//------------------------------//
// Green Arrow's Mighty Muddle 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor 
// by The Blue EM2 
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The summer season hadn't let up in any way, and the railway was as busy as ever. Engines were working relentlessly to get passengers and freight moved across the island, and they all enjoyed it, even if they were exhausted by the end of their days. Then the next day they ended up doing it all again. Practically every engine was rushed off their wheels at the amount of work they had to do.

One morning, Sir Toppham Hatt was looking across the platforms at Knapford to check all was in order, when suddenly an unfamiliar whistle echoed through the air. "What was that?" he asked.

As he looked to the west end of the station, Green Arrow steamed in under the station canopy with a railtour from the mainland. "Good morning!" he called. "It was nice to be able to do the last bit under my own power. Being towed by a diesel is such a drag!"

"He was dragging us, you mean!" Lightning Dust joked. Both engine and driver laughed at the joke, which Sir Toppham Hatt admitted was not especially funny.

"You wouldn't mind moving your coaches elsewhere once the passengers have gotten off?" Sir Toppham Hatt asked. "They're currently blocking the platform. When do you go?"

"But I only just got here!" Green Arrow replied. "This evening. How does today find you?"

"It finds me with much too much too much too much to do, Green Arrow," Sir Toppham Hatt replied, and he walked off into his office.

"Your hat is conspicous by its absence, sir," Green Arrow noted.

Just then, Edward arrived with a passenger train. "Hello!" he said. "Are you the engine visiting from the mainland for the day?"

"Indeed," Green Arrow replied. "I was here for the technology fair, remember?"

"Of course!" Edward smiled. "How was your run?"

"Good, thanks," Green Arrow said. "In fact-"

"You can chit chat when you've moved those coaches!" Sir Toppham Hatt snapped. "We have a passenger train due in on that platform in five minutes!" As he walked over, he crashed into a luggage trolley. Cases fell off and onto the platform.

"Do you need some help?" Lightning Dust offered.

"No thank you!" Sir Toppham Hatt replied. "Everything's under control!"

Edward sighed. "I'm not convinced."

"And Eddie an Ah need ta be back off ta Brendam soon," Applejack added. "See ya around, erm..."

"Green Arrow."

Green Arrow then had an idea. If he helped out, Sir Toppham Hatt's workload would be greatly reduced, and he could relax a bit. Not only that, the railway would run more efficiently. With a smile, he set off for Tidmouth sheds to be turned and refuelled.

He found Thomas at the coaling plant, having his bunker refilled. "Hello!" he called. "I haven't seen you two since we pulled the train to Scarborough!"

"Likewise," Green Arrow replied. "So, how do things find you, Thomas?"

"Awkward," Thomas replied. "We have some goods to take to Peel Godred, where they'll be transferred to the electric railway and Prometheus will take them onwards."

Green Arrow liked the sound of that. "How long is the train?" he asked.

Twilight stuck her head out of Thomas' cab as they finished refilling his bunker. "It's the one in that siding there," she said, indicating to a train of vans and flatbeds festooned with cables, wire, and metal beams.

Lightning Dust then had an idea of her own. "We can take that for you, Thomas," she offered. "It'll be a load off your wheels, and that means you can work a passenger train or something like that."

"That's very generous," Thomas said. "Thank you! Are you sure you can do it?"

"Indeed I can," Green Arrow replied. "I'm a V2. I was built for mixed freight and passenger duties."

Green Arrow was soon replenished with coal and water, and once coupled to the goods train set off for Crovan's Gate. He rolled along at speed, smiling as the wind whistled through the trees and rattled through his motion and funnel. "I haven't had a run like this in years!" he said. "Fast goods; now there's the way to go."

"There's Percy!" said Lightning Dust, as Percy rolled about the yard with some stock. He whistled loudly as they passed. "Isn't he friendly?"

What they didn't realise was that Percy wasn't being friendly. He was trying to warn them, but they couldn't hear what he was saying.

Later, Green Arrow arrived at the transfer yards and dropped off his train, reversing to a holding siding to let the electric couple up to his train. As he basked happily in the sunlight, there was a voice. "Excuse me, but you're rather bigger than the engine I was expecting. I was expecting a tank engine, but I guess you'll have to do for shunting these yards."

"Pardon?" Green Arrow said. "There was nothing in the manifest about shunting."

"Neither should you be here, Green Arrow," said a stern voice. It was the voice of Sir Toppham Hatt. "I had just finished my conversation with Mr Percival when I got a telephone call from the yard at Marron. Apparently, you flew straight by without dropping off the vans he needed to assemble another train going back west. Not only that, Thomas is now in the wrong place on the island. He should be here, not at Knapford! Finally, what are you doing with his train?"

Green Arrow sighed. "I offered to take Thomas' train for him, as it looked too long and heavy for him. However, I didn't know about needing to drop those vans off, or about shunting the trucks afterwards. I was only trying to help, but I simply made things worse." He looked at the rails. "I'll accept whatever punishment you give me."

Sir Toppham Hatt looked surprised. "Whatever for?" he asked. "It's rare that engines offer to do another's work for them, and you simply had the best of intentions. But even the best of intentions can bring about unforseen consequences, and as such we need to put this mess right."

And they did. Green Arrow went and took the vans back to Percy, then proceeded light engine back to Tidmouth carriage sidings to collect the coaches for his return trip. The other engines came to see him off, and he whistled cheerfully as he set off down the line. "See you all soon!" he called. His next journey would take him to the heart of England, although somebody he wasn't expecting to see would be there also...