Logan blinked the throbbing light out of his eyes. One moment, the Mane Six had been vanishing into a rainbow. The next… he had ended up in a white, sparkling room. The light slowly adjusted, revealing a more starry background outlined with cyan and purple.
He looked around to find Carol, Spike and Discord next to him. Spike had returned to his baby form. And Discord looked far humbler than he had been before. Luco was missing, though Logan figured the slippery human wouldn’t have stuck around.
It's almost a shame Discord didn't followed his friends’ lead, Logan thought as his teeth slowly started to bare at the chaos spirit.
“Can I assume…” Discord started to note, before Logan lunged forward. His teeth finally got to sink into Discord’s arm. The chaos spirit yelped and jumped away as Logan snapped at him again, lunging on top of him.
“You lying, backstabbing, double-crossing JERK!” Logan shrieked, slashing wildly at him before Carol and Spike yanked him off him “Get off me!” Logan snarled, continuing to yearn for Discord as he scrambled away. “I’m gonna eat him alive!”
“Logan, calm down!” Carol begged.
“Yeah, Discord just helped us fix everything,” Spike protested. “You can’t…”
“He’s the reason I was trapped in that centaur’s gut!” Logan snapped.
“Yes, and I’m very sorry for that…” Discord tried to stammer.
“Not as sorry as you’re GONNA be,” Logan snarled, only breaking out of Carol and Spike’s grip by jumping backward. The two formed a barrier between him and the chaos spirit before a voice broke them out of their fight.
“You really are the interesting one, aren’t ya?”
The four turned. Standing before them was a familiar cyan mare. Red eyes, a rainbow-colored mane…
“Dash?” Logan asked, bewildered.
The mare smirked. “Close,” she replied.
Logan noticed that she was wearing her Element of Harmony. Even though it had been taken weeks ago. He then noticed that her cutie mark wasn’t the same; it was only a red lightning bolt.
Just like the gem
“Y-You’re her element,” Carol stammered. “Loyalty.”
Dash’s grin widened and she nodded. “Bingo,” she replied.
“Whoa, hold on,” Spike exclaimed. “You… the Elements can… talk?”
Discord chuckled, a bit of his smug veneer returning.
“Well, you certainly didn’t think that the Elements were just weapons, did you?” he noted. “That you just point them at me, and something like Twilight’s magic powered them?” Discord laughed. “Please, they’re character traits. Personalities.” He glanced back to the figure of Dash. “It would be rather difficult for something to embody a personality trait without having a ‘personality’ to go with it, right?”
The look Dash shot Discord was a lot colder, and the chaos spirit noticed, his coy tone fading as he took a step back from the Element.
“I still remember the disharmony you caused, Discord,” she noted. “Right now, our interest lies with someone else.” She waved her hoof, and Discord faded from sight.
Logan blinked at the sudden disappearance of the chaos spirit.
“I’m… not understanding,” he admitted.
“You will soon enough,” a voice replied, before five more forms appeared from the light.
Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack. All of their cutie marks in the shape of their Elements, rather than their originals. And all wearing the Elements that Logan once knew. Twilight herself walked forward with the very same crown Logan had struggled to save from Sunset Shimmer.
“The other Elements,” Carol gasped.
They nodded. Logan stepped forward, his eyes narrowing.
“What about the real mares?” he demanded, glaring at what had to be Fluttershy’s Element – Kindness, as if he could forget. “What did you do with them?”
“Your friends are safe,” Kindness assured him. “Even now, we’re sending them across Equestria, returning the magic that was stolen from them.”
“And freeing the one Chrysalis captured?” Logan demanded.
The Elements grins faded at that.
“Tirek took the changelings’ magic,” Applejack’s Element – Honesty - replied. “It may be unwise, but in order to free the ones the changelings took, we have to return Chrysalis’ magic as well.”
“No!” Carol said. “That’s…”
“A necessary risk,” Twilight – Magic, Logan reminded himself - replied. “If we are to free the ponies there, we must give back what was stolen. An exchange, if you will.” She cocked an eyebrow at Logan coyly. “The ‘agreement of trade?’”
“It won’t work,” Logan insisted. “The Changelings are like humans; shapeshifters. Manipulators. They won’t care that you were kind; they’ll take the ponies again first chance they get.”
“Likely so,” Honesty agreed.
“Which is what makes what we’re going to ask you all the more important,” Generosity added.
Logan’s ears flicked, as the mares slowly surrounded him. Magic smiled down at Spike.
“My bearer’s faithful assistant,” she said softly, reaching out for Spike before her hoof started to turn to steam when it neared him. She sadly drew her hoof back.
“Twilight?” Spike asked. “What do you mean, ‘what you’re going to ask?’”
“Yeah,” Carol said, standing next to Logan. “What do you want from us?”
Loyalty shook her head. “They are but followers,” she said. “Loyal and driven, but only to Logan and Twilight.”
The mares waved their hooves as one, and Carol and Spike vanished as well. Logan’s head whipped from side to side.
“What did you do to them?!” he demanded.
“They are safe,” Magic assured him. “They will return to Ponyville, and you will join them shortly.”
“Perhaps with something new along the way,” Laughter added, though her grin faded again as she observed him. “Though… he’s not exactly one for making others laugh.” Her grin returned. “At least not willingly.”
Logan glared at her, before glancing at the other Elements. They were circling him; sizing him up. Almost the same way his previous foes sized him up before battling. Yet the light of combat did not shine in their eyes.
“But he is loyal,” Loyalty confirmed with a smile. “It seems canines can be just as true a friend as any pony.”
“He is generous, too,” Generosity added, circling him. “Despite the cost, he has repeatedly set aside his own goals for the sake of his friends.”
Logan’s ears began to flatten. “Oh, no…” he mumbled.
“Kindness… struggles within him,” Kindness continued. “Though it is buried, it shines like gold, especially for those he cares about.”
“And he’s become quite truthful and honest,” Honesty said. Her smile became coy. “He may not have started off that way, but even at the cost of personal feelings, the only one he has ever truly lied to was himself. Almost another lifetime ago.”
“Listen, guys,” Logan said, cutting them off. “If you’re going to try and make me into something else… keep on dreaming.” He moved out of their circle and began to walk away. “And include praying if your plans involve changing me into anything but a wolf.”
He turned away… only for Magic to appear in front of him.
“You… don’t want the ultimate reward?” Magic asked him. She looked genuinely confused. Dumbfounded, even.
Laughter chuckled. "And here I was thinking he didn't like making others laugh," she said with another giggle. "Not wanting our reward..." she got out with another chuckle before she caught sight of Logan's glare.
“You and I have very different ideas on what ‘reward’ means,” Logan replied. He turned his back on them, only for Magic to appear in front of him again.
“Logan,” Magic said gently. “You have grown and developed far beyond the wild wolf that Celestia dropped here.”
“Through our bearers,” Loyalty said, walking to his side. “We’ve watched you grow.”
“Seen what you might do,” Honesty added.
“And what you’ve been through,” Kindness bemoaned.
“Isn’t it time for a new change to come?” Magic asked. “I know you used to believe that being a loner is some kind of virtue…”
“Do not mistake me,” Logan said. “Twilight and her friends will always be able to count on me.”
Loyalty grinned, only for her grin to snap away when Logan glared at her.
“But I am not their pet,” Logan said. “I am not your toy to play with and alter as you see fit.” He broke out of their circle again. “I am a Wolf of the North. The Son of Kodo – the Great Wolf - and the Grandson of Shiva – the Breaker of Cages.” He held his head high and strode away from the mares. “That is who I am. And that is who I choose to remain.”
“But…”
“No,” Logan cut them off. He didn’t care which Element had spoken, and he didn't care that the dimension he was in appeared limitless. He continued walking, ready to find a way out no matter what they said. And when the Elements tried to appear in front of him, he simply walked through them.
“You could…” one of them offered.
“Nope," Logan refuted.
“We can…”
“Nope.”
“Won’t the…?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“You’re not…”
"Negative.”
“You…”
“Nein.”
“Come on…”
“No.”
“You know you’re not getting out of…”
“No.”
“Are you really going to…”
“NOOOOOOOO!”
Logan turned it into a howl as he walked.
All I’ll say is… No
I say just… No
My reply is… No
Just go and let it go
Go and let it go
Go and let it go!
“Fine!” Magic finally declared. Logan turned back to her with a grin. The six mares shook their heads, exasperation mixing with admiration.
“You truly are an interesting one, Logan Wolfe,” Magic said. “I can see why Celestia likes you.”
“But be warned,” Honesty said. “Your stay in Equestria has already been hard. And it will not grow easier without the gifts we can give you. Queen Chrysalis will come for you… and it will be harder to fight her without what we can offer you.”
“Perhaps,” Logan admitted, turning away. “But I’ve never been a fan of the easy way.” He looked up. “Whatever the challenges that come, I’ll accept them. And all the pain they may bring with.”
The Elements sighed.
“Very well, then,” they said as one, before their hooves waved. “We wish you luck, Logan Wolfe. Know that you will always have friends here.”
Logan’s tail wagged, and he graced them with one last smile before the world faded to white around him.
#
The feeling of grass tickled the tips of his paws. The warmth of the sun hugged his fur. Logan’s eyes opened. He was standing with Carol, Spike and Discord behind the Mane Six, as they stared at where Twilight’s library once stood. Now, a large, crystalline castle stood in its place instead.
“Are…” Rarity stammered, her eyes on the castle. “Are you all seeing what I’m seeing?”
“But…” Twilight stammered. “Whose, is it?”
“I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight,” a familiar voice replied.
Logan rolled his eyes before turning to his right. Sure enough, Celestia was depositing herself next to him, accompanied by the other princesses. Further back, Logan could spy the other citizens of Ponyville, slowly coming out of hiding. The colors were bright, and the sky was a bright blue; Tirek’s rampage had truly been beaten.
At least… Logan hoped. He shivered as he remembered that bottomless pit where he had stored their magic. The screaming faces… the chaos…
Logan was thankfully snapped out of his memory when Celestia spoke, leading Twilight inside. Logan pricked his ears and followed.
“You’ve been wondering what you are meant to do as a princess,” Celestia was saying. “Do you know now?”
“As princess,” Twilight said. “I believe I have the power to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria.” She looked up with a bright grin. “That is the role I am meant to have in our world. The role I choose to have,” she added with a grin at Logan, who nodded back at her with his own grin. “But I didn’t defeat Tirek on my own – it took all of us to unlock the chest and stop Tirek.”
Celestia turned back to her friends with a grin. “Then it is unlikely you are meant to take on this task alone.”
They reached a large circular room with a table. Several chairs stood around it, each with the marks of the Mane Six. There were even three additional chairs; one with a mark of a purple dragon breathing green flames, and two with marks featuring snarling wolf faces – one yellow and one red.
“Wow,” Pinkie noted.
“You are Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia declared to her former student. “The Princess of Friendship. But what is the princess of friendship without her friends?”
Logan narrowed his eyes, and started to speak… before Discord cut him off.
“Wait a minute!” Discord declared.
Logan glanced at him, wondering if Discord was about to mention what he had noticed… only for Discord to look over the seats.
“Where’s my throne?!” he whined. Fluttershy pat his back.
“I don’t think you’re quite there yet,” she said softly.
Discord glanced at Carol and Logan glaring at him, and gave a nervous chuckle.
“Yes, well… I suppose.”
“Yeah, that’s very heartwarming and funny,” Logan noted, stepping forward before someone else could cut him off. “But you guys are missing something else.”
They looked at him while he indicated the room.
“Where’s Luco?”
#
Tirek fumed, once again back in his cell and without his power. Once again, he had been denied what was rightfully his. Part of him wondered if he had gone too fast on betraying Discord.
No, he decided. Discord was weak. A traitor; just like his ape 'friend.' Tirek spat, the mere word 'friend' making him nauseous. If that annoying ape dares come near me again, I’ll…”
“Well-well-well...” a voice drawled. “Look at the big, scary T. Rex.”
Tirek spun, only for his hatred to turn to fear. Luco was back. But instead of being accompanied by changelings and unicorns… he was riding atop the scariest dragon Tirek had ever seen.
Pure flames wreathed its body, bathing it in a golden glow. Its eyes were gleaming red orbs, narrowed down at Tirek in hatred. Unlike the dragons of this world, it was built more like a kangaroo, with powerful back legs that shook the ground when it landed, flexing bat like wings and lashing a massive tail. Though it’s arms were still muscular and humanoid, and looked ready to pick Tirek up and snap him in half.
But the true horror came when Luco vaulted through the flames and landed. While he was unhurt from the dragon’s flames, Tirek couldn’t say the same for his clothes.
“So,” Luco said, apparently oblivious to the fact that he now lacked a single stich of clothing. “You thought you were hot stuff, didn’t ya?” He leaned forward. “Well, how’d that turn out for you?”
“You…” Tirek stammered, gazing up at the fire spirit in shock. “Where…?”
“Oh?” Luco asked, glancing up at his pet. “Intros? Fine?” He lifted his hand, and the fire dragon’s angry expression melted into joy. She lowered her head to his hand, his fingers tickling her chin as her leg thumped in happiness. The fires flicked around his arm, but oddly, not a single spark burned his skin.
“T. Rex, meet Blazy Blue,” he replied. He cupped Blazy Blue’s head in his hands and shook her like an affectionate owner with a dog. “My little Blazy Blue… my sweet simple little Blazy Blue…”
She purred and crooned like a happy cat, nuzzling and bathing Luco in flames. Yet none of them harmed him. She even rolled on her back, letting him rub at the flames along her belly, all while Tirek watched in dumbfounded shock. To make matters worse...
Wewere both young, when I first met you, Luco crooned.
I close my eyes, and the flashback starts: I’m standing there…
On a meadow with the Autumn air.
I saw the lights; saw the fireworks, the eggshell.
Saw you make your way out of ash
I said ‘hello…’
Little did I know…
“Argh,” Tirek groaned, breaking the two out of their funk. Luco and Blazy glowered at Tirek.
“Oh, right,” Luco said. “Blazy, T. Rex.” He whispered into her ear, “Wanna say hello?”
Blazy roared in glee, scrambling away from Luco and ripping the cage off Tirek’s prison. Tirek backed up as she hopped into his cage, grinning down at him with teeth that sparkled like cinders.
“Wait-wait-WAIT!” Tirek screamed before Blazy lunged onto him. Unfortunately for Tirek, Blazy's flames had no compunctions about burning him.
Luco watched on as Tirek’s screams echoed across Tartarus. He patted his bare hips with a grimace.
“Wish I had saved that popcorn,” he murmured.
“You’re going to be wishing something!” a voice snarled.
Luco glanced up at Tempest and Chrysalis both stormed up the stairs towards him.
“You insolent little… NAKED?!” Chrysalis yelped, covering her eyes as even Tempest gagged at Luco’s lack of clothing.
“Oh, Chrissy Cue,” Luco said, striking a pose. “Don’t tell me you find a perfect human specimen such as I…” He posed again. “Distracting.”
“Oh, guh, uh…” Chrysalis looked around, before zapping a spell at some rocks. A perfect version of his old clothes appeared, which she promptly threw at him. Luco caught the clothes and slowly dressed himself, allowing Tempest to note what was currently burning Tirek alive in his cage. Her mouth dropped open in horror, while Chrysalis remained focused on Luco.
“Your little scheme has resulted in nothing but pain for my hive!” Chrysalis continued. “The ponies I captured did not have nearly enough love in them without their magic. And then Tirek betraying us...?!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Luco said, slipping his shirt on. “Should I have made him give you credit for the idea? Besides, I’m punishing him right now.”
Chrysalis’ gaze finally got drawn to the fire dragon inside. Blazy turned her gaze to Chrysalis, Tirek’s head between her jaws. The sickly centaur moaned, reaching out for Chrysalis. His hair had been burned off, and ashy scorch marks were slowly creeping over his face.
“H-Help me…” he moaned, only for Blazy to spit him out and loom over Chrysalis.
“That…” Chrysalis stammered, backing up behind Tempest.
“Is that a Phoenix?” Tempest stammered. “A dragon? A result of a phoenix and a dragon…?”
“Burning the whoopee cushion?” Luco asked with a cackle, before composing himself. “No,” he said, before indicating Blazy grandly. “That, my friends, is Blazy-Blue; a grand-daughter of Rocket Ignis; the first Fire Dragon of my world.” He grinned down at them, Blazy’s glow making his smile look even more mad than before.
Tempest gasped. “The deal with Tirek,” she whispered. “Magic in exchange for him bringing…”
“Bingo! Have a biscuit!” Luco declared, before noticing his pockets had no biscuits. “Eh, later then,” he dismissed, before turning to Blazy with pride. “Yes, thanks to Tirek’s little scuffle, combined with the Elements being more focused on that defiant little wolf pup than me, I was able to bend some of Discord’s chaos magic along with Celestia’s alicorn magic, and bring my little baby-blazer back to me.”
He cooed, making Blazy jump in glee again. She knocked over Tirek’s cage, and barreled into Luco, nuzzling and cooing again as his clothes burst into flames. Luco didn’t even notice, cuddling and wrestling with her while a battered and ashy Tirek lay whimpering in the corner.
“Yes, I love you too, Blazy Blue,” Luco sang, pulling her into a hug and imitating her cooing noises.
Chrysalis stared in shock for a moment, before her horn lit up and she sighed. Tempest took a step back from her.
“What are…?” she asked.
“His love…” Chrysalis whispered. “It’s…” She sighed in ecstasy, and fell to her side, her horn still glowing even as Luco turned back to the others.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, once again naked as a popinjay. “Did you guys have a problem?”
Tempest took one look at Blaze’s sparkling teeth and red eyes, and shook her head. Chrysalis gave an orgasmic twitch.
“Good,” Luco declared, climbing onto Blazy’s back. She lifted herself up to her full height, spitting one more glob of flames onto Tirek for good measure. “Because now we can start making things a little more interesting.”