As 1015 rolled past the mortuary, Ironside tried to get one final glimpse at Gallow through the windows. He could just barely make out her form through the glass. She appeared to be conversing with a family in the office. He smiled weakly as the train rolled past; she seemed to be recovering well after his drunken beat-down on her. The memory of that night was still fresh in his mind, and he winced as he remembered. It broke his heart that that was the last time she would ever have any interaction with him again; it was such a horrible way to end what should have been a lasting friendship. Once the mortuary was out of sight, he turned his gaze away from the window and concentrated on the stack of locomotive drawings in his hooves. He knew that his days as an engineer in Ponyville were numbered, but he had to return to the cab as soon as possible; he had no other skills to his name other than driving trains. Fear crept through him as the thought of never finding a sustainable income raced through his mind.
Gallow was indeed conversing with a family in her office. The father’s mother had just passed away from old age, and the family was now making the funeral arrangements with Gallow. In spite of last night’s incident, Gallow kept her mind focused on working with the grieving family. Her own dark filly-hood helped her in communicating with the ponies, especially in feeling sympathy for the father. “Are you wishing for a traditional burial or a cremation?” she asked the father.
“Mother wanted us to bury her,” replied the stallion.
“Alright,” Gallow replied, writing the request down on a sheet of paper. She passed the paper on to the stallion and asked him to fill in the remaining necessary information, including any family members who would be acting as benefactors to the service. The stallion passed the sheet back to Gallow once the remaining info was filled in. “I will let you know when I am finished preparing your mother for burial,” Gallow told the family. “And if you need anything else, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Thank you, Miss Gallow,” the stallion replied, sniffing. Gallow took a tissue and wiped the father’s teary eyes, which took him by surprise.
“Oh… You didn’t need to do that,” he said.
“It’s the least I can do for you,” she responded with a smile. The mother looked at Gallow with an expression of sincere gratitude.
“Promise us you’ll be staying here a while,” she said to Gallow, “Ponies don’t tend to stick around in this business. It’s great to know the place is run by a little filly with such a big heart.”
Gallow smiled back at the two ponies. “I’ll be here for quite a while,” she replied. The family gave one last goodbye and thank you before leaving.
After they left, Gallow took the mother to prepare her body for burial. The books she had been reading from Twilight’s library had helped her understand the proper embalming techniques and materials. As she pushed the cart into the embalming room, she stopped to look at a photo hanging on the wall. It was a photograph of the train wreck that had orphaned her. She wasn’t looking at the wreckage of the coach, however; she was looking at two figures embracing each other in the middle of the photo. Gallow let out a heavy sigh as she remembered the Ironside she used to know: the tender, caring Ironside. She still couldn’t believe that a pony like him could have such a violent side as the one she dealt with last night. But trying to not let what happened distract her, she pushed the cart into the room and began her work.
Spike had managed to make the train to Canterlot after waiting for a good half hour. After inquiring a passer-by of the whereabouts of the Mane 6, he was directed, not surprisingly, to the castle. Upon arrival, he was greeted by Rarity, who told him that Twilight was still not in a good mood. “Did you manage to see Ironside off?” she asked him.
“Yeah,” Spike replied, “He was really upset about what happened last night. It’s pretty obvious he wasn’t himself that night. I don’t Twilight realizes that.”
“No, I’m sure she does,” said Rarity, “But she’s still upset that he was drunk that night. She thinks that he should have told one of us as soon as possible.”
“That’s not really something you willingly tell somepony,” Spike said, “And I think it was better that he was drunk when this happened. If he had been sober, then there would be no reason to forgive him at all.”
“It doesn’t exactly justify his beating of Gallow, you know,” Rarity replied.
“Well, it doesn’t matter now. He’s not coming back,” Spike said with a sigh.
The rest of the Mane 6 felt conflicted about the situation. While Ironside was highly intoxicated during the beating, and technically not in his right mind, it still didn’t justify him beating Gallow in the first place. But they also felt conflicted about him leaving. It seemed a good idea that he leave Ponyville, but him never coming back left a sore feeling in their hearts; he was still their friend, after all, and they didn’t want him out of their lives completely.
Spike entered the Main Hall with Rarity to be greeted by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. They all asked him the same questions as Rarity, and he gave them the same answers. “So, that’s it then?” asked Applejack, “He’s just up and flown the coop for good?”
“Seems like a good decision to me,” Dash put in. Applejack and Pinkie glared at her for making the remark.
“You really think Sunshine is happy that Iron isn’t ever coming back?” Pinkie asked in an indignant voice.
“You know she isn’t,” Dash replied, “And I’m not either, trust me.”
“I bet Blitz doesn’t give a damn,” Applejack stated. Dash glared back at her.
“He does give a damn,” she retorted, “He’s just as upset about this as the rest of us.”
“I meant he doesn’t give a damn that Iron’s gone for good,” Applejack replied, “And apparently neither do you.”
“I just told you that I didn’t like his idea of permanent exile, AJ!” Dash exclaimed.
“That’s rich coming from the pony who just said his permanent exile was a good idea,” Applejack responded. Rainbow Dash couldn’t think of a way to retaliate.
"She's upset, Applejack," said Pinkie, "We all are."
“Look, the main question is, can we forgive Ironside for his actions?” Fluttershy finally said. The ponies and dragon thought long and hard about the question.
“I don’t know…” Pinkie said.
“I really want to…” said Applejack.
“Me too, but…” began Dash.
“Could we really…?” asked Rarity.
“After what he’s done?” finished Spike.
Fluttershy sighed. “I guess we can’t really answer that question, can we?” she asked her friends. They all shook their heads in response.
“In all honesty,” Applejack put in, “I know that we’re all conflicted here, but I feel like it’d be better if we’d just confronted Iron and kept him here. At least we could’ve kept an eye on his behavior, and he would’ve been able to stay in Ponyville.” The girls nodded in agreement.
“Why didn’t we think of this before?” asked Rarity.
“I think it was because Twilight was so adamant that he leave,” answered Pinkie.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now,” said Dash, “He’s gone, and he’s not returning.”
All this time, Twilight had been listening in on the conversation. After hearing the girls’ alternative, she began to question whether her plan was really best for all. She heard the muffled sobs of Princess Luna from behind the closed door to the princess’s bedroom. “Maybe I was wrong…” she whispered to herself. But she still felt reluctant to forgive Ironside for his transgression.
Their meeting adjourned, the girls went around the castle to try and find things to take their minds off their engine driver. But Pinkie and Spike simply walked over to the balcony and continued conversing about Iron. “I really want him back, Spike,” Pinkie sighed, “He’s still our friend, and we shouldn’t have let him go off on his own for good.”
“Doesn’t he have friends back home?” asked Spike.
Pinkie shook her head. “It’s not something I like to talk about. But the friends he did have don’t even think he’s alive anymore.” Spike couldn’t believe what he just heard. “We’re the only friends he’s had for a long time,” Pinkie continued.
“You think he’ll be OK on his own?” asked Spike.
“I’m not sure,” Pinkie replied, “He does tend to spend time on his own, but trust me, it only prolongs his sadness…”
“How do you know that?” asked Spike again.
“Pinkie senses,” she replied, “I can read his emotions like an open book.”