Gordon is a very proud engine, and a very fast one too. As a matter of fact, he is the fastest steam engine on the Island of Sodor, a fact he is very proud of and informs others of at every conceivable opportunity. The frustrating thing is that it is all one hundred percent true. One sunny afternoon, Gordon arrived from Vicarstown with the Wild Nor' Wester, beaming as he rolled to a stop. As he stopped, the clock hand dropped down into position. "Right on time!" he said.
"And," Rainbow Dash added, "we set a new point to point record on Gordon's Hill! Beat that, anybody!"
"How about that A4 who visits periodically? You know, Marks?" Percy asked.
"Do you mean Spencer?" Rarity asked. "The silver one?"
"I think he does," James replied. "But I have to say, Gordon, speed isn't everything. As a matter of fact, go too fast and you come off the track, as I know the hard way."
"Indeed we do," Rarity sighed. "Indeed we do."
"However, if speed isn't everything, being really useful is," Thomas added.
"You're just jealous," Rainbow Dash said.
"You small engines will never understand," snorted Gordon. "Because you will never go as fast as me."
Before anybody had a chance to correct Gordon on his bad grammar, Sir Toppham Hatt arrived with news of a task. "Ah, Thomas, there you are!" he said. "Douglas has broken down with leaking tubes, so I need you to make a delivery in his place. A jet engine has arrived for a customer at the airfield, and it needs picking up from Tidmouth docks and taking there."
"Right away, sir!" Twilight replied. "I don't think we've ever moved a jet engine before."
"What's this jet engine?" Percy asked.
"A jet engine," Twilight explained, "works by sucking in air through a turbine. This air is then mixed with aviation fuel, and this air fuel mixture is then ignited in a combustion chamber. The resulting ignition then complies with Newton's Third Law; 'for every action their is an equal and opposite reaction'. This causes the object to move forward as the ignition's energy is focused backwards."
"Rather like when you blow up a balloon and let it go!" Thomas explained, as he set off for Tidmouth. Thomas enjoyed running errands for Sir Toppham Hatt, as it made him feel important. However, he wished that he could, one day, go as fast as Gordon, maybe just once."
When he got to the docks, the jet engine was already being unloaded. It had already been attached to a flatbed ready to be moved. It was painted silver, and had a red fuel drum attached to the back of the engine unit, alongside a big wooden box (nobody was quite sure what the wooden box did). It was shiny, and shiny, and modern, and Thomas had never seen anything like it before. He couldn't wait to start his journey. But he couldn't start just yet. Twilight was still doing her inspection, to ensure all the cables were correctly secured, and Cranky was slow to remove the guide cables.
Thomas grew impatient. "Hurry up!" he said. "This is a special special special special special special special special-"
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Thomas grew impatient. "Hurry up!" he said. "This is a very important train, you know!"
Cranky did not like being told what to do, especially by an engine. He hadn't forgotten Percy pulling him over either, and he became so grumpy he became careless with his hook. His hook caught a switch attached to a box on top of the fuel barrel, which started the jet engine. And the jet engine began to whine. The whine grew louder, and louder, and louder, and louder, AND LOUDER.
"Thomas! Look out! The jet engine's star-!"
Suddenly, flames roared out of the back of the jet engine, propelling Thomas and Twilight up the track.
"-ting!"
Thomas had never travelled this fast before! He whizzed along at speeds far higher than he was meant to travel at.
Twilight, trying to stay as calm as she could in the circumstances (working under pressure had never been her strong suit), slammed on Thomas' brakes, but the steam brakes and metal brake blocks were virtually useless against the power of a jet engine. He roared through Knapford doing well over 70 miles an hour.
"OH BOY!"
Twilight grabbed the cab radio. "HELP!" she shouted.
The signalman at Knapford grabbed his telephone. "Block off the entire line immediately! There's a runaway train approaching!"
Signals were changed, points were switched, and trains were haulted in their current positions to avoid crashes. Thomas, meanwhile, had never been so excited before. He flew by James at Maron, and rocketed past Henry on Gordon's Hill. He narrowly avoided crashing into Percy whilst descending the other side.
"HOW HAS HE NOT DERAILED ALREADY?" shouted Percy.
"Plot convenience?" Pinkie suggested.
To say the least, everybody was amazed. Bertie had pulled up at a crossing, and Spike glanced up when he heard Thomas approaching. "Good afternoon, Twilight!"
"Fancy a race Thomas?"
Thomas flew past without responding.
"Never mind."
Nobody had ever seen a train go so fast.
Gordon had not been alerted to the situation, and so continued to speed along the track towards Vicarstown. "We are the fastest!" he exclaimed.
"You can say that again!" Rainbow Dash replied.
"We are the fast-"
"Not literally!"
Suddenly, a loud engine roar started up behind them, and Thomas flew past, shouting something. But the jet engine was so loud, Gordon was confused. "PARDON?" he asked. "I HOPE THAT WASN'T IMPORTANT INFORMATION, AS I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD!"
"Was that... Thomas?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.
After a few more minutes, the jet engine ran out of fuel, and Thomas was back under his own power. Exhausted, but very much relieved that he hadn't derailed, he steamed into Vicarstown and came to a smooth stop, Gordon rolling in a few minutes later.
"Good heavens!" Rarity exclaimed. "Whatever happened, Thomas?"
"We were propelled along by a jet engine," Twilight replied.
Thomas sighed. "Sorry for overtaking you, Gordon."
"Overtake me?" Gordon said. "You'd have needed something very fast to do that, like a jet engine!"
Rainbow Dash facepalmed. "He's literally coupled to a jet engine, Gordon!"
"Well," Henry said. "I think Thomas is now the fastest steam engine in the world. What did the speedometer say?"
"The speedometer only goes up to fifty," Twilight replied. "But we probably went a lot faster than that."
"And we had a jet engine to help," said Thomas. "I wonder how fast I'd go if a T1 was coupled behind me?"
Percy, who felt sad for Gordon, chimed in. "Gordon doesn't need a jet engine to go fast, as he's a steam engine. Besides, do we really need to go so fast?"
"Gordon may be a steam engine, but he's certainly full of hot air!" James snorted.
Gordon, being in good spirits, simply laughed as he pulled away.