Mikasa slashed off the nape of another titan’s neck, felling it like a tree in the streets, leaving the soldiers that followed her amazed by her speed and dexterity. Following the closest behind were Armin and Conny, followed by Jean, Sasha, and Annie.

“Hurry!” cried Jean. “Follow Mikasa! Let's keep this fight short! We need to get to headquarters before our gas runs out!"

“Mikasa is amazing!” spoke Conny. “How can she move that fast?”

Puffs of gas were pouring from her device like contrails.

She’s burning up too much gas! thought Armin. She’ll run out soon. He watched helplessly with each hiss that came out the back of Mikasa’s gear brought her closer and closer to her last. It doesn't matter how skilled she is, without mobility, we’re helpless.

Mikasa continued to fly through the streets, slaying any titan that was unfortunate to come into her path, more exhaust escaping her device.

She isn’t cool-headed like she always is. She’s trying to drown her pain through action, but at this rate, before long, she’ll…

As Mikasa pressed the button on her sword’s handle again, the hiss of the gas was non-existent, and the wire only shot out about ten feet from her waist. With nothing else to grab her, she began to fall, hitting the roofs and quickly rolling on them, the initial force snapping the blades of her swords off near the base.

“Mikasa!” Armin shouted, redirecting his route to her.

“Hold on, Mikasa!” shouted Rainbow Dash from the air, bringing her and Applejack to Mikasa’s crash site. “We’re coming!”

"Dammit," seethed Jean upon losing their best soldier.

"Jean!" shouted Conny, changing his route to follow Armin. "You lead the others! I'll go with Armin!"

"I'm coming with you!" called Jean, following close to Conny.

"What are you talking about? There are more titans left! We need your skills!"

Without another word, Conny flew off to follow Armin. Jean winced at knowing that he had to lead his soldiers and as a result abandon Mikasa and Armin, but continued on to follow his duty. Twilight, also concerned with Mikasa's safety, careened to the right to follow Conny and Armin.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Mikasa had caught on the tent of an abandoned produce stand, where she laid passively down and assessed her situation.

I didn’t even notice that I was out of gas, she thought.

Raising her hand up, she noticed that the blades on both of her swords were broken off, leaving her without gas or a serviceable weapon. The despair of losing Eren now began to creep in as she rolled down from the tent and fell down on both knees, looking at her now useless swords.

Again, she thought. This again. I lost my family again. I remember the pain again. Do I… have to… start all over again?

Unbeknownst to her, Rainbow Dash and Applejack came down to see their friend mostly unharmed, but demoralized beyond saving.

“Mikasa!” called Applejack. “We need to high-tail it out of here!”

Loud thuds began to shake the ground, which fell on deaf ears for Mikasa.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Jean looked up from the roof that he stood on to see the HQ building, still very far away... too far away.

"It's no good," he thought aloud. "We won't get close to the HQ. That is, not without making sacrifices."

Jean could see as soldiers were stranded upon rooftops that were surrounded with titans that circled the buildings like hungry sharks, leaving their potential meals panicking and flustered. Jean even found one stuck in the city streets, his hooks caught in the roof but without any gas to reel him up, sealing his fate.

Damn! shouted Jean internally. He's out of gas!

Jean could now only watch as two titans, one being about four meters and another being around seven meters, closed in on him.

"Stay away!" cried the stranded soldier to no avail.

As Jean watched the now hysterical soldier get picked up by the titan, a whimpering noise could be heard next to him. Looking to his right, he watched as Fluttershy hid behind the back slope of the roof she and Jean were on, trembling with fear watching the sight. Jean began to seethe again upon seeing her cowardice, only to be interrupted by two approaching soldiers, one male and one female.

"Tom!" shouted the male one. "I'm going to save you!"

"Stop!" shouted Jean in response. "You can't!"

His requests were ignored as the two soldiers continued to try and save their ally.

"Stop!" yelled the male soldier as he flew towards him.

However, another titan came and grabbed the soldier by the waist, the immediate stop and tight grip of the titan crushing his spine and killing him as he laid limp in its hand. With Tom's last ounce of salvation finally run dry, Jean watched as the wimpering soldier was chomped at the torso, spilling blood down his lifeless body, the titan's hand, until it eventually cascaded to the ground.

Why couldn't I stop them? Jean asked himself as he watched more soldiers fall prey to the numerous titans, sweating profusely. Why didn't I stop them? If I had stopped them, even if by force, this wouldn't happen.

Both he and Fluttershy watched in agony as a female soldier's arms were torn off by a titan's fingers like a chicken wing. Jean looked at the whimpering pegasus, now feeling empathetic towards her crippling terror, as his own terror had crippled him.

Am I really cut out for this? Jean continued as he gripped his sword's handle. Am I really cut out for a position with so much responsibility?

Other soldiers, including Reiner, Bertolt, Marco, Sasha, and even the stoic Annie couldn't help but feel similar fear that Jean was feeling. Rarity and Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, watched helplessly and in tears as the massive titans continued to make snacks out of the forsaken soldiers.

Jean shut his eyes, wishing to see and hear the macabre scene no more.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

“Mikasa!” shouted Rainbow Dash in her friend’s ear but to no avail. “Run! A titan’s coming!”

Mikasa couldn’t hear her, instead remembering a moment in which Eren gave her a scarf, a scarf that she had worn for six years and would continue to wear until she died. A titan with a rectangular face and fat belly turned the corner and noticed Mikasa, hungrily stepping towards her. Rainbow Dash quickly mounted Mikasa onto Applejack’s back. With her securely in place, Applejack turned to run opposite the titan.

However, she was met with another titan walking towards them, boxing the three of them in. The new titan was much more slender than the other, its abdomen and torso looking as if the skin had been grafted on from the center. Its hair was long, black, and untidy and its ears were elven in appearance. Its skeletal head had a pair of eyes that, with the contours of the skull’s sockets, gave him a perpetual evil grin.

Feeling that Mikasa lost the will to fight, Applejack set her back down on the ground.

“Rainbow,” she ordered. “Fly Mikasa out of here while there’s still time.”

“No,” answered Rainbow Dash, standing before the slender titan, “I can’t get both of you out here, but I’m not going to leave either of you.”

Applejack knew better than to question Rainbow Dash’s loyalty, so she gave her a nod before standing against the fatter titan. As they prepared to protect Mikasa to the death, Mikasa continued to evaluate her life.

This is a cruel world, she thought producing a small, hopeful smile, and yet, it's also very beautiful. I lived a good life.

The fatter titan looked down at his future meal while the slender titan had its eyes trained right on the titan. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but notice.

“What’s up with that titan?” she muttered to herself. “Why is it interested in the other titan?

Mikasa, then looking at the broken sword in her hand, remembered a time when she was kidnapped by human-traffickers and subsequently saved by Eren.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

She held the bloodied dagger in her small hand as Eren was being strangled by the last of the traffickers.

“FIGHT!” shouted Eren, whose words began to bleed back into her present self. “FIGHT!”
_________________________________________________________________________________________

With the push she needed sending her over the edge, she jumped to her feet with her broken swords. Seeing that their friend was well again, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were ready more than ever to take down the titans that they were in between.

I’m sorry, Eren, Mikasa thought as tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to remember the rest of the best of times. I won't give up. I'll never give up again. If I die now, I won’t be able to remember you.

The fatter titan reached down, ready to eat Mikasa while Rainbow Dash and Applejack were poised to keep the titan away from her.

So no matter what, I’m going to win! Whatever I have to do, I’m going to live!

The fury of a thousand suns entered into Mikasa’s soul as she produced a battle cry loud enough for all of Trost to hear, only anticipating the two ponies next to her further. However, before they had a chance to strike, the footstep of the titan behind them and the resulting shockwave forced Mikasa, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash into the air by about two feet.

With a mighty hook, the fist of the slender titan drove straight into the side of the jaw of the other titan, causing the lower half of its head to explode from its face, spraying blood, flesh, and bone behind it.

As the slender titan stepped over the three of them, Mikasa, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash ducked down and covered their heads from the bits of earth that flew up into the air from each step that it took, unable to see as the slaughtered titan fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.

What’s going on? thought Mikasa, finally looking up.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked back up to see as the slender titan produced an ear-splitting shriek before it sprinted at the felled titan, forcing them to shield their ears. The three of them stood there, confused as to what was happening as the slender titan stomped its foot onto the other titan’s neck, separating the from the torso in a bloody splatter.

A titan is killing another titan...

Mikasa, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack continued to observe with awe and disbelief as the slender, long-haired titan continued to drive its blood-soaked foot into the mutilated neck of the titan that it already killed.

I’m just completely confused, thought Mikasa. I’ve never heard of one titan attacking another.

As she continued looking at the bloody scene, her eyes widened upon fully seeing the hot-blooded rage that the titan felt, which took her breath away.

But I’m also slightly… Mikasa mused, uplifted. It's like the fury of the human race incarnate.

Finally satisfied with his kill, the slender titan produced a deafening roar to establish its dominance. Twilight and Spike flew high above the city streets, observing the scene with similar awe.

“Twilight,” asked Spike. “What kind of titan was that?”

“I don’t know,” answered Twilight, her mind racing with questions. “What kind of titan would kill others of its own kind?”

As she pondered longer, Armin began to swing down from the roofs and towards the street. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, taking notice, moved quickly out of his way.

“Mikasa!” he shouted to his still distracted friend.

Grabbing her from behind at the waist, both Armin and Mikasa swung up to the roof of a building just to their right. Upon releasing his wires, Mikasa agilely landed on one foot and one knee while Armin tumbled on the roof. Rainbow Dash, without missing another second, lifted Applejack up to the same roof, meeting Armin and Mikasa, as well as a roosting Twilight and Spike.

“Mikasa!” Armin exclaimed, still overcome with worry. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Mikasa said.

Just then, Conny swung upon the roof to check on his two friends.

“Are you guys okay!” he shouted.

"Yeah!" Armin answered.

“We’ve gotta’ get a move on!"

Soon, Conny looked upon the rogue titan as well as another titan that began to approach it

"Shit. This is bad!" he continued shouting. "There are two fifteen-meter class titans right there!”

As he began to sprint out towards them, Mikasa threw her arm and hand up for Conny to stop.

“No!” she called. “That one titan…”

Armin looked upon the quickly decaying titan that the rogue titan had killed, then looking back two the two titans with awe as they were about to do battle. The normal titan screamed and began to approach the rogue titan, which was observed with fear and amazement by Mikasa, Conny, Armin, Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. The response of the rogue titan was even more alarming. Widening its stance, the rogue titan put its fists up, ready to fight. Mikasa and Conny couldn’t help but note how good its pose was, as if it displayed intelligence far greater than other titans.

As the normal titan got closer, the rogue titan lifted his right leg up and wound his left arm back. Stepping back down to draw power from the ground up, the rogue titan fiercely drove the side of his fist into the right side of the titan’s head. The force was so great as to rip the head of the titan off of its body with a good portion of its vertebrae tearing from the now empty hole in between its shoulders.

“Holy cow!” screamed Rainbow Dash.

The others remained speechless as the decapitated head began to fly in their direction.

“DUCK!” Mikasa screamed.

Mikasa, Conny, Twilight (with Spike still mounting her), Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all did as they were told, while Armin was still too stunned to move.

“Armin!” shouted Twilight, charging her horn.

Hearing Twilight’s voice Mikasa and Conny looked at her charging horn and saw as a light-purple aura quickly enveloped him. As Twilight tilted her head and horn down, Armin was being pushed down onto his back, forcing a surprised yelp from him as he fell.

Mikasa and Conny looked upon this act with even more surprise, even as the titan head bounced off the roof again and soared just above the side of Armin’s head, the quick motion of the head blowing a blast of wind into his hair. Just as Armin fully landed, a loud wooden crash was heard behind them. Getting back to their feet and turning around, they saw as a building that was behind them now had a hole through the side of it.

Now that they were safe, Mikasa, Conny, and Armin looked at Twilight, who was first unsure as to why she was being stared at.

“How did you do that?” yelled Conny, demanding an answer. “What did you do to Armin?”

Twilight was still confused, but then remembered the humans’ unfamiliarity with magic.

“I never told you yet,” answered Twilight, “but unicorns and alicorns like myself have the ability to wield and use magic, and when Armin was about to be hit by the titan’s head, I used a simple kinetic spell to push him down before it was too late.”

Conny and Armin were still dumbfounded by the answer, but Twilight’s determined face continued to profess that she was telling the truth. Mikasa however, was merely thankful for her ally’s well-being.

“Thank you, Twilight,” she simply said. “I appreciate what you’ve done.”

Armin, suddenly realizing that his friend was thanking Twilight on his behalf, hurriedly bowed his upper body to Twilight.

“Yes, Twilight,” he exclaimed, “thank you! I should have reacted better; I apologize!”

The sound of hissing distracted the others, leaving them to turn back around to see the carnage left from the rogue titan’s attack. The normal titan was slammed into the side of the building that the humans and ponies were standing on and began to crumple to the ground. Everyone then took a look at the left hand of the rogue titan and were stunned and disgusted by what they saw.

There was nothing on the rogue titan’s left arm below the middle of the forearm, having torn it off when he struck the titan. However, the hissing sound could be heard from the steaming, pulpy stump where his wrist and hand once were. Twilight looked in sheer amazement as the titans arm, wrist, hand, and fingers, slowly regenerated back.

“This titan…” muttered Twilight, “is also capable of regeneration?”

“No,” explained Armin. “All titans have that ability. Look!”

Sure enough, even without its head, the decapitated titan pushed up off the ground while on all fours. Twilight was horrified by the near indestructability of these creatures. That was until the rogue titan stomped the ball of its ankle down onto the upper back of the normal titan, ceasing its movement forever more. Each human, pony, and dragon was stunned.

“It finished the other titan off?” gasped Armin.

“Then it knew the weak point,” muttered Mikasa.

“Weak point?” asked Applejack. “What even is the weak point of something that can still move up and around with its head cut off?”

“The titans can regenerate any wounds that it may receive on any part of its body,” explained Armin, “except for one place: the nape of its neck, which is why we attack them there with our swords. Once we strike them there, they can’t regenerate fast enough before they just die.”

Twilight, while finding this new fact horrifyingly unnatural, it was also intriguing to say the least.

“Anyway,” interrupted Conny, changing the subject, “we’ve got to move before it comes over here.”

“No,” replied Armin. “It doesn't care about us. It could have attacked us long ago.”

“It seemed like it had an idea of how to perform hand-to-hand combat,” added Mikasa. “What the hell is it?”

“All we can say,” concluded Conny, “is it’s one of the abnormals. There's just too much we don't know, but we gotta’ hurry over to the HQ! Everyone’s fighting there!”

“Let’s go then!” called Rainbow Dash, already hovering in the air with her wings and ready to fly out.

“Wait!” shouted Armin, grounding Rainbow Dash again. “Mikasa is out of gas!”

While Mikasa looked shamed, Conny and the ponies looked shocked.

“Hey,” Conny admonished, “are you serious? What are we gonna’ do without you?”

“It's obvious what we need to do!” exclaimed Armin, kneeling down and unlatching the canisters on top of both of his sheaths. “I don’t have much myself, but hurry up and trade with me!”

Everyone, Mikasa especially, was surprised at Armin’s selfless and self-sacrificial act.

“Armin!” she exclaimed.

“It’s gotta’ be this way!” Armin retorted as he swapped Mikasa’s gas canisters with his own. “There’s no point in me having it, but please, use it carefully this time. You must save everyone.”

Mikasa was still in shock over Armin’s actions, mainly because they reflected the recklessness of her own.

I…, she thought, …led the way without taking responsibility for everyone’s lives. I didn’t consider my duty and was careless with my own life. And I did that all for my own reasons too. I…

Mikasa’s reflections were interrupted by the sound of the last latch on her sheath clicking, Armin having finished replacing his gas with hers.

“Alright,” spoke Armin. “The maneuvering device still works and I gave you all my blades.”

"Well what about you?" asked Rainbow Dash. "What are you supposed to do while you're stranded on this roof?

“It's okay," answered Armin, grabbing one of Mikasa's broken detachable blades. "Just let me keep this one. The one thing I want to avoid is getting eaten alive.”

Twilight and Applejack were disheartened by Armin's sacrifice while Rainbow Dash looked upon him with wide eyes and an agape mouth, suddenly gaining respect for the young man. However, Mikasa wordlessly and calmly snatched the blade out of Armin’s hand and tossed it off the roof, surprising Armin and to an extent, Twilight.

“Why?” he asked, suddenly feeling upset at having his last means of protection tossed away.

Grabbing Armin’s arm and pulling him up, Mikasa looked him dead in the eyes.

“I won't leave you behind!” she stated.

"And neither are we," assured Rainbow Dash, which was met with a confirming "Mmhm," by Applejack, Twilight, and Spike.

While the humans' and ponies' loyalty to him was astounding, Armin didn't find it astounding enough to sway his thoughts of hopelessness.

“But with so many titans around,” Armin explained, “you can't possibly carry me with you!”

Conny, fed up with Armin’s pessimism, grabbed his arm and ran, pulling Armin with him, Mikasa and the ponies following close behind.

“There’s no way we’re going to leave you behind!” Conny shouted. “Let’s go! I’ll carry Armin! Mikasa, you provide center?”

“Wait!” cried Twilight, bringing everyone to a halt. She first directed her attention to Conny. “You already used some gas earlier after you tried shooting your grappling hook at Rainbow Dash.”

Conny couldn’t help but look at the cyan-pegasus, who, while still slightly airborne, shot a bemused look at Conny.

“I’m sorry about that,” Conny said, too embarrassed to make eye contact.

“Anyways,” Twilight continued, “if you try carrying Armin to the HQ with the low amount of gas that you have, you’ll more than likely not make it, and you’ll not only be putting your life, but his life at risk also.”

Conny thought of Twilight’s words, and while he felt silly being outsmarted by a pony, hissed in defeat and in knowing that Twilight was absolutely right.

“Then what do we do?” asked Conny. “We aren’t leaving this place without Armin and that’s final.”

A spark clicked in Armin's mind suddenly.

“Guys!” called Armin, having all eyes rest on him. “Listen to me. I have a plan.”

“A plan?” Conny asked.

Armin nodded, knowing that it just might work.

“It's a two-person operation, so you two decide whether to carry it out,” spoke Armin, pointing at a couple pillars of steam coming from the titan’s corpse at the side of the building. “I think it’s crazy, but... couldn't we use that titan?”

"That titan?" gasped Conny.

"It's only attacking other titans. It seems uninterested in humans. I was thinking of luring it to the supply tower somehow. If it handles the other titans for us, we could get everyone out of this alive."

"Lure it?" Conny continued to shout in disbelief. "How would we even pull that off?"

"It acts on instinct. If you defeat the titans within its vicinity, then it will look for other titans."

"Which are gathered near the headquarters," chirped Twilight, catching on. "Armin, that's brilliant!"

Armin gasped at Twilight's compliment, but Conny was still not convinced.

"How could we do something so risky based on a mere guess?" he asked.

"And what else do we have at this point?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Even if getting that titan over there might not work , sitting here and blabbing certainly isn't going to do squat!"

"As much as I'd like to think this over more," Applejack intervened, "Rainbow Dash is right. Our friends are getting hammered back at HQ by the titans, and with your gas running short like pies in a pie eating contest, that titan might be our only ticket out of this mess."

Conny wanted to object, but knew that the ponies, once again, were right, giving a sigh of defeat.

"Then it's settled. We're riding on Armin's plan!" Twilight said, Armin gasping happily. "Mikasa, and... sorry, I don't think I got your name."

"Conny Springer," he answered. "And what do you want with us?"

"You and Mikasa get to HQ while killing off the titans. I'll carry Armin and Spike and keep an eye out for you if something goes wrong."

"Huh?" shouted Armin. "You're going to what?"

"I'm going to fly you there," Twilight answered confidently with a flap of her wings. "Spike, hop on."
________________________________________________________________________________________

Mikasa and Conny prepared to fly off to HQ while Armin sat upon Twilight’s back in front of Spike, his claws gripping Armin’s jacket. Armin’s sheaths were also rubbing against Twilight’s saddle bags, making him on edge whether his extra weight would hold them down. From the roof’s edge, Rainbow Dash looked down at Applejack upon the ground.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” called Rainbow Dash to her orange companion.

“Course I can!” she answered. “If my legs serve me as well as I know they do, then I should probably be able to meet you guys there in time no problem. Just make sure Conny and Mikasa get there safe and sound, and if one of them happens to run out of gas, you know what to do.”

“Only what I do best!”

“Great!” called Twilight. “Let’s go now. There’s no more time to lose!”

Grabbing Rarity’s bag once again, she gave a nod to Mikasa and Conny, who used her gesture as the order to advance ahead, launching their hooks into the buildings and flying off. With a galloping start Twilight, Spike, and Armin leapt off the roof while Twilight’s flapped both wings.

Armin gripped the back strap of Twilight’s saddlebags for dear life, only to see that Twilight was perfectly airborne, not encumbered at all by the weight of his body or equipment. All fear that he felt was now washed away on the back of a winged unicorn.

“Twilight!” spoke Armin with a noticeable lack of tension in his voice. “Let’s fly up higher. The titans might not attack a pony, but they’ll certainly attack me.”

“Way ahead of you, Armin,” she responded.

Flapping her wings harder, Twilight, Spike, and Armin soared higher into the air, leading the latter two to throw their arms up with a victorious whoop. Seeing that Twilight and the others were golden, Rainbow Dash gave a wave of her hoof to Applejack below, who returned one right back.

Without another second’s hesitation, Rainbow Dash zipped off to follow Mikasa, Conny, and Twilight, while Applejack galloped down the deserted city streets towards the HQ.