Thomas and Friends: Journey beyond Cornwall

by The Blue EM2

Rating: everyone
Tags: Mystery, Argyle Starshine, Adventure, Opaline, Queen Haven, Alternate Universe, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Other, Equestria Girls, Mane 5
Length: 15925

"Fall Moon! Dark be the land! Hush! Hush! Oak, Ash, and Thorn!"-J.R.R. Tolkien

Izzy Moonbow and Porter find themselves tasked with shipping some freight across the mainland when the existing plans fall through. Although it initially seems like a fairly easy job, the pair soon learn that nothing is as it seems. New friends, new allies, and new enemies await as they learn that no matter where you are, adventure has a habit of finding you.

Based on Journey Beyond Sodor, a movie in the Thomas and Friends franchise. Written as part of the 40 Years of MLP celebrations.

Published 2023-04-03 11:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-04-14 11:08:19 UTC

See the Engines Rolling down the Track...

Falmouth was as chaotic as ever. The port was full to bursting with ships that were offloading large amounts of cargo. Naturally, this meant the engines were being pushed to their limits.

"I don't know if I'm on my dome or on my wheels!" Porter said. "We've been rushed off our wheels the entire morning!"

Izzy laughed. "You look the right way up to me! If you were the other way up, the sea would be at the bottom and the dockyard would be above us!"

Porter glanced up. "The sky is in the right place, then."

Elsewhere in the yard, Salty was prepping a heavy goods train for departure to somewhere on the mainland. "Now, where was this going?" he asked his driver.

"Somewhere in the north of England beginning with B," Sunny replied, as she realigned another switch. "Can't remember which one, though. Was it... Bournemouth?"

"That's in Dorset," Salty said.

"So, it's not Bournemouth," Sunny replied. "Maybe... Skegness?"

"That starts with an S, and it's actually in Lincolnshire," Sophie said, as she rolled by.

"Let me try and figure this out."

Meanwhile, on the approach to Falmouth, Charles was trying to break his own record... again. "SPEEEEEED!" he shouted as he flew down the hill.

"Easy Charles," Zipp said, as she applied the brakes. "We're not breaking the record. Only 40 miles per hour permitted."

"Boring," Charles replied, as the yard hoved into view. It was just then he noticed that the speed didn't seem to be particularly dropping. "What was that about miles an hour?"

Zipp glanced at the brake gauge. "The brakes are applied, but we're not slowing down. This isn't good." She grabbed the radio as the speed through Perranwell began to climb out of control. "33021 to yard control, how copy over?"

"Yard control to 33021, please state your message, over."

"Mayday, mayday, mayday, train has lost control. Speed reading is fifty, I repeat, Five Zero. Braking is innefective."

"Understood. We'll be diverting you to another siding. Prepare to bail."

"Understood. Out." Zipp prepared herself for the task ahead as speed continued to climb. "Maybe I set something wrong?" She applied the brakes harder, but it seemed to be having minimal effect.

"I don't think that house normally passes at this speed!" Charles called.

"That's because we're a runaway, you dolt," Zipp replied. She slammed the brakes into emergency, which only seemed to have the effect of increasing sparks as the train skidded along. "This is gonna be messy."

Down in the yard, Ray was being cleaned by Lady Haven. "And that," the big tank engine finished, "is how an alternator works."

"Fascinating," Lady Haven replied, as she got him ready to move to the platform. "You really are a treasure trove of information."

"Thank you, ma'am," Ray replied, as a few moments later he began to roll backwards. "Unlike Charles, who only knows two facts about ducks and both of them are wrong."

As he cleared the yard and parked up in the platform, a siren began to sound. "What's that?"

"That's the repurposed foghorn which caused all those accidents a month or two ago," Lady Haven replied. "We now use it to warn of runaway trains."

"Runaway train?" Ray asked. "That could mean-"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted a familiar voice. "I HAVE NO BRAKES!"

No sooner had they heard that, than Charles barrelled into the yard. The points had been set to clear him of the station and the yards, which meant he could only go one other place.

It was only then they remembered Rebecca was still inside it, and unable to move as she wasn't in steam!

Lady Haven watched in horror as she saw Zipp jump from the cab seconds before impact. The heavy train slammed into the end of the building, causing the wall to collapse as the diesel punched through it. The wagons came to a stop as the shed walls collapsed around it.

Charles, on the other hand, kept going. He skidded down the harbour road, still going far too fast to stop and screaming the entire way. The sea loomed closer and closer as he kept going, only to be suddenly stopped by a wall. "That wall will stop me!" he said.

Or so he thought. He was wrong, as he was about a lot of things. He went straight through it, fell straight down the embankment on the other side, smashed through another wall at the bottom of that, and came to a rest in the wall of Posey's house.

Charles looked at Posey. Posey looked at him. And Posey was not happy.

"Look what you've done to my breakfast! Now I'll have to cook it again!"

Charles, wisely, chose not to mention the ruined plants currently under his wheels.

Recovery operations were underway to recover the damaged trucks. Those that weren't derailed were shunted into another siding by Salty. "It's been a while since I saw a serious accident like this," he said. "It's the second most severe incident in recent times."

"After the collapsing cliff fiasco," Sunny mentioned. "Not an experience I'd recommend."

Charles had been pulled from the remains of Posey's house, which had been stabilised to prevent it from collapsing.

Ray was not especially sympathetic to Charles' plight. "Look what you did to our shed!" he snapped. "Now we have nowhere to sleep at night! This is exactly why you don't go down the hills at such speeds!"

"I guess expecting some sympathy from my colleagues was too much," Charles grumbled, as he was loaded onto a lorry and driven away.

Lady Haven, on the other hand, was tending to her eldest daughter. "Zara, are you OK?" she asked, forgetting in the heat of the moment that Zipp disliked that name.

"Mom, I'm fine," Zipp replied. "The doctor said it was just a few bruises. He said I timed my jump very well. If I hadn't it's likely I would... well, let's just say the end result wouldn't have been pretty."

Hitch walked over with a damage report. "It most certainly wasn't pretty," he said. The shed's totalled. Charles is out of action, as is Rebecca, as she sustained severe damage in the collapse."

"However are we going to operate with two engines down?" Sunny asked. "How can we reallocate?"

"Easy," Porter suggested. "Have Ray cover for Charles and Rebecca, and put Sophie on the train to Darlington."

"So it wasn't going to a place beginning with a B after all!" Sunny said.

That evening, Izzy had invited Misty to watch the sunset near Perranwell. As the sun fell below the sky, the two girls smiled. "Lovely, isn't it?" Izzy said. "Another day over, and a new one beginning in a few hours. Just imagine what we can do in that time?"

"Yeah," Misty nodded. Truth be told she still felt a bit awkward. "I heard about the crash. Good thing I was up at Truro, eh?"

"They took the two engines away for repairs. Charles is being fixed in Crewe, whilst Rebecca was taken to Eastleigh," Izzy explained. She got up and they walked down to the station. It was just then she began acting oddly.

"Izzy, are you feeling alright?" Misty asked.

"Provided a talking tumbleweed doesn't roll past we should be OK," Izzy replied. "Don't evenings like this make you feel like bursting out in song?"

"I'm still not sure why everybody around here sees evrything as a musical," Misty replied.

Izzy opened her mouth- only for somebody else's voice to interrupt.

"Somebody has to be the favourite!
The one that everybody wants to see!"

"Sophie!" Izzy protested. "It's my turn to sing this week!"

Sophie ignored her as she rolled to a stop. "Somebody has to be better than the rest!
Somebody has to be so good that they're the best!
Somebody has to be the favourite!
Somebody has to be me!"

Pipp stuck her head out of the cab door. "Perfect weather for a sunset stream, I think," she said.

"What in the world has gotten into Sophie's radiator?" Misty asked.

"That goods train going to Darlington?" Sophie said. "I'm taking it tomorrow morning! It shows that I really am important and can travel long distances!"

As she rolled towards the siding, she began to sing again. "Sometimes you have to blow your whistle!

"You don't have a whistle!" Izzy shouted.

Unfortunately, this meant that Sophie started from the top.

"Sometimes you have to blast your horn!
To let the other engines know you're near!
Sometimes you have to make a racket and to shout!
In order to ensure that they're not left in any doubt!
Somebody has to be the favourite!
Say hello! The favourite is here!"

"Let's head back to Falmouth," Misty said. "I'd rather not have that in my ears for the rest of the evening."

This was fortuitous, as the next passenger train arrived. "Is she still going?" the DMU asked. "She was singing when I left Falmouth an hour ago."

"Seems that way," Izzy replied, as they showed their season passes and boarded.

Pipp set herself up on the seaside, and set the camera. "Good evening, Pippsqueaks! I'm doing a stream this evening to make up for the fact I'm going on a big journey tomorrow! All the way to this place called Doncaster! Whoo! Hopefully there'll be great food and plenty of singing opportunities. Speaking of singing, fancy a duet Sophie?"

"I'd be up for that!" the diesel said. And off they went.

"Somebody has to be the favourite!
That's just the way it is, you must agree!
Some get to see the world and travel far away!
While other engines have a place they always have to stay!
Somebody has to be the favourite!
Somebody has to be me!
Somebody has to be me!"

Pipp checked the comments. "Oh, superchat from a fan here. They ask us if we plan on hitching a ride on a container ship to travel all the way around the world, exploring railway lines in the process and getting into unrealistic hijinks." She snorted. "Pfft. That sounds like the plot of a bad movie written by people who know nothing about railways!"

The next morning, Pipp got to the shed nice and early, or rather the temporary structure that had been built overnight to house the engines. Firing Sophie's engine into life, the pair set off for the yard to collect the train.

"Hello!" Sophie called. "Is our train here?"

"I'm afraid not," the foreman said. "It left about an hour ago."

Pipp looked horrified. "But if we're here, and the train is already on it's way, then who in the world is pulling it!"

Porter snorted with laughter as he and Bellerophon headed the formation onto the Cornish Main Line. "What a lark!" he said. "I can't wait to see the look on Sophie's face when we get back!"

"Are you sure this is wise?" Bellerophon asked. "Neither of us have particularly large water tanks."

"We should be fine!" Izzy said. "Besides, we can scrounge water as we go along. There's plenty of it in England!"

Misty checked the controls. "I haven't done a cross country trip like this in a while. And that race with Rebecca doesn't really count as I was sat in a support coach for most of that."

Suddenly, Izzy began singing, and they all joined in- except Porter.

"Sometimes you have to get up early!
If there's some place you really want to be!
Sometimes you have to be awake before the dawn!
Sometimes you're up and out before they know you're gone!
Somebody has to be the favourite!
And this time it's going to be me!
This time it's going to be me!
This time it's going to be me!"

Porter's comment broke the silence afterwards. "I must ask why this has become a musical."

Author's Note

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the newest story in this series! This time, I am adapting Journey Beyond Sodor, the 2017 film which in many ways was a finale for the show. Happily, I can confirm it will serve no such purpose here. So far, we have train theft auto and some pretty good music. I've also stuffed in quite a few references here and there.

The opening crash is based on the 1989 Cajon Derailment, when a freight train headed for LA lost control on the descent of Cajon Pass and demolished a housing district at the foot of a tight bend.

Remember me to one who lives there...

Porter and Bellerophon's epic cross-country voyage was soon underway once more, and the train soon joined the main line at Truro. "At last! The north beckons!" Porter called.

"You're from there, aren't you?" Bellerophon said.

"Sort of. Although my preservation home was originally Bury, I was built at Derby in the East Midlands."

"And I'm from Merseyside," Bellerophon admitted. "So, sort of right ballpark, but a bit further south." He sighed as they rattled along. "It'd be nice to go back some day and see what's become of the place."

As they continued on their way, the trucks rolling and bouncing behind them, it soon became apparent there was another problem they hadn't factored in. "We need to stop!" Misty called forward.

"Why?" Izzy asked.

"Water's looking a bit low. I need to top up the well tank."

"Thirsty one, isn't he?" Izzy asked. "Sure. I'll give a water tanker a call and we can get some more."

"How precisely are we getting all these water tankers, anyway?" Porter asked.

"It's the same company that supplies railtours with water."

"Clever. Network Rail does seem to like removing all the water towers for some reason."

The pair of engines rumbled onwards towards London. Their journey had taken many hours, but at last they rattled through the junctions and were now below the city.

"Ooooh! Spooky dark tunnel!" Izzy said. "I wonder if it has ghosts?"

Suddenly, a blinding light shot past. "Go back to the museum, you two!"

"I don't think steam engines come here very often," Misty said. "Come to think of it, this isn't exactly suited for steam engines."

At the other end of the tunnel, they finally emerged from it, climbing into the brilliant light of St. Pancras Thameslink. "Brightly coloured station, I'll give them that," Porter noted. "Which way is out?"

"Behind us," Izzy said. "We'll have to run round to continue our journey." She picked up a radio handset, as Porter had been fitted with a radio to contact the harbourmaster for shunting moves. "98223 to St. Pancras Signalling Control, are you receiving me, over?"

"St. Pancras Signalling Control to 98223, I am receiving you loud and clear. Please state your message and platform, over."

"98223 to St. Pancras Signalling Control, request permission to leave train and run round. Platform is One, over."

"St. Pancras Signalling Control to 98223, you have permission to leave your train and run round. Please be aware we have a Thameslink service approaching and you may get held up at the northern end of the crossover, over."

"98223 to St. Pancras Signalling Control, understand that I have permission to leave the train and run round. Out."

Misty hopped out to uncouple the stock, and with a hiss of steam and piping the two engines moved off. Commuters had gathered to watch this most unusual sight, as two steam engines moved about in the station. The pair crossed over to the northern threshold, where they were indeed held to let a passenger train arrive.

"Ugly thing, isn't it?" Bellerophon commented. "These modern locomotive designers seem to exclusively make bricks and attach wheels to them. No sense of taste."

"Sounds rather like some steam era locos," Porter replied. "Legend has it that when William Stanier saw the Bulleid Q1 for the first time, his first question was 'where's the key'?"

Both engines were then cleared to reverse through Platform 2, and moved to the opposite end of the station before attaching to the other end. Luckily, they had taken the precaution to include two brake vans within the formation, and away they went up the steep slope out of the station.

Bellerophon was now leading, and he was puffing with all his might.

"Having trouble up there, old timer?" Porter asked.

"You're no spring chicken yourself!" the well tank replied.

"Guys, less arguing, more pulling!" Misty called.

They pulled and puffed and puffed and pulled, until at last they had cleared the tunnel and were in sunlight once more. This time under overhead wires. "Finsbury Park," Izzy read off a nearby station board. "We're almost there! Only 240 miles to go!"

"240 miles?" Bellerophon said. "That's very far."

"Not a worry," Porter replied.

"I know what'll liven up your trip," said an electric locomotive sitting on a nearby siding, before music began to play.

Porter was not pleased. "I HATE THIS SONG!"

The journey up most of the United Kingdom proved to be quite simple, all things considered. The train was limited to the slow lines through Stevenage and up to nearly Peterborough, but the trains that passed them seemed to be most fascinated by this image of two old steam engines and vintage wagons rolling along the modern main line. At long last, they were closing in on their destination.

"Welcome to Yorkshire?" Misty read. "We're close, right?"

"That's right," Bellerophon said. "Home of white pudding."

There was suddenly a noise from the cab of Porter of somebody jumping in a bucket. Moments later, there was singing.

"And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green!"

Porter sighed. "Nice one, mate."

As they approached Doncaster, something interesting happened. Not long before the station, the lines split in four different directions. One line goes off to Middlesbrough and Saltburn. Another is the direct route to the North, bypassing the station (this means nonstop trains can continue through Darlington without needing to slow down). The third takes you into the station itself. And the fourth is a freight loop which goes around the region so freight trains don't clog up the main line.

It was onto this fourth line our train was routed, and it rumbled along as it began to run through industrial scenery. This included things such as a power station, and several wharfs serving a canal.

"It's like a dockside here!" Porter remarked, watching the world moving away from him.

"Escpecially with all these cranes!" Izzy added. "Can they fly?"

"That's the wrong type of crane," Misty said. "You're thinking of the bird."

Suddenly, they were brought to a stop. "HALT!"

The train screeched to a halt at a red signal. Sitting next to it was a large dock crane, who looked down at them with a scowl. He was painted grey, and stood out against the sky above. "Who goes there?"

"We're a goods train heading for Darlington," Bellerophon replied.

"I see," the crane said. "None shall pass. Unless if you wish to pass by me, you first must answer questions three."

"Slightly odd English, but OK," Porter noted.

"Well, I needed something to rhyme with me," the crane said. "Still, for those intent to pass by me, here are the questions three." He paused for dramatic effect, and then spoke again, his voice sounding with wisdom and intelligence.

"What is always in front of you but cannot be seen? I am a word of letters three; add two and fewer there will be. I see your face, yet I have no eyes. I have no hands, yet you feel my touch. You hear my voice, yet I have no mouth. Who am I?"

Izzy thought for a moment. "I've got it!" she said.

"Cue overused joke!" Misty replied.

"The first one is the future, as the future is always before us but we cannot see it. The second is few, as this has three letters, and if you add two you end up with the word fewer. And the third is my reflection, as you see your own face in a reflection, feel your own touch if it's water, and if you speak the mouth of the reflection moves in sync with yours."

The crane smiled. "Very good," he said. The signal switched to green. "You may proceed."

The freight then set off, wondering to themselves what on Earth they had just witnessed.

The sky was beginning to turn red when the freight arrived at a yard in the middle of nowhere. "Maybe this is it?" Izzy asked.

"This place looks abandoned," Misty replied. "The signboards are a bit out of date as well, as they reference the LNER in the present tense."

"Well, we need to yard somewhere, so this might as well do," Izzy replied. The train proceeded into the yard, noting the sidings with some rolling stock, and then a voice suddenly spoke up.

"A visitor? It's been a long time since we last had one of those!"

Author's Note

And the journey is underway. The distance is over 500 miles, in case anybody's wondering.

The route the train takes is real, although with some artistic license as steam locomotives are not permitted to run into St. Pancras. The other sections are all steam permitted, though.

The crane bears some elements of Beresford's personality, but is more closely modelled on classical portrayals of Merlin, a figure of Arthurian legend. The sequence takes some inspiration from a similar moment in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where the Knights of the Round Table have to answer riddles before crossing a bridge.

Can anybody guess who the new voices are?

If I had a Voice I would Sing...

Both engines and their drivers looked on in disbelief at an engine sat in a nearby siding. The engine was small and blue, with disproportionately large bufferbeams for his size. Scattered atop his boiler was an interesting jumble of machinery, presumably critical for his operation. His also had quite a tall chimney with a copper cap, which meant he closely resembled the 'steam elephants' of the dawn of the steam age.

But this wasn't what drew their attention. He had no connecting rods at all linking his four wheels. Instead, his wheels were connected to an absolute tangle of different geared wheels. "Hello!" he said. "It's not everyday we get visitors!"

"What precisely are you?" Bellerophon asked. "I've never seen an engine like you before!"

Misty harrumphed. "What he meant to say was hello, how are you?"

"It's alright," the engine replied. "I do attract a lot of attention, as not many of us were ever built."

Izzy walked over. "Where are your pistons?" she asked.

"They're sat in that box on top of my boiler. You see, I'm a rail traction engine."

"What's one of those?" Porter asked. "I thought traction engines were road vehicles."

"Instead of connecting rods and valves, my wheels are driven by a network of flywheels and gears to keep me moving. I'm not fast, but I was not meant for that. I was built for a cement works, where my gearing allowed me to maintain very slow speeds for shunting."

"Fascinating," Misty said. "You'd fit in nicely where we're from!"

"What's your name?" Bellerophon asked. "As you probably guessed, I'm Bellerophon, this is Porter, and our drivers are Izzy and Misty."

The engine noted this. "I'm Fergus," he replied. "Spent my working career in the South. It's a little strange now being based in County Durham, but this yard has plenty of work for me to do. And where are you two headed?"

"Darlington yard, to drop this lot off," Porter explained.

"You're not far, then," Fergus noted.

"What's all this noise?" asked a voice.

"Just some visitors, Ashleigh!" Fergus replied.

Moments later, another tank engine rattled into view. It was another tank engine, only this one was painted black with red and white lining on the tank and frames. They had a very oddly shaped funnel, and a large dome sat atop a saddle tank. The cab had oddly shaped windows and frames, and the bufferbeams hung down a long way from the tops of the frames. They whistled as they approached. "Hello!" they called, the voice revealing them to be female. "It's been awfully quiet around here, and some company is appreciated!"

Izzy glanced over to Fergus in confusion. "I thought you said the other engine's name was Ashleigh."

"I did. What makes you ask that?"

"Isn't Ashley a man's name?"

"Not in the United States it isn't," the saddle tank said. "The colliery I worked at was owned by an American, and he named me after his daughter. Quite confusing, isn't it? Apparently he wasn't aware that Ashley is a male given name in the UK."

"Right then, you seem to be holding up," said another voice, this time in the direction of the footplate. Another person hopped off Ashleigh's cab and walked over to the new arrivals.

She had purplish skin and piercing blue eyes which were so bright it took the others aback for a second. She had lighter purple hair, part of which was currently arranged in a mohawk, and she wore a pair of black boots, black pants, and a greyish black jacket with a strange symbol on them.

"It's not often new engines arrive at our yard," she said. "And a Fowler Dock Tank being one of them."

"His name's Porter," Izzy said.

"I can speak for myself, you know," Porter said.

"I'm Izzy Moonbow. This is Misty, and the other engine is Bellerophon. We were just talking with Fergus here."

The woman nodded. "Tempest Shadow. I'm a local mechanic, and keeping these two in working order was a nice fit after I was discharged."

"Discharged from what?" Misty asked.

Izzy indicated to Tempest's left hand. "She has a prosthetic."

Tempest pulled up the sleeve of her jacket, revealing her entire forearm to be a prosthetic. "Yeah. Losing your entire forearm is a good reason for a medical discharge from the military. Still, it could have been worse. It's pretty dextorous, after all." She picked up a tool with it and took to oiling Ashleigh's axleboxes. "So, what brings you here?"

"We're taking some goods to Darlington, but aren't quite sure where the yard is."

"You got routed round the goods loop, didn't you?" Tempest replied. "Not much traffic comes this way, which is why we're based here. Good facility, decent rail access, and plenty of space."

"We?" Bellerophon asked.

"Yes. Myself and a friend look after these engines. We have three- Fergus and Ashleigh are two- and we returned them to running order, with the intention of taking them to heritage lines at some point. The third is currently out on a loaded test run." She glanced up at the sky. "It's getting pretty late. You can stay here if you want until the morning. We have housing on-site, and I know a couple of places around here to eat."

"Thanks for the offer," Misty said, "but we'd probably best be on our way to the delivery point. They're probably wondering where we are!"

The drivers reboarded their engines, and after running round the train set off once more out of the yard. They had at least been refuelled, and as they left Tempest mused to herself. "Izzy Moonbow, eh? The name sounds familiar somehow."

The goods train rattled off into the distance, not realising that they were being watched. A person was up a tree with a pair of night vision goggles, which were rather useless in the light. He switched on his radio.

"Good news, boss," he said. "They're coming. Roll out the red carpet."

Author's Note

New characters have arrived! In no particular order:

Our first new character is Fergus, introduced originally in Season 7. An Aveling and Porter traction engine, I personally feel that the show missed a trick with JBS with not reintroducing him there, instead creating the mechanically similar Theo.

Continuing with the experimental theme, Ashleigh is based on a War Department 0-6-0 saddle tank. We've previously met two engines based on this case (Wilbert and Warrior), but Ashleigh is one of the 'high tech' variants built in the mid-1960s. This means she has automatic roller bearings, an automatic stoker, and even a giesl ejector (a mechanical feature many in Britain associate with Peter Sam).

And last, but most certainly not least, Tempest Shadow! Although a somewhat controversial character amongst the fanbase, considering her backstory being rather similar to Starlight Glimmer, there's no denying the crew had fun with the character. In terms of personality and characterisation, this take on Tempest Shadow is inspired by Rita Vrataski, a character from the 2014 film Live, Die, Repeat (another badass military woman played by Emily Blunt).

Next time, we crank up the needle a bit.

The Hottest Place in Town

"Why would they do such a thing?" Pipp complained. "That was meant to be mine and Sophie's job, and now look where we are! We're stuck here, moving dirty trucks from dirty sidings! Blech!"

Pipp and Sophie had been allocated to assist in the yards at Truro. This was due to Brookes being needed elsewhere, and as a result he was not available. Originally, they would have simply put Bellerophon here, but seeing as he was also not around, he was hardly able to work in Truro yard either.

The trucks were also being most poorly behaved. "Looks like you lost your train!" said one.

"I know!" Sophie said. "I'm not normally one for melodramatics but this is the worst. Possible. THING!"

More trucks were pushed together into a single formation that was soon ready to go. The heavy formation was to be picked up later in the day.

Sophie was backed off the formation as another work order was handed to them. "What is it this time?"

"Coal," Pipp replied. "I'm so not getting back from this. White is so not a suitable colour for coal."

"Nor is red," Sophie replied. "I'll need a wash after this."

Eventually Lance had lost his patience with them. "Hey," he said. "There are engines out there in this country who'd give anything to turn a wheel under their own power again. You two are lucky you can run and have work to do. So stop complaining."

"Take a chill pill, Lance!" Pipp responded. "Geez. It is a crime to want to look your best?"

"Your fault, not mine," Onyx said. "Trust me, wear dark colours. It's a much better vibe for those long dark nights when the lights shudder and the steam from the pipework hisses in the night and the world seems alive for all."

"Erm, OK," Sophie replied. "So, where's the coal?"

"Over there," Lance replied. "Besides, from what I've heard things are a bit dire in other parts of the country. Engines have been vanishing from their homes, and rumours persist of a mysterious person who's taking them. Rather like some sort of bogeyman you encounter in those old stories meant to scare children into behaving. Still, can't chat. Got some fish to sort at Newham." With a blast of his horn he was on his way and running towards Penwithers Junction.

Pipp blinked as she processed what Lance had just said. "Engine thieves?" she said. "I thought that sort of thing only happened in animated TV shows!"

"Let's get this lot finished, and then we should head out," Sophie replied.

"Good idea. If Porter and Bellerophon are in danger, we need to find them and bring them home as soon as possible."

It took a few minutes, but the coal train was soon assembled. Sophie was moved onto the platform ready for departure, when Zipp appeared, looking no worse for wear.

"Hey Zipp!" Pipp called. "Can't stop to talk, I need to find something!"

"Have you misplaced your phone again?" Zipp asked.

"No! Two engines have gone missing!" Pipp decided to convey her message through her favourite medium as she jumped off the footplate.

"They disappeared, just like that, and they're nowhere to be found/
Flip that rock, sweep that side and ask around!
We need the who, what, or why, then there's nowhere left to hide/
Oh no!
No, there's nowhere left to hide!"

A group of trucks joined in as a group of backup singers.

(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)
"We're gonna find them/
Yes, we're gonna find them good!"

Pipp resumed vocal duties.

"My friends and I are on the case!

"Here we go, here we go!
We're not gonna stop 'til we find what we're missing!
Where'd they go? Where'd they go?
A perfect case for a private eye/
I'm searching far and wide!

"So here we go, here we go!
We're not gonna stop 'til we find what we're missing!"

And with that she hopped back into the cab and drove away. Zipp blinked in confusion. "What was that all about? I was only going to tell her the result of the ORR report."

"And what was the result of the report?" asked the station master.

"I was cleared of any wrongdoing. Turns out the train was fifty tons heavier than in the paperwork as the shipping company didn't fill in the weight. They assumed we'd think the trucks were fully loaded, so the foreman had to guess at the actual weight as the weighbridge was out of action."

On the other side of the country, Bellerophon and Porter pulled into what looked like a large yard. A big building loomed overhead, and as they rolled to a stop there was a collective groan.

"We've been routed the wrong way... again." Misty rolled her eyes.

The sign next to them proclaimed BRITISH STEEL DARLINGTON PLANT. This wasn't a yard. It was a steelworks.

"Well, at least we can stop here and run round," Bellerophon chimed in. "Beats going backwards the entire day."

"We were only going backwards for half the day," Porter replied.

Izzy hopped down from the footplate and uncoupled Porter in preparation to run round. Moments later, she heard voices.

"Oh, look! Visitors!"

Izzy's attention was suddenly drawn to two engines approaching them. One was a diesel shunter, and seemed to be quite squat and compact. The engine bonnet was flat at the sides and top, with two angled sections to connect them together. The front bufferbeam extended most of the way to the floor, and the cab, mounted all the way at the back, was shrouded in darkness. Unlike a lot of diesels this one had connecting rods, and was also fitted with sandboxes on the running board. They were painted green. The bottom of the front bufferbeam had the number 4002, and the top of the bodywork had the text MSC.

The engine spoke, revealing them to be female. "Look, Hurricane! Two visitors!"

Another engine, a steam engine, moved forward. They spoke as well. "What a sight! Two engines! Such an extravagence."

The steam engine was a rather curious specimen. He was a tender locomotive with six small wheels, a rather large dome (that shone a burnished gold), and a small cab which didn't extend back to the tender. A copper safety valve cab sat at the back of the boiler, and his chimney also had a bronze cap (which was also a bit mucky). His wheels, wheel splashers, and frames were painted a vibrant red, and his boiler was green with red lining. The tender also showed many of the same features.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Misty asked.

"Oh, apologies," said the diesel. "I'm Frankie, and this is Hurricane. We work here, and we can host you two for the night if you'd like."

Alarm bells were ringing in Bellerophon's smokebox. "Guys, I'm not sure we should-"

"Oh, come on, Bellerophon!" Izzy said. "Surely it won't cause any harm to stay here for one night!"

"That's the spirit," Hurricane smiled as he moved forward. "Leave these trucks in the yard until tomorrow morning. I see you've both been going at it pretty hard, so why not take in the washdown?"

"It's nice and warm in here!" Frankie added. And she added to the confusion by starting to sing.

"I don't know where you thought/
You were going/
But here you are!"

Hurricane then joined in.

"I don't know what you thought/
You were doing/
But you've come so far!
This is the place/
You were meant to be being!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Porter grumbled. "That 'being' is grammatically unnecessary."

"These are the sights/
You were meant to be seeing!" Frankie added.

Hurricane then took the vocals.

"We'll lift your thermostat up/
A degreeing or two!"

"Again, not a word!" Porter said.

"Are you going to spend the entire night being a pedant?" Misty asked.

The the two steelworks engines went into harmony.

"And we're guaranteeing/
That you'll be agreeing it's true!"

Hurricane whooped before they entered the structure, which was full of machines. Some bubbled, and others gurgled. But all were producing liquids and solids of varying sizes and styles.

And before long the singing began again.

"This is the hottest place in town!
We'll warm you up/
When you're feeling down!
We'll make a smile/
Out of every frown!"

Hurricane then spoke on his own.

"Just take a look around/
At the joy we've found!"

Then back to harmony.

"This is the place/
You can have some fun!
Where you can feel/
Like a number one!
We've got more sunshine/
Than the sun!"

Hurricane whispered to Frankie. "Neither engine has a number one."

"It's figurative language!" Frankie whispered back.

"I see."

Frankie then took over vocal responsibilities.

"There's a light in our eyes/
We simply can't disguise!"

Before the pair began in harmony again.

"This is the hottest place in town!"

"Come in and come along/
For the riding!
Shunting lovely ladle trucks/
Up the sidings!
Rails so smooth that you'll be
Gliding along!
And before you know it/
You'll be joining us in our song!"

"This is the hottest place in town!
No other like it anywhere around!
You'll be king/
And you'll wear a crown!
What we're trying to say/
Is that we hope you'll stay!"

"This is a really strange sales pitch," Bellerophon commented. "Besides, I thought that Charles guy was King?"

"Hey, I've seen wierder adverts," Izzy replied.

"This is the place you can
Shine like gold!
Our jobs are cool/
But we're never cold!
We really think
You could fit the mold!"

Frankie then sang on her own once more.

"You'll be part of the team/
You'll be living the dream!"

And then together once more.

"This is the hottest place in town!
Come in and come along/
For the riding!
Shunting lovely ladle trucks/
Up the sidings!"

Hurricane then resumed on his own as the backing music shifted in rhythmic velocity.

"Rails so smooth that you'll be/
Gliding along!
And before you know it/
You'll be joining us in our song!"

And he was right. Izzy suddenly joined in.

"This is the hottest place in town!"

"Come on everybody!" Hurricane called. "Join in! Big Hollywood finish!"

"You'll warm me up/
When I'm feeling down!
You'll make a smile/
Out of every frown!"

Before Hurricane suddenly interjected.

"You know you're keeping it real/
When you're working with steel!"

Then, to their surprise, Bellerophon and Misty joined in as well.

"This is the place I can have some fun!
Where I can feel like number one!
I've got more sunshine/
Than the sun!"

Frankie then interjected.

"There's no looking back now!
You're on the right track now!"

And then as they rolled out of the steelworks, all of them joined together in unison. Except one engine, of course.

"This is the hottest place in town!"

The mysterious music in the background stopped as those concerned all looked about. "What a day!" Hurricane said. "You'll be good to go in the morning, I guarantee it."

"Thanks!" Izzy said, and she began to back Porter into the shed nearby. As Porter rolled past Frankie, she could have sworn she saw a glint of gold. But when she glanced back it was gone.

"Oh. Must be my eyes playing tricks on me!"

Author's Note

The story has moved forward once more, and new characters have arrived for the fun!

Frankie is based on MSC 4002, one of a pair of diesel shunters built for the Manchester Ship Canal's railway system. The locomotive is today preserved at the East Lancashire Railway (talk about a small world for these characters!).

Hurricane is a Dean Goods in this continuity, as this is a class that historically worked for British Steel (his TV show basis, the GER A55, has a wheelbase that would be unable to negotiate the tight curves of most steel plants). The image above is a screenshot from Train Simulator Classic as no photographs exist of the Dean Goods in Indian Red livery.

More on this tomorrow!

Bright Star Arising!

The next morning dawned, and the engines were ready for a new day. Porter was the first to roll out of the shed, rolling towards the freight train and coming to a stop. "I slept like a log last night!" he said confidently.

"What a silly simile," Bellerophon said.

"It means to have a good's night sleep," Izzy explained. "It's considered a positive thing." She glanced about the footplate. "Where did I put the bucket?"

"Why do you have a bucket in the cab?" Misty asked, innocently. "Seems an odd thing to have."

"If somebody mentions white pudding, I can jump in it and sing Jerusalem."

Misty sighed. "Forget I asked."

As Porter was attached to the train, Frankie spoke up. "You wouldn't mind helping us out for a bit, would you Bellerophon? We've got some freight that needs shifting within the yard, and three engines are better than two, so to speak."

Assuming it would only be a few hours, Bellerophon agreed. "Of course. Doesn't sound too bad."

"See you in a bit!" Porter called, as the train left for the yard. "Hopefully we won't be too long!"

Unfortunately for all concerned, it wouldn't be a few hours. Not even close to a few hours.

A few days had passed, and the workload had not eased up. Not only that, it seemed to be Bellerophon and Hurricane doing the bulk of the work. Frankie rarely appeared, and when she did there was sometimes this strange figure watching from a balcony.

"Why am I doing the bulk of the work?" Bellerophon asked, as he put the hoppers into place atop the hill. The heavy slag inside soon tipped out and fell down into the pit, forming a new slag heap in the process.

"Because you are capable of working, little tank engine," Frankie replied. "You are a machine. Your purpose is to work. And work you shall. And be careful with those. That slag could make a right mess of your frames if you're careless."

Frankie gunned her engine in the other direction as Misty called back. "We have been helping you! You said this would only be a few hours! You can't keep as as slaves!"

Frankie stopped, and a brief flash of a cruel smile came across her face. "Oh, you foolish child," she said. "I never said the work would be a few hours. You merely assumed it would be. And you aren't slaves. You volunteered your labour for however long is needed. Legally, we're in the clear."

Bellerophon sighed as the last slag carrier finished emptying, and he began to work back down the hill. "We're in a right mess here, aren't we?"

Misty sighed. "I know. I really haven't learned a thing, have I?"

Later on in the day, the pair began to lament. The world seemed ever more dark and grey, with no hope of escaping this steelworks that had become their prison. The grey skies orbited over their positions as the duo decided to express their emotion in the first way that came to mind.

Song.

Bellerophon led off. "How much longer will we have to stay here?
One more day, or a month, or a year?
Far from everything we've ever known!
Far away from the County called Cornwall/
Far away from that County called home."

Next was Misty. "Where are you Izzy and Porter?
Have you gone back to the shed?
Or are you out on the branch line
With some other people instead?

And then the two together. "We miss all of my friends!
We miss hearing their names!
Sunny and Salty and Sophie/
It's strange but I even miss Charles.
I'm not joking, I even miss Charles!"

Misty then went off on her own. "I wanted to have an adventure!
I wanted to wander and roam!
I wanted to see places I'd never seen/
But now I just wanna go home.
Tell me when do I get to go home?"

As they made their way back indoors, they had an idea. If they were effectively slaves here, they could lead a revolt. After all, nothing drives an individual more than the desire to be free.

As they began assembling trucks, they continued to sing, a new defiant tone having taken over their voices.

Bellerophon was first. "All I wanna do is go back to Cornwall!
All I wanna do is get back to my friends!
I don't wanna be stuck here forever and always/
In this hot house where work never ends!"

Then Misty, as the heavy load was finally assembled. "I wanted adventure!
I wanted to roam!
I wanted new places but now I want home!
I mean it, I have to go home!"

As they reached the gates, they positioned the trucks in front to check they were aligned properly. And of course, continued with the song as they went along.

"So lock up your gates with your skeleton key!
You can't make us stay where we don't wanna be!
It's not right, it's not fair/
This is no place for us!"

Neither of them focused too much on the fact that last line didn't fit the rhyme scheme as they started backing up to try and avoid being detected. After all, who knew who was listening?

"We want to, we need to, we have to be free to go home!" both called defiantly, and moments later Bellerophon began his charge.

"We'll find my way home!
We'll make my way home!
It's time to go home!
We're going home!"

"Bellerophon, Misty, stop!" called a voice. They suddenly saw Hurricane come to a stop in their path, and slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting him.

"Why did you do that?" Misty snapped. "You just got in the way of our freedom?"

"Why are you attempting this escape in broad daylight?" Hurricane countered. "There's lots of potential witnesses all around, and all that noise is bound to attract attention. You should wait until midnight."

"Are you giving us advice on how to escape?" Bellerophon asked.

"Yes," Hurricane said. "I'm a friend. Frankie is not to be trusted.

"I picked that much up," Misty said sarcastically.

"But tonight should give you a perfect chance to escape. At midnight, I shall create a distraction to lure Frankie away. That should give you ample time to knock down the gates and head for the sidings on the other side of the main line. Once there, a woman will arrive and ask if the lion is still hunting."

"What about you?" Bellerophon asked. "Won't Frankie hurt you if she finds out what you did?"

"She'd never break me. I'm too important to operations here."

Just then, Frankie arrived. "What are you two doing gossiping?" she snapped. "Get back to work."

"How about you do some work!" Misty snapped, as she began to back Bellerophon up.

"You would be wise not to cross me, orphan," Frankie replied as she backed up.

Misty froze. She had barely disclosed any information about herself. How did Frankie know she was an orphan?

Night came at last. The clock had hit midnight, and Bellerophon had hid his train well. The trucks would be perfect for such an escape. Hurricane had said he would be providing a distraction, but the thunder booming and the lightning striking the ground more than provided a distraction.

Deeper in the facility, Misty suddenly heard two voices talking. "I saw a fault on one of the machines and figured we should take a look."

"Whatever you say, Hurricane."

Bellerophon overheard the conversation as well. "Let's go."

Without wasting another second, the pair coupled to the train and got into position. The gates lay before them, and were the last obstacle in their way. Steam pressure was building. It has often been said that the road to freedom is a long walk, but today it was more of a sprint to the finish.

"Now," Misty replied. She released the brakes, opened the regulator, and held on as the formation rattled forward. Speed continued to build as the train rattled along, and was doing about twenty miles an hour when it hit the gates. They were forced open by the crash, and the formation continued to rattle along as it crossed the main line.

Once on the other side (there was no opposing traffic at this time of night), Bellerophon dumped the trucks in a siding and positioned himself on a siding, hoping nobody could see him.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out from the darkess. "Are you escaping from scrap, little tank engine?"

"That was a male voice," Misty whispered. "But we have few friends out here."

"What if he's in league with Frankie?"

What if he's not?" Misty spoke up. "Yes. We are escaping. Who are you?"

"Why, I am just a noble knight roaming the land, fighting to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Another voice then spoke up. "Are the lions still hunting?"

Frankie was not pleased, to say the least. "Those two have escaped," she said. "And you helped them. You're one of them, aren't you? I have something especially unpleasant in mind for you."

Hurricane looked agape. "Scrapping engines is illegal! Besides, that's a death sentence!"

Frankie returned with a cruel smile. "You'd be amazed what you can live through, Hurricane."

Author's Note

Well, the big escape has happened, and more figures. But are they friend or foe? Only one way to find out, my friends. This story will now take a break over the weekend to let us refuel and recharge the batteries.

But what could Frankie have in mind for Hurricane?

Knights of the Round

"Yes, the lions are still hunting," Misty replied.

"Huzzah!" the male voice said. "She is one of us!"

"We must get them to safety," said the female voice.

"Who are you, exactly, and why should I trust you?" Bellerophon asked.

"We are Knights of the Round," said the male voice. "You should aim to return to the yard where this all began, and ensure you arrive in one piece. The ones with the gears and the name like a forest shall greet you upon your return. Now we must fly, for we're working behind schedule. INVISIBILITY ON!"

Moments later, Bellerophon moved off the siding and ran as quickly as he could through the darkness. He had no clue if Frankie was on his trail behind him, and had to move fast to avoid being caught (or so he thought). This stretch of railway looked completely different at night. It was incredibly dark, and the trees seemed to be threatening rather than comforting. Their long, spindly branches and the lack of light above turned them into ghostly figures trying to grasp them. It was rather frightening, and Bellerophon longed for a safe haven to hide in, to take refuge from the insanity of the world around him.

And, at last, he seemed to arrive somewhere reasonably safe. He arrived at the yard from all those days ago, and once he was safely in he heard two gates shutting behind him. He rolled further in, and into a siding. Here he gave in to his exhaustion, and fell off into sleep most deserved.

"Good morning!"

Misty woke with a start to see Izzy standing in front of her. "Err, hi?" she asked.

"Glad to see you made it here!" Izzy smiled. "They're currently cooking breakfast, so I'm here to take your order?" She handed Misty a piece of paper.

Misty had a mix of emotions. "Where were you two?" she asked. "Bellerophon and I were basically enslaved by that place!"

"I was here, helping the others plan breaking you out!" Izzy protested. "One egg or two?"

Misty consulted the piece of paper she'd been given. She circled a couple of different options with a pen and then handed it back.

Izzy glanced over it. "One sausage, one bacon, 2 egg, and 1 black pudding. I'll let them know!"

As Izzy set off into the distance, Bellerophon sighed. "I wonder how they'll cook that? This place looked pretty sparse."

"Beats me," Misty sighed. "At least it's not white pudding."

"And did those feet-!"

Once breakfast was concluded, the figures all assembled. Ashleigh and Fergus were there, as was Tempest Shadow, but two new figures had joined them. One of them was a man with charcoal skin, red eyes, and black hair, currently clad in a business suit. The other was a woman with purplish skin and icy blue hair, coupled with similarly icy blue eyes. She currently wore a blue dress with a white apron and tights, coupled with a selection of useful tools handy for engine work.

And a new engine was there as well. He was a much larger engine than the others, as he had four leading wheels, six driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. He had a largish smokebox and boiler, combined with a round topped firebox and a cab that barely poked over the top of the safety valve bonnet. He had an eight wheeled tender, and he was painted dark green, with the same emblem as Porter on the tender.

His nameplates read Sir Gillemere, and his chimney was rather odd. It had three smoke release valves, instead of one! "Hello, brave and noble knight!" he said. "We are the Knights of the Round, champions of the downtrodden, defenders of those who cannot defend themselves! I am Sir Gillemere, and who art thou, fair squire?"

"I'm Bellerophon. Excuse me?" Bellerophon asked the big engine, "but why do you have three chimneys?"

"A good question, Sir Bellerophon," Sir Gillemere replied. "During the War, I was fitted with a smoke dispersal system so that German aircraft couldn't see me. I was refitted with it recently to assist in the war."

"War?" Misty asked.

"We should probably explain who we are, Radiant," said the man.

"Right you are, Sombra," the woman said. "I am Radiant Hope, and this is Sombra. You've already met Tempest. We are members of an organisation called the Locomotive Liberation Front. We are on the frontlines of a struggle against a mad woman who wants to conquer the entire country and rule it under her iron grip."

"Opaline?" Izzy ventured.

"How did you know?" Sombra asked.

"We've heard mentions of her before," Porter said.

"As a result," Hope continued, "we have assembled forces in different parts of the country to counter her forces and rescue the engines she has enslaved. And that steelworks is a critical target, which is why we have assembled engines experienced in combating Opaline. Ashleigh and myself survived an attack on a coal mine where we worked. Fergus and Tempest defended his cement works from attack. And Sir Gillemere has a personal vendetta against her."

"Her followers destroyed my brothers and sisters," the engine replied. "And now, hopefully, we can strike a blow against her."

Sombra switched on a display. "The steelworks is a front. It's a cover for a spectra factory, which is the lifeblood of sentient machines. If she controls it, she'll be able to control them. This we cannot allow."

Upon hearing that word, Misty felt an intense sense of shame. She had delivered that spectra sample to Opaline, which was presumably the source of this factory. And these engines were in a mess because of her.

"We need to launch an attack to disable the facility and disrupt her operations," Hope continued. "We have some with combat experience, and an ex-soldier."

"I actually have no combat experience," Tempest mentioned.

"I thought you said you served in the army!" Sombra said.

"I was assigned to a base in Germany and lost my forearm in a car crash. I still have the training in there, but I've never experienced actual battle. Still, I'm more than prepared to try."

Author's Note

Even more characters join the fray! In no particular order:

Those of you who read the stories in the Magic Railway timeline will remember Sombra, who served a similar role to Burnett Stone. Here he is, in a different context.

Radiant Hope is a character from the MLP comics published by IDW. In particular, she hails from the Siege of the Crystal Empire continuity, which delves into King Sombra's backstory alongside depicting a gigantic struggle for Equestria's northernmost outpost.

30783 Sir Gillemere is an LSWR N15, better known as the King Arthurs as each member of the class was named after a figure from Arthurian mythology. During WW2, the engine was fitted with a triple chimney to try and disperse smoke, as the steam from a locomotive was acting as a beacon to German aircraft. The experiment was not a success. Of interest is that 30783 is one of twenty King Arthurs built in Scotland. Oddly, I cannot find any reference in my research to a Sir Gillemere in Mallory's work, so it's possible they selected an obscure name from the mythology; the preserved example is named in honour of Sir Lamiel, who is is only mentioned once in the entirety of Le Morte D'Arthur.

Where'd it Go?

Sophie rolled to a stop in the goods yard at Darlington and scanned the horizon. "Well, we made it," she said. "We're in Doncaster. It's a bit cold, mind."

"We've moved further north, remember?" Pipp said, who had acquired a coat in case of cold. She stuck her head out of the window. "Those trucks may be able to help." She opened the throttle and parked the diesel next to the trucks.

"Look! A Class 33!" said one of the trucks. "A bit vintage, don't you think?"

"Haven't seen one in RES colours in a long time," said another.

"Have you seen an engine?" Pipp asked.

"We see engines every day," the first truck said. "We'll need something a bit more specific."

"A steam engine," Sophie replied. "You know how in musicals a song is used to advanced a key section of the plot? How about we use music to assist us?"

"Perfect!" Pipp smiled, and switched some data on her phone to power up speakers.

"It disappeared, just like that, and it's nowhere to be found!
Flip that switch, sweep that track and ask around!
We need the who, what, or why, then there's nowhere left to hide/
Oh no!
No, there's nowhere left to hide!"

"I recognise this song!" said the second truck. "It was all over TikTok a few weeks ago!"

And the trucks joined in as backup singers.

"(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)"

And the first truck followed.

"We're gonna find it
Yes, we're gonna find it good!"

Pipp resumed vocal duties. "My friends and I are on the case!"

"There's only two of us on the case," Sophie said. "That's stretching the definition of 'friend' a bit."

"Sophie! You don't insert asides into musical numbers!" Pipp then resumed singing.

"Here we go, here we go!
We're not gonna stop 'til we find what we're missing!
Where'd it go? Where'd it go?!
A perfect case for a private eye/
I'm searching far and wide!

"So here we go, here we go/
We're not gonna stop 'til we find what we're missing!"

"Warn us of the key change next time!" a truck said.

"(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)
(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)"

Pipp then realised her original lyrics wouldn't work here, so she decided to improvise.

"Look, evidence, circumstance, still no engine left in sight/
Need a break in the case to clear my mind!
I'm getting close, oh so close, I can feel it in my feet (Woah-oh)
Yes, I feel it in my fee-ee-eeeeet!"

"(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)
(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)"

"That makes no sense!" said a truck.

"You try making lyrics up on the fly!" Sophie said.

Pipp blasted back in with the pre-chorus to prevent any further interruptions.

"My friends and I are on the case
We're on the case!"

Suddenly, every rail vehicle in the yard, overhearing the commotion, joined in with the chorus.

"Here we go, here we go!
We're not gonna stop 'til we find what we're missing!
Where'd it go? Where'd it go?"
A perfect case for a private eye/
I'm searching far and wide!"

"So here we go, here we go/
We're not gonna stop 'til we find what we're missing!

"Here we go/
We're not gonna stop 'til we find what we're missing!
Where'd it go? Where'd it go?
A perfect case for a private eye/
I'm searching far and wide!
So here we go, here we go/
Keep our eyes on the prize and there's no way we'll miss it!"

"(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)
(Oh, oh)
(Where'd it go?)"

The scene was interrupted by Pipp suddenly being given a piece of paper by a teleporting policeman. "The Singing Broadway Numbers in Public Act? Luckily that was a pop song, not a Broadway number."

She hopped out of the cab as a diesel engine rolled up next to her, a large boxy machine painted in bright red. His running number identified him to be a Class 66. "Excuse me?" she called.

"Yes?" the diesel said, his engine making an odd, high-pitched noise as it idled.

"Have you seen a steam engine anywhere? Painted black, outside cylinders?"

The diesel thought. "Can't say I have. Gillian?"

"Yes?" a Class 37 nearby replied.

"Have you seen a steam engine lately? Painted black, outside cylinders?"

"Yes, actually," the diesel replied. "He dropped off some goods a few days ago then headed off somewhere else."

"Thank you!" Pipp said, and she checked her engine was clear to reverse.

A few minutes later, they were on a side track heading around Darlington, when suddenly-

"Who goes there?"

Pipp glanced up to see a crane sitting there. "Good morning!" she said, in her trademark sing-song voice. "Have you seen a steam engine lately?"

"Yes," the crane said. "I'm Ronald, and they passed my riddles- the first engine to do so, as a matter of fact. They then went towards that steelworks."

"Thank you!" Sophie said, and they set off once more.

Hurricane groaned forward as he shifted a heavy load of steel. True to Frankie's word this work was incredibly hard. He hadn't been designed to shift loads this heavy, and true to form Frankie was working as little as she could.

He stopped when he saw an open door, and heard an angry voice. "You let them escape?" they roared. "What do I pay you lot for?"

"You don't pay me anything," Frankie replied.

"Very funny," the voice said. "We have to recapture the defector no matter the cost! She is incredibly valuable to our operation, and she cannot be allowed to blab on about our operations. Opaline is on my back for this!"

"So, what do you propose we do?" Frankie asked.

"That's easy," the voice said. "We need to find a way to lure her and her idiot friends into the facility. And I think I know just the way to do it."

Hurricane hauled away from the situation as quickly as he could, the heavy load slowing him down.

"Oh," the voice continued, "and about our spy? Minimise his effectiveness. We can't have him talking, can we?"

Author's Note

Well, we're riding into the finale of the story, and with Pipp and Sophie in the region things are about to get a whole lot messier. Hold on, as this is a show you won't want to miss!

Class 66s do indeed make an odd, high-pitched noise as they idle. It is this which has earned them the nickname of 'ying-yings'.

All's Wrong in Hate and War...

If you had been standing outside Darlington Steelworks on a given morning, you would have been able to hear what sounded like music coming from the structure. The result was a curious boombox effect, with the sound being hard to make out but being there at the same time.

Inside, it was a different story. Frankie was leading Sophie around the steelworks, singing as she did so.

"This is the hottest place in town!
We'll warm you up/
When you're feeling down!
We'll make a smile/
Out of every frown!

"Just take a look around
At the joy we've found!

"This is the place
You can have some fun!
Where you can feel/
Like a number..."

Frankie trailed off as she saw Sophie's running number was far too long to scan properly with the metre. She was soon able to pick the words up, however.

"We've got more sunshine/
Than the sun!
There's a light in our eyes/
We simply can't disguise!"

"This is the hottest place in town!"

Frankie was ready to start the chorus, but things were about to change.

"Come in and come along/
For the ri-"

Suddenly, Sophie throttled up and moved forward, before stopping nearby. "Alright, cut it!" she shouted. The music abruptly stopped.

"Who interrupts musical numbers halfway through?" Frankie asked.

"I do," Pipp said, and opened the door. "This is all well and fun, but I have a question. Where are Porter, Izzy, Bellerophon, and Misty. I know for a fact they came here."

Frankie spluttered for a few seconds as she came up with an answer. "Well, they went off to make a delivery. They should be back soon. In the meantime, could you help us out for a short while? We've got some slag hoppers that need moving."

"I sense a trap," Sophie said.

"One delivery can't be that bad," Pipp said. "Let's give it a go, shall we?"

Sir Gillemere was looking closely at the facility, with Sombra at his controls. "Something is off," he said.

"Have you seen something?" Sombra asked, who reached for a pair of binoculars. "Facility looks fairly conventional to me. With only one way in or out, that's a bottleneck which should be quite easy for them to defend, and hard for us to attack."

"Not so much that," Sir Gillemere replied. "There's far too little activity for a facility of this size. I would say it's underdefended, given the circumstances. It's like they want us to attack."

Bellerophon arrived a few seconds later as the other engines began to get their equipment into position. "Seen anything yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Sir Gillemere said. "The place is curiously quiet on that front."

Suddenly, Bellerophon heard a familiar engine note, and seconds later he spotted something. "Misty! Look! It's Sophie!"

"And she's pulling a train of slag hoppers!" Misty said. "They've tricked her into working for them!"

A wave of guilt washed over both engine and driver, and the pair in a moment knew they had to make amends.

"Where are you two going?" Radiant Hope asked.

"To put things right," Misty replied, as Bellerophon vanished into the distance.

Sophie's engine strained as she shifted the last of the load onto the hill for dumping. "I don't think this track was designed for this many hoppers to be unloaded in one go!" she said.

"Me neither," Pipp replied. "This is hot work. Good thing I'm in here, or all my clothes would be dirty now!"

There was a pause. "Why exactly do you wear white most of the time? It's a nightmare to clean."

"It deflects heat and is a photogenic colour. It goes especially well with my skin."

"Sophie! Pipp!" a familiar voice called.

Sophie glanced over in surprise. "Well, look who it is!" she said. "If it isn't the engine who got us into the mess!"

Pipp looked over, and her face immediately shifted into a frown. "You've a lot of nerve coming here after what you did."

"We have to go, now!" Misty called. "They may be here any moment!"

But neither Sophie nor Pipp were listening. Pipp was especially annoyed. "First you steal our goods train, then you have us chase you across the country, and then you disappear! You flipped our lives upside down, again might I add, and left us two engines down!"

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" Bellerophon said. "But we ha-"

"Really?" Sophie added. "Because I don't believe you."

"We have to go! Now!" Misty shouted again. Truth be told, she was getting frustrated herself.

"When we've finished dumping these we'll leave," Pipp said. "And I'll be sure to tell mom about what you did."

"That's not how it works!" Bellerophon said. "They keep you here forever! You're effectively a slave here!"

"Slave?" Sophie said. "As in forced labour?" She glanced about. "Pipp, get me uncoupled! I'm not suffering through that treatment again!"

Bellerophon moved a bit to give Sophie space to move, when suddenly a chain attached to the back of Bellerophon and began dragging him back! "Help!"

The engine behind him spoke up, revealing them to be Frankie. "You thought you could just run away, could you?" she smirked. "Well, the boss has a very particular punishment lined up for you."

Misty tried to break her engine away, but it was hopeless. The diesel was too powerful, and she daren't risk uncoupling during running. What if she fell out and injured herself?

"This is not good!" Fergus called.

"Blue Circle, how copy, over?" Tempest asked.

"Bellerophon's being dragged into the building by a diesel engine. Markings are of MSC 4002. Classing them as a threat."

"This is bad," Ashleigh said. "We have to go, now."

"Is all the gear in position?" Sombra asked.

"Yes. Battering ram is ready to go, and other equipment is secured."

Sombra activated his radio. "To all units receiving on this station. Operation Exodus is in effect. Repeat, Operation Exodus is in effect."

The formation moved off into the steelworks area, determined at all costs to save their friend.

The claustrophobic confines of the steelworks was a place Misty had no desire to return to any time soon, but here she was again. What had once seemed warm and friendly had taken on a sinister air. The air was full of smoke, and piercing red light shone all over the place. The machinery bubbled with strange pools of coloured liquid. This Misty recognised almost immediately as Spectra. The very same substance she had taken from that lantern, or at the very least derived from prisbeam. This very place was her fault. What sort of a friend was she if she had given their enemies such an advantage?

As Bellerophon was dragged deeper in, he suddenly saw a familiar sight rigged up to some machinery. "Hurricane! Is that you?"

The old engine coughed. He was covered in dirt, and he seemed to be missing a few parts, but he was otherwise alive. "Sorry, you two," he wheezed, clearly struggling for breath. "They broke me."

Misty realised what they meant. "They turned him into a generator, or rather a steam heating unit," she said. Her internal guilt only continued to build.

Finally, Frankie stopped at a point in front of a stage, and decoupled before parking in a siding.

"Give our friends back!" shouted a voice.

Seconds later, Porter rocketed into the steelworks, followed by Sophie a second later. Both of them formed up to attach to Bellerophon and move him out.

Frankie smiled. "Not so fast," she said, and the doors to the facility began to close.

"Hurry!" Ashleigh called. "The doors are shutting!"

The engines had to speed up in order to get in, but they managed, somehow, to make it through with only a few seconds to spare. Now they were in the facility, and what they saw shocked them.

"Who knew Opaline had such military capability?" Sir Gillemere asked. "This is worse than I'd imagined. Look at all these tubes and pipes!"

"All fuel for her army," Fergus said. "Is there no end to this nightmare?"

They finally arrived where the others were, who had been blocked in by lines of trucks. "Right, who's in charge here?" Sombra demanded.

Frankie laughed. "You're quite the presumptous one, aren't you? Just thinking you can demand answers of people, or rather engines in this case, whom you have no control over. Oh well. To deliver the message, please welcome our commander, he who serves the woman who will save us all from slavery!"

Sound began to blare as flames were fired from nearby projectors, and a figure began to walk across the gantry above. They seemed to be dressed in some sort of military uniform based on the cap and the clinking of medals, and he suddenly turned, the flames suddenly illuminating his piercing glare and stuck-up face. He seemed somehow... familiar.

"Well, hello there," he said simply. "I've missed you. Especially you, Izzy, and the little traitor down there."

Izzy gulped loudly. "Sprout Cloverleaf?"

Author's Note

We're into the final act, and things are hotting up in the steelworks. Time for the final battle!

And yes... you have been asking for a while about his whereabouts. And it's now confirmed... Sprout Cloverleaf is back after his defeat in Falmouth Bay months ago.

Everything is Disintegrating...

Sprout laughed as more flame jets revealed his full form. "Why, yes it is, Izzy. And it is why I am up here and you are down there."

"But we defeated you in the battle of Falmouth!" Porter said. "Your engine fell off the cliff and exploded!"

"Remember the massive landslide?" Sprout smiled. "That was my doing. As any true soldier knows, having a backup plan is vital. Such a shame that Sunny had her hands on those crystals. Also exposes a distinct problem with modern days."

"What?" Bellerophon asked. "What's he talking about?"

Sprout grinned, looking even more psychotic than normal. "For you see, the truth is you have all been played this entire time. Allow me to reveal my true commander... Opaline!"

"That name rings a bell," Sophie said.

"Indeed. The little traitor down there used to work for her." Sprout paused to let them soak up this information. "The truth of the matter is this entire situation has been orchestrated by her the entire time. It was her design that enabled the crystals to be found. One of her agents tampered with the machine that operated the effects during the concert, which is why it malfunctioned the way it did."

Pipp was shocked. "So that humiliation was entirely engineered by one person? Yeah, not buying it Sprout."

"And the crystals being brought back together was by her design. After all, with the gold dust back, her plan is considerably easier to carry out. You have all been played, a group of puppets being played on some strings by the most powerful person this planet has ever known."

"You won't get away with this," Misty said. "We'll stop you!"

"Fine words from one who can't even run up a flight of stairs without feeling sick," Sprout said, mockingly. "Besides, my soldiers will put paid to you. We've been busy."

As he spoke, several arms descended from the air and began fitting armoured plates to his body (he had, in the meantime, removed his jacket and hat). Mounts for heavy weaponry were fitted to his arms, and a front and backplate were secured in position. Two more sets of plats were mounted to his legs, followed by what looked like wings being fitted to the backplate. Finally, a helmet was secured in on his head, which he complemented with straps. Two large weapons were mounted to his arms. As the metal arms retracted, Sprout jumped into the air accompanied by a loud whine from something.

"At last, we non-magical folk can go toe to toe with them!" he laughed. "The latest in repulsorlift technology, developed from data you streamed to us, Misty! How I look forward to smashing Sunny's face into the dirt with one of these!" He looked down. "Frankie! Search and destroy!"

"Yes sir!" Frankie shouted, and began to move off towards the engines.

"Scarper!" Sophie shouted, and they all began to reverse in different directions.

A dull blown battle had erupted in the steelworks, and the engines and humans were being pushed to their limits. Frankie slammed into several lines of trucks, causing them to roll towards the engines.

"Escape this!" she shouted.

Sir Gillemere and Ashleigh happened to be going the other way, and shoved them out of the way, allowing Sophie and Bellerophon safe passage.

"Thank you!" Sophie shouted.

Sombra looked out of the cab. "GET DOWN!" he shouted, as suddenly a blast of magical energy flew towards them. He put Sir Gillemere into full reverse and backed away just in time.

The explosion blew up a container of spectra, which spread rainbow coloured mist everywhere.

Sprout was flying about with a manical grin on his face, screaming loudly. It was almost as if he was revelling in the destruction. As Porter rounded a corner, he fired off another volley. "LET'S SEE WHAT THESE GUNS CAN DO!"

The shots missed porter by inches. "What does this idiot think he's doing?" Porter shouted.

"There's nothing left of a human, sadly," Izzy said, sounding quite mournful. "Only a monster remains."

"Well, looks like we'll need to deal with that," Porter said grimly.

Moments later, something else took to the skies. They looked up to see Tempest Shadow, who had changed into combat gear and was wearing a rather skeletal combat suit with a few weapons mounted.

"Alright, Sprout," she said. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice."

"I have no intention of surrendering," Sprout replied, a confident smirk on his face. "I shall fight to the death!"

"Good," Tempest smiled. "I like it when people pick the hard way." In a blinding flash she shot forward, the main weapon blazing. Within seconds, the pair were within knife-fight range, and were exchanging a volley of rapid blows. It was here that it became abundantly clear who had the upper hand.

Tempest was absolutely smashing Sprout's armour to pieces. Bits kept falling off from the sustained blows. The guns plummeted to the ground as armour features were disintegrating under the force of the attack.

"How is this fair?" Sprout screeched as he backed up and deployed the backup weapon. A gigantic volley of missiles suddenly streaked through the facility.

"You did say you wanted to play hard," Tempest responsed, and opened fire before flying forward again.

Unfortunately, some of these missiles strick critical control panels. Several of these were destroyed, and as a result trucks began rolling into position.

"Oh no," Porter said. "We're boxed in by trucks!"

Fergus rattled in. "Don't worry, Porter! I'll get this lot cleared out!"

The battle continued to rage throughout the steelworks, with the engines leading Frankie about. Sophie rattled past a set of points, with Pipp throwing an object to change the switch. This sent Frankie into a large number of trucks.

Unfortunately, this would prove to cause more harm than good. The trucks rolled towards Ashleigh, who dodged out of the way. "Watch it!"

These trucks then slammed into Fergus, whose train was in turn smashed into a panel.

"SYSTEMS ONLINE. SLAG POURING SYSTEM ACTIVATED."

"By Stevenson's Siderods," Fergus said quietly. "This isn't good."

Molten slag was pouring straight onto a section of railway line, melting the trackwork. A section of track Sir Gillemere happened to be approaching. "I CAN'T SLOW DOWN!" the big tender engine called. "Come to think of, I'll probably derail!"

Misty glanced back and saw a solution. There was a line of trucks that could be shunted into position. "Let's go, Bellerophon!" she called, and put the engine into full reverse. The pair stopped at the siding and drew the trucks out, before pushing them into the way of the growing slag pool.

Sir Gillemere then switched lines, now save from the slag pool. "Much appreciated, noble knight!" he called.

Unfortunately, Frankie had creeped up on them as Misty got out to change some switches to allow Bellerophon to reverse. "You think you're so clever, don't you?" the diesel said. "Well, think your way out of this one!"

Suddenly, a gigantic block of metal fell from the roof at incredible speed. "Look out!" Bellerophon called.

Misty looked up to see it falling towards her. "This is go-"

Author's Note

A few things for this chapter:

Firstly, Sprout's return. As this chapter shows (and indeed, the post-credits sequence of T&F:ANG demonstrated), he's been working for the villains the entire time. In much of his characterisation here, I drew on the video game Spec Ops: the Line, a video game which serves as meta-commentary on video games protagonists. The core idea is a noble soldier gradually descends into being a blood knight, a factor of his environment. I decided to apply the same idea here, with Sprout taking extreme delight in destruction.

The armour suit he wears is based on the protective gear Sunny finds herself in during the CanterLogic protest in the movie, sans the horn:

(Note: as I couldn't find a decent screenshot from the film, here is some fanart.)

Tempest's armour, on the other hand, is influenced by the Jacket, a powered exoskeleton from the film Live, Die, Repeat. As mentioned before, Tempest's VA had a starring role in that film, so the reference seemed fitting.

Final chapter lands tomorrow! What will happen? Who knows?

The Most Important Thing is Being Friends!

As the wall rocketed down, Misty suddenly looked up. "This is go-"

"Misty!" Pipp cried, as she gunned Sophie's throttle to get closer.

Frankie laughed. "At last! No more leaks! The threat is dealt with!"

But then, to everybody's surprise, the wall stopped moving before it hit the ground.

"NO!" the diesel cried. "WHY DID IT STOP?"

There was a shudder, and a sudden blast of blue energy. To all observing, they could see Misty somehow holding the wall in place, and even beginning to push it back.

"Err, guys?" she asked, looking visibly confused. "What's happening?"

Suddenly, she gained a blue translucent sheen over the top of her own skin, and her eyes started to glow. She shoved the wall up into its original position, and then turned as a pair of news ears appeared atop her head, combined with a new ponytail.

"O. M. GOODNESS!" Pipp squealed, and grabbed her phone to take a picture. "Look at this, guys! Misty's ponied up!"

Streams of blue energy shot from Misty's hands, producing a channel which redirected the flow of the slag liquid. It began to drift away from those concerns, which was certainly a relief for all those concerned. This was a positive development.

Misty then turned, and seeing several rakes of wagons coming towards her, proceeded to project a blast of energy to bring them to a safe stop.

Frankie was apopleptic. "Why does that little grub get all the power?" she said. "How can such a worm be considered worthy of such a thing?"

Unfortunately for her, the rant meant she wasn't looking where she was going. She crashed into the trucks and derailed, tipping onto her side and stopping in place. Being on her side, she was unable to move. "Curse those meddling kids!"

Up above, Sprout's armour fell apart from the sustained force of the attack. Tempest touched down before him as the self styled Generalissimo looked up. "You've caused quite a lot of trouble for many people," she said, sternly. "Anything you want to say before we take you into custody?"

Sprout looked up. "Eat this." He pushed down on a button on one of the few remaining bits of the armour he had.

A loud siren began to blare throughout the facility. "WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN FIVE MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN FIVE MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY."

Misty sprinted for Bellerophon. "Come on!" she shouted. "We have to go, now!"

The other engines began to move towards the exit, taking nothing with them. Pipp even snapped a few photos as evidence of the place.

Porter finally got free of the trucks and rumbled backwards out of the building. Both he and Bellerophon were about to leave when suddenly they spotted something.

"We can't leave without Hurricane!" Bellerophon called.

"What? We need to get out of here!" Porter replied.

"WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN FOUR MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN FOUR MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY."

"If we leave him, what sort of friends does that make us?" Misty asked. "You go and take Bellerophon. I'll push Hurricane out-"

Just as she said this, her powered up form conked out. "What?"

"Looks like we're pulling him out together!" Porter replied.

"You get the couplings set!" Izzy called to Misty. "We'll pull back!"

The two engines were moved into position and Misty ran the couplings round. Hurricane glanced back. "I can still supply some power to my central axle," he said. "Let's go."

The engines finally began to move, shifting the heavy load backwards out of the facility.

"WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN THREE MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN THREE MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY."

They continued to shift backwards. Things were already starting to explode. Several of the spectra vats before them burst, splling their rainbow cargo all across the floor and making a massive mess. The doors were so close now, when suddenly a new message played.

"THE CUTOFF FOR DISABLING THE AUTOMATIC DOOR CLOSING SYSTEM HAS EXPIRED. THE DOORS WILL NOW BEGIN CLOSING. REPEAT: THE CUTOFF FOR DISABLING THE AUTOMATIC DOOR CLOSING SYSTEM HAS EXPIRED. THE DOORS WILL NOW BEGIN CLOSING."

"Move it!" Porter shouted. "We might get trapped in here!"

Both engines picked up the pace as they closed in on the door. More explosions rocked the upper levels of the building. Several support beams and metal girders fell from the rafters and blew other things up. The ground below was being flattened by falling debris.

The engines got clear just in time. Seconds after Hurricane's front bufferbeam cleared the door, it slammed shut, leaving anybody who hadn't escaped trapped inside.

"WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN TWO MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WARNING. WARNING. SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL EXPLODE IN TWO MINUTES. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY."

Finally, everybody had left the facility, and made a beeline for the yard. They timed it well too. As they hit the main line, the explosives began to detonate, and the facility began to collapse in on itself. The spectra tanks ruptured, which produced a massive explosion that could be seen for miles.

Back in the yard, Tempest got to work on looking at Hurricane. "It shouldn't be too much work getting you back into working order," she said, with a smile. "A few connecting rods and you'll be good to go."

"If at all possible, I'd like to remain here with you guys," Hurricane said. "I'll do all I can to assist you in the fight against Opaline."

"Your contributions would certainly be welcome," Asleigh said. "Welcome to the team, Hurricane!"

"Arise, Sir Hurricane!" Sir Gillemere said. "For you are the newest Knight of the Round! And that brave soul who saved us in the steelworks? You are hereby pronounced Dame Misty, for services meritorious to the realm!"

Suddenly, a figure appeared on Hurricane's footplate, a taller woman with peachy skin and green hair. "I second that!" she said. "She did a lot of good work helping us defeat Frankie. I'm Celaeno, by the way. Had to keep a low profile there!"

Misty laughed nervously. "Oh, I couldn't. I'm not worthy of such an honour."

"Don't be silly!" Sophie said. "You got us out of a sticky situation there!"

The next morning the convoy set off. Sophie was towing Porter and Bellerophon back towards Cornwall. Izzy then spoke up over the radio. "Hey, Pipp?"

"Yes, Izzy?"

"Sorry for taking your trucks. I know you wanted to take them to Darlington."

Pipp sighed. "I'm sorry too. I was totes a drama queen over something that doesn't matter. Besides, Sophie and I aren't the favourites. If anybody's the favourite, you and Porter are."

"Don't be silly, Pipp!" Izzy said, and as music began to fade in within the background, she began to speak in rhythm.

"Nobody has to be the favourite!"

She then graduated to singing.

"It's not a competition in the end!
It doesn't matter if you prove that you're the very best/
But what will happen when you put your friendship to the test?
Never mind about who is the favourite!
The most important thing is being friends!"

The group then spoke collectively. "The most important thing is being friends!"

Except Porter. "I'm still not happy about this being a musical."

Back at the LLF yard, Ashleigh and Fergus suddenly began singing.

"Everybody can help!
Everybody join in!
When everybody has a part to play-"

Hurricane interjected. "Then everybody can win!"

Everybody assembled at the yard then began singing as well.

"Everybody can help!
Red, green, yellow or blue!
When you're ready to try/
You'll find out what you can do!"

Further up the line, Sophie, Porter, and Bellerophon were passing by Ronald, and they all began to collectively sing.

"Everybody can help!
What I'm saying is true!
When you give it a try/
You'll find out what you can do!"

The trio continued singing on their own as they crossed the Brunel Bridge several hours later, crossing back into their home of Cornwall.

"Nobody has to be the favourite!
It's not a competition in the end!
It doesn't matter if you prove/
That you're the very best!
But what will happen when you/
Put your friendship to the test?"

As they coasted past the Haven residence, Lord Haven briefly joined in.

"Never mind about/
Who is the favourite!
The most important thing/
is being friends!"

As they rolled into Falmouth Yard, everybody suddenly assembled and joined in. Including Charles and Rebecca, now fully fixed and back in working order, waiting in the shed for their friends.

"Nobody has to be the favourite!
(Everybody can help!)
It's not a competition in the end!
(Everybody join in!)

"It doesn't matter if you prove/
That you're the very best!"

Charles then contributed to a musical number for the first ever time. "Everybody can win!"

Before everybody else sang the next line. "But what will happen when you
Put your friendship to the test?"

Back in the LLF Yard, Hurricane sang once more. "Never mind about who is the favourite!"

And then his new friends all joined him. "The most important thing
is being friends!"

And finally, back in Cornwall, the final line of the song was completed with a big Broadway finish. "The most important thing
is being friends!"

As the music died down, Charles glanced over. "Hello again. Did I miss anything whilst I was away?"

Author's Note

And here we are once more, the end of another story. This story was an interesting one, to say the least, as although JBS isn't the greatest film ever, it serves very well as an end to Thomas the Tank Engine's story (a much better end than a load of nonsense about animal faces). But I can assure this is not the end for these characters. Far from it, as a matter of fact.

And so, roll credits!

Opening Credits

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: JOURNEY BEYOND CORNWALL

Starring the voices of

Richard Hammond

Kimiko Glenn

Joseph Swash

Bahia Watson

Lucy Montgomery

Darren Boyd

James Miller

Emily Blunt

John Bellis

and Hugh Bonneville

Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions

Model Effects and Sequences recorded at Ellstree Studios

A Hasbro and Mattel Co-Production, Copyright MMXXIII

Credits

CAST-IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Richard Hammond - Porter
Kimiko Glenn - Izzy Moonbow
Keith Whickam - Salty, Assorted voices
Vanessa Hudgens - Sunny Starscout
Jeremy Clarkson - Charles
Liza Koshy - Zipp Storm
Joseph Swash - Bellerophon, Assorted voices
James May - Ray
Jane Krakowski - Lady Haven
Kimberley-Ann Truong - Posey Bloom
Bahia Watson - Misty
Teresa Gallagher - Sophie
Sofia Carson - Pipp Petals
John Boyega - Ronald
Darren Boyd - Fergus
Lucy Montgomery - Ashleigh
Emily Blunt - Tempest Shadow
Toby Jones - Lance
A. J. Bridel - Onyx, Gillian
Sophie Colquhoun - Frankie
John Bellis - Hurricane
Hugh Bonneville - Sir Gillemere
Amanda Martinez - Radiant Hope
James Miller - Sombra
Ken Jeong - Sprout Cloverleaf
Zoe Saldana - Celaeno
Richard E. Grant - Lord Haven

A helicopter touched down outside the ruins of the steelworks, and the doors slid open. Opaline powered down the steps, soldiers flanking her on both sides. "Secure the area, and prepare the assets for transit!" she shouted.

"Yes ma'am!" the soldiers replied, and quickly fanned out across the region.

Opaline herself strode towards a side door and opened it with a biometric reader. It was a good thing she had thought to install this side door. All the lovely spectra, intact in here.

Frankie was on the other side. "I did as you ordered, Opaline," she said.

"Good," Opaline replied. "We have what we need to commence the hunt. Move into the yard and assist with the cleanup."

As the diesel shunter moved off, Opaline looked at the spectra with a smile, whilst watching the video of Misty ponying up. "Seems like the little thing had some worth in her after all. No matter. With this, we shall find what we are looking for. After all these years, the lost engine will be mine!"

And Athena Karkanis as Opaline