Once the morning came, Hange and the ponies woke up early with Rainbow Dash still dreary and lethargic. However, Applejack forced her out of bed and blamed the pegasus for reading the Daring Do books so late. Now Rainbow Dash was suffering the consequences of not listening to Applejack last night. The moment everypony was out of bed, Hange went to each and every one of their rooms to lead them to Yarckel District of Wall Sina to properly equip them with brand new mobility gear.

The trip was lengthy and exhausting. The ponies were nearly beaten to the point of collapsing on the ground after about three hours of prolonged walking. Hange wasn't as drained from stamina as the ponies since she was riding on her own horse, but the ceremony from last night did not give her enough time for rest. After that time of traveling down a route to Yarckel from the headquarters, the ponies' legs were aching for a break, notably since their harnesses were troublesome around their muscles.

The scenery of the great plains wasn't even captivating to the ponies anymore, even though the blue, clear skies reflects over the plains so nicely. The only thing in their minds right now was finally arriving at Yarckel. The ponies and Hange had their cloaks and uniforms on them as well with the ponies carrying their saddlebags. The only pony that wasn't as fatigued by the long, exhausting trip was Pinkie Pie.

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie asked in a cheerful tone.

"Pinkie," Rainbow Dash replied in annoyance. "I swear to Celestia, if you ask that one more time..."

"Don't worry girls," Hange answered. "We're nearly there now. Once we move over this next plain, Yarckel should be right before us."

"I most certainly hope so," Rarity replied. "If only there was a strong, handsome gentlecolt to help us with our luggage at least."

"You should get used to it, though," Hange replied with a smirk. "Once we get you fitted with your ODM gear, we'll be going to the training grounds for new recruits."

All of the ponies grunted in aggravation knowing that they had to do more hiking and walking afterward.

"Relax," Hange encouraged. "It's not that far from Yarckel. Not only that, you'll be getting to visit the same training grounds your new friends use to exercise. There you'll be learning how to kill titans the professional way here in the walls."

"Heh," Rainbow Dash responded with confidence. "I'll definitely blow away those test in ten seconds flat! Maybe even eight if I'm lucky."

"First things first, Rainbow," Applejack butted in. "Let's just get to Yarckel and find somethin' to eat first. Ah'm could eat the north end of a south-bound polecat."

"Gosh," Fluttershy spoke with a dry throat. "I'm so thirsty, I can probably drink a whole lake."

"And I sure hope we can at least get some clothing to look more ravishing in this world," added Rarity.

"We'll get food and water there too," Hange replied. "There's a river down at Yarckel for us to stop at real quick to refill our canteens, then we can stop for lunch and buy you ponies some shirts. After all, Wall Sina has the best marketplaces for clothing and other merchandise."

"Sounds like a plan," Starlight replied, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"We didn't necessarily have the right fabric or the time for you ponies to make your own shirts back at the headquarters, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to pick out clothing suitable for you ponies, knowing the fact that you have plenty of gold to spare or more if your rulers are that generous. We only have a week maximum to finish getting your maneuvering gear ready and your proper training as well, and time is money."

"Perfectly understandable, Hange," Twilight answered.

"I just hope that they have something suitable to wear that would go nice with our uniforms," Rarity responded.

"Oh, you won't be disappointed, Rarity," Hange declared with a smile.

Once everyone finally reached over the plain, the ponies gasped to see the district of Yarckel right before their very eyes. Outside the walls of the district was a river flowing out of a large grate in the wall to prevent flooding and several buildings moreover. Hange smiled to see them arrive at Yarckel District to negotiate with Dolphus so that he can give the ponies their ODM gear.

"Looks like we finally made it," Hange announced.

Afterwards, she flicked the reins of her horse and kicked the horse's sides with her heels to get the horse to gallop towards the outer gate of the city. The ponies followed in pursuit with overjoyed expressions and started galloping behind Hange. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, however, flew up in the air to reach Yarckel faster and stretch their wings. The exhaustion in their muscles withered away as they were about to reach the city of Yarckel.

As they entered the city, the ponies were amazed to see the citizens in a higher class opposed to Trost. The buildings had greater architecture and the citizens had more suitable clothing than that of Trost District. The ponies felt like they were going from Ponyville to the city of Canterlot, despite being in a different world.

The ponies galloped down to the river to get a quick drink before entering the main city. The sight of the glistening water made the ponies wheezed in delight, especially Rainbow Dash. Hange tied her horse to a nearby fence and walked down stone stairs leading to the riverbed. Rainbow Dash was the first to reach the river and dunked her entire head without hesitation while laying on her stomach as she drank several cups of water. After being quenched, she took her head out to take a breather.

"Never in my whole life has water tasted this good!" Rainbow Dash cried.

The pegasus didn't see the act Pinkie Pie was about to pull. Pinkie bounced from the platform and tucked her legs in to perform a cannonball near Rainbow Dash. Once she made contact with the water, the splash got all over Rainbow Dash, soaking her in water. Although Rainbow was annoyed by this, she at least was cooled off by the heat of the sun. Hange couldn't help but snicker at the ponies' childish behavior while she was refilling her water canteen. Pinkie then surfaced and spat out some water that got in her mouth.

"You can say that again!" Pinkie replied while backstroking in the river.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow yelled. "Get out of there! Save some for everyone else!"

"It's fine, Rainbow," Hange reassured before screwing the cap back on her canteen. "We have plenty of fresh water for everyone."

As the rest of the ponies went to get a drink, Pinkie jumped out of the river and landed back on the platform before shaking off the water like a dog, getting the rest of the ponies a little drenched. The other ponies ignored Pinkie's antics and went straight to the river to relieve themselves after their long trip. Once Twilight was quenched, she went back with Hange to wait for the others to be finished.

"Look, mommy!" cried a young female voice from behind Twilight and Hange across the platform, prompting the two of them to look behind them. "Those are the ponies everyone's been talking about!"

Twilight looked to find the source of that voice and saw a young girl wearing a light blue and white dress with brown hair tied in a bow being held from her right hand by an older woman with a white apron and beige dress. The little girl kept pulling her mother closer to the ponies, begging to see them in person while pointing at them. Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Starlight went to see the little girl as well whereas Pinkie and Rainbow were still drinking tons of water.

"Can I look at them, mom?" the girl pleaded with her mother. "Please?"

"Alright," the woman answered calmly. "Just be careful, Sofia."

The girl rushed to the ponies and giggled in expectation. Twilight and the others couldn't help but smile, attempting to make a great first impression. The girl went up to Twilight and smiled in joy to see a real live alicorn.

"Oh my gosh!" she cried. "I can't believe I'm looking at a real unicorn! Or are you a pegasus?"

The girl saw Twilight's horn and her wings in confusion and didn't know exactly what her kind was called.

"It's alright," chuckled Twilight. "I'm what's known as an alicorn."

"Cool! They also said you can do magic with those horns."

"Why, yes we can," Twilight said before giving her a demonstration by holding Hange's canteen with a levitation spell.

The girl stared at the floating canteen with awe, seeing the display of magic right before her very eyes.

"That's so amazing!" the girl exclaimed. "My name's Sofia. What's yours?"

"Twilight Sparkle," the alicorn said introducing herself. "And these are my friends: Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and down at the river are Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie."

"So you're all in the Scout Regiment now? That's incredible! There's no way those Titans stand a chance against you!"

"Sofia!" the girl's mother called. "Come on! It's time to go!"

"Okay, mom!" Sofia replied back. "I have to go. I hope we meet each other again soon."

"Me too," Twilight returned. "It was nice to meet you, Sofia."

Unexpectedly, the girl gave Twilight a warm hug right before skipping back to her mother. Twilight blushed and smiled in happiness to be gained from such a stranger while the other ponies were relished by the scene.

"Have a nice day, Sofia!" Hange called, waving her goodbye.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie joined their friends with soaked muzzles. They both looked at Twilight in confusion when they noticed her blushing.

"Hey, Twilight?" Rainbow queried with a raised eyebrow. "What's with the face?"

"Oh, nothing really," Twilight answered modestly. "We're just saying 'Hi' to some of our new fans, that's all."

"Fans?!" Rainbow exclaimed in shock. "Aw, and I missed it?!"

Hange and the other six ponies laughed at Rainbow's decline before leaving the river.

Hange and the ponies were now in the main area of Yarckel District, walking down some busy roads with some people actually staring at them for a bit. This brought discomfort to the ponies, mainly Fluttershy since she doesn't like all the attention. They stopped at a stall to buy food after their long, tedious journey by ordering some bread and sweet potatoes. Luckily, they brought some apples with them thanks to the trees that grew so quickly after Applejack planted them.

After filling their stomachs, they went to a nearby store that sold apparel and clothing to the public. Inside the store, there were tables filled with shirts, pants, dresses, hats, shoes, and almost everything. The shirts were similar to what Hange and their other friends wore, even though a lot of them were white in color. Since the clothing fitted humans conversely from the ponies, the only thing they could buy that would fit them snugly were the shirts.

"Well," Starlight spoke. "I'm sure we can find something here that'll suit our needs."

"If you can pay, of course," said a large, male clerk with a gravelly voice wearing brown pants and a gray shirt.

"Oh, come on!" opposed Rainbow Dash. "Can you at least cut us a deal?! Do you have any idea who we are?!"

"Yeah, who doesn't know about you ponies? Nevertheless, I have a business to run and I don't just give free wares to anyone. Especially a bunch of weirdos."

The ponies were slightly offended for being called 'weirdos', but they couldn't argue since they were from another world far different from this world. Rarity smirked and walked up to the clerk while reaching for something in her saddlebag.

"Well, sir," Rarity said, taking out three gold bits with her magic. "Will this satisfy your needs?"

The clerk gasped and widened his eyes upon seeing three golden coins laid before him. After counting them quickly, he laughed in joy as he was too ecstatic by his fortune.

"You can all take any shirt you want!" the clerk replied, sweeping the coins into his hand and in one of his pockets.

"Thank you kindly, sir," Rarity said, walking around to see which shirt to take. "Keep the change."

The merchant bowed in absolute gratefulness of Rarity's generosity. The ponies window-shopped the many shirts until they were satisfied with their pick. Hange witnessed the ponies going all over town with finding the right shirt and smiled over Rarity's generosity to give to someone as stingy as the merchant.

An hour later, Hange led the ponies to a different part deeper in Yarckel now that the ponies found a shirt for each of them. The area they were in appeared to look like an industrial factory. There were massive chimneys spewing out smoke, large pipes leading into several buildings, and metal infrastructure.The ponies could already guess that this is where they manufacture the omni-directional mobility gear for the many soldiers fighting out there. This industrial region has most likely Dolphus' place of operation.

"So, I'm guessing this is where Dolphus works, huh?" Starlight presumed.

"Indeed," Hange replied. "These are the industrial towns where metal is smelted to make the mobility gear and the blades used to kill titans. It's also the place where Dolphus is making your ODM gear."

"I sure hope he isn't terrifying," Fluttershy said timidly.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Hange replied. "He may look threatening, but I assure you he's very sweet to the people, especially his friends. If anything, I think he'll take a liking for you ponies."

"Oh, alright then," responded Fluttershy, still uncertain.

As they walked through the enterprise, they stopped at a building two stories high around the center of the industrial area. Hange approached the two front doors leading inside and knocked on one of them. However, there was no response from anyone, prompting her to knock once again.

"Get out of here!" yelled a male voice with a husky voice. "Today's not the day for a tour! We're too busy right now!"

"Is that any way to say 'Hello' to one of your old pals?" Hange responded.

A few seconds later, the doors opened instantly without warning, revealing a well-built man that seemed to be in his mid-twenties. He had long, blond hair parted on both sides of his head reaching down to his chin while wearing a bandana tied around his head. His eyes were narrow and dark green with a noticeable scar that ran down on his right cheek. His skin was a light tan and he wore gray long sleeve shirt, a dirty white apron, blue jeans, and black boots. His expression was that of shock and wistfulness rather than his bothered felling from before.

"Hange!" the man exclaimed, walking up to Hange and hugging her in affection. "It's been so long!"

"Nice to see you too, Dolphus," Hange replied, separating herself from Dolphus to present the ponies. "I like you to meet our newest soldiers and friends: Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie."

"Oh," Dolphus sighed before shaking everyponies' hooves in greeting. "I didn't want to believe what I read on the letter I received a few days ago. Even after reading the headline in the newspaper, I still refused to believe it. Now, it appears I was wrong. It's such a pleasure to meet all of you in person."

"The pleasure's all mine," Rainbow replied in self-esteem.

"Ya mean ours, Rainbow," Applejack corrected, raising an eyebrow.

"Right, ours."

"Anyway," Twilight spoke. "We were sent here to help you with creating our omni-directional mobility gear and we don't have much time."

"Of course," agreed Dolphus. "Come inside and I'll show you what I got."

Dolphus gave Hange and the ponies permission to enter the warehouse while holding the door to let them inside and stretch his arm out in a hospitable manner. The ponies saw that the place was massive as they followed Dolphus to wherever he was taking them. There were many blacksmiths dressed similarly to Dolphus working with blast furnaces to smelter steel, various tools for many specific purposes, and anvils to shape certain metal parts to craft ODM gear. Some of the workers glanced at the ponies in minor shock before going back to work on their own projects.

"Wow," Starlight spoke, amazed by the craftsmanship of the blacksmiths. "Business must be rough here with so many workers here."

"You can say that again," Dolphus responded. "Since ODM gear is an official weapon used by every soldier, we blacksmiths work tediously to meet up with supply and demand, yet it's still not enough."

"So, uh..." Applejack said. "How d'you and Hange know each other exactly?"

"We were friends back in our days as cadets in training," Dolphus answered.

"Really?!" Pinkie exclaimed, staring directly at Dolphus up close, startling him a bit. "You two were roommates?!"

"You could say that. We graduated from the 98th Trainee Squad. We had such pleasure learning from each other, right Hange?"

"Without a doubt," Hange agreed in response. "Until graduation day came, that is."

"What happened?" Fluttershy asked.

"We both set out on different paths. I made the decision to join the Scout Regiment while Dolphus here decided to join the Military Police."

"You mean," Starlight assumed. "Hange didn't make it in the top ten. Joining the Military Police is only possible if you rank tenth or higher before graduation, right?"

"No," Dolphus answered. "She ranked fifth whereas I scored fourth. Puny, little Hange was one step behind me," he said in an insulting voice while rubbing her head.

"Okay!" Hange replied, swatting away Dolphus' arm. "And I'm doing great working with the Scouts, thanks for asking!"

"So am I! I've been giving it my all in the Military Police, and then I ended up here."

"Why's that?" questioned Rarity.

"Believe me, I didn't want to join the Military Police because I wanted a life of luxury. I wanted to join because I was so fascinated by 'the device.'"

"You mean the ODM gear?" Twilight suggested.

"Yeah. When a weapon-smith was trying to create ODM gear, it was originally called 'The Device.' The omni-directional mobility gear was just so captivating," Dolphus described. "Although they seemed bulky, there were pretty lightweight in reality. It gave us humans the experience of flight for the very first time. So I wanted to learn about the device and maybe make some improvements during that time.

"Once I became a cadet, I met Hange when we were both struggling to keep up. We helped each other out with our flaws so that together we could overcome our own weaknesses. After quite some time, we became close friends despite us having different ambitions in mind. She wanted to kill Titans. I wanted to learn about ODM gear.

"After graduation day, I joined the Military Police while Hange went with the Scouts. It was disappointing to discover that the Military Police was only allowed to use their mobility gear with permission from the superiors. However, I did have undisclosed goals before joining them."

"And what would that be exactly?" Rainbow queried.

"Since the Military Police is always looking for vastly strategic soldiers, they would ask some of them to help out with the development of the ODM gear; and since I lived here in Yarckel, I knew damn well how inadequate the Military Police truly are."

"Inadequate?" asked Rarity. "From what we've been told, the Military Police are supposed to be quite intricate of the entire branch."

"True, but the fact is that the Military Police get to live deeper in the walls, away from the Titans. So they don't really do much and are a disgrace to the people, even though they're seen as the royal crown of the three factions most cadets want to become."

"So why join them in the first place?" Twilight questioned.

Dolphus then smirked in pleasure.

"It's probably due to the fact that I would outrank them," he answered.

The ponies were confused while looking at each other, waiting for Dolphus to explain himself more clearly.

"After the former developer died several months ago after I joined the MP, the king ordered his men to recruit the best soldiers willing to partake in the development of creating omni-directional mobility gear. Since soldiers were the only ones capable of managing them, they started to search among the soldiers; and since the Military Police are composed of the best soldiers we have, they offer us first above anyone else.

"Back in the earlier days when ODM gear was first being developed, we originally had regular swords that were placed in a sheath where rubber stoppers would hold them in place. The only flaw with that idea was that the rubber straps would wear out over time, which meant that the sword would slide right out of the sheath.

"However, I took care of that problem. The blades you see are made out of a ultrahard steel that is made from a flexible and strong material, good enough to cut through titan flesh. This metal is actually made out of a magnetic metal called iron and I was able to use that to my advantage.

Dolphus walked next to Hange while pointing at the end of one of the sheaths she was wearing.

"Inside the back of the sheath is a small magnet that holds the blades firmly in place without falling out. The magnets are strong enough to keep the blades inside no matter the circumstances, whether it's running, riding a horse, or even moving in three dimensions using your ODM gear. The only way it can be taken out is by using the latch on the handle to hold the blade securely in your grasp."

Hange then gave the ponies a demonstration by taking out one of the blades with one of her control handles to hold it firmly inside the handle. The ponies were intrigued by the design of this widely-used weapon.

"But if by any chance the blade were to jiggle out even a little..."

Hange then placed her blade back inside without sheathing it entirely. However, the blade slid in deeper all by itself and was now secured by the magnet, making a clanging sound the moment it touched the end.

"...gravity will do the rest for you."

"So fascinating!" Twilight proclaimed.

"That's exactly what the superiors said," Dolphus commented. "When they saw my handiwork, they officially made me the CEO of the Omni-directional Mobility Gear Manufacturing Unit. Perhaps someone in the Scout or Garrison Regiment could've had something better in mind, but it's already too late for that. Hehe...

"Once I moved the workshop here in Yarckel, my magnets became part of the official manufacturing line for every ODM gear made. So there you have it. That's my story."

"What a super duper aleioper story!", Pinkie replied in delight. "It must have been a loooooooong time since you last saw Hange."

"Not quite," Hange pointed out.

"Really?" Applejack asked. "How come?"

"Once Dolphus became the new lead developer, any new improvements in the ODM gear were shipped to the three factions to be implemented in their current equipment. He would also send the blueprints required for the soldiers to do maintenance on their mobility gear, if necessary. I happened to be one of those soldiers."

"Whoa," all the ponies exclaimed.

"How did that happen exactly?" Starlight questioned.

"It didn't take much," Dolphus replied with confidence. "I already knew Hange was working with the Scouts, so I sent her out directly. The Scout Regiment would always put good use with the ODM gear with every expedition they go on. Not only that, their equipment was more likely to have malfunctions and such, so they would send them to me that way I can fix the knick-knacks and make improvements at the same time. Even Hange had problems with her gear after using it so much in combat."

"I was pretty reckless with my mobility gear," Hange admitted.

"Was?" questioned Dolphus with a blank expression.

Hange giggled, hearing one of her closest friends question her over her irresponsibility. After walking down the warehouse past many busy workers, Dolphus stopped at a large special room that was locked in a doorway. The door had a message on it saying 'Dolphus' Work Area.'

"This is my special storage area," Dolphus declared, reaching in his pocket from his pants taking out a set of keys. "It's also the place where I kept your ODM gears that I was ordered to make."

Once he inserted the right key in the lock, the door made a clicking sound, unlocking the door and opening it to let everyone inside. The ponies peeked inside with curiosity and enthusiasm to see the handiwork Dolphus did for them.

"Ladies first," Dolphus said, gesturing through the doorway.

Outside of the Scout Regiment headquarters in the stables, the new recruits of the Scout Regiment were lined up in formation in front of a Scout. In the line were Mikasa and Armin as they looked around for any sign of Eren or the ponies. Sadly, they where nowhere to be found. They were abruptly summoned by a Scout standing in front of the line.

"Salute!" he demanded with the cadets following his order by giving their salutes.

The scout had a white bandana on his head that concealed his bald spot with brown hair and a thin mustache and stubble around his jawline. He had an average build with a welcoming face. He was standing next to a healthy, brown horse. The horse only reminded Mikasa and Armin of their dear friends, wanting to see them even more than ever.

"I'm Section Commander Ness," the man declared before petting his horse on the side of its head. "And this is my horse, Charrette. Charrette likes to pull mair, so watch out if you don't wanna go bald. It's nice to meet you."

Abruptly, Charrette bit on Ness' bandana and tried to tug it off his head. Ness tried to keep it on as Charrette continued to pull.

"You idiot!" Ness yelled. "Stop that, Charrette! Someone do something! Hey!"

The soldiers just stood where they were with their salutes, not even trying to help the Scout.

Hange, the ponies, and Dolphus went inside the room to see a workshop with plenty of room that was used only by Dolphus himself. It was lit with a few torches on the walls and some candles set on a few tables. The left side of the room had a shelf full of more than a dozen of sheaths and gas canisters while the right side had shelves with three dozen main bodies of the ODM gear.

There were two long tables in the middle of the room for Hange and the ponies to walk around easily and one larger table
on the other end of the room with three chests below it. The wall where the larger table was had various tools hanging from them on small racks. There were seven pairs of ODM gear that appeared slightly different from what the ponies saw from the other ones that the soldiers use.

"Amazing!" Twilight gasped. "This is your workspace?"

"Mine and mine alone," Dolphus answered while smirking in pride.

"Are these our maneuvering gears?" asked Starlight, pointing at the ODM gears on the tables.

"Indeed they are. It's the only thing you'll need to kill titans. Everyone gather around and see what I devised to come up with for you ponies."

The ponies gathered close together to analyze the ODM gears Dolphus crafted for them to see what modifications he made that were different from ordinary maneuvering gears. Dolphus stood next to the table in the center of the room to present three ODM gears.

"These maneuvering gears are for Starlight and Rarity," he explained. "After hearing about you unicorns use magic for simple levitating spells, I left the handheld devices the exact same way. The ones for Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were much easier since they are capable of flight, so I completely removed the main housing and gas canisters just for the sheaths to make you pegasi even lighter during combat.

"However, the biggest obstacle for this project are for those without magic or wings. I am specifically talking about Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Which is exactly why all of you are here. You'll be assisting me in finishing your maneuvering gears before you all start your training. I'll be working with you with what short amount of time we have in our hands, or hooves in your case."

"Alright!" cried Pinkie Pie. "I can't wait to try mine out!"

"Then perhaps we should start with you, Pinkie."

"I was just about to ask you that! Hehe!"

"I have a few ideas in mind, I just need to get some measurements from all of you first. Hopefully, in the next few days, I'll have your Omni-directional Mobility Gears ready before then, so let's get started then!"

Inside a large classroom, the recruits were sitting on separate wooden desks jotting down the information Ness was giving them for the next expedition. Ness displayed on a large board a huge paper of the scouting formation Erwin devised and pointed out specific details with a long pole in his hand. The new recruits wrote down notes of surviving outside the walls, even though today's class was focused less on combat and more on long-range scouting formation.

The formation appeared to be a spherical design of different squadrons with them displayed as vertical crosses with the bottom removed and dashed lines displaying the type of formations. Oddly enough, although it was a precise, calculated formation, Eren Jaeger's position was nowhere to be found.

"You rookies will be here," Ness declared, pointing at a group symbol on the upper right side and then towards the center back. "between the wagon defense squad and the scout support squad. Here, you will run alongside spare horses and relay signals."

Armin wrote down notes of the formation to get every possible detail in order to gain as much knowledge as he could.

Down in Yarckel District, Hange, Dolphus, and the ponies were eating dinner at a restaurant a few blocks from the industrial area. They all sat down on two large rectangular tables with seasoned potato soup and a small loaf of bread on the side. Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity used their utensils with their magic while the other ponies just ate in a dog-like fashion. Hange and Dolphus simply held their spoons with their own hands.

"I must say," spoke Rarity. "This potato soup is divine."

"Living within Wall Sina does have its perks," Dolphus replied with pride. "But now it's more expensive thanks to the loss of Wall Maria."

"Well," Starlight said. "be thankful we brought our own currency with us. We only had to give three bits just to pay one meal for all of us."

"And don't worry too much about our maneuvering gears," Twilight said to Dolphus. "I'm sure you'll come up with something to make our devices work, so rest and enjoy dinner."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Pinkie exclaimed, picking up the bowl with her hooves. "The soup that they have here is delish!"

Pinkie tilted both her head and the bowl to eat the last of the broth and vegetables inside her mouth. While doing so, Dolphus stared at Pinkie's hooves with fascination as to how she could hold a bowl with something as hard and flat as her hooves without it slipping from her grasp. There had to be some explanation.

"Pinkie," Dolphus asked. "Let me see your hooves real quick."

"Uh, okay," the pink pony answered, placing the bowl down on the table and presenting one of her hooves in front of him.

Once she held out a hoof towards Dolphus, he inspected the base of the hoof to see how Pinkie held the bowl with such ease. While examining them, Pinkie began to giggle and flick her wrist around in a playful way. Even though Dolphus looked at here with an earnest expression, that didn't stop her from laughing in joy.

"Pinkie," Dolphus questioned in a rigid voice. "How were you able to hold that bowl?"

"I just used my hooves, silly," she simply answered.

"No, I mean how come it didn't slip out of your hooves. There's no possible way you can hold a bowl with the smooth surface of your hooves. There has to be a better explanation."

Dolphus continued to fondle with Pinkie hoof by poking the underside. In doing so, he was making Pinkie laugh in the tingly sensation.

"Stop that! Hehehe!" Pinkie chuckled. "That tickles!"

Unexpectedly, Dolphus felt a tiny poke form Pinkie's hoof, causing him to jolt in surprise and shift out of his seat.

"Wow! I didn't know you can be surprised that easily."

"Pinkie!" Dolphus asserted. "What was that you just poked me with a second ago?"

"You mean these?" Pinkie asked, wiggling five tiny, thin bumps inside her hooves.

"Yes, those things!" Dolphus panted.

"They're called pony phalanges, or digits for short," Twilight stated. "All ponies have digits in their hooves, but unicorns tend to use magic a lot so unicorns don't use them that often than pegasi or earth ponies. We use them to hold books, utensils, pebbles and stuff like that."

"You mean... you can hold the devices in your hooves?"

"Unfortunately, no. They only extend to about a few centimeters and don't allow for much grabbing so we wrap our hooves with our wrists. They're mainly used for stable holds if ponies can't fit items in their mouths or find it uncomfortable."

Dolphus remained perfectly still with a dumbfounded expression and didn't even breathe after hearing what Twilight said. The ponies were left confused and worried while Hange knew exactly what was going on in Dolphus' head.

"Uh, Dolphus?" Applejack asked. "Ya alright there?"

Snapping back into reality, Dolphus ate the last of his soup and bread as quickly as possible. Once the contents were all gone, he placed the bowl back on the table and darted back to the industrial area to finish his work.

"Hey, where are you going?!" yelled Rainbow Dash.

"You're gonna get a tummy ache if you keep running like that!" Pinkie stated.

"Let him go, girls," Hange said to them. "I think he figured out a way to finish your maneuvering gears."

"By the look on his face, then we trust that he'll have them ready by tomorrow," Starlight replied.

"Let's finish dinner and then I'll take you ponies to where we'll be sleeping tonight," Hange closed.

In the late afternoon in a wide open range, Levi was tending his horse by letting it lick his hand before petting it on his muzzle. Meanwhile, Gunther was explaining to Eren Erwin's formation on the ground with Eld, Oruo, and Petra. Eren, Gunther, and Eld sat around a map, Petra stood right beside him, and Oruo was standing next to his horse.

"Our special operations squad will be positioned here," Gunther said, pointing at the center unit second to the rear. "on standby in the rear of the center rank."

"That's pretty far back," Eren commented.

"This is the safest position in the formation. Not even the supply wagons get this level of treatment. Our goal this time is simply to leave and come back, though."

Oruo yawned from behind as he grew bored of the discussion the others were having.

"This expedition is meant to be short, as it's also a test run to see if we can get you all the way to Shiganshina or not."

"Umm..." Eren hesitated to say. "I still don't really know what to do with this ability of mine..."

"Do you understand what the commander asked you back then?", asked Gunther.

"Huh?" Eren replied, flashing back to the day where he saw the two captured Titans, Sawney and Beane, got murdered.

"What do you think the enemy is?" Erwin asked him and Twilight.

"Do any of you know what he meant?" he asked them.

"Nope," Eld answered.

Once Eren turned to Petra, she shook her head in response.

"I'd be lying if I said I understand it all," Oruo spoke "But I-"

"It's possible there's another goal to this operation," Gunther interrupted, rolling the map. "But the commander decided it doesn't need to be explained to the soldiers. In which case, leaving and coming back is all we should focus on."

"So what about the ponies?" Eren questioned. "Where will they be positioned now that there members of the Scout Regiment?"

"Erwin can already tell that you and Rainbow Dash share a connection, so she'll be riding with you and our squadron. The commander will later decide where he'll place the rest of the ponies once he knows the recruits furthermore."

"Do you think those ponies will be ready before the expedition?"

"Time should be the least of their worries. They've already proven themselves as competent soldiers and have less than a month for proper training rather than three whole years like you and your comrades. They'll be able to handle themselves better than you or your other friends did."

Gunther then stood on his feet, still looking at Eren.

"Have faith in the commander."

'Yes, sir," Eren responded.

"That's all for today's training," Gunther settled before walking to his horse. "Prepare to head back."

Later that night back in Yarckel, Hange led the ponies to a different building a few blocks away from the restaurant they ate at earlier. The building was made out of wood and stone and stood four stories high. There was also a canopy with stone columns below it and a pair of large wooden doors that lead inside.

"This is the local inn of Yarckel," Hange stated before entering the building along with the ponies. "We'll be sleeping here for the night. Hopefully, Dolphus will have your ODM gears ready by then."

"It's pretty late to work on those gears of ours, isn't it?" Starlight queried.

"Dolphus is a hard worker and he'll stay up late if he has to," Hange returned. "But it's nothing to worry about."

As they entered the inn, Hange walked up to the front counter where a tall man with short brown hair wearing a brown apron and white shirt was busy writing down some information in a notebook. He heard footsteps and clops on the wooden floor and looked up to see the soldier and the ponies.

"Welcome to Geibler Inn," said the innkeeper. "Are all of you here sleeping for the night?"

"Correct, sir," Hange replied with a smile. "We'll be sharing a few rooms if that's okay."

"Alright then," the innkeeper replied. "You'll need to pay for your rooms, of course."

"Twilight," Hange said, turning to the alicorn. "if you'd please."

"Certainly," Twilight replied, smiling and taking out three golden bits and giving it to the innkeeper.

The innkeeper was shocked to see three golden coins given to him, much like the merchant from the clothing store. He laughed in pleasure after earning his jackpot and gave them the keys to their rooms.

"You all just made my day!" the innkeeper acknowledged. "Your rooms are on the third floor. Numbers 304, 305, and 306."

"Thank you, sir," Hange replied before grabbing the keys and leading the ponies to their rooms.

Once they walked up to the third floor of the building, Hange and the ponies walked down a long hallway and went into their separate rooms. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie went into room 305, Fluttershy and Rarity into room 306, and Hange, Twilight, and Starlight into room 304. They were all exhausted after the wearisome trip to Yarckel and went straight to their beds.

Before Twilight went to sleep, she lit a candle on a small table next to her, took out a quill and piece of paper with her magic to write a quick letter the Princess Celestia.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I just wanted to let you know that me and my friends have succeeded in passing the aptitude test, which means we are officialy members of the Scout Regiment. A blacksmith named Dolphus Spannagel is currently crafting our ODM gears for us to use for tommorow's training while we're trying to help him modify our gears. We'll be travelling to some training grounds not too far from Yarckel, the district we're in right now. Me and my friends will try our hardest to prove how strong we truly are since we faced many threats back in Equestria.

We will not let you down.

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

Once she finished writing her letter, she used the same spell the last time to send it back to the princess. Afterwards, she blew out the candle and tucked herself in bed and drifted to sleep to rest up for the big day tomorrow.