//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9-If you Don't Concentrate on the Thing that You're Doing 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: Return to Sodor 
// by The Blue EM2 
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Twilight and her friends sprinted for their engines as Sunny and her friends headed for theirs. The chaotic scene as people leaped into cabs and prepared to move off was quite something to spot.

"We'll have to go pretty fast to beat that thing to the last crystal site!" Sunny called, as she got Salty's engine fired up.

"Ahoy that, matey!" Salty replied. "We'll need the speed of the flying Dutchman to go that fast!"

"I'll attach Thomas to the front and give you a boost!" Twilight called, as the blue tank engine backed down on the red diesel.

"I'll run interference and distract him!" Zipp called, as Charles roared forward.

"My speed will ensure we win!" Charles said. "Speed and power win everything, and I am of course the fastest engine here!"

"No you are not!" Gordon said, as he began to move off. "I am the fastest engine on Sodor, and that fact is not changing!"

"A rivalry during this battle?" Pipp said. "That's the last thing we needed."

"I can help!" James said. "We splendid engines must stick together, after all."

James and Sophie then moved off in a pair. "Darling, I must ask who makes your clothing," Rarity said. "It simply looks divine!"

"I'll tell you when we're out of danger!" Pipp said.

"Good idea!" Sophie said, as the pair flew into the distance.

Henry and Rebecca began to run the other way round the loop, as the line here ran in a loop for some reason, as Thomas was finally ready to go. He began to pull Salty along, puffing and panting as best he could. The landscape soon sounded to the combined puffing of a steam engine and the roar of a diesel engine to try and get as much acceleration as possible.

"Where do you need me to drop you?" Twilight called, over the noise.

"The last crystal is somewhere over there!" Sunny called. "I'll need some time to look for it, and if you guys can keep this up that would be fantastic!"

Discord, however, it seemed had had enough, and decided to initiate the engagement. "We've been playing for long enough," he said. "Time to fight!"

The main guns finally fired up, sending a splatter of high explosive shells raking into the ground. They exploded as they slammed into the ground, raking holes in the landscape and generally making an enormous mess.

"Cleaning this up is going to be a chore!" said Percy, as he and Porter raced around the field.

"I don't know!" Izzy said. "The author will probably not mention this place again!"

Pinkie leaned over. "Izzy! Stop breaking the fourth wall! That's my job!"

Further ahead, James and Sophie were around the back of the machine. "Good thing he can't see us here!" James said.

"Wrong," said a single word, and suddenly a pair of shot blasts roared out.

"Mind the paintwork!" James called.

Pipp moved Sophie expertly out of the way, the explosions sounded behind them on a nearby hill. "Good thing that missed!"

"Just imagine the repair bill," Rarity said dryly.

Further ahead, Charles seemed to have momentarily forgotten they were meant to be running interference and was instead trying to race Gordon! "I am faster than you!" the diesel shouted.

"No you are not!" Gordon replied.

"Are too!"

"ARE NOT!"

ARE TOO!"

"Stop arguing!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We can settle this later! Right now we need to keep Discord distracted!"

"That we can do," Zipp said. "I can be pretty sneaky when I wanna be."

"That's good," Rainbow Dash replied. "With Pinkie around we're only medium sneaky.

"I heard that!"

Henry and Rebecca were running the other way at speed, with the ground wobbling underneath them from repeated explosions. A barrage of missiles roared out of the sky and slammed into the ground nearby, shaking it and lighting the landscape up with white and orange flames.

"They must be dumb fire ordnance," Hirch observed. "They can't lock us, so Discord is having to guess where we'll be in advance! If we keep going fast enough, we'll be able to dodge the fire!"

"It's all very scary!" Fluttershy called.

"We have to be brave, Fluttershy!" Henry called. "Everything is at steak!"

"I thought you were a vegetarian?" Pinkie asked as she and Percy whizzed past on the other line.

"Fluttershy is," Henry replied. "It's a figure of speech and... oh, never mind."

It wasn't just on the rails that things were flying about. Several road vehicles were thundering about in the centre of the field, trying to draw Discord's attention as well.

"I had no idea you could drive in this manner!" Goldie called.

"I was a dirt biker when I was younger!" Argyle called. "This isn't too different in a jeep!"

What was arguably more impressive was the Bentley pulling off similar moves nearby. Unfortunately, a door fell open and Robert fell out. "This isn't good!" he said, realising how close he was to the huge machine.

"I've got you at last," Discord laughed, before he went in for the attack. But before his foot could move, the Bentley roared past again and Robert swung himself into the car, slamming the door shut in the process.

"Thank you!" he called.

"Please remember to always wear seatbelts when we're on the road," Lady Haven replied, as they drove between the legs of the stomping machine.

"I didn't know you knew how to drive on these surfaces!"

"In the event that either Thunder or Zoom aren't available I do need to be able to operate the vehicle myself!" his wife pointed out.

The battle was soon joined by a series of loud explosions from a nearby hill. "Big guns out there!" Fluttershy said.

Hitch glanced back, and saw three large rail mounted guns firing on the enemy. "It's the Royal Artillery's railway division!" he said. "They have a battery stationed on Sodor. But how did they get the guns here?"

"Need some help?" said a Somerset accent.

Izzy looked back and smiled. "It's the engines we helped and their drivers!"

"This isn't going to lead to a power of friendship speech, is it?" Porter said. "Because if it is, just light them up already!"

From the storm of artillery shells slamming into the machine, it suddenly seemed to come to a stop, the eye lights switching off.

"Have we done it?" Zipp asked.

Only for the lights to turn back on, this time glowing a fierce red. "SWITCHING TO BACKUP POWER."

"Of course he fitted it with a backup power source!" Charles said. "What villain worth their salt doesn't fit backups?"

"Couldn't make it too easy for you lot, could I?" Discord laughed, as the machine continued its attack pattern. The existing pattern of dodging about and running interference continued onwards, until Rebecca and Charles were round the back.

"Out we get!" Hitch called. "Zipp, with me! We need to shut that thing down!"

"On it!" Zipp replied, and after handing the engines over to some rather baffled guards leaped out of the cabs and towards the leg of the machine. "There's a door we can use!"

Hitch instead started to climb a support gantry on the side of the machine. "This way!"

Discord was focused on other threats. "Why won't you keep still?!" he shouted.

As a biplane dived in and roared past, the scene on the ground was still incredibly chaotic. "Batteries, cease fire!" Pipp called over the radio. "My sister's on the robot!"

"This is getting all too intense for my taste!" James shouted. "It's like the time I collided with those tankers!"

"Not that again!" Rarity called, glancing behind her. "Whenever will that beastly beast give up on his plans?"

"Never, I suspect!" Sophie said. "He's too far gone to be helped in any way!"

Hitch and Zipp continued to climb the machine, and after a few minutes were at the top of the control platform. They held on as the machine began to turn, seemingly trying to throw them off.

Zipp spotted something. "Try pushing that button!" she said.

Hitch pushed it down, but the arm didn't disconnect. Instead the firing mechanism seemed to get stuck, and the hail of shells lit up the area near Porter.

"WILL YOU STOP THROWING THINGS AT ME?!" Porter shouted.

Thomas and Salty were round the back, and Sunny leaped out of the cab and ran to the place she thought the crystals were. She'd brought a shovel with her, and began to frantically dig as the battle raged around her.

"This ends now, Discord!" Hitch shouted, as he tried to switch sides.

"The only thing that is ending is you," Discord coldly replied as he tipped the machine to one side to throw Hitch and Zipp off. Both of them fell- and then crashed into mattresses.

"Well, those were conveniently placed," Hitch said.

Discord, on the other hand, had spotted something glowing near Sunny's position, and turned his machine round. "Clinging to each other like maggots isn't going to save you when the boot falls!" he shouted, and then stomped down on her position.