All the ponies aside from Ironside were sound asleep in 1015’s cab. Morning dawned as the Prairie-type chugged into Silverton. The townsfolk were just starting to awaken, so nopony was around when the engine pulled in. It gave Ironside some time to sit back and contemplate what had happened to him over the past year. He had been banished under the assumption that he had committed an unforgivable crime; he had befriended a once lonely engine whom he had now reunited with her long-lost brother; he had traveled across tracks that had tested his engineering skills like never before; he learned that the friends he thought he’d left behind still cared for him; and in a rather dark and depressing way, he learned just how much he was worth to them. All he could do now was smile, chuckle softly to himself, and lean back in his chair.
Theofillya was awoken by the sound of a locomotive chugging into the station. Throwing on her nightgown and donning her familiar hat, she stepped out onto her front porch to find 1015 idling next to the depot. She realized upon closer inspection that Ironside was at the throttle. Figuring that Twilight and Shining Armor had accomplished their mission of finding him, they would soon be taking him back to Canterlot. If she wanted to say goodbye to him, now was the time.
Iron’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a familiar mare calling his name. He turned his head and stuck it out the window. He saw the mayor waving at him from across the street. He smiled and waved back, then stepped down from the cab and trotted over to her. “It’s good to see you’ve made it back safe and sound,” said Theofillya.
“Yeah…” said Iron, trailing off. He didn’t know how to put it to her that he wasn’t going to be returning to work on the Silverton Line anymore.
“Where’s M, by the way?” asked the mayor. Iron almost forgot that she wasn’t with him anymore either.
“She…decided to stay in Huckleberry with her brother,” he answered hesitantly. He looked down at his hooves. “I’m sorry, Theofillya,” he sighed, “I didn’t want to keep her away from the only family she has left. But I completely forgot that she’s the main engine here and I…”
Theofillya held up her hoof to hush him. “It’s okay, Iron,” she said calmly.
“It…it is?” asked the incredulous engineer. The mayor nodded.
“You remember the twins?” she asked. Iron nodded in response. “Well, they’re living the dream now,” she said, “They’re taking care of the ore trains now.”
“Won’t you miss M though?” asked Iron.
“Yes, I will,” answered the mayor, “She’s quite a spirited little engine…always knew how to make me smile. But is she happy where she is now?”
“Very much so,” replied Iron with a smile.
“Then why should I take that happiness away from her?” asked Theofillya rhetorically.
Iron then realized that this was going to be the last time he saw Theofillya as well. “Theofillya, I don’t know if you know this, but Twilight and Armor…”
“…are taking you back to Canterlot,” finished the mayor.
“Yeah…” said Iron as his voice trailed off again. He felt bad for leaving Theofillya minus one engine and one engineer. “I’m sorry,” he said finally, “I shouldn’t abandon my duty to the railroad.”
“You have a duty to the Royal Railways, if I recall,” said Theofillya.
“But technically, I was fired,” the engineer pointed out.
“Well, it would seem as though your employer wants you back,” the mayor countered.
“I still feel like I’m taking something important away from you,” lamented Ironside.
“I know, and I can safely say that I’ll miss working with you, Iron,” replied Theofillya in a consoling voice.
“I’m just going to plain miss you,” said Iron, “You’ve been a real swell friend and a fine boss.”
“I appreciate that, darlin’,” Theofillya replied beaming, “Promise me you’ll come back sometime.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the engineer answered as he hugged the mayor. She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him in return.
“You be careful out there, dear,” she said, “Not everypony out there is as nice as we are here.”
“I’ll remember that,” replied Ironside. He slowly trotted back to his engine, his mind filling with memories of the times he spent in Silverton. He smiled as he stepped back into the cab, even though his head hung a bit low. He gave three blasts of the whistle, and then 1015 slowly accelerated backwards towards the Crystal Empire. He waved goodbye to Theofillya, who waved back until the engineer was out of sight.
“So long, partner,” she whispered.
Ironside sat reversed in his chair as 1015 raced backwards toward the Crystal Empire. Twilight and Armor had awoken by now, but Trixie was still asleep. Twilight rubbed her eyes. “Are we at Silverton yet?” she asked yawning.
“We left it about a half-hour ago,” replied Iron, his gaze focused on the track ahead (or behind, I guess).
“Oh, did you get to say goodbye to Theofillya?” asked Twilight.
“Yeah,” said Iron curtly. He lowered his eyes before speaking again. “That’s the third friend I had to say goodbye to,” he said in a low voice. Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder.
“Saying goodbye to somepony you care about is always hard,” she said, “Trust me on that.” There was another pause in the conversation.
“I just remembered that I never said goodbye to any of you,” the engineer noted.
“Maybe it’s because you didn’t need to,” the princess replied smiling. Iron looked at her and smiled back. A year ago the only thing he saw in her eyes was unequivocal rage. Now her eyes were once again filled with the love and compassion he remembered seeing in her. “I don’t think I’ve seen you smile like that in a long time,” said Twilight.
“It’s because I learned that something very dear to me that I thought was lost long ago…wasn’t lost after all,” replied Ironside.
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” said Twilight beaming.
The Crystal Empire’s station soon came into view, prompting Ironside to shut off the throttle and apply the brakes. 1015 gingerly slowed down as he approached the depot, coming to a stop beside the platform. The signal nearby changed to indicate that the track was now occupied by a locomotive, warning incoming trains to slow down early. Ironside, Twilight, Armor, and Trixie (who was now awake too) hopped off the footplate and landed on the platform. Iron was rather confused by the lack of activity at the station. “Where are Spike and the girls?” he asked.
“They’re waiting for us in the castle,” answered Armor, “I called Cadence on the way back to let the girls and her know that we got you.” Ironside looked up at the castle towering over the skyline of the Empire. His friends were all up there waiting for him.
Cadence was sitting in the royal living room with the rest of the Mane Seven, Blitz, and Sunny. There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” called Cadence. The door opened slowly and just enough for Armor to peek his head in.
“Are you all ready?” he asked with glee.
“Ready for what?” asked Rarity. Armor was confused.
“You didn’t tell them?” he asked Cadence incredulously.
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” said Cadence shrugging. Armor stepped inside, followed closely behind by Twilight. The rest of the ponies crowded around her, exchanging hugs and kisses with her, as did Spike.
“Everypony, I have two announcements to make,” she suddenly declared. The displays of affection halted as everyone chimed in to hear her. “Firstly, I am now officially a teacher of magic.” The assembly applauded and cheered. “And now, I introduce to you my student,” Twilight announced, directing their attention to the door. Trixie nervously poked her head in.
“Uh…hi,” she said awkwardly. The ponies and dragon went bug-eyed and slack-jawed.
“Trixie?!” exclaimed Pinkie.
“She has officially renounced her extravagant and false ways in lieu of becoming my student,” explained Twilight.
“But why would you take her in as your student?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Because I want to become the greatest magician of all time,” said Trixie plainly as she stepped inside the living room, “I admit to you all, my magical abilities are far too lacking for me to be even a half-decent magician. I thought that an illusion created by special effects would suffice, and my arrogant personality would prevent those who listened from examining my case too much, but I know now that it was futile. If illusions and lies can’t get me the fame I desire, then I’m willing to put forth the effort to learn honest magic.”
The Mane Seven (minus Twilight) didn’t really know what to say. Trixie had tricked them before, but her humble attitude (she wasn’t referring to herself in the third person anymore) and the fact that Twilight was stating that Trixie was now her student seemed to convince them that Trixie was really being honest this time. Spike decided to clap for her, and the rest of the ponies followed suit soon after. Trixie smiled as she realized that the ponies really were accepting her now. She trotted up to the group and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she said, “I’ve only ever told my story to one other pony.”
Twilight’s friends looked at her, but she held up her hoof saying, “Oh no, it wasn’t me.”
“It was him,” said Trixie, directing their attention back to the door.
Ironside didn’t know what to say as he slowly made his way through the doorway and into the living room. Once again shocked expressions crossed his friends’ faces, all except for the royal couple, Trixie, and Twilight, who simply smiled. Iron felt his eyes begin to water, and his throat became dry as paper. He scanned the room, looking into each of the eyes of his friends. Gathering up his courage, he swallowed to clear the dryness the throat, took a deep breath, and said simply, “Hey.”
Pinkie Pie slowly muscled her way past her friends and approached him. Ironside stood nervously in place, not sure what Pinkie was going to do to him. Silently, she raised her hoof up to his face. Iron’s eyes widened as he felt certain that he was going to be slapped. But before he could shut his eyes, Pinkie placed her hoof upon his cheek and rubbed it. Her look of disbelief instantly became one of pure joy, and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He instantly did the same to her. “You’re back, Iron! You’re back!” she exclaimed happily, almost on the verge of crying. Iron laughed and wiped the tears from his eyes before hugging Pinkie again.
“Yes, Pinkie, I’m back,” he said with a soft laugh. Pinkie suddenly broke the hug and grabbed both sides of Iron’s head. Her smile was still there when she locked eyes with him, and before he knew what was happening she had kissed him full on the mouth and hugged him once more. Iron couldn’t hold it in any longer and began to cry. But this was a cry of happiness, not sadness. Pinkie broke the hug once again, this time stepping back to let the rest of her friends reunite with their long-lost engineer.
Rarity stepped up next, immediately kissing Ironside on the cheek and hugging him tightly. “Welcome back, darling,” she said, “I missed you so much!”
“I missed you too, Rarity,” replied Ironside warmly. Rarity then stepped back next to Pinkie and let Applejack embrace the engineer. AJ gently rocked Iron back and forth as she hugged him.
“It’s good to have you back, sugarcube,” she whispered sweetly.
“Thanks, AJ,” he whispered back. Rainbow Dash, Blitz, and Sunshine all stepped up together to reunite with him in one big group hug. They didn’t say anything to him; they simply relished the moment of all four of them being together again. Ironside noticed once the group hug was finished that Sunny was still clinging onto him. He smiled and embraced the little filly again, knowing it meant the world to her that he was back.
“Come on now, sweetie,” said Blitz, “Uncle Alex still has another friend to reconnect with.” Sunny groaned when he pulled her away from Ironside.
“You can hug him again in a bit,” consoled Dash.
“Yay!” replied Sunny. But before Fluttershy could approach him, Ironside was instantly knocked down by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had just noticed that he was back.
“Come on, Spike, join us!” called Scootaloo.
“Aw, what the heck?” said Spike with a shrug as he joined their group hug. Iron couldn’t help but cackle as the fillies and dragon crawled over him, searching for a spot to grab onto.
“Alright now, give the guy some air,” said Twilight as she nudged the little ones off Ironside, “There are still two ponies waiting to reunite with him.” She remembered that Cadence hadn’t given him some love yet.
The ecstasy that filled Ironside suddenly seemed to disappear when he came face-to-face with Fluttershy. Now, standing in front of him, was the one pony he loved that he never seemed brave enough to face. All the memories of the poor woodland creatures who had stepped in front of his trains at the wrong time came rushing into his mind. Looking around, he noticed all his friends staring expectantly at him, waiting for him to reconnect with the yellow Pegasus. Turning his attention to Fluttershy, he saw her gazing back at him. For some reason, he couldn’t tell if her expression was one of longing or impatience, but he took a couple of deep breaths before slowly trotting forward.
“Fluttershy?” he asked softly.
“Yes?” she replied in her usual soft voice. With a pained look on his face, Ironside sighed, closed his eyes, and hung his head.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He didn’t look up at her. He didn’t hear her say anything. He decided to continue. “I’m sorry for all the woodland creatures, all your friends that I killed. I tried. I honestly tried to save them. Every time I saw one jump onto the tracks I hit the brakes. But…” He couldn’t bring himself to speak the fact that it was impossible to stop his trains in time. Instead he broke down and wept bitterly. The rest of the ponies exchanged worried looks, unsure of what to do.
Iron went from weeping to sobbing, but as he did, he felt a hoof place itself upon his chin. The hoof then pushed upward, and Ironside looked into the compassionate and loving eyes of Fluttershy, who gently spoke those fateful words, “It’s not your fault.” Without another word, Ironside hugged her as tightly as he possibly could. She did the same, and for five whole minutes, neither one of them released their hold on the other. And there they were. Two close companions reigniting the long-dormant bonds of friendship that held them together in the best way they knew. And when the five minutes were up and the embrace ceased, Fluttershy beckoned Cadence and Armor over to embrace Ironside in her place. There was something about being hugged by the royal couple that warmed Iron to the core. It was as if he was feeling the love his parents never ceased to show him.
Finally, the royal couple beckoned everyone in the room to gather around Ironside. Some hugged him once again; others simply brushed up against him to let him know that they were there. But whatever the gesture, Ironside knew that he was surrounded by loved ones. And as Twilight and Ironside looked at each other once more, Twilight was delighted to see that her dear friend was truly happy.