//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: The Framing Device 
// Story: Lone Wolf of Equestria: Back to the Pack 
// by JNKing 
//------------------------------//

The Crystal Empire; brought back only thanks to what Logan had been seeking. Even now, he could see the Crystal Heart at the center of the Kingdom, it’s power protecting the city and people from the ice storms outside. Part of him knew that he should feel at least a little good; his actions had helped a lot of people, and kept them from being oppressed by the ruthless King Sombra. It had kept the mares from enslavement. 
Yet it all seemed completely pointless the minute he heard Fluttershy call his name, and turned to see the source of his problems right behind her. Any good thoughts were further stamped down when the white alicorn had the nerve to smile at him.
“Logan Wolfe,” she called, her tone hopeful.
A sick bit of cathartic joy swelled in Logan as he turned from her and trekked into the snow. Part of him knew he was being unfair, but another part didn’t care. She had taken him from his home. Even if her subjects weren’t all bad, he still didn’t trust her, and he certainly didn’t like her. Part of him still wanted to fulfill the oath he had made to Celestia, and just attack her until she finally used that power that she kept hinting at to destroy him. But it didn’t make much sense to destroy a place that he had sacrificed so much to save. So, he gritted his teeth, and made his way into the snow. The blizzard had subsided, which of course meant he couldn’t outrun her. It wasn’t long before he heard her tread behind him. 
“Logan, please,” she asked. “We need to talk.”
“I warned you,” Logan growled, his voice dangerously soft. He kept his eyes on the horizon. “I told you that the next time we met, if you didn’t help me get home, I’d keep trying to kill you until you killed me.” 
She was silent for a moment. But then, he heard her.
“I see time has done nothing to ease your bitterness.”
Something in him snapped. He whirled around on her, his tail briefly wagging as she backed up from him.
“And it’s made you,” he growled. “An even bigger fool.”
Behind her, he could see the very same people that had helped him get so far: Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. All of them had that same look that drove him insane: concern. Pity for him, like he was never going to be more than that angry little pup that Celestia had given to them like one of the domestic dogs he was made from. 
But before any of them could say a word, Logan heard someone else speak.
“Logan, wait!” 
It couldn’t be. Logan’s ears flattened as he turned. There was no way…
But there was. Standing before him, shivering slightly in the snow, were the three Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom was staring at Logan with a mixed expression, while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were walking up behind her, all three wrapped in winter garments.
Logan stared at them with a dumbfounded expression. His appearance had changed, sure, and he was certainly older, but his eyes couldn’t lie to them. 
The other mares froze where they stood, watching as Logan stepped towards them, as if in a dream.
“Apple Bloom?” he whispered, his eyes darting between them. “Sweetie Belle… Scootaloo…?”
“How’d ya’ll get here?” Applejack asked, stepping closer, but careful not to draw Logan’s ire.
“We heard you talking about Logan and a Crystal Empire back on the train station,” Apple Bloom replied, her eyes darting between her sister and Logan’s still processing gaze.
“So, we snuck on board the train to try and search for him ourselves.” Scootaloo said, shooting a glance at Sweetie Belle. “We would have been here sooner if some pony didn’t spend so long packing.”
“Rarity always said, pack for the weather,” Sweetie Belle replied with a huff of indignation.
Despite the situation, Rarity let a small chuckle slip. “That’s my sister,” she said proudly. 
Logan, however, just seemed to finally get that they were here. Right in front of him. Regret flashed across his features. 
“You guys… came here…” he muttered. “For me?”
“You were our friend, Logan,” Apple Bloom insisted, looking up at him with a smile… though that smile didn’t hide her hurt. “You helped us when no pony else did. Did you really think you could just cut out of our lives like that?”
Logan felt the glares of Twilight and Rainbow Dash on his back. His ears flattened, but he held his head up.
“Yeah, kinda,” he admitted, even as his soul begged him not to say that.
His soul was right to be wary; from the expression the fillies shot him, he may as well have socked all three of them in the gut. Scootaloo was the first to recover.
“’Kinda?’” she demanded. “You… you’re…” she sputtered, trying to find the right words, before simply screaming and kicking at him with her forelegs. She was still young enough that the blow didn’t hurt, but Logan still backed up by a bit as she bore down on him. 
“You leave us in the dust, and all you have to say for it is ‘Kinda?’” She glared up at him, her eyes brimming slightly with tears. “Do you have any idea how hurt we were? How hurt Apple Bloom was? I thought you cared about us, Logan. I thought we mattered to you! We spent so long wanting to search after you. It took Apple Bloom forever to accept that you could be gone for good.” She turned away. “The stress… the suffering every pony went through…” She spun around. “How could you do that to us, you bucking jerk!” She slammed a hoof into his chest, but his eyes just slowly narrowed.  
“Scootaloo,” Rarity chastised slightly, “Language.”
Despite that, Scootaloo still tried to fix Logan with a glare, but he just stared at her with the same impassive look he had given Twilight. Scootaloo may have been more aggressive, but even she found herself backing down at Logan’s utter lack of reaction to her. 
“What a shocker,” he finally noted. “Even the ones I had hope for still only care about themselves.” 
The fillies’ jaws dropped. “Care about myself,” Scootaloo demanded. “I…” she started to say, before Logan cut her off.
“I’m not your pack!” Logan snapped. “My pack isn’t in Ponyville!” 
“Are you kidding?” Twilight demanded, stepping up next to the girls, “We never cared about being pack, Logan! Why are you so insistent on just having pack, and not friends? I mean… I could understand us, but the Crusaders…"
“Oh, you understand?!” Logan snapped, whirling around to face her, “Then why’d you try to stop me?”
“We didn’t…” Fluttershy tried to say, before Logan cut her off.
“You tried to stop me, at the forest. If you understood, then why did you protest?” 
“The Outlands are dangerous,” Pinkie Pie insisted, “There’s Diamond Dogs, minotaurs, dragons…” 
“Oh, so Chrysalis, Discord, Luna, and now Sombra were easy for you?” Logan asked, “This whole thing was just another walk in the park for you guys?” 
Twilight tried to retort, but the comeback died in her throat. 
“How did you know about them?” she stammered.
“I know how to listen,” Logan said, “The other races knew about your plights. It’s kinda hard to forget when a demon of darkness, a demon of chaos and a succubus attack one of the most prosperous kingdoms out there. And there was a lot of talk about how all of them got beaten by or had the most trouble with six kids who had some magic artifacts.” He indicated them. “So, excuse me if I don’t believe you guys have managed to live without a few challenges to shake your lives up.” 
For a moment, the others were silenced by this. Pinkie Pie, however, was the next to speak up.
“Logan, I think I speak for all of us when I say; it wasn’t a matter of you going. It was that you just ran off. No good-byes… just ‘We’re not your pack,’ and boom; disappeared. I watched you vanish on us, and was super-sad, because I thought it meant you never forgave me for that mean prank I pulled. That you just said what you said at Canterlot to make us all feel better.” She bit her lip, “We all thought… you didn’t care.” 
Both anger and regret flickered across his face. But when he spoke, it was cold. “I can’t care.”
The others flinched at that. Their flinching seemed to cause Logan a bit of pain, because he looked down.
“Look,” Logan said, “You know what humans used to do with my kind? Back when we were just dogs? What they still do even now?” Logan asked, “When one of us dies, they don’t mourn. A lot of them just replace the dead dog with another one. Like we’re interchangeable. Like the only thing that mattered is having a dog; no matter who the dog was as a person. I’m not human. I have a pack. And you guys aren’t them! You aren’t Carol. You aren’t Mom,” he shook his head, looking almost at war with himself. “And Celestia wants you to replace them. That’s why I left the way I did. I won’t replace them like one of those shallow humans would.”
“Logan…” Twilight started to say, “I understand…”
“You understand?!” Logan’s gaze locked on Twilight. “You have Spike. You have your brother. You have BOTH your parents, five pack-sisters, and this jerk,” he pointed at Celestia, who flinched away, “who apparently loves you like a daughter. You have so much, you don’t even have time for half of the people who should be your pack. What the hell do you know about loss?” 
Twilight flinched, looking down. Applejack tried to take her place, only for Logan to cut her off. 
“I can’t replace them,” Logan said. “I won’t replace them!” Logan looked at Apple Bloom again, pain flickering across his face. “It hurts to have someone leave you, and there’s no way to avoid that kind of pain. But Celestia,” he turned to her, as she sighed, “If you think you can just shut down my ticket home, say ‘oh well, once was enough,’ and replace the first and only people who truly cared about me with you and your subjects, you’re WRONG!”
The group was silent again. Celestia’s eyes were closed, as if she expected to get yanked into the conversation. 
“Is that what this is really about?” Celestia asked, “Or do you still think befriending my little ponies somehow makes me the winner of this… war you think is between us?”
Logan’s scowl deepened. “The war I think is between us? You killed my mother, Celestia. You kidnapped me from my pack!”
“Those were accidents!” she protested.
“And even now, you keep me here, against my will, so you don’t have to feel bad about yourself.”
“You risk dying,” Celestia tried to say.
“Bullshit!” Logan snapped, “You do this all the time! You stole Twilight from her mother! You stole Spike from his family!”
“I did not steal either of them,” Celestia countered, “Spike, I found as an egg. And Twilight was a powerful student that I took under my wing…” 
“Make all your excuses, but I know what you really are, Celestia. My entire bloodline fought against people like you. Everyone does what you say because they’re afraid of you; afraid of the power you wield.”
“Logan…” 
“Just do me a favor, and tell the truth: the whole reason you’re here is because you can’t stand the fact that someone is actually showing what they think about you. That someone doesn’t want to grovel, bow and scrape and tell everyone how perfect and powerful you are.” Logan laughed. “And don’t even think of denying the practical side; you don’t want me going back to my pack is because you’re afraid I’ll let them know the type of scum you really are.” 
Celestia visibly flinched at his every word, but each flinch just drove him forward.
“I can’t hurt you physically, but if I can hurt you by rejecting any offer of friendship you and your little brainwashed servants give, then I will gladly throw all of those offers away with both paws and aim for your FACE. Anything to make sure you know I’ve NEVER forgiven you. I won’t EVER give you that satisfaction.”
“Logan, please…” Twilight whimpered, but Logan was on a roll, and his larger appearance dissuaded protests.
“You tore my pack apart! You got one of them KILLED! Even now, you keep me from what little remains. And from the looks of things; that’s just something you do on a regular basis! You are a blight on my existence, and if I have to prove that by shunning your ponies, then fine! Because I am not one of your toys and I will NEVER be one of your toys. EVER! YOU HEAR ME!?”  
Celestia closed her eyes and sighed, while the others kept looking back and forth at her and Logan like it was a death match. Twilight kept trying to protest, but Applejack kept her quiet, putting a hoof over her mouth.
“I truly regret what I have done,” Celestia said, her voice cracking briefly, “The fault is mine, and I bear it as I rightfully should. But my little ponies didn’t do anything to you. If you think hurting my little ponies is okay as long as it hurts me…?”
“Hurting your little ponies?” Logan snapped, “People talked a lot about you outside Equestria, Celestia. You wanna get on my case about hurting them when you put them into dangerous situations at least once every year?” 
Celestia went silent.
“You think I did more damage than at least three demons of darkness, a succubus, and a dragon? All of which, I might add, you put them up against; not your soldiers, not the people whose sole purpose in life is to protect your kingdom, but them? All while you sat by and watched like it was some sort of… sick show?” 
“Well, she tried to fight against Queen Chrysalis,” Twilight muttered, though she sounded doubtful as well. 
“And she lost, didn’t she,” Logan shot right back, “Too hard for you, or did you just assume, ‘hey, Twilight and her friends are here. I’ll just leave this to them; they already took on my psycho little sister; I’m sure they can handle this.’” 
Celestia looked just as at war with herself as Logan was. 
“You claim to care about them," Logan concluded. "But your actions say a lot more than your words do.” 
For a moment, Celestia’s eyes darted back and forth, as if trying to think of what to say. 
“Logan, please understand,” she began, “I have lived for thousands of years. And in that time, I’ve learned much; experienced much.” She sat. “Once, I tried to act the way one of your Alphas would; always being there, trying to solve everyone’s problems. But… it was too much.” She shook her head. “Because of the level of power I wield, I made life too easy. They came to expect me to solve every single problem they had, and it weakened me against the real threats.” She hung her head. “So, I learned to become more distant; enigmatic.” Her ear flicked. “I became the very thing your ‘White Wolf’ feared becoming; the leader of a pack that numbered in the millions. What works for your people… could not work for my own anymore.” 
Logan’s ears flattened, but he didn’t protest. 
“I can lay the groundwork, but I can no longer lead them directly to victory. Doing so before has only made them weak… and it weakens me as well. My failure against Chrysalis proved that.” 
Logan still looked angry at her, but he didn’t respond to her story, as if the dots were clicking in his mind. Celestia tried to offer him a half smile, but his glower just deepened.
“That’s why I find you so fascinating,” she admitted, “You refuse to let anyone lead you. You forge your own path, and you gain strength from the experience. You’re everything I wish I could lead my little ponies to be.” She looked away. “And… I see a lot of myself in you.”
“I’m not like you,” Logan said instantly. 
“No? We’re both alone in a world where others don’t understand us,” Celestia pointed out, “Can you say that anyone has really seen you beyond a mystery to be solved or a tool to be used?”
“You have your sister,” Logan said. 
Celestia paused.
“True,” she admitted, “I do have my sister. No matter how bad the days got, we always had each other.” Celestia breathed. “And then… Nightmare Moon,” she muttered, sadness gracing every syllable. “After I banished her to the moon, I was alone. Not even another alicorn goddess to relate to. For a thousand years, that went on. Each new generation was born and died before I could truly connect with them in the way I had with my sister.”
Logan actually seemed to consider that at first, though the minute she brought up ‘connecting’ with others, his gaze hardened. “Did you think she was dead?” he asked.
Celestia paused. “Well… no…” she admitted, but Logan just scoffed. 
“So, you tried to replace her, even when you knew she was alive?” Logan asked. “At least the humans wait until the dog’s dead.” 
“No, that’s not…,” Celestia insisted, looking like she was close to crying, “I was lost; alone and scared… I had lost more than a sister. I had lost my way in life. Sure, I knew that my sister would return, but I had no idea if I could ever get her back the way she was. And then… the ponies gave me a purpose: protecting them. Loving them. Mentoring them into stronger versions of what they could be. Yes,” she admitted, “I had to take an… odd and sometimes dangerous method for mentoring them. But it was how I had learned mentoring should be done, the way my experiences painted the act. And even when Luna returned as Nightmare, I wasn’t some all-knowing being. I only knew that if I used soldiers, and not the Elements, I would be risking more lives. And even with the Elements, I had no idea what was going to happen. For all I knew, my plans would go wrong. Twilight and her friends could have failed, and not only would I lose my sister again, but I would have also sent six innocent ponies to their deaths.” 
“So, you did care about them?” Logan asked. “A pack in the millions, and yet you still managed to care about them?” 
Celestia looked to Twilight, with love shining in her eyes. Twilight blushed and looked away. 
“It’s like you said,” Celestia replied with a loving grin, “Twilight is the closest thing I’ll ever have to a daughter.” Celestia looked away with a sigh. “And she exceeded my expectations. She not only defeated Nightmare… but she gave me the chance to reunite with my sister.” She grinned softly. “My soldiers were softened by peace and harmony. Putting them into direct battle would have been disastrous. So, I put my faith in the ones that succeeded against all odds. I put my faith in Twilight and her friends… and isn’t an Alpha allowed to have as much faith in their pack as the pack has in them?” 
Logan’s ears flicked, but the nod he gave was microscopic. Celestia smiled softly. 
“I know the isolation you feel, Logan, and I know the loss you have suffered; I’ve experienced it for longer than you can comprehend.”
“And how long did you have to adjust,” Logan replied quietly, “How long did it take you to overcome those emotions?”
Celestia paused. 
“My lifespan isn’t in centuries, Celestia,” Logan said, “It’s not even a human’s lifespan.” He silently indicated his grown form; how much he had already changed in the span of a couple years. “Dogs don't last longer than 20 years.”
The mares gasped, horrified. Even Celestia’s eyes widened in fear. 
“You can list all these great ways to overcome hurt,” he continued, “But I don’t have what you do… and that’s time.” He sighed. “All I have is hope, however fleeting it is. Hope that I’ll be able to see my pack again before my death comes. Hope that they’re be more than a memory. A memory I’m afraid of forgetting every day.”
“I would never say to forget them.” Celestia’s gaze grew more sympathetic. “Logan, despite what you might believe, your pack is beyond your reach. Just like your father and mother are.”
Logan glowered, but she continued before he could strike or protest.
“A loss like that… holding onto the memory is fine, but you’re never going to recover if you let the memory consume you. The only way to recover is to know that you have others.” Before Logan could speak, she continued again, “And you do have others. Right now, you are surrounded by those who care about you.”
“And still do,” Fluttershy whispered.
“But you’re so caught up in grief, stubbornness and pride, that you’re not giving yourself the chance to heal,” Celestia said. “Your mother? Your father? Your pack? They will always be a part of you. But you can’t let that part destroy you.” 
“You still don’t get it.” he muttered, his voice still dark, “My parents are dead. I saw the bodies. Carol isn’t dead. I haven’t seen her body!” his face dropped. “I don’t know if she or the others are alive or not.” His ears flattened, and his eyes filled with determination. “But I’m not going to give up until I know for sure.” 
“Logan. Do not think I’m trying to lessen...”
“Are you even listening?” Logan demanded, “Carol. Isn’t. Dead! And if she is, you’re the only one keeping me from finding out.”
“But why would you want to…?”
“You’ve lived long enough; is there anyone still out there that you don’t know are dead or not? Can you honestly say that you’re haunted by the thought of ‘what if they’re still alive?’” 
Celestia had no retort. 
“Yeah,” Logan repeated, “My dad’s gone. Thanks to you, my mom’s gone, but Carol? She could be alive or dead or domesticated or worse, but I’m not giving up until I find out for sure.” He turned away from her. “And if you’re too much of a coward to help me find out, then I’ll find someone who will, no matter how much I have to search.” 
The others were silent at that. For a moment, the only sound anyone could hear was the wind just outside the force field. Just before Logan could walk away, Fluttershy spoke up.
“We want to help you, Logan,” Fluttershy said, “That’s all we ever wanted.”
“Really,” Logan asked. “You wanna help?” He indicated Celestia. “Get her to realize that I don’t care about my life, no one should care about my life, and that no matter how dangerous it is, I can’t give up until I get back home.”
“That’s asking us to assist you in suicide,” Twilight insisted, “None of us can do that. All we can do is just be there for you. Try to befriend you; let you know you aren’t alone.”
“And it isn’t even for Celestia,” Pinkie Pie finished, “It was because we want to; because we saw someone who had been hurt really badly. And we didn’t want to see him in pain.”
Logan glared at them. “Well, that’s not good enough,” he replied, turning to walk away.
“Logan Wolfe,” Celestia commanded. 
He just flicked his tail at her. She sighed, knowing force would do nothing for him. 
“It’s my fault for what happened to you and your pack.” Logan did pause at that. “Blame and punish me all you want. But Twilight and her friends had no part in that. They barely even understand what happened to you. Any mistakes they made, you claimed you forgave them for. It’s not fair for them to suffer for things that aren’t their fault.” 
“I’m not...,” Logan started to say, but Celestia cut him off.
“Yes, you are!” Celestia shot back, “They’re worried for you; they care for you, and you keep trying to throw that care aside.” Her ears flattened and her voice softened. “I’m not going to beg your forgiveness, Logan.” Before Logan could reply, she looked away. “Honestly, I can’t even forgive myself. But I have taught my little ponies the value of tolerance and friendship. They have learned to solve problems by trying to cooperate; by tolerating quirks and flaws, and doing their best to be there for others. Please, stop punishing them for only doing what they think is right.” 
“Why?” Logan demanded, “So they can replace my pack?” 
“This isn’t some evil plan to indoctrinate you, Logan. I know nothing can replace family,” Celestia insisted, “I understand that pack is very important to a wolf. You can disbelieve me all you want, but you don’t need to consider someone your pack to be friends with them. Opening up to ponies that are willing to help won’t hurt you or make me feel better for what I did to you. You don’t have to forgive me, but they don’t deserve to be hated for my mistakes.”
The Mane Six looked at each other. “And,” Apple Bloom said tentatively. “There’d always be a place for ya in Ponyville, if you wanted it.” 
Logan looked away with a tired glare. “You all… are unbearably naïve,” he growled. Then he raced off the path and into the snow. The others gasped and raced out after him, but he was gone in a flurry of white.

#

For a moment, the ponies fanned out, looking for where Logan could have gone. But while Celestia was conflicted on whether or not she should even be part of the search, Fluttershy had something that the others lacked; knowledge on animals. 
She had worked with several wild dogs before, and she knew that they often went into dens or concealed places when mad or hurt. Thus, despite the wind easily whipping Logan’s tracks aside, she was able to still discern enough of what was left to track him to a small, damp cave, the entrance recently cleared of snow, but slowly piling up. 
Sure enough, as she pushed her way through the already sealing hole, she found him. There should have been a fire, but he likely couldn’t find any wood. He just sat in the cold darkness, sitting on his haunches and staring at a wall. 
He smelled her before she could figure out what to do. 
“I’m not in the mood for more lectures,” he warned. 
“I’ll keep it brief,” Fluttershy replied, setting herself down beside him.
His head darted to her, his ears perking up. She tilted her head at his surprise, before he looked away.
“I thought you were Celestia,” he muttered, “Or Sparkle.” 
“No, they know you don’t want to talk to them,” Fluttershy replied. For a moment, they just sat there. “Sorry,” she admitted, “I’m... well…”
“It’s easier when the canine’s the listener, right?” Logan asked. 
“…Yeah,” Fluttershy admitted. Both of them chuckled, their laughter fading in the cold of the cave. 
Fluttershy let the silence stretch again before taking a deep breath. “Listen, Logan… I wanted to talk to you ever since you saved Shining Armor. But… with everything going on; King Sombra… and then Princess Celestia… well… It wasn’t fair to throw all that on you.” She looked up and locked eyes with him. “I’m sorry.” 
He tilted his head, guilt crossing his face as her apology registered to him. His ears flattened, and a small whine escaped his nose.
“I’m sorry too,” he admitted, turning away. 
“You don’t need to be,” she told him, “At least, not to me. But I don’t want us to go on like this; with us constantly nettling you and you worried that we aren’t pack. So, I thought if… well, I understand you don’t want some pony to replace your pack, but… is there anything aside from a pack mate? Someone that you can trust… who… isn’t pack?” 
She was fumbling with her words, but Logan slowly started to understand.
“Allied packs,” he said, his tail wagging as Fluttershy sighed in relief. “They aren’t our own packs, but… we agree to trade with them. Food, good spots for shelter… allies against enemies.” 
“O-Okay,” Fluttershy said. She was silent again. “So… can some… well, someone from an allied pack… ask what was wrong?” 
Logan was silent at that, but he did nuzzle closer to Fluttershy. She felt his fur press against her, surprisingly warm despite the damp cold of the cave. With his warmth came a bit of confidence, and Fluttershy pressed further.
“Have you ever traded stories with allied packs?” she asked. 
He glanced up at her. “Stories can often show techniques or potential enemies,” he admitted. 
“Like what?” Fluttershy asked, “What were you up to while you were gone?”
He smiled. “You know…” he admitted, “I was almost hoping you’d ask.” 
She smiled softly, and shifted closer. 
“I will warn you, though,” he admitted, “It’s a long story; it’s got some violence in it; at least when it wasn’t just walking.”
“Maybe you could skip to the interesting parts,” she offered. “And… be gentle in describing the violent bits.” 
He grinned. “Sure.”