Thomas and the Ponies

At Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas was feeling more down than usual. He was still upset at what Twilight said about him. Just then, Percy puffed in. He saw his best friend feeling sadder than ever. "What's the matter, Thomas?" peeped Percy.

"Nothing," Thomas replied crossly.

"Thomas, I'm your best friend," Percy said. "You can tell me anything. If it's a secret, I won't tell anyone."

Thomas looked at his best friend. He sighed. "Twilight and I argued earlier today. I finally realized that the reason they were with me the whole time was because they used me for transport back and forth, just so that they could go back to Equestria quickly as possible. I told them this, but then, Twilight called me a useless heap of scrap, which I probably am now."

Percy was shocked at Thomas' story. He never thought that their new friends could ditch them like that.

"Goodbye, Percy. I'm leaving to think about my actions." And Thomas sadly puffed away.

"Goodbye, Thomas," Percy said as he puffed away.

At the Sodor Ironworks, Diesel 10 arrived under a magnet. The magnet picked up the cage with the Mane Six inside. It then placed them right above the furnace.

"Tell me, where are you from?" Diesel 10 growled.

"We won't tell you anything!" replied Rainbow.

"Tell me now, or else I will have this magnet drop you into the furnace and kill you all." Diesel 10 was stern.

The ponies still didn't speak to him.

"Fine then, you leave me with no choice." Diesel 10 had his claw push a button, which set a timer for one hour until the magnet drops them into the furnace. Twilight tried to break the cage bars, but they were all made of tungsten metal. And her teleportation spell couldn't work.

"Ha, ha! You thought you could just break the bars and escape as you can? Too bad, because it's all made of tungsten metal!" Diesel 10 laughed. "Let's see if that silly steamie will save you now. Or should I call him: 'useless heap of scrap'?" And he oiled away. The Mane Six were worried.

"So this is how it all ends?" panicked Rarity. "Falling to our doom?"

"Don't worry," replied Applejack. "We'll find a way out."

Twilight felt terrible. She now realized that everything was her fault.

"This is all my fault," said Twilight. The other ponies looked at her. "I was the one that caused all this. From getting us stuck in this dimension to telling off our new friend, I really did deserve this kind of fate. I never deserved to be the Princess of Friendship anyway."

The other ponies huddled around Twilight.

"What are you talking about?" asked Fluttershy. "This was the best adventure we've ever had. We probably wouldn't have this happen if we just left the forest."

"Yeah," replied Pinkie. "We've made a lot of friends here, even Thomas."

"And Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, and Emily," Fluttershy added.

"Cheer up, Twilight!" said Rainbow. "If you never got us out of that forest, we probably wouldn't have met those nice trains!"

"Or have the adventure of a lifetime!" also added Applejack.

"The whole island was beautiful to begin with," said Rarity.

"And fun to look at too!" Pinkie added.

"Don't give up just now, princess," said Applejack, "because all we have to do is keep trying until we succeed."

Twilight smiled at them, and she hugged them like it was their last moment on Sodor. "I love you, girls."

Meanwhile, Thomas was puffing down the track. He was still upset by Twilight. Then, Diesel 10 arrived. Thomas stopped. "Diesel 10?" chuffed Thomas. "What are you doing here?"

"I know everything, Thomas," said Diesel 10. "Your conversation with the purple pony."

Thomas gasped. He knew what he was talking about. Diesel 10 was hiding close to them when he and Twilight had their argument.

"I know all about them now," Diesel 10 said ominously. "Your special friends."

Splatter and Dodge show up ahead and behind Thomas, blocking both of his directions. They both coupled up with Thomas.

"No! Let go of me!" Thomas tried to move, but Splodge resisted his motives. "Help!"

"Your silly steamie friends can't save you now." Diesel 10 led Splodge to the Ironworks.

At the Ironworks, Diesel 10 arrived. "Well, you silly ponies, I have a special guest with you: Thomas."

"Thomas?" said Twilight.

"Bring him in, Splodge!" Diesel 10 ordered.

Splodge also entered with Thomas as their hostage.

"Thomas!" cried the Mane Six.

"Let me go!" Thomas protested. He then saw the Mane Six trapped in the cage. "Huh? Girls!"

Splodge placed Thomas under a section of the track that grabbed his wheels like claws. Diesel 10 moved over to Thomas.

"Well, Thomas," Diesel 10 said, "aren't you happy to see your special friends again?"

"No," said Thomas. "Well, yes, but I think you know what I'm saying."

"If that's so, then let's see if you and your friends can get out of here in time before the timer drops them into the furnace," Diesel 10 said. And he exited the interior, along with Splodge.

"Thomas," said Twilight, "I'm really sorry for what I said to you before. It was very, very wrong for me to say that to you."

Thomas smiled at Twilight. "It's alright, Twi. Good friends can argue too."

Twilight chuckled. "They sure do."

Just outside of the Ironworks, Percy secretly arrived. He wanted to see what was going on.

"Where are you, Thomas?" Percy peeped to himself. Then, he spotted Thomas and the Mane Six inside the Ironworks. "Bust my buffers! Thomas!"

Percy huffed worriedly. "I need to tell the Steam Team about this!"

As Percy was about to leave the Ironworks, he accidentally bumps into a flatbed of boxes, which causes some of the boxes to fall to the ground. Diesel 10 and Splodge heard this.

"What was that?" said Dodge.

"What do you mean 'what was that?' Go look!" Diesel 10 ordered.

"Oh, no." Percy tried to keep himself hidden from Splodge by moving stealthily around the Ironworks.

Splodge looked around to find the disturbance. But they could find no one. "Seems like it's all clear, boss."

Diesel 10 crashed his claw. "Very well, then."

At Tidmouth Sheds, everyone was worried about Thomas.

"Where is he?" puffed Edward worriedly. "He hasn't come back."

"You think it has something to do with those ponies?" Gordon asked.

"Well, whatever it is," replied Toby, "we have to look for him."

Just then, Percy puffed in. His cheeks were as red as James' boiler.

"Percy?" said James. "Why are your cheeks red?"

Percy took a second to catch his breath. "It's Thomas and the ponies. They've been taken!"

The engines were shocked at what Percy said.

"Taken? By who?" said Henry.

"Diesel 10," said Percy.

"Diesel 10?!" The other engines shuddered and shook at that name.

"What are we gonna do?" Emily said. "Diesel 10 is so strong! Even he alone is strong compared to us!"

"Well, think about it. Remember when Diesel 10 took over the Steamworks and we came to stop him?" reminded Percy. "We've managed to save the day."

"That was because Sir Topham Hatt told him off about it," Gordon huffed.

"Speaking of Sir Topham Hatt," said Toby, "what is he going to say when we're all standing up to Diesel 10?"

Percy huffed forward. "Who cares what Sir Topham Hatt is gonna say to us?"

"We all do!" shouted the engines.

"Well, don't!" Percy peeped. "All that matters is that we have to save Thomas and the ponies, or else they'll all be scrapped to bits by Diesel 10! We have to work together, as a team!"

The engines listened and looked at Percy carefully.

"We may use up all our coal and water to save the ponies, rescue Thomas, and stop Diesel 10. That diesel may take on us, but they'll never take on Thomas and the Mane Six!"

James, Gordon, Toby, Emily, Henry, and Edward blew their whistles.

Meanwhile, at Knapford Station, Sir Topham Hatt was in his office. He was on the telephone. "No, seriously, I don't know what's going on, but —" Suddenly, he felt some rumbling in the station. "Hold on, I'll call you back." And he hung the telephone.

Sir Topham Hatt exited his office to see that Percy and the Steam Team clickety-clacked down the tracks. He couldn't believe his eyes. "Percy!" called Sir Topham Hatt. "What is going on?"

"Sorry, sir! Can't talk! We're in a hurry!" Percy and the other engines were long gone.

"What is up with those engines?" Sir Topham Hatt said to himself.

Sir Topham Hatt and his assistants entered their car and drove off to follow the Steam Team.

Back at the Ironworks, Thomas kept moving his wheels to break free from the claws, and the ponies kept trying to break down the tungsten bars.

"It's no use!" cried Rarity. "The metal bars are too strong!"

"What are we gonna do now, Thomas?" said Twilight. "We can't stay here all day!"

Thomas huffed. He didn't know what to do.

"Wait!" Pinkie Pie intervened. "I think I know how to get ourselves free!"

"You do?" asked Thomas excitedly.

"Well, only us ponies. Sorry," Pinkie Pie specifically corrected.

"How do you know how to get us out of here, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked.

"See that switch over there?" She pointed to an up-and-down button panel just underneath them. "That's where we can free ourselves."

Twilight tried to use her magic, but it was weak. "I can't do it. Seems like the only one who can get us out is..."

She looked at Thomas, who was closer to the panel.

"Me?!" exclaimed Thomas. "But I can't do that! I'm clawed in!"

"You have to try harder," said Applejack. "Because you shouldn't give up 'til the end!"

Thomas took in Applejack's words. He took a deep breath. "I can do this. I'm Thomas the Tank Engine. I am strong and fast. And I can get ourselves out of here!"

Wheel turn by wheel turn, huff by puff, Thomas moved his wheels to free himself from the claws. And then, after sparks flew everywhere, Thomas broke the claws off and freed himself. The ponies cheered for him.

"Way to go, Thomas!" exclaimed Pinkie.

But it was too late. Diesel 10 had arrived at the Ironworks, just after Thomas had freed himself.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Diesel 10 exclaimed angrily.

Thomas gasped. "Bust my buffers! Diesel 10!"

Diesel 10 approached Thomas very slowly, while crashing his claw. "Sounds like Pinchy wants to play with you."

Thomas reversed back, but he was too close to the furnace. He backed into some buffers, and could not escape Diesel 10 and Pinchy.

"Seems like it's the end of the line for you, Thomas," Diesel 10 said in an evil tone.

Diesel 10 continued crashing his claw, as Thomas closed his eyes, with the Mane Six horrified. Then, all around the Ironworks, they heard whistles from a distance.

"What was that?" said Fluttershy.

Diesel 10 gasped. "It's them!"

It was the Steam Team! They had come to help Thomas and the Mane Six escape the Ironworks.

"Agh!" Diesel 10 backed away to deal with the steamies. This gave Thomas and the ponies enough time to break out. However, because the panel was far from the edge, there was no way for them to escape.

"Come on!" Twilight said. "Just go without us! We'll be fine!"

"No! I can't leave you here!"

"Just go!" ordered Rainbow. "We'll deal with this ourselves."

Then, an idea flew into Thomas's funnel. Since he was tall enough to hit the panel with his funnel, he had to bust through the buffers and make his funnel hit the panel. But this will cause Thomas to fall into the furnace and die, but it'll at least keep them safe.

"Ponies, I have an idea," announced Thomas. "When I build up enough pressure in my boiler while backing up to those buffers, they'll break away and then my funnel will hit the panel and free you all."

The Mane Six heard this idea and were worried about what comes next after that.

"Wait," said Twilight, "but if you do that, that'll mean..."

"Yes," answered Thomas. "I will fall into the furnace, but at least I would've freed you all by then."

"No! Thomas!" cried Rainbow. "Don't do that! There has to be another way!"

Thomas smiled. "If I do get melted, at least you won't fall in either."

Outside the Ironworks, Splodge blocked the entrance.

"You won't get past us!" Splatter threatened.

"Yeah! We're strong like you!" Dodge also threatened.

Gordon and Henry biffed Splatter, and James and Emily bashed into Dodge. The two were pushed into sidings, and the seven steamies entered through the gate. Diesel 10 had shown up.

"Trying to save your silly friend, huh?" Diesel 10 said. "Well, you're gonna have to get past me."

Percy dodged Pinchy's movements. Then, James switched tracks and bumped into Diesel 10. Diesel 10 was dented but was still operable. James backed out. Diesel 10 charged toward the Steam Team, but Gordon intervened and bashed into Diesel 10.

"Ah!" yelled Diesel 10. "Sounds like you're all too strong for yourselves!"

Just as they all looked at each other, Toby saw Thomas.

"Thomas!" called Toby. "What's he doing?!"

All the engines looked to see that Thomas was backing up as hard as he can through the buffers into the furnace.

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Diesel 10. "Looks to me that your friend is trying to scrap himself." And he backed up into a siding to let the Steam Team enter the Ironworks and over to Thomas.

"Thomas!" cried Percy. "Don't!"

Thomas heard Percy. Thomas ignored him. The engines and the Mane Six only begged one thing for Thomas to do: to stop.

"Stop!" cried Twilight.

"You can't do this!" said Henry.

Thomas still didn't listen to them.

"Please, Thomas!" cried Percy.

Then, with a crack and a bang, the buffers finally gave way and Thomas steamed immediately into the furnace. His funnel had hit the panel, opening the cage door, and prompting the Mane Six to exit the cage quickly. The six ponies got out safely, but this cannot be said for Thomas, as he had hit the furnace by the time they got out. The engines and the ponies looked down at the furnace. They were distraught at what they had seen: Thomas having to sacrifice himself just to save his friends.

"No..." said Twilight quietly.

Percy was the saddest of all. His best friend falling into the furnace was what hit him the most. "Thomas..."

Diesel 10 saw what had happened, and he smiled evilly.

All the engines and the ponies were about to leave the Ironworks, still sad at what happened earlier. But before they could do that, a magnet activates and drops into the furnace. The ponies and engines stopped and watched. A metal clanking could be heard. Rising with the magnet was none other than the one and only Thomas. He had survived the fall, and although he had serious burns and scratches on his paint, his buffers bent and broken off, his lamp and his cab windows cracked, and everything else dented, he was still operable. Even his driver and fireman survived the fall. He steamed out of the smoke of the furnace. Percy and Twilight were the happiest of all.

"Thomas!" cried the Mane Six and the Steam Team. They all jolted quickly to Thomas.

"We thought you died!" said Fluttershy.

"Not to mention you made us sad and worried!" Edward added.

"Don't ever do that again," said Gordon.

"I won't, Gordon," Thomas puffed cheekily. "I won't. I promise."

Diesel 10 was not happy at all. "Okay, everyone, happy reunion's over. Now it's about time I end this. Once and for all."

The engines and the ponies cleared the lines for Thomas and Diesel 10. They both had a standoff. Then, they both accelerated against each other and crashed. Splodge watched the fight nearby.

"Should we do anything about this?" questioned Splatter.

"Nah, I think he's got this," answered Dodge.

The Steam Team and the Mane Six were horrified to see their number one friend stand against one of the most dangerous engines on the island. Both of them backed up and stopped.

"You stupid puffball have ruined my plans. Now I'm gonna make sure this'll never happen again," Diesel 10 threatened.

"No. You're the one ruining the island's reputation about really useful engines," Thomas corrected.

They both stared hard at each other. Then, they all heard a car approaching nearby. It was Sir Topham Hatt. He was very cross. He and his assistants walked over to Thomas and Diesel 10.

"Thomas and Diesel 10!" boomed Sir Topham Hatt. "Whatever are you two playing at now?!"

Thomas and Diesel 10 whimpered. "Well, we, uh..."

"You two have caused severe confusion and severe delay on my railway! To make sure something like this doesn't happen again, I have no choice but to send the both of you away from Sodor. Forever!" Sir Topham Hatt's words were stern once again. Thomas and Diesel 10 gasped.

"No, wait!" Thomas uttered. "It's not our fault!"

"Yeah!" Diesel 10 backed up. "We were only just —"

"Enough, you two! I have quite enough of your excuses! You two will be expected to leave this island in 24 hours," boomed Sir Topham Hatt sternly. "Do you understand?"

"Please, sir! Give us a second chance!" Thomas begged.

"No, Thomas," Sir Topham Hatt declined. "You or Diesel 10 will not get a second chance."

The Mane Six were hiding behind crates nearby.

"What are we gonna do?" Pinkie nervously asked. "It's our fault Thomas is now gonna be taken away from this place."

"Well, girls," Twilight said, "there's only one option left."

The ponies knew what Twilight meant.

"So you're saying...?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes. We're gonna have to reveal ourselves to spare Thomas' innocence."

Just as Thomas and Diesel 10 were about to leave, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash came out of their hiding spots, being visible to Sir Topham Hatt and his assistants.

"I..." Sir Topham Hatt could not believe his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Sir," Twilight explained, "we're the reason why Thomas was acting very strange over the past few days. He's been trying to keep us secret from the rest of the world because we thought you'd do something very bad to us if we were found."

Sir Topham Hatt looked at Thomas. "Is this true, Thomas?"

"Yes," Thomas said. He was upset.

Sir Topham Hatt felt terrible. "I'm very sorry, Thomas. From the bottom of my heart. I'm terribly, very sorry I was angry at you. I never knew you were trying to keep those little horses safe."

"We're actually ponies, sir," Applejack corrected.

"And I'm sorry too, Thomas," Diesel 10 said. "Guess I was being too evil after all, was I?"

"Yes, you were, Diesel 10." Thomas smiled.

"As for you, Thomas," said Sir Topham Hatt, "you are to go to the Steamworks to be repaired. And Diesel 10, you're gonna have to do all of Thomas' work until he's fully repaired."

"What?" Diesel 10 exclaimed.

"Diesel 10!" Sir Topham Hatt said seriously.

"Okay, fine!" Diesel 10 was still cross, but not cross enough to get back at Thomas. He left the Ironworks. Splodge followed him.

The Steam Team and the Mane Six were cheering for joy, now that Thomas would be staying on Sodor. Sir Topham Hatt smiled. He and his assistants left.

The next morning, at the Sodor Steamworks, Thomas had arrived on Percy's flatbed. The damage was quite severe, so it would take lots of time for him to be fully repaired. Victor and Kevin saw what happened to Thomas.

"Thomas, my friend," Victor said, "whatever happened to you?"

"Well..." Thomas smiled, "why don't you come out, girls?"

The Mane Six jumped out of the brake van and into Victor and Kevin's sights.

"Whoa!" cried Kevin. "What are those?"

"They're ponies," said Thomas. "The lavender's Twilight. The pink's Pinkie. The white's Rarity. The yellow's Fluttershy. The blue's Rainbow. And last but not least, the orange's Applejack."

"Well, if that's the case, welcome to the Steamworks, my little ponies!"

"It's certainly a pleasure to be here, my friend," Rarity said, "but I think you forgot something?" She looked over to Thomas.

"Oh!" Victor exclaimed. "Kevin! Let's get some engine parts. We've got a tank engine to fix."

"Yes, boss!" Kevin obeyed. "Right away, boss!"

Percy laughed. "See you in a few days, Thomas!" And he puffed away.

A few days later, all the engines and the ponies waited and waited for Thomas.

"How's Thomas?" James asked.

"Well, they're finishing up their safety check on Thomas —" Kevin said "— and then he'll be back on the rails in no time!"

The doors of the Steamworks opened, revealing Thomas, all fixed, patched up, and ready to get back to work again.

"Thomas!" Everyone was happy to see Thomas back in action again, especially how long it's been, and especially Twilight, who was proud of him.

"You know," questioned Thomas, "when are you ponies heading back to your world, now that you've got your water booster or something?"

"Oh, that?" Twilight said. "Pfft, we've abandoned that, so we can work on the railway with you!"

"Wait, really?" an excited Thomas asked.

"Yeah, silly!" Pinkie said. "We're gonna have fun here working with you!"

Thomas laughed. "That's right, Pinkie. Now, who's ready to be really useful?"

Everyone said, "I do!"

"Well, let's go!" Thomas commanded.

Throughout the days, the ponies managed to be really useful around the Island of Sodor. They helped Diesel get along with the trucks.

"This is ridiculous," Diesel muttered to himself. "How can six horses that are not from our world get along with the trucks better than I can?"

They also helped Diesel 10 finish up his community service quickly and gave rides to children all around. Even Rainbow Dash and Gordon finally had their race. They passed by Spencer, who was quite surprised.

It was time for the Mane Six to go home again. They had a farewell party held at Knapford, with every engine there, including Diesel 10, whom they had good terms with.

"Where's Thomas?" asked Rainbow. "He's missing the party!"

"I don't know," said Twilight.

Percy peeped proudly. "You're welcome here anytime, ponies."

The engines all blew their whistles at them.

"Well, girls, time to go home." Twilight teleported herself and her friends to the forest they first arrived in.

Before they jumped into the pond, they heard a whistle. It was Thomas. Thomas had heard about their departure from Sodor, and he was sad. He puffed into the forest.

"So I heard you're all leaving?" Thomas asked. "Forever?"

Twilight looked at Thomas. "Thomas," she said, "it's not going to be forever. It's more of a 'see you later' type of goodbye."

Thomas made a sad smile. "Thank you for all the things you've done to the railway. Because of you six, it's become more popular than ever!"

"Anytime, Thomas," Twilight said. "Next time you need something from me or stop by, just let me know."

Just as the ponies jumped into the pond, they said their goodbyes to Thomas.

"Well, goodbye, Thomas," Rainbow said.

"So long, partner!" Applejack called.

"One day, we'll have more fun than ever!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Have a fabulous day!" Rarity said.

"See you soon, Thomas," Fluttershy said quietly, but Thomas still heard it.

Before Twilight jumped in, she flew over to Thomas and said a few things to him.

"For such a tank engine like you, little engines can do big things." And she jumped in.

Thomas was surprised at that. "Where did she hear that?" And he puffed away.

After what felt like minutes, the Mane Six finally arrived back in Equestria, safe and sound.

"Woo-hoo! We're back!" Pinkie shouted. "And not a moment to lose!"

"Keep your voice down, Pinkie," Applejack said.

"Sorry," Pinkie Pie grinned.

To the Mane Six's surprise, Spike and Starlight showed up behind the trees.

"There you guys are!" Starlight called out. "We've been so worried about you!"

"Where have you been?" Spike said.

Twilight smiled. "Let's just say... to a land of make-believe."

Spike and Starlight were confused by what Twilight said.

"A land of what?" Spike said.

"You know what?" Starlight said. "We'll get that soon."

Before they all left, Twilight looked at the pond.

"Until next time, dear friend."