The sun was now setting on Ponyville. Ironside said goodbye to Twilight and Spike, and the latter two headed for home. Iron, on the other hand, decided that he should visit a couple of friends whom he hadn’t seen for a while. He stepped off of the United States and trotted over to the roundhouse to visit his engines again. It was only now that the weight of the investigation regarding the wrecked freight train started to bear down on him. It was only now that he realized just how hellish his life was going to become. The stress was starting to bear down on him, and he needed to find a way to escape it, and fast!
Stepping inside, he found his three companions sitting silently in their stalls. 2398 looked over to find his driver looking rather disheveled and pretty worn out; the effects of simply thinking about the incoming stresses were quick to appear on the engineer. “You alright, Al?” asked the Bavarian.
Iron looked up at his engine. “I just realized that I need to help investigate the mystery surrounding that freight wreck,” he sighed, “It’s gonna be absolute hell for me until the board figure out what happened with the train, who was behind it, and why it happened.” 2398 looked over to the other engines, giving an especially concerned look to Mike. Hildegard gave a similar glance. Mike didn’t seem to notice; he was staring into space, obviously concentrating on what Ironside had just said. He felt absolutely devastated knowing that he was behind the stress Iron was suffering, as was the little filly that looked up to the engineer.
“Maybe you should give Blitz and Sunshine a visit,” 2398 suggested. It was the answer Ironside was hoping for.
Feigning reluctance, he replied, “OK then…” Big Mike rolled his indicator lights in annoyance; he could often tell when the emotions Iron exhibited were genuine or not. Nevertheless, a good amount of perspiration rolled down his smokebox as the engineer approached. Ironside stopped in front of Hildegard, addressing all three of his engines. “Listen, guys,” he said, “If you know of anything that might pertain to the incident that occurred early this morning, please let me know now. It’ll help all of us in the long run.” All three of the engines looked with pity upon their driver. They knew how stressful his job would become given that this kind of incident was rare but serious. But they didn’t want Gallow to get tangled in such a heavy mess.
2398 spoke up. “Alex, if we knew anything about what happened we’d have told you by now.”
Realizing that to be true, Ironside nodded and replied, “Thanks, guys. That’s all you needed to tell me.”
“Try not to let the stress get to you, mein Kind,” Hildegard said, “We don’t want you getting sickly from such things.”
“Ich verstehe, Hildegard,” the engineer replied, “Danke schön.”
“If anything comes up, we’ll let you know, m’kay?”
“Thanks Mike.” With that, Ironside trotted out of the roundhouse. Once outside, he spread his iron-edged wings and took off into the evening sky. The three engines watched him go, their hearts now ridden with guilt.
Ironside glided towards a very familiar cloud mansion located just outside Ponyville and about 500 feet above it. He was surprised by the lack of company as he approached the house; normally Rainbow Dash was done with her shift and heading home by now. The first thing he could think of was that she was working overtime. Whether Blitz or Sunshine was home, he didn’t know. He just hoped that somepony was there to greet him at the door.
(Now before I go any further, I should point out that Dash, Blitz, and Sunny all live in the same house. If you’ve already figured out what I’m going for here, congratulations. If not, just sit tight and keep reading. Also, I’m not responsible for whatever rages result from the following lines.)
Ironside landed just outside the front door. Giving it a couple of raps, he widened his eyes when it slowly opened as a result. Stepping inside, he looked around for a sign of life. “Um, hello?” he called out, “Dashie? Blitz? Anypony here?” What happened next was Ironside being tackled from the side by a white filly with rainbow hair and purple eyes (catching on yet?).
“Uncle Alex! You’re here!” the filly screamed at the top of her voice while hugging Ironside as tight as she could.
“Urgh, yeah. I’m here, Sunny,” he responded with a grunt. Sunshine gingerly released Ironside from her bear-hug and ran over to fetch her father. “Daddy, Daddy, Uncle Alex is here!”
“Al, that you?” came a voice from inside the living room.
“Yeah, Matt, I’m here,” Iron responded. Matt (or Blitz, as everypony else knew him) stepped out to greet his best friend. He offered his hoof, which Iron took, and pulled the iron-winger into a hug.
“How ya been, buddy? I haven’t seen you in forever!” Blitz said laughing.
“I’ve been doing alright,” Iron replied, “Same old railroad life as always.”
“Have you heard from Mommy yet, Uncle Al?” asked Sunshine as she approached the two pegasi.
“Not yet,” he replied, “I’m assuming she’s still working with the rest of the weather team.”
“That or she’s been practicing her Wonderbolt maneuvers again and lost track of time,” Blitz put in. Ironside nodded.
(Alright, folks, I’m sure you all know what I’ve done here. And all I have to say is…
PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!!!)
Ironside trotted over to the cloud couch and plopped himself down on it. “Rough night, huh, Casey Jones?” Blitz asked.
Iron chuckled at the nickname, “Yeah, you could say that.”
“Isn’t railroading always rough?” asked Sunny.
Iron ruffled her mane. “Not always, kiddo. Not always.”
“But it is this time, huh?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, what happened?” asked Blitz. Taking a deep breath, Iron recounted the incident in as much detail as he could describe. Father and daughter listened intently, and with (not surprisingly) shocked expressions.
“So yeah, Casey Jones has had a rough night,” Ironside finished.
“Holy crap, man!” Blitz exclaimed, “Since when has the Royal Equestrian had an accident that serious?”
“Not since our incident with the City of Manehattan a month ago,” Iron replied.
“Our?” asked Blitz, “You’re the only pony I know who was on that train.”
“You’re forgetting about Gallow, Daddy,” Sunshine said.
“Oh yeah,” Blitz realized, “I forgot about her.”
The conversation was interrupted by the doors bursting open. “I’m home!” called Rainbow Dash.
“Mommy!” exclaimed Sunshine as she flew over to her mother.
“Hey, sweetie!” said Dash as she hugged Sunny.
“’Sup, babe?” asked Blitz as he kissed Dash.
“You’re not gonna believe this, but I actually got to spend the whole day with Spitfire!” she exclaimed.
“Get out!” Blitz yelled incredulously.
“I’m not kidding. I got photos!” Dash brandished a group of Polaroid photos in her hoof. “Wanna see?”
“Hell yeah!” exclaimed Blitz. The two Pegasi ran off into the living room. Ironside didn’t really mind Dash not even noticing he was there. But Sunny didn’t like what she saw. She hopped onto the couch and cuddled up next to him.
“Mommy didn’t even say hi to you,” she moped.
“It’s OK, sweetheart,” Ironside replied, “She wanted to show your dad her day with her idol.” Sunny seemed to accept the explanation, but she still wore a concerned look on her face.
“So, what’ll happen now?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” asked Iron.
“What’ll happen to you with the whole train crash?”
“Oh, that. Well, the railway is starting an investigation into what caused the accident and who might be behind it. It’ll probably involve tighter security measures on all scheduled trains.”
“So, will they be putting guards on the trains or something?”
“They already do that with trains that carry precious cargo, like bullion or heads of state. But they might start putting them on our regularly scheduled trains too.”
“Can’t take any chances, huh?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“You really shouldn’t have anything to worry about,” Sunshine said, “I’ve met the guards at the castle in Canterlot. They’re really kind.”
“I don’t think they’ll be sending royal guards on our trains, even though these are the Royal Equestrian Railways,” Ironside replied, “The royal guards’ duty is to protect and serve the princesses directly. We haven’t been directly connected to them since the royal train was decommissioned.”
“So, what does that mean?” asked Sunny.
“It means that the railways are on their own in terms of looking for guards to hire.”
At that moment, Dash and Blitz called Sunshine into the dining room. She jumped off the couch and trotted over to the doorway, then stopped. “Aren’t you coming with, Uncle Alex?” she asked.
“You go on ahead, Sunny. I’ll be fine,” he replied. Sunshine trotted into the dining room. Ironside lay back and mused over what he and Sunny had discussed. Already he began mentally preparing himself in case he ended up being assigned a guard who was less than suitable for the task assigned. And already he could feel the initial stages of a headache forming. But then his thoughts were interrupted.
“C’mon, Iron,” said Dash, suddenly appearing beside the couch, “We can’t eat until everypony’s at the table.” Ironside smiled and followed her into the dining room.