Twilight looked at Reiner and Bertolt with slight confusion of their lack of an answer to her relatively simple question.

“Huh,” she huffed. “If this Ape Titan is coming out now for Eren and is able to create titans within Wall Rose, than we might be dealing with our toughest foe yet.”

“Wait!” called Conny. “You still haven’t told me how the titans got within Wall Rose.”

Bertolt and Reiner looked back at each other once again, wondering if they should tell Conny.

“Do you really wish to know?” asked Reiner.

“Wh– Why?” Pinkie Pie stuttered. “Is it not good?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Just tell me!” Conny shouted. “I’ve already dealt with a lot of shit in these last couple of days! How’s this going to be any different?”

“If you really wish to know,” Reiner said. “Like we told you, titans are mutated bodies of humans, but if you use simple logic and reasoning, you would know that there’s no way that all of those titans could just get over the wall if there was no breach. So what does that tell you?”

“Does that mean that they came from inside Wall Rose?” Historia asked.

As Reiner nodded, Pinkie Pie, started putting more of the pieces together. Right then, Pinkie Pie gasped, hit with a terrible realization.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“Weeelcome baaaack…”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Pinkie Pie’s eyes suddenly began welling with tears as she jumped onto Conny and cried into his shirt, shocking both Conny and Twilight.

“Pinkie?” Conny questioned. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I think she understands,” Reiner solemnly responded.

“Understands what?”

“That the Beast Titan went into your hometown and gave everyone that titan injection and turned them all into the titans that attacked us inside Wall Rose,” Pinkie Pie finally blurted.

Conny let his hands fall loosely to his side, unable to believe what Pinkie Pie was telling him.

“Pinkie Pie,” sighed Conny. “How did you–?”

“Well, I figured that there was no one inside your village after the titans attacked us, but all the buildings were destroyed from the inside out, so that must mean they transformed inside their own house. Not to mention, you said that that titan looked like your mom… Well?”

Conny looked back on the face of the titan crushing his house. Suddenly, the pieces to the puzzle were finally beginning to fit for him as well.”

“Mom…” Conny began to sob. “She must have transformed into a titan, but like Mom… her legs were too weak and she just laid on top of the house. So… if that’s true. Mom… Dad… Sunny. Martin. They became titans. And either Mike, Nanaba, Gelger, Rene, or Henning… they… killed them…”

Twilight, realizing what this meant for Conny, drooped her ears and put her hoof over her mouth as she tried to hold back her tears. Conny then grabbed on to Pinkie Pie and hugged her close, sobbing into her shoulder. Reiner and Bertolt looked at Conny guiltily, seeing another consequence of their actions.

“My family…” Conny cried. “My home… they’re gone… and I’ll never see them again!”

Twilight couldn’t hold it in. Her tears ran like cascades down her eyes, feeling incorrigible sadness and sympathy for the desperate Conny.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren sunk to his knees in front of his father. Having not seen each other in so long, Eren’s father too fell onto his knees before his son. Falling towards each other, Eren and his father groped each other in a long, tearful embrace. Mikasa broke through the crowds that gathered to see Eren’s father hugging Eren. Mikasa seeing her adoptive father in front of her, also couldn’t hold back her sobs.

As Eren squeezed his father’s shirt with his left hand, his right hand reeled back behind him and drove it into his father’s ribs. Eren’s father let out a painful huff as the wind was knocked out of him. Eren took another furious swing as Rainbow Dash rushed behind him and pulled him off his father, kicking and flailing as Eren was let off the ground.

“You son of a bitch!” yelled Eren. “You bastard! How can you be the cause of all this?”

Mikasa walked out of the circle and pulled her adoptive father to his feet as he clutched his chest. Levi walked out of the group and in front of Eren’s father.

“Oi, bastard,” Levi demanded, “start talking. Who are you?”

“My name…” he responded, “is Grisha Jaeger. I am the biological father of Eren Jaeger and the adoptive father of Mikasa Ackerman.”

“And you say that you’re not just the cause of the titan outbreak inside Wall Rose, but the creation of titans altogether?”

“I am mostly responsible, yes, and I shall surrender myself to the mercy of the king in due time, but right now, I wish to end this war once and for all.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“The answer to everything lies in the basement of Eren’s old home in Shiganshina. There is the root of all evil, and the start of the titan menace. I request that I escort you to Shiganshina with the titans I have at my disposal where together, we can discover and destroy the heart of over one-hundred years of turmoil and suffering.”

“And what makes you think we can trust you?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew up into Grisha’s face.

“Get back, you mangy animal!” Levi ordered as he grabbed Rainbow Dash by the tail and tossed her behind him.

She landed near Applejack, who grabbed a firm hold of her tail with her teeth. Rainbow Dash growled, both at Levi’s insult and her inability to do anything more.

“While I don’t agree with the way she approached you,” Levi spoke, “she’s absolutely right. You have us surrounded by titans, and you can have them all attack and kill us at just your word.”

“I assure you, on my life,” Grisha said, “that I will do no such thing.”

“What good is the word of a monster like you?” Applejack shouted.

“There is none. All I ask is that you trust me, much like you trust Annie over there.”

Annie audibly gasped from her point in the group, making many soldiers turn towards her. She looked at Grisha, unsure of why he called her out like that.

“I know what Annie was. I created the formula that allowed her to turn into a titan. I am also the one who made the formulas that made titans out of Reiner, Bertolt, and, of course, Eren.”

“But what about Annie?” Hanji questioned. “What does she have to do with trusting you.”

“If I was truly as malevolent as you make me out to be, why would I let you rest up in safety even outside Wall Rose? I can see the Scouting Legion emblem on her cloak, as well as how she fought the Armored Titan with you during Eren’s capture. I could have easily had her killed for defecting from me, even with her titan powers.”

“Even so, they are of no good to her now. My colleague, the purple alicorn, Twilight Sparkle, and I created an antidote which effectively rid the titan’s abilities from her.”

Grisha gasped, surprised by this statement.

“As a matter of fact,” Hanji continued, “she has probably already cured Reiner and Bertolt as we speak.”

Grisha pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated by something. He then sighed and let his arm down.

“It doesn’t matter…” he sighed.

“What doesn’t matter?” questioned Luna.

“Reiner and Bertolt were instructed by me to bring Eren to me. As they would make their way to Wall Maria, I planned to ambush and kill them before they could and return him to you and reveal my true intentions. I should have expected the Scouting Legion to be one step ahead of me.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Applejack responded. “Along with Eren, Ymir and Krista were taken by them as well, and you could have seriously hurt them.”

“Historia, yes, but Ymir… she’s always been such a strong girl.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked to each other with confused looks.

“What do you mean, ‘always?’” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Conny and Pinkie Pie continued to mourn together while Reiner, Bertolt, Twilight, Historia, and Ymir observed on in silence.

“Dammit!” Conny wailed as he pounded his fist onto the dirt. “I’ll never forgive that bastard!”

“Calm down,” ordered Ymir. “The Beast Titan is a lot nicer than you know.”

Reiner and Bertolt looked oddly at Ymir.

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked incredulously. “She used Conny’s village to terrorize innocent people from their homes into the inner districts! How can you say that… thing is nice?”

“Because he’s the reason I had a second chance at life.”

Historia gasped and turned to face Ymir, clearly intrigued by the mystery of her friend’s past.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Twilight, turning towards her.

Conny, Pinkie Pie, Reiner, and Bertolt also looked at Ymir, ready for her to tell her story.

“Well,” sighed Ymir with a shrug, “I might as tell you now, being as we’re out here… in these times. You might find this hard to believe, but I was born about seventy or so years ago.”

“What?” questioned Twilight. “How can that be? You only look around fifteen!”

“Yeah, well, these titan powers do wonders for your complexion, don’t they?”

“I’m sorry,” apologized Twilight, waving her hoof in dismissal. “Please continue.”

“Anyways, I was born in a large, tribal village way up north in the mountains outside the walls. To say that our clan lived a less than virtuous life was… a bit of an understatement.”
________________________________________________________________________________________

A small girl around five with tan skin and freckles hid behind an icy rock in the cold, snowy gales of an expansive mountain range. She was dressed in a thick, brown coat with fur lining in the hood. Squatting next to her was a young, lightly-bearded man just below thirty with a similar hue in his skin and the same coat on. In his hands he carried a wood spear with a stone head as he and the girl watched a figure in the snow.

Unlike the two of them, the person they both kept watch for wore a white, fur jacket with a white backpack on. Under their feet, the person had snowshoes that he trod along in.

“Ymir,” the man spoke, “sisnik eem roosom.”

Ymir watched intently as the man crept out behind the rock at the unsuspecting traveler. Silent as a cat but quick like a hummingbird, the man thrust his spear into the side of the traveler’s neck. As the traveler’s blood spilled out, the man began removing the coat and backpack of the traveler. The man left the traveler gurgling in his own blood in the snow as he returned.

Ymir looked into the bag as the man fished out contents inside of them, tossing away papers and books into the wind. Upon finding two flat, but large slices of bread coated in grease wrapped in a messy cloth, the man shuddered happily.

“Ooka!” the man huffed. “Ooka ooka, Ymir! Nom!”

Ymir giggled as the man handed one of the pieces of bread to her, where they ate their looted meal in the gladness of each other’s company.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“Our tribe lived this way for years,” explained Ymir, “even as the wanderers or occasional caravan began to dwindle after they knew of us and shunned us. At the time, I too lived comfortably in my village of vice.”

“I’m guessing that the titans hadn’t reached you or your tribe yet,” Twilight wondered.

“No, they didn’t. But when they did, all hell broke loose.”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Ymir ran through the roads between the wooden huts, her eyes red and wet with her tears. To her right, a hut burned as a woman escaped with her child and a large chunk of meat. To her left, a titan grabbed hold of a man through the roof of a hut and pulled him out kicking and screaming.

Ymir ran behind a hut to her right and sat down, panting loudly and looking around the corner to see if any of the titans could see her. A hand then placed itself over Ymir’s mouth, causing her muffled scream to escape her mouth. She turned and saw the man she hunted with beside her, a look of worry on his face.

“Ymir!” he hissed. “Issa dis pokt? Dirt tikka hrosh oos ah!”

“Eem toopah!” Ymir wept.

“Goash! Wis tikka soh, hah!”

Grabbing Ymir by the hand, the man ran from the ruins of their village, not once looking back at the chaos and destruction behind them.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“It wasn’t long before the titans caught up to us,” Ymir said. “They got him and I ran off on my own for what felt like hours. After I thought I couldn’t take another step, a titan came up from behind me. It wasn’t like any of the other titans that I came across. It looked like a… big monkey, with its brown fur, it’s face, and its long arms and legs.

“I thought I was done for in that instant. But the titan started talking to me. At the time, I didn’t speak a lick of English, so I didn’t understand a word he said, but just the way he said it… it made me feel safe. Whether I was delirious from the cold, the high altitude, or my exhaustion, I found it in myself to trust him.”

“After that, he brought me into their little cave in secret. He then showed me who he was on the inside… literally. My memory of him is a bit fuzzy, but he had these glasses on him and long, black hair. As this person, he taught me how to read and write in English. I was a really shitty student to him, but I still kept reading and writing like he told me to until I eventually got to be as fluent as him.”

“I guess you can’t be all that bad of a student if you learned something,” Twilight said.

“Yes. Well, after several years after living with him, he offered me a chance at redemption. He said that I took could become a titan like him and use my power to destroy the ones who ruined my life. I agreed on the spot.”

“So he helped you become a titan?” Reiner asked. “For the sake of humanity?”

“Guess so. Seems like he was never on your side to begin with.”

Reiner growled, angered by the revelation of the Beast TItan's treachery.

“It’s obvious that you can become a titan at will unlike the others who transformed right after injection, right?” asked Twilight. “Unless someone kept track of whatever it is you use to turn humans into titans, wouldn’t they know that it was misplaced?”

“That’s why we planned carefully. The Beast Titan man had created a titan-transforming serum that would allow me to return into my titan form whenever I wished, but the serum was originally meant for one of the titan clan’s veteran warriors or whatever.

“The plan was that during the injection for the intended person, which was supposed to be viewed amongst the group, I would run in and steal it. Before the others could notice or catch me, I would escape through a planned route. Outside the cave, I would meet the Beast Titan man and he would properly inject me, where I’d transform and make my grand escape. He’d just claim that I transformed before he could catch me, and that would be the end of that.”

“I’m guessing that it didn’t happen like that.”

“Not at all. After I ran in to steal the needle, the others began to crowd up around me, threatening to kill me. I knew I was stuck with only one option left: inject myself.”

“Is that why you couldn’t get out?” asked Bertolt. “Did you miss the correct injection spot?”

“Must have. Needless to say, though, my escape was a hell of a lot easier with my powers than without them. And then, as I told Bertolt, I wandered the land for years and years that only felt like days and days. The day before I came out, I had found Reiner, Bertolt, and Berik walking to Wall Maria–”
________________________________________________________________________________________

As Ymir’s titan leapt up at the three children, she could see a large track mark on the back of each of their necks.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Ymir shouted out as she grabbed her head, feeling a throbbing pain.

“Ymir!” called Twilight. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just… now that I think about it, I remember why I attacked you guys back then. I saw these little red marks on the back of your necks, like someone stuck a needle in there. It was then I realized that you three were shifters like me, but intuition told me that none of you were up to any good. That’s when things got hazy again.

“The next thing I knew I was running about the fields and I had suddenly felt an extreme nausea in my stomach. It was at that moment, I woke up in a cot as a human. I didn’t know what happened, but I woke up in a much different time than the one I fell asleep in.”

“What about Historia?” Conny asked. “Why are you so infatuated with her?”

“Shut up, you idiot,” chided Ymir. “I’m not infatuated with her, I just… wanted to help. After I woke, I had no one to support me. No friends to confide in. What else was a girl from my upbringing to do but become a thief to support herself?

“Like I told Historia before, I came across a couple of priests talking about a girl from one of the Wallist households who ran from home and joined the Military because she was born out of wedlock. I knew full well about the Wallists’ involvement with the titans; the Beast Titan showed me as such.

After that, I went to join the Military myself to find her. Once I did, I saw how fragile and martyr-like you were. I couldn’t stand to see someone as important as you want to throw your life away for something you weren’t at fault for, especially seeing how devastating your upbringing might be if used in the right hands.”

“I knew it wasn’t my fault,” Historia responded nervously, “but knowing that there were people who wanted me dead just for my being born and that my family were doing such horrible things, all I wanted was to end the sadness while still making something of myself to others. Ymir, I want to say again: Thank you for teaching me how to live again.”

“Hmph,” chuckled Ymir. “It was my pleasure, honestly. I don’t think I could have made a better friend out of it.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Historia placed her hand on Ymir’s knee softly. Ymir put her own hand over Historia’s and gripped it tight, happy to be with her. Both Twilight and Pinkie Pie smiled warmly at the two of them. However, Historia slapped her hand away from Ymir and stood up, seeing her horse standing off under the faint glow of Twilight’s horn.

“I’m ready now,” Historia stated. “I’m through running, and I’m through hiding. I want this war to end, and we can’t do it by ourselves. Our friends need us now more than ever. Let’s go back.”

“Yeah!” Conny yelled. “Let’s get those sons-of-bitches!”

“Yahaah!” Pinkie Pie cheered, hopping onto Conny in a piggyback. “There’s the Conny I know and love!”

Ymir, smirking at their vigor, stood up beside Historia and Conny as she looked to the north.

“Whatever,” spoke Ymir. “Yeah, I’m getting sick of this shit myself.”

Reiner and Bertolt also stood up, walking towards. Conny and Pinkie Pie.

“We fight with you too now,” Reiner declared, “warriors be damned.”

“Wait,” Twilight warned, standing up and jumping out in between them and Conny. “I can’t let you do that!”

“What?” Bertolt wondered. “Why not?”

“I’m sorry. As much as I want to trust you now, I can’t do so unless you agree to have yourselves cured.”

“Are you serious?” Reiner growled. “We could have transformed any time during that talk of ours and the force of that could have probably killed you all. What further proof do you need?”

“To ensure that you won’t turn on us during the moment of truth… and to prevent your executions.”

“What are you saying?”

“I offered similar leverage to Annie when we captured her. If she were to work with us and help in humanity’s victory, I would see to it that in leu of the death penalty, I could see to it that she would be exiled to Equestria instead under the watch of Celestia herself.”

“Couldn’t you just offer that if we choose to fight for you here and now, without this cure of yours?”

“Like I said, I wish I could, but even then, we had to cure Annie without her consent when she was unconscious because we knew she would never agree to it. I don’t want you two to betray us at a crucial moment, and more so… I don’t want you to put Pinkie Pie or Conny through that again.”

“What about Ymir?” Bertolt asked. “What shall be done with her?”

“She has always fought on the side of humanity. I can trust her with her powers more than I can trust you with yours. Just think of this cure as a binding contract between us. If you take this antidote and fight for humanity, I’ll fight tooth and hoof to ensure you two survive this.”

Reiner looked to Pinkie Pie, who looked up to him with pleading, trembling eyes. Reiner could tell that Twilight wasn’t going to yield on this agreement by any means. With a sigh, he turned to Bertolt, and they both gave each other a nod. Twilight watched as both Reiner and Bertolt knelt before Twilight and bowed their heads down, revealing the backs of their necks to her.

“If it will allow you to trust us,” Reiner spoke, “we’ll do it.”

Twilight smiled as she pulled two wooden boxes from her coat with her magic.

“Just make it quick,” ordered Reiner. “Our friends are waiting.”

“No need for you to worry about that,” Twilight said as she pulled a filled needle from both boxes. “Now, you’re going to need to feel a tight pinch in your neck for a couple of seconds. Then you’re going to fall asleep.”

Reiner and Bertolt both gulped as Twilight lowered the needles down lower.

“Don’t sweat it,” Conny assured them. “Just think of that time Ymir tripped playing Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Pony.”

Ymir’s face contorted into shock and disgust over Conny’s reminder. Despite her, Reiner and Bertolt both chuckled as they remembered Ymir’s face hitting the floor of the Scouting Legion HQ’s storage room.

With them both at ease, Twilight calmly slid both needles into the backs of Reiner and Bertolt’s necks and pressed the plungers in, injecting them with the antidote. Reiner and Bertolt both cringed and moaned, but continued to let out a few chuckles. In a matter of seconds, Reiner and Bertolt tiredly collapsed to the ground.

“Pinkie,” called Twilight, “check Reiner’s pulse.”

Pinkie Pie flipped Reiner onto his back with her nose, reaching behind her back and pulling out a stethoscope, placing the earpieces in her ears and putting the chestpiece over Reiner’s heart. While Pinkie Pie frowned as the pulse decreased, her smile returned upon hearing it speed back to normal.

“He’s okay by me!” Pinkie Pie said to Twilight as she placed her stethoscope away.

“Yeah,” Twilight responded as she took her ear off of Bertolt’s chest, “he’s okay too. Now that that’s settled, we need to move out. Conny, Ymir, I want you both to ride the horses with either Bertolt or Reiner behind you. Historia, will you be alright riding on Pinkie Pie?”

“Yes,” she responded, already hopping onto Pinkie Pie’s back.

As Ymir and Conny picked up Bertolt and Reiner and carried them to Conny and Historia’s horses, Twilight looked out back north, knowing her friends would be there.
________________________________________________________________________________________

“What?” Hanji shouted to Grisha. “You knew Ymir?”

“I did,” Grisha responded. “She was the very first titan shifter to have been made. Of course, she looks less human than the other times.”

“But she stole that titan power,” retorted Eren. “She told me herself.”

“Such a mysterious girl, she is…”

“So you’re saying that she was lying about that?”

“Of course, she couldn’t say that the Beast Titan was working for her with Reiner and Bertolt around.”

“What are you saying?”

“I gave her the titan’s power and staged it like a theft in the hopes that Ymir could have the power to wipe out a large number of the titans by herself.”

Grisha then looked past the soldiers and into the forest south of them. Within it a bright light traveled forwards at him, making him smile in assurance.

“And if I’m not mistaken,” Grisha said, “here she comes now!”

Eren and the others turned to see as the light got closer to the end of the forest as two of the titans stepped aside to let whoever was coming pass. Brightly lit right underneath the light she created was Twilight. Riding just behind her was Pinkie Pie, Historia, Ymir, Conny, Reiner and Bertolt.

“Twilight!” Spike cried as he ran to the alicorn.

As Twilight landed down, she looked about at the titans that had surrounded them, skidding to a halt with terrified eyes. She then saw Spike at her as he leapt up and gave her a hug. Twilight levitated Spike onto her back roughly.

“Twilight?” wondered Spike. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” asked Twilight incredulously. “Can’t you see all the titans surrounding us?”

“It’s okay!” called Armin as he and Hanji ran out to meet them. “The titans are working for this guy over here! Come and see!”

As Twilight galloped out to follow Armin, Pinkie Pie, Conny, and Ymir both went out behind Armin. Leading them through the crowd the soldiers were all surprised and gasping to see Reiner and Bertolt lying limp behind Conny and Ymir.

Twilight finally reached the center where Eren, Grisha, and Mikasa stood. The corpse of the Beast Titan was almost finished decomposing, but Twilight was more focused on the mystery man in front of her, his clothes covered with blood and stains from his muscle.

“Eren?” Twilight questioned. “Who is this?”

“This…” Eren introduced. “Is my father, Grisha. He is also the Beast Titan.”

“WHAT?”

“Oy!” shouted Conny as he dismounted his horse, causing Reiner to lie face down on the steed. “You’re the bastard who destroyed my home!”

“What?” Grisha exclaimed. “Ragako was your home village?”

“Yeah! And you let Mike die too!”

Hanji gasped upon hearing Mike’s name, stepping towards Conny as she got his attention.

“Huh?” muttered Hanji. “How do you know he killed Mike.”

“Well… he didn’t kill him. When I went to get Pinkie Pie out of the HQ, we hid inside the stables as Mike’s horse was thrown at him by the Beast Titan, which knocked him to the ground and broke both of his legs. He then talked about Mike’s Maneuver Gear and said he’d never seen anything like it. After he removed the mane body, he commanded the titans to finish him off. Once he left, Pinkie and I rode back south to go to my village… which he already destroyed.”

Grisha looked down guiltily, fully aware of the damage he had caused. Hanji walked close over to him, putting her face to his. With cat-like reflexes, she whipped her hand across Grisha’s face, the slap knocking him to the ground.

As Hanji bent over Grisha and continued slapping him, Twilight pulled Hanji back away, flailing to get free. Grisha stood to his feet as Hanji shouted out, reaching as far as her arms could allow for him.

“You bastard!” Hanji cried, tears running down her face. “Mike was a good man? Why would you kill him? If you’re on our side, why didn’t you spare him?”

“Because then I would have lost Eren!” Grisha shouted.

Hanji calmed down, now horribly confused by the reasoning.

“What?” she asked.

“If I had spared this Mike, he would have more than likely reported his around to the other soldiers. Reiner and Bertolt knew of me, and if they found out that I turned on them, they wouldn’t have tried to deliver Eren to me.

In fact, even if I came to you and pledged to assist you, with the strength and durability of the Armored Titan, and the size of the Colossal Titan, I would have been easily overpowered and killed, so I would be forced to flee. I’m sorry for the loss of your captain, but I only wished to end this war as soon as possible with my son safe with me.”

“And what about the titans in Wall Rose?” Rarity spoke up. “Why would you do something so horrible! More good soldiers died because of that and thousands have been evicted from their homes!”

“This war is reaching a critical point already. If the real war really does extend past Wall Rose, I don’t want the people scrambling before its too late… especially when they find out what they’re up against.”

“Up against wh–”

“But what about Mike’s Maneuver Gear?” Pinkie Pie interrupted. “If you knew about the 3D Maneuver Gear, why lie about not knowing something you knowingly know?”

Grisha took a break to understand Pinkie Pie’s question, but inhaled as he prepared to explain himself.

“The reason for such an odd transaction,” Grisha stated, “was that if in some way, a hiding soldier was nearby and listening in, I could use my feigned knowledge of the 3D Maneuver Gear to cover my tracks, so to speak, making people think that I might have been so hidden away that I didn’t even know of the 3D Maneuver Gear.”

“What about us?” asked Ymir. “I was on that tower you threw the pieces of the wall at.”

“And again, I apologize, but it was all part of my act. I knew Reiner and Bertolt would forgive me trying to unintentionally kill them if they thought I was trying to kill the others.”

“Trying unintentionally?” Pinkie Pie questioned. “Well, I’m lost.”

Grisha then looked to Ymir, seeing Bertolt sleeping on her back then looking to Reiner on Conny’s horse. Grisha turned to Twilight, unnerving her. Walking up her, Grisha knelt down before her and supported himself by grabbing the sides of her chest.

“So you’ve really made an antidote to kill the titans?” he asked.

“Um…” Twilight shuddered, “yeah?”

“Where is it?”

“Last I checked, it was in the carts on the other side of the wall.”

“How much?”

“About… nine jars worth, and several boxes of prepared syringes.”

“Great! I must get them, and then we can head out!”

As Grisha stood to his feet, Rainbow Dash flew up to him, her face in his.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” she ordered. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“We can end this war tomorrow morning,” he declared. “We have the means and the strength to do so. And once we win, I can make an airborne version of the antidote and use it to wipe out the remaining titans. But we must act quickly.

“With the diversion I’ve created yesterday and the chaos that erupted today, my superior still expects me, as well as Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie, to return soon, and if we play our cards right, we can end this madness and save this world, but for now we must prepare. Who’s in command of the army?”

Before Nile could speak up, Erwin walked out in front of him and made his way next to Grisha.

“I am in command,” declared Erwin.

“You must be Erwin Smith,” Grisha stated.

“I am. Now, what do you need from me?”

“I need you to call upon the best strategists you have at your disposal.”

Erwin turned to the crowd, his gaze on three soldiers in particular.

“Hanji, Arlert, Twilight,” he called off. “Step forwards.”

Hanji, Twilight, and Armin huddled around Erwin and knelt down, already devising a plan. Many soldiers and ponies, especially Luna and Shining Armor, leaned forwards to listen.

“Hanji,” asked Armin, “do you think there’s any way that whomever this Hunter is, does he have any knowledge of Annie, Reiner, or Bertolt being cured?”

“No,” Hanji spoke bluntly. “Since they’ve been cured, none of them have been near Shiganshina.”

“Great,” Twilight spoke, “then I have an idea.”

Hanji and Armin turned to Twilight respectively to hear her out.

“Grisha,” asked Twilight, “you’re still in command of the titans surrounding us, yes?”

“Very much so,” he answered.

Twilight gave a nod to Grisha before turning to face Hanji, Armin, and Erwin again.

“The trek to Shiganshina from our location at a walking pace will take roughly six hours,” Erwin devised. “We should assume that Shiganshina will be heavily guarded by whoever is responsible for this. With the information and educated assumptions we’ve made, Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner are still assumed to be on their side. Here’s what we’ll do.

“In one half-hour, we will gather all of our belongings and set off. Grisha will transform into the Beast Titan once again and escort us to Shiganshina using his collection of titans. Twilight, Reiner and Bertolt should be waking soon, correct?”

“In about two to three hours, yes,” she answered.

“Alright. When they eventually wake up, we’ll debrief them on the plan. What they, along with Annie and Grisha will do, is to act like they captured Eren, Ymir, Historia, and the ponies, which they’ll then use to infiltrate their base and then ambush when the time is right. Grisha, where is your base?”

Grisha then turned to Eren, leaving him unaware of what his father wanted.

“Eren,” asked Grisha, “do you still have the key to the basement that I gave you?”

Eren quickly fished inside of his shirt, pulling the large-gold key hanging around his neck out and allowing the people and ponies around him to see it.

“Once you go down into that basement,” Grisha explained, “all will be revealed.”

Eren, finally seeing his destiny becoming closer to his reach, gripped the key hard in his hand.

“I’m ready,” Eren shouted.

“So are we,” Rainbow Dash proclaimed. “You can count on us, Eren. Together, we’re going to squash these creeps once and for all!”

“Mmhm,” replied Applejack, Twilight, Spike, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

“As always,” Armin said, “we’ll be there with you.”

Mikasa nodded in affirmation.

“We’re ready too!” Hanji declared.

“And you can’t forget about me,” Kirill called in the back.

One by one, each of the soldiers and pony guards. finally seeing the light at the end of their long tunnel, also joined into the declaration of their support. Eren was overwhelmed by the massive cheers and battle cries that sounded off. As the crowd began to get louder and louder, Erwin walked up to Shining Armor and climbed atop him, standing on his back.

“ATTENTION!” called Erwin, silencing the soldiers and acquiring everyone’s eyes and ears.. “We are soon about to embark into Shiganshina, the stage for the final battle in the War on Titans. With the support of Equestria at our disposal, we shall overcome the oppression that we have lived under for too long. Come sunrise, humanity will be victorious! Now, devote your hearts!”

“Yes, sir!” every soldier and guard sounded off as they gave Erwin a passionate salute.

“Prepare yourselves! We embark in a half-hour.”

Immediately, the soldiers broke off from their circle as they walked back to their horses. Grisha walked towards the wall as he broke into run. Grisha bit his hand exploded into a burst of light that grew in size, the Beast Titan emerging from it. Erwin and Levi both watched as the Beast Titan quickly climbed Wall Rose and swung over it, climbing back down on the other side.

Eren, Mikasa, Armin, as well as Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity stood still as they looked south towards where Shiganshina would lie.

We’re finally going home, Eren mused. Tomorrow, this all ends…