//------------------------------// // Thomas, Starlight and the Pirate // Story: Twilight & Friends - The Complete Season 1 // by ThomasZoey3000 //------------------------------// Twilight & Friends A Thomas & Friends/My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Crossover Written by: ThomasZoey3000 Episode 12: Thomas, Starlight and the Pirate Based on "Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure" The foreman of the Harwick Branch project called the Fat Controller, who then called the Sodor Museum's curator, and both arrived at the site within an hour. The curator looked at the treasure in amazement, "many of these pieces are from the 15th and 16th century. It's quite an amazing and rare find indeed." "I couldn't have put it better myself," smiled the Fat Controller. He turned to Marion, "you have done quite well Marion, you're a real credit to the North Western Railway. You must be very proud of yourself." "Oh it was nothing really Sir, though if I may Sir, this feels like a dream come true." Thomas was fired up a short while later, and as he puffed out of his siding, he could see the museum's curator placing the treasure chest in the boot of his car. "Well at least the treasure will be in safe hands at the museum, I'm sure that's what Sailor John wants," he thought to himself. "It is a shame though, he seemed so determined to find it." He backed up to a line of trucks, who giggled and teased him, "careful now Thomas, one more mistake and you'll have to be left at the dump with us." Thomas would've normally bumped them, but this time he said and did nothing as his fireman coupled him up. The Fat Controller was heading to his car when he saw Thomas. He walked over towards the blue tank engine, "Thomas, I want to talk to you about..." "I know, being a disgrace to the North Western Railway. I'm perfectly aware that's what I am." "No Thomas, that's not what I was going to say. I wanted to say..." "Get on with my work, I will Sir once the guard is ready to leave for the waste dump." At that moment, the guard's whistle blew. The Driver opened the regulator and Thomas slowly started off, "I'll stay out of your way Sir. After all, you got better engines who won't blow things up." The Fat Controller called out to Thomas, but the little tank engine wouldn't stop. "Uh Thomas, it sounded like..." "Please, not another word. I've heard quite enough." The Fat Controller watched as Thomas puffed off. "Hmm, maybe I have been too hard on him." He then noticed Ryan, "I need to find out what happened yesterday," and he walked over towards the purple tank engine. Thomas meanwhile puffed along the line with the trucks giggling and laughing behind him. "Thomas is slow, Thomas is bad. Thomas will end up in a rubbish pile!" The Driver hushed them, but they wouldn't listen to him or the fireman. "Come on Thomas, at least shout at them." Thomas wasn't really paying attention to the trucks, cause at that moment, they were coming round the bend and saw something on the tracks. "Brakes Driver!" The Driver slammed on the brakes, and Thomas skidded to a stop just inches away from Skiff, who was blocking the line. On his deck was Sailor John, and he didn't look too happy. "Where's my treasure?" he shouted angrily. "The museum's got it now, they're taking it to be put on display," Thomas answered. Sailor John looked like he was going to explode in anger, "I wasted thirty years of my life searching for this treasure, and I'm not about to let it go into the hands of those fools at the museum. It belongs to me!" "But I thought you said..." "Shut up Skiff!" snapped Sailor John and stomped his foot on top of Skiff's head. "That treasure was meant to go to another Calles, but due to the stupid Royal Navy, that never happened. You will help me get it back Thomas, or else!" Thomas was shocked to hear such things. "You're a Calles, and you want me to steal?" "Aye, that's exactly what I want you to do. What do you say, partner?" Thomas changed his expression to an angry scowl, "Forget it, I will not steal, it'll be the final thing I ever do as an active steam engine. Besides," he continued, "that treasure never belonged to you, or Captain Calles. It's going to the museum, and there's nothing you can do about it." "Oh but there is, and with your help or not, I will get it! Nobody pushes this pirate around!" Before the crew could do anything, Thomas shot forwards on his own, bumping into Skiff and pushing him over a set of points for a siding. Once out of the way, Thomas puffed on his way. Sailor John got up after having been knocked over by Thomas, "I will get my treasure! You wait and see!" After resting for a few hours, Starlight decided to do a little research on her uncle. Since Internet was not an option, she checked some of the files in her parent's filing cabinet. It took a while, but soon she discovered some important information. She learned that he was indeed in the Royal Navy once, but he wasn't the perfect Captain as his actions had cost the navy two ships and ignored orders from the high ranking generals. He was even charged for firing munitions out at sea when there was no need to. "Yikes, he's got a real bad record," Starlight thought to herself. The records continued to show many bad things about her uncle, then she came upon a shocking factor, "his last is Calles?!" she cried out loud. She quickly covered her mouth and dropped the file. Thankfully, everyone else was at work, so there was no one in the house. She sighed and looked again, the file was indeed showing the correct last name; Calles. "We had pirates in our family," and she smacked her forehead. After getting over the shock, she continued to read the file and learned that her uncle was dismissed from the navy after another officer filed a report on him, which just so happened to be Starlight's father. The report also showed that before leaving, Captain John Calles said; "you may take away my badge, but one day I'll find the one thing you stupid morons never could find!" It was easy to figure out what he meant when he said that. "Captain Calles' treasure chest. He wants it for himself, not the museum." She groaned, "and I was helping a criminal, I think I'm going to be sick. What a fool I've been." She quickly put the files back into the folder she pulled out, and went back to her room to rest some more. Her father returned home an hour later, and the sound of the television's surround sound woke Starlight up. She could hear the news channel. Normally, she payed no attention to it, but something caught her attention. "Just today at the site of the Harwick Branch Line construction project, the North Western's Steam Shovel; Marion has found the long lost treasure of Captain Calles. The museum's curator says that the treasure will be polished, then put on display within the next week or so." "Oh no, if he finds out it's there, he'll be sure to steal it from the museum. He has to be stopped." At first, she thought about telling someone, but then remembered that no one really listens to her. None that was, except for Thomas. She came up with an idea, it was risky, but she knew something had to be done. At the end of the hard working day, Thomas returned to the yards for the Harwich branch project. He was tired, his wheels were hurting and he hadn't spoken to anyone since his encounter with Sailor John. Not even Twilight at the junction for the Ffarquhar branch brought any words out of Thomas. As he puffed up beside the water tower near the shed, he heard a voice. "Hello Thomas, you do look tired." Thomas looked and saw that it was Ryan, and he had the shed all to himself tonight. "Oh hello Ryan, where are Donald and Douglas? Shouldn't they be here?" "I think they're back at the Little Western tonight, so it's just myself and you." There was silence between the two tank engines, until Ryan broke the silence, "listen Thomas, I never got the chance yesterday to thank you for saving not only mine, but my crew and everyone else's lives. That dynamite could've done a lot more damage if you hadn't acted when you did. You were very brave." "No, just making up for my mistakes." "What do you mean?" Thomas sighed and confessed, "I knew about the bad coal in that hopper. I had taken some of it the day before, but I didn't say a word because I was...well I was jealous of you. I'm sorry Ryan." Instead of getting angry, Ryan just smiled, "oh don't worry, it's all water under the bridge now. What's important is that everyone is safe, no harm done." "I suppose so, unless you want to count the loss of rails, ballast and dynamite." "Oh those can be replaced, and they have. Now, why don't you sleep in the shed tonight? I think it's going to rain tonight, and there's plenty of room for at least three more engines." Thomas wanted to except the offer and finally sleep in a nice warm shed again, but thought the Fat Controller wouldn't allow it. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll stick with my siding. You have a good night's rest though, and thanks for forgiving me." "No problem," Ryan sighed unhappily. At last, the tanks were full and Thomas puffed over to his siding out of the way. His crew dropped the fire and went off back to their homes, leaving Thomas alone in the dark. He slept for thirty minutes before a heavy rain storm began. He sighed as the rain beat down on his boiler, "I wish I was on my branch line again with my friends. I wish I never listened to Gordon, and I wish...I wish I had a friend right now." And he began to cry. "And what does that make me? A bunch of Horse-apples?" Thomas looked, but couldn't see the owner of the voice quite well. After squinting his eyes, he finally saw who it was, it was Starlight Glimmer. She was once again on the night-shift, and didn't have an umbrella with her. "Oh come on, don't tell me you weren't allowed to have an umbrella." "No Thomas, I just wasn't aware that we were to get a rain storm tonight. It doesn't help when you can't use the internet or watch television." She then walked past his front and over towards his cab. "What are you doing? I don't want to help your uncle, he's a..." "A pirate? Yes, I'm aware of that. Turns out he's not only a former Captain of the Royal Navy, but he's a Calles, and he wants that treasure for himself." She paused as she placed some coal into Thomas' firebox and lit a new fire. "He's going to try and steal it for himself once he learns about where it's going." "I think he already knows." "Oh yeah, how?" "I may have told him earlier," and he explained about Sailor John and Skiff blocking the tracks earlier in the day. "I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry Starlight." "Don't worry about it, he was going to find out anyways. Now it's up to us to stop him." "We can't," sighed Thomas. "I'm in disgrace, you're in enough trouble as it is and if we do this, we're going to be in the biggest trouble we've ever been in." "So what do you suggest? Do nothing as he gets away?" Thomas went silent. Starlight sighed and spoke calmly to him, "look, I don't want to get into anymore trouble and neither do you, but if we don't do something, Sailor John could get away with the treasure and we'll be regretting not doing anything for the rest of our lives. Do you really want that Thomas? Or do you want to show him that he can't get away with his crimes?" There was a long silence, apart from the steam building up in Thomas' boiler. Thomas thought about it, then agreed. "Let's go for it!" Once the steam pressure was good, Starlight took Thomas out of the siding and towards the open line. At the station near the museum, Starlight parked Thomas in a siding and hid him behind some trucks. Now all the two of them could do was wait for Sailor John to arrive. "What if he doesn't show up?" Thomas asked curiously. "If he doesn't, then I'm in a world of trouble for taking you in the first place, and you'll probably be left in the siding for days." "Gee, that helps a lot." "Hey, you asked the question and I answered." They waited and waited, but there was no sign of Sailor John. There was hardly any activity going on along the line, and with the sound of pouring rain and hissing steam, it was making Thomas and Starlight very sleepy. "Got to stay awake, I got to," yawned Thomas, but soon he was out like a light. Starlight fell asleep shortly after him. No sooner were they asleep then Sailor John and Skiff arrived. Skiff wasn't happy, "we shouldn't be doing this, we could land in trouble." "Oh be quiet Skiff, I know what I'm doing," whispered Sailor John. They stopped just before the station, and Sailor John went off into town. He snuck around, being extra careful not to attract attention to himself. He even stood in front of a poster, pretending to hold a beach ball when a car rolled past his area. Soon, he reached the museum. The doors were locked, but he had the answer for that; a stick of dynamite. He carefully lit it, left it by the door and ran for cover. A bang echoed around, startling Skiff and waking Thomas and Starlight up. "What was that?" Starlight asked in fright. "I think they're here," Thomas whispered. They looked to the platform and saw Skiff. Moments later, they saw Sailor John running towards his sailing boat, with the treasure chest in his hands. He placed it in the back of Skiff, and pushing with an ore, the little sailboat started to move. "I can't believe you did that," Skiff said crossly. "You're going to be in real trouble once you're caught." "I will not get caught, now pretend your face is in the water and shut up!" And he smacked Skiff with the ore. Starlight went to the controls to get Thomas out of the siding, but there was a problem. His fire had gone out, and there wasn't enough steam in the boiler to get him moving. "Oh geez, I can't believe I fell asleep," she groaned. She stoked the fire as best as she could, and after a couple of minutes, Thomas had a good head of steam, but they couldn't see Sailor John and Skiff anymore. "They got away." "They got a head start, but Skiff is no steam engine, get me out of this siding Starlight, and we'll show them what steam power can really do!" Starlight nodded and reversed Thomas out. She then jumped out, changed the points and after coming back into the cab, the chase began. Sailor John smiled as he looked at the treasure, "15th Century gold, and 16th Century silver. My word, Captain Calles was a good pirate, and now I have his treasure!" Skiff frowned, "I still say we shouldn't have that treasure," but he thought it only to himself. The smile on Sailor John's face wasn't going to last for too long as both he and Skiff heard a whistle from behind them. It was a whistle they had never heard before, but the chugging that soon followed was familiar. "It can't, he couldn't..." Sailor John looked back and growled loudly as Thomas and Starlight puffed into view, "come back with that treasure you pirate! You're not getting away with it!" they both cried. "Come on Skiff, go faster!" cried Sailor John. "I can't do that Sailor John, I'm not an engine, I only have wind power to keep me going." Sailor John groaned, but then spotted some points up ahead and on Skiff's deck was a shovel. This gave him a sneaky idea. He grabbed the shovel, timed his movements and as Skiff rolled past the lever for the points, Sailor John hit it, which sent Thomas onto a siding with buffers on the end of them. "Stop Starlight! Stop!" Thomas cried. Starlight applied the brakes hard, and it was a good thing she did. Thomas stopped with inches to spare. Sailor John laughed as he and Skiff got away again, "oh dear, bad luck on your parts!" Not wasting any time, Starlight backed Thomas out of the siding, changed the points and they continued with their chase. They blasted through a tunnel and as they emerged on the other side, they were shocked to see something big up ahead. It was the pirate ship, with all it's black sails open and with Skiff attached at the back with a long rope. "How in the world did he get it here?" Starlight gasped. "Goodness knows," groaned Thomas. Sailor John laughed as they came into view, "you might've had some advantage before, but now we have the advantage." He pulled on several ropes, which released the wooden blocks holding the wheels back, and within seconds, they were off again, only now they were going much faster than before. "Whoa!" cried Skiff, "this is too fast!" "Arr-arr, they may as well call me Pirate John for now on! For I alone have pulled the greatest heist in Sodor's history." "Your name will be mud once we get to you," snapped Starlight and opened the regulator even more. Further down the tracks, Ryan was puffing along towards the big station. The Fat Controller needed a tank engine to help with a special delivery that night, and with the other engines either working late shifts or resting after their hard day's work, Ryan was the only one who could do it. His crew had gotten him fired up, and now he was puffing back to the big station with only a brake van in tow. However, his job wasn't the main focus on his mind. "I couldn't sleep Driver, I just keep thinking about Thomas." "Oh, and why's that Ryan?" he asked. "I can't explain it, but I think he's in trouble, and if he is, I want to help..." but Ryan was cut off as he saw something up ahead. It was big and it was heading straight towards him. As it got closer, Ryan shouted; "PIRATES!" and his Driver threw him into reverse. The shouting had gotten the attention of Rex, Mike and Bert, who were working late to deliver some ballast. "Did that sound like Ryan screaming to any engine?" Rex asked. "It is Ryan, look!" cried Mike. The engines were shocked to see Ryan reversing down the line, and more so when they saw the Pirate ship come into view. Then they heard a whistle, "it's Thomas!" cried Bert. "Stop that ship!" Thomas cried to the Small engines, "you have to stop that ship!" Sailor John laughed, "What? Those stupid little toys? They can't stop me either!" "Wanna bet, we'll show you," smirked Mike. He puffed up to the chute and buffered up to the wagons. Rex puffed up next and buffered up to Mike, and within seconds, Bert was on the chute too. "On my mark guys, push with all your might!" They waited till the ship was close enough, "now push!" And they pushed hard, knocking the ballast and wagons over the edge and onto the tracks of the North Western. They landed in front of the flatbeds, and with sparks flying, managed to slow the runaway ships. "No! No! Curse you little engines!" shouted Sailor John crossly. "Hey, you should never overlook a little engine," Thomas chirped brightly. "Even miniature engines." "You got that right Thomas!" shouted Rex, "now teach that guy a thing or two!" Thomas charged ahead, but even with the miniature railway ballast wagons in front, the pirate ship was still going much too fast. Then Thomas noticed something, "Ryan, grab the anchor and hold on tight!" "What?" Ryan cried. The anchor was hanging down low, and within moments, caught Ryan's buffer beam. It pulled him along until they came to some buffers. They stopped Ryan and his brake van. The chain stretched to a long length until it reached the end. With a mighty groan, the pirate ship leaned to one side until it fell onto it's side and crashed with a thunderous boom. Sailor John had cut the rope before the ship tipped over, and somehow he and Skiff were able to slip through. Thomas raced past, "great job Ryan! As for you John, you're not getting away from us!" Despite not having the large pirate ship in front, Skiff was still going fast along the rails. Sailor John looked back to Thomas catching up, "you should just give up, you can't win against me!" He grabbed his shovel and tossed it. It fell under Thomas' wheels and was cut to pieces. Sailor John picked up his pick-axe and threw it, but once again, it went under Thomas' wheels. Sailor John's anger started to grow, but then he found something scary. It was a stick of dynamite. "Uh Oh, that's not good," groaned Thomas. "When is a stick of dynamite ever good?" asked Starlight, shaking in fear. "So long suckers, it's been nice knowing you!" Sailor John lit the dynamite and prepared himself to throw it. Skiff didn't like seeing that, and began rocking himself. The rocking made Sailor John lose his balance, and he let go of the dynamite. It landed on the lineside and exploded. "Skiff, you would dare go against me?!" "When you're harming my friends, then yes!" snapped Skiff. Thomas charged forwards and bumped Skiff hard, "sorry Skiff, but Starlight and I have to stop you." "It's okay Thomas, you can do it!" Sailor John had another shovel and started swinging it against Thomas, screaming like a mad man, "fools! Scum! Get away from me! As for you Skiff, I'll make sure you're firewood when we get away!" "Oh no you won't!" and Starlight pushed the regulator in, making Thomas bump Skiff again. Sadly, the bump made Skiff jump over some points and sent him down a different line, away from Thomas and Starlight. Once more, Sailor John laughed, "farewell Thomas and Starlight, I'll always treasure the good times we shared together. Oh and don't worry, I won't mention how you two tried to help me to anyone. Now Skiff, let's go and I'll deal with your treason." Thomas growled just hearing that, but then he noticed something. The track he was on lead to a cross-track, where two lines crossed over each other. Thomas called out, "Starlight..." "I'm already on it Thomas! Just hang on!" "We can do it!" Starlight opened the regulator even more, and Thomas sped up. Sailor John noticed this, but there was nothing he could. He could only brace himself. Skiff smiled, "do it my friends," he pleaded. "Here we come Skiff!" With a loud bang, Thomas bumped into Skiff, pushing him off the tracks and making roll in front of him. They sighed with relief, thinking the chase was over, but their troubles were far from over as they realized where they were going. Down the slipway towards the water. Starlight slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. She jumped from the cab, landing on the slipway and breaking her right arm in the process. "OW!" she cried. "That really hurts!" Despite the brakes screeching, Thomas puffed on until he and Skiff went into the water. The water got into his firebox, putting the fire out and stopping Thomas. Skiff meanwhile was able to float off. "Thanks for that!" called Sailor John cheerfully. "Now off for home Skiff, we'll leave these sorry fools in their mess." But before they could do anything, a wave hit Skiff and he started bobbing about. "Skiff, stop doing that!" cried Sailor John, "you're going to make me lose my balance!" "I can't help it, it's the treasure. It's too heavy, it'll make us flip over, throw it overboard!" But Sailor John wouldn't, "I waited far too long to get my hands on this treasure, it is not going overboard. Nothing will stop me now, not even these waves, now sail on Skiff!" Skiff groaned as his face kept going into the water. Then he saw a giant wave. He decided at that point that Sailor John had to be stopped. "Sorry John, but I won't be carrying out that order! I call the shots now, and we're going overboard, now!" He leaned to one side at the right moment, and within seconds, the wave flipped Skiff over, throwing Sailor John and the treasure overboard. Sailor John tried to get the treasure, but it sank to the bottom and out of sight. Thomas meanwhile couldn't see Skiff or Sailor John. Both he and Starlight were worried. Then Skiff popped up, only now being upside down. "Well at least I won't get any water in my mouth again," he chuckled, "but the world does look funny upside down." Thomas and Starlight sighed with relief. Sailor John popped his head out of the water and swam over towards Skiff. He climbed on, soaking wet and cross. "You cost me my treasure, you'll pay Skiff!" "Oh be quiet Uncle John!" cried Starlight before groaning in pain. Many residents had been woken up by the activity that went on during the chase, and called the police. They first went to Sailor John, on board Captain, a motor boat from the Sodor Search and Rescue team. "Hullo, hullo, hullo, what do we have here? A former navy man stealing treasure?" asked an officer. "I did no such thing, I'm innocent," pleaded Sailor John. "Yeah they all say that," said the second officer. "We'll let a judge and jury decide your fate." They arrested him, and after getting a rope on him, Captain towed Skiff back to the shoreline. Meanwhile on the shore line, paramedics had arrived to deal with Starlight while Rocky the Steam Crane lifted Thomas out of the water. He was lifted onto a flatbed and tied down. Starlight walked over towards him, "how do you feel Thomas?" she asked. "I'm alright, but I got a lot of water in my firebox, and I think one of my siderods snapped as we were trying to stop." Starlight looked to Thomas' right side, "yeah your siderod had snapped, too much pressure I guess. At least it'll be replaced within an hour or so, it'll take weeks before my arm heals." "Sorry your arm got broken." "Nah it's okay, the important thing is we stopped my uncle from getting away." Thomas gulped, "we might have, but we're going to be in big trouble, look who just showed up." Starlight looked behind her and saw the Fat Controller's car pull up on the scene. Starlight sighed and looked to Thomas, "You don't need to be in anymore trouble, let me take the blame." "No Starlight, I'll take the blame for this." Starlight was about to argue, but then heard the car door slam. She shook her head and said; "we'll take the blame together." Thomas agreed to that, and both waited as the Fat Controller walked forward. He stopped just in front of the flatbed Thomas was on. Thomas sighed and spoke first, "I'm so sorry Sir, I know this time it's my fault." "And mine," added Starlight. "I, er together we derailed your pirate ship, lost the treasure of Captain Calles, broke Thomas' siderods..." "Damaged the small railway's trucks, probably hurt Ryan, delayed any train he was going to take, and woke everyone along the route up," added Thomas. "I'll go turn myself over to the police, maybe a nice cell will do me good," sighed Starlight. "And I'll be fine with being at the back of the shed," groaned Thomas. Both of them waited for the Fat Controller's angry yells, but instead got something different, "there won't be any need to turn yourselves in, or go to the back of the sheds. I'm not cross at either of you, I'm proud of you both." "Really?" Starlight raised an eyebrow in confusion, "but I stole Thomas in the middle of the night, and the damage..." "It can be overlooked this time. Ryan, his crew and the Small Railway engines have told me everything about what you were doing." As he spoke, Ryan puffed up with a big smile on his face, "and I agree with him, you two are very brave to face a criminal and stop his plans for good." "Maybe so, but the treasure is lost Sir," sighed Thomas, "and I can't tell of where Skiff actually was when the treasure fell over." "Don't worry about the treasure, we can always find it another time. Besides, my engines and my employees are more important than some silly treasure, and I couldn't ask for a better engine or employee." "Thank you Sir," Thomas and Starlight said in unison. "And," continued the Fat Controller, "Ryan told me about the dynamite incident. Sparks from his funnel is what caused the dynamite to light up, and as for the cavern, there should've been someone nearby to tell you not to go anywhere near the area, and it seems those trucks were fibbing to me again, they will be dealt with." "As will Mr. Calles," said another voice. It was the police chief coming over, "that man is wanted for destruction to property, robbery, threatening people, crimes against the navy, disturbing the peace and even kidnapping. He'll be serving years behind bars for this. Good work you two." He turned on his heel and left. "Now then Thomas, you will have to go back to the Steamworks to be repaired and given a fresh coat of paint. I want you in good condition for the Harwick Branch's Opening ceremony. And Ms. Glimmer, you will get some time off while you let that arm heal." Starlight sighed, "that is assuming my family will ever let me have a break," but she said it only to herself. Ryan buffered up to Thomas' flatbed, and once coupled up, he puffed away from the slipway. Thomas looked back to Starlight, "don't worry Starlight, things can only get better from this point onwards." Although she showed a smile to him, Starlight doubted Thomas' words. To her, there was no such thing as a silver lining.