Gordon was on tour. As the prototype to the LNER Pacifics, he had been offered a place at an upcoming steam gala at the Great Central Railway, which is in Leicestershire. It was hardly an offer that could be turned down. After all, it was one of the most prestigious preserved railways in Britain, and many of Gordon's old friends and relations would be attending too, such as Green Arrow. There was also one engine there he hadn't heard of, whose name was the same as that of an aircraft, but that answer would be found later.
It was early in the morning on the first day of the gala, and all the engines were being readied for duty. Oil cans were passed around, and lubricators were checked. Tenders were filled and topped off, and coal was dropped into tenders by a dump truck (the shed facilities at Loughborough lacked a coaling tower). As the engines were primed for work, Gordon looked over to a familiar red tank engine, who was simmering nicely, steam blowing from his safety valve. "Good morning!" he said. "I say, you're steaming very well."
"Well, my owner takes good care of me," Arthur replied. "I've travelled a long way to be here today. Normally I live at Keighley, in Yorkshire, but I'm here today as a visitor."
"So am I!" Gordon replied. "I remember you from Worlds of Tomorrow. Who was your driver again?"
Just then, Clear Sky walked around the front of both engines. "Nice to see you again, Gordon," she smiled. "Everything's looking good to go here! I love an engine shed on a gala morning. All the engines being lit up for service, and the smell of anthracite in the air never ceases to thrill."
Just then, a Jinty whistled, and moved off into the yard to collect some coaches. "That'll be working the suburban," Clear Sky explained. "It's the second departure of the day, and only runs once. The first train goes out before that."
"Who's working it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Check your timetable and find out!" Arthur laughed. "It's in there, mate."
Rainbow Dash unfolded a piece of paper, apparently unfamiliar with the process of unfolding paper, and took a close look at the diagram. Gordon (indicated in the timetable as '4') was paired up with an engine with a five digit number that she didn't recognise. It was a BR Standard, alright, but not one she recognised. Still, it was time to go, and Gordon moved off into the yard, blowing steam and smoke into the air, much to the delight of the assembled enthusiasts that were at the lineside, holding cameras and strange pole things with furry objects on the end. Gordon rolled forward magnificently, and proceeded through the goods loop, stopping at the end of the shunt marker. Once the signal dropped, he reversed onto the train, a set of seven MK1 coaches, and rolled into them gently. Rainbow Dash was about to hop out to run the couplings together when she saw a member of station staff doing it for her.
"Thanks!" she called to him.
"No problem!" he replied. "We've got some tight timings today, so we've all got to be on the ball!"
Just then, the next engine backed down onto Gordon, and rolled to a stop with a bang.
"I can't see!" Gordon protested.
"But I can," said a familiar voice.
Gordon blinked. "Barry?" he asked.
"The very same," Barry replied. "Now then, can we back up a bit? I need to be able to see the home signal properly, and I can't from here."
Gordon blasted his whistle. "Poop poop! Mind the platform! We're backing up!"
Once this procedure was complete, Quibble Pants hopped off Barry's footplate, and went over to couple him up. "So, how are things?" he asked Rainbow Dash.
"They're good," Rainbow Dash replied. "I've kept working, and Gordon's doing a good job too."
Just then, Arthur rolled to a stop on the goods line with a rake of vans. "Hello!" he said. "I must say, a BR Standard 2 and a Pacific is overkill for a train of that length, eh?"
Clear Sky hopped off Arthur's footplate, having secured him and his train in place, and joined Quibble on the platform. "Morning, dear," she said, gently kissing him on the cheek."
"It's wonderful to see you too," Quibble replied. "Rainbow Dash, meet Clear Sky. I imagine you met her at the Worlds of Tomorrow event?"
Something Wind Rider had said suddenly flashed through Rainbow Dash's memory.
"I'm still on friendly terms with her, and I'm glad she's found somebody else."
"So you're the somebody else Wind Rider was referring to!" she said.
"Indeed," Quibble replied. "That just leaves Wind Spri- wait, where is she?"
Just then, Green Arrow rumbled onto the stabling line with a set of coal trucks. "Such noisy things, windcutters," he said. "Why can't they come quietly? Not only that, the turntable's blocked up with rubbish. How am I supposed to run safely if I can't see where I'm going?"
"I look for you," Lightning Dust replied.
Just then, Quibble found who he was looking for. He brought forward a girl with odd purple skin, and dark blue and pink streaked hair. Her eyes were mango coloured, and she was dressed in a purple shirt and blue pants, combined with red shoes.
"Oh, there you are! Rainbow Dash, this is Wind Sprint. She's Clear's daughter."
"Hello!" Rainbow Dash said, trying to be friendly.
"Hi," Wind Sprint replied. Her voice was empty and devoid of emotion, and her face was locked in a permanent scowl.
Rainbow Dash was rather taken aback, but tried again. "You may want to change your facial expression, in case the wind changes and your mouth gets stuck that way!" she joked.
"Wind changing direction doesn't cause facial muscles to lock up," Wind Sprint replied, in the same, flat tone.
Clear, on the other hand, looked annoyed."Wind, Quibble has gone to great lengths to organise this, and you should start showing some appreciation."
When Clear was gone, Wind mouthed words to the effect of 'get stuffed'. But Quibble had news. "Wind Sprint, I was able to get you a footplate ride on the first train out! How does that sound?"
"Wow."
Gordon rolled his eyes. "I have no idea if she's being sarcastic or just struggles to express emotion," he said.
Barry had been expecting trouble when Quibble had come up with this idea of letting Wind Sprint ride on his footplate. But, truth be told, he was amazed at how quiet she was. She mostly stood at the back of the footplate, not moving or commenting on anything that was happening.
"Want to sit in the fireman's seat?" Quibble offered.
No response.
"I'll take that as a no." He looked out of the cab window and saw the signal drop. "Right away!"
Barry blasted his whistle, and Gordon whistled in return. "Here we go!" With a rush of smoke and a blast of steam, both engines stormed away up the line on the first train of the day towards Quorn and Woodhouse. The run went smoothly, with both engines running well as far as the station. The passengers got on and off, with more joining than leaving, and they soon set off once more. When they reached Rothley, Barry dropped off the train into the locomotive siding, leaving Gordon to take the train to Leicester North. Stabling Barry in position, Quibble hopped off the footplate, Wind being slow to follow.
"Excuse me?" said a member of staff. "You can't have family up there. Could you please tell your daughter not to be on the footplate?"
This, somehow, set Wind Sprint off. "He's not my father!" she exclaimed. "And I don't want him to pretend to be!" She dashed for the station platform before anybody could stop her, with Quibble making his way after her.
The staff member sighed. "Why are kids so badly behaved these days?" he said.
Wind Sprint sat on a bench on the platform and looked at the floor. Seeing Lightning Dust here earlier, at the controls of Green Arrow, had brought back memories of the old days, a time that had been torn away from her. She glanced up, hearing another set of puffing noises, only to see Arthur roll in with the vans. She glanced at the timetable. It appeared that Arthur was to drop the vans off up ahead, then Barry was to draw them back into the platform and take them back to Loughborough after a short break. Barry was attached to the vans, and then drew them back into the Down platform, but he had a few minutes until he was due to go.
Arthur was parked up in the yard, and Clear Sky went to get a cup of tea. She saw Wind Sprint sitting there, and decided it was time to ask what was going on. "What's going on?" she asked, trying a different tone. She knew that a lot of parents would simply resort to screaming at their children at this point, but that wasn't a productive approach. She sat down next to her. "I can see you are upset about something, but I can't help you if you don't tell me."
Wind Sprint sniffed, and looked up. "I know you want to be happy yourself, but I miss dad. Some days, it feels as though you're just trying to replace him, and seeing Lightning Dust earlier reminded me of the old days. Why did you have to split up? It seems like a really selfish thing to do, not just to me, but to Lightning."
Clear Sky had suspected this, and she sighed. "Why didn't you just tell me this?" she said, gently placing her hand on Wind's shoulder. "I'm not trying to replace Wind Rider. He will always be your father, no matter what. You can see him whenever you wish when you reach adulthood, and Lightning Dust will always be your big sister. But I'm certain that Quibble-"
"Certain he'll be the one?" Wind interrupted. "You said that about the last boyfriend, and the five before him. I know he said he thought I'd like it here, but I don't, and I don't like him. He's trying to replace dad."
"Oh, sweetheart," Clear sighed, realising how it all fitted together. "I know Quibble's trying too hard, but he doesn't want you to stop loving your dad. He just wants you to like him. And I think maybe there's enough room in your heart to do both."
Just then, Quibble came over, hearing the entire conversation. "I never wanted to replace Wind Rider. He's a fine guy, but I feel the need to point this out. People who come together and live together won't always share the same interests, and that's fine. For example, I'm an engine driver. I've been a railway enthusiast my entire life. I'm not really a sports person, in comparison, whereas you are. But I think we share enough in common to work together. Speaking of which, there's still a spot on the footplate if you want a ride back to Loughborough."
Just then, Green Arrow rattled past with a passenger train, and rolled to a stop in the Up platform. "All clear, Barry!" he called. "Right away!"
Lightning Dust looked out of the cab. "Say, aren't Barry and Green Arrow double heading later in the day?" she asked.
"Indeed we are," Quibble smiled. "And I'd be more than happy to lead you on the way."
Family relations are rarely as clean cut and structured as most of us would like to think. In fact, they are often very messy, and people inevitably do fight. But when they do, it is important to find the ground that brings us together as one. And with their new found common bond, the trio would go on to do something amazing.
But I shan't say any more, or I shall spoil the next story.