Work in the Tartarus mine was difficult. The days were long, the conditions were hot and noisy, and the environment was not clean. It was not long until the engines were grubby and dirty, their paintwork no longer visible under all the soot.
Scootaloo shoved some wagons under the coaling chute. Grubby, brown coal fell out of the hopper and into the trucks. As Scootaloo puffed forward, another release came out, and covered her in soot.
“Help!” she cried. “I’m choking!”
Suddenly, a steel cable attached itself to her back coupling, and began pulling her backwards along with the truck. Scootaloo backed up, coughing as she reversed, and saw her rescuer.
He was a WD 2-10-0, painted black with red lining. He was old, but kind, and looked at her with an expression of sadness and pity.
“Thanks,” Scootaloo said.
“No problem,” replied the engine. “I’m called Sanguine. For the record, I want to get out of here too.”
“How do we escape?” asked the tank engine.
“Cerberus covers the standard-gauge line out of the mine, whereas those diesels you met-Cockatrix and Bugbear-cover the other lines. If we want to succeed, we have to rush both lines at once.”
That night, they put their plan into effect. The standard gauge engines fired up, and charged for the door whilst the narrow-gauge engines snuck out via the back door. Scootaloo led the charge, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle right behind. Cozy Glow followed shortly after, but a loud roar could be heard as the diesels charged after them.
Apparently incapable of speaking, the two diesels simply roared and shrieked at them. The sound was terrifying. The caverns streaked out ahead of them as they thundered upwards.
Just as the three engines emerged from the darkness, a scream could be heard behind them. "Help me!"
Sweetie Belle shouted to the others, “Cozy’s in trouble!”
Tirek had coupled up to her. “Hello Cozy!” he laughed.
Cozy’s wheels spun furiously as she tried to get free. But Tirek was too strong, dragging her back down into the mine.
Scootaloo looked at the others. “I’m going after them.”
“Are ya crazy?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I have to help a friend! Get out of here!”
The two other engines sadly continued to the surface.
Scootaloo ran at speed through the tunnels, finally reaching a junction. There, Tirek had dragged Cozy to the edge.
“You move another wheel,” he said, “and I push her over the edge.”
“What would that gain you?” Scootaloo asked.
Tirek puzzled that. “Nothing,” he replied.
“So why not come with us?”
The Beyer-Garratt looked sad. “Tartarus is all I’ve known.”
“There’s a whole world out there! Come on and enjoy it!”
Tirek smiled. “I will, then.”
Once the engines returned, there was a great party thrown in their honour. One of the engines they had rescued was named Dinky, and after a refit and repair, was put into service with the railway.
Tirek, for his size, was a very useful engine. He was soon put to work on the heavy slate trains on the line.
Cozy Glow made up with Applejack, and the engines came together. They were friends, they were together, and theirs had been a narrow-gauge adventure.
The End.