//------------------------------//
// Percy's Predicament 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: The Retold Adventures 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Daisy the diesel railcar, as well as her driver Trixie, became something of a problem on the Ffarquhar branchline. Both of them were very lazy indeed, and did only the work they chose to do, not the work they were booked to do in the timetable. Not only that, their fear of cows and other livestock led to untold delays until they were led off the line, making trains late, and passengers extremely cross indeed.

One day, Flash Sentry brought Toby and Henrietta to a stop outside the shed, where Percy was busy moving up and down with a long line of trucks. "Hello Pinkie!" he called. Pinkie didn't reply. She was too busy talking to herself.

"Hello Percy!" Toby called. "I see Daisy's left the milk, again."

"Would you believe it?" Percy asked, his face the image of annoyance. "I'll need to make a special run down to Knapford with it. Honestly, who thought hiring those two was a good idea?"

"You're not the only one thinking that," Pinkie sighed, clearly very hot and bothered. "I could be organising a party right now, but no, we have to go and do the work that that diesel railcar and her driver are clearly too lazy to do!"

"Tell me about it," Flash sighed. "Those two have been nothing but a nuisance the entire time they've been here."

"Anybody would think I had nothing to do!" Percy added, sarcastically.

Toby then had an idea. "Tell you what," he said, "if Flash and I take the milk, you can take the trucks from Anopha quarry to the mainline. How does that sound?"

"That's a wonderful idea!" Percy exclaimed. "Does that sound OK to you, Pinkie?"

"Yes indeedally!" Pinkie replied, her face now replete with a grin. "I could do with a change of scenery."

So off they went to Anopha Quarry, a giant pit in the middle of the island just beyond Ffarquhar. This place extracted large quantities of rock and gravel for use on other parts of the island, and as a result the traffic flow to and fro was very heavy, with large numbers of trucks sitting about in the sidings. Percy had never been to the quarry before, and as a result had no idea how to behave around the trucks. He began ordering them about. "Hurry along!" he called. "Look sharp!"

The trucks were annoyed, and began groaning to one another. "This is Toby's yard," they said to one another, loudly. "Percy and Pinkie have no right to just show up and boss us about!"

It was then they made a plan. "Pay Percy out!" said one.

"Pay Percy out!" added another.

The message rippled up and down the line of trucks like a Mexican wave. "Pay Percy out! Pay Percy out! Pay Percy out!" they repeated, over and over again until all the trucks were saying it in unison (which was a little creepy, I'll admit).

"Oh, come on, cheer up!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It's a lovely sunny day, and life is a party!"

"Pinkie's right, you know," Percy said. "Now hurry along, no nonsense!"

"thgir lla esnesnon mih evig ll'ew, hO!" said the lead truck, with a smirk.

"What?" said the second truck. "Even I don't speak backwards!"

"At the end of my sentence, the beginning is," added a third truck.

The fourth truck laughed. "You sound like Yoda!"

Percy then backed onto the train. "I said not to give me any nonsense, and nonsense is something up with which I will not put. That includes speaking backwards!"

"Oh, we'll give him nonsense all right," the first truck smirked, though he said it so quietly that Percy didn't hear a word. As they set off, they ran so smoothly that Percy thought the trucks were behaving, and that he had them under control. Towards the end of the line is a steep gradient. This works out at one in one hundred, which is very steep indeed. This requires trains to stop and check brakes are working, which was especially important as Percy's trucks were not fitted with continous brakes. As he came towards the incline, he saw a sign. The sign said;

'PERCY YOU MUST GO WHEESH AND CRASH!'

"What?" Percy asked. "Why am I to wheesh and crash?"

"Because the plot requires it?" Pinkie asked, equally confused. "I mean, you do crash in this one and then Tho-"

PINKIE, DON'T SPOIL THE STORY!

Everybody, I do apologise. It seems KeeperofBeans has taken over my keyboard again. Let me just rewind and correct this.


PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT WHILST THE AUTHOR FIXES THE STORY


As he came towards the incline, he saw a sign. The sign said;

'ALL TRAINS MUST STOP TO PIN DOWN BRAKES'

Percy whistled loudly. "Brakes, guard!" he called. But before the guard could bring the train to a stop, the trucks banged together as they rolled onto the steep gradient.

"On! On! On!" the first truck cried. "Chase him! Bump him! Throw him off the rails!"

"That's the wrong episode!" shouted the truck behind him. "This is Branch Line Engines, not Duck and the Diesel Engine, remember?"

"Oh!" said the first truck. "I see. Anyway, On! On! On!"

Percy cared little for what episode it was. "Help! Help!" he cried, as he skidded uncontrollably down the gradient.

"We've got a problem!" Pinkie cried. "We've got no brake pressure! WE'RE GONNA CRASH!!"

The signalman at the junction ran forward, and tried to warn traffic on the road about the runaway train. But as he ran to the switch that controlled the points, Percy flew by before he could change the lever over. Percy was not on the runaway siding, he was going to crash into the back of another train!

Percy skidded through the yard, and before him sat a brake van. The brake van shouted in horror. "OH NOT AGAIN!" he cried.

"PINKIE, JUMP!" Percy shouted. Pinkie bailed from Percy's footplate as he smashed into the brakevan, completely destroying it. He rode along the frames before landing on top of a ballast wagon, being perched high in the air.

Pinkie Pie looked up at the scene in confusion. "Why do derailments always seem to happen to us?" she asked, with a sigh.

The next day, Toby and Daisy helped to clean the mess, but Percy was still stuck on top of the truck. Sir Toppham Hatt was not pleased, but then again, he rarely was.

"We," he said, "must try to run this branchline with only a diesel and a tram engine. This incident has put us in an awful predicament, not to mention increased the engine repair bill. I really must take out a new insurance policy."

"I am sorry sir," said Percy sadly. "But it was those trucks who pushed me down here. Why do they never take the blame?"

"You were careless with them," Sir Toppham Hatt replied. "I shall leave you there until you learn to behave." He then went over to Daisy and Trixie.

"My engines and drivers," he said, "do not tell lies, and are not lazy slackers. They work hard and do as told. Those who don't are sent away."

Both Daisy and Trixie looked very sad. "The great and powerful Trixie admits she made some mis-steps whilst working on this line," Trixie said. "It would perhaps be pertinent for Trixie to-"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Daisy said. "We're sorry, OK?"

"However," Sir Toppham Hatt said, "Toby tells me you both worked hard after Percy's accident, so I shall give you both another chance."

"Thank you sir!" Daisy said. "Toby says he'll help me learn how to run things."

"Trust me," Flash said calmly. "What Toby doesn't know about branchlines is not worth knowing."

The very next day, Thomas came home, with a new straight bufferbeam, and Twilight was with him. "Did I miss anything?" he asked, as Toby prepared to depart, with Percy on a flatbed.

Toby laughed. "You two wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said.

"Did something go wrong?" Twilight asked.

"Not really," Flash replied, as he opened Toby's regulator. "Just the usual." The pair set off for the works at Crovan's Gate. Thomas set off shortly after, keen for a run with Annie and Clarabel again. All are now good friends, and Toby has taught Daisy well into the ways of branch line operation. Daisy and Trixie even shooed a cow off the line yesterday! That shows you, doesn't it?"