//------------------------------//
// The Great Ice Cream Robbery 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: Tales from the Mainland Volume 3 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Falmouth had been hit by yet another heatwave, which was a bit alarming seeing as it was only March. The sun burned down furiously on the town and the region, and temperatures were already rising very quickly.

Many people had changed into cooler clothes, and there were worries the landscape was very dry. Seeing as the year earlier had seen lineside fires in the area, the local authorities were taking no chances.

Hitch was in the shed, climbing up a ladder. He had a strange thing that looked like a chicken coop in his hand. "Fitting this thing is going to be more complicated than I thought," he said.

"What is it?" Rebecca asked him.

"Remember how we had all the lineside fires last year?" Hitch said.

"Yes?"

"Well, the council are determined to prevent a repeat of that. They've issued a directive to us; either fit our steam engines with spark arrestors, or stop using them altogether until some rain comes."

"The tourists will be terribly disappointed," Rebecca said. "We must run!"

"Which means fitting these devices, as it's not worth running steam if half the countryside burns down." Hitch finally put the object into place. "There! Perfect."

Hitch climbed down from the ladder, but then he saw Zipp approaching. She was in a wetsuit and carrying a surfboard. "Hot day, huh?" she said.

"Tell me about it!" Hitch said. "It's projected to hit at least 25 today."

"Hot stuff," Zipp grinned. "Look, I just had a great time surfing down at the beach."

"I can tell," Hitch said. "Your hair is soggy."

"All part of the fun. But the beach was completely deserted, which was a bit weird."

"If they have any sense they're either having lots of cold drinks or staying in cool buildings," Hitch said. "That'd make the most sense."

Zipp sighed. "The cool air off the sea is keeping the beach cool. Wanna come down?"

"Sorry, but I'm too busy. I'm helping to move supplies for the ice cream festival." Hitch climbed in the cab and sounded the whistle. "Clear the way, please!"

Rebecca rumbled out of the shed as Zipp looked confused. Maybe going into town would do the trick.





Sure enough, Zipp headed into town and almost immediately found other people. Most of them were underneath canopies, and a lot were either eating ice cream or buying very cold drinks.

She walked over to the Pippsqueaks. "You know, ice cream always tastes better at the beach."

"Nope!" said Seashell. "Being out in the open sun is a bad idea in this weather."

"I'd get sunburn!" said Peach Fizz.

"And I'd get sunstroke!" added Glory. "We should stay in the shade."

Zipp sighed. "Well, it was worth a try." She then saw Posey leaning over a railing. "Hey, it's cool at the beach."

"My main concern is the sand," Posey said. "Not only do I sunburn easily, if a wind whipped up the dust it'd make a mess of my lungs." And she walked away.

Zipp looked around and saw an enormous queue had formed for Sunny's drinks stand. Sunny was processing drinks as fast as she could, with Misty taking orders and relaying them to her.

"We could really do with two machines!" Misty said.

"Tell me about it, but I don't think they'd want coffee in this weather!" Sunny replied.

"Why coffee?"

"Mom has a coffee machine. I don't think she'd approve of me borrowing it."

Zipp snuck around the side of the line and looked over. "Sunny?"

"If you want to order a drink you'll have to get in line," Sunny replied.

"Why not start selling them at the beach instead?" Zipp suggested.

"The beach is far too exposed," Sunny replied. "At least in the town itself you can take proper refuge from the sun. I need to keep my operation here so that people can stay hydrated." She slipped a drink to somebody. "One pearnana, as requested!"

Suddenly, commotion came from Mane Melody. Pipp was chasing Izzy down the street. "Izzy, give me my fans back!"

"We need these fans to keep people outside cool!" Izzy replied.

"That's the wrong type of fan!" Pipp pointed out. "You want outdoor fans for that sort of work. Indoor desk fans are about as much use as a chocolate teapot!"

"I like chocolate teapots!" Izzy protested.

Zipp walked over. "Why are you even trying to be indoors in the first place? Why not be outdoors?"

"Sorry, but I can think of better things to do than get sunstroke," Pipp replied. "Now then, I suggest that instead of complaining about where people choose to spend their day, you help with getting ice cream to the ice cream festival!"

"The ice cream festival?" Zipp asked.

"Yes," Pipp replied. "Major event held in Penmere each year. Trust me, it'd do you some good instead of whining. And you call me a drama queen."

Zipp sighed. "Alright. I'll go get Charles." She then headed home to get washed and changed.





Zipp's journey was shorter than she anticipated. As Charles pulled into the platform at Penmere, he saw Rebecca and her train in the loop. Police were swarming round the train and taking photographs.

"Rather more serious than a blown safety valve, eh?" Charles joked.

"It's not a joke, Charles!" Rebecca replied. "A serious crime happened!"

"Really?" Zipp asked.

Hitch leaned out. "Rebecca was running low on water, so I took her to the water pipe to collect some. But when we came back the vans had been broken into, and all the ice cream had been stolen! But not only that, they took the Ice Cream King!"

"The who?" Charles asked.

"No, not The Who!" Rebecca said.

"The Ice Cream King," Hitch explained, "is a local who is elected every year to open the Ice Cream Festival. Without him or the ice cream, the Ice Cream Festival cannot open!"

Zipp thought to herself. "Then how about we go and find the Ice Cream King?"

"Here we go again," Rebecca said, as Hitch got out to uncouple her.

Hitch then spotted something. "Wait, look! There's a trail of ice cream on the lineside! Let's follow it!"

Zipp hopped out of the cab and powered up her drone. "Detective Zipp is on the case!"





Bellerophon steamed to a stop at the ice cream factory just outside Redruth. "We're here!" he said, thoroughly out of breath.

Misty hopped off the footplate and into the building. "We need more ice cream urgently!" she said. "We've run out in Falmouth, and many people are overheating!"

The factory manager sighed. "Unfortunately we've been swamped with orders, and we've run out of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. The shipment is running late, so we need your help to find it."

Misty nodded, and headed back to Bellerophon. "Come on! We need to find some vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate for the ice cream factory!"

Bellerophon sighed. "When did this turn into a fetch quest?"





Zipp and Hitch made their way cross country, with the police following shortly behind them. "This is good fun!" Zipp said. "Reminds me of when me and Pipp used to solve mysteries together- before we realised mom planted all the evidence."

"Hey, it's the thought that counts," Hitch replied. But the trail of ice cream soon began to run slower, and they hid behind a bush to reveal a group of men. They were sitting around a group of boxes all marked with flavours of ice cream. And with them was the Ice Cream King!

"I refuse to go with you!" he said. "This is absurd!"

"If you don't come with us," said one of the men, "I will make you eat coffee ice cream."

Zipp looked at Hitch. "Coffee ice cream? Pipp'd flip if given that!"

The Ice Cream King looked horrified. "No! Anything but that!"

"Luckily, you won't have to," said a voice. "You're under arrest."

"Quick, scram!" shouted the second man, and they all headed for the hills as fast as their legs could carry them.

"We'll take chase!" shouted a police sargeant. "You get the ice cream!"

"Yes sir!" said another group, and they split up. Zipp and Hitch looked at the ice cream.





By some strange coincidence, a cream tanker was sitting in a nearby siding. Bellerophon had had to wait until an express had passed, but once it was through he coupled up and was back on his way.

Next, he collected a refridgerated van and stopped at a farm siding to collect some strawberry. Thankfully, the farmer had some and was happy to give them to them.

Now all they had to do was find some chocolate. And in this heat that was easier said than done.





Zipp smiled. "Huh. Still mostly frozen."

"It's got internal ice packaging," said the Ice Cream King. "But what would a group of criminals want with ice cream?"

"It's in short supply right now," Hitch said. "Now then, Mr Ice Cream King-"

"Edmund. But how in the world am I going to get all this ice cream back to Penmere? It's such a long way by foot!"

"Now then, Edmund, we're here to take you back to Penmere in safety. We'll help you get the ice cream there, and then you can open the festival!"

"If you could cut these ropes that would be a good start," Edmund replied.

So they did, and with the help of the local police detachment they began to carry the ice cream across the terrain and back to where Rebecca was.





Bellerophon was held in yet another loop whilst he waited for a cement train to pass. It was going extremely slowly, with a heavy load of cement tankers rattling behind the single locomotive, which was producing an awful racket.

The diesel said something, but Bellerophon was unable to understand a word of what she was saying. He was just glad when the signal turned green and he could go. He powered up the line and stopped at the chocolate factory just outside Camborne, where luckily more refridgerated trucks loaded with chocolate were ready to go.

Bellerophon quickly shunted them into the train, or rather he tried to. They were stuck fast. "They won't move!" he said.

Misty shut off steam and climbed down to take a look. She then moved some levers. "Handbrakes were on," she replied.

"Of course they were," Bellerophon said. "Everything is working against us today."

"Look on the bright side," Misty smiled. "At least the wagons didn't explode for no readily obvious reason."

But they could finally get on their way, and it was back off to the ice cream factory to complete the quest.





Lady Haven checked her watch. "We're running a little behind time," she said. "Edmund should have been here by now."

"I'm here, your ladyship!" called a voice, and Edmund then appeared. Zipp and Hitch then followed shortly after carrying boxes of ice cream, followed by several burly policemen carrying more ice cream.

Lady Haven did an appromixation of a curtsy, partly as she wasn't wearing a skirt. "Your Majesty," she said jokingly.

"There's no need for such formality, your ladyship," Edmund replied. "I am proud to declare the Ice Cream Festival open!"

Just then, one of the policemen's radios buzzed. "Yes?" he said. "Oh. Excellent. I'll tell the lads." He looked over. "They caught the robbers! Not only that, they caught them red handed."

"Excellent!" Hitch said.

"They had strawberry on their hands."





Misty and Bellerophon rattled into Penmere station with the ice cream, which was hastily unloaded and carried to the town. She then joined her friends at the festival. "Any news?" she said.

"Looks as though the ice cream thieves will be getting a good sentence," Hitch said. "Stealing ice cream usually carries a sentence of 60 hours of community service. Hopefully they'll be sentenced to making ice cream."

Zipp also had something to say. "Guys, sorry for being mad earlier," she said. "There are many ways to have fun on a hot day. Just not everybody wants to spend it out in the heat!"