Many of the men and women soldiers of the Scouting Legion were walking to the foot of the hills where Eren, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack’s race would commence. Reiner and Bertolt were walking out when they saw Applejack, in her shirt and 3D Maneuver Gear, standing by one of the fully grown apple trees growing near the castle. There were three large baskets placed on the front and sides of the tree. Reiner and Bertolt stopped to watch her.

“Hey,” Reiner called. “You’re going to miss the race.”

“Oh, howdy, Reiner!” she greeted. “You wouldn’t mind helping me carry these baskets out with me, would you?”

“No, of course not.”

“I’ll help too,” stated Bertolt.

“That’s awful nice of ya’. Thanks.”

Applejack stood with the tree just behind her. Lifting her back legs up, she thrust them into the bark of the tree, causing each and every apple to tumble from the branches and into the baskets, filling them up. While Reiner and Bertolt were stunned by her strength, Applejack merely crossed her right hoof over her left in a proud pose.

“Nice kick,” Reiner complimented as both he and Bertolt walked over to the nearest basket. “With legs like that, you could probably kick Annie over the castle.”

“She may be small,” Applejack said, “well, smaller than all y’all, but she’s much stronger than she lets off, I’m sure of it.”

Reiner chose to drop the subject, knowing that Applejack was right, especially in light of all the times she handed his ass to him in training. Bertolt and Reiner hoisted the basket up and carried it out to where the other soldiers were following.

“And when we take these two baskets, could y’all be kind enough to get the last one?” Applejack asked.

“Uh… sure,” answered Reiner. “Not a problem.”

“Thank ya’ kindly! Y’all both are really swell, you know that?”

“Just a good deed from one soldier to another…”

As Reiner and Bertolt carried the first basket out, Applejack got behind another one and pushed it with her head.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Many of the soldiers had gathered at the foot of the hilly forest to witness the race, sitting down on the grass as they ate the apples that Reiner, Bertolt, and Applejack carried out. With the apples as delicious as they were, the soldiers were very happy as they murmured about the race. Sasha in particular had about half a dozen apples in her lap as she ate one after the other.

“These are the best apples I’ve ever had!” she squealed. “I wonder where they even came from.”

“Beats me,” Conny replied, “but they’re really good!”

“Any apple grown by Applejack is the best!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Applejack grew these?” asked Sasha.

“But that’s impossible!” Conny said. “I may be a dumbass, but I know that trees take a long time to grow.”

“The seeds are enchanted!” explained Rarity, who lied down next to Sasha. “She planted them a few days ago and they grew into full trees with magic!”

“So that’s all it takes?” Sasha asked. “I may never eat non-magic apples again!”

From the side of the group, Levi, Auruo, Petra, Erd, and Gunther, still dressed in their soldier’s uniforms stood by and watched the soldiers have their fun.

“Boy,” Auruo complained slightly, “I bet it would be really nice be one of them.”

“Right,” Gunther agreed, “but we still have a job to keep Eren in check. Since none of these soldiers have their 3D Maneuver Gears, if Eren decides to become a titan at any point, they’ll all be left defenseless. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Besides, where is the little newblood?”

“He’s entertaining the soldiers with a race against Rainbow Dash and Applejack,” answered Levi, “or so I’ve heard.”

“And how exactly are we going to be able to watch them?”

“Just follow close. If he turns into a titan, we finish him off.”

“So, in other words,” added Petra, “we’re technically entering the race too?”

“If that’s how you wish to view it. Just don’t win, or be seen.”

Armin was standing up, waiting for Eren and Rainbow Dash. He then saw the blue pegasus and Eren, now in his military apparel minus his jacket and cloak, and wearing a sand-colored shirt as opposed to his yellow tunic earlier.

“They’re here!” called Armin. “They’re here!”

From Eren and Rainbow Dash’s point, they could faintly hear the cheers and applause of the soldiers as they finally approached.

“Hehe,” giggled Rainbow Dash. “The crowd’s goin’ nuts over me!”

“We’ll see who they cheer for when the race is over,” Eren remarked.

“Hmm… me, probably.”

Back at the supposed starting line, Applejack tapped her front hooves impatiently, waiting for her two other opponents to arrive. Once they finally did, standing beside her in a straight line, she shot them a look of dissatisfaction.

“What took y’all so long?” she asked.

“Sorry, AJ,” Rainbow Dash admitted, “Eren was having some trouble with his harness. Either way, we’re here now, so let’s get going.”

Twilight flew up from the crowd to address the excited soldiers.

“Are you ready?” shouted Twilight to the audience.

The soldiers cheered, ready for some action.

“Alright, first things first!”

Twilight casted a spell from her horn, causing a thin, orange wall to form into the forest, going over the hill, down again, and wrapping around the contour of the hill in a D-shaped pattern. Twilight struggled to keep the spell going, but she hoped to make it thin enough that it wouldn’t require too much energy. Once the wall was formed, Twilight made a sigh of relief, happy to be finished with the difficult spell.

“Here are the rules!” explained Twilight. “No flying out of the trees, up out of them or to the outside. If you pass through the barrier that I had just set up, you will be disqualified as well. There will be a checkpoint that you have to fly inside before you turn, but you will see it when it comes.”

“You will make three laps around the orange barrier. Once you have completed with the third lap, turn left out of the forest, and the first racer to emerge will be the winner. And now, to provide you with coverage.”

Twilight cast another spell out at the trees, causing a large vertical line to appear along the outside of the forest and spread out into a screen. The soldiers gasped and exclaimed in surprise, seeing as it appeared that Twilight’s point of view was on the screen, the images matching her head motion. She then walked up to Mikasa in the front row of the sitting crowd and peered into her eye, causing the others to laugh at what they were seeing.

“Just, testing Mikasa,” said Twilight, her voice also sounding out through the magic screen. “Finally,” she announced, “I’ll have my trustee announcer Spike comment on the action as we watch this together.”

Spike ran up from the crowd and mounted Twilight’s back, ready to go.

“Without further ado, let’s begin the race.”

“YAH!” cheered the crowd.

Mikasa remained silent, staring at Eren.

Be careful, Eren, she thought.

“Racers,” called Twilight, “on your marks!”

Applejack tested her operational shoes and made sure they were on tight. Rainbow Dash crouched down and ran her front hoof along the ground like a bull, flexing her wings as well. Eren pulled out both operational devices from his harness and held them out at two tree trunks. The soldiers were getting more and more excited. This experience was once in a lifetime. Even Petra and Erd could smile at the vigor and excitement that both the racers and the audience felt. Gunther, Auruo, and Levi just watched intently.

“Get set!”

Eren placed both fingers on the top trigger, smiling in anticipation. Applejack stood on her hind legs, aiming her two hooves at the trees. Rainbow Dash arched further back, ready to take off.

“GO!”

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings as fast as she could, charging them up. Both Eren and Applejack shot out hooks at their respective trees. With both Eren and Applejack pulling themselves forwards and Rainbow Dash rocketing off, the three of them disappeared into the trees, leaving Twilight and Spike to follow them closely. As the soldiers cheered, off to the side, Levi, Auruo, Petra, Erd, and Gunther had disappeared.

“And they’re off!” shouted Spike, his voice and Twilight’s vision being seen by the crowd.

Applejack and Eren were neck and neck while Rainbow Dash managed to get a small lead by about two lengths.

“And it appears that Rainbow Dash has taken the lead,” explained Spike, “and Eren Jaeger and Applejack are fighting for second.”

Levi and his Special Operations Squad kept at a safe but observable distance away from the others. However, Spike could hear the other sounds of 3D Maneuver Gears from behind him. Turning around, Spike could see Levi and the other four soldiers coming up. With Spike poking her back, she turned to look behind her, and she too saw the approaching squad. The soldiers in the crowd were going nuts upon seeing them in the race.

Spike knew full well what Levi and his squad were doing. If Eren somehow transformed into a titan in the middle of the race, they would kill him before he went berserk. Spike knew that he couldn’t let the audience know, but he had to keep the momentum going.

“And what’s this?” improvised Spike. “It seems that Levi, Petra Ral, Auruo Bossard, Erd Gin, and Gunther Schultz have unofficially joined the race! They’ll have a lot of catching up to do if they hope to get close to Applejack and Eren, who are still neck and neck!”

Eren took a second to look back, and upon seeing Levi, he kept his gaze forwards at all times as they went over the hill and started to descend downwards on the other side.

So, Eren surmised, they’re here to make sure I don’t turn into a titan, huh? The only thing I’m focused on not doing now is losing!

“Shit,” Auruo hissed, “that brat caught us. We weren’t supposed to be seen.”

“Let it go,” Levi said. “To everyone else, it seems we’re a part of the race. Now that it’s unavoidable… let’s move.”

“Yes, sir!” they all shouted out.

Levi and his soldiers went all out, increasing their speeds and catching up to Eren and Applejack as they made their first turn right. Levi was comfortable just observing closely as the other four caught up to Eren. Gunther and Erd were the first to approach Eren on both sides.

“And it looks like Erd and Gunther are catching up!” announced Spike.

“Yo, Eren,” Erd called out.

“We’re joining in the race too, it seems,” said Gunther, “Let’s see what you’re made of.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a press of his handle, Eren sped forwards on a large stream of gas contrails, putting himself very much ahead of the two humans and Applejack. Despite being a little bit behind Rainbow Dash, he was now confirmed for second place.

“And would you look at that?” shouted Spike, “Eren has put himself into second place, coming right up behind Rainbow Dash!”

Soon, Auruo, Petra, and Levi sped out and past Twilight as they went to catch up with Eren. The crowd was getting really riled up as the racers were finally beginning to meld. With the racers getting further ahead, Twilight soared into the sky and cut across the track she made, flying back down to see Gunther and Applejack vying for third.

“Welcome back,” said Spike. “Rainbow Dash is still in the lead over Eren, and it looks like Gunther and Applejack are just clashing for bronze. Meanwhile, Erd is falling just short of them in fourth place, Auruo is in fifth, Petra sixth, and Levi is dead last! Now, let’s see how Eren and Rainbow Dash are doing.”

Twilight flew up again, seeing the rainbow contrails and tails of gas below and flying down behind them. To Twilight and Spike’s surprise, which also came as a shock to the viewers, Eren was just ahead of Rainbow Dash by a nose.

“And Eren has taken the lead!” Spike cried out. “And they are just about to pass the first lap!”

“Woohoo!” shouted Fluttershy as she jumped off of Jean’s lap, frightening him. “Go Eren!”

At a tree inside the forest at the next hard turn right, Pinkie Pie sat atop a branch waving a green flag, signaling herself as the checkpoint. As Eren attempted to swing as tight as he could to keep his lead, his arc was too wide, leaving Rainbow Dash to take the inside turn much more easily as she took her lead back.

“And what an upset!” Spike called as they stopped to observe the next set of racers coming in. “Rainbow Dash takes the next corner and the lead! They’re the first two racers to make the second lap. And coming up in order is Gunther, Applejack, Erd, Levi, Auruo, and Petra!”

Once they had all passed, Twilight and Rainbow Dash went back up and down to check on the two lead racers. Upon getting back to them Eren, who had once again caught up with Rainbow Dash, were taking the next right to the curve after descending the hill. Eren was being much less conservative with his gas, allowing it to propel him forwards as he was about to take Rainbow Dash inch by inch.

“Eren is doing his best to catch up to Rainbow Dash,” Spike announced, “ but Rainbow Dash isn’t making it easy for him. And Gunther and Applejack are still fighting neck and neck and coming up closer, and the others are slowly following and catching up too!”

Gunther couldn’t help but be amazed at Applejack, despite being the same pony that nearly failed her aptitude test, she was tagging along, if not, beating him with her own Maneuver Gear.

“You’re not doing too bad,” Gunther said.

“Thanks. But, y’all have to excuse me while I do even better.”

“Huh?”

Applejack clicked the gas release buttons in both of her shoes, rocketing her forwards.

“And now Applejack has taken back third place as everyone is going back to the final lap!” called Spike.

Eren knew that tying with Rainbow Dash on the final lap would be pointless, seeing as how she can take quick corners much better than he could. That’s when he knew what he would do. As he continued to swing from branch to branch without releasing any more gas, Rainbow Dash laughed.

“You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to catch up!” she called.

Eren didn’t say a word, merely allowing Rainbow Dash to take the next corner with Pinkie Pie waving the white flag, signifying the final lap. Eren took the corner and continued back up the hill.

“And Eren is falling further behind!” reported Spike. “He’ll have to put everything into this next turn to beat Rainbow Dash.”

Now it was time. Squeezing both handles, Eren let his gas go flying out, sending him soaring around and under the branches of the trees. As he came over the hill and moved down, he saw Rainbow Dash flying down and taking the last right turn.

Eren, his gas still rocketing out, didn’t take the next turn as sharply, instead swinging around in a wide arc as fast as his gas and hooks around him would allow, just swinging along the inner edge of the trees. Twilight and Spike did their absolute best to cover them, but with both of their speeds, Twilight resorted to flying up and watching the race from a bird’s-eye view.

Eren was approaching the track again, as Rainbow Dash idly flew, certain she would win based on the lack of racers around her. However, Eren flew right past her, soaring closer and closer to the last corner, which given his time, would allow him to still make a good turn and still beat her.

“And look at this!” Spike screamed. “With just a short amount of time and track, Eren rushes past Rainbow Dash. I think this race is in the bag!”

“Oh no you don’t!” she shouted.

Rainbow Dash with a thrust in her body and rapid flapping of her wings, she began to finally managed to get close enough to Eren to ensure that the next turn would leave her victorious.

“Rainbow Dash is catching up now!” Spike shouted. “This could be anyone’s race!”

The two approached the tree Pinkie Pie sat on, waving the checkered flag.

“This race is mine!” Rainbow Dash shouted, already taking her turn.

Eren went to take his turn too, his speed and tight arc adding tight pressure into the top of his body. Eren and Rainbow Dash made their turns to exit the forest, and Eren made a leap out. As soon as he did, he already saw as Rainbow Dash had beaten him out. He had lost.

The soldiers quickly move to make room for Eren’s fall, and despite his speed and height, he managed to land on his feet a few feet from the crowd. Eren panted, looking at Rainbow Dash, who panted herself, smiling in her assured victory. Mikasa and Armin were forlorn to see Rainbow Dash overcome him.

“Eren…” sighed Mikasa.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight flew back to watch the other nearby racers come in, and Gunther and Applejack were neck and neck once again.

“So,” Applejack said to Gunther, both nearing the checkered flag, “are you ready to get your flank handed to ya’?”

“You tell me,” Gunther said.

Without warning, Gunther sped ahead, leaving Applejack behind. Applejack tried to go as fast as she could, but it was far too late. Coming out of the forest in order was Gunther, Applejack, Erd, Levi, Auruo, and Petra. The crowd cheered at the races conclusion as the soldiers put their operational devices away.

“And it’s settled,” Twilight shouted. “The winner of today’s race is–”

“Eren!” cheered Pinkie Pie, hopping out of the forest.

Everyone, minus Levi, who honestly didn’t care, was surprised by Pinkie Pie’s outburst, but probably no more than Eren or Rainbow Dash themselves.

“But I got out of the forest first!” protested Rainbow Dash.

“Let’s check the replay again,” stated Pinkie Pie, bouncing to Twilight, “shall we?”

Pinkie Pie tapped Twilight’s horn, bringing back the footage of Eren and Rainbow Dash’s finish. Despite being above the trees where leaves and branches obstructed the view, Pinkie Pie rubbed and played around with Twilight’s horn, zooming into the footage to show something that made everyone gasp a little except Levi.

Rainbow Dash, in the video, taking in her final corner, flew outside the checkpoint on her way out as opposed to Eren, who went around it as he should have. While a finish line wasn’t exactly set, anyone could agree that Rainbow Dash flying outside the tree Pinkie Pie sat on was going out of bounds, thusly disqualifying her. Eren couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“I don’t… believe this!” muttered the awestruck Rainbow Dash, unable to believe it herself.

“It’s decided!” Spike said. “Finishing in last by disqualification is Rainbow Dash.”

Some applause was made, while others made jeers, the latter of which was all Rainbow Dash had the misfortune of tuning in to.

“In seventh place is Petra Ral! In sixth, Auruo Bossard! In fifth, is Levi! In fourth, Erd Gin! In third, Applejack! In second place, Gunther Schultz! And your winner of the first annual… Scouting Legion Maneuvering Race is… Eren Jaeger!”

The crowd cheered Eren on as they walked over to him, crowding around him to give him their congratulations. Mikasa and Armin stayed behind, smiling as Eren basked in his victory. Rainbow Dash scoffed, but with a smile on her face.

“Good job, dude,” she grunted. “Good job…”

*BANG*

A lightning bolt struck outside on the west side of the castle, alerting everyone to it. While many weren’t sure what it was, a couple of people made short screams of terror, convinced it was a titan.

“Don’t be alarmed,” Levi said. “Twilight is just having some things delivered here from here home world. You should run along and take care of it…” Levi said in a particularly threatening tone.

“Yes, sir!” Twilight said, flying out to the rising smoke that came from the striking point.

The other soldiers looked out, wondering what could have been over there. Gunther put his hand on Applejack’s shoulder, getting her attention.

“You did a fine job, Applejack,” Gunther said with an honest smile. “You really showed a lot of guts there.”

“Thanks,” she replied. “But I guess I was a bit over my head to challenge one of Levi’s best.”

Gunther, finding her modesty adorable, removed her Stetson and rubbed his hand on her mane, issuing pleasant chuckles from her.