It was a wonderful Spring morning on the Island of Sodor. The sun was out and the birds were singing. Gordon was out on the mainline, pulling the Express. "Marvellous, this!" he said. "The sun is shining, the sky is blue, there's nothing here to spoil the view! I doubt that anything silly will happen today."
Suddenly, there was a roar, and an aircraft flew overhead at great speed. "Great Scott!" cried Gordon. "What was that?"
"I dunno!" Rainbow Dash replied. "But it's an aircraft, all right. There's a new airport on the Island right next to Maron station, so I bet it'll be headed there!"
"It just so happens that Maron is our penultimate stop before Knapford," Gordon smiled. He surged forward as he accelerated to line speed. "EXPRESS COMING THROUGH!"
Other engines also saw the aircraft. Henry looked up as he saw it whizz by. "It's been a long time since I last saw one of those!" he said.
Percy also saw it as he was pulling some goods. "What was that?" he asked. "Was it a UFO?"
"Have you never seen a plane, Percy?" Pinkie asked. "If you haven't, that amazes me, as Sodor sits right underneath an international flight path."
Meanwhile, Gordon finally arrived at Maron, to see the new aircraft flying into position. But it didn't dive in like a conventional plane. Instead, it slowed down and hovered in the air, like a helicopter, before descending vertically and landing on the ground. It was then wheeled to a hanger for safe keeping.
Rainbow Dash looked puzzled. "That paintjob looks familiar," she said, a hand on her chin. "I wonder whose it was?"
Moments later, she got her answer. "Excuse me? Is this the next train to Knapford?"
Rainbow Dash got off the footplate and walked a little way down the platform. Her eyes widened in amazement when she saw who was standing there. Standing there was a woman with deeper blue skin (deeper than Rainbow's anyways) and short, two tone orange hair, with certain strands lighter than the others. Her purple eyes seemed to glimmer in the light, and she wore a cream shirt, an mustard yellow jacket with a green collar, blue pants, and a pair of green shoes.
Rainbow Dash reacted immediately. "Mom!" she called.
This attracted the woman's attention, and she immediately headed up the platform in a spring, before mother and daughter embraced in a tight hug of affection. "Oh, Dashie, I've missed you so much!"
"You too, mom," Rainbow Dash whispered. Suddenly, the station clock boomed. "Oh horseapples! It's time to go! We need to make up some lost time!" Her face fell, as both figures withdrew from the hug. "And I was planning on making an attempt on the class speed record too."
Her mother wasted no time in replying. "Then I'll fire. I remember how to do it, after all."
"You will?" Rainbow Dash replied. "Thanks!"
Both of them scrambled for the footplate as the guard blew his whistle, and waved his green flag. Gordon whistled in response, and they were off! With a snort, Gordon dug into the rails with a roar, and was soon on his way. He was already up to 40 miles an hour when he hit the bottom of Gordon's Hill, and his fire continued to burn white hot as more coal was expertly added. Rainbow Dash checked the speedometer. "I've never seen this before!" she shouted. "We're climbing Gordon's Hill and still accelerating!"
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" Gordon shouted, as he continued to blast his way up the slope, seemingly not noticing that there were 10 coaches behind him. The three cylinder beat echoed across the valley, and he crested the top of the slope at 55 miles per hour. Now came the long downhill section.
"Right!" Rainbow Dash's mother said. "Go for it! Let's see how fast we can go!"
The speed board alerted them to the new speed limit; one hundred miles an hour. Gordon accelerated relentlessly on the steep hill, the weight of the coaches helping to push him along the way. Before long, he was coasting at eighty, and at the bottom of the hill this had increased to ninety. The cab pitched and shook as Gordon pounded the rails relentlessly.
"Papyrus did it! I can do it!" Gordon snorted as he blasted along. As he shot through Wellsworth, he was doing one hundred miles an hour. The passengers leaned out of the windows of the coaches and cheered as the train thundered along, all lights clear and the signals at green. Gordon was producing steam at an incredible rate, with steam pouring from his chimney. It wasn't so much a case of him having to be pushed as Rainbow Dash having to hold him back.
"One o Six, One o Seven..." The speedometer needle crept upward sluggishly. "We have a mile left to complete the run!"
Gordon responded by digging in even harder. The speedometer moved up two positions.
"One hundred and nine!" Rainbow's mother said. "Well done Dashie, you did it!"
Rainbow Dash had to focus on the approaches to Knapford, but was beaming as the train came to a stop in the platform. This was the train's final stop, and this coincided with her lunch break. She knew exactly where to go. They popped over to the Knapford Station Buffet.
Mane Allgood turned to greet the new arrivals. "Good afternoon!" she said. "Oh! Hello Rainbow Dash! Here for your lunch break?"
"Yes, Miss Allgood," Rainbow Dash smiled. "I'll have my usual, please."
"Of course," Mane Allgood smiled. "Coming right up!"
"Is it a pasta and potato sandwich on sourdough!" said Rainbow's mother. "You used to love those!"
"She usually has a bacon and sausage bap, for reference," Mane Allgood replied. "Apologies, but I don't believe we've met. Who are you?"
"Oh! I'm Windy Whistles. I'm Rainbow Dash's mom!"
"Is that a nickname?" Mane Allgood asked again.
"Yeah. It's really Wendy Winters, but I got my nickname when I worked in the aviation industry."
Their food was soon delivered, and they sat down at a nearby table. "Mom," Rainbow Dash asked, "it's not as if I don't appreciate your being here, but why have you suddenly arrived on Sodor?"
"It's all very exciting!" Windy replied. "Sodor has been chosen to host this year's heritage science and technology fair. We're calling it 'Worlds of Tomorrow: The Future, as seen by the Past! We'll be exhibiting vintage electronics, classic machinery, there'll be an old fashioned funfair, some collectors are bringing out engines with them, and I'm exhibiting my Harrier!"
"Your what?" Rainbow asked, mid mouthful.
"My aircraft. It's a Harrier Jump Jet, so named because it can take off and land vertically. This is one of the original British versions, before the patent was sold to Boeing. I first flew one whilst in the Forces, and I've never looked back."
"That sounds great!" Rainbow Dash said. "I'll be sure to tell my friends, so we can all go and help out!"
Mane Allgood, who had overheard the conversation, spoke up. "I can help with catering, as can Mrs Cake in Crovan's Gate. My husband's an engineer, so I think he can help with assembling things!"
"Excellent!" Windy grinned. "It's going to be so amazing!"
Allgood nodded. "I can see that you two are related."
That evening, the engines were debating what would be shown at the exhibition.
"I heard that somebody was bringing a blender," said James.
"There will be vintage machines," Percy noted. "Like cars, and buses, and-"
"We know what vintage vehicles are, Percy!" Gordon snapped.
"But what of the engines?" asked Thomas.
"I expect some LNER machines," said Gordon.
"But what if they are diesels? Or electrics?" asked Henry. "What if they replace us?"
"There's only one electric railway on the island, and that's to 1500V DC," James pointed out. "I don't think we're in any danger."
The next morning, the engines were assigned their duties for helping to assemble Worlds of Tomorrow. Gordon, however, wasn't involved. He had his usual express run to do, and set off on the morning Tidmouth to Vicarstown run. "It does feel good to have some familiarity in my schedule," he said, as he puffed along the line with a smile on his face."
The other engines weren't having so easy a time, however. Henry had been assigned to hauling a long heavy train of steel rods and beams. It was very long and very heavy. "Oh dear!" he said. "That load does look unstable."
"The foreman assures me that it's tied down correctly," Fluttershy said. "I think it'll be safe." And off they went towards the Sodor Exhibition Centre located near Cronk, which conveniently had rail access and a locomotive demonstration line. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before things started to go wrong.
Later that day, Gordon came across Henry. Or rather, detonators alerted him to the problem on his return trip. He came to a stop just in front of the danger zone. "What happened here?" he asked Henry.
"The load wasn't tied down properly!" Henry said. "Some of the cables snapped on a bend and the pipes fell off onto the track!"
"We're currently awaiting a rescue crew, but they're busy cleaning up some derailed vans near Wellsworth," Fluttershy added. "We could be stuck here for a while."
Gordon simmered crossly. "Our passengers will have to take a rail replacement bus," he said. "Oh, the indignity."
He wasn't the only one concerned. With all the delays, assembly work on the Fair slowed to a crawl, and several of the guests were already starting to arrive.
One of these engines was just pulling into Vicarstown station. He had had a long journey from his home in Yorkshire, and was looking forward to taking a rest. He had two leading wheels, six driving wheels, and two trailing wheels underneath a split footplate, as well as squat, square shaped water tanks that extended almost to his smokebox, a nicely proportioned cab, but an oddly conical bunker attached to the back of the cab. He also had a large dome with a top feed before that. He was painted bright red with yellow and orange lining, and his tanks bore the letters K W V R. Inbetween the W and the V was the crest of his home railway.
"I hope we get there soon!" he said. "It's been a long journey, Clear!"
His driver poked her head out of the cab. She had pink skin and bright blue eyes, along with hair in multicoloured strands of light pink, white, and an oddly faint blue. She was currently clad in a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of blue and white trainers. "It's not far now, Arthur," she reassured him. "Just a few miles down the line and we'll be there."
The cab radio suddenly blared. "Vicarstown Control, this is 41241, over."
"41241, this is Vicarstown Control, path is clear. You have permission to pass the station limits and proceed to the Exhibition Centre, over."
"Vicarstown Control, this is 41241, understand that I have permission to pass the station limits and proceed to the Exhibition Centre, out." The signal dropped, and Clear opened Arthur's regulator, leading him gently into the distance.
Neither of them saw a rather shady looking man in the background, dressed in a long trench coat. "Exhibition centre, eh?" he said. "I bet there'll be something there with which I can get my revenge."
Elsewhere, the island's rail system was in a bit of a mess. The mobile cranes had only just cleared up the derailed vans, but the vans couldn't go anywhere until the pipes that had fallen off Henry's train had been cleared. The whole thing was causing everything to get jammed up.
Eventually, the mess was cleaned up, and work on setting up the Exhibition Centre could commence. Tables were put up and stands were assembled, and locomotives were marshalled into the yard ready for their outdoor display. Windy Whistles was monitoring everything when Arthur puffed in. "Hello!" she called. "I'm Windy Whistles, organiser of Worlds of Tomorrow. Can you please tell me your name, your engine's name, and your exhibitor number?"
Clear Sky secured Arthur in position, and then hopped down from the footplate. "I'm Clear Sky. The engine's name is Arthur, and my exhibitor number is 20205042019."
Windy typed that into her tablet. "Thank you Clear! You may park your engine over there, next to the BR Standard."
Clear nodded, and she and Arthur moved off to the yard, where they parked behind Barry. Neither spotted the fishy looking man there as well.
Moments later, Gordon rolled in with some more passengers. "Here are the last of the guests who aren't bringing engines," he said, and then he saw another loco nearby. "Hello Green Arrow!"
The V2 looked over. "Are you Gordon? Thomas mentioned you a few times when he was at York!"
"Indeed I am!" Gordon smiled.
Rainbow Dash hopped off the footplate, as Windy wanted to talk to her. "I want to thank all of you for your help today," she said. "Without the help of the railway, getting everything here would have been a real hassle. But the best is yet to come. See the demonstration line over there?"
"Yes?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We're showing off a guest engine on that line, and boy will he bring a big stir!"
"Erm, Windy?" called Snap Shutter. "Sorry to sound like a drongo, but where can Mane plug in her oven? The kitchen is nowhere near big enough to accomodate the supplies we'll need to feed the projected visitor numbers!"
"You can use the backup kitchen in the upper floors!" Windy called back.
"Thank you!"
"What's a drongo?" asked Gordon.
At long last, the fair was ready to open. Windy Whistles stepped forward to address the crowd from the stage at the front of the SEC. "Good evening, everybody!" she called. "I hope you all had a pleasant journey coming here, and that you enjoy Worlds of Tomorrow. A chance to see the future as the minds of the past envisioned it! To open the fair, we shall be showcasing an engine who is 60 years old this year!"
The crowd looked outside, as Snap Shutter took up the microphone. "He was built in 1955 to work top link expresses from London to Edinburgh, and can run at 106 miles per hour for sustained periods with 15 coaches behind him. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to present... DP1!"
The lights flared up, and a diesel roared into view before rolling to a stop. He was very long, and had squat front ends and a long body, with cab windows perched atop the engine bonnets. He was belching smoke, and making an absolute racket as he did so. He had an array of lights on his front end, including a big top light, under which sat a plaque with text ENGLISH ELECTRIC. He was painted blue with cream lining and cream 'cat's whiskers' on the front (or rear, depending where you were driving from), and the word DELTIC painted on either side.
Gordon frowned. "A Deltic," he said. "Looks like I may be replaced after all!"