• Published 23rd Jun 2019
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The Lone Wolf of Equestria - JNKing



A werewolf from an alternate dimension is taken to Equestria, and must find a way home.

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Chapter 13: Finding the Compromise

“Wait, you knew where he was?” Twilight demanded, “You found him in the Ever-Free, and you didn’t tell him to come back?”

“I tried, Twi,” Applejack said, “He won’t listen. As far as he’s concerned, we’re just trying to butter him up and turn him into another Spike.”

“Spike’s role is not something for him to be afraid of,” Twilight argued, pacing nervously, “I really don’t understand Logan’s logic; he’s only a child. He’s probably hungry… cold…”

“Twi, he was none of those things when I saw him,” Applejack said, “And if he’s gonna come back, it’s gotta be on his terms.” She gave Twilight a hard look, “You can’t let your curiosity about his species get the better of you; he’s still a person.”

“I’m not letting…!” Twilight exclaimed, before she forced herself to stay calm. “It was never about his species. I want to help him. I promised Princess Celestia I would.”

“I know this is hard to hear,” Applejack continued, “But he doesn’t want our help.”

“Why? Because we got angry at him for biting our Princess?”

“You do have to admit, we went overboard on him,” Applejack muttered.

“Even so, Princess Celestia herself begged me to help him! To not give up! He’s in a bad place right now, and she can’t stand seeing him tear himself apart. And it isn’t just her; I can’t just sit by and let him hurt himself like this.”

“Twilight, I hear you. I don’t want to see him like this either. But what else can we do that still respects his rights as a living being? You can talk all you want with him, but I don’t think he’ll listen. Fluttershy's the only ones he trusts right now, and even that could go out the window if you try and get her to bring him back.”

“So, that’s it?” Twilight asked, “We just let him run the risk of getting killed out there? You know how dangerous the lands outside our town can be; he’s not old enough for…”

“I know,” she said firmly, “But it’s his choice; not ours.” She looked back. “Anything else we try is just gonna prove that he was right about us caring more about what we think than what he thinks.”

Twilight paused as Applejack turned to walk away. “How do you know?” Twilight asked.

Applejack looked back. “Because I know that look he’s had ever since he got here,” she said, “I wore it myself back when I refused to let ya’ll help me with my harvest. And part of me wonders… if I lost Apple Bloom, or Big Mac, or Granny Smith… Would I be the same way?” She turned. “The answer scares me.” With that, she walked back out the door.

Twilight fumed for a second, before she stormed away.

#

Twilight really didn’t like going into the Ever-Free. Every time she had, it was to save some pony – the world, Fluttershy, Apple Bloom – and each time, the creatures in there had nearly killed her. But now, there was someone in there that needed her help, whether he knew it or not.

Every day or so since Applejack came back, Twilight made out Logan’s howl. Unlike the cautiously hopeful howl she had heard when they had met, or the morose howl Fluttershy had told her about, this howl was… joyful. Full of life, and defiance.

“Logan,” she called out. His howl paused, before bursting out even louder.

The trees around her bent and shook with whatever magic he was using on them. The howl flicked back and forth, as if teasing Twilight as she tried to find the source.

“Logan, I know you’re here,” she said sharply, “I need to talk to you.”

The song almost seemed to be laughing at her, as the trees clashed above her, drenching her with leaves.

“Logan, I’m not leaving until you talk to me,” she said sharply.

A rustling sound emanated from her right. She turned to it, her eyes widening.

“Logan?” she asked.

Then something large and angry rushed at her. It wasn’t Logan. Twilight yelped, firing a bolt spell at the creature. But just as the creature dodged it, a flash of yellow smashed into it. The howl stopped abruptly, and was replaced with a nasty growl.

Twilight shut her eyes as a brutal snapping sound emanated. When she opened her eyes, Logan was standing over the body of another timber wolf, the glow dying from its form as it’s twigs scattered to the wind.

“Logan,” Twilight said happily.

He immediately turned and walked back into the foliage. Twilight’s grin briefly vanished before she took off after him.

“L-Logan, wait!” she called after him.

Logan didn’t stop, forcing her to grab him by the tail. He whirled around on her, but she returned his angry glare with a determined frown.

“I’m not going back until you talk to me,” she said defiantly.

Logan growled like a feral beast. Twilight matched his gaze. She noticed his collar was chipped and cracked, a feeble glow around it.

“What do you want?” he finally asked.

Twilight tilted her head. “To help you,” she said. She tried to approach him, but his hackles bared at her. “Are you okay? Uh, how’s your arm?”

“My arm was fine two weeks ago,” he replied, turning away from her.

Twilight sighed. “That’s good. We really should get you back to Ponyville. Get your collar fixed… Oh, I bet Pinkie will want to throw another party.”

“You’re really an idiot if you think I’m letting you do anything to repair this chain,” Logan said, indicating his collar. "Or that I'd go anywhere near Pinkie Pie."

Twilight frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re still mad at her.”

“You already know the answer to that.”

Twilight gave an exasperated sigh. “Can you at least cut Pink a break? She was just having fun; she’s really sorry.”

“She shot me with a cannon.”

“She didn’t hurt you, and besides that, she apologized!”

“I apologized for breaking her promise, and I got shot anyway,” Logan countered. “If my apology doesn’t hold weight, then neither does hers.”

“It wasn’t even about the promise. It was just a prank.”

“Would she shoot another pony with the excuse that it’s ‘just a prank?’”

“Well…” Twilight stammered.

“Mm-hm,” he mumbled, disappearing into the forest before Twilight could respond. “Screw you.”

“Logan, come on,” Twilight protested, “Don't make this some 'ponies are better than canines' argument. I-If anything, you’re driving that stereotype forward by living like this.” Twilight looked around at the forest. “Fluttershy's cottage was perfect for you. You don’t need to…”

“I don’t want pity and I don’t need charity,” his voice echoed out from the shadows.

“But…”

He stormed up to her. “Read my lips,” he snarled, “You’re not my pack; you’re not my friend. None of you are my friends. And if you’re so eager to help me, then you’ll piss off, tell Celestia to get this damn collar off me,” he clawed at the metal around his neck, “And let me rescue my pack!” He ducked back into the foliage, slamming a branch into the ground. “That was the door,” he added, “I just slammed it in your face.”

Twilight growled, not sure whether to scream in frustration or cry. Before she could do either, a small voice piped up behind her.

“Um… is this a bad time?”

Twilight whirled around. Fluttershy was sitting there.

“Oh, Fluttershy,” Twilight stammered, backing away from the door. “I was… well, I mean I was… what are you doing here?"

“Logan left a message with one of the other canines I look after,” Fluttershy explained, walking next to her. “He wanted to meet me here.” At the sound of her voice, Logan’s head poked back out. Twilight’s ears flattened at the softer look he gave Fluttershy.

“Good, the mare I wanted to see is here,” Logan said, ducking back into the foliage.

“Logan, Twilight’s not trying to be mean,” she said, glancing at her friend, who looked very miffed at his statement, “We’re all worried about you.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Logan said, his voice echoing from the forest, “I’ve been more at home in this forest than I ever was at your cottage.”

Fluttershy’s ears folded back. “I thought…”

“But you still gave me a home there,” Logan said in a softer voice, walking back out with a large wicker-woven bag. “You were always there for me. And for that…” He pulled the bag over to her, “I need to repay your kindness.”

Fluttershy opened the bag. Inside was a huge amount of supplies; zap apples, timber wood, even a few diamonds.

“L-Logan?” Twilight stammered, “Where’d you get all this?”

“The forest isn’t just a cesspool for monsters,” Logan said, shooting a smug grin at Twilight, “It rewards those that are determined enough to get what they want.”

Fluttershy flipped the bag closed. “Logan…” she started to say, but he shoved the bag towards her.

“Take this,” he said, “Bring the diamonds to Rarity. And know the debts are paid.”

Fluttershy’s eyes darted between the supplies and Logan. “Oh, please, no,” she said, “I can’t take this.”

“Yes, you can,” Logan insisted, "You did more than enough to deserve it.”

“No, it’s an excuse,” Fluttershy retorted, “You don’t want us around, but you don’t like having me on your conscience.” She paused and stepped forward. “If I take this… how do I know you won’t run away and never come back?”

“I can’t do that,” Logan noted with a growl, “Celestia collared me!” Despite himself, he chanced an almost nervous look at Twilight. “Has Celestia said anything? About the portal?”

“Now you expect me to help?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

Logan just snorted, the nervousness gone right back to defiance. “You’re right.” He glanced at Fluttershy. “Better to ask her myself.” He ducked back into the foliage. “That is assuming she doesn’t just mind rape me in my sleep," he muttered, loud enough for them to hear. "I know she’s been trying. Trying to use magic to force me to be part of your pack. Well you guys aren’t my parents; my parents were better than any of you.”

Twilight fumed, but tried to keep herself calm for Fluttershy’s sake. Imagine her shock when Fluttershy actually finally gave out a frustrated sigh, and stormed after the defiant wolf.

“Logan, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, irritated at his behavior, “But what do you know of our families? About our parents?”

Logan glanced back out at her. “I know that they were your pack,” Logan said, “They were the first allies you’ll ever have. They should’ve been the only allies you’d ever need.”

“And you don’t ever think about the specifics?” Fluttershy asked, “Like, maybe, if I didn’t like being around my family? Or that Twilight left to help her family?”

Logan stared at her, like what she was speaking was sacrilege. “How can leaving your family help them?” he demanded, “H-How could you not like being around your pack?!”

“Logan, pony society isn’t the same as wolf society,” Twilight explained. “We don’t wear our… mm, fallen, and Princess Celestia isn’t some evil tyrant that tore us apart. She brought us together as friends. She just wants to see every pony get along…”

“And she wants me to be part of that society at the expense of my own?” Logan snapped. Twilight backed up at the sight of his teeth. “Forget it,” he said. He glared particularly at Fluttershy. “And to think I…” A pained look crossed his snout before it reverted back to anger. He stormed off.

Fluttershy gasped in horror. “Logan, wait, that’s not what I…” but not even her voice soothed him now.

“If your society has forgotten the true meaning of pack,” Logan said, “Then you’re all even worse than I thought.” He kicked the bag into Fluttershy’s hooves. “My debt is repaid, Fluttershy. Don’t think you can manipulate me anymore.”

“Logan!” Twilight yelled, but he was gone before she could follow. She moaned in frustration. “Princess Celestia; you said ‘kindness was the way to his heart,’ but why does it have to be so difficult?”

“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“How do you manage it, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked wearily, “It’s so hard to be nice to him when he tries to hurt himself with stunts like this!”

“He’s not a pony,” Fluttershy reminded her, “He’s not even a human. He’s a wolf. And on top of that… he’s scared.”

Twilight paused. “Scared?” she asked, “How is any of his behavior…”

“It’s hard to see, I know,” Fluttershy said, “But… don’t you see it? The flattened ears, the tucked tail; the fact that he never fully looks at us.” Fluttershy shook her head. “He’s aggressive, but it’s not dominant aggressive like the Timber wolves or Diamond Dogs. That’s fear aggression; right now, he’s scared for his pack, but he wants to hide that fear so that no one can hurt him with it.”

“I don’t want to hurt him, I want to help him,” Twilight insisted.

“Well… I’m sorry, Twilight, but that’s not how he sees it,” Fluttershy said, “He looks at you and he just sees, well…”

“Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked, a hint of resignation in her voice.

“And you, Rainbow Dash and Applejack beating him,” Fluttershy added, before adding a quick, ‘Sorry’ at Twilight’s look of despair.

Twilight looked away, before hearing Fluttershy whimper.

“Why did I have to yell at him like that?” she sobbed, “Why didn’t I think?”

“Fluttershy, no,” Twilight tried to say, “It’s not your fault. You didn’t yell at him.”

“But he trusted me,” Fluttershy insisted, “He trusted me, and I threw that away. Now he just sees Princess Celestia stamping out his free will. He sees her in all of us.”

“Except…” Twilight said, her ears slowly perking up, “For the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“Huh?”

“I remember now,” Twilight said, “Applejack found Logan because she was looking for Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom was talking to Logan, and he didn’t run away from her. She doesn’t trigger his fear aggression!”

Fluttershy looked around quickly and yanked Twilight away from the forest. “Not where he can hear,” she whispered, “If you turn him against the fillies, then nothing will work.”

“Right-right,” Twilight said, looking back in case Logan’s eyes were watching them. “But it’s an idea, right?”

“But how are they supposed to talk to him?” Fluttershy asked, “Logan won’t come out of the Ever-Free for us, and we can’t ask Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash to just let them wander in there.”

Twilight rubbed at her chin. “I might have a solution to that.”

#

Logan still didn’t know what he was feeling. He didn’t want to care about Twilight or Fluttershy. He wanted to hate them. He wanted to hate all of them. Why would he care that she was feeling bad? Because they were trying? Because they were sorry? And he being such an asshole for no reason.

Logan growled as he once again concentrated, trying to bring that same magic back up. Twilight’s hurt doe eyes flashed before his eyes again. So, hurt and full of regret.

“She’s not sorry,” he chastised himself, as his paws glowed brighter the angrier he got, “She just wants to feel better about herself and her stupid teacher. Stupid sorry superior…. GRRRRR!”
CRACKLE BOOM!

Another lightning bolt exploded out of his hands hurling him backward into a tree. An acorn bounced off his head, followed by the angry chatter of a squirrel.

He stumbled away, murmuring dark thoughts about Celestia and her ‘prized, most faithful’ student, all while trying to walk off his injuries. A familiar voice snapped him out of his funk.

“Hey, Logan,” a young, familiar voice said from behind him.

Logan turned around to see the Crusaders and Zecora waving at him.

“Guys?” he asked as he ran over to them. “What’re ya doing out here?”

“Just out crusading for our marks,” Sweetie Belle replied, “Fluttershy recommended Zecora help us try out potion makers.”

“Potion makers, they are certainly not,” Zecora noted, “And I will be in need of a new pot.”

“That bad, huh?”

Sweetie Belle nodded. Despite his face visibly brightening at the sight of them, his ears slowly folded back as the three looked at each other uncertainly.

“So… Logan,” Sweetie Belle started to say, but Logan to got to the subject first.

“Fluttershy and Twilight sent you out here to talk to me,” he said with resignation in his voice, “Didn’t they?”

The Crusaders looked at each other with panic in their eyes. “They just said they’re…” Scootaloo tried to say.

“Worried about me,” Logan said, “I know. And I don’t want their help.”

He was already turning around, when Apple Bloom rushed forward.

“Logan, this isn’t just about them,” Apple Bloom said, “We miss you.”

Logan paused, and glanced back at them.

“That day where you taught us hide and seek tag?” Scootaloo asked, “That was the most fun we’ve ever had. You’re the reason Diamond and Silver don’t bully us, or make us feel like nothing.”

“Please, Logan,” Sweetie Belle asked, “We know you’re angry at our sisters – okay, we understand - but… does it really have to mean that we can’t see you again?”

Logan’s ears flattened, and he looked away.

“For them to visit you is unwise,” Zecora noted, “Many creatures here would see them as a prize.”

“Thank you,” Logan said to her with a hint of a snappish tone. He sighed. “I don’t want your sisters around, but I’m willing to go back and help you guys with crusading.”

Sweetie Belle perked up hopefully. “Could you…?” she asked hopefully.

“You mean it?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You guys are without a doubt the few people I can easily say I like,” Logan said, “As long as you don’t make something… weird about it… yeah, I’ll do it.”

As the fillies cheered, Twilight and Fluttershy watched from the shadows. She smiled a bit at the more relaxed look Logan had.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered to the yellow mare, “You really are a genius.”