//------------------------------// // Resolution // Story: Lonesome Whistle // by Vauclains Understudy //------------------------------// The sounds of chiseling, sawing, drilling, and screwing echoed through the halls in Canterlot Castle. Gallow had been up all day working on a special coffin made just for Ironside. This was to be her greatest work yet, so there could be no room for error. Since she was making a custom box from scratch, she decided to make it up as she went along, and as such had no idea how the final result would turn out. At this time, she was making multiple panels, each with its own designs and artwork. She had had mahogany planks shipped straight to the castle, along with the necessary tools, paints, and varnishes. Any pattern that came into her head was automatically put to wood. The only part that was absolutely certain to end up on the finished coffin was the lid, which bore Ironside’s cutie mark. And this was just the exterior she was fretting over; she hadn’t even decided which upholstery was to be put on the inside. Every once in a while one of the Mane 7 or one of the Princesses would poke her head in to check on Gallow. Rarity and Spike spent five minutes watching Gallow dart between each panel, wailing upon it with chisel and brush. Given the morbid nature of this maniacal progress, it wasn’t long before the two of them had to pull their heads out of the doorway. “I can’t watch, Rarity,” Spike complained, “I know artists get very sensitive about their work, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anypony use up so much time and energy on a coffin.” “I know,” Rarity replied in worry, “I’m tempted to declare that the poor dear is officially insane.” Now, Gallow hadn’t gone insane like Twilight had when the latter was unable to write up a substantial report to Celestia about a lesson in friendship, but this was pretty damn close. Gallow would only talk to a pony if it dealt with obtaining materials for the coffin or if she wanted an opinion on possible designs for the panels. And apart from the necessary meal and restroom breaks and bedtime, she spent all day working on the coffin or looking for materials that would go into it. Celestia was now lowering the sun to allow Luna to raise the moon. While the Princesses did their ritual, Rainbow Dash flew to the treehouse to see if the CMC were still there. Rarity had begun to worry that the fillies didn’t make it home, so Dash offered to check. She flew back into the castle faster than was probably allowed, but that didn’t matter. “They’re not at the treehouse!” she exclaimed. “What?!” yelled Rarity. “Where are they then?!” exclaimed Applejack. “I don’t know,” replied Dash, “I searched the whole treehouse. I even followed each of their routes home. I didn’t see them at all!” Rarity began to pace the room rapidly muttering, “Oh dear…oh dear…” which was promptly followed by her keeling over onto the floor. While Spike ran to her aid, Dash called Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight into the room. Before Dash could finish explaining the situation however, one of the guards burst into the room. “Princess Twilight, we have an urgent report from Ponyville,” he stated in a hurried voice. “What is it? Does it have to do with the Crusaders?” Twilight asked. The guard paused and thought for a moment. “Possibly,” he replied. “Well, keep talking then!” she exclaimed. “A quick survey of the roundhouse found that one of Ironside’s engines is missing,” the guard answered. Seven sets of eyes widened upon hearing the engineer’s name (well, in this case Rarity’s shot open). It didn’t take long for Twilight to deduce what had happened. “Thank you, guard,” she said in her normal tone of voice. “You’re welcome, Your Highness,” he replied, “Oh, and my name’s Silver, by the way.” This was the same guard who had ridden with Ironside during 1015’s test run. Twilight smiled and nodded. “I’ll remember that.” After Silver left the room, Twilight turned to her friends, this time with a more serious expression. “Alright girls, I think it’s pretty obvious that the CMC left to bring Ironside back to Ponyville.” The girls and Spike looked at one another with uncertainty. Twilight was confused. “What is it?” she asked. “Twilight, you were the one who banished Ironside from Ponyville in the first place,” said Spike. “You know how stubborn our sisters can be, Twi,” said Applejack, “They won’t even want to come back unless Ironside’s with us.” “We don’t know if you’re okay with us bringing Ironside back,” put in Pinkie. Twilight looked over to the room where Gallow was working, then sighed and turned her gaze back to her friends. “To be honest, I’ve been regretting that decision for a while now.” Again the girls’ eyes widened. “I didn’t even realize what was going to happen once Iron was out of the picture. I thought things were going to turn out better, but now that I look at it, I don’t see that being the case anymore.” “Well, nopony could have predicted Gallow having that nightmare and believing that Iron would die soon,” said Fluttershy. “No, but there’s more to it than that,” replied Twilight. She paused for a bit, feeling somewhat ashamed at admitting this but also feeling ashamed that she hadn’t admitted this sooner. “I miss him too.” She gingerly took her tiara off and laid it upon the carpet in front of them. “I was crowned a princess because Princess Celestia believed that I had gained enough knowledge and understanding about friendship to become a teacher of it, and I had finished Starswirl the Bearded’s unfinished spell. But now that I look at it, how did all of that happen if I pushed one of my own friends away and forbade him from ever returning? I never gave him the chance to apologize or to ask for forgiveness, or to find a way to fix his wrongdoing. I just banished him outright.” “Why the change of heart all of a sudden, Twi?” asked Spike. Again, Twilight looked over at Gallow’s room. “Why would Gallow, the pony that Ironside hurt, be so traumatized by a nightmare about her attacker committing suicide that she would commit herself to build a special coffin for him?” she asked. “Because she’s lost her mind?” suggested Rainbow Dash. “No Dash,” replied Twilight, “It’s because she still cares about him. It’s because she hasn’t given up on him.” “I don't get it. If she hasn’t given up on him, why is she building a coffin for him on the presumption that he’s gonna die soon?” asked Applejack. “I mean that she hasn’t given up on the friendship that binds them together. I mean, Ironside did make a horrible mistake, but he wasn’t doing so with an unaltered mindset. He was drunk when it happened, and while that doesn’t make what he did OK, it isn’t nearly as bad as if he had beaten her while sober,” explained Twilight. It was then that the ponies noticed Princess Celestia standing right next to Twilight. Twilight looked up to her teacher. “Is it wrong for me to want Ironside back, Princess?” she asked. “We’ve all made mistakes before, Twilight, even I,” Celestia replied, “Ask Luna, for example.” Luna nodded. “But notice that I didn’t try to prevent Luna from returning after 1000 years. In fact, I was always looking forward to the day that she would return,” Celestia continued, “Or what about Discord?” The Mane 6 remembered the day Celestia purposely requested that they bring the spirit of chaos back from his stone imprisonment; they all thought she’d finally snapped. “It is often difficult to continue having faith in a friend when that friend does something absolutely horrible, and sometimes they can’t be saved. But your thoughts serve you well, Twilight. I know Ironside; he wouldn’t simply shake something like that off without trying to make sure he never made that same mistake again.” “And you’re not the only ones who want him back,” put in Luna. The Mane 6 looked with pity upon her. Iron’s banishment had also left Luna feeling like she had lost a very special friend. “I was actually quite nervous about asking you to bring him back, for I felt that you would refuse,” she said. Twilight was shocked. “Luna, I…” she started. She couldn’t think of what to say. “It was best to leave the issue alone for the time being,” said Celestia, “I didn’t want Twilight to take any action until she was absolutely certain that Ironside should return.” “I really do want him back, Princess,” Twilight admitted, “It’s not just to prove whether or not he’s dead. I really do miss him. There have been times when I just wanted to talk to nopony but him, but I couldn’t.” She paused for a bit. “I’ve also felt very concerned about him. And this has gone on since I first met him. I don’t remember seeing him happy, and I mean truly happy, in a long time.” “He has had a rough past,” said Celestia, “And I know his self-worth is low.” “That’s why I’ve been so concerned. He doesn’t seem to care about his own life.” The more Twilight talked about this, the more she realized just how important bringing Ironside back was to her. After another long pause, Twilight spoke up. “We have to bring him back,” she declared adamantly. Celestia and Luna both smiled upon hearing that, as did the girls and Spike. Hildegard and the CMC had stopped just outside of the Crystal Empire. It was about 9 o’clock at night, so Hildegard, being the motherly figure she is, decided to stop here so that the fillies could get some rest. It was just as well, as the three fillies were thoroughly tired out by the long journey. Having run Hildegard at full throttle for the duration of the trip, they had to stop more than once to re-oil her rods and wheels to avoid them overheating or seizing up. They’d also taken quite a few wrong turns, which delayed their journey even more. Hildegard backed into the shed for the night, making sure the fillies had found a safe place to spend the night. They found Shining Armor training his regiment in the arena and asked if he minded them spending the night at the castle. Always willing to take care of Twilight’s friends, he readily agreed. The fillies then reported back to Hildegard before dropping her fire. After that, they followed Armor into the castle. Back in Silverton, Ironside wiped M down, making sure she was ready for their trip to the Huckleberry line the following day. “You excited?” asked Ironside. “Yeah, and a little nervous,” M responded. “What, you think he won’t recognize you?” asked the engineer. “I’m more worried about what spending all that time without me has done to him,” the engine answered. “You two come from a very durable class of engines,” said Iron, “I think he’s doing fine.” “You can’t blame a sister for worrying about her bro,” said M as Iron lay down on her pilot. “No I can’t,” he said with a soft chuckle. As he let his mind wander, Iron remembered his own younger brother. He wondered how the kid was getting along without his older brother. The smile that was on his face faded, replaced with a look of guilt. “You OK?” asked M. “Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing, M. Just thinking,” Iron answered. “Don’t think too much, man. You kinda have a knack for thinking yourself into a bad mood,” she said. Iron rolled over and rested his head on her smokebox. “Don’t worry about me, M,” he said, “I’ll be fine.” “If you say so,” she replied. Iron closed his eyes. “Night, M,” he said softly. “Night, Al,” the engine replied. Iron smiled upon hearing his real name. He didn't seem to mind it so much anymore.