One summer's evening, the engines were all at Tidmouth Sheds, having just finished another long day. Their drivers were busy cleaning them and clearing out their fireboxes, keeping the ashpits clean, and ensuring that no grease or muck stayed on them.
"Well!" said James. "That was quite the day, if I do say so myself. Being a really splendid engine is quite hard, if I do say so myself."
"Try taking the Express!" said Gordon. "Then you'll know the meaning of hard work."
"Erm, Gordon?" Rainbow Dash said. "James has taken the Express, remember?"
"So I do," Gordon huffed.
Just then, their conversation was interrupted by Sir Toppham Hatt. "Hello, everybody!" he said. "I have some wonderful news for you all?"
"Is there a giant globe bouncing across the island?" asked Thomas.
"Is a diesel with a claw on top running amok?" inquired Percy.
"Has a giant chocolate cake monster buried all the world's chocolate cake in chocolate cake?" Pinkie asked.
Everybody stopped and looked at her.
"You never know!"
"Pinkie, with all the sugar you ingest, yer on yer way to a nasty heart attack," Applejack sighed, with an apple in her hand.
"An apple has sugar in it," Pinkie pointed out.
"Natural sugar, not processed sugar."
"Anyway," said Sir Toppham Hatt. "In my hand I have a letter confirming the arrangements for a visit to London."
"We're going to London?" asked Percy.
"Only a few of us," said Sir Toppham Hatt. He then began to read the letter. "Dear Sir Toppham Hatt.
It is my dearest pleasure to inform you that you have won a special award for your services to the railway industry. You are to attend a special awards ceremony at London King's Cross station, where His Royal Highness Prince Charles shall present the award. Please attend on Thursday, 12th May. Signed, the Secretary Royal."
"Well done sir!" said Thomas. "Wait, that's next week!"
"Indeed," said Sir Toppham Hatt. "But this has been planned for months. The path to London has been planned out. All I need to do is decide which engines to bring."
"Engines, sir?" asked Henry.
"Yes," Sir Toppham Hatt said. "Prince Charles has specifically requested that I arrive under steam power. But I am also going to need a diesel for working the Cumbrian Coast Line."
"That's my old stomping ground!" said Edward.
"Indeed," smiled Sir Toppham Hatt. "But that route now uses GSM-R signalling, so a steam engine cannot operate alone. We also need a backup steam engine just in case."
Duck had only just rolled in with a goods train when he overheard the conversation. "I wonder what's going on there?" he asked.
Just then, he heard Sir Toppham Hatt give his answer. "The three engines that I shall bring with me are... Edward, Duck, and Bear!"
"Why Bear?" asked Gordon.
"Because," Twilight said, "Bear has GSM-R gear fitted, like most of our diesels. However, none of our steam engines do, which is why Bear will be needed to tow both Edward and Duck as far as Carnforth. Thomas and I had a similar arrangement when we went to York."
Duck was amazed. "Sir Toppham Hatt wants me to go to London?" he asked. He didn't say anything else before Applejack walked over to Apple Bloom.
"Hear that, Apple Bloom?" she said. "We're goin' ta London next week ta meet the Royal Family!"
"That sounds amazin'!" Apple Bloom cried. "We're goin' ta London!" She then stopped. "Which London?"
"I hope it's Paddington," smiled Duck.
"We're not having that nonsense again," said Sir Toppham Hatt. "Now then, each driver is permitted to bring one family member with them to London. Please pick wisely."
To the Apple Sisters, there was no doubt who their choices would be.
That evening, when they got home, the first place they went was to the trees. Trevor was hard at work, dragging some heavy machinery around. "Hello Applejack! Hello Apple Bloom!" he called, blowing his whistle as he rattled across the field.
"Evenin', Trevor!" Applejack called. "Have ya seen Ma an' Pa anywhere?"
"They're in the bottom orchard," Trevor replied. "Is something the matter?"
"We're goin' ta London!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, hopping about like a weasel with a sugar rush.
"I see," Trevor smiled. "Do you need a lift?"
"No thanks, we could use the exercise," Applejack replied. "Though Apple Bloom never seems to gain weight no matter how much she eats."
"Hey!"
"Ah were only teasin'."
Apple Bloom pouted as they walked over to their parents, currently looking at a tree. "Ah think we'll be harvestin' this one!" Bright Mac said.
"Looks that way," Pear Butter added. "Assumin' they don't fall off this very second." She whiped her brow. "Phew. When we told our friends we were movin' ta England, they all told us it'd be like the Arctic. Instead, it's as hot as any summer in Texas!"
"Hey Ma! Hey Pa!" Applejack called, waving to her parents, or 'pearents' as some people spelt it for some reason.
"Hello you two!" Bright Mac smiled. "Have a fun day on the railroad! You look like you had a hot day!"
"We sure did," Applejack smiled, whiping some sweat away. "Good thin' Ah have this here hat. Ah was wantin' ta ask ya somethin'."
"Sure!" Bright Mac smiled.
"Ya see, Sir Toppham Hatt has won an award ta be presented in London, and he wants ta take Eddie and Duck with him. We're allowed one guest each, so... Would ya like to travel ta London next Thursday?"
Bright Mac took a few seconds to respond. "Yeah! Sounds fun!"
Pear Butter was next to speak. "Lemme guess. You'd like me ta come as yer guest, Apple Bloom?"
"If that's OK with you," Apple Bloom said quietly.
"Ah'd love to! Ah've never seen London. Ah don't think any of us have ever been South a' Birmingham!"
"Birmingham, England, or Birmingham, Alabama?" Grand Pear asked. He had heard the whole conversation, and brought Trevor to a stop nearby. "Enjoy yer trip, dear. Granny Smith, Big Mac, Trevor, and Mahself can handle things here just fine whilst yer gone. Ah'll give ya some Pear juice and Apple cider ta enjoy on the way down, and Granny Smith can prepare a picnic lunch if you'd like."
"Ah can't wait ta go!" Apple Bloom said finally.
Of course, she had to wait. But the day before they set off for London, the assembled team set about cleaning and polishing their engines. The polished them and worked hard until the engine's paintwork gleamed and glowed in the sunny light. Each of the engines would need to be kept in this condition for tomorrow, so they were kept out of service for the day. The next morning, their fires were lit, and Duck set about assembling the train, which consisted of two vintage North Western Railway bogie coaches. Edward was next to arrive at Vicarstown. He was attached to the front of the coaches, and Bear was then shunted in front so he could tow them to Carnforth.
Gordon was waiting there with several coaches. "What I don't understand is why you were picked, Edward," he said. "After all, I've been to London before."
"Which London?" Henry asked.
"I wish they'd make their mind up what London was called," Gordon fumed.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "London has many stations. King's Cross is the old LNER one. We ran into St. Pancras, which is the old Midland station. Duck worked at Paddington on the other side of the city, and Stepney would have worked out of both Victoria and Fenchurch Street."
"Ah thought Paddington were a bear," Apple Bloom said.
"He's called that because they found him at Paddington!" Duck smiled.
"Are you all certain we're not going to Liverpool Street?" asked Edward.
Finally, the passengers arrived. Sir Toppham Hatt was carrying a large bag, in which his smartest suit was contained. Pear and Bright were also carrying suit bags, as was another woman walking up the platform with Shining Armour. This was his mother, Twilight Velvet. She was currently wearing her usual purple blouse, pink skirt, and light magenta heeled shoes, and climbed onboard with a smile. "Isn't this exciting?" she said.
"Why aren't you in your fancy clothes?" Gordon asked.
"If anything were to go wrong on the way, they'd get ruined," explained Sir Toppham Hatt. "We'll get changed when we get to London. Are we ready to go, Shining?"
"Yes sir!" Shining Armour replied. "Bear is fully fired up and ready to go. I'll hop in the cab now."
"Excellent," smiled Sir Toppham Hatt, as he boarded the coach.
"Right away!" called the guard.
Bear blasted his horn in response. "London, here we come!" he called, and he pulled away, his engine thundering and roaring as he headed for the Mainland.
The train rolled out of Vicarstown station and proceeded to cross the bridge to the mainland. Once at the station in Barrow, Shining Armour keyed in the train reporting number and the signal ahead, and once the train was registered in the system, the train moved off once more, rolling along the old metals of the Furness Railway.
"I used to travel this section a lot, back in the old days," said Edward. "Of course, it feels completely different now. We didn't have any continous rail back then!"
After a long journey around the coast, the train finally arrived at Carnforth, and was ready to resume under steam power. Bear was moved from the front of the train to the back to provide backup power and electric train heating if required (unlikely on such a sunny day). Edward was coupled to the lead coach, and Duck in front of him. They received the all clear to depart and set off, taking the line to Manchester as they proceeded south. They rumbled through Manchester Victoria, drawing a big crowd as they did so, and set off towards Leeds, travelling through the hills at speed. It was certainly a sight to see and hear, two steam engines working their hardest on the run towards their first (and hopefully final) intermediate stop of York.
Pear, Bright, and Twilight (Velvet) all shared a compartment as the train rattled along. They could hear Sir Toppham Hatt practising his speech in an adjacent compartment, and he was saying some very strange things.
"He just called it a suspicious day," Twilight said. "Does he mean 'auspicious'?"
"That would make more sense," Bright said, then noted his wife was being oddly quiet. "Is everythin' OK, Buttercup?"
Pear nodded quietly. "Yeah. It's just that, for all our family connections ta farmin', we sure do have a strong connection ta the railroad. Two of our daughters work for the railroad, we move our produce by it, and of course then there's Apple Bloom."
"Oh, Ah see," Bright said. Seeing Twilight's bafflement, he quickly explained. "Apple Bloom's our youngest. She were born on a train."
"And there she is now, leadin' us ta London," Pear smiled. "They've come such a lon' way, and Ah can't help but feel proud o' them."
"And so you should!" Twilight said. "Both of mine are railway workers themselves. Once, my daughter's engine came to visit us for breakfast! It made quite the mess!"
"Wasn't that where yer biggest concern was that you'd need ta make more breakfast?" Bright asked.
"Breakfast is no joke!" Twilight replied. "Without breakfast, you get a very bad start to the day."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now arriving into York, which is our intermediate stop. We will be held here for two hours, during which time we are booked to eat at the Signal Box Cafe and Restaurant. Please be back on the train by 14:00. Thank you."
The train rolled round a bend and into the approaches of York, a Leeds bound passenger train rolling past, followed by them being held to let an InterCity 225 into the station. As they steamed into York Platform 5, Green Arrow departed with a railtour for Glasgow from Platform 9.
At long last, they had arrived, and the three adults, as well as Sir Toppham Hatt, got off and headed for lunch. "I wonder what eating in a signal box is like?"
"I've heard they serve milkshakes," Sir Toppham Hatt smiled. "But do they serve blue flavour?"
"Blue flavour?" Bright Mac asked.
"Ah think he means blueberry flavour," Pear specified.
Meanwhile, Applejack and Apple Bloom took Edward and Duck to the yards for coal and water, and to switch positions. Edward was to lead the train into London, with Duck supporting from the rear. Bear was to marshalled inbetween Edward and the coaches (he had gone to the diesel depot on the north end of the station). As they puffed into the yard, they heard a voice gasp in surprise.
"Well, bless me! By Stanier's Sideplates, it's an engine of Sodor!"