> Thomas and Friends: Return to Sodor
>  by The Blue EM2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Opening Titles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Fimfiction Proudly Presents

A Story by The Blue EM2

Sponsored by the Guild of Equestrian Railroaders

And Based on an Idea by Thomlight Sparkle



Thomas and Friends: Return to Sodor

Starring the Voices of:

Vanessa Hudgens

Kimiko Glenn

Sofia Carson

Liza Koshy

James Marsden

Bahia Watson

Jane Krakowski

Michael McKean

Keith Whickam

Rachel Miller

Theresa Gallagher

Richard Hammond

Jeremy Clarkson

Robert Rackstraw

Nigel Pilkington

and John Hasler as Thomas the Tank Engine

Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions

Model Effects and Sequences recorded at Ellstree Studios

A Hasbro and Mattel Co-Production, Copyright MMXXIII
> Chapter 1-Follow the Road that Leads to your Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a bright winter morning in Falmouth, and although the temperatures were already beginning to drop quite dramatically from their summer peak, the population was overall cheerful. The community was building towards Christmas already, and several members of the community who were expatriate Americans were already preparing for the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving.

To this end, the Havens had come down to Falmouth to visit over the Thanksgiving season. Their engines had been a welcome addition to helping to relieve the workload that was starting to build up. The dockside was especially busy, with all the cargo that was arriving from all across the world.

Salty was especially hard at work on the harbourside. "I'm not one to complain!" he said. "But I have no idea whether we're coming or going!"

"This is an unusually high level of traffic," Sunny conceeded. "Much higher than last year, as a matter of fact. But I don't mind. Given we have magic back and our friends, what can possibly go wrong?"

"Hey Sunny!" Zipp called. "Me and some of the guys will be shooting hoops after work. You wanna come along?"

"Sounds fun!" Sunny said. "Izzy did show us how to play some new tricks, after all!"

Porter rumbled in with some loaded fish vans from the other side of the harbour. "Who ordered this smelly fish?" he asked.

"The fishmonger?" Izzy suggested.

"Apart from the obvious. I mean, who eats fish at Thanksgiving?"

"Given that they're forecasting another nationwide turkey shortage, some people might."

Salty glanced over. "I wasn't aware any people here celebrated Thanksgiving until more recently. I know some of the US Army engines stationed over here mentioned it, but otherwise it was very much a custom other countries did."

Just then, Rebecca arrived with a parcels train, filled with letters bound for the ships far away. "Look at all these letters!" she said. "They sure do have faith in their postal system, posting their Thanksgiving letters this late!"

"At least they're not sending the letters via E-mail," Hitch pointed out. "Otherwise postal workers would have less to do."

On the other side of town, Rocky the crane, freshly restored after being recovered from a quarry in Yorkshire, was helping to lift a huge statue into place. "Heave ho!" he called. "Time to lift!"

Goldie adjusted the controls as the huge object was lifted into place. "They'd have needed to hire a crane in to lift this," she smiled. "And here we are doing it ourselves. Just goes to show that old tech still has a place in the modern world."

"What about Harvey?" a construction workers offered.

"I don't think he's actually got the weight for this task," Goldie pointed out.

"I see. It's just that we haven't seen him for ages, that's all."

Goldie nodded. "His boiler tubes were wearing a bit thin, so he's been sent to Swindon to have them changed."

At the engine shed, Pipp was just signing on for the day, and as ever was streaming her daily life to her followers. "Good morning Pippsqueaks!" she said, with a cheerful smile. "Even though it may be winter, there's no reason to not be happy and look great at the same time!" She indicated to her winter coat. "Always make sure to have your coat with you. You'd hardly want to turn into an ice cube out here!"

"Pipp?" said the yard foreman. "We've got a shipment of empty ballast hoppers that needs moving from here to Lighthouse Quarry. There's no other engine available, so could you and Sophie do it!"

"Sure!" Pipp replied. "OK, love you lots, Pippsqueaks, gotta go! Pipp Pipp Hooray!"

"Pipp Pipp Hooray!" came the assembled reply.





A few minutes later, the short freight was ready to go. Pipp checked the brake hoses, and sure enough they were good to move off. The line down to Lighthouse Quarry was short but steep, so they'd taken the precaution to pin down brakes. The train slowly rolled forward onto the grade.

Before suddenly speed began to increase uncontrollably. Pipp increased breaking force, but that did little good. The speedometer dial simply continued to rise. "Sophie, what's going on?" she called.

There was no reply.

"Sophie? SOPHIE?!"

The freight was now doing at least three times the speed limit. Pipp faught in vain to get the speed back under control, but the controls seemed to be fighting her all the way. They rocketed through the tunnel past the lighthouse with the trucks bouncing along behind them. Pipp noticed there was no cheering or screeching from the trucks either, which was very strange.

Suddenly, the brakes kicked back into life, and Pipp slammed them into emergency. They skidded to a stop in the siding, with only a few inches to speare before hitting the headshunt.

Pipp shook her head, needing a few moments to compose herself before climbing out of the cab. "What just happened?" she asked.

Sophie looked confused. "What am I doing in Lighthouse Quarry?" she asked. "I was in the yard at the Docks a second ago?"

"We brought this train down the hill, remember?" Pipp said.

"No. I don't recall the grade at all."





In town, a similar conversation was being had. "You nearly dropped that thing on me with your clumsy great crane!" Posey Bloom shouted at Goldie.

Goldie looked back, surprised. "I have no idea what happened!" she said. "One second all was fine, the next the cables snapped. Is that right, Rocky?"

Rocky looked equally bewildered. "I don't know. One moment I was moving the object into position, the next this woman is shouting at me."

Sunny happened to be walking past. "I noticed the same thing in the yard," she said. "For a brief period, the engines became very difficult to control, and there was nothing being said by them. Almost as if- they had lost the ability to speak."

Zipp had arrived as well by that point. "What if it's something to do with the crystals?" she suggested.

Sunny sent a text, informing all of her friends to meet at the lighthouse.





Pipp had needed a moment to catch her breath after that excitement. The loading of the hoppers would take a while, so she had some time to chill. As she looked around the topography of the quarry, she noticed a cave at the bottom. But this cave wasn't like other caves. It was seemingly a glowing cave, as some sort of energy came out of it.

"Maybe I should check this out," she said to herself. Having secured Sophie in position, she trooped over to the entrance and stepped inside.

The cave interior had a river running through it, but that didn't reduce the beauty one bit. Glowing rock formations and bright crystals gleamed in the darkness, lit seemingly by nothing but themselves. The roof stretched high into the sky, and there was a bit of dripping water from the roof.

"I'm glad I decided to wear winter clothes today," Pipp joked to herself. "Imagine getting this on my dress!"

It was after a short walk into the tunnel before her she reached something remarkable. She then took out her phone and sent a text message.

Found something incredible.😮 Come sharpish?💛





"They're gone!" Sunny shouted.

"What's gone?" Argyle asked.

"The crystals! Somebody's stolen them!"

Moments later, the lift arrived, and the others began to arrive. As the lift could only carry one person at a time, getting into and out of the lamp room took a long time.

Once they were all assembled, they took a close look at the problem. The chamber where the Crystals usually sat had been opened. And one of the crystals had been removed.

"Oh no!" Izzy said. "Who could have stolen them?"

"A thief?" Hitch suggested.

"We'll need something a bit more specific than that," Sunny replied.

Misty glanced about. "What is half this stuff?" she asked.

"Equipment from when the lighthouse was taken out of service," Argyle explained. "The lighthouse beam is still fully functional, but when we want to operate it we need to move the Crystal chamber out of the way to avoid blocking the light."

Sunny spotted the lock on the ground and bent down. "Zipp, could you take a look at this for me?" she asked. "You're the detective."

Zipp bent down and dropped her goggles into position to scan it. "This lock was picked," she said. "Whomever did this had some pretty sophisticated equipment to work with. This was a professional thief."

Sunny stood up. "We have to find those Crystals," she said. "They not only power the magic and symbolise our unity, but they also give the engines their sentience. We only just got them back, and we can't lose them again." She continued. "We were able to bring them back together before against the odds, so we should be able to do it again!"

"How do we know where they are?" Hitch asked. "It was enough of a trip last time to find them, and that was using your dad's notes. How do we know where they are this time? They could be anywhere!"

Misty glanced over. "And how do we stop everybody from panicking? Somebody nearly got squashed by Rockey's statue, and one of the trams nearly ran somebody over!"

Sunny put a hand to her chin. "We need to dig deeper in here, in the crime scene," she said.

Zipp glanced up, having inexplicably gained a deerstalker in the meantime. "Conventional forensics won't work as we've all been in here a fair bit, so the objects are covered in our fingerprints. But a criminal is never able to leave a crime scene exactly as they found it. So all we need to do is find something other than the obvious that's out of place."

"Nice hat, Zipp!" Izzy said. "Where'd you get it from?"

"Every detective has a deerstalker on hand," Zipp smiled.

Argyle glanced around. "You are aware that Sherlock Holmes is never described as wearing a deerstalker, right? That was added for the illustrations."

"Elementary, my dear Argyle," Zipp replied. "Now let's look for clues."

Argyle sighed. "He never said that either..."

They took to searching the upper levels together, before Zipp suddenly spotted something. "Sunny, this is an overspill bookcase, right?" she said.

"That's correct," Sunny replied. "Have you found something?"

Izzy glanced down as well. "Is there normally a huge gap in it?"

"No," Sunny said. "These were always arranged in alphabetical order. And one of the books starting with S has been taken!"

Suddenly, Zipp's phone buzzed, and she took it out. "Text from Pipp," she said. "I was wondering where she'd gotten to. Found something incredible shocked face. Come sharpish heart emogi?"

"What's the incredible shocked face?" Hitch asked. "Sounds like an off-brand superhero."

Zipp texted back and waited for a reply. "It's in the caves near Lighthouse Quarry. Let's go take a look!"





"Whoa," was all Misty could say. In front of them was a giant glowing door, which glowed with incredible blue energy.

Sunny looked on in amazement. "I've heard legends of the glowing doors," she said. "Apparently, back in the time when the Gold Dust was young, a network of tunnels and corridors was created beneath the world. They could be accessed by the glowing doors, which would take you wherever you needed to go."

"It was giving off rainbows a few minutes ago!" Pipp said, and showed them a video clip.

"What I'm more surprised by is that you got a signal out here," Zipp noted. "Phone signal is usually awful underground."

Suddenly, the portal began to shake, and a wind started up. "What's happening?" Izzy asked.

The wind began to build even more. With a flash and a bang, the door opened, and they were all sucked through the portal despite their best efforts to hold on. After they were inside, the door closed behind them.





If you had been in the viscinity of a rural village on an English island that day, you would have seen a blue light suddenly stream out of the ground. This same light would have suddenly ejected a group of children out of the ground and caused them to land on the ground nearby.

They groaned as they got up. "That was a rough ride," Hitch groaned.

Izzy pushed herself up from the floor. "The floor is made of floor!" she exclaimed.

Misty groaned as well. "Ow. That did a number on me as well. Is that normal?"

Zipp tried to move, but something was preventing her from getting up. "Pipp, you're sitting on my legs. Could you please get off?"

Pipp sat up. "Oopsie! But at least I wasn't right on top of you like last time!"

"Yeah. That was quite a weight there. Perhaps fewer granola bar promos?"

Pipp pouted. "Shut up! It's not funny!"

Zipp snorted. "Wheel wheel wheel! Seems like somit slippit auf!"

Pipp shook her head. "I hope that wasn't important information as I didn't understand a word. Let's just hope we have signal out here."

Sunny glanced about. "Slightly more importantly, where are we?"

Hitch looked about him. "I don't know. It looks quite rural, but other than that I don't know. Let's go look around."

Izzy spotted something. "There's a station over there!"

The six of them ran over to the station, and walked onto the platform. Sunny looked at the running board, and read the name out loud. "Ffarquhar... Guys, do you know what this means?"

"No," Hitch replied.

Sunny jumped forward and hugged him. "WE'RE ON SODOR! See, I told you it was real!"

"Sodor appears on OS Maps," Hitch pointed out. "It's a bit hard to dispute the existance of a landmass."

"Guys, I don't mean to interrupt," Misty said, "but there's a train coming."

There was a train coming. And it was coming very, very fast.

"Help! Help! I can't stop!"
> Chapter 2-It might Delight, it might Offend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The shape continued to steam towards them, unable to slow down. The engine was also seemingly unable to sound their whistle as it approached.

Sunny knew she had to react, and fast, or else they were risking an accident. Without hesitating she pulled her roller blades out of nowhere and strapped them on, before speeding off the platform and racing down the nearby ramp.

"Sunny?" Hitch called. "What are you doing?"

"Saving your lives!" Sunny replied, as she rode towards the out of control train.

The engine looked frantic. "Look out!" he shouted. "Get clear! Get clear!"

Sunny kept her cool, rattling forward towards the looming danger in front of her. She focused, and saw the rails for the cab steps. It got closer... and closer... "Steady... steady..."

When the rail was inches away, she jumped. Her hand made contact with the closest rail, and she grabbed on, then held the other one with her other hand.

With a small bit of effort, in part due to the fact that roller blades are not designed for climbing things, she made her way up to the cab. Once she was inside, she was surprised that the cab was completely empty. There was nobody there!

She moved over to the driver's side, and closed the regulator before applying the brakes. There was a loud screeching noise as the brake blocks engaged to slow the train down.

"Horrors!" the engine cried, and he shut his eyes.

Sunny braced for impact- but when she looked out she saw that the train had stopped completely. Admittedly, the coaches weren't in the platform, and they were inches from the buffers, but at least they hadn't gone through them.

Sunny sighed. "Phew! That was a close one." She swung the cutoff handle round to reverse and released the brakes, before backing the train up into the platform to let the passengers on and off.

"Good heavens!" said one passenger. "That was a rougher stop than usual. Twilight must be losing her touch."

Sunny secured the train in position before hopping back to the platform and removing her blades. She saw her friends crowding round where she had been.

"That was seriously brave of you, Sunny!" Misty said. "I'm not sure I'd have done the same in the same circumstances."

"You risked life and limb to haul Hurricane out of the exploding steelworks," Sunny replied. "I'd say we'd all do what needs to be done in the circumstances."

Hitch seemed to be peering closely at the engine. "Sunny? This engine looks familiar. Is it one of the ones from our playdates?"

Sunny turned around, and now that the tension of the situation was over she could properly analyse what she was looking at.

The engine before her was painted blue, with red and yellow lining. But that wasn't all. He had six blue wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy boiler, and a short stumpy dome.

The engine looked over. "Thanks," he said. "I've been through enough walls and buffers to know it isn't fun."

"You're not Thomas, are you?" Sunny asked.

"How did you know?" Thomas asked, confused.

"Her dad knows a lot about Sodor," Hitch explained.

Zipp walked forward. "Guys, I hate to interrupt, but we can't stand around here at F-Farquhar all day."

"Farquhar," Sunny corrected. "Only the first F is vocalised, as in Sudric two Fs represent the single F sound. The second syllable is pronounced similar to 'quark', only with the K sound left off."

"Never took you for a linguist," Zipp replied.

"Her dad is a Sudriologist, remember?" Hitch pointed out.

"Anyway," Pipp said. "It's coming up on elevenses. Though knowing our rate of progess it'll probably be twelveses by the time we get there."

"What's elevenses?" Misty asked.

"Something posh people do," Izzy replied. "Most people call it a tea break."

Thomas just looked confused. "There's a cafe at Knapford if refreshment's what you're looking for."

"When's the next train?" Sunny asked.

"That's rather dependant on a driver, but the next train is supposed to depart at 10:30," Thomas said. "Though with nobody to drive it I suspect it won't be departing at all."

"I'll drive!" Sunny said. "I know my way around a locomotive cab."

"Then you'll need to switch on my automatic stoker and automatic injector controls," Thomas answered. "I'm Auto-Fitted, and Clarabel has a cab you can drive from for the return trip. Saves us running round!"

"I'll do that bit," Hitch said. "You get set up in Clarabel, whomever she is."

"She's one of my coaches," Thomas said. "I never go anywhere on my branch line without them. Unless it's a freight working, but this is as far as I go given Toby handles the quarry."

Izzy looked at Pipp. "I have no idea what any of this means, but it sound quite important."

"Possibly best we keep notes," Pipp answered, as they boarded the train.





After a quick brake check, and the guard blowing his whistle and waving the green flag, the train set off on its way to Knapford. Soon the landscape changed to rolling fields and lovely river valleys.

"Well, this is nice," Pipp said. "It's like we're riding through a watercolour painting!"

Izzy grinned. "I've never seen so much green and open space before!" she said.

"Really?" Zipp asked.

"I grew up in a very urban area, and the one local park was a bit rough until quite recently." Izzy lowered the window and inhaled. "Smell that air!"

The train continued on its journey, and they rattled past the window. Hitch was in the cab of Clarabel, and Sunny was, of course, at the controls. "On our left is Hackenbeck windmill. This regularly appears in promotional material for the North Western Region of British Railways and is significant for being one of Britain's oldest surviving post mills, having been built in 1686."

They rolled over the Ellsbridge river bridge. "This is the bridge over the River Ell. Nobody is quite sure of the etymology of the name; the Guardians certainly disagree over it a fair bit! The town of Ellsbridge is named in reference to the bridge that runs over it, and-"

"Sunny," Hitch said. "I know you're excited to be here. But perhaps focus a little more on what you're doing and less on giving a guided tour?"

"Are you implying I can't multitask?" Sunny replied. "Human beings are multitasking by virtue of being awake!"

Hitch shook his head. "Missing the point."

The train came to a stop in the platform at Ellsbridge. Thomas whistled. "Get in quickly please!"

After a quick stop, which involved exchanging some parcels and a rather confused station master calling Sunny 'Twilight', the formation set off again, with the train not calling at the now closed station of Torywreck. "This particular station is only open during peak periods; otherwise, passengers go to Knapford Junction to catch a connection."

Hitch sighed and turned to one side. "This is gonna be a long day. In case you've forgotten, we have some missing crystals to find, so perhaps prioritise that over living out your childhood fantasies!"

Sunny glanced at him. "In case you've forgotten, we're legally children. And I haven't forgotten about the crystals, actually. Helping other people out is a good way of finding information."

After a stop at Knapford Junction to allow passengers to board a connecting train (pulled by a big orange engine), the branch train sped down the line to Knapford itself. The impressive station approaches loomed before them, the signal gantry controlling entry to the station like a large guardian. Trains rattled in and out at speed, carrying all sorts of goods across the island. Shunting engines were propelling and assembling passenger and goods trains, whilst others were taking coaches away to the sidings to be stabled for later in the day.

Thomas' train was routed into Platform 1, and rolled to a stop, right on time. "Thank you for travelling North Western!" he said.

Sunny hopped out of the cab whilst a member of cleaning crew came up. "We'll take the stock to the yards for cleaning!" he said. "You'd best grab a bite to eat now- no doubt Sir Topham Hatt will have new work for you shortly!"

Sunny nodded. "Welcome to Knapford, where you don't pronounce the K. The station was originally built in the 1880s to serve the growing and prosperous town of the same name, but was remodelled in 1956 to the current platform layout. At peak times it can handle up to eighty trains an hour!"

"Where's the cafe?" Pipp asked.

Sunny indicated to a sign. "M. C. Bunn's is this way! Let's go!"





The six stepped through the door of the cafe, to find a cheerful atmosphere of conversation and laughter. A person was playing a somewhat out of tune piano on the back wall, which sounded very jangly indeed.

The girls queued up. "What would you guys like?" Sunny asked. "Menu is right above the bar!"

It took them very little time to decide, and they selected pastries and either coffee or tea, depending on preference. "Ugh! I don't understand how you can drink coffee at 11 in the morning!" Pipp said. "Won't you be bouncing off the ceiling?"

"Suits me better, princess," Zipp replied. "Besides, tea has caffeine in it as well."

"Yes, but nowhere near as much."

The woman on the counter, an orange skinned woman with blonde hair, looked over to them. "Good morning!" she said. "I don't believe we've met before. What can I get you today?"

"Two teas, four coffees, and six donuts, please," Sunny replied.

"One check or split?" the woman asked.

"One," Sunny said. "This one's on me."

The woman rang this up on the till. "So, what brings you to Sodor? And what's your name?"

"Tourism," Sunny replied. "I'm Sunny. These are my friends Hitch, Pipp, Zipp, Izzy, and Misty."

"Those are lovely names," the woman smiled. "I'm Mane Allgood. I run the teashop here. My daughter works on the railway- if you travel up to Arlesburgh you may see her." The equipment beeped, indicating the payment had gone through. "I'll bring your food and drinks to you in a moment." She handed them a wooden spoon with a number. "Pick a table and ensure the number is pointed facing the counter."

Sunny nodded. "Thank you, Miss Allgood." The group took their seats at a table and sat there for a bit, before their food and drink arrived. Pipp checked the tea. "Served in a teapot!" she said. "I never was much of a fan of filter tea."

Izzy looked at the donut. "Freshly baked!" she smiled. "Sometimes they can be old."

"Donuts don't work like cheese, Izzy," Pipp said. "If you at one that's out of date you'll be sick for days."

"Not all cheese improves with age," Hitch said.

"Sorry?" Misty asked.

"Not all cheese improves with age. You would each cheddar that's been aged for hundreds of years, but you wouldn't eat a hundred year old piece of stilton. I believe that whether a cheese keeps well is partially determined by whether it has a rind or not, as that allows it..."

The others tuned him out as he continued to talk about cheese at great length.

"Good thing these have a low calorie content," Pipp said. "Never a bad thing to watch your weight."

"I've noticed you looking closely at that sort of thing a lot," Misty noted.

"Yeah, why are you so picky about that?" Izzy asked.

Pipp sighed. "Unlike Zipp, who can easily absorb food, I struggle to keep weight off. I did use to be overweight, and trust me it wasn't fun."

"You're also a teen, like me," Zipp pointed out. "High metabolism and all that. I mean, look at Izzy- she eats like a horse and is pretty slim."

"I eat like a unicorn, actually," Izzy pointed out.

Pipp assumed Izzy was being random and continued onwards. "No excuse to eat excessively. A lot of my followers are kids, and I do blog about healthy eating. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't practice what I preached."

Zipp nodded. "True. But that doesn't mean you can't have fast food every now and then."

Suddenly, the door opened, and a workman bustled in and stopped at their table. "Excuse me, but when you are finished Sir Topham Hatt would like to see you."

"Us?" Hitch asked, having finished rambling about cheese.

"Correct," the workman said. "He wishes to commend you." He then vanished.

"What could this be all about?" Misty asked.

"Beats me," Sunny said, taking a sip of her coffee- and nearly jumping. "Argh! Burnt my tongue!"





Once they were done, they entered the office of Sir Topham Hatt. It was a nice room. There were tables, windows, a few posters from the North Western Railway, and a large table with a map of the island, and lights set into it to denote where trains were (presumably through track circuits).

"Good to see you arrived!"

The six glanced over to see a large figure arrive. This was, presumably, Sir Topham Hatt. He was what some people would call, erm, stout. He took off his hat and put it on a hatstand. "I am Sir Topham Hatt, the head of the railway."

"There is no doubt about that," Sunny added. "Controller of the line, you could say."

"Sorry?" Izzy asked.

"In fact," Sunny added, "It's plain as plain can be, for anyone to see that this is Sir Topham Hatt's railway."

Sir Topham Hatt sat down at his desk. "And I thought only Pinkie made references specifically aimed at older readers." He glanced up. "I heard how you six prevented a nasty accident at Ffarquhar, so I want to praise you on a job well done. The truth is that we're short of drivers. Some of them have vanished."

Sunny suddenly remembered that Thomas' cab had been empty when she had boarded. "Vanished, you say?" she said.

"Yes," Sir Topham Hatt replied. "Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity- none of them are responding to their radios. It's left us in a frightful pickle, and is on the verge of causing confusion and delay."

"That doesn't sound good," Misty said.

"It isn't," Sir Topham Hatt. "But it's the ability to persevere and overcome any odds that helped to make Britain great. Sodor has been through much harder times, and it was the Blitz spirit that saw us through. I have no doubt we'll emerge from this crisis once again, stronger than before." He glanced up. "But that's not why I called you in here. I need more drivers to cover the crisis, and I was wanting to recruit you six."

There was a momentary pause, before a familiar voice spoke. "Where do I sign?"

"Sunny! Stop and think for a moment!" Hitch said.

"When else am I going to get a chance to live and work on Sodor's North Western?" Sunny replied.

"Well, if that's all settled, we'll take you out to Tidmouth Sheds and introduce you to your engines."
> Chapter 3-The Rules are only There for your Protection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a short journey in a company lorry, the six friends were dropped off at a set of large sheds built around a turntable. The shed in question had six berths, of which all were currently occupied, and was built of yellow brick with the berths framed by doors painted green. The structure looked quite attractive and well built.

As previously noted, there were six engines sat inside the shed. They came in different shapes and sizes, but all of them looked quite surprised. "Who are these people, sir?" asked a red one with a golden dome.

"These," said Sir Topham Hatt, "are your relief drivers whilst we try to find the original ones." He turned to the assembled crowd. "Now then, time for your introductions." He began to pan from left to right, introducing each engine in turn.

"This," he began, "is Thomas. I believe you already know him."

"Hello!" Thomas replied. "I'd say welcome to the Island of Sodor, but you've already been here a bit, so it seems a bit pointless!"

Sir Topham Hatt consulted his clipboard. "Sunny, as you already have experience operating him, you shall be his temporary driver."

Sunny could barely suppress her glee at this news. "Thank you sir!"

Sir Topham Hatt then walked to the next engine, who was also painted blue and red, but had a tender and considerably more wheels. "This is Edward. He's one of the oldest operating steam engines in the United Kingdom, but he's still very useful."

"Good morning," the engine said kindly. "I hope you're all having a pleasant day."

"Misty, you shall be driving him," Sir Topham Hatt continued. "I'm certain that Edward will teach you all you need to know."

Misty nodded, but otherwise said nothing. This was a bit of a step up from Bellerophon for sure.

Next, Sir Topham Hatt moved onto a large green locomotive with red stripes and a belpaire firebox, with a large curved tender sitting behind him. "You may know this engine already. His name is Henry, and he is a mixed traffic locomotive, meaning he can pull coaches and trucks equally well."

"I do hope Fluttershy's OK," Henry said. "I do worry about her sometimes."

"When don't you worry?" asked the red engine. "I never worry."

"You worry about your paint!" Thomas said.

"That's because an engine as splendid as me needs to keep up appearances, after all."

"Anyway," said Sir Topham Hatt, "Hitch, you shall be driving Henry. Black 5s are fairly simple and rugged machines, but be sensible with the controls nontheless."

Hitch nodded. "Shouldn't be too different to a spam can, then."

Sir Topham Hatt stepped in front of the next engine, who was easily the largest of the lot. He was painted blue, and had a trailing wheelset on top of his rather large selection of wheels. Not to mention a rather unusual square tender. "This is Gordon, the pride of the express fleet. If he looks familiar, that's because he's the prototype to the A1 and A3 classes, of which Flying Scotsman is a member."

Gordon looked over. "It's not a tough decision, though I have to confess, it's hard to find a better engine for the express as no other engine can handle fifteen coaches over Marron's Bank unnasisted."

"Then why do you keep getting stuck on it?" Henry laughed. This produced raucous laughter from the other engines.

Gordon fumed. "Oh, the indignity."

Sir Topham Hatt then went back to speaking. "Zara Storm, you shall be driving him. There's a lot of power behind that regulator, so be cautious."

"OK," Zipp replied. "Please, just call me Zipp."

Sir Topham Hatt then walked over to the red engine who had spoken earlier. "This is James. He's a mixed traffic engine, capable of handling smaller passenger and freight tasks."

"Though of course my splendidness makes me best suited to passengers," James replied.

"Pipp, you shall drive him."

James looked over. "I thought Pip worked for the Arlesdale Railway."

"I'm Pipp!" Pipp said, "Short for Phillipa." She made her way over to the footplate.

James sighed. "Phillip and Phillipa. This will be confusing."

Finally, Sir Topham Hatt stopped in front of the last engine, a small green saddle tank engine that seemed ready to go. "And last, but most certainly not least, we have Percy. He may be a small machine, but he's incredibly useful on sidings and branchlines."

"I'll keep those trucks in order!" Percy said cheerfully.

"Izzy, you'll be at his controls." Sir Topham Hatt stepped back as he looked at the crew take the controls. "Your work orders are in the binders on the fireman's side. Study them carefully, as they contain timetables, destinations, and what stock to use."

Zipp took a look at hers. "Semi fast passenger from Knapford to Vicarstown, departing in one hour." She nodded. "Sounds doable."

"A stopping passenger?!" Gordon said, sounding horrified. "Whatever has the world come to?"

"Engines your size frequently did stopping work in the 1960s," Edward pointed out.

"Only because of those diesels!" Gordon replied. "True, some are nice, but mark my words Zipp, most diesels are bad eggs and are not to be trusted!"

Zipp sighed. From her experience this was not the case. True, Charles was pompous and a bit arrogant, but he wasn't malicious. She moved the cab controls about and prepared Gordon to move off. "Align the turntable!" she called.

A workman hopped into the control booth for the turntable and rotated it to Gordon's line. Zipp opened the regulator- too much. Sparks flew from the rails and steam flew into the air as Gordon's wheels slipped.

"NOT THAT MUCH REGULATOR!" Gordon shouted. "Why do new drivers always overdo it?"

Zipp moved the regulator back and corrected the problem. "This engine is just like my aunt," she grumbled. "Just with none of the redeeming qualities."

"I heard that!"





An hour later, Gordon was ready to depart with the semi fast. This only had two intermediate stops at Wellsworth and Crovan's Gate, so should be a fairly simple run. As Gordon had predicted, he was hugely overpowered for the run, but it seemed that no other engine was available.

Henry came to a stop on a nearby line. "Remember you're not going to London today!" he said.

"I know," Gordon replied. "At least I have a return trip to properly stretch my wheels."

Just then, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. "Time to go!" Zipp said, and sounded the whistle in response, a familiar Gresley chime whistle cutting through the station.

Gordon smiled. "SEMI FAST COMING THROUGH!"

He snorted away from the station in a cloud of smoke and steam, and upon clearing the complex tangle of trackwork around Knapford could really get up to speed. The light load soon meant that he could run efficiently at line speed. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" he called to the coaches.

"It isn't a race! We're not going to Edinburgh!" the coaches replied.

"Wait, the coaches talk now?" Zipp asked. "And I thought singing trucks was weird enough."

A few minutes later, they rolled into Wellsworth several minutes early. "Perfectly done!" Gordon said. "These passengers now have plenty of time to change trains."

Zipp, however, was worried. She was still concerned about the crystal pieces. So she hatched a cunning plan in her mind. "If we depart early from the stops, we'll be able to use more time to look for the crystals!" She reached up and sounded the whistle four times- the signal to prepare for departure.

Passengers ran across the platform and jumped onboard, throwing heavy bags and suitcases into the luggage racks and generally making a mess. The doors slammed, and the guard jumped on as the train began to pull away.

"What are you doing?" Gordon asked. "This isn't a race!"

"Saving you some time," Zipp smiled.

The same happened at Crovan's Gate, with much shouting from the platform as luggage got left behind. And something else too. Gordon pulled into Vicarstown about 15 minutes early, and simmered at the achievement. "That was a brisk run indeed," he said.

Zipp sat back in the cab and smiled. "Easy, simple, effective time saving measure," she said. "Just leave before the timetable!"

"ZIPP STORM! GORDON! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Zipp looked over to see Sir Topham Hatt walking over to Gordon's cab. He looked very cross.

"Departing early from stations, leaving goods marooned on platforms, and leaving behind the guard?" he asked.

"The guard?" Gordon asked.

"I've lost my nice guard, I've lost my nice guard!" the brake coach sobbed.

"Trains are meant to run on time, not before them!" Sir Topham Hatt continued. "You have caused confusion and de- Confusion and del- A great deal of confusion! Now what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"It was her idea, not mine!" Gordon said quickly.

"Way to throw me under the bus," Zipp grumbled. "Fine. It was my idea. I guess I'm more used to freight than passenger."

Gordon's eyes went as small as pinpricks when he heard this, whilst Sir Topham Hatt smiled. "Freight, you say? Well then, I think I know just the thing."





A few hours later, Henry and Hitch were making a coal delivery to Marron. "That small area over there is a place that is wonderful for bird watching in the summertime," Henry explained. "But not as much in the wintertime like now, as the birds have left for warmer climates further south."

"You're a birdwatcher too?" Hitch asked, as he uncoupled the trucks.

"I sometimes have long waits for other trains to overtake, and I have always enjoyed being around nature," Henry replied. "Sodor has been my home for over 100 years now, and I'm still finding new things out about it."

Hitch looked confused. "You're a Black 5. Those went into production in 1934, which is nearly 90 years ago. So how can you have been here for more than 100 years?"

"I may be a Black 5 now, but I was originally built as a prototype locomotive by the Great Northern," Henry explained. "Think of Gordon but without the trailing wheels. However, I was not a huge success, so I was sold to the North Western and remained in that form until a few years ago, when I was sent to Crewe to be rebuilt after an accident. I can pull the express on good days now, though don't tell Gordon!" He listened closely. "Speaking of which, is that him coming now?"

A three cylinder beat had started nearby, and before long rattling and rolling began.

"Gordon has three cylinders, right?" Hitch asked. "I've driven Bulleid Light Pacifics before, so I'm familiar with the sound. But it's going quite slowly."

"It is," Henry said, a grin gradually forming on his face. "It sounds like Gordon, and it ought to be Gordon, but Gordon never runs that slowly... right?"

It was Gordon. He looked very annoyed. Behind him was a very long train of mixed goods wagons. Coal trucks, tankers, some vans, and other vehicles rattled past, making a frightful racket.

"A goods train, a goods train, a goods train," Gordon grumbled. "The shame of it, the shame of it, the shame of it."

"Hey, look on the bright side Gordon!" Zipp said. "At least you don't have any complaining passengers to worry about!"

A few minutes later, the station master arrived at the siding with urgent news. "Gordon and his train are stuck and can't get over the hill. Can you help, please?"

Henry sighed. "Oh not again. Right away, sir- when we find a turntable."





After being turned and making his way to the scene, Henry was buffered up to the back of the stalled train. Zipp walked back. "I don't understand it," she said. "Gordon should have ample power to get this lot over the hill, but for some reason he couldn't."

"These trucks hold an engine back so!" Gordon shouted.

"Then how come no other engine has gotten stuck on Gordon's Hill?" Henry asked.

"I'll provide power on the front, and you push from the back," Zipp said. "Good luck."

Henry was ready to go. "Ready!" he called, after the whistle was blasted.

"Best of luck!" Gordon said, though his tone of voice indicated intense doubt.

Hitch opened the regulator, and Zipp did the same at the front. With twin jets of steam, the two engines began to shift their heavy load over the hill.

"GET MOVING YOU!" Henry shouted to the trucks.

"Keep going!" Gordon shouted. "The summit is nearly in sight!"

The track twisted and turned round to the top, before they passed over Marron's Bank and began the slow descent to Wellsworth. Unlike many previous journeys, the pair made it with no accidents at all. Hitch went to uncouple Henry in the siding whilst Zipp prepared her train for onward travel when she suddenly spotted something at the lineside.

"Wait, did you see that?" she said to Hitch over the radio.

"See what?" Hitch asked.

"A figure just moved off into the village!" Zipp said. "I'm gonna take a look!" Before Hitch could stop her she dashed away into Wellsworth.

"Zipp! You can't just leave an engine unattended!" Hitch called as he chased after her. He dashed through the local streets before finding her in the town square, facing the war memorial.

"I was certain he was here!" Zipp puffed.

"Who?"

"The figure who ran off earlier!" Zipp said, and took out a notepad. "Note to self: people keep strangely appearing and vanishing. Must investigate further."





James the Red Engine bounced along the line with a short passenger train. "Now this is how you do it!" he said. "The passengers must be having a splendid time!"

Pipp looked out of the cab and saw a rapidly approaching station. "Time to stop, guaranteed connection!" she said.

"With the branch line," James said. "Hopefully Thomas isn't dawdling again."

Pipp shut off steam and applied the brakes as the train approached the platform before bringing the formation to a smooth stop.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S JAMES!" James said as he stopped.

Pipp smiled as she hopped out of the cab. "This is a perfect place to try out some new material!" she said, producing a microphone from nowhere.

"Look!" a girl shouted. "It's Pipp Petals!"

Before long, hordes of children were pouring across the platform, clearly excited to see their pop idol. Pipp was more than happy to return the love. "Hello, Pippsqueaks!" she called. "I'll admit I wasn't entirely expecting to be on Sodor today, but none of that matters! I've got a new song, specially for you! Wanna hear it?"

The children cheered as Pipp snapped her fingers. "Hit it!"

Generic sounding synth pop began to flow from the station speakers as Pipp confidently stepped forward.

"I’m feelin’/
Fresh!
Like my hair is on fleek/
Happiness is all I need!
Spreadin love from you to me!
(Uh, Uh)

"Somethin' about about the way I’m feelin'/ (feelin')
Like everybody got a glow! (Glow)
Shining brightly with a power/ (Power)
Just spread the colors of the Rainbow! (Rainbow)

"I Got my make up on/
Got that glitter and glam!
Oh, this my favorite song/
Yeah, they playing my jam!
I feel beautiful, I feel powerful/
I feel me!

"I’m feelin’/
Fresh!
Like my hair is on fleek/
Happiness is all I need/
Spreading love from you to me!

"I’m feelin’/
Fresh!
Magic all around my friends/
Celebration never ends/
Oh cuz we always a ten!

"Wo, ho, ho, ho, ho!
I’m my best self everybody can tell!
Wo, ho, ho, ho, ho!
I’m my best self everybody can tell!

"When did this mirror get so gorgeous? (Gorgeous)
Who's that, is that me? (Me)

"I got my make up on/
Got that glitter and glam!
Oh, this my favorite song/
Yeah, they playing my jam!
I feel beautiful, I feel powerful!
I feel me!

"I’m feelin’/
Fresh!
Like my hair is on fleek/
Happiness is all I need/
Spreading love from you to me!

"I’m feelin’/
Fresh!
Magic all around my friends/
Celebration never ends/
Oh cuz we always a ten!

"Wo, ho, ho, ho, ho!
I’m my best self everybody can tell!
Wo, ho, ho, ho, ho!
I’m my best self everybody can tell!"

Just then, Thomas and Sunny arrived on another line from Ffarquhar. "How is she doing that?" Thomas asked. "Routing her music through the station speakers?"

Sunny shook her head. "Some mysteries are perhaps best left unanswered, Thomas."
> Chapter 4-Your Best-laid Plans can Turn Upside-Down
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't get a response from either of them!" Lady Haven said, having just rung her daughter's numbers for what felt like the 20th time. "Where could they be?"

"I'm certain they're around here somewhere," Lord Haven reassured her. "We just need to stay calm and keep a level head collectively."

Argyle suddenly popped in. "No sign of Sunny in town," he said. "Last I saw they'd all gone towards that cave."

"Why not look there?" Trick Shot suggested. "If they went there, and haven't returned, it makes sense tney're still there. So I'd suggest looking there next."

Aurora, on the other hand, had begun checking the miracle that is the internet. She had a reasonable social media presence, and was using this to her advantage. "Hello everyone," she said to the screen. "I need your help. A few hours ago, my daughter Izzy went missing and we cannot find her. If any of you have any leads as to where she is, please send them to me either via email or direct messaging on Facebook Messenger."

Isaac was also scowering the internet when suddenly he hit a lead. "Hate to interrupt," he said, "but Pipp Petals is trending really high right now." He slid down the videos, and suddenly found one that had been uploaded to the internet mere minutes ago. The video had clearly been filmed on a phone, hence the shaky video and rather poor audio quality, but it was most certainly her.

"I Got my make up on/
Got that glitter and glam!
Oh, this my favorite song/
Yeah, they playing my jam!
I feel beautiful, I feel powerful/
I feel me!

"I’m feelin’/
Fresh!
Like my hair is on fleek/
Happiness is all I need/
Spreading love from you to me!

"I’m feelin’/
Fresh!
Magic all around my friends/
Celebration never ends/
Oh cuz we always a ten!"

"I dread the effect she's having on children's grammar," Isaac said sarcastically.

Lord and Lady Haven rushed over to see the video. "Never mind that!" Lady Haven said. "Pipp? Pipp? Can you hear me?"

Lord Haven put a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't a live stream. It's a pre-recorded video."

"Oh." Lady Haven looked closer. "But where in the world is she in that video? I don't recognise that building at all!"

Argyle stepped over. "Wait a moment," he said. "Does the video have a description?"

Isaac popped it open. "There you go." He then began to read the description, which sounded hilarious in his voice. "#PippPetals performing earlier today #pop #steam #surprise concert-"

"That sounds like her," Lord Haven added. "Ever since she was born she bursts into song at random intervals for no obvious reason."

"But where in the world is Knapford?"

"Does the video have a geotag?" Argyle asked.

Isaac highlighted it, and Argyle leaned in, taking a moment to decipher it. "Copy that into Google Maps," he said.

Isaac nodded, and completed the process. "I recognise the string. It's somewhere in the northwest of England."

Just then, Goldie arrived from looking around town. "I can't see them anywhere," she said. "Any lead?"

Argyle saw the destination indicated by the co-ordinates, and his jaw dropped. "I haven't been there in so long..."

"Well? Where is it?" Goldie asked.

"The co-ordinates from Pipp's geotagged video show she's in Knapford, on the Island of Sodor," Argyle replied. "You know, the place I've devoted so much time to collecting information about. And if Pipp is there, and her friends were all together, it stands to reason they are all on Sodor as well!"

Goldie looked confused as she looked at the map. "Sodor is 11 hours and 460 miles by car from here. We last saw them three hours ago. How did they get to Sodor so fast?"

Argyle glanced in the direction of the quarry. "I think I know," he said, as he grabbed a bag from his study. "Come on, everyone. We're going to Sodor, but not the way you might be expecting."

"I hope this doesn't involve any talking tumbleweeds or using flowers as telephones," Aurora sighed.





Meanwhile, Percy and Izzy were hard at work at the coal mine near Wellsworth. The place was harsh and dirty, with soot and smoke drifting everywhere from the assembled black gold being loaded into trucks. Percy bustled about trying to martial the trucks together.

Unfortunately, the trucks weren't being especially co-operative. "We want a proper engine! Not a catapillar with red stripes!"

"How do they know about that?" Percy asked, as another set was put together.

Izzy leaned out of the cab. "Listen here, you troublesome trucks," she said. "You all look a bit grimy and messy. There's a free wash out of this if you behave!"

"Well, that's new," said one of the trucks. "Offering us rewards for behaving instead of bumping us? I like these new drivers already!"

Still, some of them began to sing, loud, rude, and in perfect four part harmony.

"Percy, Percy, Green and Small!
He's no use to Us at All!"
Round the yard he Puffs and Blows/
But on the Hills he Oh So Slow!"

"Given you have no propulsion," Percy said, "you can't go anywhere at all. So I'd suggest being quiet."

"sdrawkcab lkat t'nod ndA!" Izzy added. "It makes you look silly."

One truck looked to another. "How does she know about the talking backwards thing?"

"Like Yoda we must speak," said another.

"We did that joke several stories ago," said another.

After a few more minutes of work, the coal train was finally ready to go. Percy was coupled to the train, and made his way up the line. "I hope we can make it over the top!" he said.

"Relax, Percy, we'll be fine!" Izzy replied. Truth be told, she was used to driving more powerful engines, but she still felt she knew what she was doing.

The line that connects the mine to the mainline is short, but very steep, climbing at a grade of one in thirty for two miles. This is gruelling on engines, and Percy was certainly feeling the strain. He went purple in the face as he shifted the heavy load up the hill.

"Oh look!" shouted a truck. "Percy's straining! I told you he couldn't do it!" And the trucks giggled in their silly way.

"BE QUIET!" Percy snapped. They were partway up the climb when suddenly there was a crash and a snap, and the trucks began to roll away.

"Surprise!" shouted the lead truck.

Percy was shocked "Oh no!" he cried. "We have to stop them!"

Izzy, thinking on her feet, moved the cutoff handle to forward and advanced steam as far as she dared. Thanks to the steep gradients, they built up speed extremely quickly and were soon in contact with the lead trucks.

"Only three quarters of a mile!" Percy shouted. "Look out!"

Izzy clambered out of the cab, walked along the running board whilst grabbing the side rail, and stood on the front bufferbeam when the buffers impacted the trucks. She picked up a shunting pole she had acquired from the cab, and grabbed the chain from the nearby truck. She moved it over Percy's hook, and then attached the vacuum hoses together.

She scrambled back into the cab and applied the brakes, the loud screeching audible for miles as the train slowed down. It skidded under the coal loader and approached the buffers.

"Jump!" Percy called. "We're going to derail!"

But luck was on their side. Just as the train came into contact with the buffers, they stopped. And the coal loader chose the worst moment to deposit coal, dumping it all over Percy.

"YUCK!" Percy said. "I've never been this dirty!"

Izzy wiped the grime off her face. "At least we're not in the sea, or down a mine, or crashing through a chocolate factory." Her eyes then caught a strange figure moving about near a line of trucks. "That's funny," she said. "Do coal workers usually sculk around the edge of the coal field"?





Misty brought Edward to a stop after they'd finished assembling some trucks. "Good work, my fine fellow!" Edward said. "You're getting the hang of this."

"Thanks!" Misty said. "I'm more used to tank engines, but you're not the biggest engine I've ever seen."

"Bigger is not always better," Edward admitted. "Just look at the number of times Gordon has gone wrong."

"Has he gone wrong a lot?" Misty asked.

"Oh yes," Edward said. "But enough about that. What brought you to Sodor?"

"Me and my friends fancied a change in scenery," Misty admitted. "I'm from Cornwall, and the northern air makes for a nice change."

"Are you liking Sodor?" Edward asked. "It's been my home since 1915. It's been such a long time since I last saw another Furness Railway engine."

"I don't really have a sense of home," Misty replied. "I don't really know who I am, or where I'm from. I sorta just exist."

Edward sighed. "I know the feeling. I'm the only surviving member of my class, so I guess the engines I work alongside are my family."

"It's the same for me and my friends," Misty added. "I never expected I'd have so much in common with a tender engine."

"I do miss Applejack though," Edward said. "She and have worked together for nearly a decade now, but now that she's vanished... I don't know what will come of us."

"We'll find them," Misty said. "But let's focus on the here and now, OK?"





There seemed to be no consistency as to where the portal was dropping people off today. Some locals were rather alarmed when a large group of adults suddenly appeared from nowhere outside Knapford Station.

"And I thought flying EasyJet was rough," Lord Haven grumbled, rubbing his back. "At least my skeleton is still in one piece."

"And my eyeballs haven't been shaken loose," Isaac added.

Argyle glanced around. "Knapford Station. Hasn't changed all that much the early 1990s, apart from the electronic ticket machines." He indicated to the others. "Come on! Let's go!"

The assembled crowd arrived on the platform. "Oh dear," Lady Haven said.

"Is something wrong?" Aurora asked.

"I appear to have a stray hair or two," the Duchess remarked. "I shall need to get that sorted out."

Goldie glanced across the platforms. "Pipp? Pipp?"

Just then, Sir Topham Hatt arrived, and went to greet Lady Haven. "Good afternoon, Your Ladyship," he said, bowing so low his nose nearly scraped the floor. "I trust your journey from Boxford wasn't too bad?"

"I believe you may have me confused for somebody else," Lady Haven replied. "I thought Boxford was in Massachusetts."

"Never fear, Your Ladyship," Sir Topham Hatt continued. "I shall have your special coach ready in no time." He walked across the platform to a blue tender engine. "Donald! Lyra! Fetch the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's Special Coach!"

The large engine whistled. "On my way, sir! Let's not hide it amongst the others this time, eh?"

Argyle checked his journal. "Ah. The Dukes of Boxford come here around this time of year to prepare for Christmas. It appears Sir Topham Hatt has confused you for the Duchess of Boxford. I wonder if it's Charles still?"

Lady Haven wasted no time in getting her phone out and phoning Pipp. She waited a few seconds for it to connect before walking outside the station, as it was very noisy inside the station. "Pipp? Are you there?"

"Hey mom!" Pipp replied. "I know I'm not exactly close to home, but-"

"That doesn't matter to me. What matters is you're safe. But how exactly did you end up on Sodor of all places?"

"Well, I found this glowy portal and we got pulled in and stopped a train accident and then came to Knapford and have been driving James since. He's this really splendid engine with a bright red coat."

"What's that about redcoats?" Lady Haven asked.

"Red coat. Two words. I know I sound a bit blase about being teleported halfway across the country, but I've totes been in tougher spots- #Sunny day!"

"We all have," Lady Haven admitted.

"In fact," Pipp added, "I'm thinking of blogging about the cable incident to the Pippsqueaks, you know, discuss the other side of showbiz."

"WHAT?!" Lady Haven said. "Why would you want to do that? I thought that day left you traumatised!"

"There's worse things than being suspended upside down, and I was only the wrong way up for two minutes at most," Pipp answered. "Everybody has a bad day, and I think they can relate to that."

Lady Haven paused. "Well, if you're sure. If things don't go wrong, you know I'll always be here for you, don't you?"

"Of course mom. Sorry, gotta go. Love you lots, Pipp Pipp Hooray!"

Lady Haven put the phone down and walked back to the platform as Thomas rumbled in with a passenger train. The tank engine seemed very happy. "Hello everybody!" he said. "Welcome to the Island of Sodor!"

"Why is he running backwards?" Isaac asked.

"Thomas is an auto fitted engine," Argyle explained. "That means that he can be driven from a specially modified coach, meaning he doesn't have to run round his train. And that means the driver will be emerging from there."

As he pointed to the door, it opened, and Sunny got out. "I'll have a bathroom break then oil round for the next run," she said, before turning her head to the left. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Dad?"

Father and daughter sprinted over to one another and embraced, with Goldie joining them shortly afterwards. "I'm so glad you're safe," Argyle said softly, not a trace of anger or frustration on his voice.

"I finally made it," Sunny replied. "I made it to Sodor."

"You certainly did," Argyle smiled as he released her from the hug. "And it's my first visit in a long time. And it seems you're working with Thomas."

"I know, right?" Sunny smiled. "I hit the jackpot with that one!"

The three walked round to the engine. "Hello Sunny!" said Thomas. "Are there your parents?"

"Thomas," Sunny smiled, "meet my mom and dad, Goldie and Argyle Starshine."

"Nice to meet you at last, Thomas," Goldie said. "My husband's frequently mentioned Sodor, and it's a bit surreal being here for real."

"I hope you enjoy your time here," Thomas replied. He glanced to the clock. "Sunny, you'd best be taking that bathroom break or else you won't have enough time to prepare me for the return run to Ffarquhar!"

James arrived a few seconds later. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'S JAMES!"

Pipp handed him over to a member of station staff and dashed for the canteen, saying a quick hello to Sunny on the way before diving through the door. "Hey Misty!" she said. "Any news?"

"Not really," Misty replied. "Edward and I just got back from a run from Brendam, and we're waiting for new work orders."

Just then, a work order popped through a slot, and Pipp went and picked it up. "Slow goods to Brendam Docks. Engines 2 and 5 on lead." She smiled. "Looks like that's us, Misty!"





A few minutes later, the two engines were hooked up to the heavy train. "Are you ready, James?" Edward asked.

"Let's go!" James said impatiently. "A splendid engine like me should not be pulling ballast."

"Is he usually like this?" Misty asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Edward replied, and with a whistle the train set off. Even with two engines it proved to be slow going, and the heavy trucks rumbled behind them. Some of the ballast bounced out of the hoppers and hit James' tender.

"Mind the paintwork!"

After a long journey, they were required to wait at Wellsworth to let the Suddery branch clear. A few minutes later, Percy rattled off the branch line with a coal train and came to a stop in a loop. "Hello Edward! Hello James!" he called.

Izzy looked back and addressed them. "Have you two seen anything weird lately?" she asked.

"Apart from our parents now being on Sodor somehow, no," Pipp replied.

"Percy and I saw a really shifty figure moving around the coal yard," Izzy explained. 

Percy chimed in. "He was behaving very oddly."

"How do you know it was a man?" Izzy asked.

"Fair point," Percy conceeded, as the signal dropped. He began to move off- backwards! "STOP!"

Izzy glanced down. "Had the cutoff set the wrong way. Oops!"

James snorted. "It's not a backing signal, Percy!"

No sooner had Percy left then Gordon arrived in the Up Loop, with a drone hovering next to him. "Whatever is this buzzing thing?" the big blue engine asked.

"I think I know who that is," Pipp sighed. "Zipp, what are you doing with your drone?"

Zipp appeared, her goggles in the down position. "Scanning the area. I saw some very strange activity nearby, and needed to investigate it."

Pipp thought for a moment. "Izzy saw some strange activity nearby. Apparently a shady person walking around the coal mine?"

Zipp scribbled this down. "That's good to know. Otherwise, everything OK?"

"As far as I know," Pipp replied. "Hey, can I ask your opinion on something?"

"As long as it's not dresses, go ahead, cause if it is the answer is they suck."

Pipp sighed. "I was planning on blogging about the concert incident with the cables."

Zipp nodded. "Just be careful what you post about yourself.  As I've said before posting too much personal information online can be harmful."

No sooner was she about to speak again then Henry sped through on the station with a passenger train. "EXPRESS COMING THROUGH!" the green engine cheered.

Gordon sighed. "Oh, the indignity." Over on the other side, the signal for Brendam finally cleared, and Edward and James set off on the final stage of their journey.





At the end of the day, the engines and their drivers all returned to Tidmouth Sheds and prepared to rest for the night. "As we are a long way from home, does anybody fancy going out for dinner tonight?" Aurora suggested.

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Hitch said. "What are the local options?"

Isaac began scrolling through his phone whilst Pipp walked over to Zipp. "So, what dress will it be tonight?"

"We only have one set of clothes," Zipp replied. "Besides, I've already fulfilled my dress quota for the year- the Ball thing."

Pipp pouted. "Suit yourself." She walked to another part of the yard and sat down on an oil drum before firing up her phone. "Good evening Pippsqueaks! Tonight I'm coming to you live from Tidmouth, on the Island of Sodor. And I have something very special to talk about."

"What could it be?" a voice asked.

"I know you probably see me as the musical face of the Havens, who blogs about loads of stuff. But the truth is, that's not all there is. There's another, more vulnerable side as well. One who is sometimes lonely, sad, and afraid. And one night, it nearly all came crashing down.

"You probably all know about the infamous concert where I was left upside down. I legitimately thought my career was finished after that. But I had no clue that back then, the greatest adventure of my life was about to begin. True, it's been a rocky road at points, and we haven't always gotten along." Pipp turned the camera to show the others. "But they are my friends. And I wouldn't trade them for all the gold and silver in the world. They reminded me that what matters most is who I am, not the flashy effects I surrounded myself with."

She paused. "That's all for now, I gotta go. See you latAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Pipp screamed as the ground suddenly opened up underneath her, and she plummeted into the darkness below.
> Chapter 5-Picture a Land where the Sky was So Blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pipp Petals plummeted feet first into the ground, various walls and caverns rushing by her at speed. She looked down and saw nothing but darkness. Not even her phone's torch was able to pierce the gloom that surrounded her as she dropped.

Unfortunately, it seemed little was going to save her; she wasn't the most scientific of girls, but she knew at the same time she wasn't going to slow down. This wasn't Alice in Wonderland, after all.

She continued to plummet downwards, before suddenly hitting a stream of water that dropped her onto a sort of downward slope. She flew along and looked around for something that would help her stay on balance and avoid dropping off the edge of the world.

It was rather like a water slide in that regard. She held on for dear life as she whizzed along at speed, trying to keep her head up and out of water. She then saw a drop coming up. "No, no, no, no no no! That drop is huge!"

But the world didn't listen to her. She screamed as it approached at speed, before suddenly there was nothing below her. The water plummeted straight down as a waterfall, and hit a large pool below.

Pipp, however, was not quite so lucky. The forward momentum caused her to drop down and forward, plummeting downwards into the caverns below at high speed. She closed her eyes and tossed her phone forward, hoping it would land safely somewhere and the signal would allow somebody to find her. Preferably alive. It would break her poor mother's heart if she was found less than in one piece down here, in this murky, rat and water filled tunnel deep underground.

She finally hit the water with a splash, and dropped down into it at speed, before the water pressure forced her to a stop. She glanced about underwater, holding her breath as best she could before the shifting pressure forced her back unpwards into the air and to the surface of the water.

Pipp broke the surface, gasping for air before paddling over to the edge of the pool. She glanced about, moving several stray hairs out of her eyes. Luckily, her phone had landed on a soft patch of land that had seemed to have absorbed the impact. If she'd kept it on her the electronics would have been fried by now.

"I am NOT doing that again!" she said, as she hauled herself out, her soggy clothing considerably adding to the weight. She glanced about. "Brilliant! Not only are my clothes and hair wet, I'm stuck underground with no clue where I am." She picked up her phone and checked it, only to find it couldn't locate her. "This is awful! I'll never find a way out!"

Just then, she had an idea. "Wait a second.  I got myself and Zipp out of that mine in Cornwall using a stream with a geotag! What if I do the same thing?"

She popped the settings on, only to realise the phone was, miraculously, still streaming. "Hey Pippsqueaks!" she said. "Sorry for the interruption in service. As you can see I'm in this really weird cave with no clue where I am. I'm attaching a geotag now, so if you could come and look for me that'd be fab!"

Pipp decided to keep the stream running so that people could locate her. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, strange lights and crystals seemed to glow in the tunnel, producing strange lights and odd glows. "Ooh. I must take pictures of this. It's like's I've stepped into a fantasy movie!"

A few minutes later, the others arrived. "Pipp! Are you OK?" Sunny asked.

"How did you find me so quickly?" Pipp asked. "And yes, I'm physically fine. Just rather wet."

Izzy took out a hairdryer and gave her a quick blast. "There. That should dry you off."

Pipp nodded. "I'll need to wear something else tomorrow, though. I'll need to give these to the maid for ironing."

"You really do live a different life to a lot of us," Hitch commented. "I iron all my own clothes."

"ANYWAY," Misty said loudly, "where are we?"

"We're in the Tidmouth Crystal Caves," Zipp explained. "It's a local tourist attraction, and we're on part of the tour route. But this cavern on our left- that's your right, Pipp- isn't marked on the tour map. It's as if we're the first people in the history of the world to ever see it."

Just then, a small puffing noise began and a small tank engine and a carriage rolled to a stop. It was a yellow narrow gauge saddle tank with four driving wheels and two trailing wheels. He was painted yellow, and had an enormous lamp attached to his top lamp iron which shone brightly into the caves.

"It's well past closing hours," the engine said. "How did you end up down here?"

"A fall I have no desire to replicate," Pipp answered, still shuddering. "At least bestie still works."

"Who's bestie?" Sunny asked.

"It's the nickname she gives her phone," Zipp replied. "I told you she was unhealthily attached to it."

"Says the girl who names all of her different pairs of goggles."

"You name your goggles?" Misty asked.

Zipp went bright red. "Err, moving on- some of us came in the lift. But where are we, and who are you?"

"I am Proteus, the engine of the caverns," the engine explained. "I can sense you are bound for a great destiny. Come, and board the carriage, and I shall take you to where you shall need to go."

"Where we need to go," Hitch mused. "Where do we need to go?"

"That is one of life's great questions," Proteus said. "Now come. We have much to see, and not much time to see it in."

The team boarded the single coach sitting behind the locomotive, and with a whistle and a release of steam the formation moved off through the caverns.

It wasn't long before Sunny began to spot things she recognised. "Look!" she said. "It's the Sword of Godred!"

"What's that?" Misty asked.

"A magical blade wielded by Godred, the first King of Sodor, when he defeated the Romans at the Battle of Marron's Bank. It was forged by Siegfried the Brilliant, and became the status symbol of the Kings of Sodor until the Sudrian monarchy was abolished in the early 15th Century. It's also supposed to be in Ulfstead Castle, the current home of the Earls of Sodor, but what's it doing here?"

"I've heard reference to a Duke of Sodor," Izzy asked. "Why is that?"

"Sodor is part of the Duchy of Lancaster, so the actual Duke of the Island is the Duke of Lancaster- who happens to be King Charles III. There is an Earl of Sodor, but locals for some reason refer to him as a Duke. One of them even got an engine on the Mid Sodor named after him, until he met his demise in the Gulf War."

Soon they rolled past another object. "The arrow of Shane Dooiney!" Sunny said.

"Who?" asked Pipp. "Sounds kinda Irish."

"Shane Dooiney was a monk who found solace on a mountain- which, incidentally, is named after him. It's near Culdee Fell, the tallest mountain on Sodor at 3,000 feet, which was also the home of a monk- the island's patron St. Machan."

"What do half these mean?" Zipp asked. "Do you speak Sudric?"

"Only bits and pieces I've picked up from Dad's notes," Sunny admitted. She turned to a page in a notebook. "Ah! Culdee Fell translates as 'the mountain of the companion of God'. Interesting."

The train continued to rattle through the caverns, with Pipp merrily snapping photos as the train rumbled along the line. It was still glowing, so there was no need for artificial lighting in order to see the way. Even so, Proteus' lamp continued to shine out into the gloom as they went along the line, a truly incredible place unfolding before them and producing a wondrous experience.

There was now a distinct lack of artefacts to look at, and this meant most of the journey was being conducted in silence. The train rattled along slowly, allowing them to simply enjoy the ride. But Sunny looked slightly agitated. "I hope we're in time," she said.

"In time for what?" asked Misty.

"If the crystals are separated for too long, then the Non Faceless Vehicles lose the ability to communicate, and by extension their sentience. If we don't put them back together soon, we'll be stuck back in the nightmare that we had all those months ago will begin again!"

"Being unable to speak or perceive anything?" Misty asked. "I can't imagine a worse fate for anybody. I wouldn't even wish that on Opaline!"

The train began to slow down, and at last it came to a stop in a platform, where it was clear the line ended. "All change!" Proteus called.

The six got out and walked to a pool nearby. "There's somebody here," Zipp pointed out.

Sure enough, there was. A man was standing with his back facing to them, but his rather mismatched clothing was clearly visible. Although most of his clothing was brown, such as his trousers and jacket, he had a mustard coloured handkerchief tied around one arm, a yellow glove on another, a green boot on one foot, and a brown boot on the other.

He then suddenly turned around and looked at them, revealing a caucasian man with wild white hair and a beard, combined with a moustache. He had oddly piercing brown eyes, and this made him seem a little unnerving. "So, they arrive at last," he said.

"Are you George Carlin?" Misty asked.

"I'm afraid not, although his passing was indeed a tragedy," said the figure. "I am Discord, and I have watched over the world for longer than you can imagine." He pointed to the pool below him.

Zipp knelt down and took out a magnifying glass. "The shapes in this pool match the shapes of the crystals!" she said. "Maybe they were from here?"

"They were found here," Discord answered. "Those crystals, formed thousands of years ago, are the power source behind the gold dust- the energy that gives sentience to machines of the entire globe. They lay here for thousands of years and were not found until later. But with magic our world is unsafe."

"What makes you say that?" Sunny asked, confused.

Discord waved his hands, and brought something up on the display. "A long time ago, there were three men. Wise men, scholarly men, men of the cloth."

"Men of the cloth?" Pipp asked.

"That's a fancy way of saying they were clergy," Hitch answered.

"How do you know that?" Izzy asked.

"My uncle's a vicar in Derbyshire."

"Anyway," Discord said, "they came across this island and wrote all about it in those books which I believe are still being read to this day. They became known as the Guardians of Sodor. But, alas, it was not to be, for the power housed within those crystals was coveted by others. 23 years after the Guardians arrived, an evil woman raised an army and attacked Sodor to seize them for herself. In one last desparate act, the Guardians split the crystals apart."

The display changed to a recording in a room, where the crystals were sat in a box and three men were standing around it as explosions sounded about them.

"We have no choice, Edwin!" said one of them, a tall, gaunt man that they immediately recognised as Awdry. "If she gets her hands on those crystals there is no power of either this world or the next than can stop her!"

"What?" Edwin said in response. "Separating the crystals is not like flicking a switch, Wilbert. We could lose everything!"

"Sirs?" shouted a voice. "The perimeter is breached! Her army will be on top of us in a few minutes!"

"I don't see how we have any other option," said the third man. "Separate the crystals, and spread them across the land. They shall be reunited when the time is right."

The other two men nodded, and with some force pulled them apart. A loud bang echoed across the landscape as their magic fizzled out and failed.

"What was that noise?" Izzy asked. "They sure made an odd sound when split apart."

Sunny tilted her head in confusion. "This doesn't add up. The calender at the back of that scene gave the year as 1970. But Awdry first arrived on Sodor in 1945. That 25 years before 1970, not 23. And why are you telling us this?"

Discord sighed. "You foolish child. It should be obvious why I'm telling you this. You five brought the magic back by reuniting the crystals, and in doing so have plunged our planet into a new era of chaos. She is returning, and when she finds the crystals then she'll be unstoppable. But the solution is obvious to the problem."

"Namely?" Misty asked, confused as to why he'd said five and not six.

"If you have a headache, you take painkillers to make it go away. If you have a tumour, you go to the doctor to have it cut out. The solution is simple- I intend to destroy the crystals, so nobody can ever use their power for evil."

"That's crazy!" Izzy said. "The lives of millions depend on those crystals! You'd be condemning them to death!"

"Only the dead have seen the end of suffering," Discord replied. "But nothing can stop me."

"Who are you calling nothing?" Zipp answered, and began to move forward.

Discord swung out his arm, and Zipp was suddenly pinned in place. "Wh- what? Why can't I move?"

"You children are not the only ones with magic," Discord smiled, before he swung his hand up and tossed her like a ragdoll across the room.

"Zipp!" Pipp called, and charged over to where her sister had landed.

"We will stop you!" Sunny shouted. "Come on guys!" They charged Discord.

"I don't think so," Discord smiled, as he swung his arm once again. They were swept off their feet like toys, smashing to the floor with a loud bang as they did so. Suddenly, cages materialised around them, preventing them from leaving.

"You won't get away with this!" Hitch shouted. "The blood is on your hands!"

"Wrong, on both counts," Discord answered. "I already have gotten away with it. And Non Faceless Vehicles don't have any blood on them, so there won't be any on my hands." He then left, using his powers to collapse the entrance behind him.

Sunny focused as hard as she could, but nothing was happening. "Come on! Where are you when I need you?!"

"Maybe you can't pony up because the crystals are separated?" Hitch suggested.

Just then, another crowd of voices entered the cavern. Their parents had arrived. "They're in cages?" asked Aurora, in shock.

Argyle sprinted over to the cage his daughter was in. "Sunny? What happened?"

Sunny looked up at her father, her face filled with worry. "If we don't stop him... he'll destroy magic... forever."
> Chapter 6-Wherever we Stay, Remember this Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Who is he?" Goldie asked, not entirely unreasonably, as the parents worked on breaking the locks open and freeing their children from captivity.

Suddenly, the place Discord had been using to project things flared into life, and the ghostly image of a rather rotund man with black hair, dressed in a black boilersuit with a dog collar, appeared on the display. He looked to them with a gentle smile. "It is good to see a group of heroes here," he said warmly.

Zipp, now out of her cage, walked over to the hologram. "Is that who I think it is?" she said. "If so, how is he speaking to us?"

"Good evening, Zara," the hologram said, causing the girl to jump backwards in fright. "You are correct. I'm Edwin Boston, though please call me Teddy. It's what Awdry, Treacy, and many others did, after all."

"We're talking to the actual Teddy Boston?" Sunny asked, rushing over to the display. "This is so incredible!"

"The crystals preserved a part of my life force after I passed on," Teddy explained. "I am here to tell you something important. What Discord told you is not entirely accurate."

"Well, no real surprise there," Zipp replied.

"What you seek is the power that makes sentience possible for machines," Boston continued, his face maintaining its calm expression. "We always knew that something gave these machines life, but we never knew what. Ever since he first overheard a conversation between engines on the climb to Box Tunnel Wilbert was determined to figure out how it worked.

"And when we three came to Sodor shortly after the war, we found the truth, the answer to it all. The gold dust. Their lifeblood. As you probably know we took to writing it all down, and recorded all we could about the island. Our work would have continued, were it not for an unfortunate interruption."

"Opaline?" Izzy asked, by now free herself.

"How did you know?" Teddy asked, surprised.

"We've had a few encounters with her ourselves," Misty said, not willing to admit she had previously worked for Opaline.

"I see," Teddy sighed. "It seems that the more things change, the more things stay the same. I see your friend has a portable telephone- utterly impractical in my day! And now another threatens them. Just as you six reunited the crystals-"

"Us five," Hitch corrected. "Misty didn't join us until after the magic was restored."

"I was there during the journey!" Argyle protested.

"Just as you six reunited the crystals, one seeks to destroy them and end all magic. The very future of not just the Non Faceless Vehicles but the entire world hangs in the balance. If we cannot stop Discord, the end of all things may well occur, and our world would remain defenceless against the threats that would target and destroy it."

"Do you have any clues as to where they are?" Pipp asked, who had been filming much of the conversation up to that point.

Teddy nodded. "In ancient times, Saint Machan had a vision of three scattered artefacts, and he left the following riddle as to where to find them.

"Look in the place where the maw reaches the river's pulse.
Find the place where history overshadows the land.
The field of heroes will yield the ultimate treasure."

Sunny nodded. "Thanks for the help. We'll get to decoding those messages right away."

Teddy nodded. "Best of luck, all of you. May God's grace be with you all." Then the hologram vanished.

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us," Pipp said.

"We can monitor communications and lighten the load," Isaac suggested.





Sure enough, by the next morning the adults had done precisely that. The old foreman's office at the end of Tidmouth Sheds had been transformed into a high tech command centre. Communications equipment, consoles, and large screens overlooked the area, tapping into communication and CCTV feeds all across the island.

"All this information," Aurora said. "It's hard to keep track of it all. The days and nights and messages all seem to blur together in an endless stream. And now we have to prevent the end of the world? I never imagined it would lead to this when I had Izzy!"

"Nor did I imagine my kid would eventually gain super powers," Goldie replied. "But we have to stay focused. Since we don't know where Discord is going, we may be able to put clues together based on where he's been. So keep a close eye on the monitors and let us know if you spot anything strange."

"When you tilt your head the colours go all funny," Isaac said, unhelpfully. "That or I forgot to put my glasses on."

Lord Haven peered closer at the screen. "I'm no expert with modern technology," he freely admitted. "But I have reason to think I've noticed something. There has been a shift in key, so to speak, and this might be in tune with what you are looking for."

"Meaning?" Argyle asked.

"I think he means he's spotted something on one of the feeds," Lady Haven said. "Which camera was it, Robert?"

"Camera 10. There's a small copse of trees there, and something seems to be glowing inside a house. A glow that wasn't there five minutes ago."

Aurora looked at the display. "That's in one of the forests along the main line, according to this map. Let's dispatch somebody to take a look."

"Perhaps send them out in pairs?" Lord Haven suggested. "If Discord attacks two have a better chance than one of fending him off."

"Capital idea!" Isaac said, and he raised the radio receiver.





Back at Tidmouth Sheds, the familiar smell of anthracite was already rising through the air as the engines were up to operating temperature. Other locomotives hustled and bustled about on the mainline, going about their days, either pulling coaches or trucks, or shunting in the nearby yards with their heavy trains due to go to places far, far away. This was the train the-

"Mr Narrator, now probably isn't the time to be recycling jokes!"

I still don't understand how you can hear what I'm saying, Izzy.

On the shed, the drivers were completing their final checks on the engines, getting them ready to move off for the day's work. Zipp tapped the pressure gauge in the cab of Gordon. "OK, looking good," she said. "Operating pressure it is. We'll be good to go in a matter of minutes."

Just then, she heard a shout from James' cab. "Urgh! Why are these engines so complicated? It's so much simpler with a diesel! Push a button and off you go!"

"Mind the paintwork!" James called.

"Looks as though James' driver has gotten herself into a spot of bother!" Gordon gaffawed.

"Not even Rarity was this much of a drama queen!" James added.

Pipp paid them no heed. "This is making getting anything done nearly impossible!"

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked, who had heard the commotion and had walked over.

"I tried to make a recording in here to post on my socials so we could get help from the Pippsqueaks in finding the crystals, but all the noise these engines are producing makes the audio impossible to understand!"

"The railway is a very noisy working environment," Gordon pointed out.

"The recording is just like mom talking about the benefits of Earl Grey Tea- borderline impossible to understand."

"That's a bit rude, don't you think?" Izzy asked. "I quite like Earl Grey."

"Oh, I'll apologise to her- only my voice will be COMPLETELY INCOMPREHENSIBLE over the noise of this shed!"

Zipp leaned out of Gordon's cab. "Need a hand, Pipp?" she asked.

Pipp walked over, looking even more like a sunburnt lobster than she usually did. "Does Sunny even have any clue what she's doing here, or is she just trying to live out her childhood fantasies?" she asked. "Does she have any idea where she's going or what she's doing?

Zipp looked aghast. "What, don't you trust me, or any of us, after all we've been through?"

Pipp put a hand to her chin. "I can think of a few reasons to question your judgement, such as  getting us sucked through a portal to another dimension- again!"

Zipp facepalmed. "You found the portal, not me. Besides, when we save Sodor it will all have been worth it. You'll be a hero, Pipp- again."

Down on the shed floor, Sunny was looking at a map of Sodor. "Right, so if we think that the maw is here, we can find-"

"Admit it Sunny, you're guessing," Hitch said. "We don't know the geography of the island anywhere near well enough to figure out the riddles."

"Well, I don't see you trying," Sunny replied, going back to the map. "Now, what could he mean by field of heroes?"

Misty looked over, concerned. "They're arguing. Should I intervene?"

Back at the other end of the depot, Sunny kept looking at the map. "Right then, I think I may have gotten one of them-"

"Got any ideas that could help Sunny, Zipp?" Pipp said.

"How about not using your phone all the time?" Zipp suggested. This ended up turning into a row.

Suddenly, Misty's phone rang, and she answered it. "Hello?" she asked.

"Ah, Misty," said the familiar voice of Lady Haven. "Good news- and don't make the Dacia Sandero joke again- but we have found one of the objects, we think. It's in a forest along the main line. Two of you should set out and collect it."

"On our way!" Misty said, before ending the call. "Pipp, we've got a site to investigate!"

Pipp turned her head. "That's a relief. Let's go!" Moments later, the shed doors were opened, and the pair set off into the daytime. Although one at a time, as they had to wait for the turntable.





As they puffed along, Misty once again struck up a conversation with Edward. "You know, I can't help but feel a connection to this place."

"I thought you said you'd never been to Sodor," Edward said.

"Yes, but the scenery, the landscape, all the objects and things passing by- it somehow feels familiar. Like I'm reminded of something even though the memory isn't there. It's weird."

"John Denver once sang of a man who came home to a place he'd never been before," Edward noted. "What he meant was this the man felt so at home in the new environment it was as if he never left. I have that sometimes when seeing how much the world has changed. We can't run by steam along the Cumbrian Coast Line anymore. They have to bring a diesel to tow us to Carnforth! It's all very bothersome." He sighed. "At least I have my family here."

Just then, musical notes began to sound in the distance. "Can you hear that?" Misty asked.

"I see that happens to you as well," Edward said. "Life is randomnly musical on Sodor as well."

Misty was the first to sing.

"What is the key to a family?
What is the key to a home? 
What is the part that I'm missing? 
To help me find where I belong?"

Edward took over vocal responsibilities.

"I'm searching/
I'm looking for something!
Something that comes from the heart!
Cause sometimes you need something to lift you up/
And help to reignite your spark!"

"Technically Edward, you don't have a heart, unless this is a certain fanfilm and-"

"James, I thought I told you not to mention Shed 17 around here!" Edward said.

Misty then returned to vocal responsibilities, somehow singing two notes at once.

"Even when it feels so confusing/
When you're alone!"

And then Edward joined in again, singing a harmony line.

"You know we've got each other /
To find our own way home!"

This pattern of Misty on lead and Edward on backing vocals continued onwards into the next section of the song.

"Cause I've got you/
And you've got me!
We're closer than close friends /
Yeah, we're a family!
If you're feeling low or incomplete/
You've always got me/
Yeah we're a family!"

Edward stopped. "I think the next verse is intended for me, based on the words."

"Together when there are good times!
Together when times are tough!
Together when things need celebrating!
And when you think that you've had enough!

Misty joined in again, but this time she was singing the harmony line alongside extra vocals.

"Cause I/
I know you better/
Than any body else!
And you know me better than I know myself!

To their surprise, Pipp and James joined in.

"Cause I've got you and you've got me/
Cause when you're with your friends/
Yeah you're with your family!
Keep em in your heart/
Cause that is the key/
Oh when you're with you're friends/
You're with your family!

"I've got you/
And you've got me!
Cause we aren't just friends/
No we're a family!
When you're feeling lonely or incomplete/
Don't forget about your friends/
Yeah they're your family!

"Cause when you're with you're friends/
Yeah you're with your family!"

As they came to a stop at the spot Lady Haven had mentioned, Pipp smiled. "The singing lessons you've been having have paid off!" she said. "Only 9 months ago she could barely sing in tune, and here she is giving Oscar worthy performances!"

"So, Sodor is not the only place affected by random musical numbers?" James asked. "There was a time when our lives suddenly turned into a musical."

"It was around Season 17, I believe," Edward commented.

Misty climbed down from the cab of Edward, having safely secured him on a loop, with James parked behind him. She and Pipp headed into the nearby forest to find the place Lady Haven had mentioned.

Sure enough, an old shack sat there in the forest, and the pair entered it. The old door squeaked open on rusty hinges that clearly needed some oil. A cloud of dust made Pipp cough. "Ugh! This place needs airing out!"

After opening the door and stepping inside, sure enough one of the crystals was sitting on the floor. "Well, that was easy," Pipp said, picking it up and placing it into a bag.

Misty's eyes lit up. "Of course! I've figured out the riddle! Find the place where history overshadows the land. Trees are old, and have overseen the land for centuries. They cast the shadow of history over the landscape."





"Keep digging!" Discord shouted at the contractors. The landscape around him rang to the noise of diggers and dump trucks, all tearing huge holes in the landscape as they worked to find something.

"There are some slight issues with the ground, sir," said one of the contractors. "We'll need to bring in heavier equipment."

"Well, do it then!" Discord snapped, and he calmly walked away. "When I'm done, Sunny Starscout will regret ever stepping foot on this island. Not that she would have been much safer on the mainland anyway."
> Chapter 7-Let the Rainbow Remind You
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hitch's phone buzzed loudly, and as soon as he felt the vibrations he took the call. "Hello?"

"Hitch?" said Isaac. "Good news. We've got a lead on the next crystal. It appears that some sort of clue has been located near Tidmouth. Can you head over there and take a look?"

"Sure," Hitch replied. "I'll take Izzy and Percy as well." He hopped out of Henry's cab and opened the doors before aligning the turntable to the engine. "Off we go, Henry! Tidmouth it is!"

Henry smiled. "That sounds fun. At least it doesn't involve chickens."

"Aww, why are chickens a bad thing?" Izzy asked, as she opened the doors for Percy.

"Because they have chickenpox," Henry replied. "And I have heard it is a nasty disease."

"Henry, there's no evidence it actually originates from chickens," Percy explained. "And besides, even if it did we wouldn't be in danger! Engines cannot catch diseases! Nothing to worry about!"

"That's a relief," Henry said. "I'm certain I can find something to worry about- but it won't be chickenpox."

Once the engines were out of the shed and positioned for the run to Tidmouth, they set off for the short but densely built up run to the harbour. The railway lines around Tidmouth are extremely dense owing to the number of factories and industries that exist in the area. Smoke belched from factories and steel plants processing useful things to be used in other places. Large wharfs and storage yards processed raw materials being shipped in and out of the harbour, and all of this meant extensive rail connections. More traffic moves between Tidmouth and the marshalling yards at Knapford than any other place on the island, and this is quite the achievement considering how large Sodor appears to be.

Henry and Percy soaked this up, noticing all the smoke and noise and hustle and bustle. "It's all very loud," Henry said.

"I know," Hitch said. "I'm from a coastal town with a growing port thanks to the new rail connection, but it's still incredibly noisy as a result. Ships are constantly coming and going, and my friends are constantly having to keep the goods flowing. It can get very tiring."

"It sounds tiring just hearing you describe it!" Percy said.

"Oh dear," Izzy said. "Looks like trouble up ahead!"

And Izzy was right. There was trouble up ahead, and it was troublesome alright.

On the left hand side of the main line was a small yard that was set at a lower level than the other tracks, and had a steep climb to connect it to the rest of the system. A blue tender engine was trying to pull some trucks out of the yard, but he was struggling. His wheels slipped and skidded as he did battle with the grade.

He was red in the face and speaking quite profusely in a language none of the others could understand. "What's he saying?" Hitch asked.

"I don't know," Henry replied. "His name is Donald. He's from Scotland, and as a result his language can sometimes be a bit blue, if you know what I mean."

"Do you need some help?" Percy called.

"I Dinnae think so," Donald replied. "What do you think? Do you think I'd be a puffin' and a strainin' if I dinnae need it?"

"They were only being nice, Donald," his driver said, a green skinned woman green and white hair. "Sure, we could do with some help. I'm Lyra, by the way."

"Then I shall provide it," Henry said, and Hitch backed Henry away from the scene and to a siding. The points changed, and Henry moved forward and into contact with Donald's tender. Hitch hopped out to hook him up, and then returned to the cab.

He sounded Henry's whistle. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Lyra called back, and opened Donald's regulator. The two engines puffed and snorted as they drew the heavy load out of the sidings. It took a lot of power to shift the heavy load out of the way, but at long last they had the heavy train out of the yard, and onto the main line."

"Thanks for the help!" Donald said. "I've got it from here!"

"No problem!" Henry said. "Good luck!"

Hitch moved Henry out of the way and glanced about. "Now then, onwards with Percy and Izzy and then... wait, where did Percy and Izzy go?"





Percy had travelled on ahead to look for the crystal alongside Izzy. His green paint gleamed in the sun as he moved along at a reasonable speed. "This reminds me of the day I raced a helicopter once!" he said.

"Did you?" Izzy asked. "That sounds exciting!" She glanced over to a cinema. "Hey! There's a movie I've been wanting to see!"

"Eyes on the track, never mind the view," Percy said. "An old engine taught me that one."

As they rattled towards the major yard, they spotted a small dark green tank engine sitting at the threshold of the yard, which was absolutely jammed with stock. "I don't believe this!" he said, in a Somerset accent.

A young woman with orange skin and purple hair looked out as well. "There's far too many trucks for this yard," she said. "Just trust Bill and Ben to leave the place a mess again!"

Percy rolled into the yard. "This is more than one engine can handle!" he said. "Fancy some help!"

"That'd be greatly appreciated!" said the engine. "Thanks, Percy!"

"No problem, Oliver!" Percy replied.

Oliver's driver glanced over into the cab. "Are you one of the new hires?" she asked.

"Yeah," Izzy replied. "I'm Izzy. Short for Isabelle."

"Scootaloo," Oliver's driver replied. "Really Lucy Scott, but the name really doesn't suit me."

"If we're done with the chit chat we have some work to do!" Oliver said. "Let's get this mess cleaned up!"

"Our sagacity shall be unmatched!" Percy joked.

"Please don't mention that incident again," Scootaloo facepalmed.

Sure enough, the two engines got to work, and before long they had the place looking spic and span. Both engines were parked on nearby sidings and relaxed for a bit, fully anticipating Sir Topham Hatt would emerge from the woodwork and congratulate them on being really useful.

"I don't think I've seen you around before," Scootaloo said. "What brings you to Sodor, Izzy?"

"Well, the journey getting here was pretty wild, but I'm helping out as some girl called Pinkie seems to be missing. Henry's around, and his driver is one of my friends."

"Your friends with Fluttershy?" Scootaloo asked. "She's never mentioned an Izzy."

"I don't know a Fluttershy, but I do know a Hitch... who seems to be waylaid."





Henry pulled into Crovan's Gate, running tender first, with a diesel in front of him and a long line of trucks. "There you go!" he said. "Glad to help you, BoCo!"

"I do apologise for all the bother," BoCo said. "My engine went a bit wonky and I hardly thought it safe to run at speed in my condition. At least here it can be looked at."

"Isn't helping each other what friends do?" Hitch asked, with a smile on his face. "Besides, all in a day's work for people like me."

"You do come from a coastal town!" BoCo smiled. "That's a nautical expression!"

Henry glanced about. "Shouldn't we be on our way back to Tidmouth?"

"Yes, we should," Hitch replied. "We still have that thing to find."

With that, he set off onto the main and into what was now the afternoon sun.





Percy and Oliver were still chatting when Izzy suddenly spotted something glowing nearby. And it was then she made the connection. "I've got it!" she said.

"Is it contagious?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, so you do that joke as well," Izzy said.

"Does it happen a lot where you're from?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Izzy answered. "The author does it to put an easy joke in the narrative."

"She's like Pinkie," Oliver said. "She just broke the fourth wall!"

Izzy grinned. "But I've figured out the riddle. Look in the place where the maw reaches the river's pulse. The pulse of a river is the tide, and maw is another word meaning mouth. Tide Mouth, or Tidmouth. The second crystal is in Tidmouth!"

Sure enough, she followed the glowing light into a small industrial unit, and after crawling under a fence spotted a tall, pointy crystal sitting there. She reached in and pulled it out before popping it in her bag for safe keeping. She then headed back to the footplate of Percy and smiled, having completed her stage of the mission.

"What was that?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh, it's a treasure hunt," Izzy said. "We've all been tasked with looking for crystals, and whomever finds the most wins a big prize. It's all very exciting, isn't it?"

Oliver looked confused as he processed this information. "But how did it end up on private property over there?"

"Beats me," Izzy replied, and they started laughing.
> Chapter 8-One Day we May be Apart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunny's phone buzzed, and as such she answered it. "Hello?"

"Great news, Sunny!" Argyle said on the other end. "We think we know where one of the crystal pieces is. I'll just send the attachment now as an email. You do get email to your phone, right?"

"Yeah. Where is it?"

"It appears to be somewhere in a relatively quiet part of the island."

"Thanks," Sunny said. "I'll take Thomas with me, and seeing as she's the only person left here I'll bring Zipp along as well."

"That sounds like a good idea," Argyle replied. "No pressure, but the fate of Sodor kinda rests in your hands. Bye!"

Sunny lowered her phone and popped it into her pocket. "Yep. No pressure at all. Just like last summer, but with a time limit. Come on Thomas, let's go!"

"Right away, Sunny!" Thomas said, and as the shed doors opened he puffed out onto the turntable.

"You coming, Zipp?" Sunny asked.

"I'll need to wait for you and Thomas to clear the turntable," Zipp replied. "Gordon has a very long wheelbase."

"Sending silly tank engines out before the bigger engines," Gordon groaned. "Upsetting the very order of things. Oh, the indignity."

"Again, Gordon, you remind me of my aunt. I dislike my aunt," Zipp said, as she opened the regulator.

"I don't believe I've ever met your aunt," Sunny said, as they got up to speed on the line.

"It's probably a good thing you haven't," Zipp said. "She's a bit stuck up and looks down her nose at people from a lower social station. She gave mom grief for wanting to marry somebody from outside of British aristocracy, and has quietly grumbled about it ever since, with nonsense about me and Pipp not being true Havens or some rubbish like that. We don't really talk to her anymore, only invite her to the events we are required to invite her to. Even then you can see the strain, given she's jealous mom and dad have a stable marriage and she doesn't." Seeing the surprise in Sunny's face, Zipp elaborated. "She's on her third husband."

"It can't be fun to have siblings who hate each other," Sunny said, "but it sounds as though it's for a good reason. I'm happy you and Pipp patched things up, though."

"Yep," Zipp replied. "We have more in common than we realise, and she was just frustrated from not having had much sleep. Hopefully, when this is over we can all have a good rest."

"Anyway," Sunny said, "we still have that riddle to figure out. The field of heroes will yield the ultimate treasure. What could it mean?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sunny," Zipp said.

"It could be a place like Maron's Bank," Thomas suggested. "That was the site of a battle in the Roman era. I'm not so sure about the Era of Chewing Gum, though."

"I suspect if something like that were near a busy mainline somebody would already have spotted it," Sunny said, consulting the image Argyle had sent her. "Aha! Here we are! It's somewhere off the end of the mainline near a place called Ulfstead."

"Does it have rail access?" Zipp asked.

"According to my map of the rail network, yes, surprisingly enough," Sunny admitted. "We just need to follow a dedicated branch line that will take us up to the castle."

As they rolled along, the conversation continued. "What a strange old day," Gordons said. "Pulling expresses, moving goods trains, now playing a fetch quest. Whatever next? James will attach wings and a propeller to himself, or the passengers flying around on jetpacks?"

"Don't give them ideas!" Thomas said loudly. "Those sound like something that would only happen in an animated show that was trying to jump the shark!"

"Why is an animated show trying to jump over a shark?" Gordon asked, perplexed.

Zipp leaned out of the cab. "It's a figure of speech. It means that a show or production does an outrageous stunt to try and draw viewers back in as the writing team have exhausted their ideas. It was originally coined to describe an episode of Happy Days where one of the characters jumped over a shark on water skis."

"How very interesting," Gordons said, in a voice which indicated the opposite sentiment.

There was a bit of silence as they arrived at Wellsworth and stopped to let a banking engine clear the main. As the signal changed, Zipp addressed Sunny again. "You know, I never imagined my life would turn out this way."

"In what sense?" Sunny asked.

"Well, I honestly thought that I'd be stuck in the life of being the kid of rich famous people, and all the ups and downs that brought with it. True, the comforts are nice, and I appreciate the stuff they've done for me, but there are times it feels like a gilded cage. Having your moves constantly monitored by the media got super annoying after a while. That's part of the reason I took to railway work- to get away from it all. And then I met you guys, and my life changed for the better. All of our lives did. Although the circumstances were less than ideal, meeting you guys was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Here we are now, on a fetch quest to save the world!"

"Again," Sunny added, with a wry smile. "Having said that, you haven't always had it easy."

"You can say that again," Zipp said, as the screen went all swirly.

"Why is the screen swirly?" Thomas asked.

"It's just a transition to take us to a flashback, that's all," Sunny explained. "Izzy explained it all to me."





Just after Christmas 2022

Zipp had had a great time staying with the Starscouts, but even so she could feel something around here wasn't right. Even though she could blend in with most of the crowd, and her clothing didn't stick out anywhere near as much as Pipp (Zipp preferred to buy off the shelf items, whereas Pipp had her clothes tailored to match her interests- and boy had she had a lot tailored over the years), Zipp still felt like a fish out of water. It possibly didn't help she'd somewhat grown up separate from the rest of society, and with the looming weight of the duties she would have to take up one day it didn't exactly make for a relaxed mindset.

Zipp wandered down main street along the waterfront, noticing all the newly built buildings put up since the Battle of Falmouth about six months ago. That had been a pretty wild night- Lady Haven had wanted to figure out why she and Pipp were so dusty, and not only that why the Bentley could suddenly talk. It was an interesting few days to say the least.

Zipp then got a text, and opened it.

Hey Zipp! Just gonna be a few minutes! I need to clean something up with Izzy and I'll be good to go!

Sunny.

"You don't need to sign texts, the display tells you who the message is from," Zipp said to herself, before popping her phone away. She sighed as she looked out on the waterfront. Sunny had decided to try selling hot drinks to take advantage of the post-Christmas season and warn people up. Zipp had offered to help, having assisted with many a Christmas event at the Swanage Railway. She stood there, when suddenly a voice made her jump.

"Excuse me miss, is this the place where hot chocolate is being sold?"

Zipp jumped and turned around. "Err- aaaa- well- yes! Yes it is!" She paused. "Way to be awkward, Zipp."

"Thank you," said the person. "It's just that I don't see any stand, that's all."

It was then Zipp had a bright idea. "If Sunny is going to be a few minutes, I can get her stand set up and save her some time!"

And so Zipp got to work. She found the table Sunny used and flipped it out, the legs dropping into place quickly and reliably. Zipp then popped the table down and placed Sunny's machine onto it. It currently had the smoothie module fitted to it, as that was what Sunny had last been selling before business dried up with the coming of the colder months.

"Now, where's the hot chocoloate unit?" Zipp asked herself, as she sorted through the supplies. At last, after some searching, she found it. "Aha! Here we are!"

She lifted it up, and took it out of the box, and put it next to the existing machine.

She spotted two plates on each side, and pressed them down. The smoothie module disconnected and was soon placed to the side, and Zipp slotted the new module into place.

The display lit up. PLEASE ADD COCOA POWDER AND WATER.

"Now where did Sunny leave them?" Zipp asked, and searched through the box. At last she found the containers which contained the relevant items, and popped them on the table before placing them down. Sunny had also left a test mug to allow the system to be tested, and Zipp slid it under after filling the water tank.

Nothing happened when she pressed pour. "That's strange. Why's nothing happening?"

"That's because you haven't plugged it in," said a familiar voice. Zipp looked up to see Sunny leaning over and looking at the machine. "It also needs a few minutes to get warmed up properly."

"Ah. Thanks." Zipp got up and plugged the device in.

"Zipp, I appreciate you getting this all set up for me, but I kinda wish you'd asked me first," Sunny replied. "Not just because the machine is, you know, my property, but if you'd set it up incorrectly you could have injured yourself. The liquid this produces can be very hot!"

Zipp sighed. "Sorry, Sunny. I only wanted to help."

"I know, and I appreciate that," Sunny smiled. "Now then, if you'd like to help out I can show you how to get this all set up correctly. And we already have customers!"

Sure enough, their friends were already waiting in line, including the new girl Misty. Zipp couldn't help but feel something was a bit off about her, but kept her thoughts to herself as they got to work.





"Yeah, that wasn't the best first impression," Zipp admitted. "But I've been working on my skills ever since."

"Yeah, you're great with a coffee machine now. Some of the brews you whipped up during the visit in October were amazing!"

"Family secret," Zipp smiled, as they approached a fork in the track. "Here we are. Line comes off to the left. Away we go!"

Gordon led off up the small branch line, with Thomas following behind them. It was a very long way up, and the line soon began to climb quite sharply into the skies.

"Keep an eye on our speed!" Thomas called forward. "It's easy to stall here!"

"As light engines this should be a piece of cake!" Gordon said, with a smile. An overconfident smile, but it was an improvement over the fact he perpetually looked grumpy some other times.

Sunny then clicked where they were going. "Of course! Ulfstead Castle!"

"Come again?" Zipp asked.

"Ulfstead Castle is where we're going! The field of heroes will yield the ultimate treasure, remember? And many of Sodor's greatest knights and heroes lived there. And if that's the case, then we're looking under the ground!"

But as they reached a bridge, they heard a threatening voice in their heads. "I warned you not to follow me, but you didn't heed the warning. Now you shall pay the price."

Suddenly, there was a dramatic increase in water, which turned a stream into a raging torrent. "Run!" Gordon shouted. "They're trying to destroy the bridge!"

Zipp drastically increased steam pressure as Gordon moved across the bridge. The structure began to shake from the combined forces of two engines and the intense water beating against it. Gordon cleared it safely, but the bridge soon began to creak and shift, as if it was about to break apart.

"Sunny! Get a move on!" Zipp shouted.

Thomas charged across the bridge at high speed, and cleared the other side just in time. With a crack, the supports gave way, and the central span of the bridge collapsed into the water.

"Well, that was hair raising," Sunny said. "Looks like you already got that treatment!"

"Very funny," Zipp replied. "Now let's get a move on. Discord clearly knows where we are!"





It was here the line just... stopped. After securing the engines in place and setting the injectors correctly, Sunny and Zipp hopped out of the cab and walked into a nearby cave.

"Any idea why we're wandering into a cave?" Zipp asked.

"Well," Sunny replied, "the field of heroes will yield the ultimate treasure. Yielding means giving up. The field can hardly give up something that's not underground, is it?"

They walked deeper in, before suddenly finding an illuminated cavern, filled with glowing crystals. "Whoa," was all Zipp could say.

"It's just like the cave we were in during the encounter with Discord!" Sunny said. She noticed something at the other end of the room. "There appear to be six locks, and I'm willing to bet each is somewhow connected to the glowing crystals on the ground."

"You figured that one out quickly," Zipp said.

"My dad and I loved to play puzzle games on Sunday evenings," Sunny explained. "I like trying to figure puzzles out."

"Well, so do I, so let's get cracking!"

The pair took to turning and rearranging crystals on the ground, observing shifts in light upon the facing wall and moving plates back and forth to see what happened. The lights beyond them were beginning to move about into new positions, and the displays on the facing walls began to change.

"One of the wall lights just went green!" Zipp called.

"So, if we keep turning them, we'll eventually find ourselves with the correct combinations and open whatever this strange device is! And there we shall find the crystal!"

"Careful, Sunny," Zipp replied. "We don't want to jump to conclusions, do we?"

After some more turning and spinning and rotating, more and more of the lights shifted from red to green, moving in sequence across the wall. It became clear they had to turn the crystals in a certain order, so after some experimentation they found the correct combination of lights and displays.

The wall lights all switched from red to green in sequence, and before long the cavern was bathed in an intense white light. The crystals sat within the cavern were so intense in their magnification of all the light that was bounding about that Sunny and Zipp covered their eyes, worried about the blinding intensity of the light levels.

The light grew to a fever pitch, and then suddenly it peaked, and dropped away. The noises declined, and the two girls standing in the cavern lowered their hands to see what had happened in the time they were gone.

Standing there, where nobody had been previously, were six girls. They all looked tired, and were partially collapsed on the ground.

"Darlings, I think my bottom's on backwards," said one, a girl with whitish skin and purple hair.

"I don't know where we are," whispered another, a girl with yellow skin and pink hair.

"Ah know, sugarcube," added another, who had orangey skin and blonde hair. "One second Ah was in the washroom, the next Ah'm in this cave."

"I must say the cave is quite nice to look at," said another, a girl with lavender skin and blue, purple, and pink hair. "I'm surprised you don't have more a view on this, Rarity!"

"I just wanna find the guy who put us in this place!" a girl with blue skin and rainbow coloured hair added. "I was driving at the time, and now I'm in this cave! Where are we, Twi?"

"Who cares!" a girl with pink hair and skin said, bounding around the cavern. "THIS LOOKS THE PERFECT PLACE FOR A PARTY!" She looked through a crystal. "THIS MAKES MY FACE LOOK FUNNY!"

Zipp looked at Sunny. "She has way more energy than Izzy. That's quite remarkable."

"I know," Sunny replied. "This is why I don't let Izzy anywhere near mom's coffee machine."

Suddenly, the girls before them noticed the two figures with them. "Hello friends!" the lavender girl said, stepping forward. "What are your names?"

"I'm Sunny Starscout," Sunny said, "and this is my friend Zipp Storm. We're new to the Island of Sodor."

"It's lovely to meet you, Sunny and Zipp," the girl answered. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends." She indicated to each of them in turn. "Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. What concerns me more is how we're in this cave. Last I remember I was driving Thomas and then suddenly I'm down here."

"That explains why Thomas had no driver when we met him!" Zipp said to Sunny.

"Sorry?" Twilight said. "Thomas had no driver?"

Sunny looked slightly sheepish. "We've kinda been filling in for you."

"Who is we?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Sunny!" called a voice, and suddenly Izzy, Pipp, Hitch, and Misty entered.

"Guys!" Sunny called. "It's so good to see you!" She turned to Twilight. "These are my friends. Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Hitch Trailblazer, and Misty Brightdawn."

Just then, there was a noise from up above. "That doesn't sound good," Fluttershy whispered.

"You said it, sugarcube," Applejack said, as she gathered her kit together. "Now let's deal with this here varmint who stole us here."

Pipp looked over. "You don't think Discord trapped them here, do you?"

"Who's Discord?" asked Rarity. "And how am I going to get these knots out of my hair?"

"You'd get on swimmingly with my sister," Zipp said dryly.

"Less time arguing and more time dealing with the problem!" Sunny exclaimed. "We have to find the last crystal or else the magic will be gone!"

"Crystals?" Twilight asked.

"Look, it's a really long story. I'll explain on the way!"





When they arrived at their destination, the new alliance of twelve, along with their engines, were amazed at what they had learned. "So, magic was fading, and you found a way to bring it back?" Twilight said, looking amazed. "I must visit Falmouth some day and learn more about how the crystals work!"

"We'd be more than happy to welcome you, though space at my house is a bit cramped with four," Sunny replied.

Just then, a convoy of road vehicles came to a stop, with another convoy of engines stopping nearby. "Those are our engines," Hitch pointed out. "Salty, Rebecca, Charles, Sophie, Porter, and Bellerophon."

"Girls!" called a voice. The gang looked over to see Lady Haven running over from her car. "Have you found the last crystal?"

"We're working on it!" Sunny called, as she dismounted from Thomas' cab. "But we found the original drivers of these engines, and they want to help us!"

The rest of the gang had joined them. "We should be close, though," Hitch offered. "Based on the map data Sunny sent me it should be nearby."

"Well, this is a large field that looks like a battlefield, so-"

Argyle chimed in. "The object should be somewhere in that direction, but I think-"

Lady Haven's face fell. "Excuse me, do you see my mouth still moving? It means I'm still talking."

Argyle stepped back. "Sorry."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. As the team looked about, a huge machine stomped into view. It was massive, towering several hundred feet into the air. It was carried about on enormous, slab sided legs, with a central body which seemed to be packed to the brim with equipment based on all the glowing lights. It had two arms, each of which terminated in strange barrels which looked very big and heavy.

The head unit swivelled atop that, and the top viewing ports seemed to glow blue with intense light. A voice suddenly rang out across the terrain, processed from the head unit. "So, it seems my enemies decided to deliver themselves to me. What extraordinarily good fortune."

"Discord!" Zipp shouted.

"Well identified," the machine returned, confirming the pilot to be Discord. "You have arrived at this point. But sadly this is where your road ends, you six. You have been a thorn in my side for far too long now, and now that you've rescued those idiots I imprisoned I have no choice but to take action.

Lady Haven stepped forward. "No, not especially, Mister Big Robot Person. We're not here to fight!"

"I do not accept your surrender," Discord answered. "NOW GIVE ME THE CRYSTALS!"

Sunny stepped forward. "No."

There was a moment of stunned silence. "Did you just say no to me?"

"Yes, I did," Sunny replied. "You claim you wanted to destroy magic. I think what you really meant was you want nobody but YOU to have magic. We will stop you!"

Discord laughed. "How sweet. How charming. How futile." The guns on the mech started to spool up and missiles began to fire.

"Run!" Izzy shouted.

The final battle for the fate of Sodor had begun.
> Chapter 9-If you Don't Concentrate on the Thing that You're Doing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and her friends sprinted for their engines as Sunny and her friends headed for theirs. The chaotic scene as people leaped into cabs and prepared to move off was quite something to spot.

"We'll have to go pretty fast to beat that thing to the last crystal site!" Sunny called, as she got Salty's engine fired up.

"Ahoy that, matey!" Salty replied. "We'll need the speed of the flying Dutchman to go that fast!"

"I'll attach Thomas to the front and give you a boost!" Twilight called, as the blue tank engine backed down on the red diesel.

"I'll run interference and distract him!" Zipp called, as Charles roared forward.

"My speed will ensure we win!" Charles said. "Speed and power win everything, and I am of course the fastest engine here!"

"No you are not!" Gordon said, as he began to move off. "I am the fastest engine on Sodor, and that fact is not changing!"

"A rivalry during this battle?" Pipp said. "That's the last thing we needed."

"I can help!" James said. "We splendid engines must stick together, after all."

James and Sophie then moved off in a pair. "Darling, I must ask who makes your clothing," Rarity said. "It simply looks divine!"

"I'll tell you when we're out of danger!" Pipp said.

"Good idea!" Sophie said, as the pair flew into the distance.

Henry and Rebecca began to run the other way round the loop, as the line here ran in a loop for some reason, as Thomas was finally ready to go. He began to pull Salty along, puffing and panting as best he could. The landscape soon sounded to the combined puffing of a steam engine and the roar of a diesel engine to try and get as much acceleration as possible.

"Where do you need me to drop you?" Twilight called, over the noise.

"The last crystal is somewhere over there!" Sunny called. "I'll need some time to look for it, and if you guys can keep this up that would be fantastic!"

Discord, however, it seemed had had enough, and decided to initiate the engagement. "We've been playing for long enough," he said. "Time to fight!"

The main guns finally fired up, sending a splatter of high explosive shells raking into the ground. They exploded as they slammed into the ground, raking holes in the landscape and generally making an enormous mess.

"Cleaning this up is going to be a chore!" said Percy, as he and Porter raced around the field.

"I don't know!" Izzy said. "The author will probably not mention this place again!"

Pinkie leaned over. "Izzy! Stop breaking the fourth wall! That's my job!"

Further ahead, James and Sophie were around the back of the machine. "Good thing he can't see us here!" James said.

"Wrong," said a single word, and suddenly a pair of shot blasts roared out.

"Mind the paintwork!" James called.

Pipp moved Sophie expertly out of the way, the explosions sounded behind them on a nearby hill. "Good thing that missed!"

"Just imagine the repair bill," Rarity said dryly.

Further ahead, Charles seemed to have momentarily forgotten they were meant to be running interference and was instead trying to race Gordon! "I am faster than you!" the diesel shouted.

"No you are not!" Gordon replied.

"Are too!"

"ARE NOT!"

ARE TOO!"

"Stop arguing!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We can settle this later! Right now we need to keep Discord distracted!"

"That we can do," Zipp said. "I can be pretty sneaky when I wanna be."

"That's good," Rainbow Dash replied. "With Pinkie around we're only medium sneaky.

"I heard that!"

Henry and Rebecca were running the other way at speed, with the ground wobbling underneath them from repeated explosions. A barrage of missiles roared out of the sky and slammed into the ground nearby, shaking it and lighting the landscape up with white and orange flames.

"They must be dumb fire ordnance," Hirch observed. "They can't lock us, so Discord is having to guess where we'll be in advance! If we keep going fast enough, we'll be able to dodge the fire!"

"It's all very scary!" Fluttershy called.

"We have to be brave, Fluttershy!" Henry called. "Everything is at steak!"

"I thought you were a vegetarian?" Pinkie asked as she and Percy whizzed past on the other line.

"Fluttershy is," Henry replied. "It's a figure of speech and... oh, never mind."

It wasn't just on the rails that things were flying about. Several road vehicles were thundering about in the centre of the field, trying to draw Discord's attention as well.

"I had no idea you could drive in this manner!" Goldie called.

"I was a dirt biker when I was younger!" Argyle called. "This isn't too different in a jeep!"

What was arguably more impressive was the Bentley pulling off similar moves nearby. Unfortunately, a door fell open and Robert fell out. "This isn't good!" he said, realising how close he was to the huge machine.

"I've got you at last," Discord laughed, before he went in for the attack. But before his foot could move, the Bentley roared past again and Robert swung himself into the car, slamming the door shut in the process.

"Thank you!" he called.

"Please remember to always wear seatbelts when we're on the road," Lady Haven replied, as they drove between the legs of the stomping machine.

"I didn't know you knew how to drive on these surfaces!"

"In the event that either Thunder or Zoom aren't available I do need to be able to operate the vehicle myself!" his wife pointed out.

The battle was soon joined by a series of loud explosions from a nearby hill. "Big guns out there!" Fluttershy said.

Hitch glanced back, and saw three large rail mounted guns firing on the enemy. "It's the Royal Artillery's railway division!" he said. "They have a battery stationed on Sodor. But how did they get the guns here?"

"Need some help?" said a Somerset accent.

Izzy looked back and smiled. "It's the engines we helped and their drivers!"

"This isn't going to lead to a power of friendship speech, is it?" Porter said. "Because if it is, just light them up already!"

From the storm of artillery shells slamming into the machine, it suddenly seemed to come to a stop, the eye lights switching off.

"Have we done it?" Zipp asked.

Only for the lights to turn back on, this time glowing a fierce red. "SWITCHING TO BACKUP POWER."

"Of course he fitted it with a backup power source!" Charles said. "What villain worth their salt doesn't fit backups?"

"Couldn't make it too easy for you lot, could I?" Discord laughed, as the machine continued its attack pattern. The existing pattern of dodging about and running interference continued onwards, until Rebecca and Charles were round the back.

"Out we get!" Hitch called. "Zipp, with me! We need to shut that thing down!"

"On it!" Zipp replied, and after handing the engines over to some rather baffled guards leaped out of the cabs and towards the leg of the machine. "There's a door we can use!"

Hitch instead started to climb a support gantry on the side of the machine. "This way!"

Discord was focused on other threats. "Why won't you keep still?!" he shouted.

As a biplane dived in and roared past, the scene on the ground was still incredibly chaotic. "Batteries, cease fire!" Pipp called over the radio. "My sister's on the robot!"

"This is getting all too intense for my taste!" James shouted. "It's like the time I collided with those tankers!"

"Not that again!" Rarity called, glancing behind her. "Whenever will that beastly beast give up on his plans?"

"Never, I suspect!" Sophie said. "He's too far gone to be helped in any way!"

Hitch and Zipp continued to climb the machine, and after a few minutes were at the top of the control platform. They held on as the machine began to turn, seemingly trying to throw them off.

Zipp spotted something. "Try pushing that button!" she said.

Hitch pushed it down, but the arm didn't disconnect. Instead the firing mechanism seemed to get stuck, and the hail of shells lit up the area near Porter.

"WILL YOU STOP THROWING THINGS AT ME?!" Porter shouted.

Thomas and Salty were round the back, and Sunny leaped out of the cab and ran to the place she thought the crystals were. She'd brought a shovel with her, and began to frantically dig as the battle raged around her.

"This ends now, Discord!" Hitch shouted, as he tried to switch sides.

"The only thing that is ending is you," Discord coldly replied as he tipped the machine to one side to throw Hitch and Zipp off. Both of them fell- and then crashed into mattresses.

"Well, those were conveniently placed," Hitch said.

Discord, on the other hand, had spotted something glowing near Sunny's position, and turned his machine round. "Clinging to each other like maggots isn't going to save you when the boot falls!" he shouted, and then stomped down on her position.
> Chapter 10-Together
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A shocked silence seemed to fall over the battlefield. Those there struggled to process what they had just seen. Was it really over? Had Discord just done what he did? Was this really over?

It was one of those situations where you know you should say or do something, but don't know what to say or how to say it. Instead, a disbelieving silence had fallen over the area. Until a loud voice interrupted the silence.

"YES! YES!" Discord cheered. "I have finally done it! I have destroyed magic! Roll out the red carpet and the banqueting table, as I have emerged the mighty conquerer of the evil forces that damage our world!"

Everybody else was shocked and disgusted, and Pipp finally mustered some words. "You monster!"

Discord turned the cockpit and laughed. "Your friend was a hybrid. A freak. A creature created by the magic. She didn't belong here, and now the secret dies with her."

"Her name was Sunny," Izzy said, as she readied Porter to move.

"And she understood more about being human than you ever will," Hitch added, switching to his radio. "Let's finish this guy off."

"Understood," Zipp added. "On our mark, one two thr-"

Suddenly. a bright glow was visible under the foot of Discord's war machine. He looked at it. "What? There's no way..."

Suddenly, the light grew to a fever pitch, and it was followed by an enormous blast of energy. Discord's mech was thrown backwards, and the area was bathed in a brilliant orange and golden light.

"Guys, is that-?" Argyle asked.

Izzy answered it for him. "SUNNY!"

Sure enough, it was. Sunny Starscout floated in front of Discord's machine, her wings glowing brighter than ever before and the familiar sheen also producing enough light to brighten a galaxy. "This ends here," she said. "You claim to want to save the world. The truth is you want it for yourself so you can rule everybody else with an iron fist. I won't let that happen. The gloves are off!"

Discord laughed. "Brave words for such a little girl."

Sunny shifted her neck. "I think you'll find I'm average height for my age."

Before Discord could react, Sunny suddenly flew forwards, energy pooling around her hands and slammed into the robot, smashing several holes in the cockpit and blowing one of the eyes out. The fragments crumbled to the floor and fell all over the ground, shattering and smashing as they did so.

Discord wheeled back and swung the right arm at Sunny at speed, but she dodged the attack as well as some stray bullets which flew her way. Those which did connect splattered against the golden energies surrounding her. She then made another impact. This had the desired effect, as it blew the cockpit dome off completely, exposing Discord to the elements.

He was hunched over in his machine, looking up and snarling. "I can fight without a colander lit to protect me," he replied, before throwing some switches. A blast threw Sunny back, and the machine switched to another attack mode.

Weapons fire began to streak across the sky as the arm mounted cannons began to blast away at the small target, shells rocketing through the skies and missing targets or producing golden visual feedback.

Through it all Sunny rocketed through the air at incredible speed, looking down and around the threat at a pace that would have made most people dizzy. The firepower gave her an idea. "Time to level the playing field a bit."

As she whizzed around, she focused most of the energy in front of her, and setting her height and speed correctly crashed into one of the arm joints... and went through it... and out the other side. The arm of the machine fell downwards to the floor, now starved of ammunition or electrical signals to keep the barrels turning. Sunny then looped around and repeated the process with the other arm, also succeeding in blowing it off the machine and causing it to explode onto the ground. With one single attack, it seemed that Discord was crippled. "You have no more weapons, Discord. Your machine is crippled. You have no more way to keep up the fight. It's over."

"Nothing's over whilst I'm still breathing, Sunny," Discord replied, before the machine's chest mounts pulled back, revealing an entire battery of cannons. "A good thinker always keeps a backup plan in place. You haven't stopped me Sunny. I'm only getting warmed up!"

Sunny dodged out of the way as cannon fire began to fill up the sky before her, and the back of the machine shifted.

"Witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational war machine. ACTIVATE MISSILE BATTERIES!"

A massive storm of homing missiles roared into the air, followed by another set. "Let's see how you like heatseekers, Sunny. I think they'll like you very much."

Sunny realised how dangerous this was. Her ponied up form was probably giving off a lot of heat, and as such was ringing the dinner bell for every heatseeking missile in the area. She simply kept going, thundering towards the mountains nearby to try and get the missiles to change targets or explode in mid air.

Cannon fire continued to fly in her direction, but that was a lesser threat to her than the missiles, which could actually track her. She glanced back. "This is one of those days you wish this thing had countermeasures."

Until this gave her an idea. She rolled over and focused once again, her mind centering on the missiles chasing her. A series of golden blasts roared from her hands, impacting the chasing missiles and destroying many in flight, whilst others became confused and flew off target, slamming into the ground below.

Sunny flew back towards the robot, focusing the energy to work as a shield once more as she flew into a gigantic storm of missiles and shells fired from the robot which lit up the sky with explosions. And yet, from the ground, a familiar golden streak was clearly visible through it all. Sunny kept going at incredible speed. At last she made it through the fire, and the last Discord saw of her was a focused face with determination focused on her features.

She slammed into the machine's core and flew out the other side, causing explosions to echo everywhere. Discord looked down and saw alarms and warning screaming at him. "Time to get out of here!"

He pulled a lever, and a pod formed around him, which was then fired high into the air as the machine below exploded into flames, parts and equipment flying all over the place and destroying the enormous machine.

At last, it was finished. The Battle of Sodor was over.





The next morning, the sun rose once more over a safer, better world. The fiery ball opened his eyes upon the island of Sodor, a place now much quieter and safer now that Discord was gone.

At Vicarstown, the Falmouth team were preparing to move off for their homeland. Sunny had safely packed the crystals into a case, so they could be placed back in their housing when they returned. Right now, they were standing on the platform, saying their goodbyes.

"Hopefully we'll be able to chat at some time and exhange fashion ideas darling," Rarity said to Pipp. "You and I do seem to have an eye towards the fabulous."

"I'd totes love that!" Pipp exclaimed, as she raised her phone. "It's official, guys; Rarity is on Team Pipp!"

Rarity sighed. "I refuse to acknowledge that 'totes' is a word."

Rainbow Dash shook hands with Zipp. "We should totally go toe to toe in soccer some time. I bet somebody as awesome as I am would give you a real challenge."

"I'm more of a runner than a socker player," Zipp admitted. "How about 100 metre sprint?"

Fluttershy was saying similar to Hitch. "You were very brave out there. If you're that willing to lay down your life for your friends, your bonds must be very strong indeed."

"The bond of brothers is the strongest of all," Hitch admitted. "I intend to keep true to that."

Applejack was speaking to Misty. "Now remember, sugarcube, hard work is more important than anythin' else. An' yer friends are the closest things to family you will ever find. Hold them in yer heart."

"I will," Misty said.

Finally, Twilight had some parting words of wisdom for Sunny. "What you did out there for us gives me hope for the world," she said. "Friendship is the greatest power the world has ever known, allowing us to stand against the darkest moments and emerge victorious. It warms my heart knowing there will be others who will continue our work after we are gone. Always keep the light of friendship and magic burning bright within your heart."

Sunny nodded. "Wow. That's quite the burden. But one I'm more than happy to bear."

"Time to go!" Rebecca called. The drivers all scrambled for their engines, and with a whistle Rebecca pulled away towards Barrow.

A massive chorus of whistles started up behind them, seeing them on their way.

For this was no goodbye. This was simply see you soon. And no matter who or where you are, Sodor will always be waiting to welcome you home.
> Credits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Cast - in Order of Appearance:

Keith Whickam - Salty, Sir Topham Hatt, Edward, Henry, Gordon, BoCo, Additional Voices
Vanessa Hudgens - Sunny Starscout
Liza Koshy - Zipp Storm
Richard Hammond - Porter
Kimiko Glenn - Izzy Moonbow
Rachel Miller - Rebecca, Additional Voices
James Marsden - Hitch Trailblazer
Matt Wilkinson - Rocky, Proteus, Additional Voices
Tara Strong - Goldie Starshine, Twilight Sparkle
Sofia Carson - Pipp Petals
Theresa Gallagher - Sophie
Kimberley Ann-Truong - Posey Bloom
Michael McKean - Argyle Starshine
Bahia Watson - Misty Brightdawn
John Hasler - Thomas
Emily Tennant - Mane Allgood
Robert Rackstraw - James
Nigel Pilkington - Percy
Jane Krakowski - Lady Haven
Richard E. Grant - Lord Haven
Michael Dobson - Trick Shot
Felicia Day - Aurora Dawn
Steve Blum - Isaac Moonbow
Joe Mills - Donald, Oliver
John deLancie - Discord
Jeremy Irons - Wilbert Awdry
Simon Russell Beale - 'Teddy' Boston
Michael Palin - Eric Treacy
Ashleigh Ball - Lyra, Applejack, Rainbow Dash
Madeleine Peters - Scootaloo
Tabitha St. Germain - Rarity
Andrea Libman - Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie
Jeremy Clarkson - Charles

This story is dedicated in memory of both the Reverend Wilbert Awdry (1911 - 1997) and Brian Goldner (1963 - 2021), without whom neither Thomas nor Sunny's stories would have been told.

Sunny and her friends will return in... Thomas and Friends: the Feast of Steven!





There was a loud crash from the top of Culdee Fell, and two climbers quickly made their way up to the sight of the sound.

"What is that?" asked one of them, pointing at the strange cylinder sitting before them.

"It looks like some sort of pod," said the other as he stepped closer. He looked at the pod for a moment, before suddenly the machine hissed.

Both men ran for their lives as the door opened, and Discord stepped out. His clothing was ragged and battered, but he was very much alive.

"Sunny thinks she's so clever for stopping me, eh?" he said, snarling. "Well, I'll soon put a stop to that. This is just the beginning. I'll come back. I always come back."