Erwin and Levi, the latter in his uniform and Maneuver Gear, rode next the north side of Wall Rose alone to the east, their horses galloping as fast as they could allow. While Levi looked tired and frustrated from the events of the past day and a half, Erwin kept his eyes on the path to Trost with intense fury in his eyes.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Mikasa awoke with a start. Sitting up, she found that she was sitting on top of the wall, the horizon expanded out before her. Looking to her right, she saw as several soldiers lying on cots, either wounded, dying, or already dead. Mikasa suddenly felt a sharp pain pierce into the back of her head, gripping it with a wince. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist gently, and a soft, furry cheek rubbing up against hers.

“Thank goodness you’re alright!” Applejack sighed in relief.

Mikasa turned to see that Applejack had a small bandage wrapped around her head.

“Applejack,” said Mikasa, unsure of what was going on.

“Mikasa!” called Armin, running to Mikasa and Applejack, “don’t move just yet!”

Mikasa, remembering the aftermath of the battle, adopted an enraged, toothy grimace and shoved Applejack off of her.

“Armin!” shouted Mikasa, grabbing the collar of his shirt. “What happened to Eren? Where is he?”

“Mikasa!” Armin nervously yelled back. “Calm down and quit moving! We still don’t know how hurt you are yet!”

Mikasa tossed Armin aside and crawled over to the south side of the wall and looking down, seeing the crater that the Colossal Titan’s explosion left. At the wall, there were two seven -meter titans pawing at the wall in a vain effort to climb up the wall.

“Where is he?” Mikasa demanded, putting her face close to Armin’s.

“Eren’s been kidnapped!” Armin finally admitted. “He and Ymir were taken by Reiner and Bertolt. It’s been five hours since they’ve been last seen.”

Mikasa looked back out to the horizon, still with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“Has…” she wondered. “Has anyone gone after them?”

“No,” Armin answered.

“What?” she grunted, grabbing at Armin again. “Why?”

Applejack put her hooves in between Armin and Mikasa and pulled them apart, turning back to talk to Mikasa.

“None of the humans can transport their horses over the wall fast enough,” Applejack explained. “They’re about as stuck as we are?”

“What…” Mikasa asked, sounding more scared by the moment, “what about you? Couldn’t you–”

“Me? Outrunning them? I might be fast on the land, but I ain’t no super speeder either.”

“And Twilight? Or Rainbow Dash? Couldn’t they have flown?”

“Fluttershy tried going out on her own, but she wasn’t near fast enough and had to turn back. She feels awful sorry about it too.”

“I said–”

“Twilight shielded Armin, Spike, and some others with a protection spell, and it tuckered her out something fierce. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand…”

Mikasa felt the sting in her head once again, suddenly reminding her of Rainbow Dash’s rescue.

“She got KO’ed along with me and you when she tried saving us,” Applejack concluded. “She wants to say some words to you.”

“Huh?” queried Mikasa. “What does she want? Where is she?”

“Mikasa,” advised Armin, “you shouldn’t move yet.”

“I’ll be fine, Armin,” Mikasa stated as she stood up, looking for a rainbow-colored head of hair.

Upon seeing her, along with the other ponies that were gathered there, she walked towards them. Armin and Applejack stayed close behind her, unsure how far she could go.

Mikasa looked to see a group circled around Rainbow Dash. Of ones around her, there was Spike, Annie, Twilight, Hanji, Conny, Pinkie Pie, Kirill, Sasha, Rarity, Fluttershy, Jean, Petra, and Auruo. Rainbow Dash was sniffling as she sobbed. Pinkie Pie looked no better, he head hung low and her mane and tail still straight.

As Mikasa approached, Jean made room between him and Petra, where she sat down. Armin and Applejack split away, Applejack sitting between Mikasa and Petra, while Armin sat in between Spike and Twilight.

“Rainbow Dash,” Mikasa whispered, getting the cyan mare to turn her head towards her. “You wished to speak to me?”

Rainbow Dash wiped her eyes and looked back away from Mikasa in shame.

“Rainbow Dash,” Mikasa wondered, reaching her hand out.

“I’m sorry!” Rainbow Dash cried, making Mikasa reel her hand back. “I abandoned Eren and left him for Reiner to take.”

“Listen, kid,” Auruo cooed, “you did all you could. And if you stayed there, you would have just been crushed by the Colossal Titan anyway. You got out and even saved your friends in the process, so why are you being so hard on yourself?”

“I don’t know…” Rainbow Dash spoke. “I could have pounded Eren’s shoulder harder, I could have yelled louder, shit! I could have cut him out of there myself and flew him to safety. But no, I flew from him and now he’s gone.”

“Rainbow,” chided Applejack, “you saved me and Mikasa. We both would have been burned to a crisp if it hadn’t been for you!”

“If it hadn’t been for me being such a moron, I could have gotten Eren out without you guys needing to come and kill yourselves.”

The constant melancholia was affected Pinkie Pie to where she would sob several times, leaving it for Conny to hug her back into a state of comfort.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke, “you did all that you could. We were all on the tips of our hooves there.”

“And I blew it!”

“Rainbow–”

“And now he’s gone!”

“Rainbow Dash, why do you keep going on about this?”

“Because I failed my best friend.”

Rainbow Dash’s statement left the ponies in a state of shock. Clearly, they didn’t hear her correctly. Rainbow Dash even put a hoof to her mouth, in complete disbelief that she would reveal such a thing.

“What did you say?” Rarity asked.

“Nothing…” Rainbow Dash whimpered. “Forget about it.”

“What was that about Eren?” asked Applejack, genuinely confused.

“Shut up…”

Fluttershy asked, “Did you just say–”

“Shut up!”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight wondered, “what did you say about–”

“HE’S MY BEST FRIEND!” Rainbow Dash finally screamed, setting everyone in the circle aback.

Rainbow Dash looked to each of her friends as she breathed heavily. Each of her friends looked hurt, frightened by Rainbow Dash’s outburst.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash admitted, tears forming in her eyes. “It’s true. And girls, this doesn’t mean I don’t like any of you any less. You’re like a family to me; I could never choose between any one of you!”

The other ponies looked to each other sadly, realizing how Rainbow Dash felt and thought.

“But with Eren, I’ve never met someone so brave and loyal that he’d jump into a titan’s mouth to rescue his best friend and get eaten while doing it.”

Armin gasped at the sudden memory.

“On top of that, he deeply cares for me and my safety and would jump into a titan’s mouth again for me if that were to happen again. When I saw him for that first time before coming here, he had already earned my respect, but after I got to know him, he turned out to be so much more to me than that. I just can’t believe he’s gone now.”

As Rainbow Dash began to sob into her hooves again, Mikasa reached over and placed her hand on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. Rainbow Dash, as well as the rest of the group, looked to her, unsure of what would transpire.

“Calm down,” Mikasa said flatly. “We’ll get Eren back. I assure you.”

Rainbow Dash looked up into Mikasa’s serious, yet sympathetic eyes with wonder.

“Aren’t…” Rainbow Dash asked. “Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Rainbow Dash,” Mikasa cooed, wiping the tears from the mare’s face, “you saved my life. I can’t be mad at you for that. As for Eren, he’s still alive; Reiner and Bertolt won’t dare kill him. As long as Eren is still alive, we will find him, and we will bring him back.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes welled up even further. With a hard sniffle, Rainbow Dash leapt onto Mikasa and hugged her chest, digging her face into Mikasa’s breast.

“Thank you, Mikasa,” Rainbow Dash cried. “Eren should be so lucky to have a friend like you.”

Mikasa, now having Eren’s absence sink in, hugged Rainbow Dash tight as well, a couple of tears escaping her eyes. Petra looked upon the sight happily, but looked across from her to see Pinkie Pie with her straight mane and tail, unnerving her.

“Say,” Petra spoke, “what happened to Pinkie’s mane? How did it get all straight?”

“It seems that when Pinkie Pie is under a lot of despair,” Rarity answered, “her mane… deflates, for lack of a better term, and she becomes like that. The last time that happened was when she thought we abandoned her as friends after we didn’t show up for a party of hers.”

“Well,” Conny spoke up, “she was really fond of Reiner. I can see why she’s like that after what he did to us.”

Conny pet Pinkie Pie’s mane, feeling extremely sad as he ran his fingers through Pinkie Pie’s straight, silky mane as opposed to the fluffy tangle he was so used to.

“SHIT!” Conny screamed as he slammed his fist upon the ground.

Conny shot to his feet and faced the south side of the wall.

“Reiner!” shouted Conny at the top of his lungs. “Bertolt! The next time I see you, I’m going to kill you!”

Pinkie Pie had begun to cry once again, her disposition angering Twilight.

“Conny!” Twilight yelled. “We’re not killing anyone!”

Conny turned back in shock, while each of the humans, minus Hanji, Armin, Annie, as well as each of the ponies, all looked at her like she said something incredibly stupid.

“What else do you suppose we do?” Auruo snapped. “Rap them on the hands and let them go?”

“We’re not exactly rapping their hands,” Hanji said, “but we’re making them human again, just like we did with Annie.”

“They took Eren!” Petra shouted. “Who knows what their superiors are going to do to him when they reach their home base?"

“I say we cut them up into little bits!” Conny shouted. “They’ll pay for what they did!”

“Not before we torture them and experience the pain of humanity firsthand!” Auruo vouched.

Both Pinkie Pie and Twilight looked about the humans with scared eyes and drooping ears. Rainbow Dash, still in the center of it all, looked frightened as well.

“Quick and painless is too good for them!” Sasha declared.

“Those bastards will pay for the damage they’ve caused with blood!” Kirill shouted.

“Guys!” shouted Rainbow Dash, silencing each of the humans. “Are you even listening to yourselves?”

The humans looked to each other, feeling a shred of guilt as they saw the terrified fury on their faces.

“I know I’ve only been here for a little more than a month,” asked Rainbow Dash, “but am I the only one who finds it crazy that you humans can’t solve your problems without hurting each other?”

Rainbow Dash back and forth between Auruo and Conny in particular.

“I know you guys are scared and your backs are to the wall,” she continued, “but what good is killing Reiner and Bertolt going to do? They’ve sent out the titans, they’ve sent out humans that can turn into titans, and from what I’ve heard from Rarity, the titans are now attacking us ponies! Who else knows how they’re going to retaliate next? They’re just going to keep making stronger titans until we’re wiped out!”

“What are you suggesting?” Auruo asked with a sneer. “That we make peace with those vermin?”

“And what’s so crazy about that?” Twilight asked, walking towards Auruo, making him back up. “We’ve already shown what love and compassion has done to one of their most hardened warriors. Just think what we can do with the others!”

“That’s easy for you to say!” shouted Conny. “Just look at what Reiner’s betrayal did to Pinkie Pie! They should die just for what they did to her!”

“Shut up, Conny!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a weepy voice.

Conny turned to Pinkie Pie, stunned by her remark at him.

“Pinkie Pie…” muttered Conny.

“I know what they did was the wrongest of wrongs, but… I don’t want to have them killed. I… I just want my friend Reiner back!”

Pinkie Pie sunk down to her stomach and put her arms over her face as her tears ran down to the floor of the wall. Conny looked at Pinkie Pie with a sense of guilt and understanding. He knew he shouldn’t have said that.

Reiner… Conny thought. Why?
________________________________________________________________________________________

At the walls surrounding the Trost district, three titans tried to claw their way at the boulder plugging the hole where the southern gate used to be. As the three titans futilely clawed at the boulder, another titan walked in from the trees towards the boulder as well. On top of the wall, Dot Pixis sat cross-legged, his head bowed and his eyes closed, near the northern edge of the wall with his cloaked wrapped around him, but below the cannon tracks.

Beside him was an open, wooden case, a box of cigarettes, an empty vine bottle in front of him, and a half-empty one to his left. From the left, a young, female Garrison with fiery blonde-hair approached Pixis, eyeing his bottle of vine.

“Commander,” she called to the motionless man. “Commander, please wake up!”

Pixis still didn’t even stir, angering the soldier. With a swift slap to the back of his head, Pixis awoke in a jolt and cough.

“You shouldn’t sleep here, Commander,” advised the girl. “You’ll get sick up here!”

The soldier knelt down, and picked the half empty bottle off the ground, sloshing it around.

“When did you start drinking all of this?” she asked.

Pixis reached under his coat and pulled out another bottle of vine, being shorter and rounder than the one the soldier in front of him had. With a pop of the cork, Pixis took a greedy gulp from the bottle, swaying in exhaustion as he put the bottle back down.

“You’re not young anymore!” warned the soldier. “I don’t want to be stuck carrying you, alright?”

“Nothing would please me more than a beauty such as yourself taking care of me,” Pixis gurgled, taking another swig of the vine. “So, what’s the situation?”

“There haven’t been any new titans found on the first and second lines of defense, so search parties were sent to look for who was responsible for the breach in Wall Rose. Even then, they haven’t come across many titans.”

“Hm...” Pixis mumbled as he put his bottle down. “Hannes and his Garrison squad should be running along the wall as we speak… at least if they still are, they should be here soon enough. If so, that would mean they ran into the squad from the Chlorba district and turned back to return to Trost. If this were true, that would mean they would have met little to no titans along the way, which would be impossible if there was a breach in the wall.”

The sound of metal piercing concrete sounded in front of the two of them. The female soldier ran to the edge to see who it was. Just as she did, Erwin flew up in front and above her, causing her to jump back in shock. Erwin landed before Pixis as Levi came over the wall after him, landing beside his commander before jumping off the other side of the wall into the

“Commander Pixis,” Erwin addressed as the two of them stood before each other.

“Commander Erwin!” replied Pixis, patting Erwin’s arm. “What a pleasant surprise! I heard that you captured one of those little rats after all, eh?”

“Yes, we did, and as a matter of fact, we managed to bring her onto our side.”

“Oh?” Pixis asked with genuine surprise. “How did you manage to do that?”

“If you could believe it, despite the efforts of my men to capture her, it was Twilight that eventually persuaded her and even took away her titan powers.”

“Twilight, you say? Those ponies never cease to impress me.”

“Yes, I agree, but not all has been well.”

“I assume your casualties were high?”

“Yes, but that pales in comparison to what has happened just recently. Two of our recently accepted trainees revealed themselves as the Armored and Colossal Titans. They kidnapped Eren and have escaped.”

“I see…” Pixis responded solemnly with clenched fists as he looked down over the city of Trost. “It’s a good thing that you managed to capture one of those titans inside the inner districts must have the Military Police thinking whether to have the guts to commit suicide by hiding or fighting.”

“Indeed. In fact, just look. The sight over there is a testament to that.”

Looking down into the city streets, along with the Garrison soldiers, there were the unicorn-emblazoned jackets and cloaks of the Military Police joining them as well.

“It seems they finally ordered the Military Police to leave the safety of the inner districts and fight behind enemy lines,” Erwin observed.

Down below, the soldiers engaged in talk as to when they what was happening and what would happen.

“Is it true that there is no titan invasion?” asked a sandy-brown haired Garrison soldier.

“I don’t think so,” replied another with longer blonde hair. “If it were a titan invasion, things wouldn’t be as quiet as they are now.”

“I wonder if the search parties are all alright.”

Next to them, three Military Police soldiers were engaging in conversation.

“Hey,” one with black hair spoke with sarcasm, “we came here because of a sudden titan outbreak. Just look at how terrible everything is!”

Levi swung down to a particularly large group of gathered Military Police soldiers, surprising them with his appearance.

“Hey, Levi!” the black-haired Military Police soldier called. “Where’s those big, bad titans, huh?”

“Good to see you’re treating this so seriously,” Levi responded in deadpan. “I’m sorry for not being able to provide you your titan gang-bang, but you know, you can always come with us outside the walls on a scouting expedition.”

By now, the Military Police looked nervous at what Levi was suggesting.

“So how about all of us join together and fight the titans? The Garrison, the Scouting Legion, and the Military Police side by side?”

The Military Police looked about each other with extremely unsure faces, looking for any which way to escape.

“Well…” the black-haired Military Police soldier mumbled.

“We, uh,” said a Military Police soldier with short-brown hair and a beard on his chin, “we have a lot of business to attend to in the inner districts…”

“The search party has returned!” shouted a Garrison soldier with short, dark-grey hair from behind the group as he sprinted towards them. “Someone inform Commander Pixis!”

The sandy-haired Garrison soldier pulled a smoke pistol from his jacket and fired it into the air, where it produced a tall, green pillar that could be seen around the entire city. Pixis, Erwin, and the female Garrison solider saw the round, all three of them ran off the wall and jumped off.

Pixis swung gingerly down the wall to the rooftops and ran towards the source of the smoke. Erwin and the Garrison solider landed right behind him and followed him closely. Once the three of them reached the group of soldiers where the round was fired off, they leapt down from the roof and landed in front of the messenger.

“Has the search party returned?” Pixis asked.

“Yes, we did,” the messenger answered.

“And what did you find?”

The grey-haired soldier couldn’t produce an answer, knowing that it would be ridiculous. He knew he had to say something, and that lying was out of the question.

“There was no breach in the wall, sir!” he shouted in anguish, falling to his knees.

“I see…” Pixis responded, peering down at the grey-haired soldier. “I thought so.”

“Either way, the reality is far from better! On our way back to Trost, we ran into Erwin and the rest of the Scouting Legion! They had several recruits from the 104th who weren’t equipped with their Maneuver Gears. Three of those recruits turned out to be titans!”

The members of the Garrison and Military Police were shocked, loudly murmuring amongst each other. Erwin, Levi, and Pixis remained still, despite the terrible news.

“Sirs,” muttered the grey-haired soldier, “doesn’t this frighten you?”

“We already know of the three titans,” Erwin admitted, “and their identities. They are Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, and a woman named Ymir.”

The other soldiers were still reeling over the previous news.

“Worst of all, is that Ymir, as well as Eren Jaeger, have both been kidnapped by Reiner and Bertolt. If humanity has any chance of winning this war, we must act now, or all is lost.”

The soldiers were now stunned silent by the solemn tone behind Erwin’s words. Erwin looked to each of the soldiers expectantly, certain that they would join him.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Mikasa and Armin sat alone together with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight far from the others east of them as they hoisted their horses up via a lift. Mikasa massaged the back of her still-sore head, worrying Applejack and Armin.

“This again…” groaned Mikasa.

“Are you hurt?” Armin inquired.

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just I hit my head really hard back then. But… when Annie kidnapped Eren in her titan form, I started chasing her right away, and I fought her with Levi and Applejack’s help, and we managed to rescue him. But… five hours have passed since he’s been gone…”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash noticed that tears were beginning to form. Mikasa felt on her neck to realize that her scarf was not on her neck, causing her to get anxious. Applejack knowing what was happening, jerked her head forwards, flipping her hat off her head and having it land bottoms-up.

“Mikasa,” spoke Applejack, “I got your scarf in here. Had to take it off when we were checking you for any broken bones.”

Mikasa wordlessly reached into the hat and pulled her scarf out. Mikasa wrapped the scarf around her neck and mouth as Applejack put her hat back on her head.

“You know,” Rainbow Dash said, “I always really liked that scarf on you.”

“Thank you,” spoke Mikasa. “It originally belonged to Eren. After he came to save me from those traffickers, Eren gave me the scarf as he and his father allowed me to live with them. I’ve never held something so dear before. And right now, it’s the only way I can remember him…”

Mikasa’s tears rolled down her face, disheartening Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“Just like him…” Mikasa reminisced. “He ran off alone to save me, just like he always does.”

“Now that you say that,” Armin responded with a slight chuckle, “he always had a tendency to leave us behind. Whether he wanted it or not, it always ends with us having to save him, like a fate that keeps repeating itself.”

“All I want is to be by his side,” Mikasa began to sob, hugging her knees into her chest. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted, and yet…”

Before Rainbow Dash could speak, Mikasa was interrupted by Applejack’s hoof landing bluntly on her shoulder.

“Mikasa,” Applejack questioned sternly, “didn’t you just go and tell Rainbow Dash that we would find him? Was that all just a lie?”

Mikasa looked down, unsure if what she said to Rainbow Dash was truth or not. However, deep down in her heart, she knew what was true.

“No,” Mikasa answered, “it was the truth. It’s just as more and more time passes by, the less our chances are of saving him.”

“Chances schmances!” exclaimed Applejack. “You said we were going to find Eren, and that’s just what we’re going to do, even if it kills us!”

“Yeah!” agreed Rainbow Dash. “What she said!”

Armin and Twilight looked to Applejack and Rainbow Dash with surprise. While her devotion to Mikasa and her friends was always clear, to hear her say that she’d die for her friend’s reunion was unbelievable.

Mikasa, touched by Applejack’s commitment, pulled her scarf off her mouth to show her warm smile. Mikasa then leaned towards Applejack and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace, sniffling a few times. Rainbow Dash leaned towards them and patted Mikasa on the shoulder.

“Aw, there, there, sugar,” Applejack cooed as she rubbed Mikasa’s back. “Everything’s gonna’ work out. I promise.”

As Armin and Twilight smiled at their moment of compassion and safety, Hannes approached the five of them, his arms up to his chest and hidden by his cloak, clearly holding something.

“Hey guys,” greeted Hannes softly. “Are you hungry?”

“Hannes,” acknowledged Armin.

Hannes unveiled his arms, holding a small bag in it. With his other hand, he handed a small box to Mikasa.

Here,” Hannes said, “take this. All we have are field provisions, but I suppose it’s better than starving.”

Reaching back into the bag, he pulled out another box for Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Armin, and himself.

“Thank ya’ kindly, Hannes,” Applejack chirped.

“You’re welcome,” he encouraged as he sat down in front of the four of them. “Just like old times right.”

“Yeah,” Armin sighed nostalgically, “just like old times.”

“Ever since you guys were kids, you’ve always had to get that brat in whatever trouble he got into. That’s what they call an inescapable bond that you couldn’t get out of even if you tried. The times and the circumstances sure do change, but the routine’s been the same, hasn’t it?”

“Hehe,” giggled Armin. “I hardly think you can compare our bullies to the titans.”

“Oh well. He wasn’t good at fighting hand to hand, but he always leapt headfirst into whomever he faced, whether it was one person, three, or five. And by the time Mikasa came to save him or one of us soldiers came to break up the fight, his nose was bleeding and his face was bruised. While he never won a single fight, he sure kept fighting like he could.”

“Yep!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed softly. “That’s Eren alright.”

Armin and Mikasa looked down despondently, the memories of their friend making them miss him all the more. Applejack and Twilight, still full of confidence, nodded, knowing full well of Eren’s nature.

“That spirit of his even scared me a few times,” Hannes admitted. “Every time he was knocked down and floored to the ground, he got right back up. That’s just the way he is. Do you really think he’s with those guys and letting them do as they please with him without a struggle? You and I all know there is no chance in hell that that’s going to happen.

“Especially since he’s got only two enemies to deal with, he’ll be sure to cause them as many problems as possible… that is until we have to come and save his ass.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash nodded while Mikasa and Armin looked to Hannes with more uplifted spirits.

“I miss the old days,” sighed Hannes. “Maybe those days of peace weren’t meant to be like Eren said, but I still wish I could go back to being a good-for-nothing drunkard. Whatever I have to do,” he grunted, slamming his fist onto the floor, “I’m going to make sure things go back to the way they used to be.”

“No,” Twilight said, with a slight smile. “We’re going to make it better than they used to be.”

Hannes nodded, finding her statement profound.

“I’m coming with you guys,” Hannes declared. “As much as I love sitting around and being lazy, it won’t be the same unless it’s the four of us together.”

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight nodded with sternly smiling faces while Mikasa and Armin looked fiercely determined. Armin and Mikasa tore open their provisions package with their hands, revealing a long, thick, and crunchy stick of bread. Rainbow Dash and Applejack excitedly followed suit, tearing open their food with their teeth. Twilight opened her package with her magic.

The five of them each placed in their bread into their mouths at the same time, biting into it and chewing like there was no tomorrow.

“Atta’ boy,” Hannes heartened.

*BANG*

A white, shimmering bolt of lightning struck the ground about thirty feet behind Hannes. He, along with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Mikasa, and Armin shot to their feet unsure of what the bolt was, dropping their half-eaten provisions.

“Oh jeez,” Hannes growled. “More titans?”

“No!” Mikasa said. “It’s different!” It’s the same color as the bolt that sent the ponies here.”

“So could that be from Equestria?” asked Armin.

West of the strike, Hanji, Kirill, Annie, Auruo, Petra, Spike, Conny, Pinkie Pie, Jean, Fluttershy, Rarity, Sasha, and Historia looked towards the smoking area where the strike hit, wondering what the smoke concealed inside.

Stepping out on both sides towards along the wall were a group of burly white stallion ponies, half pegasi and half unicorns. Each of them were coated in gold armor across their backs and chests with a blue star in the center at the base of their necks, gold horseshoes, and a gold Phrygian helmet with blue bristles that matched their cropped and tied tails. Hanji and the soldiers and ponies on her side looked with awe as the stallion ponies looked about, taking in their new surroundings.

Stepping out in front of Twilight and the others on her side along with the other stallions was another white, unicorn stallion. However, his armor was mainly purple in color with a gold outline, and on his chest was a purple crest that bore a magenta star that shared the likeness of Twilight’s cutie mark. His mane and tail were long and unbrushed, being a dark-shade of blue in color with two streaks of lighter blue in the center. His blueberry colored hooves were large and visible past his legs.

Twilight gasped instantly and her wings flared open, knowing exactly who this other stallion was. The stallion turned to see Twilight standing by Armin and Mikasa with moistening eyes.

“Twily!” exclaimed the stallion. “There you are!”

Twilight galloped over to the stallion, her tears falling from her eyes. Leaping at him, the stallion caught Twilight in one arm and snuggled his face into hers.

“Shining Armor,” Twilight addressed, “what are you doing here?”

“Princess Celestia sent Princess Luna and I to come help you guys,” Shining Armor answered.

“Wait,” Twilight wondered, “did you say Princess Luna? Where is she?”
________________________________________________________________________________________

*BANG*

Another white lightning bolt appeared in the street towards Erwin, Levi, Pixis, and the other Garrison and Military Police soldiers.

“What is that?” shouted a Military Police soldier as he drew his swords. “Are the titans in the city?”

“At ease,” Erwin spoke with a slight smile, waving his hand at the nervous soldier. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Stepping out from the smoke was Princess Luna, wearing ice-purple armor on her chest and back, with more armed white stallions behind her. The soldiers gasped at the ponies’ appearances while Erwin and Pixis stepped forwards to greet their guests.

“Sir!” shouted the female Garrison soldier.

“Don’t you worry there,” Pixis assured. “We have nothing to fear from them.”

“Indeed you don’t,” Luna agreed. “I am Princess Luna, at your service.”

“At my service?” Pixis chuckled as he offered his hand for a shake. “You flatter me, Luna.”

Luna chuckled, flattered herself. She let Pixis gently grab her hoof and bow his body to kiss it, eliciting more giggles from her.

“You must be Dot Pixis,” Luna said. “Twilight has told me much about you and your… eccentric nature.”

As Pixis stood back beside Levi and Erwin, Erwin stepped forwards and offered his hand.

“You must be Erwin Smith,” assumed Luna. “And please, no hoof-kissing necessary. A simple hoofshake will do.”

Erwin gave a respectful nod as he shook Luna’s hoof firmly.

“Captain Levi, I presume?” said Luna. “I’ve heard you’re quite the fighter.”

“Forgive me if I don’t feel comfortable shaking your hoof,” grumbled Levi, “on the count that keeps touching the dirty ground.”

“Yes, and quite the mouth as well.”

Levi squinted at Luna, but kept his composure, recognizing her power over him. Just then, Nile Dawk and several Military Police soldiers equipped with rifles ran to the group of soldiers to see Luna and the soldiers standing there. Nile and his men froze in their tracks, stunned by Luna’s appearance.

“You…” Nile stammered, “you’re…”

“Princess Luna,” she spoke, glowering at Nile with a freezing glare. “And you must be Nile Dawk, leader of the pathetic and cowardly Military Police. Don’t even bother shaking my hoof. After what I’ve heard you try to do to my little ponies, you aren’t even fit to lick the ground I walk upon.”

“Luna,” interrupted Erwin, “if I may speak.”

“You may.”

“Why have you and these… soldiers of yours come here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Luna asked. “Your species faces a serious crisis now and we have come to your aid. And Nile, and all members of the Military Police…”

Her referral ran a painful chill up the spines of anyone whose jacket bore a unicorn-crest.

“…do not for one second interpret our coming as us fighting in your stead. We came to fight with you, not for you. My authority as Princess of Equestria may not extend into your world and allow me to force you on our quest to save the one named Eren Jaeger, but know that by deserting, you are a disgrace to humanity and deserve whatever miserable end shall befall you if we fail.”

The Military Police soldiers, Nile especially, looked hurt almost to the point of tears.

“Now,” Luna asked, “what say you?”

“I…” Nile stammered. “I accept! Men, gather your belongings and await further orders!”

“Sir!” the Military Policemen shouted with a salute.

Luna walked up besides Erwin as the Military Police tightened their harnesses and adjusted their sheaths.

“Such interesting things fear does to the mind,” Luna mused aloud. “Tell me, Erwin, when shall we be heading out?”

“As soon as we can,” Erwin stated.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“I see,” answered Twilight to Shining Armor about her inquiry of Luna. “You guys really couldn’t have come at a better time. You see, our friend–”

“Eren Jaeger, right?” Shining Armor answered, surprising Twilight. “Celestia has debriefed all of us about what has happened. When she saw that titans got inside Wall Rose, she had requested that I come to Canterlot from the Crystal Empire as soon as I could. I arrived this morning, and while I didn’t know what was going on at the time, Celestia explained everything to me.

“She then showed me this world and just happened to catch you guys fighting those titans that took your friend. After telling me the direness of the situation, I agreed to join you in your fight. Luna, however, decided to come of her own accord. We spent the last few hours gathering guards that volunteered to come with us, and now, here we are.”

Armin, Mikasa, and Hannes still couldn’t keep their eyes off the stallion in front of them.

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed. “My apologies. Shining Armor, these are my good friends Armin, Mikasa, and Hannes.”

“I see,” chuckled Shining Armor as he walked past Twilight to shake their hands. “So you’re the ones who have been keeping my sister safe?”

“Twilight’s your sister?” asked Armin.

“Yes, she is. In fact, I heard that Mikasa is Eren’s brother, so to speak. I suppose my sibling instincts also helped allow me to accept my coming here.”

As Shining Armor shook Mikasa and Hannes’ hands, Hanji appeared behind him and his guards. The ponies and Spike all ran to Shining Armor and clamored to greet him.

“Ponies,” called Hanji, “please, stand back. Excuse me…”

“Shining Armor,” he finished for her.

“Thank you. So you have come to assist humanity?”

“Yes, we have. When do you think we’ll leaving?”

“As soon as Erwin returns. Hopefully, he’ll be back within the hour with reinforcements. In the meantime, why don’t you introduce yourselves to the rest of us.”

As Hanji approached Shining Armor to properly greet him, the others behind her looked about his group in bewilderment.
________________________________________________________________________________________

As the soldiers waited around for Erwin and Levi to return, Kirill and Twilight finished with equipping the unicorn stallion guards with two sheaths to their armor, each containing four blades.

“I’m sorry that there are no handles for you to place your blades in,” apologized Kirill. “You will have to use your magic to handle them.”

“It is fine,” the stallion gruffly replied. “Thank you.”

With a tightening of the harness holding them at his sides, Kirill gave the stallion pony a hefty pat on the stomach and let him walk off. The stallion walked past Petra, her appearance brightening Kirill up.

“Petra, was it?” asked Kirill, walking up to her.

“Uh, yes?” Petra wondered, off put by Kirill’s excited smile.

“Could you please be my test mouse for one of my inventions?”

“Test mouse?”

“I promise it will cause you no pain. Now, do you accept?”

“That… depends. What’s your invention?”

Kirill pulled out a Maneuver Gear case that was colored white as opposed to the brown cases around him. Opening it, there were two sheaths inside.

“Petra, could you mind if I removed your sheaths, please?”

“Sure…”

Kirill hoisted both sheaths from his box and moved towards her, sliding her gas canisters off her sheaths and removed the sheaths from the gear. Petra’s sheaths fell to the ground with a clang and rattle of the blades still inside as Kirill walked behind her to fasten her new ones in. Petra looked at her sheaths noting a difference in the front of them.

In place of the four slots on the normal sheaths, there were three thick, rectangle shaped slots that ran down the front face of the sheath. Poking from each of the slots was the end necessary for it to be held by the operational devices.

“What is this?” Petra asked in confusion. “Now I have less blades than normal.”

“Not quite,” Kirill responded. “Go ahead, take one out.”

Petra, still skeptical, took an operational device from her jacket and inserted a blade into the slot in her handle. Pulling it out, she was suddenly shocked to see the blade in question. The blade looked like two blades bowed together into a thin ellipse shape.

“What is this?” she asked.

“I had made these blades for soldier amputees of the Scouting Legion in case they had to resort to using them during an expedition,” explained Kirill. “To kill a titan, you have to cut the nape of its neck clean out; an impossible task for some only able to use one blade such as yourself. However, with these, one arm can slash the nape out. The catch is that because you’re only using one arm, you have to swing much harder than normal. However, its aerodynamic design helps make the blade more accurate while still keeping the blade’s flexibility that helps cut into the titan’s flesh.”

“You certainly sound like a friend of Hanji’s.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

As Petra put her new blade back into her sheath, she giggled.

“It means you’re pretty smart to have come up with that.”

Krill gave Petra a gracious nod before she walked off to join her fellow soldiers. She passed Armin and Historia. While Armin looked nervous around her, Historia looked south of the wall with a strong sense of purpose.

“Krista,” Armin requested, “I want you to stay here.”

“I’m not going to,” Historia responded with an angry glare, “so don’t make me repeat myself. I’m not going to sit by and have them take Ymir away from us. You and Mikasa should understand that of everyone here, right?”

“Christa’s right, Armin,” Conny said as he approached him with Pinkie Pie next to him. “We all have more than enough reasons to pursue him. I know we can’t kill them, but I sure hope we can at least kick their asses as we rescue Eren.”

Pinkie Pie, while nervous about thinking of putting Reiner and Bertolt in pain, gave a nod. While she still wanted to see Reiner and Bertolt as her friends, she knew that hurting them in order to get to Eren would probably be unavoidable.

“Look,” called Rainbow Dash as she flew higher above the wall, “here they come!”

The soldiers and ponies looked east to see as Erwin led a massive group of soldiers and pony guards led by Erwin, Levi, Pixis, Nile, and Luna as they galloped along the wall.

“It’s Erwin!” called Armin.

While the others were glad to see Erwin and Levi, many of them were surprised to see Pixis, Nile, and Luna among the bunch.

“They even got the Military Police?” questioned Conny.

“Well,” exclaimed Applejack, “if it ain’t Pixis!”

“Luna!” cried Twilight happily.

“Luna?” Hanji muttered. “As in… Princess… Luna?”

Erwin and the others stopped as they approached the leftover soldiers along the wall. Hanji weaved around scores of soldiers as she held a large roll of paper in her hand. Appearing up front, Erwin acknowledged her with the salute, which she returned with one of her own, looking right at Luna, however.

“Hanji,” asked Erwin, “are your soldiers ready to embark on our mission?”

“Just about sir! By the time I’ve explained my plans, we should be completely ready.”

“Very well. How shall we proceed?”

Hanji unrolled the map by holding onto the side and letting it roll down to the floor, showing the image.

“There’s a forest of large trees here,” formulated Hanji, “but it’s very small. This is where we should go. I doubt at this rate that the Armored Titan would bother covering his tracks, but he and Bertolt more than likely went here.”

“How do you figure?” asked Luna.

“It’s simply an educated guess,” Hanji said confidently, “but since they are in titan territory, they will need a place to hide. On top of that, the Armored Titan is probably too tired to continue using his powers after his fight with Eren, if Annie’s long sleep after her attack on the Scouting Legion during the 57th expedition is any indicator.

“Now, let’s assume that their intended destination is beyond Wall Maria, and that they’ve used too much of their stamina to continue on after traveling such a long distance after such a fight. That means that their next priority is finding a place to rest for the time being until nightfall while the titans aren’t moving about. That means we have until nightfall. If we can make it to the forest before then, we might just have a chance at saving them.”

“Hmm,” pondered Luna. “That was very astute of you, Hanji.”

“Ahaa..,” gushed Hanji, her legs wobbling at the knees, “thank you, Princess Luna!”

Then, without warning, Hanji squatted down and wrapped her arms around Luna’s waist. Despite her size and the weight of the armor on her, Hanji was able to pick up Luna with ease as she gave her a tight, constricting hug. Luna looked more surprised than anything.

“Hanji,” growled Levi, “show some respect.”

Hanji, looking somewhat embarrassed, quickly let Luna go and backed away shyly. Luna merely gave a sigh of tired acceptance.

“We have no more time for sentiment,” Erwin spoke to Hanji. “If we want to save Eren, we have to head out now.”

Each and every soldier turned out south towards the wall looking out towards their destination as the wind blew through their hair. With everyone gathered and ready, all that was needed was to descend the wall to begin the great rescue with the whole of humanity at stake.

“Twilight,” Luna beckoned calmly. “Shining Armor. Come.”

Twilight and Shining Armor broke through the crowds of soldiers towards her. With each of them giving a look and nod to each other, Luna began to charge her horn with a light-blue aura. Shining Armor and Twilight began to charge theirs as well, Shining Armor’s being magenta in color, moving them closer towards Luna’s.

Once they touched, the blue aura of Luna’s horn and the magenta auras of Twilight’s horn melded together, producing a bright white aura that began to envelope them. Within a matter of moments, the aura spread about the soldiers, their horses, and pony guards standing upon the wall. Armin and Mikasa closed their eyes as the light began to cover them, ready for the rescue of their friend to begin.