//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Tracking the Crystal Heart 
// Story: Lone Wolf of Equestria; Battle for the Crystal Empire 
// by JNKing 
//------------------------------//

Logan walked through the Crystal Empire streets, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash right behind him. He kept glancing around, his nostrils flaring as he searched. Though every time he approached one of the many ponies dotting the streets, they flinched and turned away from him, trembling at his menacing appearance. 
“So,” Fluttershy asked him nervously. “What exactly are we looking for?” 
“A contingency,” Logan replied. “The Crystal Heart was always powered by the ponies of this empire, and they had a certain festival that helped them. I wasn’t sure on the specifics, but even if we do find the Heart, it’s as likely as not that it won’t be fully powered up.” He shot her a wry grin. “Humans had these odd little cell phones that, if you left them without a source of energy to power them, their power withered away and died. I don’t know about you, but even an artifact like the Crystal Heart might need a charge up before it can use any magic.” 
“Alright, so what are we supposed to make for the festival?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“That… I don’t know,” Logan replied, glancing around at the crowd. “They might though.” He walked over to two mares, one of whom instantly bolted. “Now, hang on,” he yelled, causing the other one to stop in her tracks, “Answer some questions, and I promise I won't eat you.”
The mare nervously turned around. “W-Well, I-I’m sorry, b-b-but I’m n-not sure h-how much help I c-c-could be.” 
Logan and Fluttershy glanced at each other nervously before Rainbow Dash pressed forward.
“We heard you guys have some sort of Crystal Festival. Involves powering the Crystal Heart?”
The mare just backed up even further from Rainbow Dash.
“I-I’m sorry,” the mare murmured, “I w-wish I could h-help you… but… I-I can’t seem to remember anything b-before King Sombra came to power.”
An ominous black flash emanated, making both parties jump before the mare sunk even lower into her mane. 
“A-And I don’t want to remember ANYTHING about that time,” she added with a shudder. 
Logan, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy glanced at each other helplessly.
“Well, if you can think of anything, give us a call,” Logan replied. 
“O-Of course,” she murmured. As she skittered off, Logan let out a breath of frustration.
“Well, that went well,” Rainbow Dash muttered, “She made Fluttershy look downright social.” 
“Fluttershy’s not social around…?” Logan glanced at Fluttershy, who gave him a nervous shrug, “Right.” He glared down at his claws. “My appearance is probably gonna cause some problems.”
“Well, the others don’t have to deal with a seven-foot diamond dog walking around with them,” Rainbow Dash noted, ignoring Logan's miffed look. “Maybe they’re having better luck.” 

#

Twilight and Applejack watched their latest attempt disappear into a house. Despite Applejack stamping her hoof in frustration, Twilight simply looked away, distracted. 
“What is with this place?” Applejack pondered, “They seem to have some kinda collective amnesia or something.” She glanced over at Twilight, who didn’t respond. “You all good, sugar?”
Twilight gave a small start. “Oh! Uh, yes, Applejack, I’m fine,” she said, even as her eyes darted away again.
Applejack gave her a small motherly stare, and pulled her aside. 
“Twi,” Applejack asked softly. “What Logan said… I know you care a lot about Princess Celestia, but maybe...”
“It didn’t hurt me,” Twilight said. “He… made some points about Princess Celestia. A-And I’m trying to focus on the mission, but… I’m starting to see why he’s so angry at her.”
Applejack tilted her head. “If you need to share, you can,” she said. 
Twilight sighed. “We’ve always said that Celestia is the kindest mare in Equestria. A-And she is,” she added hastily, “But Logan brought something up: if Sombra is as dangerous as he seems to be, why didn’t she prepare us more? Why didn’t she let us bring the Elements?” She looked up. “F-For that matter, if we mattered so much, why does she always leave us defending ourselves instead of having an armed escort? Soldiers to protect us in case something like Chrysalis or Discord attacked us.” She clutched her head. “I know I’m not being fair to her, but ever since Logan got here… I’ve started to wonder just how unjustifiable his actions are.”
Applejack looked away herself, looking just as conflicted. 
“You mentioned before that, if you were separated from your family, you were scared about how similar you would be to Logan?” Twilight asked. “Well, I’m scared that he has a legitimate reason for hating Princess Celestia. And…” she looked down in horror, “I’m worried it’s spreading to me.” 
Applejack stared at Twilight in disbelief. Twilight covered her face in shame. She had always been loyal to the Princess. Sure, the others respected her, but for Twilight, it was more. Borderline worship, if she was being honest with herself. But now, here they were, in the middle of a dangerous mission, and she was suffering a crisis of faith. What a horrendous time for this!
“Twilight,” Applejack said softly, breaking her out of her worry. “Remember; Logan’s just as scared as you are right now. He was taken here against his will. Sure, this is a nicer place than other places that might’ve kidnapped him, but he’s lost and scared that he’ll never see his own family again.” Her head dipped as she remembered his howl of sorrow. “Now, does he have a good reason to be mad at the Princess? Of course; I’d be mad too if the same happened to me. But we also don’t think clearly when we’re angry or emotional. It clouds judgement, causes some pony – or in this case, some wolf – to look only at the bad and ignore all the good.” 
Twilight gave a soft nod at that, looking up at Applejack.
“So, maybe Princess Celestia did send us out here without much to go on,” Applejack said, “She did the same with Nightmare, and we came out of that one okay. She’s been around for far longer than you, me or Logan could ever dream of. We gotta have faith that she knows what she’s doing. Just as she has faith that we can do this. Ya understand?”
Twilight wiped at her eyes and held herself a little higher. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I do.”
“Oh, Twilight!” a voice sang. The two looked up to see Rarity bouncing towards them. Applejack smiled as Twilight turned towards her, her focus and determination right back on track.
“Did you find something?” Twilight asked her.
“Oh, something I think you’ll positively enjoy,” Rarity said with a happy bounce. “Guess what they have. Oh, guess-guess!” 
Twilight’s ears flared up. “A library?” she asked hopefully.
Rarity’s smile brought a sparkle of joy to Twilight’s eyes. 

#

Twilight burst through the crystal doors, and gave a giant gasp. The others, even Logan, exchanged wry grins at the amount of books held in the first room alone. Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth, as she sputtered and choked in pure glee. 
“I just… I don’t even know what to… there are no words,” Twilight sputtered.
A crystal pony with amethyst coloring and a pair of glasses trotted up to them, and awkwardly cleared her throat.
“M-May I help you?” she asked. 
“Yes,” Twilight said, zipping over to her, “We’re looking for a book.”
“Wow, very specific, Sparkle,” Logan said sarcastically.
“Indeed,” the librarian replied, sharing a look of bemusement with Logan. “We do have many of those.” 
“You do,” Twilight sighed in awe, spinning around as she took in the sight. “You really do.” 
As she cooed in glee, Applejack and Logan walked past her. 
“We’re looking for a history book,” Applejack elaborated.
“Something about your Crystal Fair,” Logan added.
“Yes, of course,” the librarian said, trotting down one of the many aisles. “History… mm, history… Ah, yes!”
The group charged down the aisle after her. But as Logan yanked the first of the books she was pawing at, he found only the title, 'Crystal Crops and you; how a diet of crystal can lead to a healthier pony.'
“Um,” Twilight said, as Logan started looking through the book, “Where is the history section?”
Here, the librarian’s stoic demeanor faded, and she started rubbing her head, her eyes gaining the same glazed, scared nature of the others.
“I… don’t remember,” the librarian muttered, “I-I’m not sure I even w-work here.”
Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration, while Logan’s claws nearly punctured the book. He quickly put it away before Twilight noticed. 
Thankfully, Twilight was too busy sighing in suppressed frustration before turning back to the group.
“Let’s just take a look around. I’m sure we can find it on our own.”
“L-Let me know if you find anything,” the librarian said, wandering off down the aisles. The others watched her go for a beat.
“I like her,” Pinkie Pie finally said. 

#

“Ugh,” Applejack moaned as she shut “The Journey of the Crystal Warriors,” shut, “Any pony else starting to think this is a lost cause?”
“Come on, Applejack,” Logan said, yanking out ‘Crystals and Dogs; a comprehensive and romantic biography’ and quickly putting it away, “We’ve only been at this for an hour.”
“Just an hour?” Rainbow Dash snarked, shutting ‘The Tale of Jade’ and putting it back on the shelf.
Fluttershy started to yank out another book, only for it to get snagged by Twilight’s aura. She shot her a vague look of annoyance, but to be fair, Twilight was making more progress than the others, her aura easily pulling hordes of books towards her and letting her read the covers before replacing them back on the shelves. 
“Hey, Logan,” Spike noted, “You have that weird lightning magic. Can’t you do that?” he indicated Twilight’s magic.
Logan watched as Twilight easily spun through book after book. “My magic isn’t that precise,” he said, pulling out another book. “It’s more based on either destruction or...” He paused, and then went back to his search. 
“Or what?” Spike asked.
Logan just glanced over at Twilight again, before giving Spike a sad look and turning back to his books. Spike got a slight glare in his eye. 
“You know,” Spike said, putting away ‘A Million Ways to make Crystals Explode.’ “I heard your argument all those months ago. How you think you’ll just turn into me.” 
Logan paused, and gave Spike a searching look. 
“I may have never gotten to meet my actual parents,” Spike admitted. “But I have met my own kind.” He turned away. “They’re thieves, bullies and thugs. And honestly, I’m a lot happier here than with them.” 
Logan glared down at him. “Not all dragons are like that,” he growled.
“That…” Spike paused. “You have dragons where you come from?”
“Yeah,” Logan said. “Powerful warriors that wield the elements. I had run ins with them, both before and after I got here. Heck, one of them’s the reason I’m still here.”
“But you know what they’re like,” Spike insisted. “You gotta understand why I might be better off with Twilight?” 
Logan growled in warning, but Spike just got closer to him.
“No, you keep acting like Twilight taking care of me is one of the worst things that could’ve happened. But Twilight is my best friend; practically my sister. And I’m tired of you treating her badly just because…”
“Because what?” Logan demanded, “Because I wasn’t taken when I was a pup? Because I can’t imprint on her like you did?” He stepped closer. “Because my people aren’t all thugs, bullies and worse?”
Spike backed up, and looked away sullenly. Logan glared at him before shutting his eyes with a frustrated groan.
“I’m not angry at Twilight,” Logan said softly, turning back to the shelves. “I’m angry at Celestia. And yes,” he added before Spike could speak. “I know that Celestia means a lot to Twilight. But I don’t trust Celestia. I don’t trust anyone that has the level of power she’s got.” 
Spike glanced at ‘Keys to a Happy Family’ before sliding it back into its place. “Twilight mentioned that wolf packs work differently.” He glanced up. “But… you mentioned Shiva; the White Wolf. She united the wolf packs; she was their leader. Why didn’t your packs just stay together?”
Logan was silent at first. “Because power corrupts,” he said simply.
Spike tilted his head.
“Shiva was afraid. Not just of having to tend to the needs of millions of wolves, but of what that type of power would do to her. She already was known for having violent outbursts; temper tantrums that got people killed. She didn’t feel that any wolf could handle that much responsibility. So, she let the packs scatter as soon as they didn’t need each other. She let them live their own lives; choose their own paths. If other packs hurt each other, or she got hurt, so be it. Because every time someone in our world got power – the kind of power Shiva and yes, Celestia wield – they let it corrupt them; let themselves think they’re untouchable. And then they start doing whatever they want with the lives of the people who used to look up to them.” He looked at Spike. “Celestia’s a time bomb, Spike. And if she hasn’t already gone off, then she’s pretty dang close.”
Spike looked away at that while Logan turned to continue the search. But before Spike could respond, Twilight’s voice cracked them out of their thoughts. 
“I got it!” Twilight yelled, holding up ‘History of the Crystal Empire.’ “Let’s just hope it has the answers we need.”

#

It did. As Logan and Twilight ran to Shining and Cadence, both looked way happier than they had been when they started.
“The Crystal Faire!” Twilight read. “According to this book, it was established by their first queen, and became their most important tradition.”
Logan ran his claw over the page. “The Faire was held every year to renew the spirits of love and unity in the Empire so they could protect it from harm.” He grinned. “Everything we need to make the fair is in this book. We just need to find the Crystal Heart, place it at the center of the empire while the festival’s going on, and the love and unity of the crystal ponies will charge it like a human’s smart phone.” 
“Sounds promising,” Shining said. Cadence had retaken her place in maintaining the now baby blue shield, but she managed a faint smile of acknowledgment. Though that smile caused her horn to briefly flicker. The shield itself flickered, and Twilight’s pupils shrunk as she briefly saw Sombra’s demonic visage snarling from behind the shield. Thankfully, it was gone as soon as it appeared.
“We can’t keep this up forever,” Shining said gravely. “We have to find the Crystal Heart. And soon.” 
“No,” Twilight said, caressing her brother’s face, “You stay here with Cadence. She’s going to need you. I’ll retrieve the crystal heart.” 
“Let’s do it,” Rainbow Dash said. As Twilight glanced at her friends, she noticed Logan, who was still giving the outside a sour look. 
“Listen,” Twilight said, taking Rainbow Dash aside. “I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m meant to save this empire... and pass Celestia’s test," she added in a whisper. "Retrieving the Crystal Heart must be it. But there’s something else you and the others need to do.”
Rainbow Dash glanced over at Logan, noticing him watching them curiously. “Name it,” she said. 
“You and the rest of our friends have to get the Faire going, and keep it going.” 
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief, indicating where they had seen Sombra. “With that thing moving into the Empire?” 
“The whole point of the Crystal Fair is to lift the spirits of the Ponies, so they can activate the heart.”
“And?”
“If the Ponies find out that King Sombra is trying to take over again, their spirits are going to be anything but lifted. It won’t matter if I find the Crystal Heart. They won’t be able to make it work. You have to keep them happy, and that means getting the Faire going.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t look happy about it, but she still gave a salute. “Keep the Faire going and the Crystal Ponies’ spirits high. Done and Done.” 
Logan gave a gruff laugh. “You’re not cutting me out on the search, Sparkle,” he said.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight stared at him. “But Logan…”
“I told you,” Logan said, “I’m not in this to be a hero.” He got closer to them. “The Crystal Heart is the only way I’m getting home, and I told you up front that’s all I care about.” He gave them a cold, if slightly scared look. “Unless we have to make this difficult?”
Twilight’s eyes darted between Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash. Both of them looked slightly betrayed, but ready to charge him. However, Logan’s fangs were bared, and she could see the first vestiges of his magic sparking in his eyes. She sighed and nodded consent.
“Fine,” Twilight said, “You and Spike will help me search for the Heart.” 
As Logan backed off, causing both Shining and Rainbow Dash to relax, Twilight got up in his face. 
“But I’m warning you,” she said ominously, “We need that heart to save the empire just as much as you need it to go home. And I don’t care if it’s for Celestia or the Empire; if you do anything to sabotage my mission, I will take you down.” 
Logan's ear flicked. He gave her an impressed look. “I can work with that,” he said solemnly. Then he turned and walked out. Rainbow Dash and Twilight watched him go.
“A word of advice, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said, “Keep Spike close by you. I’m really not liking where he’s going with this.”
“I second that,” Shining said, “If saving the empire clashes with his goal, how are we supposed to know he’ll do the right thing?”
“More importantly,” Rainbow Dash said, “You think you can take him on alone?” 
As Logan’s tail disappeared out of the throne room, Twilight once again found herself with no means of protesting.