The Sirens were gone when Logan came out from the office. Not a hair nor a note of their songs could be sensed. Carol and the Mane Five were giving odd looks at each other, Carol smiling, but Fluttershy stroking Blazy and Spike with a piteous expression.
Logan, Twilight and Sunset cautiously unplugged their ears. “We good?” Logan asked.
“Yeah, you won’t believe it,” Rainbow Dash replied. “They started to try their music spell crap, when Carol yelled at them about how their families never loved them.”
“The blue one – Sonata, I think,” Applejack continued, before Carol took over.
“Just burst into tears,” Carol said. “Apparently, she had a guy friend back home, and it kinda stung to know he didn’t even look for her.”
“Wow, seriously?” Luco asked. “They… can mate with each other?” The others glared at him. “I always assumed they got their babies from the sailors they hypnotized.”
Logan taped his mouth shut again.
“Either way,” Carol continued. “They had to take her away to calm her down.”
“Which gives us some leeway,” Rainbow Dash said, striding closer to Logan. “Care to fill us in on the plan?”
Twilight grinned. “Well, Rainbow Dash,” she said, indicating herself and Logan proudly. “Say hello to the newest members of…” her pride faltered. “Uh… what was your bands’ name?”
“The Rainbooms,” Rainbow Dash replied.
Logan deflated. “The what?” he asked, but Twilight spoke over him.
“Then meet the two newest members of the Rainbooms!” Twilight declared.
The group stared at them both. Logan noticed Sunset trying not to look left out.
“We’re going to participate in this ‘Battle of the Bands,’” Logan said. “During the first round, we’ll unleash a magic counter spell through our music that should free everyone from the spell and warn them not to listen to the Sirens. Then, when the Sirens try to re-establish their control, Sunset, Carol and I will strike fast and take out the gems.” He grinned as Sunset perked up, glad to be included. “With the crowd freed from their spell, they won’t try to stop us, and once we get the gems away, they should pose no more of a threat than an average teenager does.”
“Cool!” Pinkie exclaimed.
The others made similar cheers of agreement.
“So, what do you two wanna play?” Pinkie asked, yanking instruments out from nowhere. “Triangle? Sousaphone? Theremin?” She played the theremin with a coo. “So, magical…”
Twilight grimaced. “I might take a little too long learning how to play something like those. I’ll just sing.”
Rainbow Dash faltered. “Like, lead singer?” she demanded. “Cuz that’s usually my gig!”
“Oh, for the love of…” Logan muttered, before picking up the trumpet Blazy had given him. “Can’t you stick with something like this thing, Sparkle? I don’t know what the heck I’m doing with it, but my magic still worked fine.”
Twilight still rubbed her hands nervously, causing Applejack to step in.
“Well, to be fair,” she said. “Twi’s the only other one with the magic know-how to help us pull this thing off. She should be doing something she feels comfortable doing.”
“Plus, it’ll only be temporary,” Twilight assured Rainbow Dash. “We don’t have to win; we just have to perform during the first round of the competition.”
Logan glanced at Rainbow Dash, expecting an argument, but Rainbow Dash glanced at him before sighing.
“Okay, yeah,” she replied. “That’s cool.” She grinned at Pinkie. “I’ll just use this as a chance to hone my already insanely good lead guitar skills.”
Logan scoffed, glancing at Carol. “Humble types, am I right?” he asked.
Carol giggled, while Applejack rolled her eyes.
“Ya got no idea, sugar cube,” she deadpanned.
“Well, if we got our plan…” Rainbow Dash said, before Carol cut in.
“Let’s get to this Battle of the Bands!” she declared. She paused. “Where… do we go?”
“Oh, the first round of the competition isn’t until tomorrow, darling,” Rarity replied.
“WHAT?!” Logan exclaimed. “You mean we have to spend an entire NIGHT in this world… in these bodies?!” he glanced down at his body before slumping in defeat. “Oh, White Wolf give me strength…” He paused as Sunset started giggling. When he looked at her, she laughed. “What?”
“I just…” Sunset wiped a tear from her eye. “You always act like you’re this big bad tough guy, but… I’ve spent YEARS as a human, Logan.” She cackled louder. “And you’re whining about spending only a single day?”
Logan glared up at her, before processing what she said. He then noticed Pinkie and Rainbow Dash starting to laugh at that irony. He crossed his arms and looked away.
“Well,” he finally said haughtily. “Maybe I just like being a wolf more.”
That just got a full round of laughter from the girls. Carol noticed Logan’s eye twitching dangerously, and stepped in.
“Actually, he has a point,” Carol pointed out. “Twilight, Logan and I… don’t exactly have a place to stay. Unless we go back through the portal, but I don’t like leaving you guys here with the Sirens still on the loose.”
Pinkie gasped. “You know what THAT means!?” she declared.
Logan and Carol grinned at each other before Pinkie enveloped them in a group hug.
“Slumber party at my house!” Pinkie cheered.
“WOO!” Luco cheered, with Blazy copying him. The others’ enthusiasm died by a fraction as they realized he was still there.
“Right,” Logan noted. “First things first; we can at least send this guy back to Equestria, right?”
Twilight pondered it before smiling. “Well, my spell should allow us to go through the portal whenever we want, so… yeah. Let’s just hope Princess Celestia sent enough guards to contain him.”
“I’d feel better if just Luna was there,” Logan replied. “Even if we send Blaze last, your guards still suck.”
“You know, you could actually do something about the guards if you thought about my offer to…”
“Oh, what’s that? I gotta get rid of pirates, Sparkles!” Logan seized Luco and zipped around the corner. Twilight followed him with a sigh.
#
As it turned out, they didn’t need to worry too much about guards. As the group wheeled a bound and gagged Logan over to the portal, they saw a familiar blue Siren sitting right by the portal. She was looking at a book, but she didn’t seem to be reading any of it. Her gaze was more contemplative. Sad, even.
The group back-pedaled into cover. The Siren didn’t seem to have spotted them, but then again, she looked more wrapped up in her own thoughts.
“What do we do?” Rainbow Dash hissed.
“Well, sending Luco’s out of the question,” Carol deadpanned. “If the others are watching… I mean, imagine if she knew just how close her home was…”
Logan shut her jaw softly, weighing his options.
“What do you think, Logan?” Twilight whispered.
“She’s on her own,” Logan mumbled. “Which means we could either get ourselves a hostage, or just end up springing some sort of trap.”
“Two Sirens should be a lot easier to handle than just one, right?” Rainbow Dash noted. “Why not just get that pendant off her, bind her mouth shut and throw her through the portal?”
“Because if the other two are watching,” Twilight theorized. “Then we’re just showing them how to get into Equestria. And they probably won’t need those gems to unleash a whole new level of terror on our home.” She sighed, and turned back to Logan. “I’m sorry, Logan, but we need to bring Luco with us.”
Logan glowered at the Siren.
“What if she follows us?” Carol asked.
“We split off, two by two,” Twilight said. “Look casual, talk about going somewhere else. We’ll meet up by… uh…”
Rarity took out a key chain and clicked a device next to one of the keys. Further away, a pair of lights flashed.
“My car’s over there.” She gave a nervous look to the others. “Though… it only seats five.”
“Mm. Mm!” Luco hopped up. Logan held him down, but Luco indicated the parking lot with his foot before wiggling his hips. Carol gave him an odd look, but with another wiggle, he convinced her to reach into his pocket. A pair of car keys was in there as well.
“He has a car?!” Rainbow Dash hissed.
“You mean he stole a car,” Logan growled. He turned to Pinkie. “I don’t suppose you have some kind of place where we can keep this jerk.”
Pinkie pondered it, before her hair flattened by a fraction. “I… may have a place,” she admitted, though she, for once, didn’t look happy about it.
“Alright,” Sunset said. “So, two by two. Fluttershy, you got Blaze?”
Fluttershy nodded, holding Spike and Blazy close… and unintentionally allowing Blazy the chance to lick at an aggravated Spike.
“And Luco?” Logan asked, indicating his bound form. Luco grinned at them through his gag.
Twilight fumed, before looking to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “Keep him under control,” she told them.
Logan grabbed Luco’s shirt. “You hurt either of them,” he snarled at the man. “And I’ll do the same to your dragon.”
Blazy yelped and even Fluttershy hugged her protectively, but a new light came into Luco’s eyes. He shook his head frantically and bowed his head. Logan grinned.
“Well,” Twilight said. “It’s a better plan than nothing.” She stood and pressed herself next to Sunset. “Let’s go.”
#
Twilight and Sunset made it first to Rarity’s car. As Rarity and Pinkie arrived, Pinkie used the car lock that Luco had stolen, revealing a jeep that could easily seat the rest of their group. Pinkie raced towards it while Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Luco arrived, and she got the jeep over just as Fluttershy, Blazy, and Carol arrived. They turned around just in time to see Logan racing over to them, the unconscious Siren slung over his shoulder.
Twilight gaped at him, while six collective hands slapped against six collective heads.
“Logan, are you insane?!” she hissed as he set the Siren down next to the cars.
“Probably,” Logan admitted, holding up the pendant around her neck. “But I gotta know…” He rested his hand on the pendent.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, everyone’s jaws dropped as Logan’s hand shifted, gaining yellow fur and clawed fingers. His eyes brightening, Logan lifted his other hand, gasping in joy as electricity coursed across his hands. However, Blazy's ears perked up, and she jumped forward, putting her paw on the pendent. Logan tried to knock her away, but just as he touched her, Blazy’s paw began to glow. Logan yelped and jumped back, losing his grip on the pendant.
“Fire!” he exclaimed, looking down at his claw as it changed back to a human hand.
Meanwhile, Blazy’s paw changed into a hand with a sharp set of claws, shrouded in flames. The siren woke, freezing in shock at the flaming hand in front of her. The girls watched in disbelief as fire began to blaze across Blazy’s paw. Their eyes widened in shock as her gem started to crack. Logan muffled a sound of protest, his eyes darting between Twilight and the Siren. Then, with Blazy tilting her head and the siren gasping in disbelief, the red gem shattered, a faint green mist spiraling up from it before fading away. Blazy’s paw returned to a normal dog’s paw.
The girls stared up at the mist before down at Blazy, who was gaping at her paw. But, when she rested it against the Siren’s cheek… nothing happened.
“Well…” the siren noted. “Now I'm hungry for hot dogs.”
Blazy howled in sorrow and ran crying back to Fluttershy and Luco, while Logan and Twilight looked at each other, Twilight grinning brightly while Logan still looked stunned.
“Spike," Twilight said. "Keep Blazy close. I think you two will come in really handy at the battle tomorrow."
#
After a tense ten-minute drive, the girls reached Pinkie’s house, which Logan noted had a slight resemblance to Sugarcube Corner. Honestly, though, the sight of something familiar calmed his already frazzled nerves.
It wasn’t exactly easy to hide two hog-tied prisoners, especially when one of the cars in question had been stolen from who-knew-where. But, thankfully, no police stopped them, and Logan made sure to drive the jeep far away from the homes of any of the Humane Six, eventually parking it in an abandoned lot before high-tailing it back to Pinkie’s house. The journey back took more time than Logan expected, and by the time he found the Sugarcube Corner house again, its windows were dark, soft snores echoing from the windows. Logan would have been locked outside had Twilight not been seated at the kitchen table, poring over a purple book.
“Any problems?” Twilight asked as Logan walked in.
“Not on my end,” he replied. “You guys?”
Twilight indicated a basement.
“Carol’s been watching over Luco and Sonata in the basement,” she replied. “Pinkie insisted she and Carol share shifts, but… Hopefully, they’re all just as asleep as everyone else is.”
Logan nodded before heading towards the basement. Just before he opened the door, he paused, glancing back at Twilight.
“And you?” Logan asked, glancing at the book curiously.
Twilight shook her head. “I’ve been looking over my own version of a counter-spell,” she said. “I mean, I know that your version of howling worked on the Crusaders and the Principal, but… I feel really weird not trying to help. We only get one shot at this; and it’s gotta be perfect.”
“You said it,” Logan admitted, looking back. For a moment, they were both silent, yet Logan didn't go to join Carol. Twilight noticed that he kept staring down at his fingers, clenching and unclenching them, as if he was waiting for lightning to spiral across his fingertips again.
“What about you?” Twilight asked. "Are you okay?"
Logan grimaced, shaking his head. “When… I got taken by Tirek,” he mumbled, looking up at her. “Was there… any part of me left in my body? Like… did… I dunno, did I roll my eyes when you got overdramatic, or at least bite at Tirek… I mean, I saw I was biting at him before, but…”
His fingers clenched into fists, and Twilight saw with a gasp that his fists were trembling. She stood up and walked over to him, holding his arm.
“Logan,” she said softly. “You’re back. You’re you.” She grinned. “I’m pretty sure you proved that when you turned down the Elements.”
Logan’s eyes were shut, but he managed a faint grin.
“It was dumb,” he admitted. “Wasn’t it?”
“What was?” Twilight asked.
“Come on, Sparkle, you’re smarter than that,” Logan growled, lifting his head up. “I told your Element that I’d accept the challenges that would come without their gift… and all the pain that comes with them. But… I didn’t think about how you guys would handle that pain. That challenge.” He looked at her, and Twilight truly saw the light in his eyes.
He was scared.
"Logan," Twilight insisted. "We've always found a way through before." She rubbed the back of her head. "I'll admit, I don't know how sometimes, but we've usually found a way."
"And it was a good thing you did," Logan admitted. “If it wasn’t for you and Carol, I’d still be serving Tirek,” Logan said, clutching at Twilight’s hands. “I failed in a way I've never failed before. And…” He looked down, his hands trembling. “And I don’t want to know what might happen if I fail again.”
Twilight choked back a gasp, and rested her head against Logan’s.
“Welcome to my world,” she replied softly.
For a moment, they sat like that. It took a creak of the floor boards to break them apart. The two whirled to see Sunset standing in the doorway.
“Oh, Logan,” Sunset stammered awkwardly. “You’re back.”
“Yeah,” Logan said, letting go of Twilight and stretching his back out. When he spoke again, his voice was gruffer; more confident. “Jeep’s in a parking lot on the edge of town. Had to run my missing tail off, but hopefully we’ll be long gone before the owners figure out who stole it.”
Sunset’s eyes briefly darted between him and Twilight, before she shrugged and walked past them to a fridge.
“We really are lucky you two are here,” Sunset noted.
Logan and Twilight glanced at each other, nervousness threatening to break out on even Logan’s face.
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Twilight noted, before Sunset gasped. Logan ran forward, worried there might be a threat, only to see her staring at the inside of the fridge. At least fifty cans of whipped cream sat innocently inside.
“Who could possibly need this much-whipped cream?” Sunset pondered.
“Pinkie Pie,” Logan replied, grinning softly. “Some things carry across dimensions well enough.”
Sunset hummed at that, grabbing a bottle of the stuff. Though when she looked back, Logan noticed an edge of bitterness to her eyes.
“Must be nice to have everyone always looking to you for answers to their problems,” Sunset noted. “Instead of waiting for you to cause a problem.”
“Or expecting your solution to just cause more problems,” Logan noted, chancing another worried glance at the basement.
Twilight smiled softly at him before looking sadly down at her book.
“Just because everyone expects something from you,” she noted, looking up at Logan before Sunset. “Doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to happen.”
“Well,” Sunset replied with a sigh. “That doesn’t stop them from expecting it.”
“Which only makes things harder,” Twilight moaned.
“Because even if you act like you got control,” Logan noted. “The last thing you want to do is…”
“Let everybody down,” all three of them said at the same time. They all looked up at each other, eyes wide. Cyan, purple and silver eyes glanced at each other.
Logan chuckled. “Look at the three of us,” he noted. “We all pretend we know what we’re doing… when we really don’t.”
Sunset frowned in concern. “W-What do you mean?”
Twilight frantically motioned for Logan to stop, but he shook his head.
“No, Sparkle,” he insisted. “Pack or friend, we shouldn’t hide how we feel from each other. Because if we can’t trust each other… we can’t trust anyone.” He turned back to Sunset, who was staring at him in partial awe and partial confusion.
“If I’m being honest,” Logan continued. “I’m not sure if our plan’s gonna work. We’re still going to try, but…” He leaned against the wall. “I may not act it, but… I’ve never really felt in control of a situation. I just… go with my gut. And hope it leads me somewhere I’ll like. Even if everybody else thinks I’m out of my mind,” he added with a smirk at Twilight.
“And… you don’t know if we can do this?” Sunset asked.
Logan sighed. “I know you guys need high morale,” he admitted. “And I'm not saying we give up. But constantly saying ‘we’ve got this’ only works for a short time. Sooner or later, you gotta have someone that you can say, ‘I don’t know if we can do this’ to."
“Someone that shares that doubt… and can help you through it,” Twilight realized.
“Without letting the rest of the group fall to despair,” Logan added. “Try to share too much with them, and you risk letting them fall. But hide too much from them, and you’ll fall twice as hard.”
Sunset pondered that, looking down. “I have a lot to learn about friendship,” she admitted.
Logan grinned. “Well, I think Sparkle might like this,” he said. “But, I’ve found that no matter how old you get… you never stop learning.”
Twilight chuckled, sharing a grin with Sunset… only to be interrupted by a slow clap.
The three spun around. Luco was leaning against the basement door, unbound and ungagged, slowly clapping his hands.
“That. Was. Beautiful,” Luco praised. “Marvelous! More! Bravo!”
Logan growled, his human teeth baring. Luco gasped in mock horror.
“Oops,” he declared. “Did I ruin the moment?”
Logan rushed him, slamming him against the wall.
“Get the others up,” he growled at Twilight and Sunset. “Go!”
The two raced out of the kitchen, while Logan pressed his arm against Luco’s neck.
“Carol,” he hissed.
Luco rolled his eyes. “Oh, come now, Logan,” he said. “You should know by now; I don’t kill people. There’s no fun in death.”
He spun Luco around and shoved him back towards the basement.
“If you’ve done anything to her…” he snarled, before slamming the door open with Luco’s body.
“You know, you sound really cranky,” Luco noted as Logan tried to shove him down the stairs. “You really need to let that pent-up anger and frustration out.”
Logan knocked him down the final few flights… only to gasp in horror at what he saw.
First thing was without a doubt the room itself; it looked almost like a torture room! A large rack like device sat in the corner of the room, scuffed with what looked like whip marks. Leather gimp outfits and a saddle hung next to it, along with what looked like whips, riding crops and paddles kicked unceremoniously underneath the rack. The wall had faded red markings that looked suspiciously like blood, and Logan could faintly make out phrases like ‘LETS PUT A SMILE ON THAT FACE!’ or ‘CUPCAKES LIES!!’
But the worst part had to be the sight of Carol, strapped to the rack device. And standing around her were the Sirens, their former captive Sonata standing with them. All three grinning sadistically at Logan.
“And I,” Luco continued smugly. “Have just the solution for you.”