//------------------------------// // Percy runs Away // Story: Thomas and Friends: The Retold Adventures // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Several days had passed. Henry, Gordon, and James all sat in the shed, as they had done since the beginning of the week. They hadn’t run in a while, but they really had nobody to blame but themselves. If they had just swallowed their pride, the entire incident would have been avoided. Even so, they wanted to head out again and pull trains. Eventually, Sir Toppham Hatt arrived. “I hope you are all sorry and understand you are not more important than any other engine on this line,” he said. “We have a new driver named Pinkie Pie, operating a tank engine called Percy. Thomas and Edward, alongside their drivers, have done a splendid job of running the main line. I will let you out if you promise to be good.” “Yes sir!” Gordon said, enthused. The other two agreed with him. “Good,” Sir Toppham Hatt said. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity all boarded their respective engines and lit their fires, and when they had apologised to them, they set off to start their days. Sir Toppham Hatt then spoke to Edward, Thomas and Percy together. “You three,” he said, “have done a splendid job of running the railway the last week. As a result, I am letting you three have a few days off on the branch line with your engine crews. I hope you all have fun.” “I’ll get Annie and Clarabel!” Thomas said, whizzing off as he did so. “Fancy getting some trucks?” Edward asked, moving off. “Scoot yer boot Eddie!” Applejack called, as they went to the sidings. Percy chose to join Edward, and played with some trucks. He had such fun banging them into each other. “Stop! Stop! Stop!” they cried, as they slammed into one another. Before long the two engines had the entire yard set into its proper place, and Thomas headed off to Knapford Junction to work a passenger train. Annie and Clarabel were relieved to see Thomas again to say the least, and the day ran smoothly as Edward headed off for the quarry to collect some china clay. Percy was left alone in the yard, but he and Pinkie didn’t mind too much, as they watched the other trains go by, and played tricks on them. “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” he called to Henry as he passed on a semi fast. “Don’t stop in a tunnel!” called Pinkie Pie, laughing. She had heard all about that one from Fluttershy. “Oh, the indignity,” Henry moaned. “That’s my line!” Gordon boomed, as he flew past on an express working. Later that day, Percy delivered some trucks to Wellsworth sidings, which was awkward as he had to cross over the main line in order to access it and run wrong line briefly. He pulled up at the signal box and waited for the signalman to change the points to let him onto the down line. “Well, the signalman seems to be in no hurry,” Pinkie Pie said, flatly. “Maybe he’s forgotten I’m here,” Percy suggested. This was a most unhelpful thing to say. He was being very careless, which was understandable given he had worked on collieries and in factories for most of his life. Edward had advised him to alert the signalman to tell him he was there, but Percy had forgotten to do so, and as a result the signalman wasn’t aware of him. This problem was compounded by the fact the track circuit had failed, and as a result the interlocking had stopped working. You can probably guess where this is going. Percy sat there for a while. The points were still set against him, and as a result he couldn’t move from his current position. Out of boredom, he looked along the line, and what he saw horrified him. “Peep peep!” he cried. “Pinkie, look out!” Pinkie Pie looked along the line and gasped. “Veggie salad, VEGGIE SALAD!” she cried. “What?” Percy asked, then remembered that Pinkie Pie was just being Pinkie Pie. But true danger lay ahead. For, rushing toward them at full main line speed, was Gordon with the express! Rainbow Dash looked out of Gordon’s cab, and gasped. “What the?” she said, and slammed the brakes on. “What is that idiot doing?” “GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Gordon bellowed. But Percy was frozen to the spot in fright, and didn’t. Rainbow Dash continued to loudly sound the whistle, and Gordon continued to slow down, but it wasn’t enough. Percy shut his eyes in horror. When he reopened them, he saw Gordon had stopped just in time. He was glaring at Percy, a look of absolute fury on his face. “What do you think you were doing, you blithering idiot?” he snapped. “You nearly caused an accident! Just wait until Sir Toppham Hatt hears of this!” But Percy’s wheels had already begun to move. Pinkie Pie had bailed in case a crash occurred, but somehow had knocked the regulator which caused Percy to speed off. “I won’t stay here!” he cried. “I’ll run away!” He shot away, through the platform at Wellsworth, and straight up Gordon’s Hill, over it, and down the other side at terrifying speed. He wanted to stop, but because Pinkie Pie wasn’t on the footplate, he couldn’t stop. “I want to stop, I want to stop!” he panted, to absolutely no avail as he could not. He rolled through Marron platforms, and was going slower now. “I want to stop, I want to stop!” he panted once more. Luckily, a signalman spotted him and changed the points, allowing him to run off the main line and into a siding. There, he hit a bank of earth, and stopped at last. “I want to stop, I want to stop! I have stopped!” he said, sounding very surprised. “Don’t worry,” said a nearby workman. “We’ll dig you out, give you some coal and water, and you’ll be all better again.” Just then, Gordon came by whistling, and stopped in the platform to let Pinkie Pie off. “Percy!” she cried. “You’re OK!” “Thanks to this sandbank,” Percy admitted. Pinkie suddenly looked cross. “Don’t scare me like that again, OK?” she asked. “I promise,” Percy replied. “Pinkie promise?” “Pinkie promise.” Gordon laughed. “Good work Percy, you started so quickly it prevented a nasty accident.” “Sorry for being cheecky,” Percy said at last. “Hey, no biggie,” Rainbow Daah replied, as she hooked up some rope. And sure enough, they pulled Percy out of the bank. Percy is still cheeky because he is that sort of engine, and Pinkie is...well, Pinkie. But he always most careful when he goes on the main line from now on.