//------------------------------//
// The Great Falmouth Stink-Up 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: Tales from the Mainland Volume 3 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Pipp Petals walked with a spring in her step through the forest near the line. Ever since the replanting operation had helped regenerate the region with fast growing trees, new wildlife had moved in to help populate the landscape. This helped make Pipp happy, as something she felt was importance was striking an important balance between nature and technology.

This wasn't where she was heading, though. She was heading back to the old growth where she and Izzy had found that strange plant, with all the bizarre properties she'd mixed into a perfume. Understandably, she wanted to see if any other unusual things were out there that could boost her product line and allow her to expand her perfume empire.

As she walked along, a basket under her arm, she sang to herself.

"There's music in the treetops/
And there's music in the vale!
And all around the music fills the sky!
There's music by the river/
And there's music in the grass/
And the music makes your heart soar in reply!"

Pipp then realised she didn't have any lyrics figured out for the next section, so she simply vocalised some notes. "Hmm, maybe I could develop that into a new single. I always was interested in trying a more folky sound."

No sooner had she said that then she tripped over something and landed flat on her face. In some dirt.

"Ow!" she said, as she pushed herself back up. "Oh no. My shirt's stained. How am I going to get the dirt out of this without a dry clean?" She rolled back and rubbed her knee. "Oww. That really hurt. Watch where you're going, plant!"

She moved her arm to check if she had any other injuries, as her left arm had run through the plant when she landed. As she looked, she stopped. Somehow her skin had a sort of shine to it.

"Wait," she said, looking at the plant. "That stuff improved my skin! Not that I have wrinkles, but good skincare routines are a must. And I think this could work for a new line of skincream!"

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a distinct aroma. "OK, so maybe it is a bit pungent," she said. "But most skincare products emit their own smell. Let's take this to Miss Figgy and see if she can take a cutting."





Later, Pipp had a test sample ready to go, and placed it on a table in Mane Melody. "Hey Jazz!" she said. "I've got a new product!"

Jazz walked over from rearranging some hairspray cans. "Exciting! What's in it?"

"It's a skincare cream that can make anything look fantastic!" Pipp replied. "Fancy trying some?"

Jazz leaned in- and almost immediately recoiled at the smell. "Whoa! That stuff smells... nice," she said, desperately trying to save face in front of her friend.

"And now that Miss Figgy has enabled us to make cuttings of the original plant, we're ready for mass production!" Pipp smiled. "Isn't this amazing?"

"Sure is," Jazz replied. "I mean, we could do with a new product after the last fiasco with the acidic hair conditioner or the ice cream face mask."

"Yeah, that didn't end well," Pipp conceded. "But, when people see how good this makes their skin look I don't think they'll be able to resist!"

Provided they can resist the smell, Jazz thought to herself.

Rocky then walked in. "Hello!" he said. "Just signing on. Anything happen-" he covered his mouth. "What is that stench?"

Jazz shook her head at him.

"Huh? Oh, I, err, just remembered I need to grab some stuff for my mom. See ya!" Rocky then darted out of the door as quickly as he had come.

"Well, that was weird," Pipp said. Moments later, Zipp entered. "Hey Zipp! Fancy a skin treatment?"

"No thanks, I've already put sunblock on," Zipp replied.

"It's not sunblock," Pipp said. "It's a new skincare treatment I've developed. It's based on a plant I found in the forest!" Pipp then waved it in Zipp's face.

Zipp recoiled in shock and tried her hardest not to barf. "Err, well, that's distinctive! I just remembered I need to change the batteries in my drone! See ya!" And she ran out of the door as fast as she could and stopped at the waterfront.

She gagged. "That has to be the smelliest thing I have smelled in my entire life. It stinks!" She then sped off in the direction of home as fast as she could.

Sunny then entered Mane Melody. "Hello Pipp! I've got your smoothie made up for you!"

Pipp grinned as she walked over. "Thanks Sunny! Fancy a skincare treatment? It's an all new one, and once it's one your skin will shine like never before!"

Sunny thought to herself. Is this what it means when somebody describes somebody else as glowing? "Oh, sure. Fire away!"

Pipp produced a bottle, and tipped some liquid out of it. "Here we are! All new skincare products, destined to change the market!"

She quickly rubbed some onto Sunny's arm, and Sunny almost immediately noticed the difference. "Yeah, it actually does look pretty go-" The second the aroma hit her nose, she clamped her mouth shut and tried not to eject her breakfast out of her nostrils.

"Now, I know it's a little smelly, but just imagine how good it'll feel when done!" Pipp said.

Sunny nodded. "Good luck with the launch. Now if you'll excuse me I was helping dad sort his records." She suddenly left to get some air. "Perhaps open a window? It's forecast to be very hot today."

Jazz nodded. "Great idea!" she said, as she opened a window to let the smell out.

Sunny then passed by the shed on her way to the Lighthouse.

"Whatever is that smell?" Salty asked.

"Can you smell a smell?" Rebecca asked.

"I can't smell a smell," Charles replied. "It must be yours."

"Whatever Sunny has done, it has made her rather pongy," Salty said. "Like fish."





"I don't like fish," Porter complained, as he pushed some vans into position. "Why do people always like smelly food?"

"It only smells when not refridgerated," Izzy said. "Besides, some makes of fish are quite nice. A bit of cod is nice every now and then, though I grew up mostly eating haddock as I lived in the north."

"Did it hiccup and was it horrendous?" Porter asked.

"Not that I can recall," Izzy said. "There were also more than three of them."

"At least it's the only stinky thing in the area," Porter said. "I could hardly handle two smelly things." He had to wait, though, as the vans were loaded with the fresh catch. And that meant putting up with it for just a bit longer.





Zipp fired up her laptop and began to check some information. "No further leads on Opaline as of yet, apart from this tunnels under the ground thing Elderflower mentioned." She googled that. "Hollow Earth theory... no, not what I was looking for. Caves... no, not it. What about artificial tunnels"? She googled that. "No, not coal mines!"

She opened her email and shot Sunny a message.

Hey, could I pop over and take a look at your dad's records? I've found something interesting.

The reply came moments later.

Sure thing! I'll ask dad now.

Zipp hopped out of her chair and headed over to Sunny's house, where Sunny and Argyle were there to greet her.

"Thanks for letting us look at these, dad," Sunny said.

"No problem," Argyle replied. "After all, the past is something we're always still discovering. Only yesterday I found a new reference to a locomotive of the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway and Canal Company, and it turned into quite the rabbit hole."

"What a long name," Zipp said.

"The length of the name of a railway company was always inversely proportional to amount of track it had," Argyle replied. "Now, let's go to my study- but we'll have to keep the noise down as Goldie's trying to work."

Sunny nodded. Truth be told she always liked it when allowed into her father's study. It was one of two rooms she wasn't allowed in without special permission- the other being her mother's office, of course.

The trio entered and closed the door behind them, the distinct aroma of old paper and records soon flooding in- and helping to counteract the smell of the skin cream. "Excuse the mess," Argyle said. "I'm still busy digitising a lot of the records from the old days. Turns out keeping this stuff orderly isn't easy."

"Hey, it's OK," Zipp said. "Me and Pipp are currently compiling the Haven family records to try and trace our family back as far as we can go. We've got our line back to William the Conquerer."

"Wow," Argyle said. "I'm doing similar, but my father's also helping as he has far more spare time than me. We've got our records back to Elizabethan times- the Starshines emigrated to the United States some point around 1630, so me living here now is something of a homecoming."

Sunny glanced over. "Trust me, Skylight history is even more confusing. There's loads of branches!"

"Who's Skylight?"

"That's my mom's maiden name."

"Oh," Zipp said, flipping through a book. "Wait a moment. I think I've got something. There's a reference in this book to something else."

Argyle glanced at it. "I'll type that into a database." He punched some words into a database, and then saw it come up. "Here we are. Lost Railways of Britain, Vol. 3. I don't actually have a copy of that, but the database says Truro Library has one in stock."

"Looks like we're heading to Truro then," Zipp said.

"I'll get Salty fired up," Sunny said. "Funnily enough there's some trucks that need taking back there. Talk about convenient."

Argyle glanced over. "I don't mean to sound cruel, but you might want to have a shower before you go. There's a strange aroma coming from where you're standing."

"Pipp was testing a new skincare product, and I volunteered. It is kinda smelly, but it works well."

"If you say so," Argyle sighed. "Though I will confess I could have done a little better with the spot cream this morning."





Back at Mane Melody, the queue was out of the door for the new treatment. People were taking seats to have the new treatment.

"It's going so well!" Pipp said, as she helped to apply some. "Good for the skin, and good for business!"

"I wasn't expecting it to do this well!" Jazz admitted, as she applied some to a customer. "Guess I was wrong!"

"Oh ye of little faith!" Pipp said.

The customers, overall, seemed to be happy with the results- even if the smell was a bit of a problem. "Gotta say it works well on the skin," Posey said. "Pity about the smell though. Any thoughts, Windy?"

Just then, Jazz's phone buzzed. She checked it.

Work order: fish train to Truro. Proceed as soon as possible. No other engine available.

Jazz knew this was her chance, so she headed out. "Gotta move some fish! See ya later bye!"

Rocky took over her position. "What is with her today?"

"Maybe she's just nervous!" Pipp said. "Or she has a special somebody."

Rocky laughed nervously. "Err, yeah, right. Like that's the case," he replied, utterly oblivious to the fact he was blushing.





Jazz popped into the storeroom round the back of the store and removed several boxes of the stuff. "I need to get rid of this before customers complain and start demanding refunds! We're ruined if this gets out!"

Having piled them onto a trolley, she pushed the trolley over to the vans and loaded the boxes into the vans. "I can dispose of these into some other trucks at Truro!"

She slammed the doors on the vans, and then went off to collect Ray.





"Oh, we'd be alright/
if we make it around the horn!
We'd be alright/
if we make it around the horn!
We'd be alright/
if we make it around the horn!
And we'll all hang on behind!

And we'll roll the old chariot along!
We'll roll the old chariot along!
We'll roll the old chariot along!
And we'll all hang on behind!"

"You're all in superb voice!" said Salty. "It must be the weather."

"There's no such thing as a bad time for a sea shanty," Sunny said. "Kinda comes with growing up in a seaside town!"

"So, we need to be focused," said Zipp. "Get that book, and then find the relevant info we need. Then head back before anybody can track us. Oh, and we'll stop off at the ice cream parlour on our way home."

"Can we get strawberry floats?" Sunny asked.

"You bet we can," Zipp smiled.

After putting the trucks away at Truro, Sunny and Zipp made their way across town to Truro Library, quickly popping in and scanning the shelves for the book.

"Do they occur alphabetically?" Sunny joked.

"No, many libraries arrange books by type," Zipp replied, missing the joke. "They're using the Dewey Decimal System. I'll go look it up at a terminal and request they bring it to a table."

Sunny headed over to a table and sat down, and a few minutes later a book landed on the table. "Handy, that."

Zipp sat down and opened it, and began to scan through the pages. "Hmmm. Something here is promising, Sunny. There's something called the Strategic Reserve."

"What's that?" Sunny asked.

"Unfortunately," Zipp said, "it doesn't have any actual info. It states the information on the Strategic Reserve cannot be disclosed here as the Official Secrets Act will be in effect on it until 2035. That's a long time to wait when time is of the essence."

Sunny got up to check the book out. "Well, that's what we needed to know."

Zipp nodded. "Naturally. Next stop, ice cream floats!"





Rocky was very confused. Pipp had popped out for a moment, and Posey came over to complain.

"I don't know how to put this delicately," she said, "but this stuff smells."

"I completely agree," Rocky said, coughing as he did so. "Why Pipp can't detect it I have no clue." He then spotted something. "Wait a second. If you all hate the smell, why are you buying it?"

"That's the Mane Smelody Challenge," Posey said.

"The what?" Rocky asked.

"The Mane Smelody Challenge," Posey answered. "It's simple, really. You apply the stuff, and if you can smell it without your eyes watering you take a friend and they try the same."

Rocky pulled his phone out and checked his feeds. "It's trending on TikTok?" he said. "We're the butt of the internet's newest joke!"

"Sure looks that way," Posey said. "Best of luck with the sales!"

Rocky looked down. "Where in the world is Jazz?"





Sunny sighed as she drank some of her float. "You have no idea how happy this place makes me," she said.

"How so?" Zipp asked.

"When I was little, dad and me loved to come roller blading in Truro once a month, if not more often. Once we were done we'd come here to cool off with an ice cream or a cool drink." She sipped some more. "This makes me feel like a little kid again."

"You know, you have a somewhat elegiac view of the world," Zipp said.

"Knowing and recreating the past is fun, but at the same time we need to look forward as well. Rose tinted spectacles often overlooks the fact that we've largely ditched the drawbacks of the past." Sunny shrugged. "Besides, nostaliga ain't what it used to be."

Suddenly, an older woman stopped at the table. "Hello Sarah!" she said.

"Err, who's Sarah?" Zipp asked, then realised. "Oh, forgot."

Sunny smiled. "Good afternoon, Mrs Roselawn!"

Mrs Roselawn smiled back. "Lovely to see you here again. I remember when you and your father were regulars. But I have something for you." She placed a heart shaped locket down on the table. "This has long been waiting for one pure of heart. One with hope in their heart. One willing to fight for a better tomorrow. When the stars fall and all seems lost, seven colours shall light the doorway and restore the light."

"Thank you!" Sunny said.

"Remember, the one who has friends is the richest of all people, for they are never truly alone." Mrs Roselawn nodded. "Well, I need to be one my way. Tiberius won't feed himself!" And she was off just as suddenly as she had appeared.

"Was she always like this?" Zipp asked.

"Yeah," Sunny said. "But we always liked hearing her stories." The drinking soon turned to slurping. "Well, that's me done. Let me know when you're finished, and we'll head back to Falmouth."





"I'll be glad to have this lot out of the way!" Ray said. "The smell is something else, and it's not fish!"

Jazz checked behind her. "Maybe the refridgeration on one of the vans is leaky," she said. "I'll check it at Perranwell."

Unfortunately, there would be no such luck. As they cleared the top of the hill, the vans suddenly surged into each other, and Ray was bumped forward.

Speed rose as they went down the hill. The train went faster, and faster, and faster. Before long they were exceeding the speed limit!

Jazz applied full braking force, but it seemed to be doing little good. The extra boxes she had loaded had increased the weight to such an extent that the load was too heavy for one engine. And now they had no real way of slowing down.

Just then, Perranwell loomed into view. "Oh no!" Jazz cried. "Salty's there and he can't see us!"

Ray whistled three times- the danger sequence. As he flew over the points, a section of the track frog broke, and the trucks behind him began to derail. Their doors burst open and the cargo flew out.

Fish rained down all over the station. Boxes loaded with perfume burst open, and the bottles rocketed through the air like missiles. They smashed apart all over the platform and other objects, coating everything in a smelly substance.

Zipp gagged. "It's Pipp's perfume! How did that get here?"

"Whilst I normally like the smell of fish," Salty said, "I'm not so sure it blends with this chemical stuff."

Jazz looked mortified at the mess that was made. "Oops."





Izzy popped in through the door. "I'm here for the- WOW! That is smelly!"

"Keep it down!" Rocky said. "Pipp is nearby!"

Izzy looked at it, and took a smell. "I didn't know stinkthistle grew in the local area!"

"You know this plant?" Rocky asked.

"Sure do," Izzy replied. "I used to encounter it a lot near Ramsbottom. If you spend lots of time near it you get used to the smell."

Rocky sighed. "No wonder Pipp can't detect the stench. Why didn't I say anything sooner?"

Izzy sighed and took a seat. "I know telling a friend that something they made hasn't worked properly is hard. But if you were the butt of somebody else's joke, wouldn't you want to know?"

Pipp then appeared. "Who's the butt of a joke?"

Rocky sighed. "Pipp, you took an extremely smelly plant and turned it into an equally smelly skincare product. And now it's part of a viral trend!"

Pipp blinked. "I was surprised at the number of repeat customers today," she said. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Well, I didn't mean to humiliate you," Rocky said.

"Well, knowing I'm the butt of a joke isn't much fun, but at the same time at least I know now, and can make changes to the recipe. Let me get the rest of the stock."

She walked over to the storeroom and opened it. "Wait a second... where's all the bottles of the skincare cream?"





Opaline looked a display with a keen eye. "Perfect," she smiled. "A third of the stockpile is now ours for use in my master plan."

"What would you have us do, Your Majesty?" said a soldier on the other end.

Opaline smiled. "I need you to secure me a boat."