Around the northwest corner of the city, over hundreds of Titans were cluttered together to catch any human that was hanging on the wall. Several cannons were pointed downward directly at the horde in preparation for firing at the Titans. Although everything was going according to plan, some soldiers were not so lucky to make it out alive or unharmed. There was one soldier that was being escorted by two other soldiers after they were shocked to see him without a lower arm and elbow. Pyxis and a few other soldiers were walking along Wall Rose as they were witnessing the scene unfold.

"We managed to lure most of the Titans to this distant corner of the town," spoke a soldier next to Pyxis. "but despite avoiding combat as much as possible, we lost a fifth of our men."

"We didn't lose them," Pyxis replied, causing the soldiers to release minor gasps. "The soldiers didn't just die on their own. I sent them to their deaths on my orders."

Pyxis halted for a moment to look at where Eren, Mikasa, the elite Garrison soldiers, and ponies were pulling off the mission.

"This is a critical point in mankind's survival. If it means mankind will live on, I don't mind being called a murderer."

Seeing Eren about to strike at her, Mikasa dove out of the way to her left barely dodging the Titan's blow. However, she felt a small cut come across her right cheek and gasped before tumbling on the side of a tiny tower. Ian, Mitabi, and the ponies were surprised to see Eren suddenly behave so rashly and that their plan was already going askew.

Eren's fist had been broken off after the impact, but it did not put him in dismay. Eren was more focused on Mikasa as he was readying to strike again with his left fist.

"Mikasa!" Starlight cried.

Mikasa quickly reacted and jumped away from Eren's blow and fired a hook at one of the adjacent structures. She reeled up in front of Eren's Titan's face and grabbed one of the many locks of hair on his head, staring directly into the titan's eyes.

"Cut it out, Ackerman!" Ian ordered. "Get away from him!"

"Eren, don't you recognize me?" Mikasa asked with deep concern. "I'm Mikasa! I'm your family! You must block the hole with that boulder!"

Rainbow joined Mikasa in her reasoning by flying up to Eren's titan face as well.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted.

"Eren!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "Look at us! I'm Rainbow Dash! We're your friends! You remember us, don't you?!"

Seeing the plan fail already, Rico set down a small case and opened it to get two smoke rounds, one red and the other yellow.

"The operation has failed," she said to herself, grabbing the red smoke round and placing it on the pistol. "It was obvious from the start that no secret weapon existed."

Rico pointed the barrel of the pistol at the sky, covered her left ear to block the noise and fired away, leaving a red smoke trail in the midst.

"Eren! We're your friends, your family!" Rainbow cried.

"Eren!", Mikasa kept reasoning to Eren. "You're human! You're-"

Ian saw Eren's Titan form ready to punch at Mikasa and Rainbow Dash with his fully healed right fist.

"Dodge, Ackerman, Rainbow Dash!" he warned.

Mikasa and Rainbow Dash saw Eren's fist ready to strike at them as Eren's Titan form hauled his arm. Mikasa jumped off of Eren's titan face towards the roof of a building while Rainbow Dash darted with her. Eren's fist collided with his face right into the left side of his head. Eren's Titan body collapsed back against the boulder and sat on it with steam pouring out of his wounds, staying almost perfectly still.

"What's up with him?" Mitabi inquired in a muffled tone. "He's just a stupid Titan like all the rest!"

"Eren!" grieved Mikasa.

"Mikasa!" Twilight cried, flying towards her. "Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine!" Mikasa shot back.

"What in tarnation has gotten into 'em?" Applejack asked running towards the elite soldiers along with everypony else. "He's starting to act like a blockhead!"

"Squad leader Ian!" shouted a soldier from behind. "Two approaching from ahead! One 10-meter and one 6-meter class! Another's coming from behind! It's a 12-meter class!"

Ian saw the Titans the soldier warned about coming for them and gasped in dread.

"Ian," spoke Mitabi. "we gotta pull out! That brat ain't gonna block no gates!"

"Yeah," Rico replied. "We've got no choice but to leave him here."

Mikasa turned to Riko and stared at her with menacing eyes. Ian backed away slightly after seeing the fury in her eyes, knowing that she did not want to abandon Eren. He turned to Rainbow Dash and had almost the same scowl as Mikasa. He looked away and pondered what they would do if he ordered a retreat.

Pyxis and several other soldiers saw red smoke being deployed by one of the elite soldiers where the boulder was positioned.

"Red signal flare from the elite team confirmed," relayed a male Garrison soldier. "A serious problem has interfered with the blocking operation."

One of the soldiers started to kneel down, placed his right hand on his head and sobbed in grief.

"My comrades died in vain!" he wept. "Was it all a waste?"

More soldiers from around the city spotted the red smoke likewise and began to wonder what happened during the operation. The soldiers distracting the Titans with gas canisters on their backs also noticed this. Armin stared at the smoke signal with an anxious look on his face.

"Hey, look at that!" shouted a male soldier.

"Look, what's that?" cried another.

"Did they... fail?" asked Marco.

"Why?" Armin whispered.

Armin gritted his teeth and hissed wondering what transpired and decided to take action by removing the gas canisters on his back and preparing his maneuvering gear. Once he was set, he sprinted towards the east side of Trost. Marco was the first to notice Armin abandoning his position.

"Huh?", said Marco in a baffled tone. "Hey! Armin! Where are you going?"

Armin ignored him and was too focused on helping his friends in such a dire circumstance.

"Commander Pyxis," said a soldier with a mustache. "we should fall back to defend the gate. Do you approve?"

"No," answered Pyxis.

"Order the elite team to retreat," asked the female soldier with the monocular.

"No need," Pyxis replied. "Keep luring the Titans to the corner of the town. As for the elite team, they have the authority to act as they see fit. They aren't merely just skilled soldiers. They are the elite among the elite that I entrusted with the future of mankind. Giving up so easily would be unforgivable. We cannot allow our comrades' deaths to be in vain. We must struggle to our very last breaths."

Mikasa, the elite soldiers, and the ponies regrouped and debated on taking the best course of action in this situation.

"Hey," yelled Mitabi towards the hesitant Ian. "what are you waiting for? You're in command! Ian, it's not your fault! This plan was dubious at best! Everyone knew that! It was not worth giving it a try, and we've already tried it, with no success! Listen, we're going up the wall!"

As Mitabi walked towards the wall, Rainbow Dash flew up and landed right in front of him to block his path.

"No way we're leaving Eren behind!" Rainbow Dash retorted. "If Eren doesn't plug up that hole, who else will?!"

"I don't know!" Mitabi replied pointing at Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity. "Maybe someone with magic like Twilight or Starlight that you ponies speak about! Why not use that instead?!"

"Our magic is not that strong here as it is in our world," Twilight answered. "let alone lift that massive boulder. We unicorns draw magic from the earth, but with the lack of magic in this world we just don't have enough power to lift that boulder."

"So then this mission just turned out to be a failure after all," Mitabi responded. "We're retreating up the wall and that's that!"

Mikasa gasped after hearing those words and readied her swords. The ponies noticed Mikasa's expression and very well knew her motives, looking at Mikasa with nervous looks.

"Mikasa," Applejack said in a worried tone. "Let's be reasonable now..."

Mikasa ignored Applejack and ran straight for Mitabi. However, Ian placed his right arm between them, separating the two soldiers.

"Wait," Ian spoke. "Wait. Calm down, Ackerman."

Although Mikasa stopped in her tracks, she glanced at Ian with threatening eyes. Ian turned his attention to Rico and Mitabi.

"Rico, take down the 12-meter class coming from behind! Mitabi's squad and mine will handle the two in front of us!"

The ponies were enlightened after hearing Ian's orders whereas the two elite soldiers were shocked.

"What?!" challenged Rico.

"I'm the one in command here!" Ian reminded them in a loud voice. "Be quiet and listen to my orders. We can't leave Jaeger defenseless."

Rico gasped as she became horrific of Ian's final orders. The ponies, however, were still joyful to know that Ian was not giving up so easily.

"We're changing our objectives," Ian declared. "Until Jaeger can be retrieved, we'll protect him from the Titans. He represents a precious possibility for mankind. We can't just abandon him. Unlike us, he can't be replaced."

Rico started to calm down while she was still hesitant about Ian's orders letting him fall into his demise.

"Hundreds have already died for that hulking failure of a human weapon!" Rico established pointing at Eren's Titan form. "Now you want to recover him, just for us to go through all that again?!"

"That's right!" Ian responded in a threatening voice. "No matter how many die, we must try again and again!"

Rico and Mitabi became stunned after hearing Ian's orders with dismayed expressions. The ponies were shocked likewise and then looked at each other with nods of affirmation.

Farther on the other side of the city, Jean launched himself upward using his maneuvering gear to join Conny and Marco. He looked around to see the horrific sight of dead or wounded soldiers.

"What happened to Eren?" Jean asked Conny and Marco.

"Armin's headed there alone," Marco replied. "I think... they'll be fine."

"You think?" Jean countered.

"They'll be fine! I'm sure! Eren will do it."

Marco's answer brought disturbance to Jean.

"I can't help but think it's pointless to gather the titans in the corner of town," Conny uttered.

"Fighting the Titans always becomes a battle of attrition," Jean returned. "We can't let our soldiers perish at this stage."

Conny turned around and walked a few steps to examine the soldiers on the wall trying to overcome this ordeal.

"So those who already died, they perished in vain?" Conny questioned.

"This is bound to turn out into an all-out war sooner or later," Jean replied. "We must preserve our forces as much as possible until then. Keeping our casualties to a minimum is only natural!"

"Can you say the same about those ponies?" Conny further pondered. "Surely, they can turn the tide in this war against the Titans."

"They're still new to this world, and by the looks of them, they haven't seen this kind of hell before," Jean persisted. "Even they may not stand a chance fighting against titans, even with magic or flight. I am right."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure of it!"

"Then let's try not to become casualties ourselves," Conny responded, looking back at Jean and Marco with a brash smile.

"Ian, are you out of your mind?!" Rico yelled at him.

"How else can mankind win against the Titans?!" Ian shouted, scaring most of the ponies as they continued to watch the elite soldiers argue with each other. "Tell me, Rico! What other way is there to get through this?! How can we win against the Titans without more people dying, while staying humans ourselves?! What should we do?!"

The ponies were shocked to see the rage of Ian's justification, yet they were somewhat lifted. Rico sighed in defeat, unable to give a good answer.

"Of course I don't know a way to defeat the Titans," Rico returned in a much smoother voice.

"That's why this is all we have left," Ian concurred. "For that messed-up human weapon's sake, we must risk our lives and give it our all! Isn't it pitiful? That's all we can do as humans. I can even say the same for these ponies. They'll risk their own necks for humanity's glory. So what will you do? This is the only way we can fight. This is as much struggle as we can manage!"

Ian looked back at Mikasa and the ponies as they all looked at him with burning persistence in their eyes. Even though the ponies were just as scared of dying in the gullet of a titan, they knew that Eren was the only hope of saving all of humanity from the wrath of the Titans, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives. They all gave Ian a reassuring nod with driven expressions on their faces, letting Ian know that they were right behind him.

Rico gritted her teeth as she was still hesitant to rethink this scenario.

"I can't accept that," Rico rejected, walking away from Ian and the others in uneasiness.

The ponies were disappointed in Rico's decision to turn away as her duty to protect mankind.

"Rico!" Ian shouted.

"I will follow the plan," Rico acknowledged, stunning Ian and the ponies. "I think what you're saying is right. But while I struggle, I'll show them just how dreadful humans can be. I refuse to die a dog's death. Leave the 12-meter class behind us for me and my men."

With her final words, she fired her grappling hooks at a nearby building and zipped towards the 12-meter titan. Mitabi walked the opposite direction where the other two titans were approaching.

"Let's go," Mitabi said. "The two ahead of us are ours."

"Yeah," Ian settled as he watched Mitabi jog off the roof and fired his hooks at one of the structures to fight the other titans.

"Thank you, squad leader Ian," Mikasa appreciated.

"You are certainly eloquent with your words, darling," Rarity expressed.

"Ackerman, ponies," Ian said to them. "you shouldn't thank me. I almost shat myself because I had no clue what you were about to do."

Ian drew out one of his many blades using the handle of his omni-directional mobility gear.

"Move ahead on your own to execute the original plan. Your abilities are best utilized that way."

"Yes, sir," Mikasa confirmed.

"Defend your boyfriend."

"He's my family," Mikasa corrected while blushing.

"Oooh!", Rarity swooned, only receiving a menacing glare from Mikasa.

"Ponies," Ian called out to them. "You seven will help Mikasa defend Eren until we can move forward with the original plan to seal the hole. You'll still need to defend yourselves, even with the use of flight or magic."

Twilight put her right hoof under her chin to think of the best approach to fight back. Suddenly, she shot her head up and gasped once an idea popped into her head.

"Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy," Twilight called out to the two pegasi. "I need your help with something. Just follow me."

Twilight flew off the roof towards the headquarters with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy behind her tail. Ian was puzzled as to what kind of idea Twilight had in mind. However, he couldn't just mosey around about it.

"Ackerman!" Ian shouted running off to join his fellow comrades. "You have your orders! Do what has to be done!"

Ian used his mobility gear to fly off down the streets. With Ian out of sight, Mikasa and the other ponies looked down at Eren's Titan body as it remained motionless. Mikasa realized that his wounds have not healed entirely and were still smoldering with steam, even though it had been several minutes and should have been all healed up by now.

Huh? Mikasa thought. His wounds aren't regenerating. Is it because of the damage he suffered before? What effects did that have on Eren? Is there any guarantee he can return to his normal form again at all?

"Mikasa!" Starlight shouted, bringing Mikasa out of her trance. "We can't just stay here! Those Titans will eat us like a dinner on a platter!"

"Besides, I'm more of a dessert!" Pinkie Pie mentioned, only getting raised eyebrows from the ponies.

Mikasa nodded her head in agreement and closed her eyes for a moment.

They're right. I should stop. Mikasa continued to think. It's not something I can figure out by thinking. Right now, I must do what I can.

Meanwhile, Armin was still running on top of the wall to come to Eren, Mikasa, and the ponies' aid. He was panting lavishly and was starting to feel exhausted for running so long, but regardless he had to keep going and cease from resting until he made it to his destination.

Eren! Mikasa! Armin said in his mind. What happened?!

Deep inside the nape of Eren's Titan body, Eren remained immobile and lifeless. His arms, legs, neck, and face were intertwined with the titan's muscle fibers inside. His real eyes were twitching as they remained open until his pupils began to enlarge, awakening Eren.

Huh? Eren thought. What... am I doing? Am I sitting? I can't see a thing. What day is it? Where am I?

Eren's vision started to clear up once he saw a bright light shine through his eyes. After adjusting his vision more clearly, he got a better look at his surroundings. He was now only ten years old. He was sitting on a bench with a blanket wrapped around him and a pillow behind his head. There was a large wooden table with four wooden chairs with his father sitting on one of them writing in a journal. Mikasa was washing dishes at a sink behind the table helping out an older woman that appeared to be Eren's mother.

She had long, black hair that was tied loosely to the side of her right shoulder with a red tie along with a few strands of hair around her ears and forehead. She had brown eyes and she wore a cream colored shirt with an apron tied around her waist. The sunlight shined through the window where the sink was, giving abundant light inside the kitchen.

Oh, I'm at home? he continued to say to himself while yawning enormously. I need sleep...

Eren shuffled a little in his blanket and closed his eyes to get some rest.

Armin used his maneuvering gear to swing over and through the city until he reached the boulder. With one last thrust, he landed on top of a roof of a building adjacent to where the boulder was. While he was catching his breath, he saw Eren sitting behind the boulder with his hands and face torn off. Needless to say, Armin was not happy in the slightest.

Eren! Armin thought with great concern for Eren.

"What are you doing, Eren?!" Armin shouted to him.

At the northwest corner of the city where the Titans were still swarming, Jean, Conny, and Annie, along with two trainee soldiers and a Garrison soldier were deliberating a plan to lure more Titans and let those titans join the other ones in the corner.

"Do you understand?", said a male Garrison soldier. "We musn't let the Titans leave this corner! Focus only on that goal, and lure them close enough! Do you understand? You won't have to fight. Cadets will form groups of three and run on the ground. Once you're under the wall, climb it up. Try not to die. If by some miniscule chance any Titans stray away, we'll crush them."

"Miniscule chance?", Jean grumbled in a quiet voice. "I'd say it's more likely than that."

"Are we free to act as we see fit in the case of emergency?", questioned Annie.

"If you can sort it out that way, sure," the Garrison soldier answered.

Out of nowhere, crashing wood and massive clouds of dust began to form over a nearby structure as a large titan was approaching the squad.

"Kirstein squad, move out!" the Garrison soldier ordered.

"Okay!" Jean confirmed.

Farther in the city, a titan fell on its back with its nape cut open by a soldier that killed it. Another Titan noticed Mitabi zip over to another rooftop where Ian was standing on and tried to reach for him. Before the titan could get the chance to do so, Mikasa flew from above and sliced its nape clean off, causing the Titan to tumble forward onto the building with its neck pouring out steam. Mikasa landed where Mitabi was sitting, trying to regain his composure after nearly being snatched by a Titan.

"This isn't good!" Ian shouted. "Behind us!"

Indisputably, a huge Titan already climbed on the rooftops to get to Eren a lot faster than the others, leaving many soldiers in terror.

"A thirteen-meter class is heading for Jaeger!" a male soldier declared.

"More titans are coming in through the gate!" Mitabi announced.

When Mikasa looked at the destroyed gate, she saw four more titans entering the city.

"Looks like four ten-meter class!" Mitabi presumed.

"Ackerman," Ian called out to her. "handle the ones behind us!"

"Roger!" she responded, heading towards Eren's current location.

"Don't let them reach Jaeger!" Ian added. "We'll stop them here!"

"Roger!" answered Mitabi.

As Mikasa ran across the rooftops towards the boulder Eren was stationed, she began to wonder to herself if the two squadrons would be able to handle so many of them until they became devoured themselves.

Even though they're the elite, she thought. just two squads can't handle four at once; the ponies may have flight or magical abilities, but it'll probably take more than that to actually kill a titan.

As she used her mobility gear to reach Eren, she saw some of the ponies trying to distract a Titan going for Eren by calling or mocking it, but to no avail. Mikasa fired a hook at the Titan's nape and reeled herself in for the kill. Once she was close enough, she slashed through the titan's neck, forcing the titan to drop on the roof as Mikasa ended its life. Afterwards, she met up with the ponies to see how they were all doing.

"Mikasa!" Rarity clamored, hugging Mikasa. "Are you doing alright fighting off those barbarians?"

"So far, so good," Mikasa responded. "But something's wrong."

"Whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked.

"There are so many Titans in this area even though there are hardly any humans around here," Mikasa clarified. "Is it possible... that they're being drawn to Eren?"

Mikasa scanned some of the ponies and then realized that a few of them were missing, specifically Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

"Wait, where are the others?!" she queried.

"Right here!" Twilight called out.

Mikasa and the ponies looked at the direction where Twilight shouted and saw her and the two other pegasi return with several sheaths entirely filled with fresh, new blades. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash placed them on the roof to allow everypony to grab a pair of swords. Mikasa was left in confusion as to what the ponies had in mind to defend Eren.

"Twilight, what are you guys planning to do with those blades?!" asked Mikasa.

"Well, duh," Rainbow Dash blurted. "We're gonna use them to fight back against those monsters! We'll all grab a pair and fight back! We can't just rely on wing power and magic alone!"

"Fight the Titans?" Mikasa murmured. "But how-"

"Mikasa! Twilight! Everyone!" Armin screamed, bringing Mikasa's and the ponies' attention to him. "What happened to the plan?"

When they saw where Armin was standing, they were all aghast to see him on Eren's immobile Titan form.

"Armin?" Mikasa cried to him.

"What's wrong with Eren?"

"Armin!" Starlight shouted. "It's far too dangerous! Get away from there! Something went wrong! Eren can't control that Titan!"

"Mikasa and Rainbow Dash even tried to reason with him, but he just attacked them out of the blue!" Twilight added.

"She's right!" Mikasa agreed. "There's no use in anyone else trying either!"

"And the plan?" Armin questioned in worry.

"It failed," Mikasa replied. "But we can't leave Eren behind, so everyone's fighting!"

"But at this rate, we'll all be wiped out before we can get Eren to regain his senses!" Twilight concluded. "You have to get out of there!"

Armin gasped after hearing them describe the state that Eren was in and the morbid position Mikasa, the ponies, and every soldier was in. Armin had to do something to wake Eren up since so many soldiers already perished for the sake of the mission. He turned around looking directly at the nape of the Titan where Eren's true body rested, remembering the first time Eren rose out of the Titan's nape. He had an idea in mind that would probably kill him in the process, but he had to pull it off if the mission was to succeed according to plan.

"From the back of the head to the nape of the neck..." Armin muttered to himself taking out one of his blades. "One meter long. Ten centimeters wide."

"Armin?!" Mikasa cried.

"Don't tell me he's doing what I think he's doing?!" Starlight said to Mikasa and the ponies.

"Armin!", Applejack shouted to him. "What in tarnation are ya tryin' to do?!"

"I'll get Eren out of here!" Armin clamored to them. "Mikasa! Everyone else! Protect us from the Titans!"

Mikasa and the ponies did not like where Armin's plan was heading one bit. Armin walked closer to the nape of Eren's Titan form to prepare himself to wake Eren up from his dreamy state. Fluttershy hid behind Rarity waiting for the inevitable to happen while Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity bit their lips with nervous expressions.

"What are you..." mumbled Mikasa with a shocked look.

"Eren came out of the Titan's weak point before," Armin notified.

He pressed the triggers from the handles to fire both hooks at the Titan's shoulder pads to lock Armin in place for good measure.

"This has to be related to the mystery of the Titan's true nature," Armin continued. "It'll be fine. As long as I avoid the middle, it won't be fatal. It's just going to hurt a bit!"

"Looks like we're in for a terrible surprise," Pinkie Pie stated hiding on the other side of the roof.

Mikasa and the ponies gasped to see Armin about to thrust the blade into the titan's nape where Eren rested. Fluttershy, Starlight, and Rarity looked away as they couldn't bare to watch whereas Rainbow Dash tried to fly towards him to stop Armin from doing anything reckless and idiotic, only to be held back from her tail by Applejack.

"Don't do it!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"Armin, stop!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Armin!" Mikasa shrieked.

Ignoring them, Armin jabbed the blade into the Titan's flesh a few centimeters left away from Eren's back. Inside the Titan's nape, the blade stabbed right through Eren's left arm, causing Eren's eyes to shoot wide open from the sudden pain he felt in his arm. The Titan's upper body suddenly jerked wildly and roared rapidly in pain. Armin held on to the blade that was lodged inside the Titan's neck with both of his hands as Eren's upper body jerked and twitched back and forth.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Armin, don't be a fool!" Mikasa shouted.

"Mikasa! Twilight!" Armin yelled. "Right now, do what you can! If you all go now, there are lives you can save! Leave Eren to me and get going!"

As much as Mikasa and Twilight wanted to argue, they knew that there were people counting on them to seal the hole and reclaim the city of Trost. Once Mikasa groaned in defeat, Twilight walked to her and placed her hoof on her left side of her body.

"Don't worry," Twilight reassured. "We'll help you fight back those titans and keep the two of them safe. I'll go with you and join Ian and the others."

Twilight turned her attention to Starlight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash to give the three of them a certain task.

"Starlight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack," she addressed. "You girls stay here and watch over Armin to make sure no Titans get to them. Use those blades we gathered at the best at your disposal."

"We won't let you down!" Rainbow Dash confirmed while giving Twilight a salute. "Let's go girls!"

"We're right behind ya, Rainbow!" Applejack replied with a quick nod.

The three ponies grabbed a pair of their own blades and then jumped onto a different roof to watch Armin's back from the other titans. Twilight then turned to face the rest of the ponies and Mikasa as they waited for further instructions.

"Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie," addressed Twilight. "You three and I will join the elite squadron and save as many lives as possible. Fluttershy will be a diversion to keep the Titans distracted, Rarity and Pinkie Pie will help the other soldiers kill off the other Titans by cutting their tendons and crippling them for a short while. So make sure you grab a pair of blades; and if anypony needs help, just call me and I'll swoop in to stop the imminent. Understood?"

"Aye-aye, captain!" Pinkie Pie rooted, giving a salute by placing her hoof on her head.

The other ponies excluding Twilight did the same after knowing their roles in this battle. Afterwards, Mikasa and the other four ponies set out to regroup with the squadrons. Fluttershy carried Rarity in her hooves while Twilight carried Pinkie Pie along with Mikasa using her mobility gear to swing across the buildings. Meanwhile, Starlight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash kept a close eye out for any Titans that were enticed to Eren.

"Eren," cried Armin. "can you hear me?! Get a grip man! If you don't come out of there, we're all dead!"

The three ponies looked back to see if Armin was making any progress of waking Eren up.

"Don't let a mere titan body control you!", he continued. "Hurry up and get out of that lump of flesh!"

Get out of here? Why?, Eren thought to himself. I'm so sleepy...

"Eren! Come out!" Armin shouted. "Hurry! Eren! Eren!"

Armin started to pant as his exasperation began to swell up since he was unable to influence Eren.

"What happened to avenging your mother?!" he yelled, slamming his right fist on the Titan's body. "Weren't you going to exterminate all the Titans?! Don't you hate those bastards for killing your mom?!"

Inside Eren's dream, he looked behind him where he was resting and saw Armin at a younger age banging on the window.

"What are you saying, Armin?" Eren asked, looking back at his family, specifically his mother. "My mom's right here."

"Eren! Wake up, please! Eren! I know you're in there, Eren!"

The ponies watched Armin with somber looks as Armin's attempt to snap Eren out of his coma was pointless.

"Did he mention something about Eren avenging his mother?" Rainbow Dash quietly asked with a discontented expression.

"Ah wonder whatever happened to his real family back then," Applejack replied.

"If you stay here, we'll be killed by the Titans!" Armin continued to argue. "Everything will end right here!"

Eren still didn't respond as his body became limper with Eren falling deeper in his dreamy state.

Inside Eren's fantasy, Armin kept on banging on the window to convince Eren to come outside. Eren, however, remained wrapped in his warm blanket not understanding what Armin was saying to him.

"I told you, you're making no sense, Armin," Eren answered back as he realized something. "Why should I go outside? That's right. Why should I... join the Scout Regiment?"

Outside where the three ponies were guarding Eren, Rainbow Dash smacked her face with her right hoof as she lost her patience.

"I had enough of this!" Rainbow exclaimed, flying towards Armin to wake Eren up as well before she could be stopped by Applejack or Starlight.

"Rainbow, stop!" called Applejack.

Once Rainbow Dash reached Eren, she lowered herself next to Armin and slammed her hoof on the Titan's back as well.

"Eren!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Stop horsing around and get on your hooves!"

In Eren's dream, he gasped once he saw a multi-colored pegasus slam her hoof onto the window with Armin.

"What?!" Eren gasped. "Is that you, Rainbow Dash?! This cannot be real! You're not real!"

The Garrison soldier with wavy, blond hair was captured by a fifteen-meter Titan with a huge goatee. The soldier screamed in terror as his life was about to meet its end. Down in the streets, Jean, Conny, and Annie ran with three other titans on their tails with Jean witnessing the soldier's demise. Jean turned his head back forward where he was running in order to pull off the plan.

"I guess we'd better move on our own now!" Annie suggested.

The three soldiers could barely outrun the other titans in hopes that they would all survive the outcome of the battle.

Mikasa, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie moved across the city to regroup with Ian and the other elite soldiers with Twilight and Fluttershy flying overhead carrying Rarity and Pinkie Pie whereas Mikasa ran on the rooftops to conserve the amount of gas left in her canisters. As they traversed above the buildings, Mikasa noticed a soldier caught in the hand of a Titan with a beard roughly fifteen meters in height. The soldier screamed in horror as the Titan drew him closer to its mouth ready to chop off its upper body. Mikasa was about to come to the soldier's rescue until she saw Twilight fly above with blades in her magical grasp swoop from behind down below into the streets and upward towards the Titan's nape.

"I don't think so!" Twilight yelled, cutting deep into the Titan's weak point.

The Titan fell onto the roof right before it could eat the defenseless soldier. The male soldier crawled out of the Titan's hand while he was still quivering over his end that could have taken place.

"Take that, you piece of shit!" mocked Mitabi in a loud voice.

Ian and Mitabi were suddenly caught off guard when they noticed a smaller Titan about to whack them with its right hand. The elite soldiers moved out of the way in time before they could be crushed by the Titan's massive hand while the Titan left a large hole in the roof. Once Ian regained control, he gave further orders to the other cadets.

"Keep your distance!" ordered Ian.

"Ackerman reporting in!" Mikasa called out. "I'll join Mitabi's squad!"

"Count me in too!" Rarity joined in while landing safely on the rooftops.

"Me three!" Pinkie exclaimed, popping below where Rarity was standing.

"Don't worry, Ian!" Twilight ensured. "We'll help you guys out by any means necessary!"

Ian was about to protest, but he knew as well as everyone else that there was no time to argue. Ian nodded in confirmation and readied himself for any other Titans coming their way.

Further, in the city, Jean, Conny, and Annie continued to escape from the Titans pursuing them. As they split up to confuse the Titans, Conny kept running away in the main streets with a massive Titan right behind him. The Titan readied itself to grab Conny, only for the bald soldier to jump up and dodge his arm. Conny fired a hook at one of the buildings, only for the hook to bounce off the brick wall.

"Huh?", blurted Conny in confusion.

He turned around to see the same Titan kneel down to lunge at him again. Before the titan was about to strike, a hook fired directly into its thumb, forcing the titan to turn his attention to the culprit. It looked at him to see Jean standing in the street, now enticed to him.

"Jean!" yelled Conny.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Jean commanded him, running the opposite direction.

The Titan slammed his hand where Jean was standing, only for the titan to miss his target.

I've had enough of people dying on my account! Jean settled in his mind.

Jean stooped at a T-intersection of the street to see the Titan get up onto its feet and trail him further. With full determination and a small smirk on his face, Jean pulled the firing triggers on his handles, causing nothing to happen. Jean tried several times to fire the hooks in his mobility gear but became timid one he realized there was a malfunction with his maneuvering gear.

"Shit," groaned Jean. "it just had to break right now?!"

Jean tried to fire his grappling hooks in desperation while a smaller titan approached him from behind. As the Titan raised its right arm to grab him, Jean dodged out of its reach and darted further into the streets to find a safe place to hide.

During that time, Conny and Annie latched onto the western side of the walls to land on top of them. Once they were in a safe haven, they waited for Jean to rally up with them. However, they noticed Jean running away from a Titan without the use of his mobility gear.

"Jean!" Conny shouted. "What's wrong? Why isn't he using his 3D Maneuver Gear?"

Conny gasped as he may have realized the problem Jean was in.

"Don't tell me it broke!"

Jean kept running as far as his legs could carry him to find a spot to rest and reassess the situation.

"I'll sort this out myself!" Jean shouted to himself.

He turned right into a different intersection and entered a building to hide. He slammed the door behind him and moved towards two windows on the left side of the room, sliding to the floor to catch his breath for a few minutes. He hoped that the Titan would be stupid enough to forget about him or look somewhere else.

"Dammit!" he huffed. "Now I'm holding other people back?"

He peeked through the left window to see the titan come closer to where he was hiding in hopes that he would not be noticed. Figuring out a way to escape, he glanced to his right to see the maneuvering gear of a fallen soldier crushed by a large rock that appeared to function properly. Jean gasped as he began to construct a plan to get out of the city alive.

"Will this really work out?" he wondered.

Ian, Mitabi, Rico, Mikasa, and some of the ponies tried their hardest to hold off the Titans as their strength began to dwindle down by the minute. The ponies noticed that the Titans tried to attack them as well, realizing that Fluttershy was right earlier about the Titans seeing them as a threat moreover. At the rate the Titans were coming in, it wouldn't be much longer until they were wiped out unless Armin gets through to Eren to help him carry out the mission.

"Eren! Eren!" Armin panted in exhaustion, seeing that his attempts to wake him up seemed futile.

However, Armin had one more idea in mind to convince Eren to lift the boulder and reclaim the city of Trost.

"Weren't we going to explore the outside world?" he asked Eren.

This question got Eren's full attention with his eyes widened in sudden realization.

"Far, far beyond these walls..." Armin reminded him. "To the burning water and the land of ice. To the snowfields of sand. To that world, my parents were always hoping to see... I thought you'd forgotten about it, but you'd just stopped bringing it up because you didn't want me to join the Scout Regiment."

Armin's words brought fascination to Eren.

"The outside world..." Eren muttered to himself.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied through the window. "After this whole war is over, maybe someday you guys can see our world as well. There's a royal city on a cliffside of a large mountain, a city in the sky made of clouds, an empire far north made of crystals, and so much more. Our world, Equestria, is just as wondrous as your world says to be. We'll all take you to our home someday!"

Rainbow Dash's description of the ponies' homeworld brought Eren's wonder up higher as he stood on his feet letting the blanket wrapped around him fall to the floor.

"Eren, answer me!" Armin begged him. "Even though you knew hell was raging outside the walls... Even though we might end up dying horrible deaths like my parents... Why did you ever want to see the outside world?"

Eren was in full realization as he turned to face Armin and Rainbow Dash. The heads of his family in his dream turned to him to get an answer.

"Why, you ask?" replied Eren. "Isn't it obvious?"

Once Eren remembered his purpose, his rage had built up to give Armin and Rainbow Dash his final answer.

"Because I was born to this world!"

His dreamy environment and apparations of his family burst into flames as everything around him burned off his feelings of security and comfort.

Eren's Titan form began to heat up with steam while his previous wounds from earlier began to regenerate and heal themselves up. Eren's titan form got up to its feet and and let out an imtimidating roar while Armin and Rainbow Dash jumped off of him to join Applejack and Starlight as all of their hopes of reclaiming the city glimmered once again.

"We did it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hugging Armin in the process.

"It's not over yet!" Armin replied. "Eren still has to plug that hole! So let's go!"

"Yeehaw!" Applejack shouted. "Let's finish this once and fer all!"

"Let's go, everypony!" Starlight ordered. "We still have a chance!"

As they made their way towards the destroyed outer gate, Eren turned around towards the boulder ready to succeed on this mission and reclaim the city from the Titans this time for sure.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the delay. My proofreader has been busy with other things. Anyways, stay tuned for more.