“WAAAH!” Bertolt screamed as he slashed at two titans.

Bertolt was at wits end as his blades became too dull to keep the titans away or to sufficiently wound them. And with the number of titans surrounding them, Bertolt knew that he had no time to trade his blades for newer ones inside his sheaths. Two ten-meter titans crawled up onto the Armored Titan and reached up towards Bertolt. Knowing that he couldn’t fight any longer, Bertolt shielded his face with his eyes and let out one final scream.

A sound of roaring and slight vibrations under his feet allowed Bertolt to uncover his eyes and see what was happening to prolong his fate. He saw as Ymir’s titan yanked one of the titans away from the Armored Titan, standing on the back of the other as it dove its fangs into the titan’s neck and tearing it off.

Off behind it, Conny, Historia, and Pinkie Pie swung around the group of titans around the Armored Titan. Bertolt couldn’t believe the sight, unsure of what they would do with them.

“Historia,” called Conny, “you take the three-to-five-meter titans, Pinkie, you take care of the ten-to-fifteen-meter ones, I’ll take care of the rest!”

“Aye-aye, Conny!” Pinkie Pie growled with a salute. “Let’s shiver these titans’ timbers!”

“You got it!” Historia replied.

“Let’s go then!” shouted Conny.

Historia swung below while Pinkie Pie flew higher above Conny, raising their blades to strike a target. All at once, Conny, Historia, and Pinkie Pie swung their swords, cutting off a titan’s nape. Out in front of Bertolt, Ymir threw another titan off of the Armored Titan while biting the nape off another.

“Why,” gasped Bertolt. “Why are they saving us?”

“Because that’s what friends do for each other, silly!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, appearing behind Bertolt and frightening him.

Before Bertolt could respond, Pinkie Pie jumped back behind the Armored Titan and cut the nape of one biting at the Armored Titan’s shoulder. Bertolt eyed Pinkie Pie as she swung back around in front of him, only to see a purple alicorn flying out towards him.

“Twilight?” wondered Bertolt, his flat hand just over his eyes.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Erwin, his bitten arm, wrapped in his cloak, and the soldiers reached the forest of large trees where Reiner and Bertolt had hidden. Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of something shining at the foot of the forest’s edge. Rainbow Dash raced out towards it, catching Erwin off guard.

“Rainbow Dash?” he questioned.

“It must be her Maneuver Gear,” Armin answered. “I bet Bertolt took it off of her before they ran away with Eren and Ymir when she was captured.”

“Sir,” called Eren, “they discarded my Maneuver Gear too. It was laying on the ground at the north edge of the forest.”

“When we get there,” Luna spoke, “I shall retrieve it for you.”

“Okay. Thank you, Luna.”

Up ahead, Rainbow Dash flew down to her discarded gear and fumbled around with the sheaths, groaning as she realized she’d need help. Rarity galloped up ahead and picked up Rainbow Dash’s gear with her magic.

“Here you are, darling,” Rarity said as she equipped the sheaths and main body to Rainbow Dash’s harness.

Rainbow Dash pushed two of the buttons inside of her operational device shoes, releasing the rubber clamps within, slipping her hooves over them and pressing the buttons again with her digits, fastening them back on.

“Thanks Rarity,” Rainbow Dash responded.

“Any time,” replied Rarity as the other soldiers began to catch up.

As Erwin and the others circled west around the forest, Rainbow Dash flew back up beside Eren while Rarity fell back to Sasha. Fluttershy looked at the still unconscious Jean nervously, hoping that he would wake up very soon.

“Oh,” whined Fluttershy as she wrung her wrists, “I wonder what happened to Pinkie Pie and Twilight!”

Rainbow Dash, while continuing to look ahead with their group, let a few beads of sweat drip down her brow, also nervous for the well-being of her left-behind friends.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight slashed at the nape of the last titan that still tried to climb upon the Armored Titan, whose body was torn up, chewed, and smoldering with steam. Conny, Historia, and Pinkie Pie panted in a huff as they watched the Armored Titan, unsure of what it would do next. Ymir’s titan swooned about, its body spent and ready to collapse at any second.

The Armored Titan fell to its knees, wobbling forwards as it tipped towards the ground. Bertolt leapt from the Armored Titan’s shoulder and swung down by the Armored Titan’s arm. Both the Armored Titan and Bertolt fell to the ground, the rumbling brought on by the Armored Titan’s body’s collision, tripping Bertolt to his own stomach.

Looking up, Bertolt saw as Conny, Historia, and Pinkie Pie walked up to him. Ymir’s titan, seeing that neither the Armored Titan or Bertolt would fight any longer, crumpled to the ground and laid limp and lifeless. Twilight looked as both the napes of the Armored Titan and Ymir’s titan burst open. Historia looked behind her upon seeing the neck of Ymir’s titan move and squirm about.

“Ymir!” Historia cried, running to the titan.

Pinkie Pie, Bertolt, Conny, and Twilight gasped as they watched her go off alone, but turned back to the Armored Titan to see Reiner weakly crawling out of his titan’s neck. As Reiner began to slip off the neck and towards the ground below, Pinkie galloped out towards him, setting her back up below Reiner for him to fall on. Reiner slid down the Armored Titan’s decaying neck and landed atop of Pinkie Pie, confused by her appearance.

“You see?” Pinkie Pie asked. “You catch me and I catch you!”

Pinkie Pie walked back over towards Conny, Bertolt, and Twilight looked warily at Reiner before they heard Historia grunting behind them. Conny ran to Historia to see her dragging Ymir by her shoulders towards her friends by herself. Conny ran in front of Ymir and picked her up by her feet.

“Conny,” sighed Historia, “what are you–”

“I’m helping you out,” Conny interrupted. “Don’t mention it.”

As Pinkie Pie reached Twilight and Bertolt, she sat down, sliding Reiner’s bloody and slimy body off of hers. Conny and Historia returned moments later, setting Ymir gently on the ground. Reiner turned over to see Pinkie Pie looking down at him with sad, betrayed eyes.

“Pinkie…” groaned Reiner. “Why? Why did you come back?”

“Because that’s what friends do for one another,” Pinkie Pie quivered, her voice shaking due to her oncoming sobs.

“Friend? After what I did to…”

“No! My friend Reiner would never do such a thing. The Reiner I know is big and strong, and he helps everyone out because he’s friends with everyone.”

Reiner, seeing Pinkie Pie’s tears well in her eyes, began to water up as well.

“I can’t go back to that life,” Reiner wheezed. “And now, I can’t even go back to our homeland… not without Eren.”

“Then we’ll make you a new life,” Twilight spoke.

Reiner gasped in shock from Twilight’s words, but then saw Bertolt enter his vision as he knelt down to him, offering his hand. Reiner grabbed Bertolt’s hand and sat himself up with his help.

“Reiner,” Twilight cooed as she approached him, “I don’t know what happened to you guys that you had to do such terrible things, but I fail to believe that all the help you’ve given us and the Scouting Legion was an act. I can’t imagine that you’d even be a soldier if this were the case.”

“I’m…” Reiner spoke, “not a soldier…”

“Reiner,” Bertolt pleaded, “let’s stop with this ‘warrior’ thing. It’s clear we’ve done too many horrible things to be let back in with the humans, but after that, the others aren’t going to want us back… alive that is.”

Reiner, feeling the desperation of the situation before him, dug his face into his hands and sobbed loudly. Pinkie Pie couldn’t take it any longer. Leaping to Reiner, she wrapped her arms around his waist and dug her face into his chest. Reiner, feeling Pinkie Pie’s tears soaking through his shirt, stopped crying at once.

“Pinkie Pie,” moaned Reiner as he ran his fingers through his straight mane. “What happened to your mane?”

“Pinkie Pie’s mane gets that way when she’s really upset,” Conny answered. “After you turned into the Armored Titan and left with Eren, she was so hurt by your betrayal, that she ended up that way.”

“Then why? Why didn’t you just kill me or leave me for dead?”

“Because I couldn’t do that to her,” Twilight said. “Pinkie Pie still believed that the friend she knew during our time here was still there, and frankly so did I. I watched how you tended to Armin’s wounds when the Female Titan struck him.”

“Or when you were going to sacrifice yourself after that titan bit you back at that castle after you pushed me out of his way.”

“Bertolt?” Twilight asked him. “Is that true?”

“Yeah,” answered Bertolt. “Yeah, it is.”

“You see, Reiner? You and I both know you’re not a warrior. You will always be a soldier and a true friend first.”

Reiner felt Pinkie Pie’s mane once again. He knew he messed up royally, and it took a lot of strength for anyone, yet alone Pinkie Pie, to forgive him after what he had done.

“So…” Reiner wondered, “what now?”

“For starters,” Twilight spoke, “I think you owe a certain somepony a really big apology.”

Reiner looked down. He could hardly even look into Pinkie Pie’s eyes without feeling a rotting pain in his stomach.

“Reiner?” Pinkie Pie whimpered. “Do you hate us?”

Reiner knew his guilt would never end unless he was willing to accept her forgiveness. With quick, begging arms, Reiner picked Pinkie Pie up and threw his arms around her back, bawling over her shoulder.

“Of course I don’t!” howled Reiner. “I love you so much! Pinkie Pie, I’m so sorry!”

As Reiner soaked the back of Pinkie Pie’s cloak with his tears, Pinkie Pie drenched Reiner’s shirt with her own, smiling in pure happiness as she felt Reiner’s warmth radiate through her uniform and onto her body. As Pinkie Pie rubbed Reiner’s back, Twilight, Conny, and Historia all watched as Pinkie Pie’s straight mane slowly bunched up into a bright, billowy puff, returning to its normal state.

Conny sniffled and wept as Historia gently wiped her eyes. Twilight’s eyes streamed with tears as she smiled, gladdened by Reiner’s return.
________________________________________________________________________________________

As the sun passed below the western horizon, the land had begun to darken considerably. Without time to light their torches, Luna had flown out above and in front of the group, casting a bright, white illumination spell that cast the entire army and the area in front of them in a dome of light, Eren’s Maneuver Gear flying closely beside her in a nightly-purple aura. Folded and tied onto Rarity’s back were two Scouting Legion jackets and cloaks.

“Are we sure this is a good idea,” Rarity asked. “If any of those titans from inside Wall Rose are out here, don’t you think they’d see us?”

“We don’t know,” Erwin panted, his loss of blood having tired him, “but we must return to the other side of Wall Rose with Eren at once and as fast as we can.”

“How much longer do you think?” asked Rainbow Dash. “The longer we’re out here, the more nervous I get.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come here,” Levi chastised. “You knew that we’d be out here by nightfall, so don’t complain. On the upside, we haven’t encountered a single titan on our way back, and our chances of running into anymore at this time of day is slim to none.”

“…yeah, I guess you’re right. Besides, if any more titans try and get us, Eren can just yell at one of them and send them all away!”

“About that,” Armin wondered, “where did that power of yours come from?”

“I’m interested to know this too,” spoke Hanji as she approached to Eren’s right. “What happened to make all those titans go off and attack the Armored Titan?”

“Eren tried attacking this titan that was coming after us,” Rainbow Dash explained, “and as he went to punch him, he let out this loud yell and all the nearby titans ran over and ate him, I guess.”

“No,” Levi disagreed. “That’s exactly what happened.”

“And then when I shouted at the Armored Titan to leave us alone,” Eren continued, “all the titans went over to him and Bertolt and tried eating them.”

“Speaking of,” Spike added, “I wonder when Pinkie Pie and the others are coming back.”

“Who knows?” Levi rhetorically asked. “If Twilight has some of the antidote on her, I think she’s trying to convince those two to cure themselves.”

“Even though we cured Annie by force,” Hanji said, “it was still nothing short of a miracle that she convinced her to come to our side. Judging from reports I’ve heard about Reiner and Bertolt, they were great soldiers and really helped their friends out. Either they’ve been playing a phenomenal act, or they’re emotionally unstable. Either way, I think Twilight will have just as good of chances of convincing them as anyone.”

“You may be right, but they’re in the middle of titan territory at night. I trust that Twilight is smart enough to cast an illumination spell like Luna, but they better be back on the other side of Wall Rose before sunrise, or they won’t be coming back at all.”

“Knowing Twilight,” Rainbow Dash proudly scoffed, “she’ll probably bring them all back safe and sound with both arms tied behind her back.”

“I certainly hope so,” Eren mumbled nervously.

“Guys,” called Hanji. “I think you’re all missing the bigger picture here. Eren has been given a power that can basically repel any and all titans away from us. Do you have any idea what this means for humanity, yet alone the Scouting Legion? This might just be humanity’s ace in the hole.”

Eren looked forwards nervously. He knew his abilities came with a price, but he could imagine long, strenuous tests in his immediate future. As Luna continued to fly ahead, she saw the top of Wall Rose finally appear just ahead.

“Erwin!” called Luna. “Wall Rose is just before us!”

“Let us waste no time!” called Erwin. “Luna, can you and Shining Armor transport us to the other side of the wall like you did the last time?”

“It might take at least a couple of tries without Twilight’s assistance, but we can still manage.”

“Excellent. Once we reach Wall Rose, we can finally stop and tend to the wounded.”

Armin and Fluttershy continued to look back at Jean, who still laid, limply on Armin’s back.

“He’s not dead, is he?” squeaked Fluttershy.

“Not that I can tell,” Armin said. “It’s too bumpy to properly check his pulse, but I haven’t stopped feeling his breathing on my neck, so I’d say that he’s still alive.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“And once we reach Wall Rose,” Armin said with an assuring smile, “we can give Jean proper medical assistance.”

As Luna continued to look out, more of Wall Rose becoming visible, the sight before her frightened her deeply.

“Titans ahead!” Luna declared.

“Seriously?” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Soldiers!” ordered Erwin. “At arms!”

Each of the soldiers drew their blades as they came over a large hill. As they finally saw Wall Rose up ahead, Erwin brought himself to a stop, looking out nervously at the sight that Luna had seen. The other soldiers had stopped as well, and when they saw what their commander was looking at, none of them could hold back their terror either.

Out along the southern edge of Wall Rose, a long, extensive line of titans stretched out, some of them holding small trees with the branches and leaves ablaze, serving as giant, makeshift torches. Before Erwin could call another order, even more titans walked up from behind. While none of them were holding any fiery trees, the line they created across the east and west was far too long for them to escape and not become surrounded.

The soldiers looked frightfully at their predicament, almost certain what would happen. Rainbow Dash looked behind her, wondering which titan she would kill first.

“Do not attack,” called a deep booming voice from the south.

Stepping out behind a tall tree and walking towards the army was the Beast Titan. With none of the present soldiers having seen the titan alive, they all looked upon it with great awe and fear.

“What?” Fluttershy whimpered. “They can talk?”

“I can,” the Beast Titan said.

“Then you better start saying your prayers!” Rainbow Dash threatened as she flew straight at the titan while equipping fresh blades into her device shoes.

“Rainbow Dash!” called Levi. “Wait!”

Before Rainbow Dash could fly behind the Beast Titan’s back and cut its neck, the Beast Titan, put its hand over its nape, palm facing up. As Rainbow Dash came around, the Beast Titan scooped Rainbow Dash into its hand and threw Rainbow Dash up over its head, just missing Luna by inches. As Rainbow Dash recovered, she flew beside Luna, devising another strategy.

“Like I previously said,” the Beast Titan warned, “do not attack me. All of these titans you see here and along Wall Rose are under my command. If I am killed, there will be nothing stopping them from devouring each and every one of you.”

Rainbow Dash and Luna, who both scowled at the Beast Titan, lowered themselves to the ground, knowing they were outnumbered and outmatched.

“What do you want?” Erwin asked.

The Beast Titan began to walk around the army, leading the other titans to either follow it or approach him on the other side of the army, surrounding them.

“Come,” the Beast Titan responded stopping before Erwin, “I will explain as much as I can to you, but first, you and your men look wounded. Follow me to the wall and I’ll let you rest and properly dress your wounds there.”

As the Beast Titan walked forwards, the other titans did as well, herding Erwin and the army back to Wall Rose. Eren and Rainbow Dash looked about and gasped, unsure of what the Beast Titan’s hospitality meant.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Ymir had finally woken up and lied next to Historia. They along with Conny, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight sat in front of Reiner ad Bertolt, who sat next to each other. Twilight’s horn glowed brightly, giving off enough illumination that they could all see each other.

“Before I cure you,” Twilight said, “because when I do, you’re going to fall into a bit of a sleep, I want you to tell me everything you can before that.”

“What do you want to know?” asked Reiner.

“Anything. Why did you do this? How did you even get involved?”

Ymir stared at Bertolt and Reiner, expecting an intriguing story from them. Bertolt looked shamefully upon the ground, knowing it was a subject he was not comfortable bringing up.

“You know,” Reiner began, “I don’t know if Armin, Mikasa, or Eren told you about their lives in Shiganshina before Wall Maria fell. But if you have, they’re more or less the same.”

“Armin and I did talk a bit about his life before he joined the military before,” Twilight said, “so what does that mean?”

“We’ve never told anyone this,” Bertolt spoke up, “but before the fall of Wall Maria, there were three of us living in the eastern district of Maria: Reiner, myself, and Berik.”
________________________________________________________________________________________

A small boy with short, brown hair was pinned to the wall by several more muscular children along the empty streets of his village. The boy screamed out for help, but not a soul was a around to help him.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“Berik was bullied and picked on constantly as a child,” continued Bertolt, “but it was only through mine and Reiner’s help that he escaped hell every day.”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Reiner and Bertolt helped Berik up as he wiped his bleeding, snotty nose with the sleeve of his shirt. Reiner and Bertolt, also bruised and dirtied a bit, looked down upon their friend with guilty faces.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“One day,” Bertolt went on, “there was a man… in these dark robes and gold chains; very similar to the Wallists. He came up to us one day. He said…”
________________________________________________________________________________________

“I’ve been watching you,” the man said. “You hate being picked on don’t you?”

“Yes,” Berik meekly answered.

“The world is a cruel place, is it not?”

“What are you talking about?” Reiner yelled.

“These walls keep you safe, but who keeps you safe within the walls? Your friends? Of course, they can’t be there all the time, can you?”

Noticing that the man’s question was directly towards them, Reiner and Bertolt seized up.

“No,” the man responded solemnly, “they can’t. Wouldn’t you like to live in a world where you don’t have to be the one getting stepped on, where people keep their feet to themselves and live in harmony with each other?”

“Yes!” Berik cried out. “Yes I do!”

“What would you be willing to give up to live in such a world?”

“Anything!”

The man smiled before Berik.

“Good,” the man responded. “By nightfall, meet me at the eastern gate, and I’ll show you the world we aim to create.”

As the man walked away, Reiner and Bertolt were left confused by the transaction that had transpired.

“Wait!” Reiner called. “If Berik goes, than so do we!”

“Yes,” agreed Bertolt, “that’s right!”

The man stopped in his tracks, leaving Reiner and Bertolt to await his answer.

“Hmm,” the man pondered aloud, “I see. It’s great to see that you’ve been blessed with two great friends. Will you two meet me at the gate at nightfall?”

“Yes!” answered Bertolt.

“Very good. Do not tell your parents about this. If they know, they will forbid you. They cannot understand what we aim to do. But if you truly want the strength to create a better world for yourself, then you tell no one. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” all three boys answered.

Without a word, the man walked back down the street, leaving Reiner, Bertolt, and Berik alone.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“That night,” Reiner resumed, “we came. The man was there with a horse and a small cart for us to ride in. He smuggled us out with the help of several of his brethren, who raised the gate for us to pass. We rode all night until we reached a cave. He led us down through the cave. To our surprise, it was heavily populated with others. The man told us that they too were the beaten and the weak that wished to save the world.”

“A secret society?” asked Twilight. “That’s the reason for the titans?”

Historia and Conny were also engrossed by the story as they too learned new things about the titans.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Bertolt said. “After we arrived, they showed us… things. Terrible things. They showed us art and literature about this massive war that humans fought long ago, and how the humans nearly killed everything over such trifle things as religion, race, and class.

“Many of the people there also even claimed to have been veterans of that war, despite the fact that they didn’t look a year over thirty. We didn’t understand how this could be. It was then that they told us the awful truth.”

“What awful truth?” asked Twilight.

Bertolt looked beside him, scared to reveal the answer.
________________________________________________________________________________________

As Erwin and several of the other wounded soldiers, including Mikasa and Jean, were stationed off near the wall under the strangely benevolent guard of the titans along the wall. Mikasa looked up and sneered at them, finding their comfortable smiles unpleasant and unnerving. Fluttershy laid herself beside Jean while the soldiers standing beside him did their best to tend to his injuries and keep him alive.

Meanwhile, the Beast Titan squatted down with his face over Eren, Levi, Armin, Hanji, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Shining Armor, Luna, and Spike. Not one dared to move a muscle and risk setting any one of the titans off.

“So you’re the ponies I’ve heard so much about,” the Beast Titan spoke. “However, I’m not too familiar with the white, armored stallions, and the dark blue winged-unicorn.”

“That’s alicorn to you,” barked Luna.

“And what of the others? Isn’t there a purple alicorn and a pink pony in your company as well?”

“They went off to take down some more titans that were holding them up,” answered Rainbow Dash, “no thanks to you.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Hanji scolded. “Now, listen here, Beast Titan, some reports given to me by the soldiers at Castle Utgard talk about a titan that matches your description walking about the castle during the invasion inside Wall Rose. Were you the cause of the titan outbreak inside Wall Rose.”

“…I am,” the titan responded.

“And how exactly did you do that?”

“The same way that all titans are created.”

Hanji and the others gasped, soon about to hear the mystery of the titans about to be solved.

“And what way is that?” asked Hanji.

The Beast Titan brought a grimace to his face, not liking the answer he was about to give.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“The titans,” revealed Bertolt, “all of them, were the creations of humans.”

“What?” Twilight shouted. “How can that be?”

“You wouldn’t think that Eren could transform into one of those things by being born with that power, do you?”

“I wouldn’t think so, but… that’s really how all titans come to be?”

“Yes. Through odd experiments that neither Reiner nor I can fathom, they were able to turn human beings into these giant monstrosities.”

“Who did this? Who would make such a thing?”

“We don’t know,” Reiner answered. “We were only given an injection.”

“In… Injection?”

“After we were shown the horrors of the wars,” Bertolt said, “we were offered a choice by the man in the black robe: ‘Join them and live, or return to the district and risk death.’ What other choice did we have?”

“I see… but that doesn’t answer my question. What is this injection?”

“After we decided to join them, we were lied down on these benches, and then… in all honesty, everything is fuzzy from there. All I know is that injection was what gave us three our titan powers.”

“How do you think they did that?”
________________________________________________________________________________________

“It’s simple,” the Beast Titan explained. “I have developed the formula on which to make titans… out of humans.”

The Beast Titan’s audience was stunned silent, unable to take in what they had just heard.

“What did you say?” Eren stammered nervously.

“Much like Eren and your friends Annie, Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir,” explained the Beast Titan, “an injection of a formula that I had made even before any living man today was ever born is the reason for the creation of the titans.”

“But that’s impossible!” Armin spoke. “I’ve cut open the backs of titans’ necks, and there’s nothing that resembles a human body in any of them.”

“Yes, quite an observation, young man, but think of it like this. Despite the varying sizes of the titans, do the fatal points of a titan ever change in length or width?”

“N– No… it’s always the same.”

“One meter long…” began Rarity.

“…and ten cetimeters wide,” finished Applejack.

“Come to think of it,” Hanji accounted, “that’ about the average length and width of a human brain and spinal chord.”

“That’s correct,” the Beast Titan confirmed.

“So what does that mean? The titans were once humans?”

“That’s right.”

“So all this time,” Levi muttered, “we’ve been killing humans, huh?”

“Such a cruel irony,” mused the Beast Titan.

“No way…” Spike whimpered, hugging his legs to his chest. “I’m a murderer.”

“Calm down,” Levi said. “You had no way of knowing.”

“And that makes it better?”

“If it’s any consolation,” spoke the Beast Titan, “the humans that made up those titans were more animal than man anyways.”

“What does that mean?” Spike wondered.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“We don’t know,” Reiner answered to Twilight. “All I know is that the injection we were given was different than those the others got. While their injection transformed their bodies into titans, outright, our injection allowed us the ability to transform into one… with added abilities, Bertolt’s being is massive size and strength, while mine was my armored plating.”

“What about Berik?” asked Twilight.

“What about him?

“I’m curious, is all. What was his ability?”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Reiner and Bertolt watched as Berik erupted in a burst of light, his body encasing itself in muscle and skin as it transformed into a fifteen-meter titan. Its hair and face resembled Berik’s, but its skin was scored in various places as to reveal its muscle. It was also incredibly skinny, as if there was very little muscle on the titan to begin with. Its arms and legs, however, were very healthy and lean. Bertolt and Reiner looked wondrously at what their friend had become.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“Berik was dubbed by us as the Running Titan,” Bertolt answered. “His job was to be able to move fast as to outrun soldiers on 3D Maneuver Gear. He would have really served the warriors well. And then…”

A single tear dripped out of Bertolt’s eye, confusing Twilight.

“Did Berik get killed?”

“I ate him,” Ymir answered.

“You ate him?” Pinkie Pie shouted. “That wasn’t very nice… even if he was trying to do all that.”

“She had no idea,” Bertolt said. “She wasn’t in control of her titan at the time. We were warned about a woman who had given herself the titan power and went loose outside Wall Maria, but we seriously didn’t think we’d be after her.”

“The titan went after me,” Reiner spoke. “I had never come across a real life titan before; I was too frightened to move, but Berik pushed me out of the way and was eaten in my place. I suppose he sacrificed himself out of instinct as opposed to fighting her with his own powers.”

“His loss greatly disturbed us. We both became monsters for his sake and he died for us. But we had to continue the mission. That afternoon, we reached Wall Maria. I broke open the gate to Shiganshina while Reiner destroyed the gate separating the outside and inside of Wall Maria.”

“Then why become soldiers?”

“It was actually my suggestion to our superiors,” Reiner said. “Even with the might of the titans, we knew that the Military were a very strong force to be reckoned with. We suggested that we become soldiers ourselves and learn whatever tactics the Military used against the titans so that we could learn from their methods and adjust our approach to better combat them.

“To make up for Berik, they sent Annie with us. They told me that she wasn’t as fast as Berik’s titan, but you and I can both agree that she was a very fierce and intimidating fighter.”

“I see… What happened then?”

“After we met everyone… Conny, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Kris– no, Historia… and then you and the ponies during the Trost invasion, it only served to remind us of our friendship with Berik. And after Berik’s sacrifice, we couldn’t bear to lose another friend that we made for all those years, even if we kept being reminded that we’d have to betray them eventually.”

Twilight and Pinkie Pie, touched by Reiner and Bertolt’s story, wiped their wet eyes dry with her hoof.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“These titans were created to wipe out humanity…” the Beast Titan explained, “to make the way for a better world.”

“Better world?” Eren shouted. “Thousands of people have died! Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, all of these titans; you’re the one that made them what they are! You’re the reason why everyone’s died!”

The Beast Titan looked away from Eren, visibly ashamed by Eren’s claim.

“Yes, it is true,” it responded. “I have the blood of hundreds of thousands upon my hands. It is true that I have caused great despair towards innocent people. Nothing I say or do can repay my debts. But I shall be part of this nightmare no longer.

The soldiers he addressed gasped, unsure of what he meant.

“What are you saying?” Eren asked.

“I mean that I’m finally going to end this war… with your help, Eren.”

“Huh… Me? What do you want with me?”
________________________________________________________________________________________

“What did you guys need with Eren?” asked Twilight.

“After we discovered that Eren could transform into a titan,” Reiner spoke, “our superiors knew that Eren could not fight on humanity’s side. His fervor and inner-strength could possibly devastate us. We first awaited the verdict for Eren’s trial. After he was set to join the Scouting Legion, Annie was sent to kidnap him and bring him back, where we hoped to have him join our side; by persuasion or force, it did not matter. It was then that we were contacted by the Beast Titan.”

“The Beast Titan?” asked Twilight.

“You haven’t seen it yet,” Ymir spoke, “but he’s the reason for the appearance of the titans within Wall Rose.”

“What? How did he do that?”

“I’ll explain later,” Reiner gruffly answered. “After Annie’s first failure during our expedition, the Beast Titan knew that they needed to get Eren by any means possible. After we relayed through the Wallists that Eren was being brought through the capital, we had already known that Erwin meant to try and capture Annie and that likewise, Annie would try and make a final attempt to capture Eren.

“Whether she succeeded or failed, we knew that Eren would come back. It would be then that we’d convince Annie to give Eren to the Beast Titan or that we’d give him to it by force.”

“Huh…” pondered Twilight, “but why did he need him?”

Reiner and Bertolt looked to each other, unsure of the answer themselves.
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The Beast Titan’s face changed to one of sadness, ready to make a very crucial decision.

“To save you,” he sobbed, “…my son.”

Eren gasped at being called “son.” Before he could retort, the back of the Beast Titan’s neck burst open. The sound of the loud hiss of steam alerted the rest of the soldiers and ponies around them. Mikasa quickly sat up, despite the searing pain in her chest. As the titans looked at the steam escaping the titan’s neck, their faces expressed anger and betrayal.

“Stop!” the Beast Titan gurgled, waving its arms about, getting weaker as it fell to its knees.

The Beast Titan leaned right and fell to its stomach. Many soldiers, including Erwin and Mikasa, walked warily around the Beast Titan as the nape continued to erupt with hot vapor. As Eren, Levi, and the others of his group gathered around the Beast Titan, they saw a man with a mere shirt and pair of brown pants on emerge from the nape, weakly crawling out.

The man rolled off the decaying titan’s neck and fell to the ground onto his knees. With his head bowed, the only definable feature of his body was his long, black hair. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a bundled up cloth. Unwrapping it, it revealed a pair of round-rimmed glasses. Still kneeling and bowing his head, he applied the glasses to his face.

He then began to stand up, rising the intensity of the intrigue amongst the soldiers. The man turned his body to Eren, unnerving him and Rainbow Dash. Finally, the man tilted his head up, revealing his face to him. Eren, upon seeing the moustache and goatee of the man before him, along with his long, black hair and glasses, gasped and choked in complete disbelief.

“Eren,” Rainbow Dash whispered to the tearing Eren, “who is this?”

“It’s…” Eren wheezed, “…my dad.”

Eren’s father stood before Eren as he huffed and held back his sobs. After five years, the two were finally together again.