//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: A New Summer Begins! // Story: Thomas & Equestria Girls: Welcome to Canterlot High // by LPFanFic //------------------------------// Thomas & Equestria Girls: Welcome To Canterlot High Chapter 2: A New Summer Begins! The Island of Sodor is a wonderfully magical place, surrounded by a beautiful blue sea. It has fields of green and sandy yellow beaches. There are rivers, streams, and lots of trees where the birds sing. There are wind mills and a coal mine, and docks where visitors to the island arrive. The Island is the home of the North-Western Railway, with engines of all shapes and sizes, working hard to deliver goods and passengers to their destinations. There are branchlines that run along the coast of the island, serving the docks, the fishing villages and the seaside towns. There are branchlines that run to the farms, quarries and ancient castles of the island's heartland. And there is the mainline, which runs all the way from Knapford on the west coast of the island, to Vicarstown, in the east. All of this is run by the Fat Controller himself, Sir Topham Hatt, who sees to it that all his engines are working their hardest to keep the railway running safely and on time. There are many different sorts of engines on Sir Topham Hatt's railway. Some are faster than others, some are slower, some are stronger, some not so much. But to Sir Topham Hatt, they all play a vital role in running the North-Western Railway. It matters not to The Fat Controller what type of engine he has, to him every single one of them are really useful in their own right. All of his engines work hard towards making his railway the best and most reliable locomotive system around. One of these locomotives is Sir Topham Hatts number one engine, Thomas the Tank Engine! Thomas is a bright blue Tank Engine who runs on his own branchline, pulling passengers with his two coaches Annie & Clarabel. One day, Thomas was pulling Annie and Clarabel through his branchline. Visitors from far away came to spend their vacation traveling around the island; exploring it's beautiful scenery and partaking in it's many attractions, including the local theme parks and carnivals that are open and running all summer. This kept Thomas very busy as he spends all day going backwards and forward between his branchline delivering passengers to different stations in different towns. Thomas loves his job, even though it can be a bit tiresome at times. Despite how busy he always is though, Thomas loves doing the work he has and knows that pulling passengers is what makes him a really useful engine. So, he persistently continues doing his job until its done no matter what. That evening, Sir Topham Hatt came to visit his engines getting ready to rest in Tidmouth Sheds. Thomas didn't know why Sir Topham Hatt was visiting Tidmouth. This confused the other engines as well, who were all parking in their respective berths ready to call it a day. "Good evening, everyone!" He greeted, cheerfully. "Good evening, Sir! What brings you to Tidmouth Sheds?" Thomas asked. "I'm glad you asked, Thomas. I have some very exciting news for you all. Now, I understand you've all been working rather tirelessly this whole summer what with the vacationers around us and what not." In the distance, a flash of light and a clicking sound goes off as two vacationers, a father and his son, were taking photos of the engines resting in their shed. "Hi, James," cried the little boy waving his hand at the red engine. James smirked. "Did you hear that, everyone? They came all the way out here just to see me. Not that I'm surprised or anything." Thomas rolls his eyes. The boy then called out to the rest of the engines. "Hi Edward, Hi Percy, Hi Gordon and Henry, Hi Emily!" With each hello, the engines blew their whistles in response and said hello back to the boy. "Come on now, son," said the father. "Let's not bother the engines anymore then we have." Before they leave, the little boy turned back around and cried out to one more engine. "HI THOMAS!" Thomas blew his whistle and chuckled. "Hello! Enjoy the rest of your visit!" "Now, where was I?" continued Sir Topham Hatt after waving back at the visitors. "Ah, yes! I understand this time of year can be a bit exhausting to some of you. This has been the first time in forever that Sodor has had these many visitors since it's peak back when the railway first opened. Work has taken its toll on some of you true, but as a fully operational railway system, it's expected that you'd all be working at your finest. That being said, I've decided to switch things up a bit!" "What do you mean, Sir?" Emily asked. "I mean, that I've just come up with a new, special event to make our summer more exciting for you all. I'm going to be handing out different jobs to other engines." "WHAT?!" uttered Gordon. Sir Topham Hatt chuckled, "Don't worry, Gordon. You'll still be pulling the Express." Gordon sighed in relief. "However, other engines will need help pulling the Express as well. So many visitors mean more coaches are in demand, and more passenger coaches means more engines in need to pull them." "Does that mean?" Henry started. "It means," He finished. "We need more big engines to carry passenger coaches again." The Engines beamed with excitement, all except Gordon, as they listened to Sir Topham Hatt carry on with his proposition. The idea made them all happy. The Engines were going to be getting different jobs to do. "Each day for the rest of the summer, we'll be switching around jobs for other engines. Giving them a break from their regular routine work for something refreshing, new and exciting." "But, what if we don't know how to do a different job, Sir?" Percy asked. "That's why I'll be having engines like Gordon keep theirs." He faced Gordon, "You'll be showing engines here how to pull the Express when it's their time to help out." "If you ask me, Sir, that just sounds like a waste of my time and talent," Gordon said. "Oh nonsense. Think about it. You'll be teaching other engines how to be fast and strong just like you are; contributing skills that will be useful should they ever need them." "Huh," Gordon boasted. "I'm all the fast and strong this railway needs to pull the Express. No engine can do the job better than I can. And I highly doubt they'll catch on as quickly. So, asking me to teach these little engines how to be as strong and really useful sounds like a waste of time." "I think it's a wonderful Idea!" Emily said, "I've rarely ever had the chance to pull the Express. Maybe this time I'll finally get to!" "That's the spirit, Emily!" Sir Topham Hatt said, rocking his arm. "Does this mean I can take a break from pulling passengers all day, Sir?" Thomas asked. "It does indeed, Thomas. Now, I know I've already given you all jobs to do this summer, and working outside your comfort zone will be a new challenge for you, but this will greatly benefit every engine to try new things, enjoy the summer fun, and even have a rest once in a while. Most importantly though, this doesn't change the fact that each engine, whatever they end up doing, is still expected to get the job done right on time." The other engines were starting to love Sir Topham Hatt's idea even more. Though they do get different jobs on a semi regular basis, after almost a whole summer of doing the same thing over and over again, a nice change of pace, scenery, variety, and the thought of actually taking more breaks was what the engines needed to truly make this a summer worth working for. Sir Topham Hatt was feeling just as excited. "I don't know why this summer has me in such generous mood, but after thinking it over, I just knew I had to reward my engines for doing such a splendid job running my railway. Now, who's ready for a new summer start?!" Sir Topham Hatt called out. The engines all blew their whistles in excitement. "I'll take that as a definite yes," Sir Topham Hatt beamed. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be handing out your new jobs first thing in the morning." Sir Topham Hatt then walks back to his car to go home while waving back at the engines. "Have a good rest everyone." "Good night, Sir!" The engines replied. The Engines all were discussing what their new jobs could possibly be tomorrow, throwing out guesses and assumptions, all eager to know what they might get. "I can't believe we'll be getting completely different jobs," Thomas said to Percy. "Me neither!" Percy said. "Though I am a bit scared I won't be good enough with whatever I get, the thought of it is still exciting." Edward chimed in. "By tomorrow, anyone of us may be lucky enough to get something we've always wanted to do, even pull the Express." "I just know Sir Topham Hatt will have me pull more coaches than trucks," James said. "Once he sees how really good I am at it, that's all the work he'll have me do." "The point of switching jobs is not doing the same ones everyday, James," Emily said. "Oh. I do enjoy pulling the Express," Henry said. "I had such a fun time before. Now I might get to pull them again." Gordon interrupted "Don't hold your breath. Like Sir said, you're getting random jobs each day; not permanent ones." "Easy for you to say," James fired. "You get to keep your job." "That's because Sir Topham Hatt knows I'm the only engine on this island that can pull the Express perfectly. Why he needs other engines to pull more passengers is insulting to my capabilities." "What are cat-a-billy-tees?" Percy asked Thomas. "Capabilities silly, it means you're really good at what you do. I think," Thomas responded. "Ooohh." While the other engines boasted amongst each other, Thomas and Percy continued their own discussions about what jobs they might get tomorrow. Thomas and Percy have always been the best of friends on Sodor. They do everything great together; working, shunting, even playing cheeky tricks on other engines and laughing about silly things. Though they didn't always get along, like the time when Thomas accused Percy of accidentally dumping coal on top of him, delaying his train and ruining his bright blue paint; the time Percy tricked Thomas into thinking his ghost story was real and when Thomas made fun of him for being a wholly bear because of it. But in the end, they've always found ways to get along and go back to being friends again. Thomas is one of the few engines on Sodor Percy feels happy to talk with about what he likes, what he's afraid of, what he's excited for and so on. Percy was happy even now talking with Thomas because he knows he can trust his friend, and Thomas can trust Percy to tell each other anything. "What job do you think you'll get tomorrow, Thomas?" Percy asked. "I don't know, Percy. It could be anything. I could pull the Mail Train again, a special delivery, or the Flying Kipper!" "You'd really pull the Flying Kipper?" Thomas chuckled, "Okay, maybe not that. But like Sir Topham Hatt said, any job can be given out to any of us. I'm just trying to keep my mind open to the possibilities." "I noticed you didn't mention any freight trains on your list of possum-Billy-tees," Percy remarked, cheekily. "Nobody wants to end up pulling boring old trucks, especially considering how much trouble they are." "Edward wouldn't have a problem. He's been on this island longer than any of us. He's probably pulled all sorts of trains. It doesn't matter what he's doing, as long as he's really useful doing it." The two engines look over at Edward talking to Henry and the others. "Besides," Thomas continued. "I can't be the only one thinking we're getting a special job tomorrow." "You're right. Now I'm starting to wonder the same." Percy gasped excitedly and grinned, "Maybe I'll be pulling the Duke and Duchess to and from the Mainland!" Thomas and Percy looked at each other for a good second or so before sharing a good laugh over both their expectations. "Oh Percy!" Thomas chuckled. "You know that's not a job Sir Topham Hatt can give you." Percy chuckled as well. "I know, Thomas. But It's still fun to think about." "Yeah, I guess it is," Thomas smiled. "I mean, just Imagine going across to the Mainland. A place somewhere different, somewhere far, somewhere where no one knows your name and a chance to make new friends. Maybe, If I can have one special job, one that'll give me just that, I would absolutely take it!" Percy sighed, happily. "Me too." Both him and Thomas watched the sun setting in the distance, ending on a perfect night to a hard day's work. They thought about being on the mainland some more and what possibilities lie there. "Although," Percy started, "We did do something similar during the Great Railway Show. We even got a chance to see most of the Mainland on the way." "I wish I could see all of it one day, maybe even somewhere better." Then Thomas thought of an Idea, "In fact, I know where I might go if Sir Topham Hatt let's me have a break day!" Percy was confused, "What do you mean?" "Never mind, Percy. I'll tell you in the morning." "Aw, but I want to know now." "Know what?" Emily asked. The two friends looked over to Emily, looking back at them curiously. Thomas chuckled awkwardly. "Um, Percy just wanted to know what jobs we might be getting tomorrow." "Oh," she paused, then whispered to the two engines. "I still think I might pull the Express." "Not. A. Chance!" Gordon boomed. The three engines then chuckled to each other. They all had their own expectations and were having fun hearing about it. They could very well end up with what they wanted, or something else too. Either way, everyone was just having fun speculating. "Well, we won't know until tomorrow," Thomas stated. "That's right." Emily yawned, "I think it's time we start getting some shut eye. We should be well rested for tomorrow." "Good Idea," Edward overhears. "I'm going to sleep now too. Good night everyone!" All the engines said their good nights as they drifted off to sleep. "Good night, Thomas," Percy said. "Good night, Percy," Thomas said. He gave one last long look at the moon before the weight of his eyes shutting gave away and began to slip into a comforting sleep, knowing full well the details of the plan he hopes to set in motion during their new summer shift. 'I hope Sir Topham Hatt gives me a break day soon,' Thomas thought to himself, 'because I'm going to visit the Magic Railroad.' To Be Continued.