"Great news, everyone!"
Jokesterrap had gathered the friends to Sweet Apple Acres.
"The repairs are finished. Harmony will ride again."
"Awesome!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Yay," cheered Fluttershy.
"Think you'll be able to take us on rides with her?" asked Twilight.
"We'll see," said Jokesterrap. "Did we raise enough money?"
"Eeyup," said Applejack. "I got it hid under a floorboard in my room to make sure no one steals it."
Suddenly they all heard the sound of glass shattering.
"What was that?" asked Pinkie.
"Sounds like somebody shattered a window," said Sunset.
"We'd better check it out," said Applejack.
They went out of the barn to see what where the noise came from. What they saw was quite a shock! The window to Applejack's room had been shattered, as though someone had broken in.
Looking into the room, they could see that it was a mess.
"What the heck?!" exclaimed Applejack.
"Who could have done such a thing?" asked Song Cue.
"Someone trying to ruin it for Jokesterrap, I reckon," said Vincent grimly.
"Well it looks like it worked," said Applejack, showing them the pried open lockbox. "The money's gone!"
"And who could've done this?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I'll give you a hint," said Flash. "Who's the one who's been trying to cause trouble for us ever since that ice bucket prank?"
It didn't take anyone long to figure that out.
"TRIXIE!!!"
They confronted the girl in question outside of the cafe.
"Where's the money, Trixie?" snarled Rainbow Dash.
"What money?" asked Trixie.
"Don't play dumb with us!" said Song Cue, "We bet you stole the money to make our efforts seem pointless!"
"How dare you accuse the Great and Powerful Trixie of a crime she did not commit!" snapped Trixie. "Besides, what makes you think <i>I</i> did it and not someone else?"
"Because you've been looking for a way to get back at Jokesterrap ever since he pulled that prank on you," said Twilight. "And when trying to destroy his engine failed, you decided to make his efforts to raise enough money for her repairs go in vain."
"I didn't do it," objected Trixie. "I was here the whole time."
"If you were here," said Rarity, "then who do <i>you</i> think broke into Applejack's room?"
"I don't know."
"Wasn't Big Mac supposed to join us?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"He had some chores to deal with," said Applejack.
Just then, Fluttershy's phone vibrated, indicating she had gotten a text from someone.
"Oh! Yes?"
Fluttershy read the text message then spoke to her friends.
"It's from Big Macintosh. He and Flash have found something rather out of place."
"What? " everyone else asked.
"He didn't say," said Fluttershy. "But I think we should go back and see."
So they went back to Sweet Apple Acres to see what Big Macintosh and Flash wanted to show them.
"We found this on a tree branch," said Flash, as he showed them a boater hat.
"Now who would wear this kind of hat?" asked Song Cue. No one needed to answer that question.
The gang instantly marched down to the Flim Flam Brothers' store.
"Well look who has come back," said Flim.
"Can we interest you in anything?" asked Flam.
"Yes you can," said Jokesterrap firmly. "Where's the money?"
"What money?"
"Don't play innocent with us," said Applejack. "The fundraiser money that you stole!"
"What makes you believe that we did it?" asked Flam.
"Cause one of you dropped this at the scene of the crime," said Vincent, holding the boater hat.
The Flim Flam Brothers looked at each other nervously.
"Ah, well, there's a story behind it," said Flam.
"Oh really?" asked Song Cue, not that fooled.
"Uh, why yes," said Flim. "You see, my brother and I had this thought that a very cruel person would try to steal your hard earned money from you."
"So," said Flam, "we decided to merely relocate the fundraiser money to a much safer place so that we could keep an eye on it in case of thieves."
"Then how do you explain THIS?" asked Trixie. She then lifted up an upside down wastebasket and there lay the money in a bag.
"So you found where we hid it," said Flim, trying to not sound nervous. "No one would ever think to look under there."
"Not a very good place to hide money if you ask me," said Song Cue, "I never thought I'd say this, but good work in finding it, Trixie."
The rest of the gang was surprised with Song Cue congratulating Trixie like that.
"See, I said I was innocent," said Trixie.
"Looks like we'll be taking the money back," said Jokesterrap, picking up the bag, "along with an extra $200."
The brothers were rather shocked. "An extra $200?"
"To pay for Applejack's broken window. Unless, of course, you want us to tell the police your little story."
So, the friends left with the fundraiser money plus an additional $200 to pay for a new window for Applejack's room.
"I don't think it costs $200 dollars just to fix a broken windown," said Sunset.
"Me neither," said Jokesterrap. "I was just really mad at those two for what they did."
"The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes to apologize for how she acted," said Trixie.
"And we're sorry we accused you of stealing the money," said Twilight.
"And I'm sorry for that ice bucket prank," added Jokesterrap. "Well, I'd better take the money over to the works. If you want, tell whoever you can find that Harmony is ready to ride the rails again."
The gang did so, and a little while later, almost the entire town had gathered at the rail works waiting for the engine to steam out. The workmen had asked them to stay behind the fences so they would not get hurt.
"We can't have anyone sucked under the wheels," they had explained.
Suddenly, they could all see a cloud of smoke coming out from a shed in the works.
"Here she comes!" cried someone.
Out of the smoke emerged a 2-4-0 tank locomotive with its whistle shrieking for the first time in years. She was painted in new colors of blue with red and yellow stripes. Her back part of her cab had been restored as well. On the side tanks where the nameplates that read Gladstone used to be were new ones that read Harmony. And there at the controls was Jokesterrap.
"Hello everybody!" he waved. "Doesn't she look great?"
"She looks awesome!" cried Rainbow Dash.
"Definitely better looking than the engine we saw a couple of months ago," agreed Rarity.
"Eeyup," said Big Macintosh.
"How do ya feel, Harmony?" asked Jokesterrap.
"I feel wonderful!" Harmoney replied. "The best I've felt in years."
People began taking pictures of Harmony and chatting excitedly about her.
"Can we have a ride on her?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"We've got some coaches in a siding over there," said a workman. "You can use them if you want."
So Gladstone was coupled to the coaches.
"This is so exciting," she said happily. "My first passenger train in years."
"Just be careful not to bump the coaches," said Jokesterrap.
"I'll be careful," said Harmony.
They brought the coaches to the platform.
"Hop in everyone," called Jokesterrap.
"Don't push her too hard," said Vincent.
"Harmony won't need pushing," chuckled Jokesterrap. "I'll have to hold her back."
Soon, everyone who wanted to ride with Harmony was aboard the coaches. The guard's whistle sounded and he waved his green flag.
"Alright, Harmony," said Jokesterrap, opening the regulator. "Let's show them what you can do."
With the blow of her whistle, the little tank engine slowly began to chuff out of the station. They started out slowly, but once on the open line, Harmony went faster. She had never felt so great in years. She whistled at the people who would stop by and wave to her.
"They've all come out to see me," she said. "Isn't that nice of them?"
"It definitely is, old girl," said Jokesterrap, "Grandpa would've been happy to see you in service once more."
"I'm sure he would have," said Harmony. "And I'm sure he'd been happy to see everything you did for me."
"Well it's just like I said before. You're not just an engine, you're family. And family's look after each other."
They raced past diesel engines waiting at signals for them to go past. Many of their drivers were shocked upon seeing a steam engine in service.
"I don't think some of those drivers were happy to see me," said Harmony sounding a bit worried.
"Don't worry," said Jokesterrap. "They're just surprised to see that there's still a steam engine in service here."
Harmony soon felt a little bit better. She wanted to go faster, but Jokesterrap wouldn't let her.
"Steady girl," he chuckled. "It's not a race."
It wasn't long before they had reached their stop at one of the top stations.
"Did you all enjoy the ride?" he asked.
Not surprisingly, everyone said they enjoyed the ride.
"What are you going to do with her now that she's fixed?" asked Watermelody.
"I actually hadn't thought about it," said Jokesterrap.
At that moment, two gentlemen in business suits approached.
"It's the boys in suits," Pinkie whispered, "if you see them in uniform, you know it's trouble!"
"Is she always like this?" asked Song Cue to Rainbow Dash.
"Most of the time," said Rainbow Dash. "But she's just being random at times."
"Well, those men may not be that dangerous at all," said Song Cue.
"Can we help you with anything?" asked Vincent.
"Yes you can," said the first gentleman.
"We are from the Steam Preservation Society," said the second.
"Steam Preservation Society?" asked Applejack.
"You see, there are people like us who value steam engines and want to help them to a better place to thrive."
"You were on the train, weren't you?" asked Sunset.
"Yes, we were," said one of the gentlemen, "the ride was very comfortable too."
"You see," said the other gentleman to Jokesterrap, "We were wondering if you would consider us welcoming your engine to our heritage railway. It's not too far, in case your asking. Just a mile or two north of town."
"You hear that, Harmony?" asked Jokesterrap. "You've been invited to be part of a heritage railway. You'll see many other steam engines there."
Harmony could not believe what she had heard.
"That sounds amazing," she said happily. "It'll be great to interact with more steam engines."
On the return trip to the works, however, Harmony could tell that something was bothering Jokesterrap.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Not in the slightest," said Jokesterrap. "I'm just enjoying the view."
When they got back to the Works, Jokesterrap had Harmony shunt the coaches back to their original siding.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Harmony asked Jokesterrap. "It's just that you've been rather quiet on the way back."
Before Jokesterrap could reply, his friends came up.
"Is something the matter dude?" asked Vincent. "We thought you'd still be excited about Harmony going to a Heritage Railway."
"Well to be honest," Jokesterrap confessed, "I was excited at first. Now I'm having second thoughts."
"Why?"
"She will have many other engines to keep her company," said Song Cue. “So she won't be alone.”
"But what if she doesn't like it there?” asked Jokesterrap. “What if the other engines are mean to her? What if someone tries to hurt her and I'm not there to protect her?"
"You're worrying too much," said Twilight. "I'm sure Harmony will be fine in her new home."
"Exactly," said Rarity. "It's for the best that you let her go."
"I guess you're right," Jokesterrap sighed.
They soon went to see the gentlemen.
"Alright," said Jokesterrap. "Harmony can join your heritage railway. Just as long as I remain her owner and that me and my friends can visit her whenever we feel like it. And you had better see to it that she is treated with care or else."
"You see, Jokesterrap's rather protective of her," said Song Cue.
"Understandable," said the first gentleman. "We've heard about his grandfather, after all."
"You have?" asked Jokesterrap.
"Indeed," said the second gentleman. "The stories have spread through the newspapers."
"We'll need Harmony mostly during the summer holiday and weekends," said the first gentleman. "It's our busiest time of the year. So she won't get much work until then. But would you be interested in being her driver?"
"I would be delighted to," said Jokesterrap.
So it was arranged. They followed the gentlemen's car to the Harmony's new home.
"Here's your new home, Harmony," said Jokesterrap.
"It looks marvelous!" cried Harmony.
"Great balls of fire!" cried Vincent. "She really can talk!"
Jokesterrap was very surprised. "You can hear her?"
"So do I!" remarked Song Cue.
"Same here," said Applejack.
"We all heard her," said Sunset.
"They can hear you," Jokesterrap said to Harmony, still in surprise. "How can they hear you?"
"It appears that they have developed the same bond with me that you do after you told them your doubts of me coming here," suggested Harmony.
"Sounds about right," said Jokesterrap.
As soon as Harmony was shown around the railway, the friends got ready to leave.
"I guess this is goodbye," said Jokesterrap. "We'll all come to visit you, though. And I still get to be your driver."
"I am happy to hear that," said Harmony. "I'll never forget what you and your friends did for me. If it had not been for you, I would probably be either stuck in that shed forever or ended up scrapped."
"This calls for a group hug!" cried Pinkie Pie. The friends all hugged Harmony on her bufferbeam. Harmony clouded them with a gentle cloud of steam, as if it were her way of hugging them as well.
On the way back home, Jokesterrap wanted to stop by the cemetery for a bit.
"What for?" asked Song Cue.
"There's someone I want to pay a visit to," Jokesterrap explained.
Everyone else knew who the "someone" was. Jokesterrap and the gang soon came to a tombstone that had read Porter Coupling.
"Hey Grandpa," Jokesterrap said to the tombstone. "It's me, Jokesterrap. I just wanted to let you know that I've done it. I found Gladstone and, with the help of my friends, got her fixed up and ready to ride the rails once again like you and her did years ago."
Shortly after, the friends started to leave.
"Uh, Sunset," asked Vincent rather nervously. "If you didn't have any plans tomorrow, did you want to go see a movie?"
Sunset Shimmer blushed. Did Vincent just ask her out on a date? Without warning, she kissed him right on the lips!
"That answer your question?" asked Sunset.
Vincent couldn't help but grin big.
The others couldn't help but grin too.
"About time," said Rainbow Dash.
"They make such a cute couple," said Fluttershy.
"Oh behave yourselves," said Vincent. "Besides, at least I'm not shy about MY crush."
Now it was Rainbow Dash's turn to blush.
As the friends left the cemetery, the spirit of an elderly man rose form the tomestone and smiled at Jokesterrap.
"Well done, Jokesterrap," he said. "I knew you could do it." With that, he disappeared.