//------------------------------// // Snow Problem // Story: Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Whilst Thomas and Twilight were away at York, Percy and Pinkie Pie had responsibility for Annie and Clarabel, and the duo ran the bulk of Thomas' services. Daisy, however, was allocated to working the early morning non stop service from Knapford Junction to Ffarquhar, which connected with the Wild nor'Wester (the timings had been revised following the 'Missing Coach' incident to prevent such a mishap from repeating itself). This made Daisy feel very important. "It goes to show," she said to the other engines, sounding smug and self important, "how much Sir Toppham Hatt relies on myself and Trixie to keep this line running. We are fast, efficient, and reliable." "Always trust a grrrrrrrrreat and powerful magician to get things done!" Trixie exclaimed. "My magic can solve most problems... and so can peanut butter crackers." "Doesn't being a magician involve deception?" Pinkie asked. "I thought you worked by tricking the eye!" "The art of illusion has no effect on honesty," Trixie replied, taking a bite out of a sandwich. "If you see any bulls, make sure to honk your horn," Toby said. "Choo choo!" shouted a passing truck. "All right then, why are we referencing Chugginton all of a sudden?" Percy asked. "I don't know," said Toby. "All I know of it is that the series is gone. Anyways, Flash and I can't sit about much longer. We have to get up to the quarry." Diamond Tiara and Mavis had returned from whatever they had been doing on the mainland, and were soon back at work in their old home of Ffarquhar Quarry. They would marshal long trains of heavy stone trucks, and Toby would then arrive to drop off the empty wagons and take the loaded ones away. This procedure repeated itself several times throughout a working day, and every now and then Mavis and Toby swapped places for a change. One day, bad weather arrived. Snow and ice had wreaked havoc on the West Coast Main Line, resulting in delays and a diesel needing to bring the connecting train as far as Carnforth. This, in turn, led to the train from Barrow to Vicarstown being delayed. In turn, this delayed Gordon, and this therefore delayed Daisy, who sat at the junction waiting for Gordon. Snow and flakes whirled around the sky and settled. Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, and Trixie looked worried. Daisy didn't. "What fun!" she exclaimed. "Trixie, I don't understand why the other engines dread the snow so much. I think it's rather pretty, and of course I have the rails to guide me on my way." Trixie looked concerned. "Trixie doesn't agree," she said. "Daisy, you only have a fraction of the weight of a steam engine, and can't easily push your way through." She shivered, regretting her decision to wear a dress that morning. "We all know how Thomas got stuck." "He likes to tell us the story a lot!" Daisy laughed. Just then, Gordon rattled in and stopped at Knapford Junction. Connecting passengers ran across the footbridge and into Daisy. "I find it absurd!" Gordon said. "Engines, too scared to go out in the snow and power lines not operating. Why, back in my day we didn't mind a bit of the silly soft stuff. In fact, we had to deal with it a lot!" "I fully intend to keep going, no matter what!" Daisy said confidently. "The passengers must get to their destinations. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these engines from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." "That's the spirit!" Rainbow Dash called over, then heard the guard's whistle. "Right away!" "See you later!" Gordon called, as he pulled away with the Express. "And good luck!" "Trixie thinks we'll need it," Trixie said, as she hopped into the cab and sounded the departure buzzer. The railcar rattled out of the platform and off up the branch, but as they went on the situation worsened. The sky darkened, and was soon completely blotted out by clouds and snowflakes. The air was cold, and snow was blown onto Daisy's windows and into her face. "Ach!" she cried. "I don't like this!" "Neither does Trixie!" Trixie exclaimed. "I can't see a thing, even with the wipers going on full power!" They struggled onwards into the darkness, until Trixie brought Daisy to a stop at the next signal box. She went over to check in with the signalman, and came back looking glum. "A snowdrift has blocked the line beyond Ellsbridge!" she informed the passengers. "I'm terribly sorry, but the weather conditions dictate that we must return to Knapford Junction. Alternative transport will be waiting there to get you to your destinations." "At least they have provided it," said one passenger. "I never get that on Virgin Trains when they cancel my train for no reason." Trixie switched to the rear cab, and Daisy began to run back down the line towards Knapford Junction. But it wasn't long before trouble struck, as Daisy's engine began to misfire. She rolled along for a quarter mile before her engine finally cut out completely. "Help!" she called out. "My air intakes are blocked!" Trixie cleared them as best she could, but no sooner had she cleared the snow away then fresh snow fell into the intakes. "I need to try and call for help!" she said. "The in cab radio can't get a signal, so I'll need to walk back to the signal box to get some help!" She trudged off into the snow. Daisy sat there, feeling miserable. Eventually, Trixie returned, and even she couldn't cheer the railcar up. A few minutes later, a loud whirring noise could be heard, and a searchlight shone over the landscape as Harold the Helicopter arrived. He touched down on a nearby snowbank, and the passengers all scrambled onboard into his cargo compartment. The passengers were then flown to the airfield, where they were cared for until they could reach home. Sadly, Harold couldn't help Daisy. She was stranded there until the next morning, when Toby towed her up to Ffarquhar for repairs. "If there's one thing I have learned from this week," she said, "it's that snow is nothing but a nuisance." Toby could only agree.