Annie Leonhardt, much younger than her current self, was punching and kicking at trees padded with cloth. Her speed and strength were animalistic, her pants and grunts sounding out her efforts.

“Looking good, Annie!” called the voice of a man deep within the forest.

Annie continued to fight, landing one blow after another.

“That’s my girl!” he continued to shout.

Annie stood still, taking a moment to catch her visible breaths in the cold air.

“What are you doing, Annie?” the man shouted. “No breaks!”

Taking her mentor’s words to heart, she lunged at another tree.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Annie’s eyes fluttered open. As she sat up in her bed, she looked off into her room, which was about as messy as her untied hair. There were clothes strewn about, hanging from drawers and the bunk beds, and there were several discarded books and pamphlets on the floor.
________________________________________________________________________________________

The Stohess district, the eastern city of Wall Sina, looked very similar to Yalkell in terms of the architecture and the general dress of the people within it. The sky was a tad cloudy, but the bright blue sky was still visible up above. Today’s biggest gossip seemed to be Eren’s summoning to the capital, and what it would mean for the future of humanity.

“What?” asked a man in a three-piece suit and a green tie with short black hair and glasses. “Haven’t you heard? That titan kid and the main leadership of the Scouting Legion have been summoned to the capital.”

He was talking to a man with light-brown hair and a short goatee and beard wearing a black jacket, a light-grey shirt, and grey pants.

“They’ll be coming through the town today,” he said.

“I see,” responded the black-haired man. “Then I’m sure he’ll end up dissected this time.”

“What about those ponies? Are they being summoned too?”

“I don’t know. From what I heard, they aren’t in any trouble.”

“Either way, I hope things work out and that they seal the gate.”

From behind them, a man with a black jacket, a grey shirt, and brown pants and greyish-brown hair dropped his bag and approached the two.

“Did you say seal the gate?” he wondered, sounding offended as he approached the light-brown-haired man and grabbed him by his arms. “You insist on defiling the gods with human hands?”

The two then gasped upon seeing a familiar gold necklace around the man’s neck, featuring three thick, gold chains with the crests of Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina upon them.

“Maria! Rose! Sina!” shouted the man with his arms raised up. “Defiling the three goddesses with human hands is unforgivable.”

As a group of people gathered around the screaming lunatic, the black-haired man and the light-brown-haired man turned away from him.

“Those people love the walls,” explained the black-haired man, “and worship them as gods. Stay away from them.”

“Ah,” sighed a balding man by them in a black tunic and brown scarf with black hair and a short beard and moustache, “I didn’t realize any of them were still around.”

“Damn it.”

The three men walked away as the fanatic continued to preach his gospel.

“Only the walls will protect us!” he screamed.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Annie descended the stairs in her Military Police uniform, taking one last flight down the polished, red, wooden steps inside the pearly-white Stohess Military Police Headquarters. Coming down, there were a line of other soldiers awaiting orders from their superiors as they stood along the edge of the hall.

“You finally woke up,” spoke a woman with messy sand-colored hair and a goofy grin. “You look so scary when you sleep, I couldn’t wake you. Sorry, Annie.”

“Lately,” stated a tall, broad man with a black bowl cut, “you’ve been too lax.”

“What?” responded the woman. “Are you mad?”

“Well, aren’t you a friendly one.”

“Leave her alone,” ordered a man with combed, grey hair. “Annie’s from the Trost District. She’s the only one in this HQ whose had to face the titans. She came back from Hell; I’m sure she’s still trying to recover.”

“I get it,” the woman cheekily replied, “you like her. What’s so great about her?”

“Hitch, there’s only one way a moron like you makes it into the Military Police.”

“What’s that? I wouldn’t know. Tell me–”

“Stop it, you two,” hissed the man with the bowl cut as he heard footsteps approach.

The soldiers’ superior officer, a man with light-brown hair and short stubble walked in with a small stack of papers, from his groggy eyes and his hand upon his head, it was clear that he had not gotten enough sleep, was hung over, or both. Either way, the soldier’s gave him their most respected salute.

“Don’t bother,” grumbled the officer as he looked over his papers. “Today, we have a different task for you than the normal busywork. That’s why I had all of you come here. It’s about the Scouting Legion group that’s being summoned to the capital.”

Annie couldn’t help but perk her head at the sound of the group’s name.

“They’ll be passing through the city’s main street today,” the officer further explained. “Escorting them is a Military Police HQ job, so we just need to handle them as they come through town. Temporary permission for in-city use of 3D Maneuver Gear has been granted. You will guard them in tandem with their own security. You’ll travel by barge to the area where your mission will begin. That is all.”

“May I ask something?” the man with the bowl-cut asked as he put his arms down from his salute.

“Hmm? What?”

“What are we protecting them from?”

The officer looked the inquisitive soldier in the eyes, demanding a response.

“I’ve never heard of anyone within the walls acting against the monarchy. There are minor criminals, but it’s hard to imagine any real organization unless they were based outside the walls. I can’t imagine any possible motive.”

Annie also couldn’t help but be intrigued by the man’s wise and thoughtful words.

“You’re so serious!” growled the officer, walking towards the soldier and shoving his papers into his chest. “Okay, you’re in charge of everything. Here are the details.”

The soldier could not believe his superior’s laziness and ineptitude, looking at both his papers and at him incredulously.

“We ranking officers are busy,” the officer said as we walked towards a door across the hall. “You guys handle this on your own, but don’t screw up.”

Upon opening the door, the pungent stench of burning tobacco and booze wafted into the hall. The soldiers near the entrance could see three officers in particular sitting at a table with a bottle of wine, each of their mouths holding a cigarette and each of their hands holding a fan of playing cards.

“Sorry to keep the game up,” the officer apologized. “Let’s get back to it. Who’s turn was it?”

As the door closed, the soldiers were left wondering what they were now dragged into.
________________________________________________________________________________________

The soldiers were awaiting to leave in the large, spacious courtyard of the headquarters. Most of them were gathered by the spire-shaped monument in the center with a rifle either in their hands or near them . Many of them were still bitter about their officer dumping his work on them, but no more than the soldier with the bowl cut.

“Damn!” grunted the grey-haired soldier. “He’s just screwing around!”

“Yeah,” Hitch woefully agreed. “This organization is even more rotten than I imagined. But of course, that’s why I chose it, but when you’re a rookie, they make you do almost everything. I didn’t know that before.”

“Scum,” seethed the soldier with the bowl-cut, “Damn scum who can only think for themselves.”

“What are you talking about, Marlow?” asked the grey-haired soldier. “Since you chose the Military Police, you’re no better.”

Marlow seized up, taken aback by the response.

“I am better,” he finally said. “I’m not trash like you. I came here to correct the Military Police.”

“Wow, Marlow,” Hitch teased, clapping her hands in a sarcastic applause, “I had no idea you were this way.”

“And how will you do that?” asked the grey-haired soldier.

“I’ll have to work my way up,” Marlow reasoned. “When I’m in charge, I’ll fix the discipline issues and punish those who are corrupt. It’s simple,” he stated, balling his hand into a fist as he held it up. “I’ll make the Military Police a place for normal human beings again. That’s all; the way human beings are supposed to be.”

Hitch suddenly broke out laughing, crumpling to her knees and slapping the ground with her hand.

“Wow,” she squealed, “you’re the real deal! And here I thought you were boring! Sorry!”

The others ignored the giggling simpleton, more focused on the nobility of Marlow’s vision.

“That’s quite an impressive goal you’ve got there,” the grey-haired soldier said. “Good luck.”

“I’m not so sure,” Annie spoke up, surprising the others. “If a ‘good person’ like you ends up in control, I think it’d be the end for us.”

“What’s this?” wondered Marlow. “You actually have something to say?”

“I think you’re right, because you say the right things. I know someone like that. Going against the flow takes a lot of courage; I respect that. You may just be an idiot, but…”

“Maybe it’s just the other guy you know is an idiot, but I’m not like him! We’ve wasted too much time on idle chit-chat. Let’s go!”

With that, the other soldiers made their way to the river so they can begin their escort mission.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Marlow and the others walked along the edge of the city’s river as they expected the Scouting Legion to come soon. The river was quite calm despite the frequent railed boats that ran on both sides of the river.

“The escort wagons will pass through the outer gate in forty-five villains,” Marlow relayed to the soldiers behind him. “When we reach the staging area, everyone should confirm positions. Got it?”

“Uh-huh,” Hitch answered lazily just from behind.

As Hitch continued marching, she let out a big yawn, unaware that Marlow was stopped before her, making her bump right into her.

“Hey!” she exclaimed.

It was then that everyone could see what Marlow was looking at. A ferry was stopped on the side of the river, a man in a green jacket inside of it. Another man in a red jacket was on the street, talking to two Military Police officers, one having dark-blonde hair, the other having brown-hair, with a horse-drawn wagon parked in the middle. Between the officers and the other man, a couple of crates with the Military Police emblem were being loaded inside.

“What’s that?” Hitch asked with genuine intrigue and concern upon seeing the crates. “That’s our equipment.”

“Aren’t they taking it deeper into the walls?” asked the grey-haired soldier.

“But that doesn’t explain the Merchant Association’s involvement,” Marlow observed. “What’s going on?”

Once the crates were all taken care of, the man in the red jacket gave the blonde-haired officer a jingling sack in supposed secrecy. The officer reached inside to see that the bronze coins inside the sack were indeed genuine, making their purchase complete. Marlow gasped, immediately seeing what was happening.

“They’re selling our equipment on the black market?” he exclaimed.

Marlow, his sense of duty boiling deep inside, walked up to the two corrupt officers, leaving the others dumbfounded by his actions.

“Hey,” the grey-haired soldier called, “what about the mission.”

“Oh, crap,” Hitch shuddered, becoming excited again, “he really is the real deal!”

“Well, for better or worse, we have time. Let’s enjoy the show.”

The others, especially Annie, watched as Marlow singlehandedly confronted his superiors as the ferry left with the equipment.

“Okay,” huffed the blonde officer, “let’s go get a drink.”

Turning around, both the blonde and the brown-haired officers were displeased to see Marlow standing in their way.

“What’s going on, rookie?” asked the brown-haired officer. “What do you want?”

“S–” stammered Marlow, his voice sounding timid and powerless “Selling government equipment is a crime.”

“And?”

“The people’s taxes paid for that equipment, and–”

The brown-haired soldier interrupted him by laughing loudly at his stupidity.

“So you’re threatening your superiors, rookie?” the brown-haired officer asked as his partner reached into his sack of coins. “I’m looking forward to your future.”

Pulling out a single coin, the blonde officer slipped the bribe into Marlow’s left jacket pocket, patting it in for good measure.

“Go buy yourself a woman,” he advised, “and relax a little.”

As the officers walked away, expecting the confrontation to have ended, Marlow was surprised not only by their lack of empathy for their actions, but how little impact his words had on them.

“W– Wait!” called Marlow, charging at the blonde officer and grabbing his shoulder. “Selling government equipment–”

Marlow was again interrupted, but not by laughter, but instead his own pain-riddled grunt as the brown-haired soldier jabbed the butt of his rifle into Marlow’s gut. As Marlow fell, the blonde soldier grabbed Marlow’s gun and struck him over the head with the barrel. Marlow’s knees buckled as he fell to the ground, convulsing and hacking as he struggled to get back up.

The other Military Police rookies could only watch as Marlow was kicked and punched repeatedly for his attempted attack, neither one seeming to want to do anything to stop it. However, only Annie stepped forwards towards the scuffle.

“Hey,” warned the grey-haired soldier.”

Marlow, not even in any position to even defend himself, squirmed as the blonde-soldier yawned, hardly phased by the blows he delivered to him.

“We’ll arrest you for opposing a superior officer,” he said.

“Shut up,” Marlow hissed, getting on his knees. “That’s illegal–”

“And no one will care,” the brown-haired soldier stated, as he raised his rifle for another blow. “Not here!”

As the butt of his rifle came down, a force stopped him from finishing. The two officers looked to see that Annie’s hand grabbed the brown-haired officer’s arm, saving Marlow.

“Could you let him go with that?” she asked simply.

The brown-haired officer looked at Annie angrily, but she failed to show him any signs of fear or stepping down.

“I’m sorry!” Hitch shouted, running up to them and putting her hands together to sound more appeasing. “It seems our idiot is causing problems for you.”

Marlow was shocked at her statement, but she continued going.

“We’ll teach him a harsh lesson,” Hitch assured the two officers, “or… would you prefer to make a bigger scene?”

The officers turned their heads to see that many townspeople had approached, observing the situation with disdain and disappointment. Seeing that the jig was up, the officers placed their weapons back at their side.

“This is the last time,” the brown-haired soldier warned to the rookies, pointing his rifle at them

“Yes, sir!” they all called back with their salutes strong.

The two officers walked away as if nothing had happened.

“Now, let’s get that drink!” said the blonde officer.

“Yeah,” his partner agreed, “it’s been a hard day’s work.”

Hitch took a sigh of relief, glad to see that her involvement in the situation didn’t worsen it. Marlow, on the other hand, was too devastated to stand. That’s when he found his rifle still lying upon the ground. With anger and rage in his soul, Marlow reached for his weapon slowly, unsure if he should go through with it.

“So do it,” Annie egged, surprising Marlow. “Aren’t you going to punish the corrupt? If you want, I’ll help you.”

Marlow, still fighting himself over whether to grab the rifle or not, looked as the two criminals were escaping his grasp.

“What do you want to eat?” asked the blonde officer. “What else?”

“Meat,” answered his partner.

As much as Marlow wanted to punish the corrupt soldiers, he knew that killing them was indeed wrong and would only get him in more trouble. Marlow pulled back his hand, pounding it into the ground.

“Damn it!” he shouted.

Meanwhile, Hitch was appeasing two men whom she thought weren’t fond of the Military Police.

“We know you’re doing your best, Missy,” said one of the men.

“That isn’t true at all,” Hitch proclaimed in a terrible effort to sound humble.

Annie just looked at Marlow as he supported himself on all fours, unable to bear his loss of his dignity.

“That idiot you know,” he asked her, “the one you talked about… would he have done it?”

Annie was not sure of the answer, but still wanted to put the possibility in there.

“Maybe,” she said.

“Then I’m one of those pieces of trash you were talking about,” answered Marlow, “the ones that go with the flow, right?”

“I don’t know,” Annie answered, looking into the sky, “but isn’t that what normal human beings do too? I just want the weak who do get swept along with the flow to be considered human too.”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Nile Dawk led a line of carts and wagons manned by soldiers of the Scouting Legion as they began to enter Stohess. Annie and other Military Police soldiers stood in salute with their rifles and 3D Maneuver Gears as the wagons and a bright, wooden carriage came by, no doubt where Eren was being held. With the last of the vehicles passing by, the soldiers ran out to follow the carriage. As Annie ran by an alley, she didn’t notice the green-cloaked figure standing there.

“Annie,” it called, its voice sounding like Armin.

Annie could recognize the voice, letting her comrades run off to follow the carriages as she stood still. Once the coast was clear, she turned back and ran into the alley, finding it empty. Knowing that the figure couldn’t have gotten far, she found another alley within and turned towards it, finding the person fully cloaked and hooded, standing still with a brown bag on his back.

“Hey,” she panted lightly, surprised to find that it was Armin.

“You’re one of the Military Police now, aren’t you?” he quietly asked.

“Armin,” whispered Annie.

Armin, happy to see that she had come, gave a slight smile.

“Why are you dressed like that?” she asked.

“I’m a pack bearer,” Armin explained. “I have my Maneuver Gear hidden under my raincoat. Look.”

Armin parted his coat away, revealing the metal sheaths tucked at his sides along both sides of his body. Annie’s curiosity continued to rise.

“What’s going on?” she continued to question.

“Annie,” Armin whispered, removing his hood, “would you assist me in helping Eren escape?”

“Escape where? If you disobey the monarchy, where will you go inside these walls?”

“We’ll just hide for a while. I don’t intend to fight the monarchy head-on. It will be reported as a rebellion by a portion of the Scouting Legion. It’ll buy time; time we’ll spend finding enough ammunition to counter the other factions at the tribunal. And we will find it.”

“Enough ammunition? Is something so convenient just lying around? What’s your evidence?”

Armin squirmed trying to come up with whatever answer he needed to sate Annie and have her join him while not giving much away.

“I’m sorry,” Armin apologized, “but I can’t say.”

Annie sighed dejectedly.

“Sorry,” she said, “but I can’t help you. I won’t tell anyone, but you’ll have to do it on your own.”

Annie turned to leave and go back to her escort, leaving Armin alone.

“Annie!” called Armin. “Please! Eren will be killed!”

The last words got Annie to stop, allowing herself to humor Armin further.

“Clueless people who only care about saving their own skin will unwittingly set humanity on a path towards self-destruction!” he declared. “I know I can’t convince you, but even so, I have to make a big wager. Of course, I’ll do my best to avoid causing you trouble, but to get through the checkpoints within Wall Sina, I need Military Police help! This is the only way!”

Annie turned back to face Armin, still confused by his trust in her.

“Armin,” she wondered, “do really look like such a good person to you?”

“A good person?” Armin replied unconfidently. “Well, I don’t really like that term, because to me, it just seems to mean someone who’s good for you, and I don’t think there’s any one person who’s good for everyone. So, if you don’t help me, then to me, you’re a bad person, right?”

Annie turned away from Armin, facing the wall so she could concentrate on her decision. She certainly had a respect for Armin, but she didn’t know if that respect and camaraderie was worth more than her placement in the Military Police. Annie, her decision, settled, took her gun off her sling, disarmed it, and placed it against the wall.

“Fine,” she said, turning away from Armin and placing a silver ring on her right index finger from her pocket. “I’m in.”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Annie walked Armin and the hooded and concealed Eren and Mikasa through the empty streets of the city, each one of them looking for anything suspicious that could expose and incriminate them.

“That was easier than I thought it would be,” Eren said.

“Shh,” hissed Mikasa.

“That’s the Military Police for you. You can see how hard they work every day.”

“Stop staring.”

“Let’s just hope they won’t find out that Jean’s taken my place. That won’t last long though. We don’t look alike at all.”

“It’s fine,” assured Armin. “Both of you look like criminals with the same nasty look in your eyes.”

“I don’t have a horse face like him!”

“Speaking of Jean,” Annie wondered, “what about that Fluttershy pony that was so fond of him?”

“She and the other ponies are waiting about two kilometers from the gate so we can meet up once we escape,” Armin explained

“Would that have been your other plan?”

“Huh?”

“If I hadn’t helped you, how else did you plan to get over the wall?”

“I was going to use the Maneuver Gear to get through.”

“That’s insane. Wouldn’t it be easier to escape before you reached Stohess, especially with those ponies by your side? Why here, and why now?”

“I felt that the complicated layout of this city would give us a better chance at swapping Eren with Jean, and I thought pretending to go along with it rather than an outright opposition would prevent such suspicion and buy our escape more time.”

“…I see. I get it now.”

Annie, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin descended a wide set of steps that provided Armin with the sight for their next location.

“There!” he called, running up to it.

Protected by a flat awning, there was a stairway that lead to an underground passage underneath the buildings that surrounded it from both sides and behind. Annie looked down into the unknown darkness from behind them with suspicion and slight fear.

“Here?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Armin said. “We go through here. The remains of an underground city they planned and abandoned are still down here.”

Armin, Mikasa, and Eren began to descend the stairs to the passageway while Annie stood still where she was.

“This takes us close to the outer gate where the ponies should be waiting for us,” Armin stated.

“Really?” asked Eren. “Wow.”

Eren looked behind him to find that Annie wasn’t following them down, stopping and staring at her expectantly. Mikasa and Armin stopped to wonder what was going on as well.

“Annie?” questioned Eren. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of dark, cramped places.”

“…Yes,” Annie answered straight with concerned eyes, “I am. I’m sure that a brave, suicidal bastard wouldn’t understand how a weak girl like me feels.”

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa glared at Annie harshly, not believing her for one second.

“A girl who can spin a man around in mid-air isn’t weak,” Eren stated, walking further down. “Stop being an idiot. Hurry up!”

“No,” Annie calmly protested, getting the other three to stop once again, “I won’t go that way. It scares me. If we aren’t going above ground, I won’t help.”

Eren turned around, looking back at Annie. They both exchanged looks for what felt like an agonizing eternity, neither side willing to bow to the other.

“What are you saying?” Eren finally shouted. “Get down here! Stop screwing around!”

“Eren,” Mikasa ordered, “don’t shout.”

“It’s not a problem, is it, Mikasa?” asked Annie. “For some reason, there hasn’t been anyone nearby for a while.”

Sure enough, out of Annie’s vision, several soldiers, fully equipped in their Scouting Legion apparel and Maneuver Gears, sat on the opposite side of the rooftops as they watched the scene from below. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were waiting in position here as well, waiting for the signal. In an alley behind Annie, several soldiers, disguised in civilian clothing, hid behind crates and barrels out of sight. Applejack was sitting amongst them, wearing nothing but her trademark Stetson and a small bundle of rope on her arm.

“Jeez,” Annie hissed, starting to catch on as she looked to Armin. “I’m hurt. When did you start looking at me that way, Armin?”

Armin was clutching a smoke gun in his hand, waiting for just the opportune time to use it as he looked back to Annie with fear in his eyes.

“Annie,” he asked, “why? Why did you have Marco’s Maneuver Gear?”

While Eren gasped in horror, learning several things at once with this statement, Armin kept his gaze tight and focused.

“I remember even the tiniest markings and dings,” Armin explained, “because we repaired them together. That’s why I recognized them.”

“I see...” Annie sighed. “Well… I happened to find it.”

“Then… you killed the two titans we captured?”

“Who knows? But if you thought that a month ago, why didn’t you act then?”

“Because I still can’t believe it! I wanted to think that my eyes had deceived me. And because of that… but…” Armin grunted, his anger reaching fever pitch, “what about you? You didn’t kill me back then, and that’s why this is happening now.”

Annie, knowing full-well that he was referring to when the Female Titan unveiled him during the expedition days ago, stood still and silent once again.

“Yeah,” she finally said, “I think so too. I never expected you to push me this far.”

A small break occurred.

“Why didn’t I kill you then?” she whispered.

From the rooftops, Rainbow Dash was seething as she looked at Annie’s behind, having heard what could be easily considered a confession.

“Hey, Annie!” yelled Eren. “There’s still a chance that you’re an idiot who’s just going along with this because you have a shitty sense of humor, so get down here now! You can prove something just by going underground! Get down here and prove it!”

“I can’t,” admitted Annie, now looking somewhat sad. “I have failed to become a warrior.”

“I said this isn’t funny!”

“We can talk, Annie!” begged Armin. “We can still talk–”

“That’s enough,” Mikasa stated, shedding her raincoat off of her, revealing only a white blouse and her harness underneath it and letting her sheaths fall to her waist. “I can’t listen to any more of this!”

Mikasa drew out her operational devices and inserted a blade into the one in her right hand and drew it out.

“It’s pointless,” Mikasa said, ready to attack. “I’ll tear you apart again, Female Titan!”

It was over. Annie’s identity was finally revealed, and nothing anyone could say could deny the truth any longer. Annie knew this as much, shutting her eyes and bowing her head down. She then threw it back up, her face flushed and an odd, uncharacteristic smile upon her face. A couple of chuckles escaped her parted lips as she looked right at her three ensnarers.

Armin looked unsettled as Annie broke into a full-on laugh, her body bending like a tree in a storm as she seemed unable to keep her composure. Eren and Mikasa were far too angry and determined to care about this. Annie breathed heavily to calm herself down as she focused again.

“Armin,” she spoke, “I’m glad I could be a good person to you. You’ve won your bet, but…”

Annie’s smile contorted until it became deranged and psychotic as she raised her ringed-fingered hand to her face.

“…this is where my bet begins!”

Annie opened her mouth and was about to place her finger inside. Armin, knowing what would happen, quickly drew his smoke pistol and aimed it at Annie’s face. As Armin fired, a loud bang sounded out from it, disorienting Annie slightly. This was all the others needed.

The disguised soldiers hiding in the alleys and behind buildings, including Applejack, quickly ran from their hiding spots straight at Annie from all different directions. Many of the soldiers took hold of Annie’s limbs to immobilize her. Applejack twirled the rope as a lasso as she came at Annie, flicking her head to send the rope flying where it perfectly wrapped around her head and into her mouth, keeping her from biting herself. Eren marched up to take his turn, only to be held back by Mikasa.

“Eren!” she warned him before looking back.

Annie gave one last vengeful look to Mikasa before her thumb moved over her index finger and flicked at the ring upon it, producing a sharp hook. Mikasa, immediately recognizing the connection, grabbed Armin and Eren by the straps of their bags and sprinted down the stairs to the safety of the passageway.

“Mikasa!” shouted Armin in surprise.

“We were too late!” Mikasa hissed back.

Twilight, also seeing Mikasa run for cover, expected the very worst. Knowing her magic couldn’t be concentrated fast enough to remove the ring from Annie’s finger or be used to try and take her down without injuring one or more of her comrades, she covered Rainbow Dash in her magic and flew down to Applejack with her in tow as fast as her wings could allow.

“Twilight?” shouted Rainbow Dash.

With Annie’s hands completely uninhibited, Annie brought her thumb down on the hook, slashing the flesh and flinging blood out of it. With Twilight’s massive spike in adrenaline, the world appeared to move in a slower motion for her. As Annie began to glow a bright yellow, she flew in front of Applejack and began to encase them in a protective bubble of sparkling pink.

The shield was half formed as a bolt of energy shot out from Annie and into the sky, the force sending the nearby soldiers on both the ground and the rooftops to be flying up and out to the sides, also being hit with loose bricks and wood that exploded from the streets and buildings. Twilight’s spell was able to protect her and her friends from the initial force of Annie’s transformation. As she, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were hurled at more nearby buildings, the bubble fully closed. The three ponies shut their eyes and hoped for the best as the completed barrier crashed into the first building.

From the streets all around Stohess, everyone could see the massive pillar of rippling energy as it shot high into the sky, frightening and confusing them as they could only imagine what was happening at that moment.