Eren rode through the woods on horseback, wearing his Military uniform with the Scouting Legion crest upon it and his 3D Maneuver Gear. However, his clothes were covered by a large green cloak with the Scouting Legion crest upon its back as well as a hood that concealed all of his head except his face. As he trotted past the trees along the dirt path, the ponies trotted alongside him, although not wearing any gear or clothing, except for the saddlebags that they took with them from Equestria. Spike opted to mount Twilight.

Eren also rode alongside a man with the same type of clothing, but looked much more mature than Eren. Visible through the neck of his cloak, was a white collared shirt with a white cravat tied to it. Like his style of clothing, his hair was also similar to Levi’s, having a similar style, although it was blonde in color and was parted by a comb on the right side. Another physical difference between the two was the man’s squarer jaw that made him look even older.

The path soon broke into a clearing, revealing something that made the ponies exclaim, “Ooo,” upon sighting it. It was a large, white castle with blue-shingled roofs. It featured many spires and triangular roofs in its design. Eren was surprised by what it was, prompting the man next to him to explain what it was.

“This is the former HQ of the Scouting Legion,” he said. “It’s nothing more than a renovated old castle. While it definitely looks impressive, it's so far from the walls and all rivers that it's completely useless to the Scouting Legion. The story goes back to the ambitious early days when the Legion was formed. Who would have thought we'd end up using it again to serve as the prison to put you in? Ha! Life’s funny that way.”

“You should see how funny it would be for YOU to be put in a cage,” Rainbow Dash remarked.

Eren was a little off put by the man’s comment as well, but looked behind to see Levi directly behind him. Alongside Levi was a young woman around Levi’s age with a narrower face, her orange hair was brushed behind her as it reached the bottom of her neck. Her golden eyes seemed to emit kindness from them. Her horse had Rarity's suitcase equipped to it on the side.

Eren, upon seeing Levi’s glare, looked back straight ahead, hoping that Levi didn’t mistake him for the one who made the comment. However, the man he was riding next to rode up close to Eren and put his mouth near his ear, unsettling him.

“Don’t get cocky, new-bloods,” he warned.

“Huh?” wondered Eren.

“I don't know the deal with this crap about you being a titan and your friends being able to use magic, but we can't have Captain Levi babysitting a bunch of freaks like–”

The man’s words were silenced by a moan and a squishing sound as his horse nearly tripped on a rock and force his head down. As Rainbow Dash trotted ahead of Eren to tell the man to knock it off, she saw as his teeth were biting down on his tongue, causing blood to squirt out of it. The man loudly moaned as he tried to keep from the blood from going everywhere, freaking Eren out.

Rainbow Dash had nothing more to say. Seeing this jerk of a man hurt himself so clumsily was better than any retort she could have made back at him. As the man put groaned in pain from the sting, Rainbow Dash snickered, hardly able to walk straight.

She then broke out into a laughing fit, rolling onto her back and letting everyone pass. The man could only look back with anger at her reaction. Levi and the other woman merely sighed and went ahead, knowing she’d catch up eventually.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

At the castle stables and courtyard, Eren was putting his horse in for the day as the man that rode beside him washed out his mouth with water from the well in the center of the courtyard. The woman that rode with Levi stood in front of the man, scolding him for his behavior. The ponies stood by Eren as they watched the two of them argue.

“A bitten tongue is precisely what you get for talking while riding a horse,” admonished the woman.

“First impressions are the most important moments, baby,” he responded after a still red spit. “That newbie was scared shitless, all over a bitten tongue.”

“I think he was just shocked to see how much of a dumbass you are, Auruo.”

“Still,” Auruo responded, wiping his chin with his arm. “It's all going according to plan.”

“Look, you never used to talk like that? If you're trying to imitate Captain Levi, then you should really stop it. You two are nothing alike at all, but still…”

“Hmph! Do you want to chain me down, Petra? You've still got a ways to go before you're fit to become my wife.”

“Ughh, if only you bled to death from biting your tongue. You keep on boasting about how many titans you've killed too.”

“So what? I've boasted about you guys too. And even as a joke, it’s not funny to wish death upon your brother-in-arms, baby.”

Eren and the ponies looked upon the two of them as two of the went at it, Auruo on occasion putting an already blood-soaked towel in his mouth to keep the bleeding at bay.

So all these people were hand-picked by Captain Levi to keep me under watch? Eren wondered.

"You're pathetic!" admonished Petra to Auruo.

Petra Ral, Eren thought looking at the two of them. Took down ten titans alone as well as assisting with taking down another forty-six. Auruo Bossard. Took down thirty-nine by himself while assisting with nine others. They are the elite of the elite.

Eren and the ponies just watched the two of them still go at it as Levi and two other soldiers arrived. Both of them had their attire and gear on with their Scouting Legion cloaks on their bodies, and both of them were quite tall. One soldier had a light, short, stringy beard on his chin, as well as long blonde hair that was tied in a knot, keeping it together. The other one had short black hair and a square jaw, but looked much younger than Auruo. Eren looked to the man with the knotted ponytail.

Erd Gin, acounted Eren. Took down fourteen titans and assisted with another thirty-two.

He then looked at the man with the short black hair pulled all the way back and out behind him to Erd’s right.

Gunther Schultz. Took down seven titans and assisted with another forty. So this “Special Operations Squad” of Levi’s are going to be the ones to keep me in check when I use my titan power and kill me if I go berserk.

“It's covered in weeds,” Levi complained as he looked at the foliage growing in the cracks of the stone as he walked by Eren and the ponies. “It looks terrible. Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

Eren and the ponies followed them, leaving Petra and Auruo alone for a while.

“Work?” asked Spike. “What kind of work?”

“Well think about it,” said Gunther, “this building hasn't been used in a very long time. A sea of dust is probably awaiting us inside…”

“That is indeed a severe problem,” spoke Levi as they all approached the main entrance. “We must sort it out immediately.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Levi, out of his cloak and jacket, opened a window to the room on the lower floor of one of the castles many buildings. A cloth was placed over his mouth and nose to keep from breathing in the ancient dust that had accumulated over the many years. He also wore one over his hair as well. The room itself consisted of only a few old crates and a bed.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Petra, Auruo, and Pinkie Pie, their own mouths covered, were cleaning the inside of a room with a large array of lances and a knight's suit of armor in the middle inside of a display. To the side of the display were two large pillars with battle axe heads pointed inwards. Above it was a fan of spears mounted onto the wall.

Petra swept the floors with a straw broom, careful to get most of the dust that accumulated. Auruo, atop a wooden table, fixed the chains that held a meager chandelier. Pinkie Pie, bouncing high in the air on her hooves, landed atop of the display and wiped the lances above it with a white cloth.

"Hey, Pinkie," Auruo called. "You best be careful with those lances. That would be one hell of a mess for you to clean up if those were to fall."

"Then I'll be sure to be super-duper extra-dextra careful!" she chirped.

As Pinkie Pie went back to work, Petra giggled at her choice of words. Auruo however, made a ticking sound, clearly bemused by her constant giddiness.

"So annoying..." muttered Auruo.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" asked Petra with a harsh tone.

"Yes," he answered with a cocksure grin, "and all I saw is my handsome mug in it."

Petra rolled her eyes and continued sweeping.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Erd and Gunther, their mouths covered too and using their 3D Maneuver Gears, hung from the roof as they wiped the outside of the large windows. Rainbow Dash, cleaning the window to Erd's right, used her flight to keep herself at the window. Gunther examined the cloth that he was using, becoming dismayed to see that it was too dirty to clean with and knew he would need to rappel down to wring it out with some water.

However, just as he was about to click the button on his handle to do so, a yellow and a blue bird, the both of them carrying a single bucket full of water, flew up to Gunther's level. Gunther gasped at the sight, even as the birds chirped at him.

"Is..." he asked. "Is that water for me?"

The birds nodded in confirmation, getting Gunther to gasp once again. However, he knew that he couldn't be seen dawdling with birds, so he dipped his cloth fully into the bucket and wrung out the grey liquid that accumulated from it to the ground below. The rag indeed looked much cleaner.

"Uh..." Gunther spoke, still trying to find the right words despite the sight in front of him, "thank you."

With happy chirps, the birds flew off and around the corner to Gunther's left. Curious about what had happened, Gunther used his 3D Maneuver Gear to swing over to the left and peek around the corner. He saw as the birds that gave him water were now flying by Fluttershy, who was accompanied by a multitude of other birds with rags and buckets of water. Gunther's eyes were wide, especially as he watched Fluttershy talk to the birds.

"You did what now?" asked Fluttershy.

The birds warbled.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you! I sure hope he was grateful."

They chirped again.

"Well, that's good. I'll be sure to thank him myself."

"Oy!" shouted Erd, who peeked around his corner to see Gunther still. "What are you doing?"

Gunther swung back down upon hearing his comrade's voice, hoping not to have looked too idle.

"What was going on?" he asked.

"A bunch of birds were helping Fluttershy clean the windows," Gunther answered simply.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight and Spike, whose mouths were covered, walked into a bedroom that featured a bed, a small dresser with an empty candlestick, and a large array of boxes. The room was filled with cobwebs and large collections of dust from over the years.

"Ugh," Twilight exclaimed, putting a hoof to her already covered mouth, "this certainly won't do."

Using her magic, opened then window. Then, she levitated every single object inside the room, and using another spell, gathered as much dust as she could and carried it in a stream outside and far away from the castle. With the lack of magic in this world, Twilight began to fatigue as she set all of the items back where she had seen them. Spike grew worried as he watched Twilight pant.

"Twilight!" called Spike. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said, "fine. Take a broom and sweep whatever I may have missed. I'll go clean the bed."

"You got it!" Spike exclaimed, running around the corner.

As Spike ran into the room with the broom, Twilight picked up the mattress and took it out of the room to find a place to shake the dust off.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren popped into Levi's room, his own cloak and jacket off, as well as a cloth over his mouth and nose.

“I’m finished cleaning the upper floor, sir,” announced Eren, bringing himself to Levi’s attention. “May I ask where my place to sleep is?”

“Your room is in the basement,” Levi answered.

“Huh? Another basement?”

“Of course. You you're not exactly in control of yourself yet. If you turned into a titan in your sleep, we’d at least be able to restrain you right away. That was one of the conditions that we had to accept to get custody of you. It's a rule that we have to follow.”

“What about the ponies? You can’t make them sleep in the same basement as me if I turn into a titan.”

“We realize. That’s why they aren’t sleeping in a basement at all.”

“Huh?”

“It seemed your words did some good during your trial. It is true that ponies aren’t our enemies, and upon further evaluation, any powers they do have are weakened here, so they can’t cause a whole lot of damage. Also, unlike you, they’re in full control of their powers, so they’re allowed to have their own rooms inside the castle without fear of being restrained. Personally, I would have kept them in the stables, but if they have intelligence enough to talk, then they can certainly also use a toilet and a bath by themselves.”

Eren was heavily surprised at this news, but still glad to see Levi right on top of things.

“I’ll go check the rooms you cleaned,” Levi said, leaving the room. “You can start cleaning here.”

“Yes, sir!” answered Eren.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Levi climbed the stairs up a level. Upon walking down the hallways and about to turn into the first of four rooms that he could, he heard pleasant humming coming from one of the adjacent rooms. He looked at the upper left-hand doorway he was sure he heard the noise come from. A few seconds later, Rarity emerged with a duster, a broom, and a dustpan in her magical grasp, still humming her merry tune.

“Rarity,” asked Levi, causing Rarity to drop her supplies in complete shock. “What are you doing?”

“Levi, darling,” she panted, “you gave me quite the fright. I was just cleaning up these rooms.”

“I put Eren in charge of this floor. He told me that he already cleaned them.”

“Did he, now? Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference. These rooms are filthy!”

Levi was a bit confused, but his face hardly showed it.

“Did you clean this room behind me yet?” asked Levi.

“Not yet. I still have that one and the both of those on the other end.”

Rarity went back into the next room across to begin again. Levi went into one of the rooms at the bottom half of the hallway, and sure enough, the room was still a mess. There were still cobwebs accumulated on the walls and there was dust and dirt still scattered over the floor. Levi grunted in disgust at the abhorrent nature of the room.

He left it promptly to check on the room that Rarity came out of. Upon looking inside, Levi couldn’t hold back a small gasp. The room was practically spotless. There was not a speck of dust, dirt, or spiderwebs to be seen, and the few crates that were left inside the room were neat, organized, and also cleaned off.

“Well, I’ll be,” Levi muttered. “Rarity!”

“Yes, Levi?” asked Rarity, poking her head out of the room she was currently in.

“Very nice on this room. Now, keep it up.”

While his stern expression was still present during his compliment to her, Rarity accepted it as a compliment enough, beaming in appreciation that she was complimented by Levi of all people.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren slowly dusted up the boxes and drawer inside the room. The fact that his childhood idol could be so rude and blunt was certainly a depressing one.

“You seem upset, Eren” spoke Petra, who stepped into the room with a broom in hand.

“Eh?” exclaimed Eren, shocked by her sudden appearance.

“I think I'll call you Eren. Captain Levi does the same. Here, his word is the law."

"Right... I don't mind that, but did I really look upset?"

"It’s not surprising at all. He’s not what people expect to see, you know? He doesn’t come across like the flawless, invulnerable hero they imagine him to be. The real Levi is surprisingly short, irritable, violent, and hard to approach."

“That's not it,” Eren replied, “I was surprised that he obeys the decisions of the higher-ups without objection.”

“You thought that since he’s strong and influential, he wouldn’t care much for things like ranks and the chain of command?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect for him to submit to anyone’s orders.”

“Well, I don’t know the details, but it seems that in the past, he was very similar to what you described. I heard that before joining the Scouting Legion, he was a famous thug in the underworld of the capital.”

“But then, why?”

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but it seems like he joined the Legion under the command of Commander Erwin.”

“To the commander?”

“Hey Eren,” called Levi, appearing in the doorway.

Upon hearing his voice, both Eren and Petra froze in fear. Petra suddenly grabbed her broom and furiously swept the floors, hoping to conceal her idle conversation from her superior.

“Yes, sir?” answered Eren.

“It's no good at all,” Levi answered coldly. “Go and redo the cleaning from scratch, and before you think you’re done, run it by Rarity. It seems that the tiny horse is a better housekeeper than you.”

Levi left without a single word. All Eren could do was gulp in sheer embarrassment. Once Petra felt like Levi was gone, she stopped her broom and looked back at Eren with a slight giggle.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

In the afternoon, in Erwin's office inside the castle at the top of the tallest building, Mike looked out the window at a group of Scouting Legion soldiers helping to construct another building to the castle. Erwin drew out a map and battle formation for the expedition that he was planning.

"So," Mike surmised, "in thirty days, we're to go outside the walls to build a stronghold for the supply chain? Not to mention, we'll be taking fresh graduates with us too."

"If we even get any new recruits, that is," answered Erwin, still nonchalantly drawing his charts.

"In my opinion," said Mike, turning back to Erwin, "this is far too hasty."

"Eren and the ponies' current positions are only temporary. We must quickly and smoothly prove their usefulness to Central. Otherwise, sooner or later, the Police will make another move to–"

"Can't you take that mask off at least for me, Erwin?"

Erwin looked back to Mike, who in turn looked away, off put by his commander's grim nature. Erwin then smiled a bit, still impressed by Mike's intuition.

"You're really good at sniffing out things like this, Mike," he said

Mike glanced back to Erwin with a sharp inhale through his nose.

"Too bad you have no scent whatsoever," he responded.

"I'll tell you when the time is right."

Erwin turned back to his diagram and continued to work on it.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that night, Eren, Auruo, Gunther, Levi, Erd, Petra, the ponies, and Spike sat at a two wooden tables joined together with one last open seat across from Eren inside of a large dining room. The lit lantern at the center of the table provided the only ample light the room had to spare. At the other end of the table were some plates stacked on a tray. In front of each person was a cup with tea inside of it from a kettle that was sitting near the lantern. The ponies eavesdropped on a conversation that the humans were having.

“We'll probably be ordered to stand by for a few more days,” Levi spoke, “but I heard that a large-scale expedition to the outer lands is being prepared.

"And we'll be taking the new graduates with us as well," Erd added.

“Is that true, Eren?” asked Gunther. “Isn't it awfully soon? Even considering that they handled this last titan attack quite well...”

“I heard those kids' pants required multiple washings to remove the shit stains,” Auruo stated, taking a sip from his cup.

“Is this all true, Captain?” asked Petra

“I'm not in charge of making our plans,” answered Levi. “It’s up to Erwin to decide. He always thinks a few more steps ahead of us.”

“True,” Erd agreed, “the situation has changed. On one hand, we lost the route for Wall Maria’s recovery that we established with great sacrifices. On the other hand, we got an unexpected ray of hope.”

All eyes were rested upon Eren and the ponies now.

“I still can’t believe it, but…” wondered Erd to Eren, “how does it feel to become a titan?”

“Yeah,” answered Rainbow Dash. “It must be pretty awesome turning into one of those things and kicking all kinds of titan butt!”

“And how about magic?” asked Petra to the ponies. “Or actually flying?”

Eren was up first.

“Well…” explained Eren. “The memories of the times when I transformed into a titan are quite hazy. It felt like a selfless, dreaming state, and in order to transform, I need to hurt myself, so I bite my hand and…”

Eren suddenly realized that his left hand was getting close to his face, causing him to remember something odd.

Wait, he wondered. How come I know for sure that I need to injure myself in order to transform?

“Well,” explained Twilight. “Magic has a similar feeling to when your hoof– sorry, your foot falls asleep, but I feel it through my horn here. And the stronger the spells, the stronger the sensation.”

“And are you kidding?” asked Rainbow Dash to the second part of Petra's question, scooting back in her chair. “It’s totally awesome!” she exclaimed, jumping into the air and looping around two times before landing. “It’s the best feeling in the whole, wide world!”

“You guys already know this too,” Levi stated to his men. “We couldn't get any more out of them than what's written in the reports. That certainly won’t stop her from trying though, I’m sure,” he mentioned, taking a sip from his tea by grabbing the rim of his cup with all fingers on his hand. “Her meddling around with you might just be the death of you and your new friends.”

“Huh?” Eren wondered. “Her?”

A loud banging was heard from the barred doors behind them, bringing the attentions of the humans and ponies to them. The wooden plank resting on the metal latches that kept the door shut bounced into the air before it set itself back. Petra ran to the door and lifted the wood up, allowing the person on the other side in.

“Good evening, Levi’s squad!” greeted Hanji, her hand on her forehead before she gave a wave. “How do you like living in a castle?”

“You're early,” answered Levi grimly.

“How could I stay put now?” she excitedly asked, taking the open seat across from Eren and next to Twilight.

“Major Hanji?” Eren whispered.

“Sorry for the wait, Eren. I’m in charge of researching a couple of titans we captured alive in the city. I’d like you and the ponies to help me out in tomorrow's experiments. Plus, this will make for some great bonding experiences together! All I need is your permission.”

“An experiment?” asked Eren. “But what am I supposed to–”

“Oh, you can–” Hanji began to shout, a nervous sweat running down her brow along with a flustered blush. “You can do that totally awesome thing you do!”

Eren stared at the expectant Hanji in confusion. The other soldier were clearly sick of her from their bored, bemused, or downright disgusted faces.

“Jeez Louise,” Applejack whispered to Twilight, “it’s like if you and Pinkie Pie were put into a blender.”

“Ow!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, having heard it. “That sounds really painful!”

Hanji looked to Pinkie Pie, and, taking her statement out of Applejack’s context and applying it to her own, looked hurt at Pinkie Pie’s blunt denial.

“Oh!” squeaked Pinkie Pie, catching on. “I wasn’t talking about your experiments, Hanji! Those sound like barrels of fun!”

Hanji’s spirits were instantly lifted, her wide, eager smile returning to her face.

“Hold on,” Twilight said, “as intriguing as these experiments sound, it’s not up to us whether we can go or not.”

“Twilight’s right,” Eren spoke. “Besides, I don't have authority over myself, so…”

“Levi,” asked Hanji, “what plans do you have for Eren and the ponies tomorrow?”

Levi remained silent for a second before answering.

“Cleaning the garden.”

“Then it’s settled!” Hanji declared, shaking Eren’s hand vigorously. “Eren, guys, I'll be counting on all of you tomorrow!”

“Ah…” Eren moaned, overwhelmed by Hanji’s eager attitude. “Okay.”

Hanji began to go around the table and shake the hooves of each pony and the claw of Spike. As Hanji came to Pinkie Pie, her hand wrapped around her hoof. Suddenly, a loud buzzing was heard and Hanji’s body and face tensed up as electrical shocks were sent through her body. The resulting sensation forced her to let go and wobble her hand.

Pinkie Pie giggled madly as she looked upon the back of Hanji’s ponytail, which was puffed out at the end. The other soldiers stood up, wondering what Pinkie Pie did to one of their soldiers to make her react the way she did. Pinkie Pie turned to see the stern looks of the soldier’s faces, causing her to stop giggling.

“What?” she asked, revealing the small, circular device attached to her wrist. “Joy buzzer! Oldest trick in the book!”

“Joy.. buzzer?” asked Hanji, unfamiliar with the term. “So, that was some kind of a prank?”

“Yeah!”

Hanji felt the back of her head and felt the puffy end that her ponytail had become. She let out a couple of mild coughs that evolved into light chuckling that soon became thunderous laughter. Pinkie Pie beamed, happy to see her taking it so well. The other soldiers, knowing that Hanji was perfectly alright, sat back down and sighed.

“Ah, that was interesting,” she said, her laughs dying down. “I think I like you, Pinkie Pie.”

“Eee!” Pinkie squealed. “I like you too! We have so much in common!”

Hanji and Pinkie continued to smile, happy to have earned each other’s friendship.

“I hate to break this up,” Eren spoke, “but I want to ask you, Hanji, what are these experiments you were talking about?”

Hanji's eyes brightened as they looked right into Eren's. The humans at the table widened their eyes in fear, knowing the can of worms that Eren had obliviously opened. Unsure if Hanji heard him, Eren asked once more.

“Uh...” he asked. “What exactly are these experiments–”

“Shut it!” hissed Auruo, checking Eren in the shoulder, “Don’t ask her that!”

“Why?” asked Twilight, who was also genuinely interested. “Why shouldn’t we ask that?”

“Ah,” Hanji sighed with intrigue, her voice shuddering in excitement. “I knew it. You just had this expression like you wanted to know.”

All at once, Levi, Petra, Auruo, Erd, and Gunther got out of their seats and left the room.

“Hey!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Come back! You’re going to miss Hanji’s experiment!”

It was too late. The others were gone and did not seem like they’d be returning soon.

“Well,” admitted Hanji, “in that case, I guess it can’t be helped. But were you that interested? Then I have no choice. I guess I've gotta' tell you all about those pretties we caught earlier.”

Twilight leaned the right side of her upper body onto the table and supported her head with her hoof, genuinely interested to hear Hanji out. Pinkie Pie moved in the seat that Auruo had previously taken, looking directly at Hanji as she was about to begin. The other ponies and Spike listened close, knowing that they had little better to do.