Twilight & Friends - The Complete Season 1

by ThomasZoey3000

Disgraced James

Twilight & Friends

A Thomas & Friends/My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Crossover

Written by: ThomasZoey3000

Episode 17: Disgraced James

Based on the MLP Season 6 Episode "Newbie Dash"

Workers shook their heads as Rosie shunted James back into the Steamworks. Cranky Doodle spoke firmly with him, "had you stayed and got your brakes replaced, you would be out pulling trains, but no, you fib your way out of here and go out onto the main line."

"I think I heard enough from Sir Topham Hatt," groaned James.

Cranky Doodle eyed him firmly. Victor puffed up and spoke next, "you only have yourself to blame James. You should be grateful no one was killed when you smashed into the station."

James gulped, remembering that Rarity had been in his way, but was saved just before he crashed through the platform and into the wall.

"You really ought to know better," continued Cranky Doodle. "You act like an engine fresh out of the workshops who doesn't know better."

Hearing that brought an old memory back to James. He remembered back when the Fat Controller, of many years ago, told him that if he misbehaved again, he would be painted blue. James had proven his worth then, but now he was worried about what would happen.

"James!" called a firm voice. James gulped and looked down to see the Fat Controller coming into the Steamworks. "Are you still thinking about your red coat?"

"No, er...maybe, but also about my placement on the railway," he said meekly, though really his only thought was his red paint.

The Fat Controller knew it too, "that livery of yours has caused us nothing but trouble since you got it, and since I can't have you causing anymore trouble on the railway, I'm taking it back and having you painted black again."

"BLACK!" exclaimed James. "Why not blue? I was told that if..."

"Yes James, I know what you were told many years ago about being painted blue, and I had thought about that, but given the way you act, you'd think you were as grand as Gordon. Black seems like the only color where you aren't showing off."

"Seems like a waste Sir," said Cranky Doodle, "having him painted black when he's just going to the back of the sheds once repaired."

"That was suppose to be his punishment, but before I came here, I got an important phone call from a good friend of mine. Spitfire of the Wonderbolts has arrived to perform several shows for Sodor, but their engine has broken down and needs repairs. I've decided to let James be their engine."

James beamed, but Victor and Cranky Doodle looked worried, "Sir, is that really a good idea?" asked Victor. "The chance to be the Wonderbolt's engine could make him more conceded than before."

The Fat Controller chuckled, "not when Spitfire is calling the shots. Trust me, when it comes to whipping anyone into shape, it's her. She'll have James acting like a proper engine in no time. Also," he added, "once James is repaired, see to it that their engine is given the finest treatment yet."

"Of course Sir, we'd be happy to."

It took well over a week for James to be repaired, and repainted. At first, he did boast about being the Wonderbolt's engine, but once his black livery was on, his boasting stopped. Cranky Doodle was relieved of that.

At last, the day arrived for the engine to arrive. She was pushed into the workshops by Donald the Scottish engine. She was painted in blue, but had lightning bolt stripes all over, much like the Wonderbolts uniform. Just looking at her, the Steamworks crew were able to determine that she was, in fact, an A2 Pacific.

"I thought there was only one left," said Cranky Doodle in surprise.

"There was," said the engine, who was called Tara, "but Spitfire's father found me one day in a lonely old shed, and had me restored to operating conditions." She went silent as Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, came walking in. "I'm sorry I ruined the run Spitfire Ma'am."

"Don't worry about it Tara, these things happen," she smiled. "Now once you're repaired, you're going to work for the North Western for a while, just for a nice change of pace." Her attention turned to James, "so, you're the engine taking over for a while huh?"

"Indeed, and you picked the right engine for the job. Well Sir Topham did, but those are minor details if you ask me."

"You're also the engine that smashed up the big station, am I right?"

James gulped, he was really hoping that Spitfire wouldn't have heard that. The leader of the Wonderbolts walked up to James, and looked him firmly in the eyes, "listen here Newbie, Sir Topham Hatt asked me to whip you into shape, and make you learn some valuable lessons, and I intend to do that. So no boasting, no showing off and no doing what you want to do, just follow my instructions and you'll learn. Either that, or you'll be out of the bolts and stuck in the shed for years." There came another gulp from James.

The following morning, work began into restoring the platform and wall. The Fat Controller looked on in despair, "this is really the last thing we needed, what with the grand 70th anniversary celebration in two weeks. I really hope we can get everything fixed up in time."

"Sir, please tell me it's not true!" cried a voice. The Fat Controller turned to see Rainbow Dash running over, "please tell me you did not just send James to be the Wonderbolt's own engine."

"Indeed I did."

Rainbow Dash groaned and made a face no one thought she could ever make.

"They are her life-long heroes," explained Fluttershy.

"Not to mention, she's been trying to get into the Wonderbolts for years," added Rarity, "but so far, they haven't made her a member yet, despite the fact she passed their tests."

"True," nodded Rainbow Dash, "but that's beside the point. Sir, James will make their lives a misery. He'll make them hate Sodor forever."

The Fat Controller gave a reassuring smile, "rest assured Rainbow Dash, that silly engine will be taught to behave himself by them, and they'll love Sodor. Oh and they asked me to give something to you if I saw you."

He reached into his coat pocket, and handed a letter to Rainbow Dash. As she read it, her friends came over to see what it said.

"What does it say?" Sunset asked the obvious question.

But Rainbow Dash didn't answer. So Applejack grabbed the letter and read it out loud, "Dear Ms Rainbow Dash, We the Wonderbolts have been keeping an eye on you since you passed your exams at the Academy a few years ago, and haven't forgotten how you saved us that one time involving Ms Rarity and her plane..."

Rarity blushed in embarrassment. It happened shortly after Twilight left. She had wanted to learn how to fly, and at first, she was really good at it. But soon her fears got the better of her, and she nearly crashed into the Wonderbolts during a show, but Rainbow Dash had been there to save them, and with Harold the Helicopter's help, managed to get Rarity down on the ground safely.

"...with that said, we are proud to say you have proven yourself to be one of us. Congratulations, you are now a Wonderbolt."

There was silence, soon followed by cheering. It was so loud, it could've raised the roof off the station. Only Rainbow Dash didn't cheer, and Sunset was the one to notice. "Dash, aren't you excited? This means you're a full time Wonderbolt!"

It took that long to sink in, but finally a broad smile came to Rainbow Dash's face.

"This will mean though that you'll be seeing James alot," added Applejack.

The smile faded, "oh yeah, I forgot about that."

A short while later, at Dryaw airfield, James pulled up with the long train of supplies. It had been heavy to pull, "what are you all taking? A load of weights?"

"Those be our planes and equipment," answered Soarin', another one of the Wonderbolts.

James groaned and rolled his eyes, "this isn't going to be fun at all."

As Spitfire and the Wonderbolts began to unload the trucks, Bertie the Bus pulled up. He smirked as he saw James, "that's a good look for you James, maybe you should keep the livery."

"Red is my livery, and this is only temporary Bertie, and don't you forget it!"

Bertie just laughed and once the last passenger got off, he rumbled away. One of those passengers was Rainbow Dash, beaming brightly as she walked over, being very careful as she did, keeping an eye open in both directions.

"Ah Rainbow Dash, glad you could make it!" called out Spitfire. She had seen the Rainbow haired girl coming up to them, "I trust Sir Topham gave you that letter?"

"He sure did, and it's a great honor to be part of the bolts Ma'am," she saluted.

Spitfire chuckled, "at ease Soldier, you don't need to do that around us."

Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously, "sorry Spitfire, but it's still a great honor to be here. Though, why on Sodor's rails is that foolish engine doing here? No offense."

Spitfire rolled her eyes, "it's to teach him a few good lessons, and trust me, he'll learn. They ALWAYS learn. Now, will you help us unload these planes?"

Rainbow Dash nodded and went straight to work. The planes were light-weight, but still had powerful engines, strong enough to go at great speeds. These at one time could be seen flying over the battle-fields during World War Two, but now they had been redesigned to work for the Wonderbolts Air Shows. Each one had a symbol on them, showing who's plane was which. One had a fresh paintjob with Rainbow Dash's symbol of a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt.

"Nice cute mark," James snickered as he saw it.

Rainbow glared at him. Spitfire only rolled her eyes, "don't worry, he'll learn. Trust me."

"I trust you, more than I trust James."

As the day went by, James watched as the Wonderbolts taught Rainbow how to fly the plane and watch their practice runs. They also had him follow them to the next station, just in case something went wrong. He found the work dull, and pointless. Worst of all, they gave him a nickname that he disliked most of all.

"Keep the steam up Bumper Buffers! We need you close by Bumper Buffers!"

This got James more and more annoyed. He was glad when the end of the day arrived and he could place the Wonderbolts train into a siding at the big station.

"Not bad for a day's work Bumper Buffers," said Spitfire.

"Quit calling me that!" snapped James and hurried off without another word.

Rainbow Dash meanwhile was enjoying herself, but there was something that was eating at her, "why do you guys keep calling him 'Bumper Buffers'?"

"Well it has alot to do with his accident recently," Spitfire answered. "You see, it's tradition for all of us to have nicknames."

"And why's that?"

"A little bit of fun, and to show you truly belong with the team. Heck, we call Soarin' 'Clipper', because on his first day with us, he clipped a flagpole in a simulator. I don't even know how he managed that. You honestly don't want to know what they call me." But she whispered it to Rainbow Dash anyways.

James puffed over to the sheds, annoyed and exhausted, "heavy loads and standing still, thank goodness I got a place in the sheds to call my own."

As he puffed into the sheds, he found the other engines there, some still in steam and others cooling down for the night.

"Good evening James, I trust you had a good run with the bolts?" Emily asked kindly.

"Good run? More like the most boring piece of work I've ever had to do. I'd rather pull the troublesome trucks again, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep in my usual spot."

The engines all looked to each other, then back to James, "actually James, you'll be staying in the goods shed," said Henry.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed James. "Why am I going to sleep over there? That is my spot in the sheds."

"To put it simply James, we're tired of your boasting and reckless behavior," answered Gordon. "We asked the Fat Controller if you could stay out of the sheds to keep your boasting down, and he agreed. Now once Tara's been repaired, she'll be staying here while you stay with the Wonderbolt's train."

"But...but..." James felt hurt, and cross, "this is my home. If you don't allow me to stay, I'll..."

"Smash into the sheds like you did with the station?" Henry asked, his voice raising up firmly. "Face it James, you're too high and mighty for your good. Some time away will teach you a lesson, now I hate to be rude, but be off with you!"

James opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could get out, he felt himself moving away towards the goods shed. Gordon and Henry groaned, "it didn't feel good speaking to James like that," sighed Henry. "but it's for his own good, right?"

"Indeed, and he'll thank us one day, I'm sure he will," added Gordon.

James was parked in the goods shed, and after his fire had been put out, the Driver and Fireman left him alone. He fumed angrily, "of all the...I should be in that shed, I shouldn't be playing scout for a flying team. I should be red, I should be grand again!"

"Sounds to me like you have a beef with everyone then," sneered a voice. James looked and saw Devious Diesel nearby, shunting some well wagons to another siding.

"Go away Diesel, I have no patience with you."

"Perhaps James, but I bet you have even less patience with the Wonderbolts and the other engines. I mean, you once pulled passenger trains and let smaller engines know their place. Now look at you, a mere shunter for a flying team and living alone."

James gritted his teeth.

"Maybe," suggested Diesel, "it's time for you to take a stand."

James raised an eyebrow, "how?"

Diesel loved nothing more than to cause trouble, and this was a perfect chance, "it'll start with James, and soon they'll turn on each other, and before long, old Fat Hat will realize they aren't worth keeping in their states, and send them off for scrap. Clearing the path for diesels, like myself." He broke out of his thoughts and spoke with James, "I say it starts with showing the Wonderbolts off as fools."

"How do I do that?"

"Oh I'm sure you can think of something. Before long, they'll grow tired of you, and send you back, allowing you to get back at the other engines for forcing you here."

James showed a nasty smirk, "I'll do it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks for the advice Diesel."

Diesel sneered, "not a problem dear James, that's what us engines do for one another." And he rumbled away, leaving James to think up all sorts of ways to get on the Wonderbolt's nerves.

The next morning, James was back at Dryaw. The planes were all lined up and ready to go. Rainbow Dash was getting ready to go to her plane, when James blew his whistle at her. At first, she ignored him, but soon his whistling got on her nerves.

"What?! What is it you want James?!" she started walking towards him, but had forgotten that some of the bolts were coming in for a landing.

Spitfire noticed this and shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

Rainbow Dash looked and gasped in horror. Reacting quickly, she jumped out of the way, but landed in a rubbish bin. She emerged from it, dazed and shocked. Spitfire and Soarin' ran over towards her, "are you alright Dash?" Soarin' asked.

"Yeah, I think so, though this stinks, literally."

James burst into laughter, and it got louder as a donut fell from her head and onto the ground in front of her, "nice moves Rainbow Crash, what trick will you do next? Fly into a thunder cloud?"

Rainbow glared at James, "why you bucket of bolts, you did that on purpose?!"

Spitfire shook her head angrily at James, "Rainbow could've gotten hurt, or worse. It's not funny No 5!"

This only got James even more cross. He hated when someone called him by his number.

For the rest of the day, James tried everything he could to annoy the bolts. He called them names, made false alarms and even did impressions to trick them.

By the end of the day, the bolts were fed up with James, "he's rude and down right spiteful. Tara's a far better engine for us."

Spitfire had to agree with them, but still she believed in what she was doing. She spoke with James, "I know what you're doing, you're trying to annoy us to get us to get you out of this job, but it won't work James. You will be staying with us for as long as necessary. Heck, we could take you back to the Mainland with us and leave Tara with Sir Topham Hatt." James looked horrified, "so knock it off James, and start learning your place on this team. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Spitfire," James groaned, and this time, he really meant it.

Spitfire turned to Rainbow Dash, "as for you, you've shown some good flying out there today. You really are Wonderbolt material Crash."

"Well thanks I...hang on, what did you call me?"

"Oh sorry, I guess James' nickname for you has gotten stuck in my head. Maybe that should be your nickname for the team."

Rainbow looked down unhappily, "I don't really like that nickname, I was called that for years by bullies."

Spitfire placed a hand on Rainbow's shoulder, "rest assured, when we say it, it's just to show you really are one of us Dash. It's a sign of respect around here." That brought a small smile back to Rainbow's face, "though I like to know how you got the nickname in the first place."

James was quiet when he returned to the yards. He placed his trucks in a siding and went over to the goods shed, not saying a word to his crew. As they left, Diesel oiled up to him.

"So, how did the plan go?" he asked curiously.

"Forget it Diesel, that plan won't work around Spitfire, she's determined to teach me a lesson or two, so I'm giving up on the plan. I'll just stick to being a Wonderbolt engine for a while." With a sad sigh, James went to sleep.

Diesel gritted his teeth, "bother and blow. Well James might not be able to teach the Wonderbolts a thing or two, but I certainly can."

As he rumbled away, he spoke to his Driver, "tomorrow, we're to take empty trucks down Thomas' branch line. They're needed for the quarry."

His Driver suspected nothing and agreed that they'd take the wagons the next day. Diesel sneered to himself, he was going to give the Wonderbolts a lesson of their own, but the hard way.

"That'll show them for ruining a good plan," he thought to himself.

After a few more days of practice, Rainbow Dash was ready for an air show, and it was just in time as there was one just a week before the grand 70th Anniversary celebration.

"This is going to be so amazing," said Scootaloo as she and her friends took their seats in the grand stands. "Seeing my idol Rainbow Dash fly in the sky like a true bolt, this is going to be the best thing ever."

"Even more so than when you saw her perform those cool bicycle tricks at the park?" Sweetie Belle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, maybe just as good, but it's still going to be amazing."

"At least she's learned how to be a good flyer," said Apple Bloom, "cause from what I heard, silly old James hasn't learned enough to be given his old livery back, let alone be allowed back on the main line."

"It serves him right for all his carelessness," said Sweetie Belle. "He nearly killed my sister for crying old loud."

Speaking of James, he stood nearby with the empty flatbeds. His Driver and fireman stood outside his cab, ready to watch the show. Spitfire walked over to them, "Remember guys, you can watch, but if anything goes wrong, we'll need you to be ready."

They both nodded in agreement. Spitfire turned to James, "and you need to pay attention too, cause this is a team, not a solo show."

"Understood Spitfire," James sighed unhappily.

Before long, the show had began. All the Wonderbolts had taken off into the sky, with Rainbow Dash towards the back, as was tradition for all the newest members. What they didn't know was that trouble was at the airfield. Before everyone had gotten into their planes, Diesel had asked a former member of the Wonderbolts to sabotage Rainbow Dash's plane, making sure it would fly out of control. He also knew that she would bail out of the cockpit in the event of an emergency, so he was to take his empty trucks along the line, collect her in them and with the aid of the same former member, take her away. It would shame the Wonderbolts, forcing them to cancel their shows and be forced off the Island.

As James watched the planes, he noticed Diesel rumbling past slowly.

"What is Diesel up to? And why is he here?" It was only then that James noticed a head popping up from one of the trucks. Before he could shout out, there came a spluttering noise from above, followed by gasps.

"I can't control it!" cried Rainbow Dash into the headphones.

"Something's wrong with your plane, bail out now Crash!" called Spitfire.

Rainbow Dash acted quickly, and not a moment too soon as her plane flew downwards towards some tall pines trees. Once out, she deployed her parachute. The head in Diesel's truck popped up for a second, and from what James could see, she had a rope in her hands.

"I don't know what he's up to, but Diesel's not getting away with this," James said crossly. He spoke to his crew, "we got to help Dash, let's go!" They nodded as they ran into the cab, and the now black painted No 5 took off after Diesel and Rainbow Dash.

"Just a little closer," snickered Diesel. "This will work for sure."

"Come on loser, it's time for a little payback," snickered the girl in Diesel's truck.

James puffed up behind, "ram them!"

"What?! Have you lost your mind? They're a normal running train," shouted his Driver.

"Have you ever know Diesel to ever haul a normal running train without some kind of nasty scheme?" Both Driver and fireman had to admit that they never had. "Open the regulator Hondo!"

The Driver nodded and opened the regulator even more. James charged at the tail end, and bumped Diesel hard, and out of the way, just as Rainbow Dash flew overhead.

"Land on my train Dash!" James cried.

Timing his moments, James slowed down just enough so that Dash landed on his truck safely. Once she was on, James bumped Diesel hard again, but the bump was so hard that it made him jump and slide off the rails, through some bushes and into a field. The girl in his truck figured he was going to get in trouble, so she jumped out and ran faster than lightning until she was out of sight.

By the time Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts arrived, Percy had arrived from Ffarquhar with cranes.

"What was that all about James?" Spitfire asked firmly, "you took off from the show grounds, and derailed another train. I could have Sir Topham leave you outside for a whole year for this stunt."

"Don't be cross with James, he was stopping Diesel," explained Rainbow Dash.

Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts were confused by this statement. James sighed and explained everything, "Diesel told me that if I wanted to get what I wanted back, I should make you all look foolish, so I did, but when that failed, he decided to teach you a lesson himself. He got someone, I don't know who, to sabotage the plane, cause why else would it go out of control? And he would take her away, making it look like she went missing under your watch, thus leaving you in disgrace. At least, that's what I think anyways."

Diesel growled, "stupid steamie figured it out."

James gritted his teeth, "I hate it when we're called 'Steamies'." He looked back to Spitfire sadly, "I understand though if you still want to punish me, cause if not for me, Diesel would never have come up with this scheme, and Rainbow wouldn't have been put in danger. I'm not meant to work the Main Line, nor be a Wonderbolt's engine."

Instead of looking cross, Spitfire walked up to James' left hand buffer and gave it a friendly pat, "well I can't say I'm happy that you went along with Diesel's scheme, which put others in serious risk. However, you did help Dash and stopped Diesel, so I guess I can't be too cross with you."

"Not to mention you've been really good over these last few days," added Soarin', "so that shows you want to become a better engine."

"So, does this mean I get to stay with the bolts for a little while longer?"

"Do you think you can follow our instructions and not show off?" Spitfire asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I promise, after my disastrous crash at the big station, and now stopping Diesel's scheme, I think it's time to say it's okay that the spotlight's not on me, but rather, all of us."

"Good to hear James, cause even if you didn't want to stay, we're keeping you for a month. You got that?"

"Yes Ma'am, of course Ma'am."

"Good, now let's get back to the Airfield. Percy can finish cleaning up this mess, and I'm sure Sir Topham will want to talk with Diesel later."

Diesel gulped, he really wasn't looking forward to that conversation. When they returned to the airfield, they found Dash's plane smashed to pieces in the trees, the fire long since put out. The crowds cheered to see that Dash was alright. They all seemed to focus on the Wonderbolts, and for the first time, James was okay with not being in the spotlight. He was just glad to be part of a team.

As for the girl from Diesel's train, they never did find her, but something tells me that we haven't seen the last of her.

Comments

[Kburke20]

Yeah, something tells me that mysterious girl will be back. 🔎

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Cranky Doodle eyed him firmly. Victor puffed up and spoke next, "you only have yourself to blame James. You should be grateful no one was killed when you smashed into the station."

Mhm.

"A little bit of fun, and to show you truly belong with the team. Heck, we call Soarin' 'Clipper', because on his first day with us, he clipped a flagpole in a simulator. I don't even know how he managed that. You honestly don't want to know what they call me." But she whispered it to Rainbow Dash anyways.

Huh.

"Smash into the sheds like you did with the station?" Henry asked, his voice raising up firmly. "Face it James, you're too high and mighty for your good. Some time away will teach you a lesson, now I hate to be rude, but be off with you!"

I love a good jerk Henry moment.

Diesel sneered, "not a problem dear James, that's what us engines do for one another." And he rumbled away, leaving James to think up all sorts of ways to get on the Wonderbolt's nerves.

This is not gonna end well.

"Have you ever know Diesel to ever haul a normal running train without some kind of nasty scheme?" Both Driver and fireman had to admit that they never had. "Open the regulator Hondo!"

ever known*

As for the girl from Diesel's train, they never did find her, but something tells me that we haven't seen the last of her.

Gulp.