over again.

“Should I arrest him, Princess?” a guard asked.

“No. He speaks the truth.” she said. “No matter how painful the truth is, he is honest. Sombra is still alive and we have to find him.”

“What about The Commander?”

“He died in battle as he would have wanted.” Ephialtes detected a note of pain and repentance in her voice as she said that. “He was a true hero.”

“I want to be head of finding him.” Ephialtes said.

Hestaria did a double take when she heard that.

“You want to what?” Luna asked.

“This is my fault. And I want every chance I can to make it right.”

“Princess?” Hestaria said a little afraid. “What if Sombra is still in him?”

“He is. As he is within me. There is always apart of him left behind once he is banished.”

“Only this time he has a body. He can’t hide forever.” Ephialtes butted in. “And may I try something?”

“What would that be?” Luna asked the blood red zebra/pony.

“It has to do with Commander Nexus.”

“As you wish.” Luna said letting Ephialtes walk to Nexus’ lifeless body.

He sat down and lowered his horn to Nexus’ chest. “I ended your life, but now I’ll make it up to you.” he said quietly. “By giving you a third chance.” Ephialtes said as his horn glowed brightly and enveloped Nexus’ body.

The metal plates on Nexus’ body reflect the light perfectly, creating a brilliant show as cascades of purple and white created an aurora in the sky above them. A clap of thunder, followed by a bright purple flash enveloped Nexus and a sharp breath shot into his lungs, followed by a blood curdling shout of pain from him.

“Lunarus!” Luna shouted in joy and surprise. “You’re okay!”

“No!” Nexus shouted back. “I’m not okay, get me a medic now! Celestia be damned, this hurts!”

One of the guards shoved Ephialtes out of the way and started treating Nexus’ still bloody eye.

“Not my eye, my left hind leg!”

“But that’s metal.”

“What did you do to me Ephialtes!?”

“Resurrection spell. It’s the only one I know. Brings dead tissue back to life.” he said in a matter of fact tone.

The field medic waved his horn over Nexus’ leg and Nexus’ pain fueled grunts lessened from the numbing magic.

“Then why do I feel like my leg was just now blown off?” he said through his teeth.

“It can’t be.” Ephialtes said getting closer. “Can you feel this?” he asked pressing his hoof against Nexus’ right hind leg.

“Yes, I could always feel pressure.”

“Can you feel anything else?”

Nexus was about to say he couldn’t, but then the feeling of a chilled hoof came into focus. “I can feel your cold hoof. I can feel the grass under me. I can feel the medics armored knee in my chest.” The medic re adjusted himself as he continued wrapping gauze around Nexus’ left eye. “You didn’t just bring dead tissue back to life, you brought nonliving tissue to life.” he said amazed.

“I did?”

Ephialtes helped Nexus stand once the medic was finished and they proceeded to help him back to the Academy. On their way back, Hestaria hovered next to Ephialtes and whispered in his ear again.

“Meet me in the court yard as soon as you can.” She whispered before flying back to the academy.