//------------------------------//
// Tirek Arc; An Unlikely Friend 
// Story: Logan and Carol; The Wolves of Equestria 
// by JNKing 
//------------------------------//

Back in Ponyville, Carol was nestled by Fluttershy’s cottage when the yellow mare trotted up to her. 
“So,” Carol asked. “Got all the Breezies home?”
Fluttershy nodded. “It was sad to see them go,” she admitted. “But, at least they're back home where they belong.”
Carol pat Fluttershy’s shoulder. “You did the right thing,” she assured her. “Kindness may be your thing, but sometimes…”
Before she could continue, both of them became aware of a howl echoing over the forest. Fluttershy’s ears perked up, while Carol flicked her ears forward, catching the tune.
“Logan?” Fluttershy asked, craning her neck to listen. “Is he alright?”
She was answered as music slowly flowed through to them.

“Changeling, humans,


Centaurs, Danger.


You’re not safe there…


You need to get away!”

“Changeling?!” Fluttershy whimpered.
The howl continued on a loop, until it slowly faded with the wind. Carol turned back to Fluttershy, her expression grim. 
“Logan’s in trouble?” Fluttershy asked. “From the human?” She shivered in fear. “From changelings?”
“From the sound of it, we’re in more trouble than he is,” Carol growled. She shot for Ponyville. “We need to tell Twilight.” 
“But Logan…” Fluttershy tried to protest, but Carol was already heading for town.
“A bunch of changelings won’t get the better of Logan,” she assured the yellow mare. “We need to focus on keeping you guys safe.”

#

Carol wasn’t wrong. 
As the two changelings buzzed around the chimney, which was now overflowing with black smoke, they glanced at each other with worried wide eyes.
“You don’t think he’s dead, do you, Pharynx?” Thorax asked.
“No way,” his brother replied. “Smoke wouldn’t drop that wolf. But sooner or later, he’s gotta come out.”
Almost as soon as he said that, a sizzling sound ripped through the silence, followed by a cry of pain.
“Guys, I got him!” the third changeling cried. “Wait, I… NO, I DON’T GOT HIM!” he yelled before being hurled through the window.
Thorax and Pharynx shot down to the house, but as Thorax went for the door, Logan kicked the door open, Thorax disappearing between the wall and door. His back paws were scorched and covered in ash, but his silver eyes were bright with rage. 
“Not my brother, you dog!” Pharynx hissed at him and charged, only for Logan to catch the changeling easily, bashing him into the ground and silencing him with a swipe to the face. Even with his paws still smoking, Logan took off down the street, his nose desperately scanning for any scent of Luco or Tirek.
"Hang on, Carol,” Logan muttered as he searched, his ears pricking as he caught Luco’s scent. “I’m coming for you.”

#

Twilight and Carol raced into the throne room of Canterlot. An advantage to Twilight’s alicorn status was that the group no longer had to worry about the time for transport. The second Carol had arrived with Fluttershy and told Twilight of Logan’s ominous message, Twilight had flared her horn, and teleported herself and the red hound to Canterlot. 
Interestingly, all three of the other princesses were waiting for them when they arrived.
“Princesses,” Twilight panted, quickly bowing her head. “We received a message from Logan. There’s a centaur like creature out in the outskirts of Equestria… it took an entire village and two guards.”
“Logan told us it’s going after all ponies,” Carol added. “And if it managed to slip away from him…” she left the thought of what something like that could do unspoken.
Celestia and Luna glanced at each other. Carol’s ears flicked as she realized neither of them could maintain their stoic facades; there was actual nervousness etched across their snouts.
“It seems you were right, sister,” Celestia whispered. 
“Right?” Twilight asked. “Right about what?” 
Celestia sighed. “I received a vision last night,” she said, chancing a glance at Carol. But Carol was not like her wolf counterpart; she had no snark to deliver. “Of a centaur; likely the one Logan mentioned.” 
Carol’s ears flared. “What kind of centaur?” she asked.
With a flash of Celestia’s horn, a book appeared in a burst of gold magic and levitated over to the hound and young alicorn. 
“Tirek,” Celestia explained, as the book opened before Carol and Twilight. “He and his brother Scorpan came here from a distant land, intent on stealing Equestrian magic. But Scorpan came to appreciate the ways of Equestria, even befriending a young unicorn wizard.”
“Scorpan urged his brother to abandon their plans, but Tirek refused,” Luna continued. “And so, Scorpan alerted us to Tirek’s intentions.”
“Tirek was sent to Tartarus for his crimes,” Celestia continued. “And Scorpan returned to his own land. But it appears that Tirek has found a way to escape.” 
“But how?” Luna asked.
Carol growled. “Logan also mentioned a human,” she whispered. 
Celestia’s eyes widened. “A human… from your world?” she asked.
Carol nodded. The princess let out a breath of – dare Twilight say it – fear. 
“But how?” Twilight asked. “I thought the portal was sealed.”
“Never tell a human the odds,” Carol growled, turning away. “The only plus side is that they haven’t made a move on us yet, which means that, as far as I can tell, only one's gotten through... for now.”
“But why would one of your humans’ release Tirek?” Luna demanded. “Do they possess the brains of mere foals?”
Carol gave Luna a dark look. “Don’t underestimate what they can do,” Carol said. “And it isn’t obvious?” She turned around. “Logan mentioned changelings as well. It sounds like this human is gathering an army.”
Celestia straightened. “To conquer Equestria,” she whispered. 
Carol nodded again. Twilight had to resist face hoofing in resignation.
"Can't any of these people just talk to us instead of just trying to conquer us?" Twilight asked. "Carol, you know we can be welcoming, right?"
"Considering you guys didn't jail me after my entrance?" Carol asked.
"Exactly," Twilight said. 
Celestia smiled serenely at her former student's idealism.
“We can at least take some hope,” Celestia noted. “Tirek’s time in Tartarus would no doubt leave him incredibly weak.”
“But with each passing moment, he will grow stronger,” Luna advised. “Soon, even the human will be unable to control him.” 
“Luckily,” Cadence noted with a grin at Twilight. “I think we know just the princess who can stop him.”
Carol and Twilight held themselves higher.
“Yes,” Twilight said. “My friends and I will find him, and…”
“No, Twilight,” Celestia said. “I’m afraid I must call in another to stop Tirek… Discord.”
The princesses gasped, sparks flaring from Carol’s fur.
“D-Discord!?” she stammered. “No!” She shot forward. “You can’t use Discord, Celestia! Anyone but him!”
Luna held Carol back from Celestia. “Calm thyself, wolf,” Luna declared. “Why can Discord not be trusted?”
Carol tried to form an answer, but no sound came from her snout. “He…” she attempted again, before turning away with a grimace. “Why him?” she finally asked. “Where’s that Scorpan guy? He helped you before; why can’t he help now!”
“Scorpan has likely been dead for several millennia now,” Celestia replied. “Discord, however, is here, and can sense magical imbalance. The next time Tirek steals magic, Discord will be able to track him down.”
“The next time?” Carol demanded. “You mean the next time some pony gets captured.” She turned to Twilight. “Tirek isn’t working on his own here; he’s got a human and the changelings by his side. Any pony that he de-powers is going to be easy prey for Chrysalis; that’s if the human doesn’t try something.” 
Celestia’s gaze grew pained, but she stood resolute.
“It is a sacrifice that must be made,” Celestia declared with finality. “We will rescue any ponies captured after Tirek is dealt with, but first, we must ensure that we remain free to commit to such a rescue.”
Carol looked down, sparks still crackling from her fur. Twilight herself looked rocked by the news, but she took a breath and reached for Carol. 
“Carol?” Twilight asked, “I-I’m sure Logan will be fine…”
“Logan?” Carol asked, as if she had forgotten about her counterpart. Her tail tucked as her head shot up in horror. “LOGAN!”
With a flash of fiery lightning, Carol tore out of the throne room before anyone could protest. The princesses were left staring at a single scorch mark that led all the way to the throne room doors, where an imprint of Carol had been smashed out. Two guards nervously poked their heads through, one with his helmet knocked off and his mane spiky.
“What was that about?” Cadence asked. 
Twilight’s ears flattened as the answer came to her. “Logan and Carol didn’t have the best introduction to Discord,” she said, turning back to them. “I… don’t think they ever truly came to trust him.”
“To be honest,” Celestia noted. “I don’t think the wolves have ever truly come to trust any pony.”
Twilight flinched at that. “They trust me and my friends… I think,” Twilight admitted. 
Celestia realized her mistake, and strode down to Twilight, stroking her head.
“Apologies, Twilight,” Celestia said quickly. “You’ve made far more progress with the wolves than I ever could have hoped for.” She chuckled. “You always seem capable of solving problems better than me, it seems.”
Twilight blushed. “Princess,” she protested, stepping back, though she couldn’t keep the grin off her face.
“Speaking of which,” Luna noted. “How fares your search into the Tree of Harmony?”
Twilight brightened. “I have a lead on that,” she said excitedly. “It’s not concrete, but while Logan and my…” she caught herself. “Your guards have been searching, my friends kept having these odd little experiences. I’m wondering if they might factor into opening the chest.” 
“Then let us not keep you from your studies,” Celestia declared. “If the wolves and Discord combined cannot stop Tirek, I believe we will need you to find out what the Tree of Harmony has gifted you.”  
Twilight nodded and teleported away, allowing Celestia’s face to fall and for her to look at Luna with all the worry that was pent up in her gut.
“It could easily be our last hope,” Celestia noted grimly.

#

Logan slunk along the shadows of an urban street. Luco’s stench had led him from the countryside into what appeared to be a city. Not as grand as Canterlot, per say, but then again, Logan didn’t care for grand. 
He stumbled across a fallen bucket of oranges, the fruits looking wilted and gray instead of vibrant orange. Logan growled. Tirek must have come through here. And judging by the added stink of changelings around the oranges… Logan could only bow his head in sympathy for whatever poor pony had just been taken by Luco’s horrid system.
Drained of magic and then taken away to be harvested further by a bunch of shapeshifting vampires? Logan was glad he had found a way out of that nightmare. 
His thoughts were interrupted as a wolf how tore through the air.

Holding on, my wayward wolf


There’ll be peace when I arrive


Lay your weary head to rest.


You won’t be lone no more!

What?! Logan thought, horrified. I wanted you to stay away!
Logan breathed in to howl back, before the sound of a spell being cast gave Logan pause. He turned his head, seeing a brief orange glow against the corner of an alleyway. Logan slunk closer, as voices emanated. 
“I should have known you’d want to have Equestria all to yourself,” the low voice of Tirek snarled. 
“Oh, I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for my friends!” a cheerier voice replied
Discord!Logan thought with a growl. What’s he doing here?
“But just between the two of us, it’s mostly for Fluttershy,” Discord added in a whisper.
Logan’s posture relaxed by a fraction. Fluttershy could truly make anyone do anything, couldn’t she? He thought with a grin. 
Logan poked his head around the corner. There they stood; the centaur from the village, along with Discord himself. The chaos spirit was shivering in glee, as if the name of the kind yellow mare gave him some sort of joy, while the centaur just looked confused.
“Fluttershy?” he asked. “You’re not saying your friends with… ponies?”
Discord morphed into a cake, which he promptly burst out of.
“Surprise!” he declared.
Logan grimaced, noting with dismay that the centaur shared his expression. 
“I am surprised,” the centaur continued. “Surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this… ‘friendship,’ is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you’ve had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces.”
Logan’s ears flattened at the centaur’s words; the very same idea Logan himself had struggled with in the past.
Stop it! Logan snarled to himself. You may be tamed, but you haven’t abandoned who you are! This… thing is just trying to manipulate Discord. Just like the humans!
Logan spotted a trash can nearby, and yanked the lid off before running forward. Discord was playing some sort of harp, but Logan didn't let him distract him. 
“Don’t listen to him, Discord,” Logan called. 
Tirek and Discord whipped around, staring in shock at the wolf.
“You…” Tirek snarled… only for Logan to hurl the lid at his face. The centaur went down with a snarl, manacled hands clutching at his face while Logan raced up to Discord.
“Ah, Lone Wolf,” Discord noted, shifting a halo on his head into a serpent. “Here for another trip down…” 
“Look,” Logan admitted. “I’m the last person to talk about the ponies and their standards,” he admitted. “I personally think that Celestia’s up to something. But you know what? Fluttershy isn’t! Twilight isn’t! Those six mares have always been honest with both of us about how they felt.” He stabbed a claw at Tirek. “This guy just wants to manipulate you. And the second you let your guard down, he’ll stab you in the back!"
Discord pondered Logan’s speech with a grin, before his eyes flicked to behind him.
“You mean like he’s going to?” he asked. 
Logan’s ears perked and he spun around just in time to see Luco with his bat hefted on his shoulder.
Logan barked and smashed into the human, pinning him to the wall. He raised a claw to slash at him, but Luco didn’t resist. He just clutched at Logan’s claw and screamed, “Discord, help!” 
Help from Discord? Logan thought. But his claw was already moving, seeking to carve a new scar onto Luco’s face.
Squeak-y!
Logan stared in disbelief as his claw bounced off Luco’s face. He stared at his paw in horror; it had been changed to a squeaky toy. He looked up at Discord, who was wagging his finger at him.
“Naughty dog,” Discord chastised. “Attacking my friends like that!” 
“Friends?!” Logan demanded, before he got blindsided again. 
Tempest bum-rushed into him, the mare and wolf rolling right over Tirek as the centaur growled in irritation. Logan whacked at her with his squeaky toy hand, before grimacing and using his actual teeth. But as he struggled with the mare, he saw Tirek pull himself up and unhinge his jaw. Orange magic began to spread around both Logan and a horrified Tempest.
“No!” Tempest yelled, while Logan tried to rush Tirek. But just as he lunged, Luco hurled a smoke bomb into his face. Logan fell back into Tempest, and both unicorn and wolf vanished into smoke, while two twin curls of magic coursed up and into Tirek’s mouth.  

#

Had Logan been able to see through the smoke or through his magic being stolen, he would have seen Luco turn to Discord, and offer him a fist bump.
“Gracias, my lord and savior,” Luco said, inclining his head in a bow.
“Oh, what are friends for,” Discord replied cheekily, returning Luco’s fist bump. “Especially those that give me someone to talk to while I’m stuck in stone.”
Luco shook his head. “The nerve of those mares,” he grumbled, before glancing at the smoke Logan had vanished into. “Oh, if only Logan had survived, so I could evilly monologue about how I worshipped you, Discord." He shrugged. "Oh well; once we take over Equestria, I'll be able to monologue to the princesses or whoever's there. But until then…” he turned as Tirek swallowed, humming in satisfaction.
Discord paused, doubt creasing his features.
“I… believe I was supposed to stop that,” Discord noted.
“Oh, no, don’t you worry about it,” Luco assured him. “T. Rex’s just our latest player to ensure Equestria is run by the right people.” Luco took Discord’s hand. “Just imagine it, my friend; the chance to see this entire world turned upside down. To show off your true powers of chaos.”
Discord still glanced behind him, as a picture of him and Fluttershy materialized. Luco saw the picture, and his grip on Discord’s hand tightened. 
“She will be completely unharmed, I promise you,” Luco assured him. “Any friend of yours, is a friend of mine.”
Discord looked back at Luco, and gave him his usual grin. With a nod, Luco turned back to Tirek.
“So, T. Rex,” Luco said, striding over to the centaur. “What do you think of wolf’s magic?”
Tirek hummed, as the smoke slowly cleared, revealing Tempest Shadow laying limply across the floor. A bundle of white fur was underneath her, twitching slightly.
“He’s much different from the ponies,” Tirek admitted. “He has spice to him.”
Before Luco could reply, a flash of white shot out from behind Tempest and lunged. Luco yelped and ducked, but the white flash hit Tirek. Fangs sunk into Tirek’s face, making the centaur scream in agony. 
“Oh, my!” Discord yelped, producing a newspaper that he proceeded to whack the wolf with. “Bad dog, sit down! Down, boy!” 
Logan snarled ferally and lunged at Discord next, only for the next newspaper swipe to catch him and send him tumbling across the pavement. 
Luco drew his bat, before a howl gave him pause.

“Once I arrive, we will burn them with passion.


Give them a glimpse of wolves united in pack work.


Can we send them soaring higher?


They might fly too far…

Luco grimaced, and turned back to Discord.
“You know, maybe we should finish this somewhere else,” Luco declared.
Discord glanced back, and his own impish grin faded. “Agreed,” he said.
Tirek’s eyes darted between the two of them as he clutched where Logan had bit him. “What are you two…?” he started to ask.
“No time for talk,” Luco declared, hopping onto Tirek’s back. “High-ho, T. Rex; away!” He whacked Tirek’s flank with his bat.
“How dare you…!” Tirek started to say, before Discord spun around them like a ribbon, a brief tornado covering them before vanishing with a POP.
Seconds later, Carol skidded around the corner. The only ones there now were the magic-less Tempest, and Logan. Carol sighted down on Logan, and raced to his side.
“Logan,” she called, slowing down as he turned to her. “Thank the Moon… after the princesses said they were sending Discord, I was worried…”
Carol stopped. Something was very wrong with the way Logan was looking at her. His eyes had changed; the pupils had dilated until his normally silver colored eyes almost seemed black. Like the other animals that shared Fluttershy’s home with them.
On top of it, he stood firmly on all fours, and no expression of joy, misery or anger appeared on his snout. He gave a soft pant, sniffing at her curiously, before his tail gave a small wag.
“L-Logan?” Carol asked.
Logan barked… a normal sounding bark. Like that of a dog. 
Carol’s tail began to tuck, and she pressed her claws to Logan’s head. The wolf just licked his chops before panting again, his jaws open in a dopey version of a smile.
“Logan, what did he do to you?” Carol began to sob, before she activated the pack link.
But as her link wrapped around Logan’s head, he didn’t glow with power. Instead...
Carol was plunged into a vision. The version of Logan she knew spiraled down, caught in a sea of screaming faces as he howled his despair to a non-existent sky. 
Pony faces! With a lurch in her gut, Carol recognized the earth pony guard Logan had left with. And spiraling away from the guard was Tempest Shadow! 
It dawned on Carol; those were all the ponies that Tirek had stolen magic from. And if Logan was among them…
“No…” Carol whispered. 
The pack link faded, and Carol felt her head rest against the de-powered Logan’s head. He licked his chops again, and a soft whimper whistled through his snout.
Carol began to sob. She had failed Logan. He had needed her help…
And she had failed him.