Thomas is a Tank Engine, who lives at Tidmouth station on the Island of Sodor. He is a London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 class locomotive, with six blue wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy boiler, and a short stumpy dome.
Like all the other engines on the island, he has a driver. Her name is Twyla, but everyone calls her Twilight. She has lavender skin, deep purple eyes, and blue, purple and pink hair set out in strands, though blue is by far the dominating colour. She wears black and purple boots, a purple skirt, a turqoise blouse with what seems to be a bow tie, and can usually be seen with a backpack, usually stuffed to the gunwales with scientific texts.
Thomas is a fussy engine. Despite being based at Tidmouth, he is usually used to marshal coaches at Knapford for the bigger engines (yes, all three of them) to take away on their long journeys.
Then, when they return from said journeys later in the day, Thomas and Twilight take the coaches away to the sidings, so that the bigger engines can go and have a rest. This role of station pilot is very important, and I am sorry to say it has made Thomas rude and conceited, as he thinks no other engine works as hard as he does. As a result, he often plays tricks on them, especially Gordon and his driver Rainbow Dash. It is a common sight to see Thomas whistle rudely at him. “Peep peep peep! Wake up lazybones, why don’t you work hard like me?” It is most annoying, and eventually got him into quite the mess one day.
One day, Gordon rolled quietly into the sidings at Knapford, keen on having a rest. He had pulled a long, heavy train all the way from the Mainland, and now that the run was over, he was looking forward to the opportunity to rest his wheels and not have to do anything for a while. His eyes rolled closed and he began to snore, Rainbow Dash staying on his footplate to keep him company.
Just then, Thomas and Twilight backed up into a nearby siding, shunting some trucks into order ready for Henry to take out. Before anybody knew what had happened, Thomas’ whistle sounded loud and shrill.
“Wake up lazybones!” he shouted. “Do some hard work for a change, you can’t catch me!” And he whizzed away.
“Sorry!” Twilight called to Gordon.
Gordon’s eyes shot open, and Rainbow Dash yelped in surprise, nearly falling out of the cab in the process.
“What in the world was that?” she asked, confused.
“That,” Gordon said grimly, “was Thomas. That tank engine is nothing but a silly nuisance around here, and I vote we need to teach him a lesson somehow.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. She had had similar issues with the other engines, but this behaviour from Thomas simply took the cake. “What should we do?” she asked. “It ought to be something he won’t forget. Ever.”
Gordon thought long and hard for a moment. “I know,” he said, with a grin forming on his face that would rival the Cheshire Cat. “We’ll do it tomorrow.” And then he told her his plan, leaving no stone unturned and no expense spared.
The next morning, Twilight came by early in the morning and clocked on for her shift. She noticed that Edward and Henry had already set off on their runs, and this meant she wouldn’t be seeing Applejack or Fluttershy for much of the day. She hopped onto Thomas’ footplate, and then lit his fire using some coal, which she then shovelled in to boost the heat.
But it seemed to have little effect. The needle on the pressure gauge moved sluggishly, as Thomas simply wouldn’t wake up. His fire went out several times and there was nowhere near enough steam to get him moving anywhere.
This was a huge problem, as the express was due out in a few minutes, and Gordon couldn’t collect those coaches himself, as it is not safe for tender engines to run backwards for prolonged periods at high speeds.
“Come on Thomas,” Twilight said. “Wake up, please!”
“I’m sho tired,” Thomas murmured. “Can’t I wait a few more minutesh?”
Twilight sighed. “The express is due out in a few minutes, we can’t wait a few more minutes,” she explained.
Just then, Thomas’ fire roared into life as Twilight opened the blower, and he was ready to go. Eventually, he had enough steam up to start moving. Twilight hopped onboard, and opened the regulator. Thomas rolled out of the shed door, over the turntable and past the signal box, rolling toward the carriage sidings. “Oh dear, oh dear,” he yawned as he went along.
Twilight moved him gently into the coaches, and then coupled him up with the shunting pole. Resetting his reverser, she then adjusted his regulator to move him back to the station threshold, where a shunters signal held them for a few minutes.
Gordon was sitting on a nearby slip track, looking very cross. Admittedly, this was not much of a change from usual, as he often seemed to be in a grumpy mood. “Where have you been?” he demanded. “Hurry up!”
Thomas shot him an angry glare. “Hurry up yourself!” he snapped. Just then the shunting signal changed, and Thomas moved backward into the station with the coaches. The Home signal on Gordon’s track then changed, and Rainbow Dash eased open his regulator to move him onto the Up line. She then sounded the whistle three times, to request permission to back into a section with a train in it.
Just as the signal dropped, Gordon reversed so quickly he was on the front of the train in seconds. Rainbow Dash hopped off to hook him up, and then jumped back in the cab once the vacuum brake hoses were properly applied.
With heavy trains such as this, it is common practice to bank them for a short distance out of the station. Normally, this is done with the rear engine uncoupled. But today, Gordon would have his revenge.
The moment the signal dropped, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. Gordon started off so quickly there was no time to uncouple Thomas!
Gordon accelerated out of the station and thundered down the line, the percussive three-cylinder beat echoing along the track and through the valleys as he raced along. And coupled to the back, his regulator full open, was Thomas! And inside Thomas’ cab was Twilight, hanging on for dear life.
“What...is...HAPPENING?” she cried out in confusion. She grabbed the in-cab radio and attempted to call Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash heard the buzzer tone in the cab, but ignored it. “Our chance at last!” she called to Gordon. “75 miles an hour from now on!”
She cranked open the regulator further. The train was going so fast it seemed poor Thomas’ wheels would fall off. “Peep peep peep! STOP! STOP!” he shouted.
“You can’t get away, you can’t get away!” the coaches laughed. Presently, they saw Edward heading the other way, with Applejack leaning out of the cab.
“EDWARD!” Thomas called, as he vanished out of sight.
Applejack looked totally bewildered. “What in tarnation just happened?” she asked.
Edward sighed. “Thomas appears to have got himself in a bit of a pickle,” he said.
They raced along, Thomas getting more and more tired as they flew through tunnels and over viaducts. “I shall never be the same again, my wheels will be quite worn out!” he called sadly.
Just ahead of them, the Vicarstown station approaches loomed. Rainbow Dash looked out, and began to apply the brakes, bringing the train to a smooth and gentle stop just as the clock boomed out the chimes of 11 o’clock.
“Yeah!” she said. “Right on time!”
Gordon smiled. “That would be, how do you put it...20% cooler?”
“Exactly!” Rainbow Dash replied.
Upon realising they had stopped, Twilight got out of the cab, her face green. Hopping down, the uncoupled Thomas and removed the brake hoses, before moving him backward and into the access loop to reach the shed.
She stopped him as he drew level with Gordon’s cab. She did not look pleased.
“What were you thinking?” she asked, in a very loud voice.
Rainbow Dash regarded her coolly. “Sorry Twi, but Thomas needed to learn his place. Turns out mocking other engines is a silly policy.”
Gordon laughed. “Well Thomas, now you know what hard work is, don’t you?” He whistled loudly, and moved off to the yard.
Thomas was too tired to answer, and was still panting as he moved to the turntable to have his water and coal supply replenished. Once they had turned him around, he and Twilight set off for home.
But he was now a sadder and wiser engine. As they headed back to Knapford, Thomas started speaking. “Maybe it’s better if I don’t tease Gordon again,” he said.
Twilight was in no place to disagree with the sentiment.