Thomas and Friends: Halloween Havoc

Chapters

Credits
Night Terrors
Pipp Petals' Monster Mash
Terminal Chaos
Scaredy Engines
Misty Brightdawn's Amazing Maze
The Fog
Haunted Hitch
28 Pranks Earlier
The Flatbeds of Fear
Intro

Credits

Voice cast- in order of appearence:

Kimiko Glenn - Izzy Moonbow
Sofia Carson - Pipp Petals
James Marsden - Hitch Trailblazer, additional voices
Liza Koshy - Zipp Storm
Vanessa Hudgens - Sunny Starscout
Bahia Watson - Misty Brightdawn
Jeremy Clarkson - Charles
Rachel Miller - Rebecca
Teresa Gallagher - Sophie
Keith Whickam - Salty
James May - Ray
Matthew Cowlrick - Vulcan
Richard Hammond - Porter
Athena Karkanis - Opaline
Jane Krakowski - Lady Haven
Michael McKean - Argyle Starshine
Aaron Barashi - AEG Thomas
Henri Charles - AEG Percy
Jenna Warren - AEG Carly, Pony Sunny Starscout
Chloe Raphael - AEG Kana
Tara Strong - Goldie Starshine
Sade Smith - AEG Nia
Henry Harrison - AEG Diesel
A. J. Bridel - Pony Pipp Petals
Matreiyi Ramakrishnan - Pony Zipp Storm
J. J. Gerber - Pony Hitch Trailblazer
Ana Sani - Pony Izzy Moonbow
Nathan Evans - Harvey
Matt Wilkinson - Mr. Bailey
Jodie Whittaker - Alexandra

Night Terrors

Night had fallen over the Isle of Purbeck, and Zipp and her friends had gathered around a campfire not far from Swanage Station. They sat around it with metal prongs, on which they cooked marshmallows and exchanged stories, usually of the spooky variety.

Some of them rather stretched the definition of scary, though. "Wearing differently coloured socks isn't scary, Pipp," Izzy said. "In fact, in some contexts it's good luck."

"How?" Pipp asked. "Mismatched clothing is so noticable on streams." She quickly checked her own colour pallette matched. "Phew. Then again white goes with most things."

"You're also sitting on a plank of wood," Hitch pointed out.

Izzy then continued. "Wearing differently coloured socks at night means that you ward off the knight with the chicken in his hand."

"Is that specifically a northern thing?" Zipp asked. "We each have our own regional spooky stories. I liked that one about a pirate, though, Sunny. I hope I don't run into Fata Morgana."

"Me neither," Sunny replied. "You're the only one of us not to tell a story, Zipp."

"That's because I was saving the best for last," Zipp replied. "You may want to huddle closer to somebody else. That's how scary it is."

The others slid closer to one another, as instructed.

Zipp leaned closer to the campfire, her face illuminated by the crackling of the fire. "A long time ago, on a night just like tonight, a freight train left these parts, carrying a heavy train of china clay from the clay pits to the mainline for transportation to places far, far away. The train was piloted by one engine, and the driver knew the line well as it was his regular run."

She paused and looked about. "But the train never made it to Wareham, where it was due to arrive later that night. A set of points had malfunctioned, and past Corfe Castle it derailed. The wagons blocked the line and damaged the track, and the engine was destroyed in the crash."

"It was assumed that this was the end of the story as the wrecked stock was hauled away for scrapping. But soon people began observing strange things around midnight. They heard strange muttering and odd whispers. They witnessed strange lights in the skies. And most notable of all... they heard the whistling of an engine. The station master at Corfe Castle reported seeing a ghostly freight train tearing through the station at night, before suddenly vanishing at the point where the train had derailed."

Zipp leaned in even closer, her eyes focused and her face deadly serious. "Be careful as you head home tonight. The conditions are perfect, and the ghost train could be anywhere."

Suddenly, there was a loud whistle from the station. The six screamed and turned in fright, believing the Ghost Train was here.

"Sorry!" shouted a worker. "I was just checking the valve on this replacement whistle is working correctly."

"Well," Misty said. "If that's all I suggest we get off to bed. We've got a full day to enjoy tomorrow."

As they all headed off towards Purbeck House, the residence of the Haven family, Izzy suddenly noticed Sunny looking forward with a blank expression and seemingly vacant eyes. "Sunny?"

"AHHH!" Sunny jumped and wheeled her head around. "Huh? Oh, it's just you Izzy."

Izzy's face looked worried. "You're acting weird, Sunny. Are you sure you're OK?"

Sunny's face shifted into a weak smile. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little surprised by how dark it is, that's all."

Izzy nodded. "Well, if you're sure. The room I'm in has two beds, so if you want some company just feel free to go to my room, OK?"

Sunny nodded. "Thanks, Izzy."

Sunny looked about herself in confusion. She was standing on a gravel pathway running through some trees in the dead of night. The tree lined pathway ran next to a lake, and the moon was out in the sky. Its sickly white light illuminated the scene below (albeit not very well), and Sunny called out in surprise. "Hello? Is anybody there?"

No reply.

Sunny set off down the pathway, surprised. She had no idea where she was. The scenery looked nothing like either Dorset or Cornwall, or even any part of Britain she'd been to. And if this was Britain, why was it so hot and sticky?

The gravel path she was on was also very flat. Unnaturally so. This wasn't a nature trail, or at least it hadn't been originally.

Suddenly, she heard a whistle behind her. Maybe they were near a rail line?

Wait a second. That whistle sounded oddly familiar. In fact-

There it was again. Her blood ran cold when she heard it. It was the same whistle that they'd heard at the station.

No sooner had she heard it then puffing started up behind her, getting louder, and louder, AND LOUDER.

She sprinted for the side of the path, but her foot got caught in something and she fell over the line. She tried to pull herself free, but for some reason she couldn't free herself. She looked up, and saw a massive engine bearing down on her. It snorted smoke and steam like some angry demon, and the front headlamp was so bright it blotted everything else out. And it was almost on top of her.

Sunny screamed at what she thought would be a fatal collision, and then-

-she woke up, looking about the room in utter confusion. She glanced about, her head twitching about like a rabbit in headlights. "Huh? What was that all about?"

She took a look at the bedside clock and saw it was two in the morning. "I'm here. Just a bad dream."

Suddenly a whistle echoed over the terrain. Sunny blinked in fear. Was this the ghost Zipp had mentioned.

She got out of bed and exited the room, turning down the corridor and heading for Izzy's room. She went and knocked on her door. A few moments later, Izzy appeared and opened it.

"Hey Sunny!" she said. "I take it you can't sleep."

"How can you tell?" Sunny asked.

"You're up at two in the morning," Izzy pointed out. "Come on in. I've already got the second bed made up for you."

The next morning Swanage Yard hummed to the familiar noise of activity. Bellerophon was out of traffic to have his tyres turned, so Misty was helping Sunny with assembling coaching stock onboard Salty.

"This lot needs to go to Platform 2," Misty noted, checking her track diagram.

"Platform 2, OK," Sunny replied, and checked behind her to see if the line was clear. Unfortunately, it was not, and Rebecca steamed in with the first train of the day from Wareham.

"What took you so long?" Charles grumbled. "Did a cow stray on the line?"

"Yes, actually," Rebecca replied. "We had to shoe it away with an apple."

"Where's Porter?" Sophie asked, as her engine rumbled into life. She was replacing Rebecca on the outbound train to Wareham.

"He's up at Corfe Castle doing a shunting demonstration," Hitch explained.

The shunt signal behind Salty suddenly switched to green, and he began his reverse. "There once was a ship that put to sea-"

"I thought we'd already sung that one," Sunny said, as she continued to check behind her.

"I don't remember us singing Wellerman," Misty admitted.

"It was before you joined us," Salty explained, as he came to a stop. "We should have the platform shortly."

The points soon changed, and the shunt light then switched to green. The small diesel shunter propelled the load forward into the platform and stopped with the coaches correctly aligned with the markings on the platform.

Salty glanced over as Sunny secured him in place and began to walk down the platform. "What's wrong, matey? You aren't usually this quiet."

Sunny stopped and turned round. "I didn't sleep very well last night," she admitted. "Just a nightmare, nothing to worry about. But they're still not fun when you have them."

Salty looked sympathetic. "Living by the sea has brought me all sorts of strange nautical themed dreams. There was this one where a rail line to Davy Jones' Locker opened up, and another where the fisherman dropped off the largest fish I've ever seen!"

Misty had hopped out of the cab as well. "If it helps," she said, "I find cuddling something can help." She handed Sunny a small doll. "This is Madame Taffytail. I made her not long after I moved in with the Havens, and she's gotten me through some hard spots." She smiled. "Feel free to cuddle her if you want."

Sunny decided to give it a try, and soon found herself a bit more relaxed.

Salty smiled. "Oh, have you heard the news, me Johnny?"

"Who's Johnny?" Sunny asked.

"It's the start of a sea shanty," Salty smiled.

"Not one I know, then," Sunny admitted. "I'll just get this paperwork stashed, and then move you to the siding."

"Hurry up!" Charles bellowed. "We can't sit about here all day!"

Sunny was back on the pathway again, and walking along it once more. The same sickly moon illuminated the same dark landscape, the same trees, the same lake. And yet something somehow felt different. Somehow more... perilous.

Sunny soon heard the whistle, and took cover in the treeline and stopped to watch from a safe distance. As before, the noise gradually got louder and louder, and eventually the train hoved into view and stopped in front of her.

The engine was enormous, and painted a grey colour. The number was badly faded, and the engine looked to be in poor mechanical condition. A figure soon hopped out to walk around the engine. He looked less like a person and more like a skeleton somehow still walking. He stopped before a ghostly lever and pulled it, before a brilliant light shone from the cab.

A piercing scream rang out for a moment, before the light vanished once more. Another skeleton leaned out. "We're low on fuel," he said. "We need more boides."

"Don't you mean bodies?" the other skeleton at the lever said, before turning back. "Besides, Neptune smiles on us today." He strode away from the engine, and round the corner... right to Sunny, before grabbing her. "Perfect," he said. "You'll do nicely."

Sunny screamed and tried to fight back, but the skeleton's vice like grip was too strong. It grabbed her to the cab, and hauled her up the cab steps. The other skeleton opened the firebox once again, and that horrible screaming started once again.

"In you go!" The skeleton flung her forwards, and-

-Sunny once again woke up. She glanced about in fright. That one had somehow been even more vivid and nightmarish than the last one. She glanced at the clock. Two in the morning again. And as yesterday, that whistle sounded over the landscape.

Sunny looked at her hands, and buried her face in them. "Is the ghost real?" she whimpered to herself. "And what does it want with me?"

"Well, me father often told me when I was just a lad/
A sailor's life is very hard, the food is always bad!
But now I've joined the navy, I'm aboard a man o' war/
And now I've found a sailor, ain't a sailor any more!

"Don't haul on the rope, don't climb up the mast!
And if you see a sailing ship, it might be your last!
Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore!
A sailor ain't a sailor, ain't a sailor anymore!"

"You're in good voice, Salty," Ray commented. "These morning sing songs have helped to liven things up around here."

"These work songs and sea shanties helped to regulate and time work back in the old days in Southampton," Salty smiled. "They've been in the navy for hundreds of years, and that nice Mr Evans helped to bring them back into mainstream popularity."

Just then, the drivers arrived, and Sunny fired up Salty for some shunting. She seemed oddly lethargic, and Salty was concerned.

As the diesel set off down the line, he soon left the station yard and rattled out onto the main line. "Sunny?" he said. "We're past our allocated stop point!"

There was no reply. "Sunny? Sunny?"

The diesel looked about in a panic. "Danger! Danger! I can't stop!"

And indeed, he could not. Without his driver, he had no hope of stopping. He just rolled helplessly along.

He suddenly heard a horn from behind him. "Shiver me cylinders! It's the morning train!" He shouted as loudly as he could. "Charles! Sound your horn as loud as you can!"

Charles did so, and this seemed to have the desired effect. Salty heard somebody stirring, and then cursing up a storm in panic before slamming on the brakes.

The two engines stopped just inches apart. Charles was annoyed. "What is it with you and getting in the way of my passenger runs?"

"Sunny must've fallen asleep at the controls!" Salty insisted.

Sunny, meanwhile, was pale. In her mind, a plan was forming. Finally, she would get her nights back and banish the demon of her nightmares.

The moon hung in the sky over the Isle of Purbeck, and the clouds drifted over the landscape, producing odd shapes and a sickly glow. The engine shed was quiet, but this peace was suddenly disturbed by a door opening. Salty opened one eye. "Who's there?" he asked, as he saw a figure walking towards him.

Sunny lifted her hood and climbed aboard, before jamming in the starter key and firing Salty up. She then checked the clearances behind her were clear, and began to back Salty out of the shed.

"Sunny?" Salty said. "We haven't got any work scheduled for tonight."

Sunny blinked. "Salty, shut up."

Salty was taken aback by Sunny's bluntness. Something was clearly wrong.

A few minutes after they'd left, Zipp, Hitch, and Izzy arrived. "She wasn't in her bed when I checked!" Izzy said.

Zipp looked around. "Salty's gone, and the shed door is open. I know exactly where she's headed." She headed over to Charles' cab door. "Come with me. We're off to Corfe Castle."

A few minutes of travel later, and they found Salty parked in the bay platform. Zipp parked Charles in the cattle dock and stopped the engine, before she and her friends got out and looked around.

"Sunny?" Hitch called. "Sunny? Where are you?"

"Found her!" Izzy called. The trio approached slowly, noticing Sunny vacantly staring off into space on the edge of the platform, as if waiting for something.

"Sunny?" Zipp ventured. "Is everything OK, Sunny?"

"I have to get him out," said a quiet voice. "He's here, and he won't stop until he's gone!"

Hitch looked baffled. "Sunny, you're not making a whole lot of sense." He approached slowly. "Come on, let's just go home. We can get this all sorted out over a hot drink or something like that." He reached forward to touch her shoulder.

Sunny wheeled around so suddenly it caught all of them off guard. There was a blast of energy, and Hitch was suddenly thrown through the air before landing on the platform with a bang.

"Hitch!" Izzy cried, running over to him, leaving Zipp to confront a wild eyed Sunny. Her wings had flared into being, and her body was covered in a shimmering yellow glow.

"OK, let's not do anything silly," Zipp said.

"Silly?" said Sunny, who looked positively crazed at this point. She had bags under her eyes, and the wild look of somebody who hadn't slept properly in days. "I have to do this, for all of us. It's the only way to stop him, to get him off this island, to get it back."

"Get what back?"

"My sleep." Sunny blinked, surprised it wasn't obvious. "He's been in my nightmares, but now I'm here, and I can get rid of the ghost train once and for all."

Zipp then realised what this was all about. "Sunny, there is no ghost train," she said.

Sunny looked in confusion. "What?"

"There's no ghost train," Zipp firmly repeated. "I made it up as a spooky story to tell around the campfire. No derailment happened here. It's just something for Halloween. Look, I'm sorry if I spooked you with it, but you can rest assured no ghost is coming to get you."

Just then, a ghostly whistle echoed across the terrain. Sunny shrieked in fright. "Th- then explain that!"

Moments later, a puffing started up in the distance. Zipp looked out into the distance. What if she'd been wrong? What if there really was a ghost train haunting the Isle of Purbeck?

Moments later, the puffing began to slow down, and a familiar shape loomed into view, pulling a long line of trucks. "Hello!" said Vulcan. "I wasn't expecting to see you kids up at this time of day."

Hitch stumbled over. "No ghost, as I thought," he said.

Sunny glanced over. "Hitch? Are you OK? I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking and-"

"I was just dazed, that's all," Hitch replied, before looking over. "Goods train, huh?"

"That's right," Vulcan replied. "We move the china clay down to Swanage at night to avoid interfering with the passenger trains. We then move it to the mainline later to avoid the same mistake."

"So no ghosts?" Sunny said.

"No ghosts," Zipp firmly replied. "We should be good to head back to Swanage now."

Izzy had rejoined them, and looked at them. "If it helps I'll brew some of my sleep tea," she said. "It's really good stuff. In fact it could put a rampaging bull into the deepest sleep imaginable!"

Sunny was relieved to learn there were no ghosts. That night, she slept the best sleep she had slept in a very long time.

And so, dear reader, always remember- even when it appears the supernatural is afoot, just remember that there is usually a completely rational explanation.

Author's Note

Hello, and welcome to a new collection of stories themed around Halloween, the spookiest time of the year. In the buildup to the 31st, I shall be releasing a new selection of spooktacular tales to shiver your spine.

This first story combines elements from Ghost Train, an episode of Thomas and Friends, the Big Six creepypasta, and the Silverpilen urban legend. Another major source of inspiration for the overall tone of the story was the fanfiction Lead us Not, another commentary on the damaging effects of nightmares:

[Adult story embed hidden]

The title is derived from both an episode of Doctor Who and a medical condition which causes panic attacks during REM sleep.

The near miss was inspired by the Hinton collision, where a sleeping train crew failed to obey a red signal and collided with a passenger train coming the other way.

And Madame Taffytail has made her debut. Keep an eye on her. She'll be important.

Pipp Petals' Monster Mash

Pipp brought Sophie to a stop after a long day out on the line. Today had been a fun one, but a long one as well. The railway had been running its Halloween offerings for a quite a while, and some trains ran during the day rather than during the night. This was partly to take advantage of the heavy fog that had rolled in over the Isle of Purbeck, which helped to make everything nice and spooky.

"Everybody having a good day?" Sophie asked, as she was released from her coaching stock.

"As good as can reasonably be had with this bore in my ear," Charles replied. He had been sidelined due to an electrical fault and was currently awaiting spare parts. "How an engine can talk at such incredible length about the importance of track circuit monitoring systems I will never know. Most visitors don't even think about that sort of thing!"

"Well, they should do," Ray replied. "Because if those systems weren't there, the journey they take on the railway would be a lot less safe. Dispatching trains on the time interval system is flawed, as a train stalling on a hill is vulnerable to being affected. Armagh, for instance, or the Norwich crash, or-"

"Let's not get into picky details about minor things like that," Charles interrupted. "I believe you've got some sort of event going on at the House today?"

Pipp nodded as she shut down Sophie's engine. "You bet! It's the annual Halloween party today, and this year's party is going to be extra special!"

"How so?" Porter asked.

"It's the first year I'll be celebrating Halloween with my friends!" Pipp replied.

Rebecca looked confused. "We all met last summer."

"We did," Pipp answered. "But we didn't meet again until Christmas, and seeing as we live half the year here there's six months where Zipp and I are away from them, so meetups like this become especially important. We'll be returning the favour by popping over to Falmouth for Thanksgiving."

She climbed down the cab steps and took her key to lock up.

"Be wary of spooky scary skeletons!" Salty said.

"Don't they send shivers down your spine?" Rebecca asked.

"Why not reference a good Halloween song?" Charles said. "Like the one you wrote, Ray? The one about toast?"

There was a moment of silence. "Sorry?"

"The one from the film about a group of guys with lasers and backpacks!"

Ray sighed. "He means Ghostbusters. And I didn't write the theme song. Ray Parker Jr. did."

Pipp checked out the door. "Guys, you really need to get your pop culture information sorted out, as you're muddling a lot of things up!"

She took a look at her phone to check for events, and noticed that some things were on. "Hmmm. Not so sold on a Saw marathon. Perhaps some more light hearted Halloween fare?"

She focused her thoughts as she walked down the streets. Tonight was going to be a grand old party indeed.

After checking the main hall was up and ready to go, Pipp headed upstairs to get ready. As was tradition at these parties, the dress code tonight was fancy dress, and guests were encouraged to wear costumes referencing classic horror movies and film monsters.

Pipp had settled on something vaguely Egyptian inspired. After fixing a somewhat wobbly and elaborate headdress to her head and complementing it with a gown that would not have looked out of place in the collection of Queen Neffertiti, she made her way downstairs. "Now, where is everybody else I wonder?"

Suddenly, a portion of a door fell away, and a figure poked their head through. "HERE'S IZZY!" Izzy said suddenly.

Pipp looked unimpressed. "You have thousands of horror films you could have referenced, and you picked The Shining? Oh well."

Izzy closed it up, and seconds later appeared wearing a hockey mask. "Are you ready to be scared?"

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Jason Vorhees doesn't have any dialogue. And he doesn't even appear until the second film in the series!"

The door was put back together, and Izzy exited the door normally. "Just how do you know so much about horror, anyway?"

"I've always liked spooky stuff," Pipp admitted, as the pair headed off down the corridor. "I did my first haunted house at age six, and I've never looked back. I'd love to try one of the Alton Towers scare mazes some day, but it's a bit of a long drive from Dorset."

Izzy looked over. "I see. What are you dressed as?"

"An Egyptian Queen, of course! Seeing as The Mummy is an all time classic, it seems obvious to reference it."

"Do you mean the 1933 film, or the 1997 film, or the 2017 one with Tom Cruise?"

"The 1933 one. The Tom Cruise one was awful!"

A few hours later, the party was underway. The drinks were flowing, and the food was being eaten by visitors. Those who had come in fancy dress had agreed to participate in a sort of fashion show. Three young girls (who seemed to be particular fans of Pipp) had come dressed as mildly creepy triplets, whilst Zipp had disguised herself as a knight- which severely limited her movement speed as the armour was very heavy and the visor was stuck in the down position.

Nobody was quite able to figure out who the clown was supposed to be, and Hitch freely admitted that he hadn't had enough time to put his outfit together (hence why his outfit was just him with sunglasses).

Sunny's intruiged them all, as it seemed to consist of mysterious blue armour. Whilst made from lightweight materials, the crowd couldn't help but feel it looked rather familiar. The lack of light and the glowing moon probably helped to accentuate the appearance of the objects.

And Izzy... well, Izzy was Izzy. She had disguised herself as numerous famous characters from horror fiction- all at the same time. A hockey mask here, a black jacket there, and even a tricicyle.

Pipp glanced about. "Where's Misty?" she asked, before heading backstage.

She found her soon enough. Misty had stuck a mask on as part of her look, and combined it with a dark blue Edwardian style gown that Pipp had given her. She seemed to be breathing quite heavily. "No, no, no! I can't do this!"

"Can't do what?" Pipp asked.

"Go out there!" Misty replied. "I look silly! Everybody will laugh at me!"

"No they won't!" Pipp replied. "Misty, you look great. I think the crowd will appreciate the Phantom of the Opera homage- even if the gown is a bit late in terms of design."

"Really?" Misty replied.

"I bet! Now let's go! Make sure not to trip!"

As the pair left, another figure entered and switched on a radio. "I'm in," he said. "I am ready to initiate Operation Confusion on your order."

"You have my clearance," said the voice of Opaline on the other end. "Even if my last strike against them failed, a little victory like this will give me some clout." She then began laughing. The other person joined in.

Opaline coughed. "Seriously? You're as bad as Misty when it comes to that sometimes."

Pipp strode onto stage with her friends, who had assembled for the main event of the night. "Now, who's ready to rock the night away?!" Pipp called.

The crowd cheered, indicating they wanted to do precisely that.

"Hit it!" Sunny called. A tune that Pipp had specially composed began to play over the speakers of the hall, and this got the attention of the visitors.

"There's somethin' kinda creepy/
Happenin' tonight!" Pipp started.

"So call your favorite ghoulies/
And get your costume right!" Sunny added.

"They may look freaky/
But I promise they won't bite!" Hitch added, as he warded off a shark moving his way.

"And they say the place is haunted/
But the dancing's a delight!" Pipp finished, before they launched into the chorus.

"It may look scary/
But don't be afraid!
'Cause nothing's what it seems/
At a monster partay!

"It may look spooky/
But don't have a fright!
'Cause at this monster party/
We will rock all night!

"Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah!
Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah!
'Cause nothing's what it seems/
At a monster partay!"

But all sorts of chaos was breaking out across the ballroom. The apples in the apple bobbing appeared to have gained a life of their own as they floated about the bowl in which they sat. A mint chocolate fountain had turned into a geyser, spraying everybody around it in chocolate.

Meanwhile, Misty was trying her best to deal with the mountains of complements she was getting.

"Nice mask!" Izzy said, looking closely at the mask Misty was wearing. "Did you make it yourself?"

"I had a little help from my friends," Misty admitted, nervously adjusting it. "I'm not too good when it comes to most arts and crafts."

Zipp said something as well, but her helmet visor made it completely impossible to make out.

Misty seemed ready to continue the conversation, but suddenly jumped as the chocolate flood approached them. "Get on the table!" she said, as she jumped up as best she could. "Pipp's gonna be so mad if I get this dirty!"

Moments later, the lights went out. "Who turned out the lights?" asked a voice.

"It's a ghost!" said another.

Pipp acted quickly and grabbed a nearby remote that switched on the emergency lighting. "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm! As you can probably see we are having a slight problem with the sound and light system. I hope this isn't causing you too much distress." She looked over. "Hitch, can you go and reset the circuit breaker?"

The mysterious figure had retreated to the edge of the room, and got on the radio. "Party comprehensively crashed."

Opaline seemed pleased, based on her response. "Good. Retreat to a safe distance and ensure you're not seen."

After a few minutes, the circuit breaker was reset, and the party could continue. The situation fixed, the team simply chose to cut loose in the night. After all, it may have looked scary, but there was no point in being afraid. After all, nothing's what it seems at a monster par- tay.

Author's Note

This chapter is based on, and serves as an expansion of, the TYT episode Nightmare Night Party. The basic story remains the same, but elements needed to be tweaked to fit with both the setting and Misty switching sides considerably earlier than she does in canon. See if you can spot all the references to classic horror movies I left in there,

Charles' remark about toast is a reference to Toastbusters, a food related meme that went around when I was a child.

Terminal Chaos

The citizens of Swanage love the Halloween market. Every year in the week building up to Halloween, a small market is held in the car park at Swanage station, and local businesses turn out to exhibit and sell local produce and wares that are connected to this spookiest of holidays. All sorts of things appear there, which is perhaps fitting for a holiday which celebrates the spooky and silly.

And this year was proving to be especially spectacular. The local blacksmith was exhibiting a collection of cauldrons she had made. Another vendor was showcasing special chemical mixtures he had made that produced spectacular eruptions, not unlike a volcano. Another was showcasing weird mirrors of the sort you'd find in a fairground funhouse.

One evening, Sunny and her friends were visiting the Halloween market. They had completed their tasks for the day, and now had some down time before they needed to head off for bed. Hitch was the first to try the mirrors. "Something doesn't quite look right," he said, as he looked at the image.

"It's meant to distort your appearance, silly!" Sunny said, in between bouts of giggling. For some reason she found this exceptionally funny.

"Get your finest hand wrought cauldrons here!" shouted the blacksmith. "Made entirely by hand using on the best Purbeck iron!"

Pipp, naturally, was filming things on her phone, given she often did little else. "This will make a fantastic vlog!" she said.

"Vlog?" Argyle asked, who was accompanying them.

"Video blog. Basically like a blog post on an old chat room, but a video. Far better for keeping the attention of viewers. #SuperFun!"

Argyle glanced about at all that was going on. "I, for one, like it being a bit quiet. The last few months have been pretty hectic, and I'm enjoying the chance to relax without the risk of something causing chaos and destruction that we need to stop."

"That is a fair point," Zipp noted, as she strolled past before spotting Izzy at the potions table. "Yo! Izzy! Found anything interesting?"

This attracted the attention of the others, and they sprinted over to take a look. Sitting on the table were several bowls of strange glowing substances. They glowed with ethereal energy as they sat there on the table.

"I wonder what's producing the glowing effect?" Misty asked, as she looked closer. "I've never seen a glitter bottle like this before!"

Suddenly, Pipp spotted a bowl with a strange purple swirling pattern on it, and in that moment had a horrified flashback to several months earlier when they'd discovered a strange portal behind a painting in the Falmouth residence. "Guys, we need to back away from this stuff!" she said.

"Why?" Izzy asked.

"Because it looks like that really weird portal we found in Falmouth that took us to the mad place where nothing made sense!" Pipp said. "We need to be careful in case it-"

She didn't finish her sentence, as Hitch's nose chose the worst possible moment to discharge. The resulting sneeze threw the bowl forward and caused it to slam into the other substances. And then there was a huge explosion. The crew were thrown backwards, and landed on the ground nearby dazed and surprised.

Where there had been a stand was a vast, swirling vortex, crackling with electrical energy.

"Uh, guys?" Sunny said. "This doesn't look good."

"You think?" Zipp asked.

Suddenly, a series of rattling and rolling noises came from within the portal. There were flashes and spurts of things, and suddenly, a voice spoke.

"Here comes Thomas!"

Hitch rolled to one side. "Oh not again!"

Just then, the form of that weird Thomas bounced out of the portal. He was then followed by a green tank engine, a black diesel, an orange tank engine, a strange purple electric thing, and a rail crane.

"Perfect!" the green engine said. "This looks like great fun, Thomas!"

"That's right, Percy!" Thomas replied. "Now let's go and cause mayhem! The Emperor would be pleased with us!"

Suddenly, each engine whizzed away in different directions, not being held back by annoying things like physics or common sense.

"We've got a bit of a problem on our hands!" Izzy said, looking concerned. "We have to stop them!"

"But how?" Misty asked. "We can't keep up with them!"

Argyle suddenly appeared with a drink. "Hey there! I was wondering if you wanted..." He trailed off as he saw the carnage erupting in front of him. "What is going on?"

"We're trying to figure that out ourselves!" Sunny replied. "Right, we need to tackle a different engine each. I'll take Thomas, Izzy, you chase the green one, Misty take on the diesel, Hitch you can tackle the orange thing, Pipp can handle the electric, and Zipp can you handle the crane?"

"We'll try!" said the others, and they all dashed in different directions.

Unfortunately, getting the chaotic engines under control proved to be easier said than done. The green engine bounced through the air like a basketball, whilst the strange crane thing smashed through several stalls.

Thomas was the worst, however, as he ran into a fireworks stand and, somehow, was able to light all of them and get them attached to him. The rockets blasted him high into the air. "This is Major Thomas to Ground Control!"

Sunny held on for dear life. "HOW IS THIS MY LIFE?!"

Down on the ground, the crane was busy swinging things around. "This is so much fun!" she said. "Better than the time we sent the Great Platypus to Groaning Gulch!"

Zipp had no clue where to start with this one. "How is the driver meant to see where they're going with no front cab windows?" she asked. "And how are these controls moving by themselves?"

"I'm a living machine!" the crane replied. "I'm Carly!"

Zipp thought to herself. "That voice sounds familiar..."

On the other side of the market, the electric had plugged herself into a nearby power socket. "I could do with a recharge," she said.

Pipp attempted to remove the plug, but a small shock threw her back. "I don't think this is how electric locomotives work!" she said.

Unfortunately, this engine was consuming so much electricity it began to wreak havoc with the lights.

As Argyle was trying to manage the chaos, Goldie arrived. "Argyle, what on earth is going on?" she asked.

Argyle looked over his shoulder, puffing and panting. "No... time... to... explain... get... Harvey... and... please... help!"

Goldie, seeing the havoc erupting around her, nodded and headed away.

The green engine careened into several cauldrons loaded with chemicals, sending them flying all over the place. "Look! Rainbow rails! This is traintastic!"

Izzy was struggling to hold on. "NO! ANYTHING BUT CHUGGINGTON!"

The orange engine had stopped in front of a collection of crystals. "Hello?" she asked. "What are these?"

The vendor screamed and ran away.

The orange engine looked confused. "Why is everybody running around today?"

Hitch caught up to then. "STOP!" he shouted. "YOU'RE CAUSING CONFUSION AND DELAY!"

The orange engine turned around. "Nobody says that anymore," she said, and then rattled forward past some more crystals, sending them flying.

Meanwhile, the diesel had gone flying, presumably to try and catch up with the floating Thomas up in the air. "I can fly higher than you, Thomas!" he shouted.

"No you can't, diesel!" Thomas said. "I need to get some more rockets!"

Just then, Misty lost her grip, and began to plummet back to Earth. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Luckily, they did. She landed on a mattress that just happened to be in the right place. "Hey, that was lucky. I wonder who put that there?"

The chaos was only getting worse. The orange engine was whizzing about with crystals on its bufferbeam. The electric was now up to speed and racing around in circles. The crane was bouncing around in ways that large machines should not. And Thomas and the diesel were having a rocket race, dragging Sunny through the air with them.

"WILL THIS MADNESS NEVER END?" Pipp shouted, getting very out of breath.

Argyle looked at his watch. "I'm getting way too old for this sort of thing. I thought I was past this sort of havoc when Sunny turned six."

Suddenly, the portal began to glow again, and six ponies flew out of it. "Need a hoof?" called a familiar voice.

Sunny looked down to see the faces. "Sunny! Guys! Save us!" she called.

"That we can do," Pony Pipp smiled. "Let's go!"

And sure enough they flew into action. Pony Zipp roared alongside the crane and looked at them. "Hey! This way!"

Carly would have objected, but Jenna Warren was voicing Pony Sunny at the time, who had adopted alicorn mode to try and rescue her human counterpart.

"Stop right there, Thomas and Diesel!" she said in a commanding voice.

"Can't we have fun?" Thomas asked.

"No, you can't!" Pony Sunny replied, and created a glowing bubble around Sunny to levitate her back to the ground.

Meanwhile, Pony Pipp jumped in front of the electric engine. "Like pictures, Kana?" she asked. "Let's see how you like it with the flash on!"

She began blasting images from her phone.

"MY EYES!"

"That's how most viewers reacted to the animation style!" Pony Pipp replied. "Reap what you sow!"

Thomas and the diesel dropped to the ground whilst Pony Hitch helped get the orange engine under control. "You should be safe now, partner," he told his human counterpart.

"Thanks for the help, buddy," Hitch said. "I'd probably have been rolled flat were it not for your help."

"Why can't we move?" asked the engine.

"Because you're tied back, Nia," Pony Hitch replied. "It's what you deserve after behaving so badly."

At last, they even had the green engine contained. Pony Izzy floated him over to the others with her horn. "You have way too much energy, you know!" she said. "And that's coming from me!"

Having finally got all the engines in front of the portal, all that remained was to get them back to where they came from, so they could cause chaos no more. The humans and the ponies said their goodbyes, and thanked each other for helping each other, and then they went their separate ways, with the chaos engines being finally given the boot.

Just then, Harvey arrived. "Do you need some help?" he asked.

Sunny turned to look at him. "I think we've got a bit of rebuilding to do."

So, engine and humans got to work repairing the damage inflicted on the market. It would prove to be long and challenging work considering the situation, but it was finally done, and all could have a rest.

"So, who wants to..." Argyle trailed off as he saw them. The six friends were all fast asleep, leaning on one another for comfort.

"Aww," Goldie said, as she watched from Harvey's footplate. "They really are tired out."

Argyle looked back. "Remember how Sunny used to do that on the way back from a long day out? She'd always sleep on either my or your shoulder as the day would tire her out."

"Well, we'd best be getting them off to bed," Goldie said. "No point in them sleeping out here."

Opaline smiled as she broke open the door. "Perfect!" she said, as she looked inside the mineshaft. "I have found it after all this time!"

"Mission update?" said a voice.

Opaline peered down the mineshaft and shone a torch down it. "This confirms my theories and suspicions about this part of the world. The pathway is here, and a connection exists." She stepped back and closed the door. "They thought they'd sealed them all up, but the authorities clearly forgot about this one."

"That's at least twenty confirmed exits."

Opaline nodded. "And no doubt we'll find more as we go along. After repeated setbacks, these last few missions have been most fruitful." She stepped away into the darkness. "The Reverend may have been clever, but not clever enough."

Author's Note

This chapter is an adaptation of the Tell your Tale short Nightmare Market, heavily expanding on the basic premise. Considering the barely suppressed anarchy of a typical Tell your Tale episode is a good fit for All Engines Go, it felt fitting to bring them back and have them wreak havoc in the real world. And bring back the ponies whilst I was at it.

And what is this? Actual plot? Remember this, it'll be important later.

Scaredy Engines

The engines of the Isle of Purbeck look forward to Halloween every single year, as it is a fun and usually joyous time. They love the fireworks display put on by the Duke and Duchess of Dorset, and the local community often hosts fancy dress competitions. In fact, visitors to the railway are encouraged to dress up in Halloween themed garb when travelling during the Halloween season (the most common costume combinations are wizards, witches, and often mummies for some reason). There is also a huge bonfire in the former goods yard at Swanage.

The other old tradition of Halloween, which has been derived from Christmas, is spooky stories. The engines and their drivers had gathered in the shed to hear Salty tell a story about the old empty house (there was nothing in it), and Pipp had once again regailed the horrors of getting dressed in the dark and putting on mismatched clothing. Finally, though, Charles had decided to tell a story despite his previous dismissal of Halloween as nonsense.

The story he had begun to tell had been darker than anybody had been expecting. It was about an old engine that had gone missing many years ago and had never been found. The others had listened with intense devotion, wanting to hear where the story went next as the camera panned around.

"And they say that every year, on the date that he vanished, the diesel returns to the Isle of Purbeck, looking for his lost horn. Be careful as you go home tonight. The ghost engine could be anywhere."

There was a brief moment of silence, before it was followed by a round of applause. "That was a pretty good story, actually," Hitch conceeded.

A few minutes later, Lady Haven arrived, which surprised them. "Good evening, everybody!" she said. "I'm aware it's rather late, but there's an urgent job that needs doing up at the clay pits. Porter, Izzy, Salty, and Sunny, I want you four on shunting duty. Rebecca and Hitch, you will be needed to take the clay trucks to the mainline for processing."

"At this time of year?" Salty questioned.

"Yeah," Sunny added. "I'm more of a morning person to be honest."

"You'll be back in time well before the fireworks," Lady Haven explained. "Now then, you'd best be setting off."

Porter looked over. "Ooh! Somebody's scared! Never mind!"

"It's only a story!" Izzy added. Truth be told, she hadn't realised the diesel was legitimately spooked by the tale, and believed he was simply playing along for Charles' sake.

"Nobody is scared!" Salty snapped. But truth be told, the clay pits were a place he wasn't hugely fond of.

The clay pits were dark and spooky at night. Although the sidings were illuminated by overhead lights, there were still a lot of strange shapes that sat there in the gloom. Shadows danced across objects and strange noises echoed in the gloom. Salty certainly seemed to be a bit jumpy as he traversed the sidings, looking for the relevant trucks.

He wouldn't have admitted it, but Charles' story had gotten him thinking. He knew a similar story from the dockyard about an engine who fell into the sea and was never found, and whose ghost was cursed to roam the dockside forever. Truth be told, Salty couldn't think of a worse fate.

Porter, unfortunately, seemed to be fully aware that Salty was concerned, and as such decided to mess with him. "Look there!" he said, with a grin. "What's that up there?"

Sunny glanced out of the cab. "That's an LGB coupling," she replied. "Not sure what that's doing there, though."

"Maybe it is a ghost!" Porter said, before moving off with a smirk.

"You shouldn't be taking this as a joke, matey!" Salty said. "Although I've never been there, Bosworth Field is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the soldiers who never returned home."

That got Sunny feeling down. "Salty, perhaps we could talk about death a little less?" she asked. "It's not something I like to think about, given... well... you know what, never mind."

Salty chose not to probe further as they went back to work. Still, his friend's apparent worry weighed on his mind.

Rebecca was waiting outside the yard, waiting for the trucks to arrive. Suddenly, she heard loud moaning noises, and trucks being bashed backwards and forwards. "What in the world?" she asked. "Who's there?"

Hitch glanced about for what it could be. "Is somebody there?" he asked. But nobody replied. He had no way of knowing Izzy and Porter were moving the trucks back and forth to create the illusion of a ghost! But he had his suspicions as Salty rattled to a stop with the assembled trucks.

"Has Porter been annoying you?" the diesel asked.

"I haven't seem him in a while, but that would explain the flatbeds," Rebecca conceeded. "Nobody's brave all the time, but the way he's behaving suggests he's pushing all our buttons on purpose."

"I propose we give him a taste of his own medicine," Sunny added. "It may mean we end up spooking Izzy as well, but we don't have a way of filling her in without alerting Porter."

"Hi!" said Izzy, having appeared from nowhere holding an enormous ice cream.

"How did you do that?" Hitch asked.

"It's a Moonbow secret," Izzy admitted. "Now then, about this plan of yours..."

Later on, the work was complete, and Rebecca set off with her train. "Now then," said the site manager, "I only have a few tasks that need clearing up, and that will only need one of you."

Salty smirked, looking forward to paying Porter back. "Why not Porter, sir?" he suggested. "After all, he's not scared."

"Gladly," Porter replied. "I'll have this place cleaned up quickly."

So Salty and Sunny left, going a short way down the line until they were out of sight.

Porter began to reverse through the clay pits, but the lack of noise was concerning him. "I can't hear a thing," he said. "It's not normally this quiet, is is?" he asked.

"I don't think so," Izzy replied, pretending to be scared. The pair reversed to the back of the yard and stopped, waiting for the points to be changed.

Suddenly, a loud horn blared from the right, and a voice began to speak. "Porter..." it said, in a weak and feeble tone.

"Who's there?" the tank engine demanded.

"You didn't take my story seriously," the voice said again. "Those who fail to take my story seriously will suffer the dire consequences."

"What consequences?" Izzy asked, putting on her best scared voice.

A pair of lights suddenly switched on, and a white shape roared towards them. "You will join me in the ghost dimension... FOREVER!"

Porter yelled and roared away in the opposite direction, thundering towards the mainline junction. "GET AWAY!" He cleared the trackwork and flew away towards Corfe Castle.

The ghost engine came to a stop, and cackled. "That'll teach him!" Salty smiled. "Good work with the white flour, Sunny."

Sunny glanced down the line. "I learned from the best unicycler in town," she replied.

Meanwhile, Rebecca was beginning her return run. She was parked in the loop at Corfe Castle, preparing to return to Swanage when suddenly the signal went to danger. "There's trouble down the line!" she said. "Hopefully Porter will be done soon, as I wouldn't want him to miss the fireworks."

"I know, even if he was being a bit of a douche. But I wonder what it could be?" Hitch asked, a smirk growing on his face.

Seconds later, Porter thundered through heading towards Norden. "Run, before he gets you too!" He then vanished into the night.

Once Porter was out of earshot Rebecca began laughing. "I somehow think he won't be going!" she said.

Hitch nodded as the signal changed to green. "Right, away we go. Hopefully Sunny's already down there."

Sure enough, they found the engines positioned to watch the fireworks. Rebecca and Salty found places at the back, but they still had a decent view of proceedings.

Salty was concerned that there was no sign of Porter. "You know, we may have gone too far," he said.

"It'd serve him right for messing with you," Hitch said. "Actions have consequences."

Sunny, however, was feeling awful. The same feeling she had felt when she'd stolen Pipp's crown and had been (quite rightly) chewed out for it. "Let's go look for him," she said to Salty.

"Right you are, matey," Salty replied. They reversed out of the yard and soon found Porter sitting alone on a siding. Salty parked up next to him. "You feelin' alright?" he asked.

"Izzy had a chat with me," Porter replied. "And I know this will sound hollow, but sorry for what I did. I didn't realise the story had spooked you that much. I guess I'm just a terrible friend."

"You're not a terrible friend!" Sunny exclaimed. "You've gotten us out of all sorts of tight spots, and your sense of humour has livened up many a day!"

"Thank you," Porter replied. "Seriously, though, how did you pull off the ghost sounds and voice? That was impressive!"

"Trade secret," Salty answered. "The view from here is good, though. So come on; let's watch the fireworks from here!"

And the four friends did, their faith in one another restored, and Porter having firmly learned his lesson.

Author's Note

This story is based on the Thomas and Friends episode of the same name, incorporating elements from the Season 8 episode Halloween and the Season 19 two-parter Diesel's Ghostly Christmas. Although I am aware that Porter pranking the other engines may seem like odd behaviour, his inspiration Richard Hammond had a long history of pranking his co-presenters on Top Gear in not entirely helpful and unfunny ways (two notable examples being rewiring James' horn to the brake pedal and repainting Jeremy's car on more than one occasion).

The clay pits themselves are loosely inspired by ones that used to stand near Parkstone on the Southwest Mainline (which the Swanage Railway connects with).

Finally, can any of you spot the goof referenced?

Misty Brightdawn's Amazing Maze

Misty Brightdawn couldn't be happier. She cheerily rolled down the main street of Swanage, with her roller blades clattering against the cobblestones as she sped along.

She glanced over to one side to see the sea, which was something that still continued to thrill her no matter how many times she saw it. It probably also helped that the town had a superb chippy, one that tended to get swarmed with guests whenever a train arrived at the station.

She sighed contentedly as she rattled along. Only a year ago it seemed as though she would never have a happy life. Even though being thrown from a train rather shook up her up and showed her that trusting Opaline was an error, finding these new friends had really changed her life. The roller blades on which she rode had been gifted to her by Sunny. Zipp had helped her with settling in with life, and Hitch (who had an oddly specific knowledge of stuffed toys) had helped her populate her room. Izzy's arts and crafts had been a fun way of being creative, and Pipp had even taken her out shopping for new clothes (although Misty had simply bought similar things in considerably better shape; her old clothes were pretty tatty and on the verge of falling apart at points).

As she whizzed along, people waved as she rolled along. She rolled to a stop next to the metal barrier before the water and glanced down with a happy smile. This had truly changed her life. And is was something she was thankful for, now and always.

And as was often the case in these parts, Misty suddenly felt a familiar sensation that she was used to in this neck of the woods as musical instruments began playing in the background. It was the old tradition of a musical number.

To her surprise, her friends suddenly appeared behind her. And began to sing.

"You've got…/
You've got us!" Izzy said rhythmically, for some reason, before being the first to sing to this invisible backing music.

"If you're down, down, down — just look up, up, up/
You know that I got you, even when it's tough!
If you're down, down, down — get back up, up, up/
Never on your own, 'cause you've got us!"

Misty still found the fact that songs started up at random a bit alarming, but knew that she had to go along with it to get it over with. Thank the Maker that she'd agreed to taking singing lessons.

"Take a look a little closer now/ (Closer now)
Things turned out a little different than how I thought/
I thought they would!"

Suddenly Izzy took over again, putting her arm around Misty's shoulder.

"If you have hope, then let me hear it (Hear it!)
If you have sparkle, we can cheer it (Cheer it!)
It ain't over when you have each other!"

Then everybody together once again.

"If you're down, down, down — just look up, up, up/
You know that I got you, even when it's tough!
If you're down, down, down — get back up, up, up/
Never on your own, 'cause you've got us!"

Izzy took over vocal responsibility again.

"If you ever feel like givin' up/ (Givin' up)
You just need to find a helping hand who can/
Make you sparkle again!"

Once more they switched vocal responsibilities again.

"If you have a wish, then let me hear it (Hear it!)
If you have a dream, then we believe it (We believe it!)
It ain't over when you have each other!"

Just then, the chorus fired up again.

"If you're down, down, down — just look up, up, up/
You know that I got you, even when it's tough/
If you're down, down, down — get back up, up, up/
Never on your own, 'cause you've got us!
If you're down, down, down — just look up, up, up/
You know that I got you, even when it's tough/
If you're down, down, down — get back up, up, up/
Never on your own, 'cause you've got us!"

Misty glanced about to see nobody in the town seemed to have noticed the impromptu musical number, and then indicated towards Purbeck House. "Come on!"

Izzy grinned! "Let's go guys, we sparkle together!"

"You've got, you've got/
You've got us!"

The crew scarpered before any policemen could fine them, and sped off in their own directions. Unlike the others, Misty currently didn't have any railway work to do. Bellerophon had been temporarily stopped to have his wheel tires checked, so she was occupying her time doing other things.

As she arrived at Purbeck House, an enormous Jacobean pile built in the Renaissance Style, she saw that there were several sidings sitting on the side of the station. These were full of old lines of disused rolling stock. And this gave her an idea.

She arrived at the door and took her roller blades off, putting them neatly at the door before stepping inside. She glanced about inside the vast vintage pile, seeing portraits and wooden panelling which conveyed the sense of history the family had. "Imagine knowing your entire family tree that far back," she said to herself. "And I don't even have a clue who I really am." Household staff continued to bustle back and forth as she looked up at the images above.

Just then, Lady Haven came down the stairs, a large file in her hands. "Hello Misty!" she said. "Did you have fun in town?"

"Yes, Lady Haven," Misty replied. Although the Duchess had become something of a mother figure to her, Misty was still reluctant to call her by her first name despite her Ladyship's insistance. "I've actually had an idea. You know how it's Halloween?"

"Indeed, we had the party not long ago," Lady Haven replied, as she popped the file down on a table. "Hopefully next year will go better."

Misty smiled. "Well, I noticed some old rolling stock in the yard. I was thinking I could turn that into a scare maze and, well, thrill people with railway themed scares."

Lady Haven consulted her map. "The ones in the old goods yard, correct?"

Misty nodded.

"Well, there shouldn't be too much of a problem there. I shall dispatch some workers to help you in a bit. But first I've got all sorts of things to clear up. Harvest time on the estates always brings so much work, keeping track of what we leased to who and all that."

Misty nodded. "Well, I won't disturb you any longer!"

That night, the Mane 5 gathered where Misty had asked them. "I wonder what she's got in store for us?" Zipp asked.

"I hope it's good!" Pipp said, rubbing her hands together with glee. "I love scary stuff done well, and if it's a maze, well, that's perfect!"

Just then, Misty arrived, clad in vintage clothing which wouldn't look out of place in the Edwardian age. "Good evening," she said, brandishing a lantern as she did so. "Are you here for the tour?"

"Yes, we are," Sunny replied. "Kindly show us the way."

"I will," Misty replied, and she set off into the yard, with the others following. The battered rolling stock around them only added to the mysterious air that was being built. "The story began over one hundred years ago, on a night much like tonight. At Seven, an overnight sleeper train was preparing to depart for Waterloo, and soon got the all clear to depart."

"I believe you mean the right away," Hitch corrected.

"Thanks!" Misty replied. "Anyway, the train set off up the line, but the authorities soon realised something was wrong when it had failed to arrive at Wareham at the booked time. At the same time, reports of fire spread from nearby Corfe Castle, and a rescue team was sent to investigate."

She raised her lantern, to show the damaged coaches. "What they found was horrifying. The engine was wrecked, and the wooden coaches- well, some of them had been reduced to matchwood. Others were found with parts missing, but there was one consistent pattern to the accident- there were no survivors. The remaining coaches were dragged down here and left in these sidings, where they have stayed ever since, haunted by the ghosts of the dearly departed." She raised her light. "Follow me, and I shall show you to the secret part of the story nobody tells you."

"These are just coaches waiting for restoration," Zipp said. "They've been here for years."

"Zipp!" Pipp hissed.

"What?"

"At least TRY to immerse yourself in the narrative!"

As they stepped through the yard, they soon found ghosts jumping out at them from hidden locations. "Oh, did I mention the coaches are haunted by the ghosts of the passengers who died in the crash?"

"That must be a lot of ghosts," Sunny said, who glanced about warily. "Quite where this is going I have no idea."

They soon came to a series of vertical steps cut down into the ground as a spiral staircase. Misty popped open the lid. "Follow me," she said. "We can head down here and find another way out, as our path seems to be blocked."

"Watch your step, and don't get the hem dirty," Pipp said. "The Edwardian Ball is a big deal around here."

Once they had finished descending the steps, Hitch spoke up. "It's pretty dark down here. There's potential for serious health and safety problems if there' no light. What if we trip on stuff?"

Misty used her lantern to look around, and found some switches. "Perfect!" She threw them, and suddenly the entire corridor was illuminated, revealing a spooky corridor with stone lined walls and a selection of cells.

"Where are we?" Izzy asked.

"I think we may have found the lab," Misty said.

"The lab?" Zipp said, raising an eyebrow in a quizzical manner.

"Legend has it that a mad scientist did experiments down here, and that the results are still down here. In fact, we should walk carefuAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Misty was suddenly pulled sideways by something that had emerged from a tunnel.

"Misty!" Sunny shouted, and looked down the corridor, switching on her phone's flashlight to try and see. But there was nothing down the tunnel. "Now what do we do?"

Pipp glanced up. "Follow the signs, of course!"

"What signs?"

"The signs that indicate this way to the exit, of course!"

As they made their way through the tunnel, all sorts of spooky things began to happen. Ghosts floated down from above. Skeletons stood up and walked over to the bars, speaking nonsense as they did so. Portraits had eyes that moved. It was all very strange.

Zipp still seemed unimpressed. "This is only tangentially connected to the train stuff earlier."

Misty looked on from the control room with a smile. "Time to liven this one up a bit, I think." She then pushed a button marked TRAIN.

Lights began to flash on one of the tunnels, and suddenly a locomotive horn blared out of the darkness. The sound created the illusion of a train racing past.

"Time to release the skeletons!"

Pipp, meanwhile, was taking photos of the interior. "Hmm," she said. "These cobwebs look very familiar. I'm pretty certain I used these at the last Halloween party."

A zombie walked up behind her to try and jumpscare her, but she saw him approaching through the front camera and stepped out of the way. "Are they even trying now?"

Meanwhile, things had reached farcical proportions in other parts of the tunnels. Sunny and Zipp appeared to be doing their best impression of Scooby Doo, dashing back and forth between different tangentially connected doors. "How are we even doing this?" Sunny panted, starting to run out of breath.

"Beats me!" Zipp replied. "Nothing down here makes sense!"

Hitch, on the other hand, had found some stairs, and began to climb them. "This should be a way out." He glanced back. "This way!"

The others were glad to end the madness, and climbed the stairs as well- arriving in Purbeck House. "What?" Zipp said.

"Oh! It was the basement under our house the whole time!" Pipp said. "I thought it looked familiar."

They followed the signs to the exit, and found Misty standing there. "Hey guys! How was that for a scare maze!"

Pipp grinned. "I've done a lot of these, including Alton Towers one year, but this was pretty good for a first attempt. Nice work, Misty!"

"Though you may need some helpers based on the queue," Izzy pointed out.

Misty looked at them. "You guys wouldn't mind helping out?"

Misty sighed as she glanced about the workshop she had for the project. Overall things had gone pretty well for her first attempt at a scare maze. Her eyes glanced over a small doll sitting on the mantlepiece.

"Looks like I found a use for you after all, Madame Taffytail," she smiled, as she began sketching a device. "Hello everybody... I want to play a game..."

Author's Note

This particular chapter is based on the TYT episode Haunted House, with copious quantities of adaptation expansion in effect. The maze itself combines elements from several different scare mazes I have been to over the years.

The railway segment is inspired by Platform 15, a maze that ran at the British theme park Thorpe Park from 2016 to 2021. As the name implies, it was themed around a train crash. The underground portion draws on aspects of Disney's Haunted Mansion, combined with bits from The Attic (a scare maze at Alton Towers) and My Bloody Valentine (another Thorpe Park maze).

Finally, Purbeck House itself is based on Audley End, a stately home in Essex that is a superb example of Jacobean architecture. Railway enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that a miniature railway runs in the grounds.

The Fog

Halloween was one of the crunch times for the Swanage Railway, and the visitor demand was so great that more trains had to be put on. This, in turn, resulted in a dramatically increased workload, with everybody (and every engine for that matter) being required to muck in and do their part.

One morning, Ray was surprised to see Lady Haven approaching from the station complex. "Is there a problem?" he asked, somewhat drowsily.

"Of a sort," Lady Haven replied, as she climbed into his cab. "There has been a dreadful mixup at Wareham, and somehow the supplies needed for a local Halloween event got delivered to the wrong location. Quite why they thought a Halloween event needed a train of mattresses I have no idea." She checked in his firebox to see his fire was coming up to temperature nicely. "Of course, squeezing this working in might be a bit of a challenge given the intensive passenger timetable, but needs must when deliveries go wrong. After all, it was the keep calm and carry on spirit that got my father's generation through the Blitz."

Later, Ray was ready to go, and he was backed up to the shunt signal to await the arrival of an oncoming train. Sure enough, that train arrived, pulled by Charles. "You're looking cheerful!" he said.

"That," said Ray, "is because I have been given an important job. I need to go and pick up a missing train and bring it back to Swanage."

"You won't be heading towards Southampton, will you?" Charles asked.

"We will be going that way, yes," Lady Haven nodded. "I could use the opportunity to see how things are in Bournemouth right now with the station remodelling. Why do you ask?"

"There's a bit of a fog warning on the news," Charles replied. "It may make seeing where you're going a bit difficult. Zipp told me."

Ray glanced over. "Hopefully we'll be back before the worst of it sets in," he said. Now that the line was clear, he set off on his way. "It must be serious if Charles wasn't dismissing it as rubbish."

Once on the mainline towards Bournemouth, Ray could finally get up some speed. The miles flew by underneath his wheels as he rattled along, sharing the line with other, more modern trains. Even so, people who were out came to see him pass by, with one passenger commenting that the ghosts were clearly out for Halloween.

Charles' words did have Ray a bit concerned, though. Whilst not normally a supersticious engine, Ray did know that spooky things often happened around this time of year. Last year had proceeded without incident, but this year was one with magic, which was a marked contrast to previous years. What if some sort of magic caused more chaos? The incident with the strange engines bouncing about the market a few days ago had everybody on edge somewhat.

At last, they arrived at Bournemouth Central, a station which still oozed with steam era charm despite it being over 50 years since steam on the Southern Region came to an official end. Not surprisingly, the pair were soon mobbed by people on the station.

"Where are these trucks?" Lady Haven asked the station master.

"We put them in the sidings over there so you could easily pick them up," the station master replied. "You'll have to wait a bit, though. We've got an incoming express train heading for Weymouth to clear through first, so hang tight for now."

Eventually, the express passed through the station at speed, and the points changed to let Ray access the sidings. He rolled into the trucks, and Lady Haven coupled him up.

"You're being oddly quiet," she said. "Normally you'd be telling me trivia about how lever reversers are better than screw link ones, or that the ideal ratio of water to milk in tea is around 1 to 2!"

"Charles' story has me concerned, ma'am," Ray replied. "With this sort of weather it may be tough going to get back to Swanage. And with everything going on around the area with the magic having returned... well, it's a bit of a weight on my mind."

"I'm certain nothing will go wrong," Lady Haven replied. "If fog does arrive, we'll use the high intensity lamps to see through it. We'll be fine, I am certain of that."

What if we aren't? Ray thought to himself, as he heard the signal change and a works train passed by.

The return run began, and as Ray worked into the tunnel at the other end of the station-

BANG!

"What was that?" Ray asked.

"A detonator!" Lady Haven replied, and applied the brakes to bring the train to a stop. She looked back inside the tunnel, and picked up the radio. "Bournemouth Signal Box, we've been stopped inside the tunnel by a detonator. Requesting permission to back train out of the tunnel and investigate, over?"

"Bournemouth Box here, you have permission to reverse to station limits and investigate. Out."

Sure enough, Ray was backed out of the tunnel to prevent a deadly build up of carbon monoxide inside. Once the train was stopped, Lady Haven got off, picked up a lantern, and walked into the tunnel, grim faced and determined to find out what had caused the detonator to be placed.

The tunnel was very dark, and it was also hard to see. Lady Haven's eyes squinted in the gloom, but as she walked forward she finally saw what had caused them to stop.

Ray was very glad to see her when she walked out again. "What was it?" he asked.

"A works train has stalled ahead of us and is blocking the line," she explained. "We'll have to wait for the mess to be cleared up."

So they waited, and they waited, and they waited. They waited and waited for what seemed like hours, probably because it actually did take them hours to clean up the mess.

By the time they got going again, fog had descended over the landscape, and it was making travel very difficult. Engines on the Swanage Railway are turned to face Wareham, and this meant Ray was running bunker first for the trip back to Swanage shed. The wagons rattled in front of him, and the rails sang.

The high intensity lights had been set up, but they weren't doing a lot of good. In fact, comparisons to chocolate teapots were already being made in Ray's mind. At least the signals were clearly visible, so there was that. The light grew dim, and being required to stop at Brockenhurst didn't help in Ray's mind.

At last, he was cleared once again to go, and he battled onwards through the bad weather. It wasn't just fog now. The wind had picked up, and it was buffeting him from side to side. "Buffeting! Buffeting!"

"Good heavens, this is bumpy," Lady Haven said. "But we must be brave, as those partygoers are counting on us."

They were soon safely over the worst part of the run, and to Ray's relief the worst of the fog soon lifted as he rattled towards Wareham. He came to a stop in the platform, feeling very relieved. "Well, that wasn't too bad."

That night, Ray and Charles spent some time conversing. "So, how'd it go?"

"Not as badly as I'd thought it would, actually," Ray admitted. "The weather conditions could easily have been worse."

"And the fog?"

"Not too bad once you get used to it. Sometimes, there are times to be brave and times to be strong, and others when common sense must prevail."

"Which you achieve by going slowly," Charles joked.

"I'm careful, not slow. If you rush things you usually find yourself having to do it again, meaning it takes more time than it should have done the first time."

"There is some logic to that. Wait a second, what's Porter doing?"

Porter was moving some trucks to the other siding, but didn't seem to be watching what he was doing. He ran the trucks into the buffers with a bang. "Sorry!"

Ray rolled his eyes. "What a moron."

Luckily, nothing was damaged, and the party proceeded on schedule as planned. As Ray's experience shows us, sometimes all we have to be is brave, and believe in ourselves to overcome the obstacles we face in our lives.

Author's Note

This chapter is an adaptation of the Thomas and Friends episode Bold and Brave. Whilst the episode doesn't give me a huge amount to work with (and I will freely admit I was getting a bit desperate by choosing to adapt this), it does have a good moral for viewers, so it felt like a good fit for Ray.

Haunted Hitch

The Dorset countryside is criss crossed with old china clay lines. These served the many clay pits that once stood in the county, taking the produce of the pits from the quarries themselves to either the mainline or the harbours that would load them onto ships to take the cargo to places far away. This became especially important after many of the old ports silted up, and the cargo needed to be transported longer and longer distances.

There were now only a limited number of china clay pits, owing to a limited number of people buying china clay, but a new rubber factory had opened in Bournemouth. As china clay is a critical ingredient in the manufacturing of rubber, this led to a surge in demand. As such, a local businessman had decided to reopen one of the old clay pits near Wareham, and this meant rebuilding the old line to take the weight of modern trains.

One night, Rebecca was being readied to take some building supplies to the new clay pit. Most of the trackwork had been relayed, and all that needed to be done now was to add some support buildings and adjust some other minor points of trackwork.

Rebecca had been attached to the supplies at Swanage, and the others had gathered to see her off. "Good luck making the delivery at this time of night!" Charles called. "It can get very dark at this time of year!"

"And keep an eye out for trouble," Zipp added. "Strange things are known to happen around Halloween."

"Is it troggles?" Izzy asked. "Because if it is, make as little noise as you can."

"Troggles are a northern phenomenon," Zipp replied. "I was actually referring to Doctor Syn."

There was a moment's silence. "Who is Doctor Syn?" Sunny ventured.

Zipp began to tell the story. "A long time ago, there was a man called Doctor Syn. During the day, he pretended to be a vicar, but this was merely a disguise. For the truth was he was a pirate and smuggler who terrorised much of Kent and Dorset during his reign of terror."

"Grammatically speaking, people tend to terrorise things during reigns of terror," Ray commented.

"Alright, Mister Pedantic," Sophie said.

"Anyway," Zipp continued, "it is believed his spirit continues to haunt these parts. It is written that when an owl hoots, a mist rolls in, and then Doctor Syn will appear."

Hitch shrugged. "Sounds implausible. We'd best be on our way." He sounded Rebecca's whistle, and the train was soon on its way.

Pipp glanced over to Izzy. "We've met talking engines and rolling stock, seen magic with our own eyes, and being across the globe on crazy adventures- and he chooses to dismiss a ghost as nonsense?"

"Arbritrary skepticism," Izzy replied. "It's a common storytelling device."

"Did you just break the fourth wall?" Porter asked.

Rebecca soon reached the junction for the china clay branch, and stopped at the signal whilst awaiting line clearance. "I'm not too sure about Zipp's story," she said to Hitch. "It sounds a little far fetched if you ask me."

"She has a reputation for making spooky stuff up," Hitch said. "Like that story that got Sunny in such a tizzy. Besides, there's no mist, and I haven't heard an owl-"

Just then, an owl hooted.

"OK, that's one owl, but they're common enough around here."

Just then, the signal changed. "These signals are handy!" Rebecca said. "They stay at red just long enough for everybody to have plot relevant conversations."

Hitch chose not to answer that as they set off down the branch. This was all getting too weird for his tastes.

Sure enough the mists rolled into the valley as the train proceeded down it. It was becoming hard to see, and Hitch slowed the train down as a result. Hitch soon saw an amber lamp. "Amber light up ahead," he said. "Proceed with caution."

The train slowed down as a result, and the fog continued to build. "It's a right pea souper, this!" Rebecca commented.

Hitch looked out of the cab. "Who's there?" he called. But nobody answered. He picked up his radio, and then stopped. "No point in contacting control. This branch is operated under a token system and has no track circuits, so won't be on the existing system."

The train proceeded onwards for a short distance, but Rebecca soon halted when she saw a red signal glowing in the darkness. Before it was a sign, which had only one word written on it.

DON'T

"Don't what?" Rebecca asked.

Hitch sighed. "Decoding these clues is like texting with my parents." He glanced about and saw some more clues with the help of his torch. "And look! The gates are closed, and the signal is red."

"And there's somebody's coat!" Rebecca added. "There is something strange going on!"

Hitch's eye was suddenly drawn to the roadway before them, the one which the level crossing protected. A familiar beat, almost like that of a galloping horse, began to build, and a mysterious black shape sped past, lit only by a lantern that glowed a sickly yellow in the gloom.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

"It's Doctor Syn!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Zipp was right!"

"I suggest we head back and investigate later," Hitch said, as he set Rebecca's cutoff to the reverse position.

"I'm not arguing with you on that one!" Rebecca replied, and the duo beat a hasty retreat.

The next day, Hitch told Zipp what he had seen. However, she had an explanation for all of the strange things they had seen.

"The sign with one word on it? It's quite likely that the rest of the sign has fallen off and hasn't been replaced. The signal being red is also easy to explain. The Southern Railway used upper quadrant signals." She indicated to the one protecting the platform. "When the cable snaps on one of those it drops to danger automatically. The distant signal switched to amber automatically as part of that. The coat is a bit harder to explain, as is the horse rider, but there are many qualified horse riders out here- my grandfather was a champion horse racer when he was still with us."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Hitch replied.

"It's OK. He died before I was born." Zipp's face changed. "But we need to figure out what's going on with this mystery. Who sent the message, and why?"

"Why not join us on our next run?" Hitch suggested. "Network Rail did an inspection and didn't find anything that should inconvenience a pacific."

"I think I will," Zipp smiled, and dropped her goggles into position. "Detective Zipp is on the case!"

"We have passengers before that!" Charles called from the opposite platform.

This left Rebecca worried. What if history repeated itself?

That night, the train had arrived at Wareham and was awaiting clearance to access the line. All seemed normal, but then suddenly an owl hooted. Seconds later, an express heading for Waterloo thundered through the station, causing the ground to shake.

This startled Rebecca, who after years on slower lines and heritage railways wasn't used to the faster speeds of modern trains. The trucks noticed this and began jeering.

"Oh, will you look at that! Rebecca's spooked!" said the trucks.

"Be quiet!" Rebecca snapped. "Nobody is scared!"

Hitch consulted a sheet. "OK, we've had the owl. I've just got mist and a ghost on horseback to cross off and we can say bingo."

Zipp glanced out of the cab. "Signal's green," she said. With that, the train set off into the unknown.

As they proceeded down the line, they saw the same light again, glowing in the darkness. "No turning back now," Hitch said. "We need to keep going."

Sure enough, they passed the sign with one word on it, and saw the red light. Hitch began to slow the train down to a stop, so he could get out and open the level crossing gates.

Just then, Zipp yelled out. "Hitch! Don't stop!"

"Why?" Hitch asked.

"It's Doctor Syn! He's coming this way!"

Sure enough, Hitch saw the ghostly figure on horseback once again, charging towards them. He pulled open the regulator and the train charged into the level crossing gates, blowing them to smithereens.

The trucks had seen everything and were spooked. "On! On! Faster! Faster! There's a ghost about!"

"Don't slow down!" Zipp called. "If we go fast enough we can outrun him! There's no chance a flesh and blood horse can keep up with an iron one!"

"That's what they said about the Tom Thumb!" Hitch replied, focusing on maintaining control over the rickety branch at high speed.

Suddenly, something shifted underneath Rebecca. "The track's collapsing!" she shouted.

And she was right. No sooner had she cleared the something, there was a jerk on the coupling. The trucks broke off and began to crash into each other, piling up on the ground and leaving a scene of chaos behind them.

Rebecca finally come to a stop at the china clay pit, looking around nervously. "Did we lose him?" she asked.

"Yes," Hitch said. "We should wait here until-"

Just then, the sound of hooves started up again, and a figure on horseback rode up to the cab. He removed his hat.

"Relax guys," Zipp said. "It's just Mr. Bailey."

Mr. Bailey looked annoyed. "What are you three playing at?" he asked. "I was trying to warn you that the bridge couldn't take your engine's weight, and now look at the mess you've made."

He indicated back to the derailment site, which was now revealed to be where a bridge had once been.

Hitch stepped over. "In fairness, you did leave some incredibly cryptic clues. We had no idea what 'don't' referred to."

Mr. Bailey sighed. "Perhaps I should use metal signs in future. But there's still a huge mess to clean up."

"We'll help you," Zipp said. "Anything else we can do as compensation for the damage?"

"Getting this branch back up to mainline specification would be a good start."

Everybody joined in helping Mr. Bailey repair the line, and when it reopened they all took turns running it. They know now that for every ghost that you encounter, there is usually a rational explanation to everything you see.

Author's Note

Haunted Henry dates from the experimental era of Thomas and Friends, made during the period when Britt Allcroft and David Mitton were trying to pitch a Thomas and Friends film. This resulted in them experimenting with all sorts of genres and pulling out the stops when it came to storytelling. Although in terms of narrative a fairly conventional ghost story, Haunted Henry is fondly remembered by fans for its oppressive atmosphere, superb set design, and excellent use of music and sound to build a chilling atmosphere. For many Thomas fans it was their first introduction to horror, and it was great fun adapting it again.

Doctor Syn is a real figure from British folklore, being closely associated with the smuggling operations of the south coast of England. One of the engines on the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch Railway is named after him.

Finally, can anybody spot the reference to a bit of US railroad folklore in there? There's a cookie if you do!

28 Pranks Earlier

It was late at night on the Isle of Purbeck, and Pipp had just finished for the night. Work on the new ballast project had run late, and the work had gone on for so long that she'd only just got back after stabling the trucks in the sidings at the station. Now she was looking forward to a nice day off to relax, possibly go to the spa, and maybe work on a new song. Or do a stream. Whichever felt sensible. Her fans were chomping at the bit for some new content, so to speak, and she was more than happy to provide it no matter what.

She slipped out of the shed and began to make her way down the path towards the house that she called home. It wouldn't make any sense to go into a house that she didn't live in, as the owners would likely complain. And that would never do.

She made her way further down the path when she suddenly heard a strange whistling noise. "Who's there?" she asked.

But nobody replied.

She shrugged. "Ah. Probably just the wind." She then continued on her way, made her way in through the door, and then closed it behind her before locking it with a key. She sighed, glad to be at home and safe from the outside world. She flicked on a light so she could see where she was going, and began to head into the lobby. She climbed the stairs inside, and glanced about. The closed curtains helped to keep the heat in, but the paintings were spooky. The eyes seemed to be following her as she walked, and that was very unnerving.

At last, she reached the first and second bends in the stairway, and turned left to head to her bedroom.

"BOO!"

Pipp shrieked and fell back against the wall, nearly landing against a painting in the process. "Zipp, what the heck?"

Zipp began laughing. "You should have seen your face!" she snorted.

Pipp leaned back to her feet. "At this time of day? Seriously?"

"Consider this payback for hiding all my trainers," Zipp replied. "Believe me, if you can't take it don't give it."

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a door opening, and the familar face of Lady Haven popped out. "Phillipa! Zara! If you must make noise do it downstairs in the parlour. Some of us are trying to work."

"At this time of day?" Pipp asked. "Mom, it's almost ten!"

"I need to get this paperwork finished if I'm going to be able to attend Haunt on the Rails," Lady Haven pointed out. "And seeing as I'd prefer we do that as a family I'd suggest you stop monkeying around and either go downstairs or to bed." The door then closed.

"Guess that's our cue to go," Zipp said, and set off down the corridor. Pipp, on the other hand, went to her room and sat at her desk. A sheet of paper sat before it, as she had a cunning plan. She'd ask the others about it tomorrow."

"I'm just sick of her pranking me all the time!" Pipp exclaimed.

"In fairness, you also do move her stuff around without her permission," Sunny responded. "During the portrait preparations you did move all her favourite shirt to a place she couldn't find it. You know she hates wearing dresses; truth be told I'd pick jeans over a skirt any day."

"They're not too bad," Izzy added. "But if you're going to prank her back, you're doing it on your own. Somebody being mean to you does not give you the right to be mean back."

Pipp snorted. "If I don't do something it'll never end. And if that means doing it on my own so be it."

The others left the table, with only Misty being left. "I'd be willing to help," she said.

"Really?" Pipp asked.

"As long as it's nothing too dramatic, like pretending we're all zombies or dressing up in purple and pretending to be a superhero."

Pipp looked at her notes. "Nope! Nothing that dramatic!"

That day, over dinner at the Haven's ludicrously long table, Pipp and Zipp were seated together, as was the norm. The others were all busy enjoying their meals and having conversations about their day.

"So, how'd your streaming go?" Zipp asked. "How are the Pippsqueaks in Falmouth doing?"

Pipp smiled. "They really miss us. Seashell's been asking when we're coming back!"

"January, apparently," Zipp replied, as she put her fork into some of the meatloaf. "The local meat is pretty nice."

Pipp knew this was her chance. "You're working the old coast line, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Charles and I have a short shipment to take to one of fishing villages down the coast near Weymouth," Zipp answered.

"Wayland?" Misty asked.

"Weymouth," Zipp answered. "Wayland is in Norfolk and has no rail connection. Funny story there; somebody was trying to move oil tankers from Barrow to there, but it turned out to be a typo in the manifest. The tankers were supposed to be going to Wakefield, which is in north Yorkshire."

"Anyway," Pipp said, "have you heard the story of Edgar?"

"No," Zipp replied.

Pipp leaned in closer so her face was framed by the electric candle between them. "One night in the 1930s, an engine was making a delivery along the line, taking refridgerated trucks from Bournemouth to Weymouth. But a terrible accident happened, and the entire train fell off a bridge and into the waters below. It is believed to this day that the engine, whose name was Edgar, can still be seen trying to cross the bridge. But he never reaches the other side."

Zipp looked unimpressed. "Pipp, if that was a true story I'm pretty certain I'd have found a reference to it in the archives by now."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Pipp smiled, as they continued.

Later, she and Charles were proceeding down the line towards Weymouth, along the old coast line. It was dark, and the moon's light was casting a sickly glow on the landscape. Charles glanced around him. "It's very quiet," he said. "That's never a good sign."

"Rather like in old Westerns," Zipp admitted. "It's always the sergeant who gets shot, though, even if the lieutenant says it."

"I see we've gone too long without a Dad's Army reference," Charles said. "Oh well. If we complete this run faster we'll be back to Swanage quicker, and back in relative warmth."

But as they approached a bridge on the return trip, having dropped off their trucks in the meantime, Zipp couldn't take her mind off that story Pipp had told. Suddenly, strange lights appeared on the bridge, and seemed to coalesce into the from of an engine.

Zipp slammed the brakes into emergency to avoid hitting the object, and narrowly avoided a collision.

"Zipp," a voice rasped.

Zipp looked around in a panic. "Who's there? How do you know my name?"

"How I know your name is irrelevant," the voice said. "But you should know me. I am Edgar, who was lost on this line all those years ago. You didn't heed my warning."

"What warning?" Charles asked. He'd never have admitted it, but he was starting to get spooked.

"To never cross this bridge at night, or else suffer my fate. NOW BEGONE WITH YOU, AND NEVER RETURN AT NIGHT!"

The shape seemed to move as if charging them. "Get us out of here!" Charles shouted.

Zipp screamed and released the brakes, before putting the throttle to full power and charging away from the scene as fast as they could.

Little did they know things weren't quite as they seemed.

A few days passed, and Pipp couldn't help but notice Zipp was acting weirdly. She was barely speaking to anybody and jumping at the slightest noise. Something was wrong. So she decided to try and speak to her.

Unfortunately, fate was not smiling on her that day. She'd left the plans for her prank in the bin, and the cleaning staff had moved them to the master bin for disposal. Pipp knew of what was going on when she saw Zipp storming her way. "Zipp? Is something go-"

Zipp stopped right in front of her, blocking her escape path. "Really?" she said. "All because I said boo late at night?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pipp replied.

Zipp held up a piece of paper- the plans, to be exact. "These ring a bell?"

"Oh, that," Pipp said. "I was kinda getting sick of you pranking me and wanted to get my own back."

"Well, you got your wish," Zipp replied. "I can't sleep properly thanks to that, and I'm probably gonna have nightmares for weeks! Thanks a lot."

Pipp looked down in shame, unable to look her sister in the eye. "I only wanted to show you what it was like when people play pranks the other person doesn't find funny. But... I realise now I went too far. Sorry, Zipp."

She glanced up to see Zipp's face had softened a bit. "Hey, come here." She pulled her into a hug, which caught her off guard. "For what it's worth, I need to say sorry too. Jumping out at you in the dark wasn't as funny as it seemed at the time. And maybe we should bring this pranking business to an end."

"Thanks," Pipp replied. "Are you feeling better?"

"A bit. I can't be mad at you forever. At the end of the day, you're my sister, a 'built in bestie' as I believe you put it. And even if we do fight sometimes- OK, a lot- what matters is we come back together. Because that's what siblings do."

Pipp was touched by those words. "Is there anything you need help with?"

"Well, fancy planning that Halloween Party together?"

Author's Note

This particular story combines elements from the MLP episode 28 Pranks Later, the Thomas and Friends episode Duncan Gets Spooked, and a Thomas and Friends fan story called Edgar's Revenge. References to numerous MLP and TTTE episodes have been scattered throughout the text.

The Wayland/Weybourne joke is an allusion to a meme that emerged as a result of All Engines Go. In one episode, the engines need to deliver some tankers to Wayland (which have been dropped off on Sodor for some reason). Wayland is a place in Norfolk that has no rail connection (and never has), and the only reason the name was picked was because it was where the producer was born.

I also chose to have the siblings reconciling as the ending of 28 Pranks Later always felt off to me. Yes, Rainbow Dash shouldn't have been pranking ponies in the way she was, but pretending a zombie apocalypse was ongoing is disproportionate retribution in my eyes, as many stories on this site have explored.

The Flatbeds of Fear

October 31st had arrived, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for such an day. There was mist and fog rolling about, and the sun was very hard to see. It was certainly ideal weather for the spooky season.

Bellerophon and Misty arrived at the wharf just as a newly arrived ship was being unloaded. It was full of many supplies related to to construction, such as pipes, bricks, and even some slate tiles.

Salty was nearby, and took a look. "Bricks, unloaded from a ship. I wonder if they're heading for New York?"

Sunny looked confused. "Salty, is there a cultural joke there that I'm somehow missing?"

Salty laughed. "It's another old sea shanty!" He then began to sing.

"On the fourth of July, 1806/
We set sail from the sweet cove of Cork!
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks/
For the Grand City Hall in New York!

'Twas a wonderful craft/
She was rigged fore and aft/
And oh, how the wild wind drove her!
She stood several blasts/
She had twenty-seven masts/
And they called her The Irish Rover!"

"I'm not a nautical engineer, but a ship with twenty seven masts sounds implausible," Misty said.

Just then a strange whistling sound was heard. "What was that?" Bellerophon asked.

Salty smiled. "Those," he said, "must have followed us from the docks at Southampton. They be the flatbeds of fear!"

"Not the flatbeds of fear!" Misty exclaimed. "What are the flatbeds of fear?"

Salty grinned as he began to tell the story. "A long, long time ago (and insert your Don McClean jokes here), there was a freight train working from Southampton to Salisbury, carrying all sorts of cargo. Three of those vehicles were flatbeds loaded with pipes. And during that journey, the train encountered a fierce climb over Honiton Bank near Axminster. The coupling snapped, and the back of the train broke away!"

"Was there an accident?" Sunny asked.

"Heavens, no!" Salty replied. "A quick thinking signalman routed them into a siding, where they did not collide with anything else. But ever since then, the ghosts of the flatbeds have been roaming southern Britain, looking for an engine to couple up to. You know they're near if they produce a whistling noise. And that's before we get onto the tale of the hoppers of horror!"

"If you lot are done talking," said the harbourmaster, "this lot needs moving so we can get the next boat into the dock. Get moving!"

Bellerophon was coupled to the train, and set off up the line.

"Watch out for the flatbeds of fear, Bellerophon!" Salty called. "You never know when they may appear!"

Bellerophon made his way up the line, his cargo rattling behind him as he ascended the Isle of Purbeck. All around him, people were in a hurry to secure critical supplies before the night came. And the fog and mist weren't letting up.

Just then, a strange whistling noise started up. "What's that?" Bellerophon asked.

Misty looked up and down and all around, but couldn't see anything. "What could be making that noise?" she asked. Then she remembered Salty's story. "What if it's... the flatbeds of fear?"

"What was that?" Bellerophon asked.

"That was just an embedded YouTube video," Misty answered, as they stopped at the clay pits. Rebecca was waiting there whilst Sophie was shunting her train.

"Hello Bellerophon!" Sophie called. "Are you hear for some trucks!"

"Yes," Bellerophon replied. "But I just heard the flatbeds of fear!"

"The flatbeds of fear?" Rebecca asked.

"Is that going to happen every time we say flatbeds of fear?" Hitch asked.

"Seems that way," Misty said. "Anyway, these rail vehicles roam the island in search of an engine to pull them. And they whistle."

"Here's hoping we don't encounter them," Rebecca said.

Sophie came to a stop, and Pipp stuck her head out of the cab. "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once observed that once you have dismissed the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. I'm certain there's a perfectly rational explanation for all this."

"You live in a country with talking railway equipment, magic that can be empirically verified, and are friends with a girl who can sprout glowing wings when required," Sophie pointed out.

"Well, there is that. But let's stay focused if we're gonna be done in time for the party!"

Rebecca's train was ready. As she was a higher priority working than Bellerophon, she set off first and headed for the mainline. Truth be told, the last few days had had her slightly on edge, and she glanced about in concern. "I hope we don't encounter these flatbeds of fear!" she said.

"That's getting really annoying," Hitch grumbled. "Look, I suspect it's another story Salty made up. You know what he's like."

Just then, a strange distorted noise echoed across the terrain. "What was that?" Rebecca asked.

"Just a cow," Hitch replied. "All the sound is distorted today for some reason."

As they continued on their way, they came to a stop at Corfe Castle to wait for an oncoming train. Alexandra rolled in with a local service. "Good morning!" she called cheerfully.

"Alexandra!" Hitch said. "It's been a while. It feels like you've been gone for ages!"

"Had to go to the Flour Mill to get one of the pistons changed," the railmotor explained. "I'm good as new now."

Suddenly, there was a loud, distorted whistle. "What was that?!" Rebecca asked.

"Just the station master's whistle," Hitch answered. "See? Perfectly rational explanations, as Pipp said."

Rebecca soon made it to Wareham and left her trucks for the mainline engine to collect. She then collected a short train of pipes to head back to Swanage. Once the signal had changed, she set off down the line once more.

"Well, that run went quite smoothly," she said.

"Hopefully we'll be home dry soon, and able to enjoy Halloween in relative peace," Hitch admitted. "The last year has been rather intense for my tastes."

Suddenly, there was a strange whistling noise from behind them. "It's not a cow in a field, and it's not a station master's whistle. So through Pipp's process of deduction, it must be... the flatbeds of fear!"

"Forget the running joke and keep moving," Hitch said. "There's a freight siding at Norden where I can check if anything's loose."

The train halted at Norden, where Hitch found no evidence of whistling. But he did find something rather more serious. "Not again," he sighed. "The outside lubricators have packed in... again. We'll need to get another engine to help."

Charles arrived later, and was having a lot of fun at Rebecca's expense. "What a surprise!" he said. "These big steam engines, always going wrong. Not like a small, compact, reliable diesel."

"Then why are you always so full of hot air?" Rebecca asked.

"Because I am important and have a lot of things to say," Charles replied. "Without me or Sophie this railway would grind to a halt."

"It doesn't grind to a halt when we're in Cornwall," Zipp pointed out.

"That's because they hire in nice sensible diesels, like the one we'll be getting from that brittle person."

Zipp just looked confused as she hopped out of the cab to couple Rebecca up. "Charles, I have no idea what you mean."

"That northern man with the diesels."

Zipp's eyes widened in acknowledgement. "Oh! You mean Alphabittle! They actually haven't finished working on that Class 37 yet. But I bet it'll look good when done."

"Could you possibly speed up putting Rebecca on a siding?" Hitch asked. "This freight won't move itself."

Charles was soon coupled to the train, and they began to proceed down the line. Sure enough, the odd noise started up again. "Any idea what that is?" Charles asked.

Zipp rolled her eyes. "If Pipp is pranking me again, that's seriously not funny." She opened a cab window and listened, before adjusting the speed. The pitch of the noise increased upwards. "Interesting." She then slowed the train down, and the sound got deeper in pitch. "So, this whistling is dependant on our speed. That would suggest something on the train is causing the noise."

But as they approached Corfe Castle, trouble was rude enough to arrive. Somebody had dropped a large box on the passenger footpath, and Charles slammed into it. The box burst open, sending bananas flying into the air and landing all over the place.

"My bananas!" shouted somebody.

"Haven't we already done that joke?" asked another.

Back down at the docks, Porter had just arrived to collect the last train of supplies. "Is this the last lot?" he asked.

"Indeed," said the harbourmaster. "We should be able to head home early tonight and get secured before the spooky season hits."

Salty looked about. "There's a bit of a breeze, isn't there me hearties!" he smiled. "It reminds me of the Seven Plank Wagons of Superstition, which are-"

"What's that whistling noise?" Izzy asked, as some pipes were being moved.

"It's just wind being blown through pipes," Porter explained. "Remember the organ we fixed in Devon? Same principle."

"So all the mention of flatbeds of fear wasn't true?" Sunny asked.

"Will you stop doing that?" asked Porter.

"Like any good ghost story," Salty smiled, "it's partly true and partly... embellished. The breakaway did happen, but I'm not aware of any roaming freight vehicles designed to transport bulk cargo that won't fit into vans or hoppers."

"That was some oddly specific wording," Izzy noted.

That night, the engines had all gathered at the shed for the big Halloween celebration. "Did any of you hear a strange noise during the day? A whistling sound?"

"Came from the pipes, apparently," Porter explained.

"So there was a rational explanation for all that!" Sophie smiled. "I told you!"

"Indeed there was," Salty smiled. "The hoppers of horror, or the coaches of consternation, on the other hand..."

Author's Note

This story is based on the Thomas and Friends episode of the same name. Seeing as many of the other stories in this collection are 'harder' horror, so to speak, it only seemed fitting to round off with a bit of silliness.

The Irish Rover, which Salty sings an except of, is a real sea shanty, telling the story of a brilliant though implausible ship carrying absurd amounts of cargo before sinking (with the narrator being the only survivor, meaning there is nobody who can contradict their version of events).

Honiton Bank is a real railway grade on the West of England Mainline. In the days of steam it was an operational nightmare, requiring the use of many banking locomotives to get over the fierce grades.

Older readers will likely recognise the running gag recycled from my adaptation of Thomas and the Magic Railroad (which itself was borrowed from a long since deleted story by JimmyHook19).

That may be it for this series, but you won't have to wait long for the next adventures of Sunny and the crew. Keep an eye out next Monday as we venture beyond our wildest dreams!

Intro

Fimfiction Proudly Presents

A Story by The Blue EM2

Sponsored by the Guild of Equestrian Railroaders

And Based on an Idea by Thomlight Sparkle

Starring the Voices of:

Vanessa Hudgens

Kimiko Glenn

Sofia Carson

Liza Koshy

James Marsden

Jane Krakowski

Bahia Watson

Keith Whickam

Rachel Miller

Theresa Gallagher

Richard Hammond

Jeremy Clarkson

And Joseph Swash

Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions

Model Effects and Sequences recorded at Ellstree Studios