Gordon was feeling ill. His smokebox was clogged, and he was struggling to breathe properly. "My smokebox feels like it's full of goop!" he said. "Air doesn't seem to be moving through it properly."
"It's this new coal they've supplied us with," Rainbow Dash explained, taking a close look at the lump in her hand. "It's absolutely filthy stuff, this. It breaks apart really easily and produces lots of ash and particles. It also burns completely black, meaning we get little heat, produce lots of sulphur, and get through huge amounts of it in a single run."
"I never took you for an egghead," Scootaloo said jokingly. Oliver had just arrived with a local train at Tidmouth, where Gordon was being checked over.
"I can know stuff!" Rainbow Dash replied. "Basically, you need a good understanding of chemistry to be able to fire an engine efficiently."
"Why not sneeze?" Henry suggested. "I once cleared my tubes by sneezing, and it scared off some rude boys who hurt my passengers. That may work for you as well!"
"Unlike you, I don't have a condensor," Gordon replied. "And I'd prefer not to sneeze. It would make a terrible mess!"
"True," Fluttershy added. "And Sir Toppham Hatt did ask us not to do it again, so it's probably for the best. You may just have to put up with it until the next shipment of coal arrives."
Gordon said little else as he backed down onto the Express. Truth be told, he was worried. "I'm concerned we may slip again!" he said. "That train was very heavy, and I shall be laughed at if I do it again!"
"Chillaxe, Gordon!" Rainbow Dash replied, as they rolled into the coaches. "The train's a lot shorter this time, and the rails are completely dry. I checked them myself!"
"I see," Gordon said, as he was coupled to the train. The North Western was experimenting with running two seven coach trains in 30 minute intervals, rather than one 15 coach train, and seeing if that improved traffic flow. Gordon certainly found the run a lot easier, and as he moved away from the platform towards the Junction, he didn't slip at all. In fact, when he made his first scheduled stop at Knapford Junction, he was actually running early. Gordon moved off once the passengers for Ffarquhar had gotten off, and the train then called at Wellsworth, where Edward was waiting.
"I hope you're not having too much trouble with the coal, Gordon," Edward said. "Be careful on the Hill. There's a fierce crosswind up there, and someone has reported some clothes blowing off their washing line."
"Hang up yer washin' on the Siegfried line an' all that," Applejack said suddenly.
"We used to sing that a fair bit during the War," Edward said.
"Which war?" asked a familiar voice. Edward looked to his left.
"Pickle? What are you doing here?"
"Me and Barley-"
"Barley and I," Gordon corrected.
"Barley and I have come on a visit. You see, Sunny Skies had the brilliant idea of having his and Petunia's honeymoon on Sodor, and they asked us if we'd like to come! Kerfuffle's here too!"
"She's in the mood, I take it?" Edward asked.
"More then that!" Barley added, as she appeared from nowhere, as she was known to do. "She's in the mood, in the groove, indigo!"
"That sounds like a song lyric," Gordon noted.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash began building Gordon's fire. "We'll need a lot of steam to get over that hill," she said. "And this coal is less than amazing, to be honest. I'll need to put lots of it in place."
They made a good run over the hill, but when they came down the other side, it happened.
Sunny and Petunia were at Maron station, waiting for a train to take them back to Knapford, where they were staying. Both of them were dressed as normal, in attire that probably could do without a shower of sparks.
"Sodor is beautiful, isn't it?" Sunny smiled, as he soaked up the cool spring sun. "Sun is high in the sky, and there's a nice breeze! Would you agree, Petunia?"
"I would indeed!" Petunia grinned. "As much as I love the Dean Forest, this place has a beauty all of its own."
Suddenly, Gordon shot through, doing at least one hundred down the bank. As he roared through the platform, smoke and ashes poured from his funnel and flew high into the air. As he vanished, the ash cloud settled over the station. Everything was covered in soot and ash.
"Oh dear," Sunny said. "I recently got these cleaned."
Petunia tried to wipe some of the soot off her dress, but that only seemed to make the problem worse. "Well, looks like we'll be washing them again!" she said, ever the optimist.
Sadly, the other passengers lacked her optimism, and went to the office to complain. When Gordon arrived at Vicarstown, the station master there had a telegram from Sir Toppham Hatt.
Passengers at Marron covered in soot STOP.
Not amused STOP.
Please refrain from releasing ash clouds at stations STOP.
Gordon was livid. "How was that smokescreen my fault?" he asked. "It's the coal, I tell you, and I didn't mine that!"
"Never mind," BoCo said, as he came to take Gordon's coaches away. "It's all in the past now, and where would I be if I complained every time somebody calls me smelly?"
"Soot's good for gardening," Filthy Rich added, unhelpfully.
"But not for brightly coloured clothes, it seems," Gordon replied, equally unhelpfully.
Gordon was turned for the return trip, and soon set off. He tried to be extra careful, but problems soon arose when he had to get speed up for the Hill.
Sir Toppham Hatt had travelled to Marron to apologise to the passengers who had been there when the smokescreen had occurred, and had insisted the company pay for the cleaning and replacement of damaged clothing, despite Sunny Skies' own insistence that there was no need to. Just then, Gordon stormed by, blasting yet more ash over them.
"I think I'll need a shower when I get home," Sunny said.
Petunia looked at her formally purple dress, now covered in absurd amounts of soot. "OK, now this will need a dry clean," she said.
There was another note waiting for Gordon at Tidmouth.
Another ash cloud released at Marron STOP.
Sir Toppham Hatt amongst those affected STOP.
Not happy STOP.
Will speak to Gordon when he gets to Tidmouth STOP.
"Oh dear," Gordon said. "I did not blast him on purpose!"
"Surely he knows that, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. She was rather worried about this. After all, Sir Toppham Hatt had a historical habit for blaming engines for things that weren't their fault.
"There's not much I can do, I'm afraid," said the station master. "Good luck."