Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor

by The Blue EM2

The Dark Discovery, Part 1

Morning broke-

No, I've used that introduction far too many times in this series. How about we start with something a little more imaginative, eh?

The morning had arrived on Sodor, but it was not the bright, cheerful sort of morning. The sky was dark and heavy with rainclouds, and the air had this distinct wet quality to it. Rain was pouring incredibly heavily out of the sky seemingly from bottomless buckets, and the ground was quickly becoming waterlogged. Thunder also boomed in the sky, but from very far away.

In the small shed at Arlesburgh West, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were both getting their engines ready for service and huddling out of the rain, worried they would get splashed by the massive raindrops.

"I've never seen a storm like this!" Sweetie Belle said, as she sat on Stepney's footplate, trying to stay near the fire. "Some of those raindrops were so big they were exploding on the ground!"

"Tell me about it," Scootaloo replied. "In the orphanage where I used to live, there was a giant hole in the roof. Water would often cascade in that way and drop off the rafters."

"Texas got some pretty bad storms back in the day." Apple Bloom suddenly chimed in with her anecdote. "Bein' right on the Gulf o' Mexico, hurricanes and tropical storms would deposit large amounts of water inland and make a mess. Mah uncle, who lives in Houston, got flooded out of his house once!"

"Is he alright?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"He took out flood insurance, so he's fine. They even rebuilt his house for him too."

"All this talking," Donald groaned. "It makes me wheels wobble to think of such a storm! One of the worst was the flood that put the Kirkcudbright branch out of action!"

"And we were stranded there until they could fix the line!" Lyra noted. "That's once place I don't really miss."

"Especially after we rescued you later!" Douglas laughed.

"I do owe you that one," Lyra noted.

"Thanks!" Bon-Bon replied.

"Anyways," said Duck, suddenly. "We need to be ready for anything today, as the weather is especially bad. There was talk of a dam having structural problems in a nearby valley, but we need to be on guard. Percy has experience in being a submarine, after all."

"You lot!" called the foreman. "Listen up, as we have some work for you today. Donald, Douglas, Lyra, Swee-

"My name is Bon-Bon," Bon-Bon replied, looking infuriated. "Not Sweetie Drops. I thought we'd already been over this!"

"So it is," the foreman answered. "You are needed to move a goods train to Tidmouth. Normally, Murdoch would handle this sort of thing, but he's too heavy for the trackbed here, so you two get to have the fun."

"It'll be just like ol' times, eh Douggie?" Donald smiled. "Relieving a 9F at Dumfries and workin' all the way to Stranraer!"

"Though nowhere near as far," Douglas noted.

"Stepney, Oliver, you're on passenger trains this morning. Do a good job and be on time. Push Pull operations will allow you to keep time more efficiently."

"You can count on us!" Oliver smiled. "We were practically built to operate with Auto-Coaches."

"That's because you were," Scootaloo noted, confused.

"What about myself and Apple Bloom, sir?" asked Duck, noticing he was yet to receive a work assignment.

"Your job is special," the foreman said. "As you may or may not know, there is a wye off at Haultraugh."

"Wye is it there?" Apple Bloom asked, before she and her fellow Crusaders descended into giggling.

"Very droll," the foreman replied. "Anyways, the track that ran from the wye was left there after the main branch closed to service some local industry. We've linked it back up again and want you to go down there with some trucks to see what's still down there. There's talk of a town in that valley that has been abandoned for a long time, so we need to get some information. Be sure to take lots of pictures!"

"We will!" Apple Bloom replied, as the shed doors swung open and she and Duck set off.

---

Very little could dampen the spirits of those two. The rails sung beneath them, although they were a bit wet, and Apple Bloom was wearing her cold weather clothes to keep her warm in the conditions. The rain continued to splatter about the area. All you could see was wet, wet, wet.

"Have school exams just finished?" Duck asked.

"Ah think so," Apple Bloom replied. "Why?"

"There's an old saying here in England; the sun always burns hottest during exams. Then, the second the exams are over, the sun vanishes and it rains until September. Although the rains are quite nice, as it helps to keep everything nice and cool after blazing heat. Back when I was at Buckfastleigh, the summer hot season was operated by diesels to minimise the fire risk. The locals should have just watered their plants!"

Apple Bloom laughed at that. "Really? These summers ain't hot when you've lived in a desert." She applied Duck's brakes. "Ah, here we are. That's the junction we need ta take. Right over there!"

Duck looked as the points were switched to let them into the wye. The junction was designed so that this line could be accessed from both directions, and presumably there was a loop at the other end to facilitate a safe run round. But the pointwork on the part that had been left didn't look right.

"Look! Over there!" he said.

"Yeah?" Apple Bloom asked.

"This line was left in place after the rest of the Arlesburgh branch closed, but the points over there are modern power switches, of a design from the early 2000s. Somebody has been at work replacing the points here."

The points had now changed, and the duo set off down the branch. As they rolled along, the trees began to close in, and the weather began to slowly get worse. The sky darkened, although the rain began to slacken off, and the forest felt chilly and cold. Apple Bloom found herself shivering despite her coat, and a fog soon began to settle on the line.

"Could you switch my lamp on?" Duck asked. "I can barely see where I'm going with all this fog."

"Oh, erm, sure," Apple Bloom replied, and flicked a switch in the cab. Duck's lamp switched on (his centre one, as he was running light engine), but even the high intensity light could barely pierce through the gloom. "Ah don't like this one bit."

"Neither do I," Duck replied. The fog slowly thickened, reducing visibility even further for the pair. Eventually, a distant signal, left over after the line had closed, loomed out of the darkness. It had fallen into the down position after decades of neglect, the cables neccessary to move the arm long since rusted away.

The duo moved forward to the next signal, which was the Home signal. It was also in the Danger position, and had a notice attached to it.

BEWARE OF THE DAM

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Duck. He was getting more and more worried. He had no idea there was a dam on Sodor at all.

"Ah probably sound like a stuck record, but Ah'm not likin' the look o' this," Apple Bloom replied. "This feels like somethin' out of a bad horror movie." The pair advanced again, moving past the signal and through another line of creepy trees. Having run for a few more minutes, they suddenly found themselves passing through the remains of a station, and then past some old buildings. Several of them were abandoned shops and houses, with roofs that had already caved in and windows that had been smashed decades ago and the contents looted, but the largest structure by far was a giant water wheel. This loomed over the town, but had long since stopped working. The mill race above it was empty of water, and the bolts holding the wheel in place were badly rusted. The wheel would probably fall off if it were to try to turn, and the collapse would be disastrous if it did, as the town would be flattened. Not that anybody would notice.

The pair proceeded onwards to the end of the line, as it continued onwards into another line of trees. The fog was now even thicker, and the air was oppressive and dark. They finally reached the end of the line, and stopped at a stop board.

DANGER: ENGINES MUST SECURE PERMISSION TO PASS THIS POINT

"Then what's beyond here?" Duck asked. The fog suddenly began to peel away, the air and fog clearing and becoming, although the sky was still dark, visible. The scene slowly unfolded before them, as the sky darkened still and thunder boomed.

Both driver and engine shuddered at the sight before them. "Ya don't think-?" Apple Bloom started.

"Oh no," said Duck, quietly. "This place is a scrapyard!"

Author's Note:

The Great Discovery was the final production in the show's history to be done with 100% live action animation, as the show transitioned to a weird model-CGI hybrid look for Season 12, then full CGI from Hero of the Rails onwards.

This particular story is loosely inspired by the atmosphere of one of Horror of the Rails audio books, combined with the loose plot of The Great Discovery. Part two coming tomorrow!

Comments

[MightyAlpaca]

Ooh, spooky... there isn’t a strange, creepy-ass tank engine lurking around by any chance?

[JimmyHook19]

then full CGI from Hero of the Rails onwards.

might wanna correct that to as followed: from Hero of the Rails up to Season 24. Then the god awful 2D reboot came along.

Just so ya know. ^^'

[Wessexbrony]

Get out of there quickly before those two barge in.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

Ooh.... I'm getting shivers from this story!

[The Blue EM2]

10791288
static.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/5/5c/MainHurricaneCGI.png/revision/latest?cb=20200913050815
Hurricane?

[The Blue EM2]

10791298
Jimmy, virtually nobody in the fandom considers S1-24 and Tankie Life to be the same show.

[The Blue EM2]

10791309
static.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/2/22/StepneyGetsLost56.png/revision/latest?cb=20180901005728
"Well, well, what do we-"

Wrong episode, mate.

[The Blue EM2]

10791555
Then I succeeded as a writer.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10791712
Aye

[The Blue EM2]

10791838
Indeed. Stepney Gets Lost vibes intensitfy.

[MightyAlpaca]

10791705
Perhaps

[The Blue EM2]

10791844
Or who else?

[MightyAlpaca]

10791845
I dunno... I was trying to be mysterious... and failed

[The Blue EM2]

10791853
You tried, and that's what matters.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10791840
Indeed.

[The Blue EM2]

10792219
A legit dark episodem

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10792279
Indeed. As Those diesels almost murdered Stepney

[The Blue EM2]

10792374
Though are later played as comedy villains.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10792387
Yeah, which I found rather ridiculous.

[The Blue EM2]

10792388
Same.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"He took out flood insurance, so he's fine. They even rebuilt his house for him too."

That's a thing? Flood insurance?

"Wye is it there?" Apple Bloom asked, before she and her fellow Crusaders descended into giggling.

Why did I not expect to see that pun coming a mile away.

"There's an old saying here in England; the sun always burns hottest during exams. Then, the second the exams are over, the sun vanishes and it rains until September. Although the rains are quite nice, as it helps to keep everything nice and cool after blazing heat. Back when I was at Buckfastleigh, the summer hot season was operated by diesels to minimise the fire risk. The locals should have just watered their plants!"

Huh, that's interesting.

"Ah probably sound like a stuck record, but Ah'm not likin' the look o' this," Apple Bloom replied. "This feels like somethin' out of a bad horror movie." The pair advanced again, moving past the signal and through another line of creepy trees. Having run for a few more minutes, they suddenly found themselves passing through the remains of a station, and then past some old buildings. Several of them were abandoned shops and houses, with roofs that had already caved in and windows that had been smashed decades ago and the contents looted, but the largest structure by far was a giant water wheel. This loomed over the town, but had long since stopped working. The mill race above it was empty of water, and the bolts holding the wheel in place were badly rusted. The wheel would probably fall off if it were to try to turn, and the collapse would be disastrous if it did, as the town would be flattened. Not that anybody would notice.

A chill is running down my spine right now.

"Oh no," said Duck, quietly. "This place is a scrapyard!"

Oh shit! 😱