What Big Mike, Hildegard, and 2398 didn’t know was that Gallow had heard every word of what they said. She knew that they were bound to start talking when they thought she wasn’t within telepathic earshot, so she now knew the whole reason behind her test drive on the freight train. While she was touched by the fact that Big Mike cared so much for her and was eager to help her find her true calling, she was at the same time disappointed and worried by the utter failure of the whole experiment. With the railway officials soon to find out about the crash, she worried that Mike would get in serious trouble if they found out that he was behind it. She also worried about what would happen to her if Mike told the officials that she was behind the throttle, and she didn’t even want to think about what Ironside would say.
Knowing what she had to do, she quickly trotted back to the library. Twilight and Spike were eating lunch in the café about a block or so away, so Gallow simply waited outside the main entrance of the library. She didn’t bother knocking, since Owlowiscious was likely to still be asleep. Instead, she began to think about what her true calling could be. For the next half-hour, she pondered about what she was good at, what she seemed to have a particular interest in, etc, but nothing came to mind. Her thoughts were briefly interrupted by the high-pitched whistle of the sleeper car train pulling into the Ponyville depot, which indicated to her that the investigation was soon to begin once Ironside submitted the report to the officials.
Before she could refocus her thoughts, Twilight and Spike returned from the café. “Hello, Gallow,” said the familiar purple unicorn, “What’re you doing back so soon? Did you get a chance to talk to Ironside?”
“No,” replied Gallow, “He was with some of the rich ponies testing the new sleeper car. I just chatted with his engines in the roundhouse for a while.”
“Oh, really?” asked Twilight, “Because Rarity and Fluttershy were on that train too.”
“Well that must’ve made for some interesting conversation,” replied Gallow.
“Did you need anything from the library at all?” asked Spike.
“Actually,” said Gallow in a soft voice, “Is it OK if I stay with you guys for a while? I can’t really stay in the roundhouse with Ironside.”
“Of course, Gallow,” Twilight responded with a smile, “You can stay as long as you need to.” Relieved to hear this, Gallow followed Twilight and Spike into the tree.
“So what did you and the engines talk about?” asked Spike as the three entered the reading area.
“Oh, well we mainly talked about what my true calling might be.”
“You know,” Spike replied, “You should talk to Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo about that sort of thing.”
“Who’re they?” asked Gallow.
“They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or CMC for short,” replied Twilight, “Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are Rarity and Applejack’s sisters, respectively, and Scootaloo is Rainbow Dash’s 'sister'.”
“Not to mention her biggest fan,” Spike put in.
“Yeah, that too,” chuckled Twilight. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash aren't biological sisters, but Scoots often sees Dash as a big sister.
“What do they do?” asked Gallow.
“They mainly get involved in antics that deal with trying to find their true talents,” replied Spike.
“Their antics cause trouble from time to time,” said Twilight, trying to dampen the actual impact of the CMC’s antics, “but they mean well.”
Gallow thought for a while before asking, “Did they ever try railroading?” Spike and Twilight paused, and then looked nervously at each other.
“Um, actually, yeah they did,” Spike sighed.
“Judging from your reactions to my question, I’m assuming that it didn’t go well,” Gallow stated.
“Understatement right there,” replied Twilight, “Ironside almost dropped dead from the result.”
“Why, what was the result?” asked Gallow.
“Two engines backed through the walls of the roundhouse, and one in the turntable well,” replied Spike. Suddenly, Gallow thought that the freight in the gorge wasn’t so bad an accident after all.
“I’m guessing that Ironside didn’t forgive them for that, huh?” said Gallow.
“Not true, said Twilight, “He did forgive them.”
“Yeah, after having them clean out the ashpit and the coal tipple,” Spike put in, “Which they were, ironically, all too eager to do.”
“You make it sound like they’re desperate to get their cutie marks,” Gallow pointed out.
“Not at all,” Spike retorted, “They just try to make adventures out of every opportunity they have at trying to gain their marks. That’s why I thought you might enjoy hanging around with them.”
Gallow looked at the morbid mark on her flank. “Yeah, um, I don’t think they’d accept me because of the mark I already have.” Twilight and Spike looked at the mark too. Spike shuddered from the image, and Twilight stepped back slightly.
“I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me sooner, but wouldn’t that mark have washed off in the shower?” asked Spike. But Gallow had already planned for this.
“Oh, one of the unicorns decided to magically draw it,” she replied, “But she didn’t know that she was using a spell that would make it permanent. Think of it as an accidental tattoo.” The story worked: both Twilight and Spike seemed convinced.
“Well, getting off the topic of the morbid mark,” said Twilight, “You said you were talking to the engines about finding your true calling.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well, books are often a really great way to start finding your interests. Just browse the shelves and see which books catch your eye.”
“OK.”
“Let me know if you need any help getting books from the upper shelves,” said Twilight.
“Will do,” replied Gallow.
With that in mind, Gallow began browsing the shelves of the library; keen to find what books might pique her interests. She looked at Equestrian history, world history, equine philosophy, human philosophy (particularly Plato), classical magic, alchemy, classical physics, chemistry, herbology, biology, medicine, equine and human anatomy, psychology, classical literature, music, railroads and locomotives, automobiles, aircraft, ships, astrology, astronomy, nuclear physics, radiochemistry, optometry, taxidermy, Roman law, Equestrian mythology, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Nordic mythology, Egyptian mythology, and the Kama Sutra (don’t ask).
Out of the multitude of books that came off of and were put back onto the shelves, only anatomy, biology, taxidermy, classical magic, and chemistry remained on the table. Gallow asked for some bookmarks, which Twilight happily gave. Gallow then set about placing a bookmark in various sections of each book. While they didn’t seem to have any sort of pattern, Gallow had actually marked sections in each book that all shared something in common. What that something was, only she knew.
Ironside trotted in unexpectedly as Gallow inserted the last bookmark into the classical magic book. “Hello, Cecilia,” he said as he passed by. Gallow jumped in surprise. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” the Pegasus pony quickly relented, “I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“It’s OK, Mr. Ironside,” Gallow replied, “I was just really concentrated on my studies.”
“What’re you studying?” Ironside asked.
“Basically, I’m trying to find my true calling,” the filly replied.
“Oh, well good luck with that,” said Ironside, patting his hoof on her shoulder. He then turned to Twilight. “Hey Twi?” asked the colt.
“Yes?” replied Twilight. “Could you and Spike come with me to the shops, please?”
“What do you need?” asked Spike.
“Well, Big Mike appears to have lost one of the bolts connecting his grates to the levers that control them. He ended up dumping his fire. Think you guys could help me shape a new bolt?” At that he produced a long metal rod resting along his right wing.
“OK, sure,” said Spike, always eager to put his fiery breath to good use.
“Of course, Iron,” Twilight responded. “Alright, let’s go. Hey Gallow?”
“Yeah?” asked the filly.
“We’ll be back in a bit, OK?” said Twilight.
“OK, I’m not going anywhere,” replied Gallow. With that, the two ponies and dragon left the library for the shops.
“OK, Spike,” said Ironside as they approached the anvil in the shops, “I need you to heat up the rod with your flame. Once it’s red-hot, Twilight, you’ll use the hammer to flatten out the head. Understood?”
“Yes,” Twilight affirmed. Spike prepared his breath, but was too excited to remember one slight detail…
Princess Celestia sat in her chair in the royal banquet hall, sipping her afternoon tea. “Luna, dear, could you pass the sugar please?” she asked her sister from halfway down the table.
“How many lumps do you want?” asked Luna. Before Celestia could answer, however, a long steel rod appeared above her head. It fell down on her cranium with a resounding CLANG!!! Luna watched, bug-eyed, as her sister keeled over, unconscious.
Twilight, Spike, and Ironside stared bug-eyed and slack-jawed at the spot where the steel bar was just sitting. No pony said a word. For two whole minutes, the three of them stood around the anvil, trying to process what had just transpired. And if that wasn’t surprising enough, the first words to come out of Spike’s mouth after the two-minute silence were, “Oh. Shit.”