Into the Buffers
Seconds after her proclamation, Diesel 10's horn echoed through the air in the distance. "He sounds cross," Thomas said, dryly.
"I hope Juniper will be OK," Sunset added.
Autumn quickly got to her feet. "We need to find a way to get Sunset home, even without magic, but I think I have an idea. If Sunset has been hearing a steam whistle-"
"What else could she hear? A diesel whistle?" Twilight asked.
"Some of the early petrol engines had whistles." Once certain there would be no more interruptions, Autumn continued. "Anyways, we know that the Magic Railway is built to standard gauge, which leaves us with one option."
"I vaguely recall a coal truck in there," Sunset said.
"Even better," Autumn replied.
"I don't like where this is going," Thomas said quietly.
"Thomas, we have an idea so crazy it might just work. Will you and Sunset go through the buffers and recover the truck, and then take it to Nottingham?"
"That's madness!" Thomas replied. "I've made enough mistakes already, and what if I cannot physically run there? The gauge could be wrong!"
"What if it isn't?" Autumn asked rhetorically. "Twilight, I will need you to come with me. Diesel 10 is expecting us to be moving against him. But he won't be expecting Sunset Shimmer at Thomas' controls."
Thomas sighed. "Alright then, Miss Autumn. I'll try. See you in the future- hopefully." Sunset climbed aboard and sounded the whistle. She then moved Thomas' controls, and the pair set off into the night.
Twilight sighed. "Now, about rescuing Juniper?"
Thomas rumbled along the line towards Vicarstown. It was dark, and the fog made the visibility very poor indeed. The blue tank engine rattled along the track, suddenly seeing the buffers ahead. They began to glow a rainbow colour as he approached.
"Now or never," Sunset whispered, and braced herself for impact.
"Brace yourself!" Thomas called. They hit the buffers-
-and instead of derailing, found themselves somewhere else entirely. They were in a magic place indeed, with trees running alongside rails and ballast bathed in beautiful blue light. Thomas puffed along, bouncing up and down due to the poorly maintained track.
"This is worse than Southampton docks!" he exclaimed. "I hope we find that truck soon, as I really don't want to be down here any longer than I have to be!"
"You and me both," Sunset added. "Look! There it is!"
Looming out of the distance ahead of them was the missing truck. Thomas clattered over some points and Sunset brought him to a stop. She jumped out of the cab and threw the points, before climbing back aboard and backing Thomas down onto the truck. Then, she coupled him up, before once again getting back in the cab and setting off on their way once more.
"So, this Nottingham place is on the other end of that portal, right?" Thomas asked. "And to get there we just steam straight through the buffers?"
"That's the basic idea!" Sunset replied. "Mind you, I've only done it once, so I can hardly claim to be an expert on the subject."
Suddenly, there was a shimmering sound, and the ghostly outline of an engine appeared in front of Thomas, made entirely from floating golden particles. The only sounds it made were a series of whistles.
"Is that what I think it is?" Thomas asked. The apparition vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, and the next set of buffers loomed. They, just like the last set, began to glow a rainbow colour, and Thomas, Sunset, and the truck all melted through as they crossed the threshold between locations.
Thomas came to an abrupt and quite sudden stop at Fifty Steps, the truck clanging into him as Sunset applied his brakes. "Is this Nottingham?" Thomas asked. "I thought there would be sheriffs and merry men!"
"Robin Hood was around a long time ago!" Sunset replied, as she slipped out of Thomas' cab and set off for Ruddington Fields. "I'll get dad, as we need help getting this truck into the yard!"
"This is Sudrian coal!" Thomas called. "It's very important indeed! Please hurry!"
"I will!" Sunset called, as she vanished into the distance.
Thomas was all alone.
Sunset was on the outskirts of the yard when she saw a Class 03 shunter being used to move stock around rumble to a stop. She waved to get the driver's attention.
Caramel leaned his head out of the cab. "Sunset!" he cried. "Yer OK!"
"We don't have time for that!" Sunset exclaimed. "I need your help! There's a truck that needs moving into the yard and your engine can do it!"
Caramel nodded. "Ah'll be there right away."
Suddenly, Thomas found himself moving without any driver. "Oh not again!" he cried.
A voice, the voice of Storm King, cackled. "Enjoy oblivion, Thomas!"
Shortly after clearing the station, there is a steep downhill gradient. In normal operation, this requires heavy braking to counteract, but with nobody at Thomas' controls, he couldn't brake. He tried to whistle, but he couldn't do that! He tried to wheesh, but he couldn't do that either! He simply continued to roll helplessly along.
"HELP! HELP! I CAN'T STOP!"
He continued to gain momentum, speeding forward down the hill. To his horror, he suddenly saw another train in his path. A large grey diesel with an air smoothed front end was approaching from the next station. The driver of this engine blasted the horn repeatedly, but Thomas couldn't do anything.
On Time looked forward from the cab of the HST prototype to see an oncoming tank engine- with a face? "What the?" he cried, and, realising the engine had no intention of stopping, he punched the emergency stop button. Sirens wailed in the cab and the passengers were hurled forward as the train began to slow down. The tank engine was still approaching at dangerous speeds, and seemingly had no intention to stop. They inched closer and closer, until suddenly a rainbow flash of light opened up in the ground, swallowing the tank engine whole!
The HST ground to a stop, and On Time wiped his brow. "Was that a Non-faceless Vehicle?" he asked. "Passengers, we do apologise for the sudden stop. We will be underway momentarily."
Luckily, the truck was still there. But Thomas was gone! Sunset looked about for her friend, whilst Caramel hooked the shunter up to the truck. With a growl and a roar, the Class 03 began to move the load back into the yard.
"Thomas? THOMAS?" Sunset asked, looking all around and calling out the little blue engine's name. A few minutes later, the HST arrived and stopped.
"What's going on here?" On Time asked, leaning out of the cab. "Where did this truck come from?"
"Have you seen a blue tank engine anywhere?" Sunset asked.
"One nearly crashed into my train," On Time replied. "Then it vanished into the ground, rather like the Toad in the Hole in the Road."
Ribbit.
"How did my joke end up in this story?" Jimmy asked, suddenly very confused.
ANYWAY... they succesfully got the truck to the workshop, where Sombra stepped outside to see what all the confusion was about. Then he saw the truck. "Sunset, where have you been?" he asked.
"Sodor," Sunset replied. "Please, you have to help! I've been there, and it's wonderful. But it's all at risk now! There's an evil diesel and a scary man and they both want to destroy the island and the engines who live there. Autumn Blaze and Juniper Montage are in danger! We need to get the magic back!"
"I don't know how," Sombra said quietly. "Lady won't run on any coal I've given her, although all her parts check out just fine."
"This is Sudrian coal," Sunset replied. "Would that work?"
Sombra's face changed completely. "We can try," he said. "Get me some petrol and some old rags! We're going to start the lost engine!"
A few hours later, Lady's fire was roaring hot, and Sombra shovelled the first load of Sudrian coal onto the fire. Sunset stood off to one side. "Dad, why did you never mention Lady?"
Sombra sighed. "I felt that I had failed to protect Lady, and I had let everybody down as a result. I'd never thought I'd found a magic engine when I bought her; I only thought this was a local industrial, so when I learned the truth I took my responsibilities seriously. It broke my heart when Storm King broke her."
"Has mom ever ridden on her?" Sunset asked.
"Once," Sombra replied. "But Meadowbrook and I never went through the Magic Railway. We didn't think it was safe yet. But now that you've done it, such fears are probably in the past." Moments later, Lady's safety valves lifted, and her pressure gauge read 140 PSI. "Good. We're up to steam. There's no time to waste; hop aboard and let's go!"
Shutting her firebox door, Sombra pulled on the whistle chord, an LNER whistle obtained from a K1. The doors were opened with a flick of a remote, and Lady began to move for the first time in years. Sombra was going easy as he still wasn't sure everything worked properly, but Lady was performing marvellously. The signaller gave them clearance onto the main line, and onto it they rolled, Lady producing a wonderful two cylinder exhaust beat.
"The lights are all green for you, Lady," Sombra smiled, the first time he had smiled in many years. "Green for glory." They rounded the bend, the site of that crash all those years ago, and onto the access line for Fifty Steps. They charged towards the buffers.
"Here we go!" Sunset called. "Onwards to adventure!"
Sombra looked over, laughing. "That sounds familiar somehow," he said.
Lady rolled through the buffers, and onto the Magic Railway. The previously rough ride was suddenly very smooth, and Sunset saw Lady throwing up golden particles as she steamed along. The railway was getting its energy back, and Lady was somehow connected to it.
Both Sombra and Sunset were so enraptured with the beauty of the Magic Railway that both of them jumped when a third voice spoke. "It has been too long since I was last here."
It took them seconds to figure out who it was. "Lady!" Sombra called. "You're alive again!"
"How I've missed this place, and being able to roam free on the rails," Lady replied. "Thank you for having faith in me, Sombra."
"Never a problem," Sombra replied. "You're an absolute gem to drive."
Seconds later, another engine joined them from behind. "Sunset!"
Sunset looked back. "Thomas! You're OK!"
Thomas smiled at her. "So it worked," he said. "Highball for Lady! We'll have Diesel 10 beaten at this rate!"
Moments later, they entered the portal back to Vicarstown.
Elsewhere, Diesel 10 thundered into the smelting works, and performed a rather abrupt emergency stop in the yard, causing Juniper to fly through the air and land on James' footplate. "Oww," she groaned.
Rarity looked in confusion. "I do say, where did you come from?"
"Iver Heath, originally," Juniper groaned, as she stood back up. Diesel 10 approached from nearby. His grabber reached over and grabbed one of the workers, closing around him.
"Hand over Juniper or he goes splat," the diesel snarled. "Don't think I won't do it."
"You're a monster!" James shouted. "We will never give in to you!"
Juniper blinked in shock. "We have to get out of here!" she cried, grabbing her whistle. "I'm sorry for failing you all before, but I will do my best now and save you!"
With all her might, she blew her whistle. She, James, Rarity, and the workman were all teleported to Vicarstown, where Lady and Thomas suddenly came to a stop.
Autumn was there to oversee the arrival of both engines. "You made it!" she cried. "As did you two, Juniper and James!"
"Only problem is, my supply is all gone," Juniper wheezed. "Who would've known that trying to sparkle so many objects at once would be so hard?"
"At least we are all safe now."
Boy were they wrong. The growl of a Maybach engine started up behind them, and Diesel 10 advanced out of the darkness. "You were so focused on sparkling your friends that you forgot about me," he grinned evilly.
Storm King jumped onto his footplate. "Let's finish this once and for all!" he cried, and gunned Diesel 10's engine.
"Run!" Thomas called. Sombra pulled open Lady's regulator and got underway, and Sunset got Thomas moving as well as Diesel 10 chased them, laughing maniacally.
A few seconds later, Autumn had a moment of horrified realisation. "Stock up the magic that lies beneath the mountain and the Lady will smile! So that's why Storm King wants rid of her!"
"What do you mean?" Juniper asked, looking worried.
"Lady is the source of the gold dust! If she's destroyed, then we are doomed."
The bit about the Toad in the Hole in the Road-
Ribbit.
-is a running joke in JImmy's stories, starting with this one;
[Unpublished stories cannot be embedded]
Diesel 10's threat is a reference to this scene;
It fits for both, if you think about it. Chrysalis and Diesel 10 are both complete psychopaths.
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Things be heating up now! Full steam to the climax!
Finally. Onto the big finale. On a side note, I know you prefer to stick to the general canon of the series, but can you please bring Lady back later. As far as I know, after this she only shows up once in a movie.
I am excited for the end, but sad this story is almost over
Aaahh! What the matter?! Lady at engine's name is lady she the clue to the source of the gold dust! aaaaahhhhh!!!!
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That it is.
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There will be a sequel.
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You're not the only one.
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I think you'll like what I have planned for the end.
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The final chapter. Yes, the Toad in the Hole in the Road-
Was an entertaining one to use.
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And, you'll be able to find out who voiced who.
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It'll be a fun onr.
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Ok.
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What you think of this chapter?
You cheeky little Electric Locomotive you. X3
-sigh- Not gonna ask. :/
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1. Too good an opportunity to miss.
2. Think about it. Mercy, compassion, loyalty- she understands the concepts, but they are ultimately irrelevant to her.
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1. Heh, and hopefully it will be back in my stories one day.
2. If only she didn't deny the offer in Season 6. :(
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Chrysalis never had it in her. Friendship was always a threat in her eyes, and she was still attempting to destroy her foes even with her dying breath. Look at her pose on the statue!
What's bad about their track?
I have so many questions how Sunset knows to operate a train. Has she even had experience before!?!?
Yes it was sir!
Who's jimmy?
Gulp 😰