Thomas and the Ponies

Dawn broke across the Island of Sodor. Thomas woke up still sleepy but ready for work. He looked around to find the Mane Six, but he couldn't find any pony. "Twilight?" called Thomas. "Pinkie?"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie dropped from above his funnel to surprise him, but scares him. "Surprise!"

"Ah!" Thomas jolted backward.

"Did I surprise you?" Pinkie said.

"No, but you did scare me."

The Mane Six weren't gone, but instead, were picking up something from the forest to eat for breakfast, which was just apples.

"Morning, Tom!" Applejack said to Thomas.

Thomas was puzzled. "Tom?"

"That's something she usually does," said Twilight. "She gives nicknames to ponies she meets, including me."

"Huh." Thomas was still puzzled, but he accepted his nickname.

"Anyways," asked Rainbow, "what are you gonna do?"

"I'm heading off for work," said Thomas.

"Work?" Twilight asked. "Here, you have to do a lot of work?"

"Yeah. This is a railway, anyway," replied Thomas, as his fireman fired up his firebox.

"What railway is this?" Fluttershy asked.

"The North Western Railway on the Island of Sodor," Thomas answered.

"The what railway on the Island of what?" asked Rainbow.

"I'll catch you up later, when I start my jobs."

Then, as Thomas was about to move, his steam started to fade away. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" Thomas' boiler was out of water.

Twilight was worried. "What's going on, Thomas?"

"I'm out of water! Now I can't do anything without any water towers here!" Thomas was upset. The ponies felt pity for him. Luckily, Applejack was already prepared.

"Ya know, Tom? I think I could build a bucket of water for you."

"You do?" questioned Thomas.

"Yes! I've got it right here." Applejack took out some tools and wood materials.

"Amazing!" Thomas exclaimed.

"So, what do you say, fellas?" Applejack questioned the Mane Five. "Should we help this little tank engine get back to work?"

"Yes, we shall!"

A few minutes later, the wood was crafted into a bucket. There were some leaks, but it could still hold. Twilight had managed to find some water from a lake nearby. Applejack gave the bucket to Thomas' fireman. "Thank you." He poured it into Thomas' tank.

"Wow!" Thomas puffed. "I feel new as before!"

"We're just glad we could help you, Thomas." Twilight and her friends jumped back into Thomas' cab, still cramming it like before, and Thomas set off for Knapford.

Thomas was close to Knapford. But before he could arrive, he stopped. "So what I'm about to show you ponies is what my home is," Thomas notified the ponies.

"This better be good," Rarity said.

Thomas chuffed around the bend, into Knapford Station. "Welcome to the Island of Sodor, my little ponies!"

The ponies gasped in awe. The station was very busy. Engines shoved and shunted trucks around. Other engines heaved and hauled trains. Guards blew their whistles, as trains arrived at the station. One of them was Percy the Small Engine. Percy saw Thomas.

"Thomas!" called Percy. Thomas noticed him and stopped.

"Percy! My best friend!" Thomas whistled at Percy, and Percy whistled back at Thomas.

"Where have you been? We've been so worried about you! We thought you got lost or fell down a mine or crashed into a stationmaster's house!" Percy puffed to Thomas.

Fluttershy was able to understand how Percy felt. "Heh-heh. Just like me."

"It's a long story, Percy. But I'll tell you later at Tidmouth." As Thomas was about to puff away, Sir Topham Hatt came out of his office to see Thomas.

"Thomas? Where have you been?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.

"Sir? It's a long story," Thomas explained.

"Well, since we all thought you were lost, I had to assign Percy your jobs," added Sir Topham Hatt. "Including pulling Annie and Clarabel on your branch line."

"Oh. Well, I'm here now, so can't you just assign them back to me?" Thomas asked.

"Sorry, Thomas," said Sir Topham Hatt, "but today is a very busy day. I don't have enough time to switch jobs. But don't worry, this is only for a day, and you'll be back working with your jobs and Annie and Clarabel. In the meantime, I need you to pull a goods train to Brendam."

"Yes, sir." And Thomas puffed away to the shunting yards.

Percy felt terrible. "I prefer Thomas pulling Annie and Clarabel instead of me." The station guard blew his whistle, and Percy puffed away.

Back in Thomas' cab, Rarity was disgusted by what Sir Topham Hatt said to Thomas. "I can't believe that this figure rightfully refused Thomas to do what he does best!"

"I know, right?" Rainbow Dash said. "The next time we see him, I will tell him to give Thomas what he likes best."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Thomas interrupted. "Don't get so cross, you two. He's Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of this railway. He knows what's best for us. And don't make fun of him, by the way."

"Who's Sir Topham Hatt?" Pinkie asked. "He sounds funny!"

"Pinkie," Twilight said sternly, "Thomas told you not to make fun of him."

"Sorry, Twilight," Pinkie apologized. "Just something I found funny."

Later, Thomas arrived at Knapford Yards. His train was already prepared.

"Alright, you ponies. I know there's a truck around here. Just let me find it." Thomas looked around the yard to find an extra truck. And after minutes of searching, he found one. "There it is." He coupled up to the truck, and he went to his goods train.

"Wait," interrupted Twilight. "How are we gonna get to the truck without being spotted?"

"I assume you have magic that could make you invisible for a short time?" Thomas answered.

"I think I know a spell that can do that. Let's try it." Twilight cast a spell that made her and the other ponies invisible and walked out of Thomas' cab. She then used her horn to open the door and walked inside. The invisibility effect wore off. "Phew. That was close."

"Great!" Thomas exclaimed. And he puffed away.

Thomas chuffed down the track. He huffed and he puffed. He heaved and he hauled. And he was being a really useful engine. Then, Diesel rolled by.

"Hello, Thomas," said Diesel. "Where have you been? We diesels have missed you. Oh wait, we haven't!" Diesel laughed.

Thomas was angry. "It was a very big journey, Diesel. I was in a forest derailed, and then, a horse came, and pulled me back onto the tracks."

Diesel looked at Thomas. Then, he burst out laughing. "You expect me to believe that, Thomas?" He laughed and he laughed. "You really are a silly steamie!" And he oiled away, laughing. "Later, Thomas!"

Thomas was upset. He could not believe what he had heard. The ponies heard what happened, and stepped out of the truck. They walked over to Thomas.

"Are you okay, Tom?" asked Applejack.

Thomas wasn't feeling okay. "No, Applejack."

"What's the matter?" asked Fluttershy.

"It's nothing," replied Thomas.

"Hey, hey, listen," Twilight told to Thomas. "You can tell us anything. We're here to help."

Thomas took a deep breath. "Ever since those annoying Diesel and Diesel 10, whom you just met last night, came to the island, they were being very mean to me and my friends! I mean, do you have ponies that say 'you are a silly pony' from where you come from?"

Twilight and her friends took pity. They now knew why the Cutie Map called them here: Thomas was having bitter problems with the other diesels, including Diesel 10, whom they met last night.

"And to make matters worse, they tried to take over my railway at one point. But thankfully, Sir Topham Hatt stopped them before things got worse." Thomas was getting more upset.

"Don't worry, Thomas," Twilight gently said. "We'll get this over with, and it'll all be over soon."

Thomas made a faintly visible smile. "Thank you, Twilight. And you ponies."

Twilight and her friends jumped back into the truck and Thomas set off for Brendam Docks.

At Brendam Docks, it was busier than usual. Salty and Porter were shunting trucks around the yard. Cranky the Crane was unloading lots of crates. And Ten Cents from TUGS was here as well. Cranky spotted Thomas arriving at the yard. "There you are, Thomas."

Thomas puffed in very quickly and applied his brakes. He screeched to a halt too quickly, which caused the Mane Six to be pushed around in the truck, groaning. Salty and Porter heard them.

"What was that, me hearty?" Salty asked Thomas.

"Yeah. What was that sound your trucks made?" Porter asked as well.

Cranky was unloading the crates from Thomas' trucks.

"Nothing," Thomas answered sheepishly.

The ponies were groaning and moaning from the force of the truck. Outside, Cranky heard it too.

"I think it's coming from that truck right behind Thomas." Cranky lowered his hook to the ponies' truck.

Thomas tried to make sure he doesn't open it, so he knew what he had to do. Then, an idea flew into his funnel. He jolted backward, causing Cranky's hook to hit Thomas's back. The workmen, Salty, Porter, and even Cranky could not believe their eyes at what Thomas had done.

"Thomas!" called Cranky. "What did you do that for?"

"I have this thing that makes me jolt backward suddenly," Thomas said.

"What is he doing?" Applejack said.

"I think he's lying to save us," replied Fluttershy.

"Well, that's no good way to do that," said Applejack.

"Oh, look at the time! I'm late for my other jobs!" And he puffed away very quickly, with the truck containing the ponies still coupled up to Thomas. Cranky, Salty, and Porter were very puzzled.

"What just happened?" Cranky asked.

"I don't know, matey," Salty said.

Back on the Main Line, the Mane Six and Thomas were relieved that they managed to make it out just in time before trouble began. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's tail begins to twitch, revealing that her Pinkie Sense has activated.

"My tail! I think I know what Thomas's gonna do!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "He's gonna reveal us to his friends!"

Twilight heard this, and enabled the brake blocks on the truck, making Thomas screech to a halt. The ponies jumped out of the car and went over to Thomas. "Is this true?" she asked. "Are you actually going to reveal us to your friends?"

"Yes," Thomas said. "Why is that?"

"Didn't you say before that you'd keep us secret, no matter what happens?" Twilight questioned.

"Well, yeah," said Thomas. "But this is an exception, I promise. We've dealt with magical stuff like this before. You could trust me with this." Twilight is still skeptical about this, but considering that she still trusts Thomas, she accepts that. The ponies climbed back into the truck and Thomas set off once again.

Throughout the day, Thomas continued his jobs as usual, only that he was carrying his truck around wherever he went. Everyone, including Sir Topham Hatt, were very confused by this. They all knew that something was up with Thomas, and that he wasn't his usual self. Near the end of the daytime, Thomas had already planned something for the Mane Six to introduce themselves to the Steam Team: When Thomas blows his whistle, the ponies will come out of the truck and reveal themselves.

"Okay, when I blow my whistle, you all will jump out of the truck. Got it?" Thomas advised.

"Got it!" The Mane Six said.

Back in Equestria, Spike and Starlight look for Twilight and the others around Ponyville, including the Everfree Forest, but to no avail.

"Where could they be?" said Starlight. "There's no way they've gotten lost in that forest. Or you know what? Maybe they are. Should we go?"

"I wouldn't take the risk if I were you, Starlight," said Spike.

"Fair enough," Starlight said as they both continued looking.

That evening, Tidmouth Sheds was already full. Henry, Gordon, Edward, James, Percy, Emily, and Toby could only talk about Thomas.

"You're aware of what's going on, right?" asked James. "He's never been like this before. I'm getting kinda worried."

"So do I," said Percy. "When I saw Thomas earlier, I asked him. He said it was a long story."

"Something is up with him," said Toby.

Just then, Thomas arrived with his truck. The other engines looked at him.

"Thomas," said James. "What's going on?"

Thomas looked at his friends. He always told them everything. "It all had something to do with my sudden disappearance."

The engines listened very carefully to Thomas.

"When I was heading back to Tidmouth, I accidentally got diverted to an abandoned track. I continued puffing along, and then, I derailed into a pool of water. But then, six ponies came to help me, and—" Before he could finish his explanation, Duck and Oliver passed by with a long goods train. Duck blew his whistle at them. This prompted Pinkie to assume it was Thomas' signal.

"That must be the signal!" Pinkie said.

"No, it isn't!" warned Rainbow. "It wasn't him!"

"It sounded like it!" Since they were under the tarp, it couldn't be determined if it was or wasn't Thomas' whistle. Pinkie took out the covers. The rest of the ponies tried to keep her down, but it was too late. The Mane Six pierced out of the tarp and landed on Thomas' roof, revealing themselves to the Steam Team. Every single engine except Thomas was shocked, but he didn't know that until now.

"Hello every engine!" Pinkie Pie yelled out. Henry was so surprised that he hid in his berth.

Fluttershy noticed Henry hiding. "Pinkie, I think you scared the big green one."

"Oops, sorry!" Pinkie said.

Fluttershy flew to Henry and opened his shed door. Henry was still afraid of them. "Shh, shh, it's okay, big engine. Fluttershy's got you. It'll all be okay." Henry was getting a little comfortable with them.

"My name's Henry."

Gordon saw Rainbow Dash and gruffed at her. "That blue pony looks like it's fast. But not as fast as me. I pull the Express!" Rainbow heard Gordon and approached him.

"What'd you say, big fella?" Rainbow questioned seriously. "Rainbow Dash is the name."

"I'm Gordon, the fastest engine on Sodor!"

"Wanna bet for a race across the Island?" Rainbow betted with Gordon.

"Ha! Deal!" Gordon agreed, as he rolled his eyes.

Rarity approached James. "My, oh my, darling, your red paintwork looks so beautiful."

James was touched by this. "So do yours. I'm James, by the way."

"Rarity."

Pinkie Pie approached Percy. "Hey, small engine! I think I recognize your voice."

"You do?" Percy was puzzled.

"Yeah, silly! Ooh, I got a joke for you! What do you call a train that has a cold?" Pinkie riddled to Percy.

"Umm, I don't know?" Percy answered.

"A choo-choo train!" Pinkie laughed and laughed. This made Percy chuckle too.

"I made that joke a long time ago too. I'm Percy."

"I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"You know, Pinkie," said Percy, "I think we might be good friends."

Applejack looked at Toby, who was looking impressed at them.

"You okay, partner?" Applejack asked Toby.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I need to know your honest answer," Applejack continued to question.

"I am! I think you're the most interesting animals I've met on the island." Toby was being completely honest with Applejack.

"Well, partner, Applejack's the name."

"Toby's my name."

Edward and Emily felt sad. They had no pony alternatives to themselves. Applejack saw them and approached the two. "What are y'all's names?"

"Edward."

"And Emily."

"Well, I'mma be honest with you," said Applejack carefully, "but I feel bad that you don't have ponies that are similar to ours. So how about this: I'll look for similarities from you, and maybe I could find which pony you match with."

"That could work," said Emily.

Thomas backed into his berth, with Twilight on his smokebox. Percy looked at Thomas.

"Thomas, how long are they gonna be staying here?" peeped Percy.

"Well," said Twilight, "until the portal we came through opens up again, which isn't until another moon, we'll all be staying here for a while."

"Oh," said Percy.

Later that night, the engines kept talking with the ponies, when Sir Topham Hatt arrived in his car. Thomas gasped. "Fizzling fireboxes! Hide, everypony!" The Mane Six hid away behind Thomas, just as Sir Topham Hatt stepped out of his car. He was cross.

"Thomas," boomed Sir Topham Hatt, "I was with the dock manager today, and he said that you banged into Cranky's hook when he was unloading your truck. On purpose."

The other engines gasped. Thomas was worried. He knew that Sir Topham Hatt was cross with him because of what he did today.

"I also received numerous complaints from other managers that you've been pulling that truck that doesn't belong to you around wherever you go, and keep leaving whenever someone asks what's in that truck. What is going on?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Thomas said. "I promise this won't happen again."

"This better, or else I will have to send you away from Sodor. Forever."

Sir Topham Hatt's voice boomed around Tidmouth Sheds, from top to track. As he left the sheds, the ponies came out of hiding. Thomas' friends were worried about him.

"Thomas," asked Edward, "why did you ask the ponies to hide?"

Thomas explained the consequences of them being discovered. A minute later, the engines were concerned.

"Don't worry, Thomas," said Henry. "We'll keep them safe and sound."

"Yeah. You can count on us," added James.

"Especially your best friend!" said Percy. Thomas smiled.

"Thank you, everyone. I appreciate it," said Thomas.

The engines fell silent. Then, as the stars twinkled over Tidmouth Sheds, the engines fell fast asleep one by one. All except the ponies.

"Everypony, I have a plan," whispered Twilight.