Thomas & Equestria Girls 2:
Adventures From Sodor!
Chapter 32: Fame & Misfortune
Students and faculty members from Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy all arrived at CPA's courtyard, gathering and heading towards their separate bleachers. Both schools sat on opposite ends in small, stadium bleachers facing CPA's entrance along the walkway, and a broadcasting station with six large monitors positioned for each side to view. Work was being prepped to make sure the technicalities were fully functioning while more and more visitors from outside CHS or CPA arrived to cheer for their favorite team.
For at last, the Crystal Race's final event was now taking place. Many visitors brought their children, who all mostly wore Thomas themed clothes and other products they held tight as they quickly crowded Crystal Prep's courtyard. The audience was much bigger than previous events, and much more riled up and ready for another exhilarating event.
Everyone was excited. Everyone except the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts. They were still in a rut over this morning's feud between one or two teammates from each side.
While waiting for the games to begin, people continued setting up broadcasting by finishing up monitoring their cameras. CPA had many cameras planted along ceiling corners inside many different classrooms to showcase the main event for audiences outside to watch. But there was a technical problem. One of the cameras wasn't connected properly and so couldn't capture one classroom through it's glitched statics. They didn't have time to fix this error, so they began broadcasting Principal Cadance and Shining Armor, now appearing on all four TV monitors.
"Hello and welcome everyone to the Crystal Race's final event!" Cadance announced.
Her and Shining Armor were seated inside a light blue room with microphones and headsets on. Audiences rounded out another applause with excitement.
"It has been an honor hosting for the Crystal Race this last week with everyone here," Cadance continued. "As today truly marks a momentous milestone."
"Yes, In deed, Principal Cadance," Shining Armor agreed. "Why don't we tell the folks watching why that is?"
"With the help of Canterlot High and our wonderful donors, Crystal Prep Academy managed to gain at least double our initial goal for improved, educational institutions all across Canterlot City!"
"And while that may be in part of an unexpected celebrity hiding among the Wondercolts, I too am honored to have been apart of such a fulfilling charity run."
"I couldn't agree more, Shining Armor," She smiled.
Meeting up by the school's gates triggered a round of applause from everyone upon the Wondercolts and Shadowbolt's appearance. Even some CPA students showed the Wondercolts some support. This helped encourage some of them wave back and accept everyone's praise. Edward sat up in one of Canterlot High's bleachers, with Juniper Montage eventually arriving just on time, taking a seat next to him and cheering just as loud for their friends. The Engines especially welcomed this. They needed a well-rounded confidence boost to push through arguably the Crystal Race's most important event. Gordon, James, Percy, Toby and Emily waved to everyone on Canterlot High's side. Sunny Flare, Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, and Indigo Zap didn't respond much but still humbly welcomed Crystal Prep's much more energized than normal rally calls. They didn't evoke much energy, knowing their school was most positively already the successors, but were still on board as everyone else.
"Hey Wondercolts!"
The engines all looked over to Indigo Zap, approaching and stopping in front of James specifically. She was joined by Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, and Lemon Zest. The other engines stood behind James as well and returned wary looks to their competitors. But then, Indigo Zap beamed with intent. She held her left arm angled out with a wide-open palm.
"Good luck out there!"
This made James smile in return. The two then locked hands in an arm wrestling-esc grip.
"And to you too Shadowbolts! May the best person win."
From up in the crowds, Edward noticed that both teams were short one member.
"Wait! Where's Thomas and Diesel?" Edward asked Juniper. "The race is about to begin."
"Don't worry," Juniper assured. "Thomas will make it. 'Least I hope so."
"Oh? How's he holding up?"
Juniper sighed. "Not good. It wasn't easy getting through to him. Thomas really didn't want to participate. And he still won't tell us why."
Then she gasped and pointed eagerly back at the gates.
"There he is!"
Approaching the starting line was Thomas himself. Crowds became even more rowdy as soon as he appeared. Children, students, parents, and adults alike chanted his name in perfect unison. But Thomas didn't respond much like he did with his fans at Canterlot Mall. Instead, he walked over to his friends with a head hung low. The Shadowbolts were repulsed over his chanted name.
The other engines had been worried over whether or not he was going to show at all and were relieved just to see him. But Thomas was none the more enthusiastic as he was this morning after his failed apology to Sour Sweet. None of the engines still had any idea what exchange they had or what about it that made Thomas so upset.
"That was cutting it too close," Gordon said. "But thankfully you managed to arrive when you did at least."
"Everything okay now, Thomas?" Emily asked.
"Are you feeling any better?" Percy asked.
His friends hopped Thomas would be feeling somewhat better. But seeing his same down in the dumps frown and hesitance to respond told them otherwise.
"I-I will… I hope," He said, hugging his arm reluctantly. He lets out a sad sigh, "Let's just get this over with."
"But what did Sour Sweet say to make you leave, Thomas?" Percy asked.
"Do you need a minute before we begin?" Emily suggested.
"Let's worry about it later," Toby said. "There'll be plenty of time to wonder about that once Diesel's deal is taken care of."
The other engines could tell much couldn't be done to cheer Thomas up. So, they decided not to bother him to avoid upsetting him further. The Wondercolts had more pressing matters to confront today. A lot was riding on this simple game of Capture the Flag. They tried to convey this same determination onto Thomas, but he simply didn't reciprocate their encouragement much.
Sour Sweet wasn't fairing any better either. She was the most bitter out of the two. The Shadowbolts noticed this and found Sour Sweet sulking to herself with arms crossed.
"Uhh, Sour Sweet?" Sunny Flare inquired. "Are you good to go or-?"
"Oh, don't worry about me," She said, sweetly while waving her arm in a fist. "I'll be just fine!" Then she turned sour, "at least once these stupid games are finally over."
"Really?" Lemon Zest asked, innocently. "'Cause you looked kinda mad after you and -"
"Do you girls still wanna win or not?" She interrupted and spoke sweetly. "No? Gr-eat! Then let's forfeit this race and chat all about my feelings instead."
But neither of them agreed to that notion. They were not about to forfeit now. But no matter how much they tried to comfort her, Sour Sweet refused any and all of her friend's attempts to do so. The Shadowbolts didn't objected to her visible doubts and headstrong aggression after that. So, Sour Sweet continued avoiding any direct mention or reminder of this morning herself by keeping her mind on the game.
"I'll be fine just as long as we keep our heads in the games where they should be."
Just then, Diesel finally showed up, pacing into the Courtyard after CPA's bus dropped him off by the front gates. He met up with the Shadowbolts, none of which were too happy to see him or his late arrival.
"And just where have you been?" Sour Sweet asked, bitterly.
"Sorry, everyone," Diesel said, earnestly. "I got, uh, held up by work."
Sour Sweet then approached and scolded Diesel face to face.
"Did you somehow forget this is our last race? A-k-a, our last chance to come out as victors. There's no more room for whatever you've got cooking in that dome of yours, Diesel. So, don't you dare mess this up for us! Or else."
"Plus, the sooner we win," Sunny Flare added, "the sooner you're booted off the Shadowbolts. This time for sure."
The other girls all collectively agreed. Diesel sighed and slouched, miserably.
"Right. Of course. I-I'll do my best not to let anyone down."
Much like her friends, Sour Sweet expected Diesel to rebuttal and throw another fit. But instead, his solemn silence had nothing more to say. She eyed him suspiciously before turning away.
"Well… Great. Finally, something I can work with."
But Sour Sweet didn't pay any more notice to his sudden change in demeanor and stormed back to her spot. The other girls picked up on this however, as Diesel dragged himself slowly past them and their disapproving glares.
"What?" Sugarcoat judged. "No conniving remarks about your superiority complex or demands for our reverence?"
But Diesel didn't respond and continued slugging on with his own thoughts in a rut. This made Sugarcoat and the rest confused. She looked to Lemon Zest with an arched brow, but she only responded with shrugged arms. What happened to the complaining, conniving Diesel; or the Diesel who sniveled his way out of getting into trouble? He'd almost looked pretty contempt to leave on his own whims if he had his way.
After the coach went over the rules, Cadance and Shining Armor began their broadcast again.
"Today's event will ultimately be determined by the most flags in a team's possession," Cadance announced. "Ten of their school's pennants have been hidden inside Crystal Prep Academy. But the first team to collect only six for each member and bring them back wins."
"So, both Colts and Bolts had better check every corner in a precise and timely manner," Shining Armor added. "Otherwise, its a hard-earned zero for whoever's side comes out one flag short."
"Though the Shadowbolts may have an advantage, I was informed that the Wondercolts have been properly updated on CPA's interior layout. Now both fields are set in motion."
"And now, the event everyone's been waiting for will finally commence! Let's end off the Crystal Race with one last enthralling challenge folks won't forget!"
Shining Armor's calls rallied the people more and more. Band members from CPA and CHS played their music while the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts got into their respective position by crouching down in a running stance. Thomas took the middle with Percy, James, Gordon, Emily, and Toby lined up to his left. Diesel took the middle as well, with Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, Indigo Zap, and Sour Sweet all lined up next to him on his right.
Suddenly, it dawned on the engines, standing in front of the school's walkaway with thousands of upon thousands of people chanting and calling their names, sporting their team's name, colors, and pride. This was it. They've made it all the way to the game's end. If they win the Crystal Race, then Diesel won't have to banish them from Sodor, not that they'd ever allow that. On the other hand, this was also a prime opportunity to really prove themselves adaptable as people. Now there was an added pressure not only to prevent themselves from losing, but by proving they could compete in a race the engines were told they wouldn't last very long in. And yet here they were, standing next to their competitors about to race into CPA and collect six of their school's corresponding pennants. If there was any effort the engines hadn't been utilizing before, they were most certainly about dust them off for this exact occasion.
"We can't afford to lose this one," James said. "It's all or nothing, everyone."
The other engines agreed and built up their confidence.
"Show them what we're made of, girls!" Indigo Zap passed along.
The Shadowbolts were all good to go.
The only two that didn't quite have their heads in the game were Thomas and Diesel. Both were still bothered with their own unresolved issues. Thomas couldn't stop thinking about what Sour Sweet told him. Him and this world's cartoon version of Sodor aren't apparently the same as how they started out before; how their attempts at appealing to modern audiences only stripped away what made him and his adventures so enduring and alienated fans that grew up loving his stories and characters. Diesel saw no reason to participate seeing how Adagio Dazzle had revealed she never intended to grant him control over Sodor's diesels, even after forcing the Steam Team to return home should they lose. Now that he wasn't getting anything out of this, the only reason for Diesel's participation was to bring them back to Gerard Gisborne instead, and preventing himself from being sent away.
Sour Sweet and other Adventures from Sodor fans aren't happy with Thomas' cartoon or show stealing stardom. Even though fans have come out to support him, it was still only a matter of time until people in general grow tired of Thomas, much like the Railway has with steam engines. If nobody seemed to need Thomas or his friends on Sodor anymore, where else could they be really useful, if anywhere at all? Did they have what it takes to be useful here? Were all their past mistakes these last couple days just a sign that they didn't? Perhaps their time really was over, as engines, celebrities, and people. He refused to believe this from the start. But now, If his soon to be short lived stardom in this world was any indication, perhaps it was also true for himself and Sodor friends. Twilight's advice came flooding back into Diesels forethought. If he wanted so badly for everyone to listen to him, then he'd have to be the one to change. But Diesel wondered if he even wanted to go that extra mile for something not worth the trouble anymore. The trials and requirements seemed more tedious and a chore to accomplish than he expected.
"If both teams are ready," Cadance announced.
Thomas and Diesel shared uncertain glances to one another, expecting a taunt or two from their receiving end. But both engines saw that neither were in any state of mind to do so. Thomas and Diesel remained focus despite difficulties aligning their concentration, and tried to muster the same determination their fellow teammates all bared.
"The last event of the Crystal Race will begin..."
Time slowed to a silent drag as the timer clocked down with each tick. Hearts beat, sweat dripped, and muffled crowds cheered. Whatever ends up happening, whoever takes the win, it all came down to this.
"Now!"
And with a buzzing siren, time kicked back into motion, sending the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts sprinting down the courtyard's pathway. Thomas and Diesel finally went after a delayed response and hurried to catch up with their teammates. Edward and Juniper seemed to be the only ones who noticed this and shared looks of concern. Both engines and girls zoomed by and passed one another. Some faster than others but also slower and quick on their feet then expected. Neither contestant payed noticed to one another as their eyes were only set on the race and the race alone. The crowd's raving roar faded the closer they approached and entered Crystal Prep. Everyone else had already made it in while Thomas and Diesel worked to make up for lost time, passing through all four, large TV monitors depicting live footage of their run for everyone's exciting cries. Both engines ran neck in neck, slacking in effort but determined none the less, until finally reaching Crystal Prep's front doors and barging through to get inside.
They found their teammates in the center foyer, going over strategies as to where to start looking first.
"Okay, everyone," Sunny Flare instructed. "Just like we practiced; Thorough search around every corner of each room until it's picked clean."
"Got it!" They all responded.
Now was not the time to squabble over who's calling the shots anymore. Meanwhile the engines tried referencing what they learned from the map given to them by the Shadowbolts. Without it in hand, they had to rely on their own instincts.
"Let's check the Library first," Emily suggested.
"Good idea," Gordon said.
The rest followed down one hallway while the Shadowbolts veered off towards the opposite isle, with Thomas and Diesel following from behind each of their respective teams.
Audiences had a clear view of almost every room in school through the large, televised monitors stationed outside while Principal Cadance and Shining Armor chimed in for commentary on one screen to the next, depending on which screen focused on which team. The faulty camera from earlier was still broken, however, so they couldn't cut back to whatever room they were hooked up to without seeing static.
Everyone waited anxiously for the first screen to showcase any team, until the engines showed up on one monitor entering the Library.
"And the Wondercolts have made it to the library!" Cadance announced over the screen.
This made students and faculty from CHS, as well as Thomas' fans break out into a cheer.
"A pretty bold move to scan one of CPA's biggest areas first."
"In deed, Shining Armor. Thankfully, that's only large area both teams are expected to find a flag, as our gymnasium and Cafeteria would prove too tedious for such a thorough search."
Edward and Juniper watched anxiously, seeing each engine fan out to look around the varying sized book shelves, corners, studying and computer desks, and even a few back rooms with precise caution.
Back inside, the engines were in deed having trouble in their search, and doubted whether or not they should've scoped out this area later on. At least they would've likely had a few flags already by the time they reached the Library. But now that they've almost covered every visible space they could see, they had to keep on looking in case something did pop up.
"Anything?" Emily called.
All engines announced from each part of the Library that they didn't. There were too many shelves and too many spots it could be hidden away from. Some of them became frustrate, especially James, who began to groan after nearly dumping out a bunch of books from the return bin.
"Ugh! This is absurd! We'll never find that silly flag in time."
"Just keep looking!" Gordon commanded. "There's got to be one here somewhere."
"Where do you think we should look next, Thomas?" Percy asked.
A distracted Thomas stuttered on his answer. He didn't know what kind of call to make, or why Percy wanted his input.
"I know. Let's split up," Toby suggested. "Half of us will stay behind while the rest begin searching other rooms."
Everyone agreed to Toby's plan and branched off into teams. Toby, Emily, and Percy stayed in the Library while Gordon, James, and Thomas left to find another room to search. Percy wanted to go with Thomas instead to keep an eye on him, but Toby and Emily insisted his help would be better suited with them for now. Thomas, Gordon and James were the faster out the three, so they could cover more ground by going out elsewhere; much to Thomas' protest. But Percy was still worried about Thomas and his strange behavior. Emily was too, and promised Percy they'll return to Thomas as soon as they were done with the Library.
Meanwhile, the Shadowbolts had already found one of their flags and were now quickly searching every corner and desk chair in math class. They did this in an organized fashion. Once Sunny Flare finished rummaging through different cabinets, Sugarcoat would step in to do the same while she moved on to a storage closet.
"I don't see one yet," Lemon Zest said.
"Me neither," Indigo Zap announced.
"One more roundabout then we'll move on," Sour Sweet suggested.
Diesel was too preoccupied, pretending like he was looking just as hard when really, he would've allowed a flag to accidentally slip his sights if one were to be found. He snapped back to reality after Sour Sweet shot him a scolding scowl over his distracted state and rushed over to the teacher's desk.
But, upon crouching down to look underneath, Diesel froze in place with eyes agape. There in front of him was the Wondercolt's pennant.
The isosceles shaped flag bared the Wondercolt's signature blue, horseshoe C on a white circle overlapping light blue and yellow stripes. Another isosceles shape made up the rest of the flag with a yellow star central among its white background, and all creases and corners were colored in gold and bright yellow. This almost caught Diesels off guard, for his usual scheming instincts to commence what had already played out in his mind conjured an idea upon staring back at this plastic flag.
Diesel now knew exactly what to do to with this flag. So, he reached his arm out with a wide palm, ready to snatch and hide it without any notice.
He could just take it. He could easily swipe it and gave the Wondercolts one less flag to acquire; there for unable to collect them all before his team did. The steamies could lose. If he couldn't have control over diesels, he could have control over their fate, and potentially come out the winner. It was right in his reach. But strangely enough, Diesel didn't go for it. His arm froze stiff. Despite every bone in his body lingering towards it, Diesel didn't grab his competitor's flag. He didn't know why. Perhaps it really was because there was no reason too. What difference would one missing flag make? Or perhaps, something else made him think otherwise; something that made Diesel re-evaluate his desire to acquire any form of leadership. Sabotaging the steamies didn't work in his favor last time he interfered. If he really wanted to win, then he'd have to either change his ways, or change himself.
All this kept holding him back from moving his arm another inch. Diesel knew these urges had to be subsided. So, he reclined his fingers back into a fist when-
"Diesel!"
Sour Sweet's call startled Diesel once again back to reality, and smacked his head against the desk's corner. He got up and rubbed his head furiously.
"You okay?"
"Oh, sure!" He said, irritably. "Just a bump on the head. Nothing painful! Ow!"
She rolled her eyes. "Find anything?"
"Of course, not."
"Then quit fooling around and get yourself together. There's nothing here, so we're moving on."
The Shadowbolts had already cleared the room, leaving Diesel by his lonesome. Diesel looked back at the teacher's desk, knowing fully that his chance of making the Steamies victory that much difficult, willingly slip his grasp. And somehow, Diesel was okay with this. For he had really decided not to steal their flags all together. This made him feel odd somehow; a feeling he wasn't used to lingering on. Diesel shook his head of his conflicting instincts and caught up with his teammates.
Gordon, James and Thomas looked all over at least four different classrooms. They looked all over a science class, baking, wood shop, and a physics room, and only came up with one flag from baking.
Thomas spotted a pennant belonging to the Shadowbolts. It was faintly tucked away behind some binders on the teacher's desk in Science Class. He just stared blankly at it, feeling depressed all over again when Sour Sweet and her vindictive claims against him came flooding back into present again. James and Gordon keenly mistook him for spotting their pennant, but Thomas dismissed this with a weary head-shake and went back out into the hallway. This began to frustrate Gordon and James, who have in deed picked up on Thomas' weird behavior as well, but were more annoyed by his lack of effort, despite Thomas still believing he was contributing his best. But who knows how many Wondercolt flags Thomas might've unintentionally loomed over?
The three engines raced through Crystal Prep's now empty corridors. James kept striking poses whenever he spotted a small security camera in any room. But Gordon thankfully yanked him away when James kept at it. Soon, they ended up finding another flag in World History class. Then they ran into Percy, Emily, and Toby in the middle of a four-way hall passage.
"Wow. That map the Shadowbolts gave us sure came in handy," Emily complimented.
"Did you guys find it?" James asked.
"Sure did!" She beamed, waving their flag.
"Along with another one from a wood making class," Toby said, showing them his.
Gordon and James did the same with their flags and rounded them up to four pennants.
"You wouldn't believe how easy it was to spot them actually," Toby explained.
"Turns out it was really just inside the Library's return bin!" Emily said.
"You mean to tell me It was right in front of us this whole time?!" James said, frustratingly
"More like in front of you, James!" Percy teased. "You're the one who dumped the basket out."
James fumed both from Percy's cheeky chuckles and his earlier obliviousness while the others counted their pennants.
"Excellent!" Gordon complimented. "We're that much closer! Hopefully the Shadowbolts haven't found all of theirs yet."
"Only two more to go and it's farewell to Diesel's dirty deal!" Percy called, excitedly.
"And hello to everyone seeing how really useful we can truly be!" Toby added.
The engines cheered in excitement and took off together to continue their search.
They hurried through CPA's empty, diamond crescent, aqua, purple and light blue colored hallways, climbed up and down stairs, entered and left every room they could. Sometimes they'd run into the Shadowbolts hurrying just as fast from across one hall or often times passing by through the same one. While on the second floor, Toby and Percy saw one of the Shadowbolts had four flags on them upon careful notice. This made them and the others worry and speed up their pace.
The first thing they did after entering each class was check near the front or another obvious place. When one wasn't there, they'd go over the entire room from back to front. Their next destination brought them to a computer lab. Everyone looked underneath desks, behind monitors, bulletin boards, and other such places now that they felt more comfortable rummaging through binders, books, and the teacher's desk to see if they were possibly stored away.
The Wondercolts didn't find any flag so they moved on, eventually finding themselves taken back downstairs, and what looked like an old, private research room. It had a single computer, two study tables, left over flasks, microscope, and funny looking machines with wavelengths on them collecting dust. Thomas examined some old research notes on powerful, energy readings. What surprised him and kept him reading was that the recordings detailed strange energy levels originating from Canterlot High. Thomas picked these up then looked around the small, boxed space again to his shock, beginning to deduce who might've recorded these notes. 'Was this Twilight's old study room?' he thought. Thomas pointed this out to everyone, much to their equally surprised reaction. Him and his friends then left Twilight's old room after finding nothing.
"The Wondercolts have already caught back up with the Shadowbolts," Cadance commentated.
"You're telling me. I honestly can't tell whose game this might end up being," Shining Armor said.
Instead of exploring and delicately rummaging every corner of each classroom like his friends, Thomas barely put any effort and simply loomed over spot after spot to see if one would stick out; not considering that one could very well be hiding behind or inside an object, or tucked away in a student's or teacher's desk. This didn't bother some of the engines much as they too were cautious with some equipment, tools and other items in Chemistry Class. But Thomas would often just slug behind or not check every inch like they did.
"Ugh, come on, Thomas!" James demanded. "Pick up the pace, already!"
"I'm sorry," He said, dismally.
"Are you even trying to look?" Gordon scolded.
"Not now, you two," Emily warned, sternly.
"Is that everything?" Toby asked. "It feels like we've been all over this whole school."
"Are you certain they said the gym and cafeteria were off limits?" Emily said.
"I say we oughta look anyways," James suggested. "They could've hidden one for the Shadowbolts for all we know.
"Um, has anyone checked the principal's office yet?" Thomas asked, timidly.
"Of course!" Percy gasped. "That's a room we haven't been to yet."
"Well, come on!" Gordon beckoned.
Him and the others went to find a flight of stairs to the second floor. Thomas kept at a good pace this time. His mind was a bit more focused than before, but still visibly sidetracked.
But then, Thomas skidded to a halt when a barely opened trophy case caught his eye. And inside said case was a Wondercolt pennant. Thomas stopped and watched his friends already ascend up a stairway. He thought about calling them, but didn't, even when he had a clear chance to get their attention.
The trophy case was left open to be deliberately seen, but not so much to give it away. Thomas went and finally grab it, then stared directly at his flag in an almost suspended daze. He didn't want to take it, despite it being offered to him right out of the bloom. For some reason, Thomas didn't want to win the Crystal Race. The fundraiser was already a success. So, what was the point of winning other than to receive another day or two of fame and admiration? He figured they weren't really going to leave with Diesel if they ended up losing. But who's to say they won't still have to leave Sodor even if the Siren is defeated? Even if they won, nobody wanted them on Sir Topham Hatt's Railway anymore. Thomas didn't want his friends to go through that, or force them to discharge from work completely. But what choice did he have?
["Maybe you should've stopped while you were ahead," Sour Sweet echoed from Thomas' thoughts, "So none of us would have to watch you turn into… this!"]
A zany image of his cartoon shelf, puffing along an abstract track, circled around and tormented Thomas, making him clutch and tap his head repeatedly out of frustration. He couldn't draw out his own voice repeating every echo of relenting criticism made about Thomas from people disappointed by him.
["A shell of what you could've represented. Better to forget this franchise ever existed and leave it at that. Out with the old, in with the new. You're not the Thomas I grew up with! And you never will be!"]
Suddenly, something else caught his attention. A faint groaning noise from down the hallway reverberated towards Thomas.
"Why is it always the last one that's impossible to find?!"
Thomas looked around and found where the voice came from. Down across from one end of the hall were the Shadowbolts. An impatient Sour Sweet was pacing back and forth, often stopping to inspect a classroom through the door window.
"Ugh, come on! Where could it be?!"
"Relax, Sour," Lemon Zest continued. "There's gotta be somewhere we haven't checked yet."
"We've been to literally every room in this school," Sugarcoat said. "Excluding the cafeteria and gymnasium."
"How about Principal Cadance's office?!" Sunny Flare asked.
"We've combed that entire space top to bottom. Guess what; no flag!"
"Good thing I found mine when I did, eh?" Diesel commented.
"Yeah, super," Indigo Zap said. "Now help us find one for Sour Sweet."
Thomas let out a dejected sigh before walking off to find his friends again. He passed the Science classroom where he, Gordon and James inspected then suddenly stopped between the doorway.
He could see the Shadowbolt's flag he spotted earlier still tucked between some binders on the teacher's desk. He was about to move on and let them figure it out, but he didn't move. Thomas remained still, keeping his gaze glued to the flag's tip. He then glared over at the Shadowbolts, then back at their barely visible flag again. An idea started to stir during this; one Thomas felt he might regret making, but given the circumstances of Sodor and this world's view of his cartoon show, to make such a foreboding call now seemed like the only foreseeable option in his eyes. Thomas suppressed any and all dismal feelings cycling his conscience, and made the ultimate decision on his and his friend's behalf.
The Shadowbolts were still in distress until Thomas approached and caught their eye.
"Excuse me," He said, faintly.
Neither of the Shadowbolts were exactly pleased to see him. Especially Sour Sweet, only glaring daggers after seeing his flag in hand and turning her back from him with crossed arms.
"What? Come to rub it in?"
"Actually… I-I know where you can find your last flag."
This managed to spark her eye gaping interest. But Sour Sweet and the others still shared suspicious looks. What was he up too? Did he really know where a flag might be?"
"If it were your friends proposing this, maybe we might be interested. But why take your word for it?" Sunny Flare challenged.
"Are you girls sure you've checked every room?"
"We obviously wouldn't be having this problem if we didn't," Sugarcoat said, bluntly.
"I dunno. It's possible we might've missed one," Lemon Zest said, rubbing her head.
"Well, I'm not buying it," Sour Sweet accused. "He'll only end up making things worse for us and waste our time. That is all he's good for anyway."
Thomas rolled his eyes irritably before turning away and walking off.
"Follow me if you like then, and I'll take you exactly to where you can find one."
The Shadowbolts were still rightfully suspicious. They didn't have time to be following around their competitor when they had a game to win. His team could even be much closer than they were to winning themselves.
"I wouldn't trust him," Diesel whispered to Sour Sweet. "Those steamies are usually never up to any good."
"You're one to talk," Lemon Zest countered.
But Thomas directing them down the next hallway made them more curious. Compared to Diesel, would believing Thomas be that far fetched? Hesitantly, Lemon Zest went to join Thomas, along with Indigo, Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, and finally Diesel, all begrudgingly deciding to tag along. Sour Sweet was the only who didn't move until Sunny Flare returned and dragged her along with them.
Soon, the whole group faded further away from any camera's sights.
"What's that? Ladies and Gentlemen, we seem to be having some technical problems with one of our cameras," Shining Armor announced from outside. "Our crew is having trouble pin pointing the Shadowbolt's whereabouts."
"And it looks like a Wondercolt got separated after finding their team's fifth flag," Cadance added. "We can only hope either team's next strategies will favor them in the long run."
"You know its against the rules to interfere with the other team in any capacity," Sugarcoat stated with crossed arms. "Doesn't matter if it's support or sabotage."
"And Diesel knows all about that now, doesn't he?" Sunny Flare judged by looming over him.
Diesel chuckled sheepishly before becoming depressed again.
"I'm only showing you where to look," Thomas said.
This still didn't sit well with anyone. But thinking it over, they do still have to find it themselves if Thomas won't directly tell them where it is. Arriving back again at Science class, Thomas entered and stood near the teacher's desk to give them a subtle hint. The girls entered and simply looked around for any trace.
"But we've already searched Science," Sunny Flare said.
"Wait! I see it now!"
Sour Sweet alerted the others to her as she ran up and rummaged through the teacher's desk. And to her stunned surprise, she gently pulled out and held in her palms their school's pennant. Diesel and the others were equally stunned. Thomas was telling the truth. And because of him, the Shadowbolts had found their sixth and final flag. For a moment, the team felt a wave of excitement and disbelief wash over and allowed this moment to sink in.
"And that makes a total of six flags for the Shadowbolts!" Lemon Zest hopped, excitedly.
The others wanted to celebrate as well, but knew that the race wasn't over just yet.
"But… I don't understand," Sunny Flare said to Thomas. "Why help us?"
"Who cares!" Indigo Zap said. "Let's make it back so we can win this!"
Thomas just hung his head in complete dejection before walking towards the class' exit. Sunny Flare and some of the other Shadowbolts were greatly confused. Diesel didn't know quite what to think either. Didn't Thomas know that by giving them an advantage, his team could lose and leave to Sodor forever, or so Diesel still thought?
"C'mon, Sour! Eh-" Indigo then noticed Sour Sweet's own strange behavior. "Sour?"
She didn't say or do anything. All Sour Sweet did was stare at her team's flag, becoming lost in her own comprehensive trance. Why in deed would he just show them where they needed to find their pennant? What's in it for him? It had to be because of their talk. His crestfallen demeanor said it all. Sour Sweet had to confirm this directly. Thomas stood by the door trying to stifle his sniffling. He was about to leave so no one could hear or see him, only for Sour Sweet to call him out.
"Hey! Answer the question… why do this for us?"
It took him a few seconds to respond, as he tried and failed to pull himself together. When Thomas did face everyone again, they were met with a stream of tears now leaking down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. The Shadowbolts looked worried. Even Diesel looked a bit concerned.
"T-Thomas?" He said.
Thomas tried wiping his tears away despite another wave hitting hard. He could barely get a word out through stuttering breaths; only just to get the ones what mattered out in the open.
"I hope this will make you happy again, Sour Sweet."
All eyes now gazed back at Sour Sweet, too stunned and speechless to say or do anything. She was right on the money. Even so, she had absolutely no idea how to respond, despite it hanging from the tip of her tongue. All she knew was that every word he managed to muster was as sincere and heartbroken as her opening up to him earlier that morning. Sour Sweet took a step forward. But Thomas quickly turned away again with tears still soaking and ran off.
"Wait a minute! Come back!"
She chased after him, but she was too late. Sour Sweet stood outside of Science and watched Thomas disappear down the hallway while his last words to her began to sink deepr.
"What did he mean by that?" Lemon Zest asked the others.
Nobody knew what was going on between them, nor did it fully answer why he indirectly aided them. Only Sour Sweet had a pretty good idea, as she stood outside with Thomas' words repeating back to her, and feeling a semblance of guilt over how she acted towards him minutes ago.
Thomas continued running and eventually wiping his face clean of tears. But his sorrow still dragged him down at a depressing level.
"There you are!"
Percy came running towards and stopped right in front of Thomas just as he did.
"I'm so glad I found you. We were all so worried after you just disappeared!"
Then he gasped excitedly upon noticing Thomas' flag.
"You found one! Hey, everyone! Thomas found another flag!"
The other engines weren't far behind when they all rejoined Percy and Thomas. Each engine congratulated Thomas by patted him on the back for comfort, hoping this would cheer him up. But Thomas wasn't any happier over his find, only pretending to crack a small smile for their sake.
"James found his in the Principal's office," Percy explained. "Just like you said we might!"
"Onward to victory!" James announced.
"Wondercolts coming through!" Gordon added.
The Wondercolts excitedly took off running through the hallway feeling grand and on top of the world. The crowds outside watched the Engines sprint victoriously through the Foyer and towards the doors through the monitor.
"There they are!" Cadance announced.
"The Wondercolts are closing in!" Shining Armor said, tensely. "And it's… it's!
Edward and Juniper tensed up, along with all the visitors, and everyone from both Canterlot High and Crystal Prep. There was no sign of the Shadowbolts in sight.
Then, from outside, the Engines all emerged one by one and stood outside CPA's entrance, balancing on their knees to catch their breaths.
"They're through!"
A roaring applause prematurely thundered from CHS' side and all the visitors.
"But wait!" Cadance added. "One of them is missing!"
The crows stopped cheering. The engines immediately recovered upon hearing this while Thomas slowly, but finally emerged from the school.
"And that's that!" Cadance said. "The Wondercolts are the winners!"
Everyone up in the crowds cheered and CHS' marching band began their musical routine. Percy and the other engines went up to Thomas, already beginning to celebrate their victory. Juniper grasped Edward with a tight hug.
"But wait!" Shining Armor announced. "Something doesn't look right!"
Edward, Juniper and the entire audience began to groan from all this back and forth nonsense. But their reaction soon started to take on a different form the more they watched. The engines watched as Thomas ashamedly raise both hands, and revealed nothing in his possession. Edward, Juniper, and everyone all around gasped in a collected shock.
"It-it appears that the Wondercolts is missing a pennant," Cadance said.
"Thomas?!" Emily whispered, sternly. "What happened to your flag?!"
Thomas didn't answer, and stared blankly at the ground while lowering his hands back down. The engines started getting nervous.
"This isn't funny, Thomas," Gordon grinned, anxiously. "Fork it over now!"
James instinctively headed back to find the flag. Only for Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, Indigo Zap and Diesel all to arrive one by one, and with all their flags still in hand.
Everyone went stone cold silent. Mouths were agape, eyes remained widened. Shining Armor and Principal Cadance were just as stunned. The Shadowbolts had no idea what this sweep in silence was about. They looked over to the engines, seeing each petrified member possessed a flag, except Thomas. Now they knew, which made Sour Sweet gasp quietly to herself among the others jaw dropping realization.
CPA's coach then went up to collect everyone's pennants, and counted the amount.
"The amount is six to five."
Principal Cadance and Shining Armor shared confused glances. Regardless, a winner had to be announced.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Cadance began, "the winners of the Crystal Race… are the Shadowbolts!"
Suddenly, an abrupt applause from Crystal Prep's side broke out into a thunderous roar. Their marching band began playing music and confetti flew in all directions. CPA students and faculty members all cheered and chanted for themselves, their school, and everyone on the Shadowbolts. Canterlot High and varying visitors were all shocked beyond words. Edward and Juniper were even more so, until they got up to quickly meet with their friends. A lot of people were confused as to why Thomas' team didn't win. Some of the children that came to see him began to cry, prompting their parents to take them and leave the scene before their cries overshadowed CPA's celebratory festivity.
The engines had no words themselves. They were too dispirited, too livid, too overwhelmed and broken up by that one, single announcement. 'The Shadowbolts won'. This was suppose to be their names being called.
The Shadowbolts were just as overwhelmed and even more confused as to why Thomas did all that just to let them win. For reasons they can't explain, their hearts all sank, especially Sour Sweets. Suddenly their aspiring victory didn't feel as victorious as they quite imagined. He had absolutely no reason to give up their lead like this. Was this his way of making up for all their arguments, for feeling responsible over how Sour Sweet felt towards that silly old cartoon she grew up with, one he was now staring in and exploiting every unrecognizable aspect off? He's not the real Thomas though. Right? She said all those things about Thomas. Not him. Why would he be upset over this?
Diesel didn't know what to make of his victory either. He didn't think he'd actually get this far. And since he had, Diesel wondered if he should still follow through with his original plan. He looked over to everyone taking their anger out on a vacant, depressed Thomas just keeping his head low.
"Way to go, Thomas!" James complained. "All that hard work! Gone!"
"What were you thinking you silly, little tank engine?" Gordon scolded, angrily.
"Now we'll never hear the end of it from Diesel," Toby added.
"Does this mean we have to leave Sodor forever?!" Percy asked, anxiously.
"That's enough, all of you!"
The voice belonged to Edward, who arrived just in time along with Juniper, who went up to check on Thomas.
"Now," Edward stated, reasonably, "I'm sure Thomas has his reasons."
"If it was to make us all purposely lose, then that's a pretty lousy reason," Emily grumbled.
Not even Emily or Percy could come to his defense. Unable to stand this anymore, Thomas broke back down into tears and ran off.
"Thomas!" The engines shouted.
Juniper Montage ran after Thomas. The engines now felt bad about what they said. Thomas looked really devastated. But for what reason? And how or why did he not have his flag? The engine's frustrations still remained but concerns for their friend was now the forefront of their worries. Whatever exchange him and Sour Sweet had must've really got to him. Regardless, the would-be Wondercolts now had many questions and fears that frankly neither engine didn't want answered, and secretly hopped would stay that way.
Just then, Cadance and Shining Armor appeared in person and approached the Shadowbolts, both holding a large, twenty-four by sixty-inch check displaying their signature and amount they gained throughout the whole game.
"Congratulations, Girls," Principal Cadance smiled, handing them the large check. "You've made us and your school very proud."
Sour Sweet hesitantly accepted, deeply unsure how to feel. Diesel and the others were all on the same boat.
"Over here! Over here!"
Photographers and journalist came up and began bombarding the Shadowbolts with questions and blinding them with their flashing camera lenses, forcing them to shield their eyes with either their hands the check. This was exactly what they wanted, to be in the limelight, to be winners, to come out on top. Only problem is, none of them felt like winners at all. Through the midst of all the flashing and crowding photographers, Sour Sweet spotted Thomas and Juniper running off through CPA's black gates. She tried to call him, but the flooding photographers and journalist prevented them all from breaching through. They had to put up with the press until they wither out, all while Thomas showed himself out and allowed them to have what they initially set out to achieve after meeting him.
Regardless of any dark age, regardless of his friend's best efforts, regardless of what he and everyone went through, Thomas knew one thing for sure, that there was no future for him. Nothing could change that. Nothing will stop what will eventually come to him. They didn't belong anywhere anymore. Not in Canterlot City nor back home. The only place they belonged in, where they would be most relevant, was in the past.
'Out with the old, in with the new,' Was all Thomas repeated to himself. So, he took off with a reluctant Juniper Montage, to finish off one last thread of his laughable attempt to remain present in the public eye's fading interest. He went to go pay a visit to the movie set.
To Be Continued.