"How funny," said the voice, presumably coming from whomever was speaking. "Fancy finding yourself in the dirt... figuratively and literally speaking. But why should I not be surprised. This road led you here, Sunny."
Sunny slowly pushed herself up. "Opaline... how?"
"Not how, why," Opaline replied. "This path you've been following has led to nothing but your own destruction, Sunny. I'm your inner voice. I'm here because of what you have done."
Sunny looked confused. "You did this?"
Opaline indicated to the landscape. "No, you did. Your plan caused this disaster. But you have a history of causing mayhem wherever you go."
Sunny blinked as her eyes glowed, and suddenly memories flashed before her eyes.
Stealing the crown from Pipp.
The chaos in Falmouth during the battle against Sprout, and again during her rampage only a few weeks prior.
The nightmares she'd been suffering.
Attacking her own mother that fateful night in their home.
And the derailment just now.
"No..." Sunny whispered.
Opaline leaned in. "You're no hero. Your talents lie elsewhere. I'm here, Sunny, because you won't accept what you've done. It broke you. You needed something to blame, so you chose me... the one who had only tried to save you."
"You did NOTHING to save me!" Sunny said. "You made me do those things!"
"I didn't make you steal, Sunny," Opaline smiled. "You did that of your own volition."
Sunny had no response. She knew Opaline was right about that one. A confused, gargling noise came out of her throat.
Opaline stepped closer and pulled Sunny's face up to look into hers. "I'm going to make this simple. You either accept who you truly are- a monster who ruins the lives of others- or I end this, right here, right now."
Sunny's eyed widened in fear. "What?"
"Stop saying what," Opaline said, as her arm began to glow with mysterious energy. "I'm going to count to five. Make your choice, Sunny. One!"
Sunny quietly whimpered at what was being presented to her.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Opaline smiled. "Two!"
Sunny coughed. "This was out of my control!"
"Keep telling yourself that, Sunny," Opaline said. "Three!"
Sunny closed her eyes. "I never wanted to hurt anybody... please, just let me go!"
"Nobody ever wants to hurt anybody else, Sunny," Opaline smiled, her eyes glowing with intense power. "Four!"
Sunny was terrified. Not just terrified at what Opaline was planning on doing to her, but at what she had become. She knew, deep down, there was no way back from what she had done. She should face justice for her actions? But from a madwoman who wasn't exactly a saint? That just somehow felt wrong.
The silence was deafening in the crash scene, as Opaline looked intently at Sunny. Not that she could see this, of course. Sunny's eyelids were jammed shut, and she couldn't see this as a result.
"Is this really your choice, Sunny?" she asked.
There was no reply. Sunny opened her eyes to see the blade inches from her throat.
"Very well." Opaline drew her arm back. "Fi-!"
Before she could swing, a voice cut through the darkness.
"Don't listen to her, Sunny!"
Opaline drew her arm back, and looked around, dropping Sunny in the process. "What?"
Standing there as ghostly figures were Izzy, Hitch, Pipp, Zipp, and Misty.
"You're our friend, Sunny!" Pipp shouted. "You're the ray of light in our lives! Our lives were changed forever by meeting you!"
"Show her what you've got, Sunny!" Hitch called. "You'll always be our shining hope!"
"You got this, Sunny!" Zipp called. "When things seemed hopeless you always encouraged us to keep going! If we give up now, we may have no hope for tomorrow!"
"Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me!" Izzy added. "You're more than a friend to me, Sunny... you're the closest thing I have to a sister."
Misty was the last to speak. "I was once lost, and hopeless, and couldn't find a way out of the darkness. Things might seem hopeless, but they aren't always what they seem. You inspired me to break free and find my own destiny, and it's now time for me to inspire you! There is nothing that we cannot do, as our faith in each other can move mountains!"
Opaline growled. "SHUT UP! They are nothing! You are nothing! YOU ARE NOTHING!"
Sunny rose to her feet, feeling a new energy flowing through her. She looked at Opaline as her wings flared into being, and the energies surrounded her arms. "No. I am not nothing. My name is Sunny Starscout! I don't know how or why, but the magic chose me for a very special purpose and gave me a second chance. I fight to protect those I love, and to bring about a better world!"
She stepped towards Opaline. "A man chooses, a monster orders. That's a difference between a leader and a tyrant like you! Evil cannot stand when we are united, and my duty is to keep the world safe. So I have only one thing to say to you."
Her hands began to glow, and she lifted them. "GET... OUT... OF... MY... HEAD!"
Two blasts of energy flew from her hands, and in an instant Opaline vanished. All around her, the light shifted, and suddenly she was at the crash site.
She looked over, and in an instant saw her mother, who had risen to her feet and grabbed a baseball bat.
A loud voice boomed from the ghostly form of Clinchfield 311, who looked even more monstrous than before. "I see we meet again, Goldie!" the engine laughed. "And now I can take not just you but the magic wielding grub as well!"
Goldie steeled her eyes and glared the engine down. "Get away from her you bitch!"
311 snorted in derision. "Quite the tongue you have. It'll go nicely in my collection alongside your daughter's corpse!" She laughed. "Timber! Deal with them!"
Timber Spruce, still powered up, leaped forward and swung forward-
Only for Sunny to leap in the way and parry the blow with energy from her arm. "You keep away. You can mess with me, but you don't mess with my family."
"I shall finish you off and save this land!" Timber boomed, as he jumped backwards.
Sunny followed, her attacks quickly landing on him. She took to the air and dived down towards Timber, preparing a blow, but he raised his arm to parry. Both of them wildly traded blows one after the other, neither moving an inch.
Timber swung a punch forward, but Sunny grabbed it and swung him over, causing him to land on the ground. He leaped out of the way as she fired off a shot, then lunged in for a blow. He landed a blast that threw Sunny backwards, but she leaped forward with her wings and slammed into the ground, throwing him backwards.
He brought his arm up to block, but Sunny quickly began pummelling him with blows, knocking him backwards each and every time.
Suddenly, voices were audible from a hill. "GO ON SUNNY!" Zipp shouted. "KICK HIS ASS!"
Sunny sent him flying through the air, then dived down on Timber's position, her fist ready, but he countered and sent her flying backwards. Sunny quickly recovered, and then had an idea. "This isn't working!"
Suddenly, her arms began to surge with energy. "This might work!" she said, and focused. To her surprise, nothing came out of her arms. Instead, she felt something flowing into them. "Wait, what?"
Energy appeared to be moving out of Timber and into her, which caught her by surprise. Timber was slowly being depowered, his former appearance shifting out of the transformed form he had been given. He closed in one more, and swung forward, knocking Sunny back, but then collapsed to the floor, his old appearance returned to him.
There was a voice from behind her. "NO! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
Sunny swung round. "A power you will never understand. The power of friendship! I have no stomach for those like you, who only seek evil and to harm others! And the magic you refuse to believe in will get the better of you!"
"JUST LIGHT HER UP ALREADY!" Hitch shouted.
Sunny nodded. "Yes, sir!" Her arms lit up, fuelled with all the extra magic she had absorbed, and blasted it straight at the demonic engine.
311 howled as her form was broken apart and weakened. Before long, she had been reduced to nothing but smoke and dust, a whisp floating away into the darkness. "I shall return one day, Sunny! And you shall be unable to stop me!"
Sunny looked at her. "I shall be ready for that day."
As the ghost vanished, Sunny felt herself powering down, and she dropped to one knee. "Wow. I'd forgotten how exhausting that can be."
"Sunny, are you alright?" called a voice. Sunny glanced up to see Goldie running over.
Sunny smiled. "I'm fine."
"You were incredible, dear," Goldie smiled.
"You did a great job, too," Sunny said. "You were about to take on 311 with a baseball bat! I doubt I could have done that."
Suddenly, there was coughing from nearby, and Timber Spruce got to his feet. "Where am I?"
The next morning, Valentina was succesfully recovered. It turned out she had survived the crash largely undamaged, but was still being taken to Scranton to be checked over before being returned to service. The other engines had gathered in the yard at Strasburg to learn what was to come next.
Timber Spruce was very apologetic. "I'm so sorry, everyone," he said sadly. "I just wanted to save the railroad, but 311 tricked me into doing her bidding. I can only hope you can forgive me."
"Of course we can!" Gloriosa said, keen to get her brother back on side. "But I hope this teaches all of us a very important lesson- that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
"And now the railroad is lost," Timber said sadly.
"Wait, what?" Sherman asked.
"Yeah, some context needed," Marilyn said. "I thought we were doing fine here!"
Gloriosa sighed sadly. "We fell behind on our payments for the land, which belongs to that Hoffman guy. Unless we can raise several thousand dollars by the end of the month, he'll be free to rip the line up and replace it."
"And where exactly are we going to get several thousand dollars from?" Denver asked.
Just then, Mastodon seemingly had a brainwave. "How about a fundraiser?" he suggested. "This line used to hold railfest periodically, a big event which usually drew in huge crowds. How about we put one on?"
"And host guest engines as well?" Denver asked. "Where are we going to get guest engines from at this short notice?"
"We already have Marilyn and Jennifer here," Pipp pointed out. "Both of these engines are enormous crowd pullers, and I've heard rumours that the Living Legend will be running through here as well."
"Zachary?" Marilyn said. "Who would want him around here? A Union Pacific engine, no less?"
"He's a big crowd puller," Gloriosa pointed out. "Any chance we could get Cheyenne as well?"
Timber looked over. "I'll get Ed Dickens on the phone. Laramie's two time zones over, right?"
Gloriosa looked to the assembled drivers. "Look, I know this is a lot to ask of you at very short notice, considering the events that have transpired over the last few days. But please, I'm asking- will you help us."
Sunny looked at her friends. "What do you say, guys?" she said.
"We're in!" Zipp said, confidently. "Now let's save a railroad!"
Timber did better than his word, such was his determination to make up for the chaos he had inadvertently caused. He was able to secure Zachary and Cheyenne- and, to everybody's surprise, Challenger. As a result, the event marked the first ever time all three Union Pacific heritage locos had run together.
The existing engines were also kept busy on an extremely intensive timetable, with the true surprise being yet another visitor- an articulated engine from Maryland as well! Sure enough, there was an enormous operating fleet for Railfest, and the sheer size of the event was, I am happy to report, matched in attendance.
It was, put simply, the busiest event the railroad had ever put on. Trains were packed, and some parts of the trains were standing room only.
Later that week, there was even more good news. Goldie's work had born fruit, and they had been able to secure a donation from not just Pete Waterman, the music mogul and railway enthusiast, but from many others who were involved in railways (and had similarly large bank accounts). Donations came in from legends such as Rod Stewart, Tom Hanks, and Jools Holland, all of which contributed to the line greatly.
On the final day of the Railfest, the railroad hosted a special event in one of the old freight buildings, which had been decked out for a formal party, with everybody in attendance.
Gloriosa stepped out onto the stage with a happy smile to address the attendees. "Good evening, everybody!" she called.
The crowd called back in response.
"Thank you all for attending the busiest event in the history of the Strasburg Railroad," she said. "Now then, we've had untold numbers of visitors and locos running here, and I've never seen the local area so busy! Many local businesses are reporting dramatic spikes in business, so contrary to what some people seem to think we are a vital asset to the local community."
There was a round of laughter at that.
"But the best news is yet to arrive," Gloriosa continued. "We have seen money rolling in, and donations from all across the world to keep the dream of steam preservation in Lancaster County alive. I am proud to reveal that we have raised enough money to save the Line! We now own the trackbed outright, and with that secured we are safe for generations to come!"
The crowd erupted into applause and cheers.
"And to mark this event, I think it's only fair that we celebrate. Six young engineers have helped this line survive, and I would like to pay tribute to them now. In no particular order, please welcome to the floor- Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Misty Brightdawn, Hitch Trailblazer, and last, but most certainly not least, Zipp Storm!"
The crowd continued applauding as the six figures took the floor. "Thank you, everybody!" Sunny said, as she picked up a microphone. "It's been a challenging few days for all of us, but if this event indicates anything it shows the sheer power of community spirit. What is a community but one big family? All of you came together and made this possible, and together you guys helped us save this piece of our cultural heritage. And so, as Gloriosa said, let's let our hair down and dance the night away!"
Suddenly, a techno funk backing began to play.
"Positions!"
Izzy looked around. "Oh, what was I meant to do again?"
"Just follow Sunny's lead!" Hitch said.
Sunny led off.
"Somebody give me a shimmy/
Somebody give me a shake!
Give me a twist and shout/
And just feel the bass-"
Before Pipp hoined her on harmony vocals.
"Hey, hey!"
Pipp then took over on lead vocals.
"Come on and let your hair down/
Yeah, buddy, play!"
Before Izzy then took over lead vocal responsibilities.
"You gotta show me/
How you work it today!"
Before they all joined in collectively.
"Dance, feel the rhythm/
Everybody's got the moves! (Show it to me!)
Dance, feel the rhythm/
Everypony feel the groove!" (Ow!)
"That doesn't quite rhyme," Misty whispered.
"Close enough!" Pipp said. "I wrote this in about 30 minutes."
Then they all sang together.
"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh!"
"Shake it, shake it, shake it!" Hitch called.
Sunny took over vocals once more.
"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your dancing moves!"
"These lyrics are garbage," Hitch muttered under his breath. The pattern then repeated.
"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh!"
"Shake it, shake it, shake it!"
"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your dancing moves!"
The mic then switched over to Izzy, who was more than happy to have solo responsibilities.
"Somepony give me a whistle!"
Pipp then joined in on backing vocals.
"Somepony give me a clap!"
Hitch then took over, the voices bouncing around.
"Give me that rockin' out/
And never look back!" (Uh-huh!)
Sunny was then back on lead vocals.
"You gotta let your hair down/
Yeah, let it sway, yeah!" (Let it sway!)
Hitch then took over once more.
"You gotta show me/
How you're slayin' today!"
Before they all came in together.
"Dance, feel the rhythm/ (Yeah!)
Everypony's got the moves!
Dance, feel the rhythm/
Everypony move your hooves!" (Ow!)
"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh!"
"Shake it, shake it, shake it!" Izzy interjected.
Once more they were all singing together.
"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your groovy moves!
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh/
Shake it, shake it, shake it!"
Sunny returned to solo vocals for the final time.
"Shake loose, bust a groove/
Show me your dancin' moves!"
Before they all came in together for the final part.
"Dance, feel the rhythm
Everybody's got the moves (Ohhhh, yeah!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everybody move your groove!"
Goldie spotted her daughter heading outside, and placed her drink down. "Excuse me a moment." She adjusted the hem of her dress and headed outdoors.
Suddenly a voice accosted her. "How? This place was meant to be mine! Curse those meddling kids!"
It was Hoffman. Goldie turned to him and gave him a wry smile. "Terribly sorry, sir, but I don't think you're on the guest list. You can't always get what you want."
"First the slap and now this! I shall call a lawyer!"
"Call them what? They don't take kindly to names, you know." With nothing else to say, Goldie made her way outdoors.
She stepped outdoors and saw Sunny looking up at the stars. "Pretty, isn't it?" Sunny said.
Goldie leaned back on the wall and looked up as well. "Remarkable what was achieved, isn't it?"
"It was good to know the railroad was saved," Sunny admitted.
Goldie sighed. "You and your friends did something very brave- and I don't just mean topping 311. It takes a lot of guts to fight for what you believe in, and yet you pulled it off. I've never been more proud to call you my daughter."
Sunny smiled, and mother and daughter entered into an embrace. "Thanks mom," Sunny whispered.
Argyle joined them moments later. "Stargazing, are we?" he said. "In a sense, the vastness of space reflects who we are- beings with unlimited potential. No matter what comes our way, we face it together- as friends, and as a family."
Goldie smiled and looked back to her husband. "On that topic, the night is young. Shall we go back inside?"
"You may have this dance, my dear," Argyle smiled.
As stories flowed and people celebrated, the world momentarily forgot the challenges of the way ahead. The Falmouth team would encounter tough challenges on the road ahead, and things would not always seem easy to navigate.
But no matter what came their way, they would face it together.