//------------------------------// // Lady and the Magic Lamp // Story: Thomas and Friends: the New Adventures // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// The sun rose over Nottingham once more, and it was time for the steam railway to resume operations. Inside the main shed, Peter, the line's resident 8F, yawned as his fire was lit. "Isn't it early?" he asked, looking around as the aroma of anthracite filled the air. "I don't think so," said Lady, glancing over at him. Ever since the reopening of the Magic Railway (including to passenger traffic), Lady had been on the line's regular roster, even though her small size made her unsuited to most passenger traffic and normally limited her to brake van rides. "5 is a most generous time, given the first train isn't until 10." "True," Peter replied. "Are they any closer to reunification yet? There's this giant gap in my memory between the 1990s and this year." "I don't think so," Sombra said, walking into the workshop with a smile on his face, something he would rarely have worn only a few weeks ago. "Come on Lady, we've got a special job to do. We've been asked to take a special lamp to Sodor by express mail." "One of the benefits of living on a railway connected to a magic railway line that connects to an island with talking trains," Sunset added, as she joined her father on the footplate. "Quite," Sombra laughed, as he checked Lady's gauges and controls. Owing to rules regarding operating engines on the main line, Sombra had given Lady a slight refit since we last saw her. As part of this process, he had fitted her with a speedometer (both needle and electronic varients), AWS (Automatic Warning System) and TPWS (Train Protection and Warning System), modern water gauges, and air and vacuum brakes, just to be absolutely safe. You don't want the Office of Rail and Road breathing down your neck, after all. Once all checks were complete, Sombra sounded the whistle, a glorious Peppercorn sound as the whistle came from a K1. Sunset opened the shed doors, and they were away. She climbed aboard as Lady rolled out of the shed and through the yard. Those few who had assembled on the platform at this early hour waved and cheered as she rolled by. "Three cheers for Lady!" called the signalman. "Sombra, the lights are green for you." On Time's voice was always a welcome sound. "Green for Glory," Sombra replied, as Lady went onwards, blowing steam beautifully. She exited the yard, rolled around the bend that led to Fifty Steps crossing, and per the usual convention began to speed up towards the buffers, rather than slowing down as you'd expect. Moments later, she made contact with the buffers, and vanished in a cloud of rainbow light. The Magic Railway never ceased to take your breath away, a glorious kaleidoscope of colours and wonder complemented by trees and sidings set alongside the tracks. Lady puffed onwards, the lamp sat on her footplate as she proceeded onwards. "Activating front lamps," Sunset said, and the lamps engaged. They shone, proud and bright, as Lady made her way along the line, denoting Lady to be an express working, as she should be. Then disaster struck. One moment the lights were gleaming bright, the next they abruptly failed. There was a bang as the electrics failed, and the lights switched off, and Lady came to an abrupt halt in the dark. "This could be a problem," Sombra said, putting his hand to his chin. "I can't go onwards without my lights," Lady told them. "It's not safe. A train can't proceed if it can't see where it is going. And it's been a long time since I travelled these rails regularly." "Great," Sunset sighed. "We're stuck in the middle of a magic railway line from Nottingham to Sodor with no way of seeing where we're going. We need a light to see, which means that we need..." Sombra noticed his daughter trailing off. "Yes?" he asked. "Unless we use this!" she said, picking up the lamp that had been left for them to transport. "It looks to be an old oil lamp, which looks to be a bit dusty, but if I can pop the cap open, I can..." The cap came open, and a voice suddenly began to speak. "Greetings, lost travellers. I am the spirit of the lamp, but you may call me Proteus. How may I help?" "We need to see how to get to the other side of the Magic Railway," said Lady. "Can the lamp light the way to the other side?" "Place it upon her top lamp iron, and it shall be so," replied the voice. Sunset climbed down from the footplate, walked to the front of Lady, climbed up the front ladder onto the running board, and pushed the lamp down onto the bracket. In that moment, glorious, beautiful, golden light shot forth from the lamp, illuminating the Magic Railway ahead. It wasn't far to the other end, and Lady whistled as she moved off once more, steam pouring from her chimney and wreathing her like a dragon. She gathered speed, puffing forward ever faster and with greater conviction, until she reached the buffers at the other end. Another bright flash of light, and Lady was through. She puffed through the yard at Arlesburgh West, attracting the attention of the crews of the Arlesdale Railway, and she came to a stop at the station, where the station master was waiting. "Ah, there you are!" he said. "I was getting worried." He smiled as Sunset handed him the lamp. "It seems it still has some of Proteus' power left in it. This will do very nicely." "And," said the voice of Sir Toppham Hatt, "I would like to ask for some help. Diesel has developed a serious mechanical fault that needs to be fixed. Sombra, you and Lady wouldn't mind working in the China Clay Pits for a bit?" "I can't stay," Sombra replied, "but Sunset can. And Lady's lights need fixing too." "Consider it a deal," Sir Toppham Hatt smiled. "I've heard a lot about how you helped to save the railway, Sunset. I look forward to seeing what you and Lady can do." Little did anybody realise, they were in for a crazy few days.