“Is Eren dead?” asked Levi.

Mikasa grunted as she looked ahead towards her target, Levi and Applejack flying alongside her through the woods as they chased the Female Titan.

“He’s alive,” Mikasa confirmed. “The target appears intelligent, and its goal seems to be capturing Eren. If it wanted him dead, he would have crushed him by now. The target is fighting to escape after going through the trouble of putting him in its mouth.”

“Its goal may have been to eat Eren,” surmised Levi. “If that’s the case, he’s in its stomach. It’s more reasonable to assume that he’s dead.”

“He can’t be dead!” Applejack objected. “Me and Mikasa watched that thing swallow him whole. No chewin’ or nothin’! He survived being gulped down once in his life, he can do it again!”

“It didn’t kill him,” Mikasa explained. “He’s alive.”

Levi looked once more to both Mikasa and Applejack as he observed their confident, surefire faces.

“I hope you’re right,” Levi spoke.

Mikasa grunted again, still pent up with her emotions from what Levi did to Eren during the trial.

“If only you protected Eren,” Mikasa scolded, “this wouldn’t have happened!”

Levi looked back to retort, but suddenly recognized her face with a slightly surprised gasp.

“I see,” he responded. “You’re the one from back then. Eren’s close friend…”

“Yeah,” Applejack confirmed, “and she’s mighty sore about what y’all did to him ‘back then.’”

“I’d imagine she would be, but we have a more important task at hand. First, we should all give up on killing the Female Titan.”

“It killed many of our comrades!” Mikasa proclaimed.

“And it almost killed Spike and Rainbow Dash as well,” Levi said, causing Applejack to gasp in horror. “As long as it can harden its skin like it does, we can’t kill it. If you want to live, do as I say. We’ll pin our hopes on Eren still being alive and rescue him before it leaves the forest.”

Levi lifted his blades up in an offensive position, preparing to attack.

“I will tear away at it,” Levi instructed. “You two draw its attention.”

“Yes, sir!” Applejack replied.

With that, Applejack and Mikasa swung into action, swinging lower to the ground and zipping around the Female Titan’s legs, crisscrossing their paths to make their presence more noticeable. Levi carefully flew in closer to the titan, looking upon it as if he was studying every minute detail about it.

Despite Applejack and Mikasa’s efforts, the Female Titan could tell that Levi was hot on its tail. Levi, knowing that a confrontation would soon be happening, flicked his right wrist so he held his sword with the bladed pointing down from the bottom of his grasp. Levi continued to fly motionless as the Female Titan continued its run.

As quick as lightning, the Female Titan turned to face Levi, reeled its arm in, and threw a punch. Levi reacted twice as fast, using his trademark spin technique to quickly spin his body around with the blades moving in the direction of his twirl. At his speeds, Levi was nothing more than a green wheel with a bright, gleaming edge.

As his blades made contact with the top of the Female Titan’s hand, Levi’s blades ran him up and around the Female Titan’s arm, leaving a bloody, splattered trail in his wake. With his motions too fast to observe, the Female Titan was caught off-guard as Levi stopped upon the titan’s shoulder and lunged at its face, driving his blades and forearms straight into both eyes.

Levi detached the blades from his operational devices, leaving them stuck inside the Female Titan’s eyes. With the same agility, Levi pushed off the Female Titan with his operational devices at his sheaths, pulling out two fresh blades. Now fully equipped again, Levi shot out at the Female Titan with a strong burst of gas from his Maneuver Gear. Knowing that its attacker was too fast to attack, the Female Titan put its right hand over its nape.

Levi’s body aimed itself underneath the Female Titan’s left arm. With his spinning, he whirred around and down the titans back, then around to the front of its thighs, then to the backs of the titan’s calves. Using the Female Titan to climb back up, he swung up behind the Female Titan once more and slashed at its wrist. The combination of the force of the hit as well as its tired state brought the titan to fall onto its rump and against a tree.

Applejack and Mikasa were completely dumbfounded by Levi’s sheer skill with his 3D Maneuver Gear.

“Holy Toledo!” Applejack commented. “And I thought Rainbow Dash was fast!”

So fast that it has no time to harden its skin, thought Mikasa.

Mikasa and Applejack continued to watch as bright blurs shot out by the Female Titan’s arms, each passing leaving a new spray of blood and a gash on its body. Eventually, the titan’s arm, too tired and too hacked up to hold itself up, slid off of its neck and slumped to its side. The titan was even too tired to keep its head up, leaning forward and exposing its nape.

We can go for the neck, observed Mikasa. It’s tired. I bet it can’t move. I can kill it!

Mikasa hooked into the Female Titan’s shoulder, swinging down towards its neck. Applejack noticed this, looking upon her partner’s actions in fear.

“Mikasa!” shouted Applejack.

“Stop!” ordered Levi, also seeing her.”

As Levi had feared, the Female Titan raised its hand to grab Mikasa. Seeing that she wouldn’t make it, Levi swung in and hit Mikasa over and away from the Female Titan. Levi landed on the back of the titan’s hand, but the quick, impromptu rescue left him unprepared to put weight on his left foot. With a sickening pop, Levi’s ankle rolled out inside his boot, causing him to wince painfully.

Levi ignored the pain and pushed off of the Female Titan’s hand, spinning around to slash both of the Female Titan’s cheeks. With the weight inside its mouth and its crippling fatigue, the cheeks tore completely enough for the bottom jaw to open all the way down, leaving a human-shaped mound covered in greenish-yellow saliva to slide down and rest against the back of the titan’s lower set of teeth.

“Eren!” cried Mikasa.

Levi quickly swooped in towards the Female Titan’s mouth and wrapped him in his left arm, using his free hand to use his operational device and get away from the Female Titan if it were to recover in any way. With the Female Titan’s strength spent, it continued to sit against the tree and not move a single muscle.

Mikasa and Applejack swung to a tree where they hung along the side of it while Levi hopped up upon a branch, the Female Titan’s blood finally evaporating from its

“Hey!” called Levi. “We’re getting out of here.”

“Eren…” sighed Mikasa, glad to see him, but off put by the saliva-coated body.

“I think he’s okay. He’s alive, but filthy. Forget about it. We’re retreating.”

Levi looked back at the incapacitated Female Titan.

“Don’t lose sight of the core objective,” Levi said to Mikasa. “Is it more important to get what you want? Isn’t he an important friend?”

Before Mikasa had a chance to retort, Levi rocketed off to rejoin the Scouting Legion outside the forest so they could return to Karanese. Mikasa, knowing Levi was in the right, looked down shamefully, as her actions almost got her and Levi killed.

“No,” she muttered, “I…”

“Mikasa!” called Applejack. “Let’s get a move on, ya’ hear?”

Applejack leapt off the tree and followed Levi out to where Erwin and the others would be. Mikasa, not wanting to hold them up further, rocketed off and caught up, not being too far behind. As Levi looked behind to see Applejack and Mikasa following him, he couldn’t help but gasp upon seeing the Female Titan for the final time. The titan’s eyes were streaming tears, seemingly dejected about the failure of its supposed mission.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Back in Karanese, the citizens had heard the news that the Scouting Legion would be returning home that afternoon, sparking confusion and disbelief among the citizens.

“They’re already coming back?” asked a male citizen in the streets to another. “What happened?”

“No idea,” the other man responded, “but I bet they’re bringing plenty of dead bodies back with them again.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________

A young woman was looking out the window of her home with a basket of linens and clothes in her grasp. Walking in was an older, plumper woman with a beige bandana and carrying two buckets of water.

“Erd is coming home,” the older woman said.

The younger woman turned to face the older woman with surprise.

“I see,” she said without emotion, unsure if “coming home” meant alive or dead.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Out along the side of another house, two teenagers and three children, all boys, were doing various things. Two of the young boys were washing clothes in a shallow, sudsy tub, while the other sat on one of the stone steps and read from his book.

One of the two young men were hanging the clothes out to dry while the other peered into the window of his home, watching as his mother, a stout woman with puffy, brown hair, stirred inside of a simmering pot. In the entryway, an older man with a short beard that ran all along his jaw, watched his wife finish her stew while another boy was sitting atop his shoulders.

“Do you think Auruo will have time to come home?” asked the man.

“It wouldn’t hurt to make him dinner,” the woman responded, “just in case.”

The older man closed his eyes and smiled, happy with the possible prospect of seeing his son return.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Inside another home, an older, balding man with a thick moustache was sitting in a rocking chair, idly enjoying his afternoon.

“Gunther’s coming back,” said his wife, a woman with thin, sandy hair in a bun from behind him.

“I see…” sighed her husband, opening his eyes.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Most of the soldiers had finally made it out of the Forest of Giant Trees, all standing by and waiting for any others that were still missing to return. Mikasa walked up to a certain cart and peered inside, seeing an unconscious Eren, his head bandaged, lying on his back and wrapped up in two Scouting Legion cloaks.

Rainbow Dash lied beside him, not wearing her own cloak, but awake from her encounter with the Female Titan. With her bandaged back and head still in tremendous pain, the blue pegasus silently wept as she rested her back along Eren’s body. Spike sat on the edge of the cart, looking at his freshly-bandaged hand, still dejected by how rotten the mission had turned out.

Mikasa looked out to the side, seeing a long, line of corpses on cots, fully wrapped up, minus their feet, in large, dirty sheets. Mikasa was sure about Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, but she could only hope that none of her other friends would be next seen in one of those sheets as more began to line up.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Levi limped over to one of the corpses, its hand sticking out of the sheets. With its tanned skin and the teethmarks where he bit himself, Levi could recognize it as Gunther.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Auruo and Petra sat along the back of one of the carts as corpses were loaded up into them. Petra was sobbing hysterically as Auruo did his best to comfort her, rubbing her back and shoulders as she cried. Petra’s arm, now properly amputated and bandaged, did her best to wrap her torn arm around Auruo.

“I…” stammered Petra. “I can’t believe they’re dead.”

“It will be okay,” Auruo consoled. “At least we’re still alive.”

“Do you think… we all would have made it if we had just let Eren transform in the first place?”

“I… I can’t say for certain… Gunther’s death came as a complete surprise, you know? As for Erd…”

Auruo bowed his head and let a few of his own tears escape from his eyes.

“…I can’t honestly say. We made a choice. So did Eren. What happened happened. And now…”

Auruo looked out to the cart where he knew Rainbow Dash was.

“…we have to live with what our choices have brought us.”

Petra continued sobbing, hugging onto Auruo as well as her handless arm could allow.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Jean and Armin loaded up more corpses into the back of a cart. While Armin put the bodies in with little emotion, Jean was clearly more distressed about it.

“This is the part I never get used to,” Jean said, looking down at the pile of other dead soldiers they still had to put in.

“No one does,” Armin replied.

“How are my friends going to die? How will the ponies die? How am I going to die? It’s all you can think about.”

“I try not to dwell on it,” Armin responded with a slightly hopeful smile on his face. “If I picture how I’m going to die, I probably won’t be able to fight.”

“Yeah,” Jean silently agreed. “You’re right.”

Jean and Armin hopped off the back of the cart to grab another body.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Conny and Sasha were standing with their horses, feeding them with a bucket of oats they held for them. Neither of them were particularly sad, seeing as they had survived and would be going home, but Conny knew that their survival was really nothing to celebrate.

“How long will I stay alive?” asked Conny.

“You’re alive now, aren’t you?” asked Sasha.

“For now…”

“Isn’t that a good thing? You’re alive.”

“Can you say that in front of the bodies of those who aren’t?”

Sasha didn’t respond, finally understanding how dire her and humanity’s situation was right now. Conny continued to look down at the ground, feeling worse and worse about his predicament.

“I might not be able to go home anymore…” he muttered.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Spike continued to sit on the edge of the back of the cart, looking at his bandaged hand with tension, unsure how he was going to be able to show the others, especially Twilight. However, his time came sooner than later.

“They’re over here,” called Applejack, shocking Spike.

Looking up, he saw as Applejack led Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy over to the cart that he, Eren, and Rainbow Dash were on. Rainbow Dash weakly sat up and turned around to see her friends come near.

“Girls…” wheezed Rainbow Dash.

Rarity and Twilight were the first to recognize the bandage on Spike’s hand, their eyes widening on the sight.

“SPIKEY–WIKEY!” shrieked Rarity, running to him.

“Oh my goodness,” gasped Twilight. “Spike, are you okay?”

“Uh…” Spike stammered. “Yeah. It’s just a cut. No biggie!”

“Wow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “You got injured! You’re like a real soldier now!”

“If it’s just a cut,” Twilight spoke, “why is your entire hand bandaged up?”

“I, uh… needed a lot of wrapping. It was a bleeder.”

“What? I have to see!”

With her magic, Twilight began to unravel the bandages while Spike tried to keep them on.

“No!” grunted Spike as he failed to keep Twilight’s grasp away. “Don’t! You’ll cause it to bleed again!”

“Then I’ll wrap it back up! I just have to…”

“Please!” Spike begged as tears formed. “Don’t!”

“Twilight,” whispered Fluttershy, “perhaps you should just…”

As Fluttershy’s words dithered into incomprehensibility, Twilight managed to get the last of the bandages off, confused by the way they were wrapped around his hand, almost as if his thumb was missing from it. Right before Twilight could take the last layer off, Spike yanked his hand into his cloak, not wanting Twilight to see. Twilight was not easily fooled, using her magic to pull the hidden hand into her and her friends’ vision.

The sight of Spike’s severed hand caused loud, painful gasps in each of his other friends. Rarity fainted at the sight while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie quivered. Applejack, having not seen or heard about the wound yet, put her hoof to her mouth and blinked several times, allowing tears to run down her cheeks. Twilight, however, was the most traumatized. As she slowly walked back, she fell back and landed in a sitting position, tears cascading down her face as she shook her head in disbelief.

“Spike…” whimpered Twilight. “What… what did you do?”

Spike laid his injured hand on his lap, knowing that concealing it was pointless now.

“I…” he answered, “tried saving Gunther… but… that person… got to both of us first…”

“What?” asked Twilight. “Person? Who?”

“The Female Titan,” Rainbow Dash answered. “The person that was controlling it got out of it and disguised themselves as a Scouting Legion soldier. When Gunther spotted them, they attacked him. Spike went to stop that person, but Gunther and Spike were hit anyways.”

“Spike…” Twilight choked-up, “why would you do something like that?”

“I was trying to save my friend.”

“And look at where that got you!” shouted Twilight. “Your hand is going to take years to grow back!”

“I know…”

“Twilight,” stepped in Rainbow Dash, “please. He did a great job today! He and I even saved Petra and Auruo together!”

“What?” shouted Twilight. “How did that happen?”

“That person turned back into the Female Titan and was about to crush Petra, but Spike swooped in and rescued her before she could be crushed.”

“Wait! It almost crushed you?”

“Twilight!”

“Hold on, Rainbow Dash! Spike, what has gotten into you? Do you want to get killed?”

“Of course not,” Spike yelled, “but I didn’t want my friends dying more!”

“Don’t raise your voice to me!”

By now, the argument was beginning to be heard by many nearby soldiers, who turned their attention to the arguing alicorn and dragon.

“Why? So you can continue talking down me like some foal? And what about Rainbow Dash? She got hurt trying to save Auruo!”

“Rainbow Dash is a fully grown mare, Spike! She’s older and can make those kinds of decisions.”

“And why can’t I? I’m a soldier of the Scouting Legion just like she is! I decided to save Petra’s life and that’s exactly what I did!”

“Well, I’m going to make sure you can’t make those decisions anymore. I’m going write a letter to Princess Celestia and request that you be sent home immediately.”

Twilight turned in a huff to go find her commander.

“What?” gasped Spike, running after her. “Stop! Twilight, please! You can’t do this!”

“And why not?” she exclaimed, turning back to face him. “So you can go and lose your other hand?”

“Twilight…”

“No. I was wrong about sending you here. I was wrong about letting you join this Celestia-forsaken army.”

As Spike watched Twilight turn his back on him, his brow furrowed, his teeth were clenched to maximum pressure, and both fists balled up. With a shrill yell, Spike ran at Twilight’s behind, placed both hands on her flank and pushed with all of his might. With the shift of her body, Twilight fell forwards, just barely managing to catch herself on the shins of her front legs.

Twilight quickly turned around, looking back at Spike while he stood his ground, his face filled with fury and a lack of regret. Twilight, her face riddled with pain and tears, walked up to the steadfast Spike and raised her right hoof.

*PTWAK*

Twilight’s hoof slapped itself across Spike’s left cheek. The other ponies and nearby soldiers gasped as Spike, demoralized beyond comprehension, put his cut left hand over his red, stinging cheek, the added pain causing Spike to cry. He looked at Twilight, who was trying to fight her feelings of regret as she hyperventilated.

“How dare you?” Spike remarked. “How dare you send me home for my safety while letting your other friends risk their lives to save their friends just like I have!?”

“Spike,” Twilight tried to speak up, putting her hoof up.

“Fuck you!” he shouted, slapping the hoof away. “I can’t believe that even after all that we’ve been through, you want to send me home because I hurt myself! What did you think was going to happen when we came here, Twilight? We were just going to swoop in and save everyone without getting a scratch? Look around you! Many of us have died trying to save our friends but we still keep fighting!”

“And do you want to die with them? Is that what you want?”

“If it means that I can bring a soldier back to see their home and families again, then yes, I’d rather die than have that someone’s mom feel that.”

“What about me, huh!?” shrieked Twilight. “I raised you since you hatched from your egg! I’ve always seen you like my son! If you died, you don’t think I’ll have to live with those feelings?”

“Then what about you? Think of Celestia! Think of Luna! Think of your mom and dad. Think of Shining Armor and Cadance! Think about all our friends in Ponyville! How do you think they’ll feel upon learning you died fighting in another world?”

Twilight was stunned silent, unable to provide an answer.

“You said it to Riko the day we arrived here. We saw a group of creatures that were going to be wiped out and we all wanted to save them! You said you knew what you were risking by coming here. Do you? If you really knew what you were risking, we wouldn’t have come here in the first place. Now that you see the extent of the damage,” he finished, showing her his hand, “you want to send me back while you and your friends go off and die. Well, suit yourself.”

Spike walked past Twilight, who stood still, her eyes wet, her mouth agape, and her lips quivering.

“Spike!” yelled Applejack. “You get back here this instant and apologize!”

Spike stopped in his tracks, not bothering to look either of his pony friends in the eye.

“I don’t have to apologize for saving my friends,” Spike said. “I don’t need your forgiveness to let good men and woman live to see another day. I mean, sure, go ahead and send me back. I won’t be able to stop Celestia from doing so…” Spike said with a wavering voice. “Just know that if you do, you’ll never see me again. And don’t bother trying to find me either.”

Spike walked off, leaving the others behind. Twilight, unable to restrain herself anymore, sunk down to her stomach and buried her head into her arms, sobbing loudly through them. The ponies, minus Rainbow Dash, all gathered around the miserable alicorn and patted her body with their hooves in consolation. Rainbow Dash, hardly able to move with her back, could only watch Spike walk off by himself, a single tear dripping from her eye.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Levi was standing in front of Petra and Auruo, getting their story of Spike and Rainbow Dash’s rescues.

“Right before I could be crushed,” Petra recounted, “Spike swooped in and grabbed me, pulling me away. The titan still got my arm though.”

“But he didn’t take your life,” Levi recounted. “And you, Auruo, what happened to you?”

“The Female Titan almost kicked me, but Rainbow Dash lifted me out of the way and took the kick for me. I… still can’t believe it. After all the times I insulted her and her friend… after all the times she insulted me… she still risked her life for me.”

“Well, she’s alive and awake. If you want to thank her, that is.”

The sound of footsteps came close to the three of them, causing them to turn to see Spike coming up. While Petra initially smiled upon seeing her savior again, she changed her face to that of confusion upon seeing his red eyes and morose grimace.

“Are you alright, Spike?” Petra asked.

Spike responded by hopping onto the cart and hugging Petra tight, letting all of his emotions out in a loud, hard cry. Petra petted Spike’s back, understanding his feelings for the loss of his friends. Levi looked upon Spike hugging Petra, knowing that without him, she wouldn’t have lived.

“Spike,” Levi said, getting Spike to cease his crying and look at him. “Thank you. I’m very grateful for your bravery.”

Spike, happy for his idol’s approval, let go of Petra and leapt onto Levi, wrapping his arms around his neck and nuzzling his head into the side of Levi’s head. As if Levi knew exactly how his and Twilight’s argument went, as well as knowing the lengths Spike went to save his friends, Levi responded by placing his arm upon Spike’s back, patting it gently. Auruo, seeing Levi’s capacity to console, looked out to where Rainbow Dash’s cart was.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Rainbow Dash watched as the other ponies dispersed to find their human partners, leaving her to lie alone with Eren. However, she was strangely perked up by the sight of Auruo walking straight for her, leaving her to sit up, her motions a bit faster. Auruo stopped before Rainbow Dash, confusing her further.

“What do you want,” she grumbled.

“You seem to be recovering nicely,” Auruo spoke, sitting next to her.

“That Female Titan did a number on my spine, but Fluttershy helped massage me somewhat back to normal, no thanks to you.”

“Listen, I know you and I have had some… rough patches.”

“No, you think?” Rainbow Dash said with full-sarcasm.

“Either way, I want to say, ‘Thank you,’ for what you did. You had every right not to take that kick back there in my place. I mean, I would have died… and I guess you wouldn’t have had to deal with me anymore.”

Rainbow Dash, hearing the sincerity in his voice, scooted closer.

“Listen,” she told him, “you might not be the best person I’ve ever met, but you’re certainly one of the best soldiers I’ve ever met. Sure, there can be less people like you, but we certainly need soldiers like you in spades.”

“Hehehe,” chuckled Auruo, feeling he earned that remark. “Well, look. Let me make it up to you. My family actually lives in Karanese, and I have dinner with them every time I come to visit. Ever since you and your friends arrived, I keep getting letters from my younger brothers back home saying how great it was that I get to work with you… and that it would lift their spirits to meet one of you.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes glittered slightly at the sound of that, but looked to Eren, knowing that she couldn’t abandon her friend.

“I think you know what I’m getting at. You have every right to say no. It’s just… after today, I… and my family need a little hope to carry us through these times.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but be charmed by Auruo’s words, but Rainbow Dash’s priorities still leaned towards Eren.

“I’ll ask Eren,” she answered, “but I can’t make promises.”

“That’s all I ask,” Auruo replied. “Thank you. I’ll see you back home.”

Auruo stood back up and walked back to Petra. Rainbow Dash looked at him, still unsure whether she should take him up on his offer.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Erwin was with some other soldiers as the gathering, search, and organizing of dead bodies and missing soldiers was almost complete.

“We’re almost done,” Erwin said. “There were about five dead that we couldn’t recover.”

“Not even a part of them?” asked an older soldier with a light moustache and messy brown hair.

“They’re the only ones we couldn’t due to the titans…”

“It’s probably for the best for the families that we not bring those back.”

“Say they’re missing in action.”

“Yes, sir. We saw several titans near the forest, but none are headed this way as of yet.”

“We’re moving out now,” Erwin suddenly declared. “Tell all the squads.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I cannot accept this, Commander Erwin!” shouted a soldier with medium-length blonde hair. “We should recover them! Ivan’s body was right in front of Toby and I!”

“There was a titan right next to him,” spoke the messy-haired soldier. “It could result in another casualty.”

“If they attack, we can just defeat him!”

“Ivan’s an old friend of mine and Dieter,” explained the soldier with ponytailed brown hair named Toby. “We’re from the same town. I know his parents. If nothing else, I’d like to bring him home!”

“Don’t be selfish!” shouted the messy-haired soldier.

“Squabbling kids,” spoke Levi’s voice.

Turning towards the direction of the voice, Levi was standing right beside a large boulder where one soldier was on lookout for any other soldiers.

“Captain Levi!” exclaimed the messy-haired soldier.

“If you confirmed he’s dead,” Levi spoke, “that’s enough. Whether you have the body, dead is dead. It won’t change anything.”

“No way…” sighed Toby, defeated.

“We’ll say Ivan and the other went missing,” said Erwin. “That’s my final decision. Give it up.”

As Erwin and Levi began to walk back to their other soldiers, Dieter couldn’t believe that his Commander would ignore his plight.

“Don’t…” he stammered, “Don’t the two of you have any human feelings at all?”

“Hey, Dieter,” responded the ponytailed soldier, “you’re going too far!”

Dieter could only watch as Erwin walked further away, their chances of saving their friend gone.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

The remaining soldiers of the Scouting Legion were finally on the move to Karanese. Mikasa and Applejack rode close to Eren and Rainbow Dash’s cart, the latter still too sore to fly or gallop to speed. Spike sat next to Eren as well, not wanting to look at Applejack as she peered inside at him. Armin, Twilight, Jean, and Fluttershy were also close behind. Twilight was still dismayed as she flew alongside her partner, looking over at Spike in the cart as he wouldn’t give her eye contact either.

Further in the back, one of three carts carrying the dead bodies was following the rest of the formation. Two live soldiers sitting in the back looked down dejectedly at the failure of the mission today. As one of the soldiers looked behind them to take one last look at the forest before it would disappear behind the horizon, he saw a sight that frightened him.

“Titans!” he cried out.

The other soldiers looked behind them to see if the first soldier’s claims were true. Sure enough, two titans, both fifteen meters in height, chased after two soldiers on horseback. One soldier looked to be Toby. The other was Dieter, a dead soldier lying across his back. They were both shot with adrenaline and anxiety as both titan’s came closer.

As the one soldier in one of the back carts stood, another soldier, the messy-haired one, stood up to see as well.

“That’s…” the messy-haired soldier said, “Dieter! That fool…”

The messy-haired soldier pulled out a smoke gun and fired a red round into the sky, officially confirming the titan sighting.

“The rear line has spotted titans!” shouted Auruo from the upper-center of the formation.

“Onward at full speed!” ordered Erwin.

“I don’t see any buildings or tall trees,” Levi spoke, riding on Erwin’s left. “Fighting out here will be difficult.”

“We’re better off outrunning them until we reach the walls.”

Levi winced, falling back to command the soldiers further back.

Twilight and Fluttershy looked in horror to see as the titans would soon catch Dieter and Toby.

“Oh no!” shouted Fluttershy. “They’re going to get them!”

“Then you get them first!” yelled Armin.

“What?” shouted Twilight.

“You have wings, you can go and save them faster than we can. Plus, you don’t need to use a Maneuver Gear.”

Twilight wanted nothing more to stay in the safety of their current position, but her guilt from her scene with Spike was starting to eat at her.

“Fluttershy,” called Twilight. “Let’s go!”

“Oh, okay,” she replied.

Twilight and Fluttershy looped halfway and flew in the direction of the titans behind them. Leaving Armin and Jean to look on ahead.

The titans chasing Dieter and Toby were now within their arm’s reach. As Dieter looked behind him, one of the titans swiped its arm at him. The gust caused by the reach forced the dead soldier off of his back, making him leave him behind. As Dieter looked as his friend got further away while the titan only got closer, he heard to his left as Toby was caught by the other titan as he squirmed in its grasp, his horse running away.

“Fluttershy,” shouted the approaching Twilight, “go get that soldier that fell! I’ll take care of that one titan up there.”

“Got it!”

As Fluttershy flew down to get the corpse, Twilight put a fresh set of blades in her operational devices and flew out faster to save Toby. The titan holding onto Toby opened its mouth to eat him, but Twilight zipped around the titan’s neck and cut off its nape.

The titan fell, letting go of Toby as well. With nothing to swing from with his Maneuver Gear, Toby plummeted right for the ground. Twilight, not wanting him to get hurt, zoomed down to catch him, wrapping him in her arms, before swooping up and fluttering him back to the ground.

“Ah…” shuddered Toby, dusting himself off, “you saved my life. Thank you!”

“Toby!” shouted Dieter, coming from the opposite direction as the formation. “You’re alright!”

“Where’s Ivan?” he yelled back.

As Dieter struggled to find an answer to why he dropped him, Fluttershy flew back towards the formation with Ivan’s body in her arms.

“I got him!” shouted Fluttershy. “Let’s go!”

“Come on!” shouted Twilight. “There’s still that other titan on the formation’s tail! We have to stop it!”

“Right!” called Dieter and Toby in unison.

Dieter picked up Toby and put him on his horse as Twilight flew back towards the formation, the other two soldiers following her.

As the second of the two titans approached the center of the three carts, the soldiers inside had their swords drawn, ready to engage.

“I’ll get behind them!” instructed a tan soldier with buzzed, brown hair to his blacked-haired comrade. “I’ll draw their attention, you–”

“No!” objected Levi’s voice. “Just abandon the bodies. They’ll reach us.”

The two soldiers looked at their captain, who was riding alongside them, incredulously.

“B–” stammered the soldier with buzzed hair, “but…”

“In the past, many bodies have not made it back,” Levi responded. “These guys aren’t anything special.”

“Are we doing this?” cried the black-haired soldier. “Are we really doing it?”

As the soldier with the buzz cut looked at the approaching titan, trying to make a decision, a voice called out to make the decision.

“No yer’ ain’t!” called out a familiar voice.

Applejack leapt into the cart from the front right corner, surprising the two soldiers inside.

“Howdy, boys,” greeted Applejack.

“Applejack,” Levi shouted, “what do you think you’re doing?”

“Don’t y’all think these soldiers deserve a proper burial?”

“If we don’t dump those bodies, they, along with those two soldiers, will not get a proper burial. Leave the bodies.”

“Why don’t I take this titan down?” asked Applejack. “Since I’m a pony, it shouldn’t bother me none. It should be a breeze.”

Levi didn’t have to wait long to make a decision.

“Alright,” he admitted, “but hurry. Your weight is slowing down the cart faster.”

“Alright,” Applejack spoke, running to the back of the cart to get a running start, “here goes.”

Applejack pushed off the back of the cart and leapt at the fast-approaching titan. As predicted, the attention of the titan was set on the humans in the cart and Levi alongside. Applejack launched a hook into the titan’s groin, pulling herself fast to it before she could hit the ground, but leaving enough wire for her to swing from underneath between the titan’s legs and up towards the nape.

As she came up, Applejack placed blades into her operational device shoes. Applejack’s timing was just as precise as her hit, effortlessly cutting the nape off the titan’s neck as it fell. Applejack hooked into the back of the titan’s head and held tight, allowing her to fall with the titan. Right before the titan’s head could hit the ground, Applejack slipped her blades back into her sheath and jumped off, running back to the cart as the titan tumbled behind her.

Applejack ran along the right side of the cart before she took a sharp turn to the right, leaping back into the cart with the two soldiers.

“Woowee!” Applejack exclaimed, flaying her front hooves out. “‘Bout time I killed a titan today!”

“Congratulations,” Levi said with no emotion. “Now let’s hurry before more show up!”

“Gotcha!”

Applejack jumped back off the cart and rode alongside it, ready to intercept any further titans that would come. As Applejack looked to the soldiers in the cart and gave them a nod, Dieter and Toby rode in just from behind with Ivan in Fluttershy’s grasp, Twilight flying right next to her. Levi looked back, unable to see anymore titans coming back for them.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

With the rest of the Scouting Legion stopped to recoup after the surprise attack. Dieter and Toby finished wrapping and loading Ivan into the back of a cart.

“As soon as we know where we are,” Erwin called out, “we will depart! Stay alert!”

Once Ivan was put in the back, Dieter and Toby nodded to each other, glad to be alive with their friend with them.

“I hope you two are proud of yourselves!” Twilight’s voice scolded.

The two humans looked down to see a stern Twilight and Fluttershy walking up to them.

“You could have seriously cost us a lot of lives today,” Twilight continued to vent, “including yours. Why would you go back to your friend like that?”

Dieter knelt down in front of Twilight with wondrous eyes.

“Dieter…” asked Twilight, “what are you–”

Dieter interrupted her by wrapping his arms around his neck in a grateful embrace as his eyes ran like waterfalls.

“Thank you,” sobbed Dieter. “Now we can return Ivan home… where he belongs.”

As much as Twilight wanted to continue reprimanding the soldier on his foolish actions, she couldn’t help but imagine the dread Ivan’s mother would have felt had she no son to bury at all. Not to mention, both Dieter and Toby were alive to return to their parents. Spike’s words began to sink into Twilight’s head, and without the energy to start an argument, she nestled her head into Dieter’s neck.

Toby couldn’t help but cry as well. Although he and Dieter were alive, their friend was still all too unlucky. Fluttershy, understanding his pain, stood on her hind legs and gave the soldier a comforting hug of her own, which the soldier weakly returned.

“We’re leaving!” called out Auruo’s voice.

As the other soldiers got organized once again, Dieter and Twilight and Toby and Fluttershy continued to comfort one another.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren and Mikasa, both ten years old, walked up the hilly and stony paths of Shiganshina with bundles of sticks on their backs. Despite the fact that they had another mile before getting home, it wasn’t the weight of the wood that was burdening them.

“Eren,” advised Mikasa, “you should stop considering the Scouting Legion.”

“What?” exclaimed Eren. “You’re going to tell me they’re stupid too?”

“That isn’t it…”

Before the conversation could continue, the sounds of bells rung throughout the district. Eren and Mikasa knew that could only mean one thing.

“The Scouting Legion is back!” Eren shouted joyfully. “The front gate’s opening! Let’s go, Mikasa! The heroes are back!”

Eren pulled Mikasa by their arm as he led her to the southern gate of the district, unable to wait for the return of the soldiers.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Crowds of people lined the sides of the street as soldiers of the Scouting Legion walked down. Eren and Mikasa found a stack of boxes to climb upon and see over the shoulders of the other citizens. While at first happy to see them, Eren looked upon with horror as many of the soldiers walking down were badly wounded.

Many soldiers had bleeding bandages on various parts of their bodies, others grabbing onto their comrades as crutches for their either broken or missing legs. As such, the feelings of the soldiers upon their return was anything but joyous; it was filled with sadness and shame.

“These are all that made it back?” wondered a male citizen in front of Eren. “Everyone else must have been eaten.”

“That’s what happens when you go outside the walls,” responded another citizen.

Eren, unable to help but eavesdrop on the men, seethed in anger on their discouraging remarks on his idols.

“It’s like our taxes all go to fatten them up,” said another male citizen.

Eren, disgusted with their words, picked up a stick that fell from his bundle and walked towards the men, intending to strike them. However, he was stopped in his tracks by an even more sickening feeling.

“Eren?” asked Mikasa. “What’s wrong?”

Eren, now in his present age and fully dressed as a soldier, continued to stand behind the citizens with the stick in his hand. For all his naïve and childlike admiration of the Scouting Legion, now that he was a soldier of their division, Eren could feel firsthand how badly he and the others had failed.

“Eren,” Mikasa said once more.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren!” called Mikasa.

Eren awoke with a start. Upon opening his eyes, he felt a pair of fuzzy, blue arms squeeze his chest.

“Thank goodness you’re alright!” cried Rainbow Dash. “I thought you were a goner!”

“Rainbow Dash…” sighed Eren tiredly.

“Eren needs to rest,” Mikasa said, who Eren found was kneeling beside Rainbow Dash. “Don’t squeeze so hard.”

Rainbow Dash relinquished her hug, instead keeping her arms on Eren’s chest. Eren tried sitting up so he could see where he was, only for Mikasa to reach over and hold him down.

“You shouldn’t get up,” instructed Mikasa. “Rest.”

“The Female Titan?” asked Eren.

“It got away.”

“Why… What about the others? What about the plan?”

“It failed. Rest for the time being.”

Eren began to sink back down, hit hard by the news of the failure.

“What is this?” Eren sighed. “Did you save me again?”

Mikasa looked away, not wanting to burden either Eren or herself with the truth as she glanced back at Levi.

“We’re almost to the gates.”

As Eren’s cart passed over the hill, the walls of Karanese were visible only a mile or so away. Spike was too downtrodden by the day’s events to say much of anything, only able to look down at the ground as it passed from underneath him.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

As the soldiers came marching in, the people of Karanese watched them from the sides. As before, in Eren’s past, the soldiers wore bloody wrappings and were heavily wounded. Not a single soul had a smile on their face, not even Pinkie Pie as she finally entered the district with Conny.

“Aren’t there fewer soldiers than there were this morning?” asked a man in the crowd.

“Man,” answered someone next to him, “far fewer.”

“Another disaster.”

Eren could only lie down with Rainbow Dash comforting him as more citizens spoke about the Scouting Legion’s return. Spike could hear their words just as clearly, feeling more down the more he heard.

“Just this morning,” spoke another person, “they left raising a ruckus, but they’re already back?”

“What was the point?” wondered another one out loud.

“Who knows, but judging by the gloomy expressions, they managed to waste more of our taxes, if nothing else.”

Eren, began to sit up again, wanting to confront the soldiers that debased his comrades.

“Eren,” Mikasa warned, “just bear with it.”

Eren looked over the cart with Rainbow Dash and Mikasa, only to see the child with the missing tooth from that morning, his orange-haired younger sister watching with him. As he did that morning, the boy was happy upon seeing them all return. Eren and Mikasa’s déjà vu was in fever pitch, almost imagining the boy and the girl as themselves back in Shiganshina.

“So cool!” the boy cried out. “The Scouting Legion is so awesome! They got the crap kicked out of them and they still fight!”

Eren was now disgusted, both at the citizens and himself. As much as he hated the citizens for the lack of respect that they gave the Scouting Legion, he knew there was no excuse for his failure today, and he could finally begin to understand why the people looked so lowly upon them.

Spike was also beginning to understand Twilight’s argument from before. Not only had they not accomplished their mission, but they lost many lives to boot. He looked over to the side to see as a woman followed a soldier while holding his arm, clearly looking for her loved one amongst the crowd. Upon the soldier pulling his arm away and saying a few words to her, the woman stood still with trembling knees and flowing eyes before she sunk to her knees and wailed at her loss. Spike gasped, imagining the woman as Twilight.

I… Spike thought, with tears in his eyes, almost put Twilight through that?

Jean, Reiner, and Armin passed more citizens, bowing their heads or shielding their faces with their arms out of shame. Twilight walked beside Armin with a heavy head and a heavy heart.

“Dieter!” shouted a woman’s voice.

“Toby!” called a man.

Twilight looked up to see a who appeared to be Dieter’s mother and Toby’s father giving their children an embrace, their spouses besides them happily. Twilight smiled upon seeing them, feeling her rescue did some good after all.

The scene changed when another mother came to Dieter and Toby and asked them about something. Judging by the solemn shaking of his head, Twilight realized that they were talking about Ivan, who was indeed gone. As the mother wept, Dieter and Toby hugged the woman, consoling her on her loss. Twilight then hung her head in shame. Had she not risked her life to save those two, their reunion would not have been possible.

Ymir and Krista looked about the crowd as they walked down the street. Bertolt was with Sasha and Rarity, the latter of which looked ragged and sweaty from the day, but the grime on Rarity’s coat and mane only came second to the despair both she and her partner felt.

Levi walked with his horse, trying to keep up with his limp. However, running up to him was an older man with a khaki shirt, a brown vest, black pants, and a grey scarf with light-brown hair. Despite the uncomfortable air, the man looked happy to see Levi.

“Captain Levi!” he called out. “My daughter is in your squad. I’m Petra’s father. Before she sees me, I wanted to talk to you.”

Petra’s father pulled out an envelope from the inner pocket of his vest, holding it out.

“She sent me this letter,” he explained. “She mentioned that you respected her abilities enough to let her join your squad. She was going to devote her life to you. Well, I guess she’s too starry eyed to consider how her father feels!” he chuckled before settling back down. “Well, as her father, I think it’s too early for her to marry. She’s still so young, with so much experience–”

“If you wish to speak with her about it,” Levi interrupted, “she’s right behind me by two lengths… in the cart.”

“In the…”

Petra’s father, realizing what this meant, ran from Levi and to the cart where Levi said she was, fearing the worst. Upon seeing her daughter alive and well within the cart, he took a sigh of relief.

“Petra!” he called, getting his father’s attention. “Thank goodness you’re alright.”

“Papa!” Petra cried happily, turning herself towards her dad and resting her right hand and left arm on the side of the cart.

Petra’s father was shocked at seeing Petra’s arm in its condition, once again sporting a nervous look.

“Petra!” he gasped. “Your arm!”

“I know,” Petra admitted guiltily. “I’m sorry, Papa.”

“What happened to you?”

“…A titan caught me and was biting it off.”

“But… how will you fight now? What about your duties as a soldier?”

“I don’t know,” Petra said, looking out to where Spike was. “But at least I’m alive now… thanks to him.”

“Do you love Levi?”

“Huh? Papa! Do we really need to talk about this now?”

“It’s just…”

Petra’s father struggled to form the words.

“I’m sure he’ll take very good care of you,” he finally said, bowing his head down.

Petra looked away, blushing slightly. Applejack, who was right behind Petra’s cart, looked upon the two of them. While she wanted to be happy for Petra’s survival, the mission’s failure left her too somber to smile in any way.

As Erwin passed the crowd of people, they all angrily pestered him with questions.

“Commander Erwin!” shouted a citizen. “Answer us!”

“Did this expedition learn enough to justify the number of dead?”

“Do you think the dead have no regrets?”

Erwin, demoralized by the losses of his men, ignored the angry commoners and continued to lead his men and women away from the crowds. Rainbow Dash could hear the mobs as their voices saturated the air.

“Those big jerks,” Rainbow Dash hissed. “They don’t have any idea what we were up against, do they?”

“No,” Eren answered, “they didn’t. But I did… and I… failed them.”

Eren’s eyes began to water as his voice raised in pitch.

“Gunther… Erd… all of those soldiers. They’re dead because of me…”

Eren put his hand over his mouth as tears began to stream down the sides of his face. Rainbow Dash, saddened for her friend, gripped Eren tight as her eyes shut hard and she too drew tears. Mikasa bowed her head down, her own tears running for a different reason.

With the failure of his mission, Eren would soon be sent back to the Inner District to be handed over to the Military Police. Even with the number of losses the Scouting Legion had, Mikasa knew that they were about to face a loss bigger than any that humanity has ever faced.