Logan had to hide his smirk; from the way Twilight looked, he could assume she was probably going to hit him up for some princess reversal soon.
The others didn’t seem to pick up on Twilight’s anxiety though; they were as cheerful as ever as they returned to the Crystal Empire. Then again, he could tell why they’d be so happy. Time had done very little to dampen the glistening crystals buildings and quartz covered streets. Though the ponies that lived there at least looked a lot cheerier. They made a very wide berth around Carol, but some of them looked happy to see Logan. However, that resulted in him getting bunched together with Spike, as a crowd of fans converged on them.
“The saviors of the Crystal Empire,” they declared, shaking Logan’s paw and Spike’s hand.
“Yep, Savior of the Crystal Empire, right here,” the dragon said grandly.
“Sure, yeah,” Logan grumbled. “Y’know, Spike did most of the work, so… yeah, congratulate him.” He squirmed his way out of the fans. “I’m just gonna… leave.” He zipped right over to Carol, who dissuaded any hopeful fans with a simple look. Just as Logan's fight with Sombra hadn’t been forgotten, neither had Carol’s explosive entrance.
“Not a fan of the fans, Logan?” Rainbow Dash asked teasingly.
“Fame and glory are your thing, Dash,” Logan growled up at her. “I thought I made it clear I wasn’t in this to be a hero.”
Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes with a grin. “Just kinda funny that the wolf who took on alicorns, changelings and minotaurs is scared of a few ponies that like him.”
“Go suck your…!”
“Hoo-wee,” Applejack declared to Twilight. “Your very first Princess Summit. You must be over the moon, Twilight!”
“No one can go over the moon,” Carol refuted with a grin, before shooting a nervous look at Twilight, who looked anything but excited. “You are really, excited, right?” she asked. “Not ‘so nervous you want the wolves to try and shred your wings?’”
“Of course, I’m excited,” Twilight replied. “And… nervous." She covered her wings. "But not so nervous for you to put your teeth on my wings. I'm serious, it really hurts when they get hit with anything."
Carol backed off, while Pinkie's eyes brightened.
“Oh,” Pinkie declared. “You’re ‘nervicited!’”
“Nerve… what now?” Logan asked.
“It’s like she wants to jump up and down and yell ‘YAY ME!’” Pinkie explained, emulating her description with a series of hops before suddenly curling up. “But she also wants to curl up in a teeny-tiny ball and hide at the same time!” She pat Twilight’s head. “We’ve all been there!”
“I’m there almost every day,” Fluttershy whispered from the corner. At her words, Logan nuzzled up to her, and she wrapped her hoofs around his neck in a thankful hug.
“Still,” Applejack declared. “Ya got no reason to fret, Twi. Everything’s gonna be just…”
“TWILIGHT!” Rarity’s voice shrilled.
Instantly, Logan and Carol were in defensive postures around the purple mare, sparks flying from their fur and snarls flying from their mouths. It took all six mares to calm them down before they caused a mass panic again.
“I’m… so sorry, darlings,” Rarity said once the wolves had been sated. “I just realized… Twilight’s not wearing her crown.” She turned back to the purple mare. “You haven’t left it back in Ponyville have you?”
“She’s got it,” Spike said, lifting the golden tiara up and out of Twilight’s bag.
“I just feel a little self-conscious wearing it,” Twilight explained, before glaring at her wings. “I haven’t really gotten accustomed to these yet, either.”
“That’s a good thing,” Logan replied. “It means you still have a semblance of who you are. You won’t let power go to your head.”
Twilight nodded at that, though Rarity looked less agreeable.
“Are you mad, Logan? I’m telling you, if I had a crown like that, I would never take it off! Why, I’d sleep in the thing.”
Logan glowered at her, while Twilight just rolled her eyes with a grin.
“How did you two get along again?” Carol asked. She paused, glancing at Logan’s jacket. “It was the jacket, wasn’t it?”
“It was the jacket,” Logan and Rarity replied at the same time. Carol shook her head, though she couldn’t hide her grin.
As the group entered the Castle of the Crystal Empire, they were greeted with a fanfare from a line of horn wielding guards. Logan’s ears flattened at the fanfare. The wolves spared a glance at each other, before promptly ducking out. Before they left, Logan glanced back at Twilight, who was nervously walking down the line towards the three princesses. Celestia caught Logan’s eye, but the wolf merely flicked his tail at her before pointedly turning away, the red and yellow wolves waiting outside while the princesses talked.
“So, how soon until we get to go back to Ponyville?” Logan asked.
Carol checked a non-existent watch on her wrist. “I’m thinking… probably two days.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “These guys are supposed to be horses, not humans,” he grumbled, just before the Mane Six came back out.
“Well?” Carol asked them.
Twilight yawned. “Bed,” she replied.
Logan tilted his head at her reply, and followed after her and Spike while the others left to their respective bed chambers. Carol watched Logan go before following Fluttershy.
“You sure this whole… ‘princess-Alpha’ thing is working for you, Sparkles?” he asked.
“Yeah, of course it is,” she said.
Her eyes met his, and her composure melted at the look he was giving her.
“Ugh… I don’t know, Logan. I’m just… worried, I guess. Princess Cadence was given the Crystal Empire to rule over. What if, now that I’m a princess, Celestia expects me to lead a kingdom of my own?”
"That'd be kinda awesome," Spike mumbled.
"Um... no it wouldn't," Logan refuted. "And if she did do that, then she’s even worse than I thought. Some people aren’t meant to rule large packs. Others aren’t meant to lead at all.”
Twilight chuckled. “I guess you’d know about that.” A hint of her old curiosity came back. “Did your pack expect you to lead? Since your father was the Alpha?"
Logan shook his head with a grin. “Packs don’t work that way. If a wolf wanted to be Alpha, they’d go off and form their own pack.” A brief spell of bitterness washed over him, before he brushed it off. “Packs and families are two sides of the same coin.” He gave the décor around them another irritated look.
“Something we could probably stand to learn, eh?” Twilight asked with a grin.
Logan wagged his tail at her, the gleam in his eyes friendly for once. He glanced away for a moment, their grins fading. Twilight sighed.
“I knew Celestia wanted me to achieve big things,” Twilight admitted. “But… just because she gave me a crown and these wings?” She fluttered her wings for emphasis. “It doesn’t mean I’ll be a good leader.”
“So, I was right?” Logan asked.
"Dude, seriously?" Spike asked, while Twilight sighed, exasperated.
“I’m looking for emotional support,” Twilight pointed out. “Not guilt and anger to add on top of everything.”
Logan chuckled, but went silent as Twilight walked towards what had to be her sleeping quarters. Twilight nudged open the door, before Logan’s voice stopped her.
“Sparkle,” he said softly. “I don’t know about a whole kingdom… but, for what it’s worth…” she turned to look at him. “I think you do a good job as Alpha of your current pack.”
“My… pack?” Twilight asked.
“Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike,” Logan listed them all off. “You’re a good Alpha for them. Again, I don’t know about a whole kingdom, but… don’t forget what you’re capable of.”
Twilight smiled softly.
“Thanks, Logan,” she said, before pausing. “Wasn’t your quarters…?”
Logan scoffed. “You think you’ll catch me sleeping in some royal bed?” he asked. He turned away. “I think I might track some mud over the carpets or something.”
“The closest mud is outside these borders,” Twilight said teasingly.
“I’ll make do,” Logan replied, wagging his tail.
Twilight rolled her eyes and walked back inside. Then, Logan spoke.
“Do you sleep with the wings under or over the covers?”
Judging from the aggravated yell that came a few seconds later, Logan could assume she was going to have trouble sleeping tonight.
Logan was more right than he realized.
#
At first; he had alternated between napping outside Fluttershy's room and wandering the halls of the castle. Despite himself, he couldn’t deny the place was rather beautiful. Especially at night. The crystal still found a way to shimmer like diamonds against the moonlight.
However, as the night wore on, and Logan started to return to Fluttershy's door, he noticed something. A new scent… like something was being heated.
His eyes narrowing, Logan followed the scent to an odd little storage room. Inside, right behind the door, was a strange mirror. Oval-shaped, with pink gems set in the sides and an image of a pony above it. His reflection… shimmered. And the fried scent was coming right from it.
Logan experimentally sniffed at the glass. His eyes widened; his breath created ripples on the glass. As if it was made of water.
Experimentally, Logan reached out his paw, and set it against the glass.
It sunk through!
Logan yanked his paw back, his jaw dropping. There had been some kind of force pulling at his paw, like the mirror would have sucked the rest of him in if he had kept it there. But the instant his paw was out, the mirror snapped back to its normal state.
Logan’s eyes narrowed, but before he could investigate further, he heard Twilight’s voice.
“STOP! THIEF! SHE’S GOT MY CROWN!”
Logan raced to open the doors, before his nose picked up on something: the fried scent led out and down the corridor.
Logan had spent a long time with the mares, but he still knew a thing or two about thievery. And from the sound of it, the source was heading right back here. Wherever that mirror led, this mystery thief had probably used this mirror as an entrance. And judging from the mirror’s secluded spot, there was a good chance they were planning to use it as an exit as well.
Logan chuckled as he set himself up next to the mirror. Not if I can help it, he thought.
“STOP!” Twilight screamed, followed by the sound of magic. But the hoof steps drew closer regardless. Whatever Twilight had tried, it hadn’t worked.
Logan’s ears flattened. It sounded like only the Mane Six were after this thief! Where were the guards? He readied himself for combat. His fangs bared; his claws unsheathed. He prayed that he hadn’t gotten too soft... or that this thief was going to run right by.
Then the door slammed open. Twilight rolled into the room, tussling with a flash of gold and red. Something slipped from their grip; a flash of gold that ping-ponged around the room like a superball before going straight for Logan.
At first, the wolf considered dodging, but his senses stayed his head. The gold projectile nailed him in the head, pitching him backward and nearly into the mirror. Gasps of horror flared around him.
“Logan!” Fluttershy screamed.
However, Logan’s claws shot out, gripping the mirror rims tightly and keeping his head and the crown out from its surface. The pull from the other side was stronger, but Logan felt hooves wrap around him.
“Hang on, dude,” Rainbow Dash yelled.
With a mighty tug, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy yanked Logan out. The mares and wolf grinned at each other… before Rainbow Dash started snickering. With a moan, Logan realized that the ‘projectile’ was actually Twilight’s crown, which had nestled itself firmly on his head.
“Shut up,” Logan snapped at Rainbow Dash.
“Why, whatever you command, ‘Princess Logan,’” Rainbow Dash declared with a cackle.
Logan yanked the crown off his head. “I will throw this at you,” he snarled.
“Do. Not. Throw that!” Twilight snapped at them, before turning back to their thief. Without them rolling on the ground, Logan realized their thief was a unicorn. Amber fur and a yellow and red striped mane. Bright cyan eyes glared at Logan, as if he had been a massive spanner in her works.
“Now,” Twilight said, her horn glowing. “Why did you try to take my crown?”
The amber unicorn’s gaze was defiant. “Sorry it had to be this way… Princess.”
She said the term with such utter loathing, that Logan knew she had to have something in store for them.
Sure enough, she did.
With a flash of cyan light, she disappeared from Twilight’s grip… and right in front of Logan.
Logan’s reaction was instinctual; he lunged forward and snapped; his teeth sinking into her mane. But the unicorn shoved herself forward, knocking Logan back towards the portal. And this time, with the crown in his paws and wrapped around the unicorn, Logan was unable to catch the rim. He didn’t even get to hear the mares scream his name.
The same force that had tried to pull Logan inside intensified by a million. What felt like gale force winds yanked at him in every direction. Lights of every color blinked and danced before his eyes. The only sense of anything that was real was the crown clutched in his claws, and the feel of the thief around his torso.
Somehow, the trip took forever, and yet no time at all. Before Logan knew what was up or down or right or wrong, the lights faded away with a final flash. His paws hit solid concrete, and he pitched to the side, across concrete and into grass.
Before he could figure out what was going on, he felt the figure beneath him struggling. He still had a hold of her! He grasped her tighter, determined not to let this unicorn get away. Even if her horn should have been goring him at that point. And it felt like she had some sort of leather jacket on now, even though she hadn’t been wearing anything. And…
His thoughts were cut off as a fist slammed into his leg. Where had she gotten a fist? He growled and kicked his captive in the shin. She hit at his ribs and under his arms, making pain flare up along his body.
Snarling – in a voice that didn’t sound right – he sunk his teeth into her back… and promptly drew them back.
“The heck…?” he stammered, poking at his teeth with his tongue. Something was wrong; his molars were flatter. His canines weren’t as sharp.
He could barely figure out what was going on with his captive wriggling and struggling out from under him. A hand – wait, hand? – grabbed his leg and yanked his feet out from under him. Two more punches slammed into his gut, before he slashed at the thief’s hair and managed to push them away with his hind legs. He rolled back to his paws, ready to confront this thief, and…
Logan gaped in horror. She was a human!
An oddly colored human, he’d admit, with the same amber skin and the same red and yellow mane as that unicorn mare. But he couldn’t deny the bipedal stance, the lack of a horn, the fingers clenched into a fist; the round face that he hoped he’d never have to see again.
Her eyes sighted down on the crown still in his hands.
“Give me that!” she spat, lunging at him. But Logan lunged to meet her with a snarl. And he gave her the crown, alright; sinking it and his fist right into her face.
The thief backed up, shrieking in rage and pain while Logan drove her back, beating at her again and again, a snarl of rage bubbling from his mouth. She tucked, getting her legs underneath him and flipping him over her. He landed hard on his side, but jumped back up to meet her…
And gasp in horror.
He caught a glance at his body, but his body was completely wrong. Black combat boots covered his paws; and long jeans covered his oddly proportioned legs. His tail was nowhere to be seen. His leather jacket was still there, thankfully, but he now had a white undershirt underneath it, streaked with dirt and torn from his fight with the girl. His hands no longer had claws, only black fingerless gloves.
His grip on the crown tightened. He couldn’t have… he couldn’t be…
“What did you do to me?” he demanded, rounding on the human thief, who was nursing a black eye and a bloody nose.
She pulled herself up, grinning maliciously.
“You want to know?” she said, holding her hand out. “Give me the crown.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed. No way was he going to trust this human. Not when she had already gotten so far with the crown.
His grip redoubled on Twilight's Element. Magic flickered faintly around the crown, and despite the beating he had given the thief with it, it somehow didn’t have a single dent.
“I’m not saying another word until you hand it over,” the thief snarled.
Logan grinned. “Well, that’s too bad for you,” he replied, holding the crown away from the thief. “Because you’re not getting it from me.”
“I’m serious,” she said. “You’ll never find out what happened to you.”
“I’ll take that chance,” Logan snapped.
The thief fumed, but there was tension in her eyes. Fear. She already had a black eye and a bloody nose, while Logan was barely scratched. Ponies were okay fighters, but this girl clearly wasn’t prepared for a brawl. Logan found himself thanking the dragons and their Master from his travels for teaching him about fighting in a bipedal stance. The thief’s eyes darted around angrily, looking for some sort of alternative.
She got it when a quiet, familiar voice whispered. “S-Sunset?”
Logan resisted the urge to spin towards the voice, before it’s owner’s name came to him. Fluttershy! She and the others must have followed us! He adapted, jumping between where the voice had come from and the thief.
“Fluttershy, stay back,” he warned.
The voice behind him gasped, while the thief… Logan’s posture relaxed as the thief took off down the courtyard. She turned a corner and ran out of sight.
Part of Logan wanted to go after her, but that would only put the crown in more jeopardy. Besides, he had Rainbow Dash to help him out now. If she’d… just fly past him. Wait, why hadn’t the others gone after the thief? He turned back.
“What are you guys…?” he started to say…
Only for his words to die in his throat. The only one there was Fluttershy… and yet… it wasn’t her.
She was human as well!
Same yellow body; same pink mane. Same azure colored eyes. But… it was in the form of a detestable human! No wings, and dressed in a white tank top and a green dress with matching green boots. It… surprisingly worked for her, all things considered.
“H-How did you know my name?” she stammered, flinching back from him as if he was about to eat her. “W-Why was… w-what w-was… w-w-who ARE you?!”
Logan’s ears flattened… or… tried to. His free hand felt for his head. Instead of large pointed ears, he felt the tiny nubs of human ears as well.
His heart began to race in his chest. The crown clattered to the ground next to him as he felt at the rest of his face. His snout… his snout had shortened to that of a hooked nose and thin lips. His eyes had slightly enlarged. A scruffy bit of short-cropped hair sat atop his head.
A mirror stood behind Fluttershy, set into some sort of statue, but Logan almost didn’t want to see it. Yet something urged him to push past Fluttershy, and stare into its shimmering reflection. And in it…
It was him, but not him. Same silver eyes. Same bleach blonde fur – now hair atop his head. Same leather jacket. But…
He…
Was…
What little sanity Logan had at that point snapped, and he howled to the heavens.
“HUUUUMMMMMMAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!”